Clash Of Worlds (52 page)

“What will you do?” asked Auron.

The king placed his hand onto his beard as his mind began to wonder…

Chapter 17: The Project Of Chaos

James left the headquarters at great speed and headed into central London to confront his foe, Lucius. He advanced directly towards the Houses of Parliament. It was here where the computer had successfully identified Lucius. James came to a halt at the London Bridge and looked up at the parliament building. The structure was beautifully lit in the darkness of night. London was not an area that was affected by the numerous natural disasters around the world and so the night was calm and still. James knew there was nothing ‘natural’ about the disasters that were taking place. He remembered Lucius telling him of his plan, the ‘Project of Chaos’.
I have to stop him.

The computer had picked up Lucius standing on the bridge. There was no-one on the bridge now though, except for a homeless man who was huddled up in the far corner.
Maybe he has seen Lucius?
James jogged over to the man to question him. The man was wary and heavy-eyed. Life had clearly taken its toll on him. He had a large, scruffy beard and his clothes were old and tattered. James was unsure how to approach the man. He didn’t have much experience dealing with homeless people. “Hey there, have you seen a man here recently?”

The man looked up at James and rubbed his eyes. “I’ve seen a lot of men around here mate,” replied the homeless man in a strong cockney accent.

As the man spoke, James caught his scent. He smelt like he hadn’t washed for over a month. On closer inspection, the man had dirt on his face and yellow teeth, what little teeth remained anyway. The agent did well to hide his discomfort of the man’s aroma as he continued to question him. “You would remember this man. He has long white hair, and dresses in white too,” said James.

“Hmmm, white hair? Forgive me sir, but my memory does not seem to be what it used to be,” said the homeless man in a sarcastic tone.

The man may not have had a home, but he clearly wasn’t stupid.
He wants money.
James sensed the man was looking for a pay out for information and unduly delivered an English ten-pound note and tossed it to the man.

“Ah yes now I remember,” said the man, whose memory had suddenly come back to him. “He asked me to give you a message,” the man continued.

James seemed a little surprised. He found it odd that Lucius would have taken the time to speak to the homeless man.

“And what is this message?” asked James, who wasn’t altogether convinced that the man had actually spoken to Lucius.

“He said look behind you.” The homeless man smiled and pointed upwards over James’ shoulder. The agent turned around, revealing Lucius standing high above on the roof of the Houses Of Parliament.

“And so he has come. You are easier to lure out than a rat chasing a piece of cheese,” said Lucius in a cold tone. Despite the distance between them, his words were as clear as if he was standing next to James’ side. The white-haired man began thinking aloud as he had become accustomed to by now. “Indeed, the vermin are so easily found.”

“Your long speeches are starting to bore me,” mocked James, who had always found the white -haired man’s long speeches strange and often riddle like.

Lucius smiled. “Well, you do lack intellect.”

“I’m smart enough to realise that you’re the one behind what’s happening!”

Lucius began to laugh. “Are you referring to the unfortunate chain of events that now troubles this world?”

“You now exactly what I’m talking about!” shouted James, pointing an angry finger up at his foe. “Don’t think I’m going to let you get away with this!”

Lucius snickered at the very thought of James threatening him. “Have you forgotten how badly I’ve humiliated you?” he said, mocking the agent. “Time and again I’ve beaten you, humbled you. What makes you think this time will be any different?”

The agent reached behind his back and pulled out the sword the professor had given him from a scabbard he had tied on his back. “Because this time, I have this!” shouted James, holding the blade aloft for him to see. It shined brightly in the moonlight and Lucius looked a little taken aback. He definitely had the white-haired man’s attention now.

Lucius hated that blade. He knew it was of Alexandrian origin but this was not the only reason for his hatred of it. The white haired man knew that because this weapon was on Earth, it meant that his own sword was still in the possession of Auron, the Alexandrian warrior who he had fought within the Dark Forest over a year ago. He hated the thought of that. He hated that his beloved sword; a weapon he had to prove himself worthy of wielding was now being used to aid his sworn enemies. He planned on taking out his frustrations on James. He wanted to make him suffer. The fact that James now wielded this weapon only increased the dislike he had for him.

James’ could see Lucius’ displeasure, even from so far away. His plan was going perfectly. The agent began to goad the white-haired man, much to the latter’s displeasure. “Is that fear I sense up there? Are you really the fierce warrior you claim to be, or simply an imposter?”

Lucius snarled with anger. “I assure you vermin I’m no imposter. I possess far too much power to be anything but the real thing!”

“Then come and prove it!” challenged James.

“As you wish.”

The Underworld warrior leapt from the top of the building, gliding through the air with elegant grace. He landed at the end of the bridge that James stood on, landing down on one knee. He looked to take no discomfort upon landing despite the great height he had jumped from. James knew he could not do battle with Lucius here and now. Taking him on at this very moment would end up in defeat, even with his possession of the Alexandrian sword. James turned and ran…almost it seemed in retreat. Lucius rose to his feet and smiled. “What the hell is going on?” said the homeless man, who still lay at the side of the bridge whilst watching events unfold between the pair. Lucius turned to the man for a moment and snickered at him before giving chase after his enemy.

James raced through the streets of London, with Lucius giving chase. “There is no escape for you son of Zeris. This is the final act of the performance, do enjoy it,” mocked Lucius as he pursued the agent.

The pair ran three times faster than a regular man. They used all their skills and agility to run through busy traffic, never truly being in danger of colliding with any of the vehicles despite a few near encounters. A few of the cars on the road had seen them coming at the last minute and swerved in an attempt to avoid them causing a mini pile-up of vehicles on the road.

Next, James led Lucius down to the London Underground railway system. A train was setting off on one of the lower platforms and James leaped onto the roof as it pulled away. Lucius quickly followed suite and the pair engaged in a mini duel on top of the train. Lucius quickly gained the upper hand, landing a few fierce blows forcing James into retreat once more.

Not yet
, thought James. As the train passed beneath a tunnel, James used the sword to cut through the bricks, hurling them toward the white-haired man like a baseball being struck off a bat. Lucius easily dodged them and punched several of them clean with his fist.

The train exited the tunnel and James leapt off the roof, making his way hastily to the exit of the Underground. The pair continued southward towards the coast. The chase went on for several hours; James just about managing to keep his enemy at bay. The night began to fade and dawn was close, but James was beginning to become fatigued. They had now run so far south, they had reached the English coastline.

Lucius noticed the rising sun and realised why it was that James had fled.
So he has realised his strength, interesting.

James’ plan had been to keep away from Lucius until the sun had rose and then engage him when he would be at his strongest, and the white-haired man would be at his most vulnerable. They were now in open land and Lucius spotted a small chemical plant that was connected to a large cliff nearby which overlooked the sea. Lucius stopped dead in his tracks, bringing his pursuit of James to an end. After a few moments, James realised he was no longer being chased and came to a halt himself. He looked around and noticed Lucius jogging gingerly towards the chemical plant. James was annoyed, he knew he almost had Lucius where he wanted him.

“Come back, come back and fight!” shouted James.

The white haired man paid him no attention though and continued onward towards the chemical plant. James sighed and now gave chase after Lucius.

Workers still manned the plant and smoke came from the roof as a mixture of chemicals produced wild fumes. James addressed the workers. “Everybody, get out of here now, there’s a storm coming this way!”

There was indeed a storm coming this way, but not in the way the workers might have thought. All the workers in the plant were already disillusioned by having to work despite the global catastrophe and didn’t take much persuading.

With the men gone, James entered the chemical plant. It smelt of sweaty workmen and chemical fumes filled the air. The corridors were narrow and damp. James advanced onward; he had more pressing matters on his mind.

“Come on vermin, come to me,” said Lucius, whose voice echoed around the walls of the narrow corridors.

James gripped his sword, ready for battle. He let the anger flow through his body to give him strength. “You know what I hate the most about you James?’ said Lucius.

James looked around anxiously, scanning for where the white-haired man could possibly be.

“The fact that I’m going to beat your arse?” shouted James.

A low laughter began to fill the air. “Amusing but no,” Lucius answered.

James approached an area where the chemical fumes filled the room in a white mist, hampering his vision.

“It is because even for an Alexandrian…” continued Lucius. The white haired man suddenly emerged from the mist and kicked the sword clean out of James’ hand. “…You are so incredibly weak and predictable!” James quickly threw a couple of punches that Lucius evaded, however not as easily as he normally would have. The white haired man took a couple of steps back, as did James. The pair breathed heavily as their lungs cried out for air. Finally, after several hours, the chase had come to an end. Neither man could run anymore. Even Lucius managed to nod in appreciation of James’ efforts in keeping pace with him. Lucius had chosen this time to do battle for a reason, however. First of all, he deemed this area far enough away for him to engage his foe without fear of any of his friend’s being able to come to his aid. It would just be the two of them in a fight to the death. Secondly, the reason for choosing the underground facility beneath the mountain cliff was that it was free from the rays of the sun, which had caused Lucius’ stamina to degrade faster than normal, whilst at the same time, enhancing James’ strength.

Although he did not have the same strength he would have during the hours of night, Lucius had concluded that his fighting skills were still far beyond that of his opponent. He would still be able to eliminate James, despite him having this disadvantage. “Enough of this. You have served your purpose. You many die now!”

James picked the sword up from the ground and pointed it toward him. “I don’t think so!”

Lucius smiled and raised his hands, clenching them both into fists as he invited James forward. “Come to me. Come to me and I will kill you, just as I killed your friend!”

Chad…

James charged towards his foe, crying out with rage as he leapt forward, looking to unleash the most powerful blow with the sword he could muster. He aimed the blade towards Lucius skull. The white haired man looked surprisingly calm, as James got ever closer, not even flinching. Moments before James connected, Lucius moved his weight forward and unleashed a hate induced double handed punch of his own. It struck James directly in both his ribs, sending him hurling back at least ten feet. James crashed into a concrete roof support, which shattered as he crashed through it. James hit the ground hard and in breaking the roof support, large pieces of the concrete fell from the roof above down on top of him.

The white-haired man began to laugh. He turned around and looked toward the sword that was not his, the sword James had been using against him in the fight, which was now stuck in the wall. Lucius decided the time had come to put an end to this contest and began to walk towards the blade. He intended to use the sword to behead his enemy and keep it as a trophy to take back home to his father. He knew once James was dead, and the will of the Earth people was broken, his father would allow his return to Underworld. That was what he now craved more than anything. He had been on Earth for nearly two long years and he missed the Underworld realm dearly. He had the comfort of his great love Clarissa there, a member of his father’s elite.
How I would like to have her in my arms,
he thought. The Earth women did not pleasure him as Clarissa had done. Although he had bedded many, it was Clarissa who he wanted to share his bed with once more.
Once the vermin is vanquished I shall return to her.

Beneath the rubble of concrete and stone, James struggled to breathe. Not because of the rubble that was covering him though. It was due to the fierce blow that Lucius had struck to his ribs. He was also bleeding fairly heavily. He had not realised just how hard Lucius could punch. Clearly, he had been holding something back up until now. James attempted to move some of the rubble from above his head, struggling to do so. He could hardly move beneath it. He tried again, realising that he was helpless against his foe in this position. He finally managed to push a piece of it away with his right hand, allowing it to come above the rubble.

Suddenly, something strange began to happen. Warmth began to fill him and James felt the grazes and cuts on his hand quickly healing themselves. The strength began to slowly return to his hand. James attempted to stand up and was able to too so with relative ease now. The large pieces of rubble fell off him like tiny pebbles. The deep cuts on his hand began to heal themselves very quickly. In a few moments, the cuts were nothing more than small grazes. James’ body also felt warmer than it did before. He looked above his head and discovered why this was so.