Martin King and the Prison of Ice (Martin King Series) (12 page)

“I have seen a
prophecy. A terrible prophecy. Charles and Aurora King, the bringers of
darkness… they will cause the destruction of the entire universe.”

Martin felt
like he was falling. “What?”

“Yes.” The
Custodian nodded sadly, peering at Martin over his spectacles. “Your parents
will destroy the universe.”

“I would never
do such a thing!” said Aurora.

“I’m afraid the
prophecy is very clear,” said the Custodian. “And I was foolish. I thought I
could stop the prophecy from coming true. I hacked into the mind of an Axis
Lord called Alexander Howell—who already hated you, Mulciber—and I drove him
mad
with hatred. I pushed his detestation to the point of irrationality. I wanted
him to eradicate your entire family.”

“You were
behind all of that?” said Mulciber.

“I’m sorry,”
said the Custodian. “I thought that it would be possible to extinguish the King
bloodline completely, but I should have known better. You simply can’t change
the future when events have been fixed. Whatever you do, time always reverts
back to the arranged pattern.”

Martin suddenly
had a thought. “I visited a planet called Wormwood,” he said. “There was a sort
of shrine in the temple, and a picture of my dad.”

“Not a shrine,
Martin,” said the Custodian. “It was a Devil’s Altar, a place where the savages
could try to appease the Angry Demon, Charles King.”

“Angry Demon?”

The Custodian
nodded. “My former assistant, Kurtza, travelled to Wormwood on my orders many
years ago. Kurtza told the Hag-Mundi a little about the prophecy. He told them
that the Angry Demon would destroy the universe unless they helped to build the
temple. The plan was to use the relay device to kill all
of the Axis
Lords. However, the Axis Council found out about the plan, and terminated the
project. They took over the relay station for their own purposes. I tried to
send Kurtza back years later to take control of the station, but they killed
him before the plan could be effected. The only reason I am still alive is
because the Axis Lords are so scared of me.”

Mulciber
frowned. “You were going to kill every single Axis Lord?”

“Yes. And I
would have died too, but it would have been worth it to save the universe! The
Axis Council did not see it that way. In their eyes, if they have to die then
so should everyone else.”

Aurora King
stood up. “All of this is irrelevant. I would never destroy the universe, and
neither would Charles. You’ve made a mistake!”

The Custodian
smiled. “I am never mistaken. But I now know that I can do nothing to prevent
the fulfilment of the prophecy. You may leave.”

The two Axis
Lords and the half Axis Lord stepped out into the snow. They started walking
back towards the
Helios
. Martin’s head was spinning. It was amazing to
have his mum back, but all that stuff about the end of the universe…

“He was wrong,
wasn’t he?” said Martin.

“Who knows?”
said Mulciber.

“Yes!” said
Martin’s mum firmly. “The Custodian was  mistaken. I am a good woman, and your
father is a good man.”

Martin sighed.
In his heart, he knew that this was true. Even though his granddad had killed
people, he was good too, deep down.

“It’s really
good to see you again, mum.”

Martin smiled
at her through his spacesuit. Aurora put a hand on his shoulder.

“Likewise.”

“We need to go
to Earth straight away,” said Mulciber.

“Why?” said
Aurora.

“There’s a
fleet of Axis Lord ships coming to sterilise the Earth. We must stop them.”

“Is your life
always like this, Martin?”

Martin laughed.
“Pretty much, yeah.”

They entered
the
Helios
and removed their spacesuits. Mulciber set the controls, and
the ship began to fly back to Earth.

Charles King ran to the door
when he heard footsteps in the hall. As soon as Martin and Mulciber had left,
he had immediately suspected himself of dreaming the entire thing. Before he could
prepare himself, Aurora, Mulciber and Martin walked into the flat.

“It’s… you’re…”

Martin’s dad
was completely lost for words. His mum opened her mouth to speak, but no words
came out. Eventually, they both embraced.

Martin and
Mulciber shared a smile. Martin could still hardly believe what had happened.
It was almost too good to be true. Him, his dad, his mum, and his granddad—all
reunited at last. He had sometimes imagined moments like this, usually at
night, if he’d had a particularly bad day. He had imagined his mum coming home
one day, telling him that it had all been a big mistake, that she hadn’t
actually been dead. And now it was happening for real. Of course, when he’d
imagined something like this happening, he
hadn’t
expected his mum and
granddad to be aliens, but that seemed a minor point.

Charles turned
to Mulciber and his son. “Thank you,” he said, his voice barely a croak.

“Come on,” said
Mulciber softly. “We’ll leave them for a while.”

Martin and his
granddad left the apartment.

*

Martin and Darcy were sitting on
chairs on her balcony, looking out at the stars. The alien ships were visible
now. They looked like tiny golden stars. Martin had told Darcy all about his
visit to the Universal Switchboard, and about Alexander Howell.

“I thought
there was something about him when we met,” said Darcy. “A kind of evil glint
in his eye. I said so—do you remember?”

“No you
didn’t,” said Martin, grinning.

“I’m so sorry,”
said Darcy, looking at the stars.

“For what?”

“For all the
things I’ve said and done over the last few weeks. Being sharp with you,
kissing other boys…”

Martin took her
hand. “It wasn’t you,” he said. “It was Howell taking control of your mind.”

“I know, but I
still feel bad about it.”

“Well don’t. It
wasn’t your fault, Darcy.” Martin smiled. “I can’t believe she’s back. My mum.
It’s so amazing. But I feel so sorry for all of those kids whose mum is really
dead, and won’t ever be coming back.”

“Well,” said
Darcy, “it doesn’t hurt anyone to have hope.”

They were
silent for a while.

“We need to
skip school tomorrow,” said Martin. “Mulciber’s organised a conference so we
can make preparations for the Axis Lord invasion.”

“Right.” Darcy
paused.

“I need to tell
you something,” said Martin.

Darcy frowned.
“What?”

Martin
hesitated, fiddling with his sleeve.

“Mulciber told
me something. A secret about myself. I’m… I’m not human, Darcy.”

“What?”

“I’m only half
human. My mum, Aurora, is an Axis Lady.”

Darcy was too
shocked to speak for a moment. Martin took hold of her hand. But she pulled
away.

“What’s wrong,
Darcy? It doesn’t… it doesn’t change how you feel about me?”

She sighed
slowly. Neither of them spoke for a few minutes. Finally, Darcy took hold of
his hand.

“No, no it
doesn’t change anything. I love you, Martin.”

“I love you too.”

Martin and
Darcy kissed, their backs to the stars, as the golden Axis Lord ships came
slowly closer.

*

Martin King, Darcy, Mulciber and
Tommy entered the gates and passed into Downing Street, walking towards Number
10. Everyone who could help the humans to stand against the Axis Lords had been
invited to the conference. Martin couldn’t help but feel excited as he walked
towards the British Prime Minister’s residence.

“Here we are,”
said Mulciber. “Thanks for coming, all of you.”

“No problem,”
said Martin.

A policeman
greeted them at the entrance; after checking their ID cards he allowed them in.
A young man in a suit greeted them as soon as they entered.

“Right this
way,” he said. “The Prime Minister is waiting.”

*

Mulciber and the three teenagers
sat in the well-lit conference room. They were the last ones to arrive. The
Prime Minister was already seated, as were Agamon and Michael Slater. A bearded
man was sitting at the end of the table. Martin recognised him from the TV. It was
Alastair Weathersby, the leader of the Alien Defence Party.

“Ah, good
morning,” said the Prime Minister, “and thank you for having the idea for this
conference, Mulciber.”

The Prime
Minister turned to Agamon. “Now, please.”

Agamon pressed
a button on his pocket watch and a projection of the approaching Axis Lord
ships appeared near the ceiling.

“You all know
why we are here,” said the Prime Minister, pointing at the projection. “The
alien ships will have reached Earth in approximately two days. When they do, it
will be a massacre. We need to stop them.”

There was a
murmur of agreement from around the table.

“Now,” the
Prime Minister went on, “we are extremely lucky to have three Axis Lords on our
own side—”

“How do we know
they’re on our side?” Alastair Weathersby broke in. “How can we trust them?
They’re Axis Lords. An Axis Lord tried to destroy the Earth last year—and now
they’re doing it again.”

“You doubt my
honesty?” said Agamon, his temper rising.

“Yes,” said
Weathersby. “I do.”

“Now look
here—” Agamon began, but the Prime Minister broke in.

“Please,
gentlemen. We are all here to work together.”

Weathersby
snorted, but he fell silent.

“Now,” said
Agamon. “I have received word that the Axis Lords do not plan to engage in
ground combat. They prefer to do battle from the comfort of their own ships.
Instead, they are going to fire thirty missiles at the planet.”

Mulciber looked
shocked. “As if we weren’t notorious enough.”

“An interesting
point of view from a murderer,” said Agamon, frowning at Mulciber.

“Listen,” said
Mulciber. “We were friends once. Why can’t you just accept what I said? All of
the people I killed deserved it.”

“I don’t
believe that murder is ever justified,” said Agamon.

“If we could
just… focus on the main issue,” said the Prime Minister.

Michael Slater
stood up. It was strange to see him looking so young. If Martin had just met
him, he would have thought him to be in his twenties.

“I have an
idea,” said Slater.

Martin smiled.

“I have thought
of a way to stop the missiles,” Slater went on. He turned to the Prime
Minister. “Do you know about the City of Serenity?”

He nodded.
“Yes. Agamon has told me everything.”

“Good,” said
Slater. “Well, you will know that the City of Serenity was designed so nothing
could get out. That is, until Moonstone removed the defences.” The alien’s eyes
twinkled. “My idea is to switch the defences back on.”

“Why?” said
Tommy.

Slater smiled.
“Once the defences are switched back on, we can redirect the Axis missiles
into
the city. That way, the missiles—”

“—would be
trapped,” Mulciber finished. “The destruction would be contained within the
City of Serenity and the Earth would remain unharmed.”

“That’s
brilliant,” said Martin.

Slater bowed
his head humbly.

“That’s all
very well,” said Alastair Weathersby. “But what then? The aliens aren’t just
going to give up. Once they realise that the missiles have failed they’ll
simply try something else.”

Slater nodded.
“True. That is why we have to set up as many weapons and defences that we
possibly can in two days. Then we will be prepared for any kind of attack.”

There was
another murmur of agreement.

“OK,” said the
Prime Minister. “We need to coordinate our efforts.”

“I will visit
the Axis Council and try to make them see reason,” said Agamon. “If they will
listen to anyone, it will be me. They are still my people, and I want to avoid
a war if possible.” He turned to Martin. “Will you come with me, Martin King?”

Martin nodded.
“Yeah, OK.”

“I will gather
support,” said Mulciber. “If this does turn into a battle, I’d rather have as
many fighters as possible. There are quite a few Axis Lords living on Earth to
round up.”

“And I will
stop the missiles,” said Slater. He turned to Darcy and Tommy. “Can I rely on
your help?”

They all
nodded, and Slater smiled.

“We will have
to speak to the people,” said the Prime Minister. “If… if there is going to be
a battle we need to prepare them.”

Agamon nodded.
“Yes, but not yet. If I can make the Axis Lords change their mind war might be
averted.”

The Prime
Minister nodded slowly. “All right. Then it’s settled. I wish you all the very
best of luck. And I hope with all my heart that we
can
prevent a war.”

Michael Slater
smiled at Darcy and Tommy.

“Well, let’s
see if we can stop those Axis missiles.”

Darcy nodded,
and turned to Martin.

“Be careful,
Martin.”

Martin nodded.
“I’ll try.”

*

Martin and Agamon stepped into
the alien spaceship.

“This is my
ship, the
Intrepid
,” said Agamon.

It was
decorated even more sparsely than Mulciber’s ship. Everything was grey. The man
led Martin into the control room and began to operate the controls.

“We will arrive
on Hope in about 30 of your minutes,” said Agamon. “Please, let us talk.”

He and Martin
sat down in uncomfortable grey chairs in the control room.

“Tommy told me
that he met you again in the City of Serenity,” said Martin, “and about that
portal that nearly swallowed him.”

“Oh, that was
very unfortunate,” said Agamon. “I never did find out what happened with the
machine.”

“An Axis Lord
called Alexander Howell opened it,” said Martin. “He blamed Mulciber for
killing his brother so he wanted to cause as much damage to Mulciber’s family
as possible—which included hurting me, Darcy and Tommy.”

Agamon sighed
slowly. “I see. And where is this Howell now?”

“Dead.” Martin
paused. “My granddad killed him.”

Agamon took a
deep breath. “Perhaps I have been a little hard on Mulciber. He used to be one
of my closest friends. Falcon, Mulciber and I—it was always the three of us,
right from childhood. We were inseparable.”

“You knew
Falcon?” said Martin.

“Oh, yes. Of
course, Falcon was put on trial for escaping Hope to give superpowers to you
and your friends. Then Mulciber was charged with murder. And it’s only a matter
of time before the Axis Lords come for me—I broke their rules, too, by coming
here.” Agamon frowned. “It’s peculiar. It’s almost as if… this was always going
to happen. Does it seem strange to you? Three children, growing up together,
all turn renegade, and all end up on the same planet?”

Martin frowned.
“Yes, I suppose it does.”

“Perhaps our
destiny is on this planet,” said Agamon. “I do not know how, but… I feel like
we were always heading for this.” He sighed. “I will apologise to Mulciber next
time I see him. We should unite against the real enemy—the Axis Council.”

“Which is where
we’re going now,” said Martin.

Agamon nodded.
“I have to admit, Martin, that I had a particular reason for asking you to
accompany me here. It is unlikely that the Axis Council will listen to me. I am
not even a prince anymore. No, I want them to see
you
, Martin.”

“Me?”

“Oh, yes. I
heard Mulciber telling Slater the truth about you. Half Axis Lord, half human.
You are something entirely new, Martin King. Axis Lords have never successfully
mated with another species before. Perhaps if the council see you they will
realise that Earth is more than a community of dull barbarians. Well—we shall
see.”

*

The Intrepid landed on Planet
Hope. Agamon and Martin stepped out onto the planet. It was icy, but not too
cold. Martin gazed at the planet. It was stunning. He had seen it once before,
using Fire Opal’s VDS machine. He had also seen a painting of Hope in a
Victorian shop. But to actually be there was extraordinary. A few purple birds
circled the sky, and he could hear the singing of the far-off trees.

“It seems
deserted,” said Martin, glancing around.