The Rising Sun: Episode 5 (6 page)

“I’m sorry,” said Ranor, shaking his head.
“Even if I wanted to, the truth is I can’t.”

“Can’t you?” asked Mantra.

“I don’t know where the Xeni have placed the
other bombs,” Ranor paused, and his voice dropped lower. “You see,
our two leaders happen to be far more intelligent than you might
imagine. They didn’t even tell us the location of the ten bombs.
The Xeni who installed the bombs only knew their own’s location.
That way, even if one of us were to be found or captured, the
location of the other nine bombs would still be safe.”

“You know the location of one bomb – this
one.” said Mantra. “The one in Armono.”

“Why else would I be here?”

“Then I’m afraid you’re telling me its
location,” said Mantra. “Before I give you your quick exit.”

“The time for quick exits are over, Mantra.”
said Ranor gravely. “You’ll see when yours arrives. And in either
case, even if you do get this bomb, there’s no chance you’ll manage
to find and stop all others in time. You, single handedly.”

The meanest twitch of Mantra’s lip occurred.
“You make a very slight mistake in thinking I’m single handed.”

“Of course,” drawled Ranor, laughing. “The
Nyon always have … the power of Elderon or some nonsense by your
side always, don’t you? Or you think you do.”

There was a brief pause, in which Mantra’s
smile widened very slightly. “Yes, we do …”

Ranor felt his laughter grow louder, almost
booming over the chatter of the rest of the restaurant. “Well, good
luck getting Elderon to save you from this now, old man.”

“Tell me the location of the bomb, and both
of us can leave this place in one fit piece.” Mantra said, leaning
forward very slightly. “Because you aren’t leaving, unless I want
you to.”

“Yes, I am.” Without warning, Ranor threw his
hands forth, and his
smash
blew the entire table and chairs
behind it backwards, with Mantra soaring off along with them. He
landed on the table behind him on his feet, steadying himself at
lightspeed, before pelting back at Ranor. A stunned silence
enveloped the entire restaurant, with some of the waiters dropping
the dishes they were carrying – the revelation of two mystics in
the middle of Armono was the last thing anyone in this room had
dared imagine. Ranor had his sword out and ignited as Mantra hurled
over him with his own. The
cling
of their blades meeting
rang loudly over the air, sparks bursting from where they met.

Ranor focussed every ounce of his energy and
gave a brush of his hand: Mantra was thrust to the side by an
invisible force, leaving Ranor to race off across the place.

Without even waiting to open the glass door
to the balcony, Ranor dashed right into it, the glass exploding
over him.

The large balcony stretched out elegantly,
almost as wide as a separate room in itself. There were vehicles
parked all over it, cars and bikes and a few boards.

A man on a hover bike skimmed to a stop just
before Ranor. He had slowly begun to climb off his bike when
Ranor’s fist sent him flying off. Ranor threw himself over the
man’s bike and raced off over the balcony and into the air.

The wind skimmed past him as he spun the
throttle harder, soaring over the city’s towers and weaving through
the other vehicles at this level of the sky.

He cast a fleeting glance back to find Mantra
on another bike far behind him, closing in fast.

“You’re never gonna catch me, you old swine.”
Smirking, he took the bike to its fullest throttle. Swerving to the
right, he entered a well gathered stream of vehicles and merged
into it. He knew that it would be harder for Mantra to spot him
here, cluttered along with a host of other vehicles.

He slowed down his speed, now levelling it
with that of the other vehicles flying be alongside him. A glance
backwards told him that his detour had shaken off Mantra, who was
probably flying on in a completely different direction.

Feeling the smile widen on his face, he
lowered the bike’s throttle even more. A lavishly coated hover car
slid forth by his side, moving faster than the rest of the
vehicles. Ranor felt his eyes stray to the window of the car, and
his blood froze like ice…

Sitting inside the car were watchmen.

Watchmen.

For a stunned, reeling moment, Ranor gaped at
them, feeling their flaming silhouettes imprint on his mind.

And without another second’s notice, the
watchmen’s hover car swung to the right, colliding with his bike …
and taking him off it.

A scream ripping his throat, Ranor fell
through the air into a four hundred metre plummet. The world above
him, the towers of the city, and the stream of vehicles overhead
swum as he twisted around in freefall…

And then the roar of an electric engine
sounded over his scream, and he felt the hover car with the
watchmen diving forth along with him. One of them threw an arm out,
grasping a handful of his robes. The car broke its fall violently,
sending a jolt through Ranor. The hand holding his robes clasped
harder as the hover car swung into a straight line motion ahead.
Ranor dangled by the side of the car, held by one of the watchmen,
as the car sailed across.

The hover car slowed over one of the towers,
and the hand holding Ranor loosened, letting him fall. Ranor
thudded heavily to the ground and scurried back to his feet. But
the doors of the car flew open and four watchmen jumped out,
landing around him. Exiting from the backseat after them came a
golden haired Brownling whom he recognised as another of the Nyon
masters. Another survivor of their brotherhood.

“Good job, boys.” the Nyon told the four
watchmen surrounding Ranor.

This can’t be happening.
thought
Ranor, as he digested what he was seeing.

The watchmen…

They had returned…

The four of them let their beady, fiery eyes
drill into him as they stood around him on the large roof, their
glowing forms seeming to flicker like flame woven flesh.

And then came the gentle buzz of another
electrical engine from a shrinking distance. It took Ranor a second
or two before he could tear his eyes from the creatures around him
and turn.

Mantra had arrived on his hover bike, landing
softly right before where he and the watchmen stood.

“Like I said,” he chuckled as he dismounted
the bike. “we
do
have the power of Elderon by our side,” His
eyes swiped the four watchmen. “Literally. Now, allow me to repeat
for the last time,” He walked up slowly and stood glaring at Ranor
a foot from him. “Where is the bomb?”

Faced with no other choice, Ranor told him.
Mantra sent one of the watchmen to the location to destroy the
bomb. He, the Brownling and the other three watchmen lingered to
remain behind with him.

“Now,” said Mantra, stepping closer to him
while the other four stood around him, guarding him from running.
“we are desperately in need of some more vital information that we
both know you’re hiding from us … you can either reveal it now, or
– “ His eyes strayed beyond the roof. “We’ll allow you to complete
that fall we unceremoniously interrupted you in.”

The watchmen took a step closer behind him,
their fiery eyes seeming to scald his back from where they stood
itself.

“All right,” Ranor panted, holding up both
hands. “All right … I do have something to help you find the other
nine bombs. But even if I do, you’ll have a hard time trying to
find the bombs in each of the ten planets.”

“Don’t waste your worries on that.” said
Dantox, cracking his knuckles as he walked forward. “Instead, worry
that your information might not be satisfactory for us … because if
it isn’t…”

The watchmen stepped closer, and Ranor raised
his hands higher, feeling sweat coat the side of his neck. “No!
It’ll be satisfactory.”

Mantra nodded. “It better be. Talk. How can
we find the other bombs?”

“All right … I’ll tell you what you need to
know. It’ll be enough.” Ranor swallowed a quick breath and took on
a steadier voice. “The Xeni have got a hold over plenty of
terrorist and crime organisations. Over the millennia, they’ve been
breeding their powers, slowly extending a hold over half of the
criminal underworld. And right now, they’ve reached a very powerful
state through all of them. Through their criminal connections.
Among these criminal organisations, they had a particular one
involved for the placing of the bombs. And it’s the head of this
organisation that you’ll need to find. This crime lord is the one
responsible for displacing the bombs across the ten planets. I was
here only to have it
checked
, the bomb here in this planet.
This guy knows the location of all the bombs. Get to him, and
you’ll have everything you need.”

Mantra nodded, his brow pressed together in a
frown. “I like where this is heading. Keep talking.”

When Ranor had finished disclosing this
person’s identity, and his location, Mantra had knocked him out
with a swift swing of his fist. Then, he left him tied up in heavy
chains and gagged at the corner of the building, so that when he
woke, he would be as useless to his side as he was now. Then,
turning to Nano, one of the two remaining watchmen here on the
roof, Mantra nodded.

“We have our target. The man the Xeni’s just
spoken of is a quick way out of this mess. Who knew, this might
have been easier than we thought.”

Nano gave a sharp nod and said, “For the sake
of mankind, we must hope it is…”

“The rest of the army is waiting outside this
city.” Dantox reminded them.

“Of course they are,” said Mantra. “We had
decided to bring only a small handful for this small task. If we
brought the entire army in, it would have scared the people here
half to death. And I doubt they need any more death scares.”

“I’ll contact them, and have them follow us
now.” Nano said.

“Well,” said Mantra, his mind now stiffening
with focus. “we know who we need to find to end this madness. Let’s
go get him.”

“And give him the surprise of a lifetime.”
added Dantox.

And together, they entered the hover car,
which leapt off the roof, and went streaking back through the sky
again.

Meanwhile, a billion miles away, a great
orange ship shaped like a falcon tore through space at a speed far
faster than any other ordinary one could have achieved. Inside it,
Ion sat on the pedestal in grim focus, staring at the four screens
on the table opposite to him. On all four of them, the pitch black
expanse of space was mirrored.

Ion was watching the four blank screens for a
long time, his mind controlling the systems of the ship. For the
slightest second, a prickle of boredom arose within him. And it
stirred the sleepy side of him that he had put at bay for nearly
two days now.

Pushing the boredom aside, Ion sat straight
and pulled himself together. He knew that the ship could be set on
autopilot, allowing him to roam about the hull and do as he pleased
without staring at the four black screens opposite. But doing so
would be a sign of weakening focus, and that was the one thing he
would not let happen. He knew that this was the period would test
his resolve and focus like never before, and whatever be the price,
he would not let himself falter.

Swallowing a quick breath, he ran through the
course of the plan. He would reach Velrox in about an hour now. And
he would land at the outskirts of one of the villages in the
planet. And then wait for the priest, Nalzes, to meet him. When
Nalzes reached him, the two of them would fly to the nearby planet,
Garnor, where the mystical tablet was, which Mantra had told him
of. Nalzes would then use the tablet to destroy the plague crystal
once and for all … and set them all free.

Ion could feel a flicker of tension as his
imagination roved over the space of time that came between here,
and his arrival the planet Velrox. He knew that reaching Velrox
safely and delivering the crystal to Nalzes was the most important
task he had in his entire life. And nothing could go wrong in
between.

He pulled the crystal out of his pocket and
stared at it grimly for a second. Setting the ship on autopilot for
a second, he rose from the pedestal, exiting the strange bubble
encasing it. He crossed the distance between the pedestal and the
table in front and placed the crystal right before one of the four
screens. He knew that this would serve as a constant visible
reminder of the intensity of what was now happening. And what was
at stake.

__________

“An orange ship shaped like a falcon passed
one of our invisible hotspots … and was found positive on mystical
energy readings. Highly positive.” The voice on the z-com stopped
to heave a deep breath. “We think we’ve just found a mystic
travelling across space somewhere at the edge of the inner
spectrum.”

Naxim officer Vrrad lowered the z-com very
slowly. For a second, he almost considered wondering if he was
hearing right. But sadly, he knew he was.