Anthem's Fall

Chapter Seventy One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Gravitas

Floating against the strong winds blowing above the rooftops of Manhattan, Gravitas Nerol carefully scrutinized the streets and avenues of Midtown for any sign of the incapacitated Royal Guard. Gravitas was certain he had seen Darien fall somewhere into this nest of towers, though he was quickly realizing it would be impossible to discern the giant amid the raging disorder and floundering mobs far below. The wounded giant was probably resting in an alley, or perhaps hiding within an office building, his arm hanging maimed and loose at his side.

Gravitas had no doubt the Royal Guard would be calling for reinforcements, though after the slaying of the Lord General, the city would be swarming with Imperial First Class ranks within minutes, regardless of one Royal Guard's call for help. But the fear of more giant soldiers was not anywhere near the culmination of Gravitas's trepidations. The notion of an Epsilon in the city was a larger concern than even a hundred members of the Imperial First Class or Royal Guard ranks. Gravitas could not bring himself to believe what the huge Lord General had told him with that snide and gloating smirk.

The son of Emperor Faris could not be in New York City.

One of the more modern and arabesque buildings under his feet abruptly caught Gravitas's attention. Unlike the main entrances to the other skyscrapers, the pale stone sidewalk outside the front of this glass tower was absolutely deserted. Not a single person was entering or leaving through the huge central doors. Instead, the ant-sized shoulders of suits and blouses were pouring out of a few constricted emergency exits on the side of the building in single file lines. Gravitas glared suspiciously at the incongruity of the bare sidewalk in front of the building. The slow and congested evacuation through the emergency exits contrasted greatly with the torrent of evacuees pouring out of the main entrances in other office buildings. The workers were unmistakably avoiding the main foyer of the building, and there were very few logical explanations.

Gravitas dived down through the open air, passing floors of the surrounding buildings as the sidewalk grew larger and larger in his vision. He landed with a sharp thud and briskly pushed one of the heavy glass doors open and stepped into a huge domed lobby.

The awareness that he was in the abandoned foyer of a national bank barely registered to him as Gravitas surveyed his surroundings. The entire lobby, from the floor to the high ceiling, was carved out of pearly white luxurious marble. To each side there were rows of golden elevator doors, and before him a magnificent sprawling stairway led to the floors above. The big reception desk stood unattended, and several phones were off their hooks repeating faint busy signals. Gentle violin music traveled through the near silence around him, and yet rising over its placid ambiance Gravitas could hear the labored breathing and strained wheezing he had been expecting. The painful moaning and whimpering of an overgrown giant was coming from behind the reception desk. Gravitas paced forward unhurriedly, his steps echoing across the polished marble. He walked around the desk and looked down at the source of the heavy baritone panting.

"So this is the storied courage of a Royal Guard?" Gravitas said to Darien.

The giant soldier was sitting down behind the desk and cradling his limp right arm in his left hand. Beside the Royal Guard were several bodies of people who had been unfortunate enough to be behind the desk when he had burst into the lobby. The giant soldier rolled his head to the side and looked up at Gravitas with a sudden start, beads of fevered sweat covering his face.

"Leave me alone!" Darien cried out and recoiled away from him against a file cabinet.

"Not a chance," Gravitas said coolly.