The Black Phoenix: Chronicles of the Destroyer

Chapter Five: Black and Gray

There was no traffic on the bridge the direction Adam was headed, but he was already frustrated at the thought of the return trip. His side of the road was clear and flowing, but on the other, the traffic had started to crawl. Adam never would have risked the trip under ordinary circumstances even on normal times, let alone Reflection Day.

Adam switched lanes, squinting through the visor. The morning grew brighter by the minute and the entire city was blanketed in reflecting white. The HoloScreens glimmered from the sun and White Crown Tournament recruitment banners flew from every few hundred feet, waving in the wind. Adam could make himself out every so often, in his ash gray PowerArmour. Even though it was a picture, even though he wore PowerArmour and a helmet in it, Adam still felt exposed.

His d.Eye rang for the umpteenth time. It was Iris. Adam ignored the call. If it wasn't his sister, it was their uncle, if it wasn't their uncle, it was his cousin, Elaine. If they didn't know where Adam was every second of the damn day, they wouldn't stop calling until they found out.

Adam had little more than an hour before the Solemn March, but he would be lying to himself if didn't think he was going to be late, no matter how quickly he got to the Old Emerald Watchtower. Madoc would worry, his family would worry, the other captains would think something happened to him if he didn't answer his comm at least once. He'd call Iris as soon as he was done. He didn't like making anyone worry about him, least of all his sister.

The exit into Old Emerald was clear and the time Adam had lost on the bridge, he regained as he made his way into the Old City. Mostly empty except for a few heritage sites and ghetto residential areas; Old Emerald sprawled like a dead limb to the south west of New Emerald City. After Emperor Samran took the throne  and rebuilt the city with his contemporaries, any Irelyn citizens still left in Old Emerald quickly relocated to New Emerald.

The streets were empty. Most of the buildings were dilapidated or scheduled for demolition. Once in a while Adam spotted people at bus stops that were few and far between. They all recognized the White Crown motorbike. Adam felt wary, though he knew he should be safe here, at least for today.

When Adam reached the Old Emerald Watchtower, he stopped and took off his helmet, though he did not turn off the bike. The tower was surrounded by two chainlink fences as well as an electromagnetic security field. Adam peered into the grounds and scanned his immediate area. It was empty.

He was a few minutes early. Green lights glowed softly from the lining of the bike. Adam set the helmet on the dashboard, heart still hammering as hard as when he had received his message from the Black Crown. He had thought he was still dreaming when he saw it.

The sound of boots treading on fresh snow pulled Adam's attention back to the tower. The abandoned site had once been condemned but there had been a protest to ensure its status as a heritage building, yet there was no funding for maintenance. The watchtower stood as it was: empty and abandoned. Haunted. Not by ghosts, but by the Black Crown Warriors.

Seven figures slowly appeared from the wildness surrounding the watchtower. Adam gripped the handles of the bike as he watched them approach. As usual, they wore clothing that would keep them unnoticeable. Today, in the snowy, winter morning, they wore white and grey. Most had their heads and faces covered by scarves or masks. In most cases, the Black Crown groups would have one bare-faced individual. For a while, Adam, and many of the others studying the Black Crown movement, believed the bare-faced person to be a recruit or a lower status member. It took an long time to realize that a bare face didn't signify a lower level member. It was the opposite. The bare faced ones were the leaders.

A s.Crow hovered about a hundred feet to Adam's right. Conflicting feelings shot through him: He didn't want anyone to know he was here, in a strange situation with the Black Crown group, but he was afraid. If anything was to happen to him, if he didn't get to the March, at least there would be a visual record of where he was and what happened to him.