Blood of the Ancient - The Helix Rebellion saga #1

Chapter 21

It was a little after five when they arrived, the area eerily quiet. Logan was certain they were too late, as Raygar halted the spluttering truck behind the Goblin Inn; a pub overlooking the power plant.

The two acquaintances followed close as Logan climbed from the stationary truck, running down a dark alleyway to the main street. The walls on either side of the alley were splattered in brightly coloured graffiti, screaming a twisted message of political intrigue from the shadows. The artwork was sad and solitary, out of place amongst the beautiful, stone-polished architecture, some buildings seemed to reach the sky.

Throughout the day, the Capital was a sprawling metropolis of congested streets, with every shop imaginable; spice huts, fashion parlours, expensive restaurants, and huge shopping arcades. Many of the taller buildings had enormous advertising boards swinging from their walls, displaying the latest in fashion, technology, or a discreet message to behave from President Malik.

The streets below were scrubbed clean, and the surface of the roads was different to the North - they were smooth, without cracks and potholes. The pavements were in pristine condition, perfectly even underfoot, with each individual slab measured and laid with precision. Nothing was boarded up, no cones were wrapped around hazardous areas. The South truly was an amazing place to live – if you had the coins.

But Logan wasn't interested in the city, or any of its offerings of splendour. He was here to find his friends, and these streets and paths would be congested within an hour, so he needed to move fast. He emerged from the shaded alley into the brilliant glare of the morning sun, the orange and pink aurora hovering over the power plant like a celestial bodyguard. He glanced up and down the street, observing a huge brass clock, swinging gently from its perch on the side of Gamuchi's Restaurant. He frowned; it was almost five-thirty, and he was unable to shake the feeling something 'bad' had already happened.

But there was no bloodbath, no bullet-ridden walls, no destruction. Perhaps Rabb was being honest. No, Logan, you should never have trusted that snake! Logan shook his head at the deceit, marginally comforted by the fact Rabb was now where he deserved to be – dead. Ushering Raygar and Blythe into a stone bus shelter, he highlighted the target building opposite with the point of a finger. Great volumes of smoky vapour escaped from its huge cooling dome chimney, billowing out in a cloud of congested smog before dissipating into the sky above. "Well...it's still in one piece."

Blythe and Raygar ducked down to the small window inside the shelter. "Is it possible they could still be inside?"

"It's possible," Logan agreed, "but Will would be parked by that side entrance." He was pointing at the far end of the building, at a solitary door. "And there's nothing parked-"

"There be a van coming," interrupted Raygar, ducking beneath the window.

Logan squinted at the powerful headlights, growing brighter as they came alongside the small shelter. He could see distorted faces through the darkened glass, realising who the van belonged to. "Rhea!" he screamed.

As he went to jump out to wave them down, Raygar caught his arm, restraining him to the confines of the bus shelter. "Wait, friend." They all waited a moment, watching.

"I need to warn them, Raygar!" snapped Logan, pulling his arm free.

"Look..." Raygar pointed up the road, at an emerging van.

"What's that?" Logan asked, staring somewhat confused at a strange swarm of birds in the sky, heading towards them from the vans position.

"That be Malikan Elite," answered Raygar. "Paladin Guard, they called, with jetpacks mounted on their backs, aye."