Age of Darkness (21 page)

He looked and saw Noah holding off the
soldiers with his magic, blocking rifle bullets and sword blows with his
glowing blue shield as he cast different shapes outward to counterattack. Yata
gasped as he pulled his hand back, pieces of debris crinkling from his fingers.
His hand curled into a solid fist, clenched tightly. He planted his feet firmly
into the ground, and his eyes widened, his body rotating, gathering speed as
his fist rocketed toward the wall. He yelled when it made contact, the cracks
in the wall suddenly giving way as the entire structure began to collapse.
Rocks crumbled from the archway entrance, smashing into the earth.

Yata turned, pride rising in his chest,
until he saw Noah. The man was pinned, and rocks were already raining down
around him. “Noah!” Yata exclaimed, stretching his arm out to the man while debris
fell relentlessly. He could get Noah out of here. All Noah had to do was grab
his hand, and he could yank him clear of the doorway before any debris buried
him. He watched as Noah shook his head, without even trying to reach out, as if
already accepting the inevitable. The debris began to fill up the gap, and Yata
could’ve sworn that he saw Noah smiling before the soldiers forced him down
onto his knees. Then he was gone.

Yata stood there in the dead silence,
staring at the place where Noah had been only a moment earlier.
No….
He
placed his forehead against one of the rocks that filled the doorway, his heart
thudding. Then a blood-curdling scream of agony erupted from the other side of
the debris. Yata’s hands were shaking at his side, salty tears beginning to
form in his eyes, his stomach giving way. He listened to Noah’s screams until
eventually they stopped, and he was gone once more.

I could’ve saved him. I could’ve reached
a little further and grabbed him!
He fell to his
knees, his arms limp at his side as tears streaked down his cheeks. He lowered
his head, beginning to sob. He was powerless to do anything, just like before.
The last time he had cried like this was when he saw the dead from the
massacre, four years earlier. He hadn’t cried when Keimaro’s father had died,
but he hated the fact that Noah had just sacrificed himself to save them. The
son of the man that was leading this mysterious rebellion.
Gavin wanted to
come down here. He wanted to see why he should hate the government. Noah wouldn’t
have died if it weren’t for Gavin. This is all his fault.

Silence. Yata didn’t want to blame Gavin.
The soldier seemed dedicated enough to want to stay by their side rather than
run back to his barracks. But now Noah was dead. A young man they had only met
hours ago had sacrificed his own life for them. What would he tell Z? He pushed
himself to his feet and looked at the pile of debris once more. He exhaled as
he wiped his eyes in the crook of his arm, turning away and beginning to walk
after Gavin. What, indeed?

Keimaro had been running from the guards
for quite some time now. They had somehow climbed onto the rooftops and were
following him closely, yet they hadn’t gotten a clear glimpse of his face. His ebony
cloak was pulled tightly around him, flapping in the wind. His hood came over
his face, creating a dark shadow that obscured his facial features. His boots
thudded loudly against the rough tiled rooftops of the city as he continued
onward, leaping across gaps as Yuri and Lena had done. No doubt they had
escaped already because it seemed that the guard was focusing everything on
capturing him. At least a dozen soldiers followed him on the rooftops and maybe
two dozen on foot, yelling at him to stop running. It didn’t seem that any of
them were willing to shoot him with their rifles, though, for some odd reason.
He would’ve thought that one of them would’ve at least fired a shot, or perhaps
an arrow. It made sense, though. The prototype and blueprints had been
delivered only yesterday. It was a miracle they had already produced so many
guns. The soldiers probably didn’t even know how to use them yet. Sometimes
Keimaro would see soldiers slipping between the gaps of the buildings and fall,
which caused him to snicker a little. Though death was never a laughing matter,
something intrigued him when they slipped and fell. How inept could get they
get? They were imbeciles for following him this far.

He looked around for a better way to
escape, but couldn’t really see anything. Then he spotted a canal filled with
stagnant water that stretched throughout the city. Swimming in there would give
away his position. He rushed forward on the rooftop, but something else caught
his eye. His Shokugan eyes activated, causing a glowing demonic red in his
iris. There was a small crack in a weakened part of the roof. Interesting.

Keimaro reached the weak part of the
rooftop, eager to see what would happen. He saw that the guards were so close
behind him anyway. He had nothing to lose. He leapt up into the air and smashed
his feet into the crack. He lost his footing as the entire roof collapsed,
dropping half a dozen soldiers into the open air. Time seemed to slow as
Keimaro’s glowing eyes flickered from left to right, scanning the area as he
fell. It looked as if they were in some type of warehouse. Wooden bars crossed
the top half of the structure, their purpose supposedly to support the roof.
But they were also good footholds—not to mention, it was much better than
falling twenty feet only to hit the inevitable solid ground. There was nothing
else in the empty warehouse to grab on to besides the bars. Conveniently, the
bars led up to a small circular window across the warehouse, which exited above
the canal. He lashed out with his hand and grasped one of the bars, his body
weight dragging him down. Soldiers’ bodies crunched loudly as they hit the
ground. Keimaro winced as he heard the sickening thuds and began to haul
himself upward.

Keimaro saw several soldiers peering down
through the massive hole in the roof as he balanced on the wooden bar. His legs
were shaking as he moved forward, but he figured that the slower he moved, the
harder it would be to balance. He turned away and began to sprint forward,
stumbling a bit as he felt his balance being disrupted. As he neared the
circular window, he realized it was extremely small, perhaps large enough to
fit a baby. He looked over his shoulder and saw soldiers on the bar already
beginning to follow him, having dropped down from the rooftop cautiously. The
boy grunted as he sucked in a deep breath and dove through the window, making
his body slender and straight as an arrow as he flew through the small opening
and out into the free, fresh air towards the canal.

He closed his eyes as he hit the water with
a clean dive, his body slicing through several feet of liquid before he slowed
into a float. His eyes snapped open, and he blinked when he saw that he could
see clearly despite the slight fog in the water. He gave a swift kick and began
to make his way through the water, trying to hold his breath as long as
possible. He knew that the canal was still and that the soldiers would look
through the window searching for his whereabouts. By staying underwater, he
hoped they wouldn’t spot him.

Keimaro broke the surface while underneath
a curved bridge, brushing his black hair out of his eyes. His iris’s color
changed back into its normal dark brown, and he pressed himself against the
bridge, looking up at the giant structure above him. “Well, that wasn’t that
bad of an escape,” he muttered and quickly began to strip himself of his cloak.
He sighed, throwing it over his shoulder as he began to climb out of the water.
In order to avoid being recognized, he would probably have to sneak around town
to get back to the mansion. The authorities were probably looking for him.
Perfect.

It took quite some time and navigating for
him to finally find his way back to the mansion without getting caught or recognized.
Nevertheless, he did it, and he was still dripping wet when he walked through
the door. Only a few boys and girls were walking about on the ground floor, but
Lena was sitting on a red leather couch on the far side of the room, her legs
folded, beside Yuri. She waved at him with a little giggle when she saw him
completely soaked. “Wow, how did you decide to escape?”

“I fell through a roof and dove into a
canal,” Keimaro murmured, walking over.

“Sounds like you had a fun time.”

“Oh yeah,
wonderful
,” Keimaro
muttered with a roll of his eyes as he raised the cloak over Lena and squeezed
some water onto her, causing her to squeal. “How did you guys escape?”

“We let all of the guards chase after you
and slipped away into an alleyway,” Yuri said and raised his eyebrow at
Keimaro, leaning back into the couch. “You’re too loud and too noticeable.
Sure, that’ll be perfect for tonight, but in a real assassination and a real
getaway, you’re going to need more than just luck in order to escape. You’ll
need to memorize every part of your surroundings in an instant and analyze how
you’ll be able to use it to your advantage for your getaway. You understand
that?”

“Yes, sir,” Keimaro muttered.

The door flew open, and Gavin staggered
into the building with Yata. Absolute silence fell as all of them looked at the
bony naked woman in Gavin’s arms. Everyone began to walk toward them, but Gavin
held up a hand, completely out of breath.

“Someone help her! She needs medical
attention!” Gavin exclaimed, placing her down on the ground gently. He put his
hands on his knees and panted, out of breath. He watched as Lena lifted the
girl and began to race away with other students toward the teleporter so that
they could get her to the infirmary.

Yuri pushed his way through the crowd along
with Keimaro until they stood over Gavin. “Where’s Noah?”

Gavin’s eyes were lowered. Yata took a step
forward, his eyes solid and unwavering. “He was separated from us. Either the guards
got him, or he’s dead. He chose to sacrifice himself in order to save us.” His
tone was harsh and straight to the point.

Keimaro blinked a few times, barely able to
take this in. “What? Are you serious? What in the hell were you guys doing?
Being chased by guards? I thought that Noah was just taking you guys to show you
why the government should be hated, not a secret mission! And who was that
naked girl that you brought in? She looks as if she hasn’t eaten for weeks!”

“Kei, calm down.”

“I won’t calm down! One of our comrades
just died!” Keimaro snarled, pointing at the door. “We should head out there
and go—”

Yuri slammed his fist solidly into Keimaro’s
face, his body rotating and sending the boy flying backward. Keimaro hit the
ground hard on his back. Yuri pulled back his fist as the crowd of assassins
around them gaped. They watched Keimaro, who was grabbing at his face and
gasping.

“Hey,” the werewolf snarled simply, raising
his fist. “When you said you would work with us, I told you I would help make
everything work out. But you listen to what I say, got it? This isn’t your lone
wolf thing anymore! You’re with a group. And you listen to me.”

Keimaro pushed himself upward, his eyes
flashing red. “I don’t work for anyone, and no one is my superior. I choose to
be here because you benefit me. I don’t support your freaking cause or—”

“Do you want to see your sister again?”
Yuri snapped.

Keimaro’s heart thumped, and he lowered his
head, glaring at Yuri with even more hatred. His hands were tightened into
fists that trembled at his side, burning rage flaring up in his chest. He
exhaled through his nose and released his hatred for a moment, his fists
relaxing into limp hands. He didn’t bother answering, knowing that Yuri knew
the answer for him.

“You’re dismissed until tonight,” Yuri said
simply, one hand in his pocket. “Go explore the tower and its many public
rooms. It has many services to offer that could possibly interest you. However,
you will leave the issues regarding your two friends to me. Is that understood?
In exchange for your cooperation, we will return your sister. We promise.”

“Promises aren’t always kept.”

“Ours are.”

Keimaro pushed himself to his feet, rubbing
the bruise on his cheek from the punch. He turned away from Yuri and began to
walk off into the crowds of boys and girls from the rebellion who dispersed as
soon as he walked past.

Every door on the first floor of the tower
was supposedly public, and there were dozens of them. Trying to get his mind
off of that humiliating event, he opened a random door that led into what
looked like a feasting hall. Without doubt, some type of enchantment had been
placed on this mansion. The feasting hall alone looked larger than what the
mansion would be able to hold. The ceiling stretched up infinitely; magic again
enabled actual clouds to hover in place of a ceiling. The boy didn’t even
bother questioning the limits of magic.

At the moment, the angered boy was in no
mood to marvel incredulously at the magnificence of the wonders around him.
Rather, he went and got a keg of beer from a table of what seemed like unlimited
refreshments and sat down at one of the longer stretching tables in solitude,
separating himself from the rest of the boys and girls that were eating
together.

Keimaro took a heavy gulp of his beer,
wincing as he felt an odd burn from the strength of the alcohol. What kind of a
beer was this? He set down the keg angrily, shaking the table with a bang.
Who
the hell does Yuri think he is, bossing me around? We have just met. He is not
my superior, and thinking that he will save my sister is foolish. I don’t even
know whether or not she is alive. And now Noah is dead. Perfect. More and more
lives are lost, and that old man Z probably won’t take the news too lightly,
especially since it was his son.
He took a couple more swigs and closed his
eyes, exhaling through his nose.
All I have to do is do what they say until
Mai is safe. Then I can do whatever I want. I can even kill everyone here.

There was a second bang, and Keimaro
watched a boy plop down on the seat beside him. The boy had a long scar across
his right eye but nevertheless wore a smile across his face. His hair was light
blond and rather short, slicked back with some type of fancy oils that probably
came from nobility. His clothes also indicated that he was from a rich class.
His garment consisted of multicolored silks of blue, red, and white.

He flashed a warm smile in Keimaro’s
direction. “You must be new around here. I haven’t seen you before! What’s your
name?”

Keimaro tried to ignore the noble, but the
boy rambled on. “My name is Aladdin. I am a noble from the upper district, but
I came here when Z offered me this incredible opportunity to become something
more than just a lazy, fat old man sitting on my bum all day. I don’t want to
be like my father. I want to be much more, someone big and powerful!”

Keimaro scoffed, glancing at Aladdin from
the corner of his eye. “So? That’s why you joined the rebellion? So that you
can become something more than just a fat lard?”

Aladdin smirked. “Not just that. There’s
more to me than just that. But overall, I want power—power to destroy my
enemies. Not just magical power. I want political power as well. I want to
obliterate my opponents, but I also want to inscribe my name in history,” he
said with a bright smile, flashing perfect white teeth. “I want to become king.”

Keimaro almost choked on his beer and
coughed a few times before he set down the mug, looking at Aladdin only to find
that the noble was completely serious. He smiled. How interesting. “Well, I’m
sorry to spoil your dream then. The only person to assassinate the king will be
me. I have a personal accord to settle with that old man. It’s good that you
aren’t like him, a fat old man sitting on a throne wasting his days signing useless
laws and filling his belly with the finest foods, ripping his rich silks from
how big he gets. How is it to be a noble?” He remembered the poor man on the
side of the road who had been practically starved to death, his ribs caving in to
his own body. Keimaro’s eyes flashed a fiery red. “You guys just have
everything, don’t you? What, your rich father doesn’t keep tabs on your
whereabouts? Is that how you’re here?”

“Quite hostile, aren’t you?” Aladdin said
with a shrug, understanding. “I wouldn’t blame you. Not many like the nobles
since they take so much of the wealth in this city and leave so little for the
rest of the people. When I become king, I intend to change that. I want to alter
this social structure that we have. Why should one family be more revered than
another? Why should someone be king who doesn’t even deserve the throne? My
reign will change everything,” he beamed, “and what is your goal?”