CHAPTER 82
Hope watched with satisfaction at the disarray in the people’s square. She was pleased with the ingenuity of her shadow man. Left to her, she would have sneaked behind and killed the emperor without the eyes of his guards. But the shadow man had done the perfect job. It had not only killed the Emperor but had played the Nina part well. It also used the people to create a diversion so it could get to the emperor. Causing a riot? Hope hadn’t seen that one coming. It was a great idea, one which Hope doubt she would have thought up herself. That riot had kept the garrison busy, leaving her Shadow to fight off the palace guards and the Firstborn. This was the best day of her life, one which she would celebrate for all eternity. Everything was falling in place. All her plans, it was just a matter of seconds.
Her smile broadened when she heard the approaching footfal
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ELIXA CHAPTER 83
Perfection was the best word to describe the event. From the procession to the people’s square, down to her very room. It was perfect. The last time she had seen so many people gathered together to celebrate her father was on his fiftieth birthday. She was so young then, but she could recall how everything had played out. It was a replica of today’s event, a cloned version of this one. The only missing piece was the presence of the Empress, her mother.Nina sighed and took the photograph sitting on the table. A smile appeared on her face without permission as her eyes studied the three people in the photo. Her father stood on the right and towered over them, and his younger version had a smile that Nina had never seen on him, ever since her mother passed on. The empress, a dark-haired woman, stood on the left and was laughing as well. Her bright eyes were wide and seemed to portra
ELIXA CHAPTER 84
St. Vincent’s streets were the last place Carlos wanted to be. Coming here was a mistake, it has always been a misfit for him. The people and the air and the noise, all seemed off. He had never fit into society, not before and certainly not now. Everything about the street brought back old memories. On the shores of this very street, he had been abducted by the Garrison and sentenced to jail to rot there. It was a long time ago, about ten or so years before he formed the Red Heron crew. Yet, the memory and the need to breathe through an air pipe, instead of the normal, natural air, added more salt to his injuries. He hated the streets. The city itself was magnificent, with its silver tower almost touching the blue sky. Emron was the capital city of Bel Haven and the second most prosperous state in the entire Nine Rings. It was the seat of the Emperor, the home of wealth and power. A drawback to it, however, was the structure and la
ELIXA CHAPTER 85
"How can this be? All of it is impossible. It’s so absurd?" Nina fell on the couch, too tired to think. Her heart was aching and her world spun with confusion. It happened so fast. One moment she was delighted to be home, to be celebrating with her father the Emperor of the nine rings. And then, like a flash of lightning, it was all gone, replaced by a nightmare she had never had. How could this be? Where was good fortune when she needed it the most?"I don't have the answers you seek, Nina. But I must warn you, you must lie low, for now, everyone wants your head. They think you killed the Emperor." Rodian said unfazed by her sob and uneasiness."How can I possibly kill my father? It doesn't make sense.""Many would do that to ascend the throne. There is nothing man cannot do for the quest of pow
ELIXA CHAPTER 86
Damian has never been to prison before, and he hadn't expected his first experience to be among wayward Founders whom society had rejected. Most of them stood tall, with veins trailing the sides of their long neck like tendrils of creeping plants. Their hands were pale and faces as dark as coal. The fairness of their skin was lost from the blistering heat of the sun, which left their skins in scales as a testimony of the sun's harshness. The wall of the prison stood in the far distance. Its edges were smooth and almost touching the cloud. It made Damian wonder if he was going to die here. There was no getting out. Nothing could save him and his friends. This was their doom and end. Unless Molhin and the council changed their mind, and he doubt that would happen anytime soon."Nobody mentioned prison would be this boring," Ygon said. She was the only one who is finding being locked up, funny.
ELIXA CHAPTER 87
"What's his name," Catherine asked looking past the Founders on the field, towards the door standing on the far end."Drake." Vick breathed in before parting Catherine's shoulders, smiling in the process. " Don't worry, he is not worth your anger""How much does he know? How much did Damian reveal?""Don't get sick over that, Damian was smart to play the dumb game.""You are giving him a lot of credit, the deal was to remain quiet instead of revealing the one information that would probably get us killed.""Do be so mean. I thought you liked him""Yes I do, but not when he is dead. I like living creatures.""Hmm, someone got back their sense of humour."Catherine picked one of the cracked stones and dropped them into the wheelbarrow. The scorching sun had failed to hide under the forming cloud. It was sending merciless heat on the earth, almost shattering their skull. And the founders had not provided them with any water or shade.She needed to get away from this place, so sad Damian
ELIXA CHAPTER 88
Catherine's muscles sang with fatigue as she hurried through the empty hallway. Her heart raced with her feet and her blood boiled within her veins. The urgency made her take the stairs, twice at a time. Amid the rustling voice of the wind, she could hear the mockery at the back of her head. The second bell had gone off, signaling the beginning of the cooling break for the inmates and the first shifts for the Wardens. It was their signal, the clue she and her friends had been waiting for.No, never. She thought. It was a trap. She should have known from the beginning. This was never going to work, the Shadowman knew their secrets and was waiting for them to make the first move. The plan had been a mistake all along.Catherine bit her under lips when she finally made it to the last floor. The door on the exit, brown and twice her size, stood
ELIXA PROLOGUE
The sun animated the streets of Bel Haven and as Damian burst out from the alley, swimming through the crowd and giving no care to the shout and curses that seconded his heels, two things kept playing back in his mind. The garrisons that were hot on his heels, and his Granny who was going to pass away today. Having stayed on the streets and giving no care to the old woman, he should be glad that her constant yells were going to pass to the other side of the wall. But on second thought, the fact that Fred would become his responsibility knotted his stomach. If money could buy forever, he was going to steal a castle. He had done that many times, but this was the final stage, a transition to another life, a life which most people were scared of. Elixia can't save his granny again. It had not saved his parents after the accident and had left him and Fred on the streets. Like the many individuals in Bel Haven, his family's case has been one which the doctors had called, irrevocable. He c
ELIXA CHAPTER 1
Blue and red lights continued to hover about them as tones and tones of crimson sports cars kept pulling by. As usual, the Garrison hid their faces under a black helmet, contrasting their red uniform and adding more life to the black strips and boots.Damian has seen the Garrisons before, but not so many at a time. He could only guess that something bad had happened? Or was this about the fifteen Cents they had stolen from Ember's castle?"Put your hands over your head," someone said from the microphone.Fred's hands were already on his head and the fright that dilated his eyes sent a disturbing sensation through Damian's stomach. He was afraid too, but nothing compared to Fred. This was all his fault. He had dragged Fred away from Granny and into the streets. If he had known, he would have instructed the eleven-year-old to stay indoors while he carters for their wellbeing. That way, he would be the one feeling the brunt of the hardship. But now they were in tro