Clash Of Worlds (57 page)

“Before I leave however I have one last request of you,” said Auron. He pointed to his old sword, that James held in his right hand, the same sword that Lucius had taken from Auron two years earlier in the depths of the Dark Forest. “That blade you hold, I have long searched for it. It is something I earned the right to wield after proving myself worthy of its power. I would ask for it back.”

James nodded again, taking one last look at the sword before handing it back to its rightful owner. Auron smiled as he held the weapon once more, it seemed like he had been reunited with an old friend. “Here,” said Auron, tossing the other sword he had wielded up until now to James. The latter caught the blade in mid-air and examined it closely. James examined the dark markings on the blades handle and the strength of the steel. “That is the prized sword of Underworld, the dark king’s gift to his unworthy son. Treat it with care and it may serve you well.”

The Alexandrian reached into his long red robe and picked out a small crystal, no bigger than the tip of his thumb. “One last thing. Here, take it.” Auron handed the crystal to James who looked upon it with curiosity and wonder. “This will give you the answers you seek.”

“What is it?” asked James.

Auron smiled. “You will see soon enough.” The Alexandrian glanced down at Lucius for a final time before looking at James again. “This world will need you now, more than ever. You must keep an eye on this one. Even in defeat he is still dangerous.”

James also glanced at the white haired man. He had a faraway look in his eyes, lost in his own despair.

“But what am I supposed to…” James stopped mid-sentence as he looked to where Auron had been standing. The Alexandrian warrior was gone. James looked around in every direction but the man was nowhere to be seen. Moments later, several number of agents entered the room in which only James and Lucius now remained.

A middle-aged agent held his finger to an earpiece he was wearing. “Sir, we’ve found them,” he said, relaying a message back to headquarters. “Are you ok?’ The agent asked James.

“Yeah…” he replied almost half-heartedly. He had a lot on his mind. His thoughts began to drift to the fate of his friend, and also to Auron, the Alexandrian who had arrived and saved his life. His thoughts dwelled on his discovery that his real father was alive, and that Kara, the girl in his dreams was real after all. So much had happened in such a short space of time. He needed to think, he needed time to take things in. And also, he needed time to think of a plan. He looked into his hand at the small crystal that Auron had given to him and then it dawned upon him.
I know what I have to do…

Chapter 19: Farewell Strange World

Three days passed since the end of the very unnatural disasters that had swept across the continents. The World Order had resumed its search for the missing Chad but James knew the search was in vain.
They will not find him here. He is in another world now
. He had been taken to Underworld, the realm of eternal darkness and that was a place outside even the far-reaching eye of the organisation. James knew he had to find this place and bring Chad home but he did not know the way.

He had endlessly gazed at the crystal that Auron had given to him. “
This will give you the answers you seek
,” he had told James when he handed it to him. The crystal hadn’t done a thing, though. For three days, James, and Professor Milton had observed the item closely but it hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary. The agent had almost given up hope until the third night, James slept, as he had done for the past three nights, in the private sleeping quarters at the headquarters. He had remained in London because that was where the world’s powers had decided to hold Lucius. They wished for James to remain close in the event the white haired man attempted to escape.
There is no need for me to be here. The man’s spirit is broken
.

Lucius had been a shadow of his former self. Sitting silently in a reinforced specialised holding cell. He had not spoke a single word in the three days he had been held captive.
He will not try to escape. He has lost his purpose for life.
Sergeant Cooper did not share James’ opinion however and, therefore, the latter stayed put, being no more than a glorified prison guard.

So James slept comfortably inside his private sleeping quarters. His dreams were a mixture of many things. Of Chad, and Kara and Auron. Kara was far away from home. Danger surrounded the girl from all corners. Something was hunting her and she could not escape its scent. Auron was marching for battle, although where and with whom exactly he could not say. As for Chad, well he was confused by what he saw of him. He seemed like a different person, a man who was showered with glory. Then he saw it. Chad walked through a dark field, stepping on skulls and bones of men. He walked towards a fallen child. The child wept and begged for mercy. Chad smiled and raised his axe and swung. The child screamed. James suddenly sat up quickly, as if waking from a nightmare. Breathing heavily, he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
A dream.

A strange humming sound filled the room. The agent began looking around, wondering what the sound could be. James noticed that a purple glow was coming from his jacket, which hung near to the door of the room. He got himself out of the bed, shivering in the cold as he did so. He tended to only sleep in boxer shorts, and, as he had recently discovered, his genetic makeup ensured that his body was not at its best during the dark of night.

He walked slowly toward the jacket, proceeding with caution as he approached it. The purple glow was coming from the inside pocket of his jacket, the same place where he had left the crystal that Auron had given to him. James reached into the pocket and picked out the crystal, which omitted a strong and then a faint purple glow. The glow lit up the room as James held it up to his face. When the glow was at it’s brightest, the agent noticed a small circle indentation on the crystal that had not been there before. Inside the indentation, was a small symbol, a four bladed red cross, the symbol of Alexandria.

The symbol had not been visible in the crystal until this moment. James had seen the symbol several times now, however, the size of it was identical to one he was very familiar with. Around his neck was his pendant, the object he had carried with him his whole life. He unclipped the chain and held the pendant next to the glowing crystal. The small pendant was the same size as the indentation that was on the side of the crystal. James placed the pendant into the small dent, which slotted in perfectly.

The object floated up out of his hand and purple lines began to emerge from it. The lines began to form imagery. It formed a small universe and star consolations began to appear. The images of two worlds became visible. The worlds were the realms of Alexandria and Underworld. The images filled the entire room, which had disappeared around the agent, turning to darkness. James was familiar with these images from the drawings inside of the pyramid in Argentina and he had guessed exactly what these two worlds were.

The imagery showed the two worlds merged together to slowly become one. Then, something else began to happen. A much larger image began to form in the middle of the other ones. This one, however, was black and white rather than purple.

A holographic like figure appeared before James. The figure had formed into the shape of a man, most likely in his fifties judging by his appearance. James had never seen this man before, however, he felt something familiar about him. The figure was actually a hologram image of Zeris, the king of the Alexandrian realm, and also James’ father. Of course, James didn’t know this, but he noticed that the man, who was dressed in royal gold and white robes, had around his neck, a pendant that was identical to the one which James himself possessed. He had long fair hair that was greying and a fair beard.

The holographic image of Zeris began to speak. “My son, you do not remember me. My name is Zeris…I am your father.” James stood stunned in silence. “I trust you will be very confused by these words, but please, clear your mind and I will explain,” said Zeris. “Your real name is Valentine, of the realm Alexandria.” James attempted to speak to the hologram, but it continued to talk over him. James realised that this was a message of some sort and thought it wise to remain quiet and listen.

Zeris went on to explain in detail to his son the details of the Great War in times gone by, which had resulted in the Creator, Trenkenth, punishing the king by taking his first born child away from him. “I am deeply sorry my son,” said Zeris, whose words sounded emotional and full of guilt. “There is not a day that goes by when I do not think of you. I wonder what type of man you have grown into. I wonder what you are doing right at this very moment. I wonder what you are thinking as you hear my words.” James’ heart felt heavy and his body felt numb.

James had long wondered about his parents. He wondered why he had been abandoned as a child and left to grow up in an orphanage. Upon first escaping the orphanage all those years ago, James had thought about trying to search for his parents, but he had nothing to go on at all. He didn’t even have a name.

“You will by now have discovered that you are different from everyone else. You have been raised as a human being but you are not one of them. Your molecular structure makes you stronger, faster, more agile, but of course, you know that already.” James looked closely at his hands, realising now where his unnatural strength originated.

“The people of our world have many gifts, some of which I doubt you will have even discovered yet. You will in time my son. Use your abilities wisely. I do not wish for you to be singled out for your uniqueness as human beings have a habit to fear what they do not understand.” James continued to listen attentively. “Unlike our world, I know that your new home has both day and night. Act with care during the darkness period for your strength diminishes somewhat, as you may have discovered. You might have confused this with what humans call fatigue, however, this is not the case Valentine. You have great abilities that are enhanced and charged in daylight.”

Kanto now relayed the final part of his message. “I hope I have been able to answer many of the questions that have been troubling you over the years my son. I have no doubt you will grow to be a wise man, much wiser than I will ever be. I live on here,” he said, pointing to James’ heart. “If it were not for my own foolishness…why at this very moment…I could embrace you in my arms.” Tears began to appear in the eyes of Zeris. The king held out his arms as if inviting his son to embrace him with a hug. James, whom at this point, was a little emotionally torn up himself, held out his arms to hug his father. As he did so, the hologram of Zeris disappeared in his arms.

The purple images vanished and the crystal dropped to the ground. The darkness faded and the room James had stood in before reappeared all around him. Tears fell down James’ cheeks and he bowed his head.
Father…

He had always felt a deep sense of loneliness by not knowing his parents. Seeing his father for the first time, although only through a recorded image, had touched him deeply. James knew more now than ever what he had to do. He needed to set off on a long journey, a journey to another world. The time had come to face his past. He had run from it for long enough.

Until now, James had thought this was an impossible task, however, he discovered something else, a parting gift perhaps from Auron. After the Alexandrian warrior had given James the crystal, he had noticed a couple of small engravings on the item. He had not realised the significance of these until now. Four numbers were inched into the crystal, only visible by James’ advanced sight.
These numbers are coordinates
! Coordinates to where one might ask? That was what James intended to find out.

He dressed himself in regular civilian clothing and encased his sword and a large case, similar to that in which a guitar would normally be held. He intended on telling no one of his intentions and managed to slip out of the building without a trace.

The agent exited the building and opened the main gate, which led out of the car park of the headquarters when a voice called out to him. “James!” shouted a male voice from the buildings entrance.

James closed his eyes and sighed, he recognised that strong Texan accent. He turned around and sure enough, Cody was stood at the large entrance doors.

The American began walking over to James. “Where are you going man?”

“I have to go,” said James.

Cody realised the seriousness of James’ tone meant he wasn’t simply going out for coffee. “What’s happened?”

“I have to find him.”

“Who? Chad? Do you even know where he is?”

“Maybe, I’m not sure,” said James. “Cody. Tell no one I’ve left. This is something I have to do alone.”

Cody nodded; he knew James was smart and he would know what he was doing. “Ok, I won’t say a word.”

James placed his arm on the Texan’s shoulder. “Do me one favour will you?”

“Anything,” replied Cody.

“Look after everyone until I return. They will need you, now more than ever. You’re smart, much smarter than you give yourself credit for. I believe in you.” James’ words were spoken in a very heartfelt way.
I’m saying goodbye Cody.

The young Texan did not fully realise the meaning and deepness behind James’ words at that moment, but he thanked him for them nonetheless.

With that, James turned and set off on his journey.
Will I ever see him again? Will I ever see any of them again?
James did not know the answer to that but he knew there was no turning back now. Cody watched him until he disappeared out of sight. Just as he did so, Sophie came and stood next to him.

“What are you doing out here?” she said in that Irish accent he had come to love.

“Oh nothing, I just felt like some fresh air,” he replied hesitantly.
A lie.
He did not like lying, especially to Sophie but he had made a promise.