Martin shrugged. “I don’t know. Mulciber seems excited about it though. Maybe it’s got something to do with the Custodian’s prophecy.”
About an hour later, the car finally stopped, and the driver let Martin and the others out. They were standing in some sort of underground basement; there were over a hundred other cars parked nearby—mostly big black saloons.
“Ah, you must be Martin King and friends,” said a man in a black suit.
A woman dressed in black stood next to him.
“Forgive me, but we must search you,” said the man. “Nobody is exempt. I just searched the King of Swaziland a few moments ago.”
Tommy grinned. “Don’t worry.”
The man searched Martin and Tommy and the woman searched Darcy and Fire Opal. Once they were satisfied, another young man appeared and shook Martin’s hand.
“I will take your party to the conference now, sir,” said the man.
They were led up a flight of stairs and along a corridor. The man showed them through a set of doors. It was a large theatre. There were thousands of seats, and many of them were occupied by the leaders of every major country in the world. Martin, Darcy, Tommy and Fire Opal were shown to their seats near the back of the conference; they sat down.
“Look,” said Darcy. “That’s the President of Russia.”
Martin glanced around; he recognised many of the faces from the news. Whatever the reason for the conference, it was certainly of great importance.
Four Axis Lords and four men stepped onto the theatre stage, and the theatre fell silent. The men were Agamon, Mulciber, Falcon, Slater, Edward Rice (Britain), Vladimir Kosygin (Russia), George White (USA), and Liu Jianying (China).
“Thank you all for coming,” said the Prime Minister. “As you are all aware, this conference is being televised. It will appear on every major channel in the world simultaneously.”
Martin noticed for the first time that dozens of cameras were pointed at the stage.
“Now,” said Agamon. “Let us be clear on the reason for this conference. During the last two years, the Earth has faced several dangers. Two years ago, the Earth was under threat from one of my people—an Axis Lady named Moonstone. She tried to destroy the Earth after locating a secret weapon called the Isis Crystal. And then last week mankind faced the most enormous danger in its entire history. My people—the Axis Lords—visited Earth in order to destroy it completely. You saw the ships; they were hovering over every country, ready to begin the attack.”
“But the Earth was saved,” said the US President. “It was saved thanks to the four aliens you see standing next to me, with the help of a young human who wishes to remain nameless.”
Darcy squeezed Martin’s hand.
“The point is,” said Mulciber. “It has become clear that the Earth is gaining unwanted attention from alien races. The planet is safe from our people now, but there is a greater threat coming.” He sighed. “Two people—an Axis Lady and a human—are prophesied to bring about the end of the universe. In order to prevent this disaster, the humans and the Axis Lords must work together.”
The conference went on in much the same way for several hours. The political leaders, who were wearing microphones, all had their turn to contribute to the conference.
“Quite simply,” said Mulciber finally. “We are proposing the start of an entirely new way of ruling. The current system—hundreds of tiny little self-governing countries—is just not sustainable. If we are to stand any chance of surviving, we need to become a whole.”
A few heads nodded. Some of the political leaders, although frightened by the prospect of destruction, were unconvinced by the proposition. The President of Egypt, in particular, was very critical of the whole idea.
“So you expect me,” he said, through his interpreter, “to surrender the sovereignty of my country in favour of some empire run by aliens?”
“In short, yes,” said Agamon. “Of course, we have no wish to break up countries. That would be counterproductive. Regions will still need leaders. For example, you will remain in charge of Egypt. All countries will simply be bound together by the new empire.”
A woman, who Martin guessed was a journalist, raised her hand.
“Excuse me,” she said, “but I’ve been listening to this whole conference and I’m actually quite scared by what I’ve been hearing. You’re talking about starting an empire?”
“We are,” said the Prime Minister.
“The people will never stand for it,” said the journalist. “We aren’t living in the olden days, you know! Empire is an ugly word.”
Mulciber smiled. “Thank you for your opinion. But you are wrong.”
“Nonsense,” said the journalist. “Why do we need an empire?”
“Because, in short, humans are weak,” said Mulciber. “I’m not going to lie to you. You are all weak, and a terrible darkness is coming. You will need strong Axis Lord rulership if you stand a chance of survival. It’s a choice between empire or death.”
The journalist, silenced, pretended to look over her notes. The conference went on for another hour.
Finally, the Prime Minister stepped up to the microphone. He picked up a sheet of paper and began to read the proposition, which was extremely long. It ended like this:
“I hereby agree to transfer full control over my country or territory to the Earth Ruling Body, which comprises Valdragor Slater, Mulciber King, Agamon VII, Falcon Salamaz, Edward Rice, Vladimir Kosygin, George White, and Liu Jianying. Once full control has been transferred, I will remain in charge of my current territories, subject to the approval of the Earth Ruling Body. I agree that the full military powers of my country or territory will be at the full disposal of the Earth Ruling Body.”
There was overwhelming support for the proposition. A few leaders insisted on letting their citizens vote whether or not to become part of the new empire, but invariably their people ended up supporting the motion. Anything was better than dying.
And so it came to pass that the First Great Human-Axis Lord Empire rose from chaos.
Many people think that revolution has to be blood-spattered. But it’s actually quite easy to take control of a country without violence—providing you have enough support. At the most basic level, all you really need is the backing of the military.
Martin glanced at his friends when the conference had finished. They were all looking slightly dazed.
“Did I just see what I think I did?” whispered Tommy.
Martin nodded. “The world will never be the same again.”
*
The next day, Martin and Darcy accompanied Tommy and Fire Opal to the airport. They had broken up for a two-week school holiday, and Tommy had decided to take his wife on a trip to New Zealand.
They sat in the airport for a while. The weather was getting colder, and they were all wearing coats and scarves.
“I hope you both have a good time,” said Martin. “I kind of wish we could come.”
“Well, next time we’ll all have to go somewhere,” said Tommy.
Fire Opal’s eyes were gleaming with excitement. Martin smiled at her.
“Are you looking forward to it?” he asked.
“Oh, yes!” she said. “My father’s shown me pictures of New Zealand and it looks like such an amazing place. It was where those movies were filmed…”
Tommy grinned. “I made Fire Opal watch The Lord of the Rings the other night—all three films.”
Martin laughed. “We’ll have to go on a holiday soon, Darcy. Providing your parents are OK with it.”
“Yeah, that’d be great,” said Darcy.
When the time came for the flight, Martin and Darcy hugged both of their friends.
“I’m going to miss you both,” he said. He grinned at Fire Opal. “Look after Tommy, won’t you?”
She smiled. “I will.”
Tommy and Fire Opal waved goodbye, and went to board their plane. Martin and Darcy left the airport, hand in hand.
Martin and Darcy caught the train back home. The sky was dark when they got off the train.
“Fancy getting something to eat?” said Darcy.
Martin nodded. “Yeah, all right, where do you want to go?”
Darcy shrugged. “Surprise me.”
The teenagers walked along the street, their breath turning to mist on the cold air. Martin looked up at the sky—he was sure he saw a white flash. But there was nothing. They carried on walking.
“Did you see that?” said Darcy.
“What?”
She was staring at the stars. “I thought I just saw a flashing light—in the sky.” She shook her head. “I’m probably just imagining things.”
“No, look Darcy!”
They both looked up. There was a flashing light, and it was getting closer. It was coming from some kind of spaceship.
“It’s coming for us,” said Martin. “Run!”
They ran as fast as they could. Martin glanced over his shoulder. The ship was trailing them, and it was fast. Suddenly, Martin tripped, and he pulled Darcy over with him. A split-second before they collided with the pavement, a glowing light appeared all around them.
*
Martin looked around. They had appeared in some kind of dark chamber. A very attractive woman approached them, wearing a black lace dress; Martin guessed that she was a Thieron.
“Come with me,” she said. “The Emperor and Empress will see you now.”
Darcy grabbed hold of Martin’s hand; she looked very frightened. Martin’s own heart was beating heavily. For some reason, they had been teleported up to the ship. But why did the Emperor and Empress—whoever they were—want to see them?
Martin had a feeling that they were in horrible danger. But they followed as the Thieron woman led them across the flagged stone floor and into a darkened hall. Then they stopped.
Suddenly, a bright light was switched on. A man and a woman were sitting on a pair of golden thrones. They were both wearing jewelled crowns. Martin looked from the man to the woman, hardly able to believe what he was seeing.
It was his parents.
“Mum?” he said, his voice a dry whisper. “Dad?”
Charles and Aurora King were sitting on the thrones. But they looked different. Although they had only left with Laser Wolf two days ago, they looked years older. Charles’ hair was grey, and his skin was more lined. His mother’s eyes looked old and weary.
“Hello, Martin,” said his dad. “It’s good to see you again.”
“But what are you doing here?” said Martin.
“I’m sorry,” said Aurora. “But this is where things get a little bit complicated. We need your help.”
“My help?” said Martin. “Why?”
“Why do you think?” said Charles King. “We’re going to blow up the universe.”
TO BE CONTINUED
Martin King and the Universe Room, the final book in the trilogy, will be released later this year.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Firstly, thank you for reading my book. If you enjoyed it, please leave a review and share the book with a friend!
Follow me on Twitter or Facebook for special offers and information about new releases!
The concluding book in the Martin King series will be available later this year!
Martin King and the Prison of Ice (Martin King Series) Page 16