by Mario Routi
“And you call that simple?”
“Do you not think you are up to the job?”
“Of course I am, but how am I supposed to get inside a high security building like that?”
“That is the test and you must do it alone. Even if you fail, the effect will create enough negative energy to bring the Devil out into the open.”
“I have to say, making a ‘sacrifice to the Devil’ sounds a little cliché.”
“Don’t be fooled into thinking this has anything to do with religious fanaticism. The Devil does his work based on negative and positive emotions. He goes where there is too much positive energy and corrupts it with negative energy. The only way to get the attention of the Devil and to let him know that you are ready is to create a massive incident on a grand scale. He can then sense the explosion of negative emotion from wherever he may be. This,” Marcus said proudly, “is how the Devil keeps the world spinning with hellish havoc.”
“What if the Orizons try to stop me?”
“The panic that an incident of this magnitude will create will negate anything the Orizons might try to do. If you pull it off successfully you will have raised the stakes of the game substantially. The Devil will get you out of any situation that you end up in, as long as you manage to attract his attention. The Orizons may succeed in preventing anyone from actually dying, but the harder you make it for them, the more likely it will be that the Devil will be able to sense what you have achieved.”
“And no help from the Sartani this time?”
“We helped before because we just wanted to see if you actually had the guts to kill children. This job is to make a sacrifice to the Devil, so all of the negative energy must be the result of one source. All the glory for this must be yours alone. If the Sartani were to help you with this, then the Devil would think it was just one of our usual acts. This is to make sure that the Devil takes notice and it is also a way for you to begin to live your life as a Sartani leader. You need to prove yourself if the Devil is to find any use for you at all.”
“Okay,” Ricky said. “I’m ready when you are.”
Marcus smiled, stood up and opened the door just as a lawyer came in with the station’s senior officer.
“You’re free to go, sir,” the officer announced. “We are very sorry for the inconvenience and would like to thank you for not pressing charges against the department. If you have any information at all that could help us, please just give us a call.”
“I most surely will,” Ricky replied, unable to suppress a smile as he walked past them. Exactly how powerful were the Sartani? he wondered.
***
Even before Ricky got back to his apartment, he was already coming up with a plan. It was going to have to be done with chemicals but the question was which ones would achieve the desired goal? Sure, he knew a few toxic chemicals because of his work but he had no idea how to source them. As soon as he had shut the apartment door behind him he picked up his laptop from the couch and began searching for answers online. It didn’t take long.
“I never knew that I had a potentially poisonous gas bomb in my own warehouse,” he said aloud. “This is going to make my job a lot easier.” Talking to himself had become a habit during a long and lonely childhood and was now so ingrained that he rarely even noticed he was doing it.
Next, he needed to find the architect’s blueprints for the ventilation system of the target building. He found them pretty quickly but had no luck locating a rooftop picture. He tried several different search engines, before giving up.
“Okay,” he muttered to himself as he tried to clarify in his mind everything he was uncovering. “First I take baking soda and mix it with bleach. Then I add drain cleaner and - voila! - I have my poison gas. So the big issues are still how I get onto the roof, how I shield the gas from the wind and how I remain undetected while I take these random items nearly forty storeys up. I’m going to need a ton of this stuff as well. The main problem is that I have no idea what type of ventilation they have. I’ll need to reverse the wiring to make the out-duct fans funnel the gas in.”
Taking a piece of paper, he sketched out schematics of what type of roof he should be expecting.
“One thing I know about the oil business is that the major players purchase new HVAC systems every year. This year’s model uses the standard in-duct and out-duct work, the same as any conventional air conditioning system. That also means that there won’t be any recycle machines in the out-duct area. I suppose the out-duct pipes will just need to be covered, but the build-up of air pressure will be intense. I will need to solder it shut. I have to bring along metal sheets for that but I can hide them in the cleaners’ disposal carts. But... wait... who says I have to be inside the building at all? Are there any buildings overlooking this one?”
He turned back to his laptop and after half an hour or more of searching he found the building that he was looking for. It was only five storeys higher than the one of the oil company and it was still under construction, which meant that it would be deserted during the night. Ricky clicked on an airline site and booked a first class flight to Shanghai.
16
Utopia
As she returned to the bottom of the mountain trail, Leylah’s head felt refreshed and cleared by the air, her mind soothed from sitting for several hours on the peak, alone with her thoughts. Her muscles felt pleasantly weary from the long climb down. She did not see the huge figure lurking behind the trees until it stepped out in front of her, making her jump.
“How are you, little one?” asked the Cyclops.
“Mo!”
Leylah ran up and threw her arms around him. Mo lifted her up from the ground and looked her straight in the eye.
“I was with your father and he told me about your nightmare,” he said, and it was obvious that he was concerned about her.
“Yeah. They say it probably means something but they don’t know what.” She shrugged. “I don’t know what to think of it, but I have to admit it was quite scary. Anyway, I’m fine now.”
Mo stared into her eyes for a few moments longer as if weighing whether to say more and then gently placed her back down onto the ground, ruffling her hair as if she was still a small child. “Was the wittle Leylah frightened of the big sca-wy monster?”
Leylah slapped his hand away playfully. “Get off!”
“What happened to that tour of Utopia you were going to give me?”
“Honestly, Mo, there’s not much left to show you.”
“So, how come I’ve never seen you on a mountain before?”
“Good point,” Leylah grinned. “What else do you want to see, then?”
“I mostly want to see the food area, the shafts, definitely the food area, the lakes that Orizons learn to fly over and of course, don’t forget... the food area!”
She laughed and grabbed his hand. “Okay, I get the picture. Let’s go then. There’s a mineshaft very close to here.”
She pulled him into the forest, dodging amongst the trees for a few minutes until they came to a clearing. The entrance to the mine was nothing more than a few wooden beams propping up the roof.
“This is the entrance to the mineshaft,” she said, “and volunteers bring up the crystal ore that we use from here. Then the ore is taken to a special vault where it is kept until a volunteer blacksmith needs to use it.”
“Can we go into the mine?” Mo asked.
“I’m afraid not. There are safety rules. We get to mine at specific times of the day and we are never allowed to enter the mine unaccompanied. It’s too dangerous to work the shaft alone. It would be very easy to become trapped beneath the rock and it might be hours or even days before anyone realised someone was missing.”
“Does anything else except crystal come out of the mineshaft?”
“Sure, there’s stee
l, several kinds of stones and a sort of black substance.”
“What’s that for?”
“I’ve never really understood what we do with it.”
Mo stood for a moment, gazing at the simple entrance. “So this is where all of the crystal comes from?”
“Not really. It’s amazingly easy to find crystal here, although Mount Thunder is still the largest source. I’ve never been there, but Bull and Dad have both promised to take me soon.”
“Ok, now I have a really good idea. Let’s go get something to eat before our match in the arena!”
“We have a match?” Leylah said, wondering if she had misheard. “We have a match? You and I?”
Mo grinned. “Yep! I chose you because I know I can beat you.”
“Well thanks for the vote of confidence,” she stuck her tongue out at him.
“You’re welcome!”
***
Leylah stared across the table at the pile of food on Mo’s plate. Virtually every type of foodstuff available in Utopia was piled up in front of him but he seemed to be tucking into it as if it were a normal meal for him.
He looked up from his plate as he continued to chew ferociously. “I must congratulate the chef,” he said. “Do you know who it is?”
“Several volunteers cook here, but today the chef is Bull.”
Mo paused mid-chew, his mouth hanging open in surprise. “Bull made this?”
“Bull loves to cook,” Leylah said. “He’s in the kitchen right now. Orizons - and especially trainees - make a list of what they would like to eat and the cook gathers all the ingredients he needs with the help of volunteers.”
“Wow, that’s absolutely brilliant,” said Mo, before returning to the serious business of shoveling food into his mouth. “Well, I’m glad that he’s in the kitchen now and not in the battlefield. Why aren’t you eating anything?”
“If you and I are going into the arena, it will be easier for me to beat you if you fight with a full stomach, while I’m still as light as a bird!”
Mo shook his head and then laughed. “We Cyclopes actually get stronger when we eat so, full stomach or not, it’s you who will end up crushed, my dear.”
“We’ll see,” Leylah said, watching yet more food going into Mo’s already full mouth.
17
Leylah and Mo heard the roars from whatever match was under way rising up into the sky as they walked towards the arena. It sounded like something intense was happening involving one of the crowd favorites.
As they came through the entrance the noise was deafening and they saw Alexander standing triumphantly in the middle of the arena, covered in dirt, while his opponent was hauling himself up from where he had fallen to the ground.
“I hope you all enjoyed the match between Prince Alexander and Jake the Porth,” Nemesis said to the crowd as she strode around the contestants with her arms stretched wide as if presenting them to the world. “Next we have a match between Princess Leylah and Mo the Cyclops.”
Leylah and Mo exchanged a nod as they continued to walk to the center of the arena. Leylah felt her blood pumping faster and her spirits being lifted by the cheers that rained down on them and engulfed them from every direction. She saw that Alexander was watching her as he cleaned himself off at the side of the arena. He gave her a nod of encouragement and she felt her stomach flutter with excitement. She liked the idea that he would be watching her in action though she hoped Nemesis wouldn’t bring up what had happened in her match with Alexander again.
“Princess Leylah and Mo - welcome,” Nemesis smiled her welcome. “Kindly choose your weapons and we will begin your match for this evening.”
Mo walked over to the low walls and picked up a hollowed-out club. It felt light as air in his mighty hands and he spun it around a few times, simply to entertain the crowd. Leylah figured that she would have to use the pole again.
“Begin!” cried Nemesis once both combatants were armed.
The sudden start caught Leylah off guard and she wasn’t quick enough to position her pole as Mo charged at her. He swung his club into her stomach, sending her flying across the stadium. Looking up from where she lay, sprawled on the ground, she glimpsed her mother on her throne and could see the concerned look in her eyes. Alexander was now sitting beside Rebecca.
The moment she was back on her feet, Mo was upon her again but this time she was able to dodge the arc of the club by jumping to the side. Mo had her on the defensive, making her jump right, left, and under the club, which he was swinging around like a flyswatter.
Leylah jumped back on a downward swing and set off running at full speed in circles around the Cyclops. Mo lifted his club into the air but Leylah jumped in front of his face. Her swing was not powerful enough and Mo grabbed her by the leg. She dangled in his hand in mid-air for a few seconds before he slammed her onto the ground again, bringing the club down onto her stomach once more.
She grunted from the pain as she rolled underneath Mo, springing back onto her feet behind him. She quickly stuck the pole between his knees and twisted, bringing him to the ground before he could turn round and hit her. From the ground, Mo swung at her feet. She felt the world around her spin off its axis as she hit the ground yet again. Quickly scrambling away, she felt the wind from the club barely miss her ears, which were ringing from the impact of the fall and distorting the roars of the crowd in her head. Turning around, Leylah was caught by surprise and a blow sent her gliding into one of the low walls. She landed far from Mo, giving her valuable seconds in which to collect herself before he could reach her.
Picking herself up quickly, she charged at Mo with all the strength she had left in her legs. Grabbing a small club on her way past the wall, she dropped down and slid between Mo’s legs as he thundered towards her. He stumbled to a stop, taken by surprise. Her pole caught on the ground and she felt herself being pulled into the air. Using the pole as leverage, she vaulted over Mo’s back. As she fell she saw the surprised look on Mo’s face and remembered that this was just a match for show. Even though in a real battle she would have cracked the club across Mo’s face, she let the opportunity pass and fell to the ground.
Mo seized her missed opportunity and brought his club up from underneath her, sending her up into the air. In one final strike Mo brought the club back down and pinned her body to the ground.
The world was spinning around her and she felt as though the darkness was swallowing her up. She became aware of Nemesis smacking her face and returned sharply to reality. Once she saw that Leylah was okay, Nemesis stood up over the princess’s prone body.
“Princess Leylah is dazed but she is not injured,” she announced. “Congratulations to both of you for a wonderful match!” The crowd cheered with a mixture of relief and elation.
Mo dropped the club and picked Leylah up, placing her back on her feet. They shook hands, both laughing as they walked out of the arena.
18
Rebecca’s maternal instincts were still in turmoil. If she had known that Leylah would partake in this way she would have postponed the War Games for the season - at least until she was confident that her daughter was ready for them. As it was, she felt she had no option but to watch and worry. When she discovered that her daughter’s next opponent was going to be a Cyclops she was even more concerned. Cyclopes were renowned for their strength and size.
All through the fight between Alexander and a Porth named Jake she found it hard to concentrate. Jake was possibly one of the youngest Porth to ever enter the tournament at no more than a few hundred years old. Rebecca knew that Alexander had been extremely easy on Leylah during their match, as she also knew that he could take this Porth down any time he wanted. Alexander had his father and grandfather’s strength but he tried hard not to show it, demonstrating a level of modesty which Rebecca thought reflected well on his character.
After allowing the Porth to appear to be winning for a few minutes, Alexander had taken charge of the fight. With blinding speed, he caught the Porth’s left arm and slammed him across the arena with the palm of his hand. Rebecca smiled as she saw the mercy that Alexander had just shown, knowing that his fist would have done much more damage had he chosen to use it.
Rebecca watched Alexander cleaning himself down and saw him exchange a meaningful look with her daughter as she walked out with the Cyclops. He then turned and caught her eye. She raised her hand and he waved back. He understood that she wanted to talk to him and made his way up to sit beside her.
“Will she be all right?” Rebecca whispered.
Alexander nodded. “This will be a good learning experience for her.”
“You know I’m still angry with both of you,” Rebecca said, “don’t you?”
“I know you are, Princess,” he said, giving her the benefit of his most radiant smile. “Hello Grandpa Julius and Grandma Adriana.”
Leylah’s grandparents both nodded to him while their eyes remained focused on the match.
“I don’t know why I am allowing this,” Rebecca said as she watched Leylah and Mo select their weapons.
“With all due respect, Princess, Leylah needs to learn how to be a great warrior and the earlier she starts, the better,” Alexander said.
“What do you mean?” Rebecca winced as the Cyclops landed a blow to Leylah’s stomach.
“Princess, your daughter has been magnificently trained but she has yet to become a real fighter. She’s mainly had play fights with Bull and her father. The War Games will give her a taste of what real fighting is all about. During my match with her, I noticed she was picking up what needed to be learned remarkably fast, but she’s still new to actual fighting. I mean, just look at what she’s doing now,” he pointed down into the arena. “She hesitated because she received a warning earlier from General Nemesis. If she were in a real battle she would have already killed the Cyclops, since she managed to expose his Achilles heel.”