Episode 01000101 [E] – Compile Beta
Fifteen Years Earlier
The City – Royal Dejarre Estate | Hallet Hall | Servant’s Quarters
Streaming down the hall brushing past Giselle, eight year old, Lino Dejarre dragged his younger brother Riuho. Weaving between house staff, they darted rambunctious bumping into her as she dropped the pile on the floor clothes scattered everywhere.
“My My, Young Master, Lino… please be more careful.”
“Sorry, yes, Giselle, no time…”
Lino didn’t turn back just kept going pulling at Riuho who was carrying Lino’s prized stuffed toy elephant, Mr. Ashcroft. The stuffed animal, as old as he was had been a gift from the Emperor given at his birth.
On the fourth floor of the Hallet Hall House, he yanked the nanny’s bedroom door open, scurryin past the antique rocking chair shoving Riuho into the closet as he fell to his knees. Crawling to the back of the closet, he pulled Riuho laden thick with the nanny’s clothes, wiggling behind the many black and white maid’s uniforms. Securing his hiding place, Lino met Riuho’s eyes confirming they were safe.
Giggling happily Lino glaring, seven year old Riuho Dejarre slapped his hand over his mouth realizing his error as he hugged Mr. Ashcroft lovingly. Lino touched his lips silencing his brother reminding him of the danger of being exposed. The offense, their homework, Bowry, the Butler, was out to get the two boys who were presently shirking their responsibilities as young heirs to the Royal Empire of the Pacific Territories. Constantly reminded without manners and etiquette there was chaos, by their mother the First Consort, Julianna Dejarre, her two petulant sons were torturing Bowry for the moment.
Lino and Riuho had run away from their studies, deliberately abandoning their royal lessons on manners because, well, Riuho found it boring, and Lino agreed coming to Riuho’s aid seeing his younger brother become frustrated as they sat listening to Shennen and Bowry recount the policies and legal tenants they were requierd to know and memorize, would be tested in the coming of age cemony required in their fifteenth year.
Bowry, leaving the servants to their work, had been searching the grounds alone for the two derelict boys over the past hour unable to locate his charges, Lino’s hiding ability keen and quite prescient, usi g his psychic nascent psychic ability that Shennen had also been tasked to hone, the two boys in the Outsourcing Program which taught elite students found to have certain hidden “talents” tat the government deemed a priority and an advantage for their strategic and military position in the fight for global power. The two delinquents, sons of the Viceroy of the Pacific Territories and members of the royal family, of the Imperial House of Dejarre, were destined to rule as heirs to the Viceroy’s throne and second in line for the throne of the Emperor ruled by the Imperial House of Illian. But right now, the only ruling these two boys were skipping out of was policy homework and imperial history lessons.
Barely hearing a voice calling his name loud muffled by the nanny’s bedroom door yet sensing a presence, Lino slunk back in the closet watching Riuho’s peek out into the room as he felt something dark coming closer. Lino recoiled, retreating farther into closet wanting to get away from whatever was approaching, feeling a lingering dread. He sensed a presence coming for him and his brother. Looking down at his hands as he scooted further behind the hanging dresses, he was shaking, as the malevolent energy weighed down on him.
His senses heightened, his psychic power the nanny had told him was called a codess infection, reacted, a pale light swimming in a light glow around the tips of his fingers. The nanny had warned him days before on the front lawn as he was playing with Riuho when his fingers had shown the sparkling light for the first time, that the glow was called the aegis, the manifestation of his psychic power, an innate ability marking him as gifted, a psychic.
Of late, he was finding it harder to hide the aegis from the servants, the glow appearing randomly as his emotions were heightened, when he played with the servants or was having fun with Shennen during his military endurance drills, let alone when he was playing with his brother, Riuho. He was losing control of his fledgling power, and it was causing him anxiety, making him feel weird, different than other kids.
But whatever he was sensing now, it was causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up, and in moments like this he was glad he had codess power, a sense that could protect him from danger. He wiggled behind the hanging dresses farther into the closet behind a stack of shoe boxes, the back closet window, light shining in, whatever was coming, it was frightening, his teeth chattering, knees knocking, trembling in fear.
Lino, back hitting the wall, turned to look out the window, sensing something outside on the grounds, the open area behind the servants quarters. The back driveway was a wide open area, the far away forest of the twenty acre estate lined with trees father off, as he noticed a black hover car descending to the ground silently, until it touched down, the side door of the vehicle slowly opening.
A black clothed man in a suit with a brimmed hat with white stripe stepped out of the vehicle then suddenly vanished causing Lino to blink in disbelief, then the vehicle engaged a stealth device, a cloak of invisibility wiping over the its surface consuming the vehicle’s metallic body, the door closing as the man with the hat cleared the vehicle which vanished yet Lino could feel it was still there, sense it even though it could no longer be seen.
Shocked, Lino whispered alerting his brother. “It’s invisible?”
“Shhhh…” Riuho warned from the front of the closet.
Lino and Riuho were wearing black slim-fit suit jackets with the IHS Prep School crest on the breast pocket and shiny patent leather buckled shoes. Their knee length black shorts with high white socks pulled up their calves fastened with black garters were the traditional school uniform of the elite prep school academy that only upper class and royal children, children of high powered citizens, CEOs, diplomats and ministers could attend. Lino’s neck sported a brilliant crimson satin silk scarf tied in an elaborate bow, marking him as the elder Dejarre child, the accessory flashy compared to Riuho’s simple utilitarian black tie.
Peeking out of the closet as the door to the nanny’s room opened, Riuho saw someone enter as he peeked out of the closet. From his vantage sitting on the floor, he could only see the man’s legs dressed in sharp black slacks with satin silver stripes up the side and shiny black wingtips.
Riuho watched closely as the person moved about the room opening the bathroom door then the sewing room door, the legs disappeared for a time then returning to the center of the main room spinning in a circle slowly.
His psychic power screaming, feeling the malevolent force from outside and the hover car now just meters from him, he sensed something wrong. Lino grabbed Riuho’s hand pulling him back from the closet door. Putting finger to his lips, shaking his head, he whispered as he felt the darkness smother him.
Finding it hard to breathe, voice shaking. “That’s not Bowry….”
Riuho ignored the warning. “Silly, of course its Bowry.”
Bursting out of the closet, sure of himself, Riuho grabbed the back the man’s long tailed jacket, wrapping his arms around the man’s waist only to confront the face of a stranger who leveled a silver blaster at the innocent young child’s fohead.
Smiling, the man’s eyes gentled, “Hello, Riuho. Let me tell you a story.”
Riuho curious met the man’s eyes. “What kind of story?”
“A story about you, of course. It’s your bloodline that matters. When you grow up, the things you’ll see, you’ll do. I’ve seen everything in the future, your future.”
Riuho touched his lips unsure. “How can you see the future?”
Riuho moved closer to the man curious.
The man smiled. “I’m a Trance Channeler. I’m special. Just like you. It’s your bloodline I desire…”
Riuho cocked his head. “But I’m not a Trance Channeler.”
The man snickered then his eyes narrowed, flashing of evil sending a wave of dark energy through the room that felt heavy, menacing.
Face changing, irises sparkling to a pale almost cloudy grey, pupils turning to black slits, a heavy presence radiated something evil.
The weight of energy suffocated, Riuho’s legs shaking, fear racing up his spine. He pissed himself, the ominous energy smothering him, warm wet trickling down his right leg yellowing his white socks.
The stranger grabbed his arm pushing up his sleeve shooting him in the wrist with the blaster, shooting him with a tranquilizer dart.
Knees buckling, the injection affecting his limbs, Riuho’s muscles gave out as he lost consciousness falling hard, cheek hitting the floor. The stranger knelt down over him shaking his shoulder trying to wake him, insistent as he whispered in his ear.
“Remember my name, child. I am Isk. Iam a Trance Channeler for the Atlantea Federation. Listen carefully. One bloodline saves the world. One bloodline destroy the world. Beware the Sentinels.”
Lino crawled to the closet door peeking out at the stranger hovering over Riuho as he twitched half conscious his feet jerking as he lay on the floor.
Catching a glimpse of the intruder’s face, Lino recoiled as he saw the person’s unnatural grey eyes and pale skin. His features haunting, his straight shining silver hair and white skin under eth black hat from the hovercar outside. Closing his eyes, Lino tried to block the man, feeling the tendrils of the malevolent ghost rummage around in his mind.
Riuho’s mumbled trying to stay conscious. “Vena…. Bloodline….”
“Yes, my child…” the stranger patting Riuho on the cheek leaned down slowly kissing him on the forehead. “This is my mark. Remember, Riuho, the bloodline, your bloodline…”
Watching as a light shined at Riuho’s forehead, Riuho brought his hand up gently, conscious for the moment then passing out gain.
Lino turned at the sound, Bowry’s voice ringing outside the bedroom door, his footsteps hard, fast coming closer. “Lino, Riuho, Young Masters? Play time is over. Time for homework. No more hide and seek….”
The stranger glanced at the closet catching a scared Lino peeking out from behind the door. Smirking malevolently at the curious youth, the stranger was interrupted as the door to the bedroom opened.
Bowry seeing Riuho sprawled on the floor realizing the threat pulled a gun at his ankle pointing it at the stranger, steel in his voice.
“Get away from him.”
Slowly backing away, the stranger mocked. “Bowry, the Dejarre Family Butler or something else ? Robbed from the grave of the Viceroy’s former sins? You should keep closer watch on your charges, Butler.”
Bowry’s eyebrows twitched, the stranger coming too close to some hidden truth, he glared advancing forcefully. “What’d you do to Riuho?”
Lino came out of the closet cowering behind Bowry feeling the butler’s light to the stranger’s dark as they moved towards Riuho to cover him.
“What you should have done long ago.”
The stranger sparked his aegis to his hands, white lightening swirling around his fingers. He chuckled flicking his wrists throwing waves of pain out in every direction. The attack hit Lino who grabbed his head cringing, crying out in pain.
Psychic energy like daggers stabbed at Lino. Screaming, the shock unbearable, his knees buckled falling to the floor, hands over ears, whining unable to stop the agony.
The stranger cackled prepared. “Remember that feeling, Bloodline. Till we meet again….” The stranger vanished in a poof of smoke, a white paper spell floating to the floor where he had been standing seconds before.
Holstering his gun, Bowry attended to the unconscious Riuho as Lino, the pain disappearing with the stranger moved to the back of the room and picked up the rectangular paper spell. The thin vellum had a sigil in the Celestial Sacred Language of the Prophets Lino realized from his studies scrawled on the front in deep indigo ink as if painted by a horsehair calligraphy brush.
Bowry helped Riuho sit up, keping close watch as he slowly opened his eyes shaking his head to clear away the fog. Helping him to his feet, Bowry led Riuho out of the room.
Lino lingered hand to his forehead, a residual heaviness in his mind left behind from the stranger influence. Moving back into the closet, he glanced out the window again, the hovercar long gone then came out of tge closet staring at the paper spell.
“I wonder…”
“Young Master, Lino, don’t keep Lady Julianna waiting. No homework, no dinner….”
“Coming, Bowry…”
Lino shoved the paper spell in his pocket, running down the hall catching up to Bowry who was carrying Riuho in his arms, having passed out again.
They walked down the back stairs across the grounds and into the main house to the pantry where the nanny was waiting with the days homework. She grabbed Lino by the ear as Bowry took Riuho up to his room scolding as she ruffled his hair.
“Time for lessons, Young Master.”
“I know…”
Lino sulked throwing himself down in the chair slapping the nanny’s hand away as he swiped his finger across the handheld screen in his textbook to the section on Trance Channelers in Atlantea Federation History.
TO BE CONTINUED