Eternity's War

Book 1: Chapter 23

Adam and Karen strode swiftly down the hallway, passing and greeting numerous different personnel working for the newly elected president. The villa was buzzing with dozens of frantic staff, all of them swamped with work. Some were desperately trying to prepare everything for the impending inauguration, whereas others were taking the necessary steps required for the change of government leadership.

Adam smiled and nodded at anyone who looked up at him, and they smiled back. He wondered if perhaps they hadn't yet been informed of his dismissal.

They reached the end of the foyer and ascended the stairs to the third floor. Home to numerous vacant rooms and living quarters, this level was much quieter than the rest of the heavily guarded compound. They turned right, and then left, and arrived at yet another long hallway, with the president's suite located at the end.

"There it is," Adam said, spotting a small and insignificant door halfway down the corridor. He thought back to the footage they'd just watched with Guard One of the strange corpse that had entered the villa. He wasn't sure what to expect, but hoped it wasn't a weapon that was going to be used against Archibald or the Athenian people.

They approached the room cautiously. They were the only people in the hallway, but crept forward slowly and silently, keeping a vigilant watch on their surroundings. Adam placed his hand on the door handle and began to turn it.

"Careful," Karen whispered. "Don't open it too quickly."

Something in the corner of Adam's eye caught his attention. He stopped turning the handle. Both of them looked to their left to see Nikolai emerge from the suite.

It took Nikolai a moment to speak. "Oh," he said with a frown, surprised by their arrival. "Mr Price and Ms Bowden. What are you doing up here?"

Adam stared at Nikolai, his eyes wide with surprise. He didn't think Sweeney would be back in the villa so soon. "Where's the president? Is he safe?" Adam asked, concerned for his leader's safety.

"Of course. He's back at West Tower," Nikolai responded, strolling toward them with a confident gait. His gaping eye sockets looked down at them both. "And what are the two of you up to? I was under the assumption that you were returning to Government House, Mr Price."

"I am," he replied quickly. "I was just collecting the remainder of my possessions."

Nikolai took another step forward. "Is that so?" he asked sceptically. "And what brings you to this floor? I don't recall seeing you spend any time up here today."

Karen wasted no more time discussing the matter. "We believe there's a bogey in this room," she said, not avoiding sharing her obvious suspicions of him.

"A bogey, you say?" Nikolai took another step closer. "Well, I assume this word is perhaps an idiom of sorts that pertains to threats to the president?"

"That's right," Adam said. He swung the door open, uncertain of what was waiting on the other side. He only hoped that, whatever it was, it could be used as evidence to prove Nikolai was conspiring against Athenia.

The foul stench of rotting flesh poured out into the hallway, causing all three of them to flinch and recoil in disgust.

"What is that?" Karen asked, distressed from the vile odour.

Nikolai pushed in front of them and kicked the door off its hinges in rage. Light flooded into the room, revealing a lone corpse standing inside. Nikolai clenched his fists and let out a loud growl at the sight of the hideous creature.

"You two are dismissed," he said, composing himself momentarily. "Go home."

"What?" Adam asked, confused. "But what is that—"

"I said go home," Nikolai interrupted. "As your new chief counsel, I'm ordering the two of you to vacate the building at once."

"I don't understand," Karen admitted, not taking her eyes away from the strange and horrendous sight of the body. She realised that Nikolai knew what the bogey was, but he was clearly surprised to see it in the villa.

"Tahlia!" Nikolai's voice boomed from the hallway. A moment later, the woman in black appeared in the doorway of the suite. "Find Night. Tell him to get rid of this thing immediately. He's probably outside somewhere."

Tahlia closed her eyes and crouched down low. Adam and Karen shrieked as they watched her vanish into thin air.

Adam could hardly believe his eyes. He stared at the empty doorway where Tahlia stood only a second ago, wondering how she could have possibly disappeared like that.

Nikolai spun around to see that the pair were still standing there, both with frightened looks on their faces. He flared his nostrils, pondering what to do with the bystanders. They had seen far too much for his liking.

He leaned forward and placed an arm around each of their necks. "Go home. Don't come back here again," he ordered in a quiet and reasonable tone. In one quick movement, he ripped their staff passes from their necks.

Adam shot Nikolai an aggressive glance. His mind was reeling from what he had just witnessed, and he knew that they faced an incomprehensibly powerful enemy. Every instinct told him to leave immediately, but he was frozen to the spot. Whoever these people were, they were highly dangerous and posed a very serious threat to the nation.

Karen grabbed his arm and started leading him away from the towering foe.

"Let's go," she whispered.

Without a second thought, they both turned and started running back down the hallway, away from Nikolai and the suite.

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