Max wasn't afraid. Well, kind of. He was a little scared, a little mad, and a lot curious. He sat in the back of the government-issued vehicle and fidgeted, not knowing what to do. The ride was long and silent.
Max looked at the guards on either side of him. One had a pained expression whenever he looked at the boy, and the other a look of boredom. Max knew he was safe from most things with these two young men to protect him and deliver him safely to...
Where?
That was where the fear came in. The fear of the unknown, the fear that Max would never see Sean or Sapph or Ally again (those nicknames are from his head, not mine).
Max stared though the windows with wide, brown eyes. The trees were flying past as the sun was setting, and he saw road markers zoom by as he approached his destination.
After what must have seemed like ages to the restless young boy, the car slowed as it approached a gate of some kind. Max leaned forward to look in between the seats in front of him, only to find himself in awe at the mighty fortress that clawed its way from the ground to tower in the sky.
The driver rolled down the window and exchanged papers and hushed tones with the gatekeeper, a wizened old man. Max thought it looked like he didn't have any eyes because he was so wrinkled.
The sound of gravel under the tires crunched as the car eased into motion once more, entering the grand tracts of land houses the great castle.
Max wondered at that little bit. He remembered all the stories his mother had read to him at night in quiet whispers, about kings and queens. She had said to never repeat those stories or she would get in trouble. Max recalled them now when he thought about how surely, a great king must live in this castle, with a beautiful queen at his side.
Well, he was right, but he was also wrong.
This castle housed the pair that sarted this whole mess.
Remember our friends Ty Croman and Shanira Glass?
Oh, yes.
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Max was escorted into the fortress with guards on all sides. They had had him put on these neat gloves that were purple and thick. He was walked to the throne room, where a very angry man awaited, talking to a pretty lady who chided him.
"They had left by the time we figured it out! What was I supposed to do?!"
"Ty, you should have used your head. They knew where he was going and would want him back. There are only a few routes here, so you could have sent out your armies to find them and we would have the whole family all here and packaged nicely."
"Don't snark me, Glass. I am the ruler here. ME."
The guard to Max's right cleared his throat and both figures looked up, the man looking guilty, the woman looking a bit mad.
Both expressions cleared when they saw Max.
The woman rushed over. "Oh my, you must be Max. You poor dear, losing your parents like that. Come, we should get you accomodated."
Max beamed, then faltered a bit. "Where's Sean?"
The woman blanked for a half second, then recognition sparked in her eyes. "Your brother? Oh dear, has no one told you?"
Max looked around then glanced back. "No...?"
The woman shook her head, tutting. "When you showed your friends your magic powers, they were scared, so we brought you here so you could learn to control them."
Max tilted his head. "So why didn't Sean and Sapph and Ally come?"
She sighed. "Your cousin and her friend were part of an evil plan to get rid of the government and throw this country into chaos. As for Sean..."
She looked him dead in the eyes.
"I guess you didn't know. He killed your parents."
YOU ARE READING
Orbs of Power
Adventure(that is a lame title but I really didn't know what else to call it...) Germany has been on lock down for twenty years. Oh, they still use all the awesome technology the rest of the world does, but no one is allowed to visit...or to leave. This mig...
