The Rising Sun: Episode 1 by J Hawk Read Free Book Online

no
further move, and calmly gazed at Grando with his shining sword
still held in one hand.
     
    Wrenching
himself from the spot, Grando wheeled about and pelted towards the
door. But out of nowhere came a sudden swoosh of wind. And the boy
landed right in front of him, apparently having crossed the
distance between them in one effortless leap.
     
    Stopping in his
tracks, Grando stumbled and fell, rolling over in the boy’s shadow.
As he lay there in a helpless, crumpled pile on the ground, a
powerful pair of hands clasped the front of his robes and heaved
him upwards … and he was staring into his age old nemesis’s eerie
orange eyes again.
     
    “I’ve waited so
long for this day.” said Ion, his orange eyes blazing.
     
    “You’re a
monster.” breathed Grando, his eyes wide as he stared into
Ion’s.
     
    “I’m a
disease.” whispered Ion, a nasty smile slitting his face. “And I’ve
come for my cure.”
     
    And with that,
Grando felt a snap across his neck … and the world dimmed
and went off.

 
     
4
     
     
     
     
    Despite its
moderate size, the room’s lack of furniture seemed to expand it
from within. A lonesome torch clutched the corner of the room, its
billowing flames shedding a rich golden light over the entire space
of the room. Sitting in the middle, his still figurine casting a
flickering shadow on the ground before him, was an elderly man. He
lay squat legged on the ground with his eyes closed. His stiff
posture hosted not the meanest flinch of motion.
     
    After an hour
or so of undisturbed meditation, Mantra slowly emerged from the
deepest reaches of his self. He lifted his eyelids slowly,
revealing the hazy white eyes beneath them. But the serenity and
calm that those wizened pair of eyes were known to always bear was
suddenly shaken…
     
    Mantra was not
the type of man swayed easily. He had endured much, and he always
managed to keep his steadiness in the face of any situation. Any
catastrophe.
     
    But this one
made a very clear exception.
     
    The signs were
bad. Very bad.
     
    Mantra’s
mystical intuition tingled, warning him of something grave ahead.
Something dark. For the first time in so many years, his inner calm
was tarnished with an unrest, a fear. For a disturbance like no
other had descended upon the realm. And was waiting to consume them
all.
     
    Mantra inhaled
long, slow and deep, allowing the tension to ebb slowly. And then,
rising, he headed for the door.
     
    __________
     
     
    After attacking
the terrorist base, Ion had rescued Racowl, who had grievous wounds
that needed tending, and had taken him to the nearby village. He
had delivered an unconscious Racowl to a healer in the village, who
had promised to tend to his wounds.
     
    Ion was now
striding down the village’s lanes, which had ground to a complete
halt with the fall of the night. Stretching on both sides of the
lane he was walking through were rows of short, shabbily built
buildings. Occasionally, the row of houses would be broken with a
restaurant, or some other rare amenity found in the middle of this
rural layout.
     
    Scouting and
finding the healer had taken much of the evening. The onset of the
night was now drawing overhead as darkness stirred in the clear
blue sky. The sun had vanished behind the horizon, sucking most of
the day’s light along with it.
     
    As Ion strode
down the lane, he drew out a crumpled yellow chit and unwrapped it.
The chit had carried the efforts of many months. It was all
culminated in the information that lay jammed inside the piece of
paper. This information was what had led him to this day, this fine
day … for which he had worked so long. He had long sought to kill
this one hated enemy of his. And it was now done. The knowledge
that Grando was dead, and that Ion had been the one to kill him,
was blissful. There were few moments in life where Ion had felt
such a bright glow of satisfaction.
     
    After so long,
one of his most hated enemies was dead.
     
    But there