The Empire of Ytilaer

Chapter Thirty-Two - Sweet Revenge

  A cry not unlike Zelia's erupted into the air as a beam of lavender light emanated out of the depths of the stone, hitting Jax directly in the face. For a moment he staggered backwards, dropping the stone in the process. Engres watched it roll under a chair and, with his mind, caused it to roll out slightly, so he could see it.

  Temporarily blinded by the light and disoriented with delusional thoughts flooding his brain, Jax tried to get his bearings as he grasped onto the nearest solid surface, where he glared at his father, and shouted, "What are you doing?!"

  "You fool!" Engres laughed, his glasses slipping down his nose as he did so. "I never did free the stone – I only shut down its power! I'm still its master!"

  Jax staggered and fell to his knees, trying to get to his father, just as a beam from the stone shot out again – this time at Lucrezia, who was pulling a small pistol out of her belt. The beam held her transfixed until a short 'zap' issued out of it and she dropped to the floor, where she lay perfectly still.

  "Stop him! Stop him!" Jax roared, staggering to his feet, as Ashley, the AI, answered, "What would you like me to do, Emperor?"

  "Summon the army!" Jax forced out a split second before the beam zapped him unconscious, as well.

  "OK – we've got to get out of here, fast!" Engres croaked, as he turned the stone's beam on himself and Zelia simultaneously.

  As the stone's beams shot an electromagnetic pulse at them (the fundamental quality of the gem) the chairs lost their power and the bonds dropped open.

  In no time, the stone's master was wrenching the last steel cuff off of a shell-shocked Zelia, who rose shakily to her feet, slowly removing her gag as she did so.

  Engres scooped up the stone as Ashley called out, "Emperor, how else may I assist you?"

  "Turn off, Ashley! Nobody likes you!" the former emperor cried out as the stone emitted a pulse directed at Ashley's interface in the immediate vicinity, shutting it down.

  "It's good you knocked her out," Zelia commented, pointing, as they ran past Lucrezia's limp form on the floor, "because Ashley obeys her, too."

  "Oh, really?" Engres sneered as he and Zelia rushed past to one of the two small windows in the room, just as the tramping of boots was heard approaching.

  Meanwhile, back in Noitcif, King Estevan was standing upon his suite balcony after the meeting, trying to concoct a plan to free his uncle. He was sure that Jax would have put him in one of the main strongholds of Ytilaer and, hopefully not executed him already.... the king quickly pushed that thought of out his head.

  Espen knew that Fleet, Royce, and Wesley had been able to break into the Ytilaer palace when Engres kidnapped him, but that was when security in Ytilaer was rather lax and they were ruled by a carefree monarch. (The last time Tarquin conducted a clandestine spy mission per King Estevan's orders to the enemy territory - via time stop - he discovered that there was a high-tech security system specially designed to reveal and capture infiltrators immediately – especially those coming from Noitcif.) Tarquin's allotted half hour of time stopping wouldn't provide enough of a window to risk a rescue, Espen decided.

  "Dame Rosalind Treegate and Tarquin Hollingberry to see you, my king," the doorman proclaimed from the threshold of the balcony, disrupting Espen's thoughts.

  The king brightened to see both of them, and even more so when Rosalind informed him that they came with news.

  "It is not any good news, though," Tarquin sighed when he saw Espen's smile.

  "Oh... what is it?"

  "Look, Penny!" Rosalind began, handing him a magazine. "Look at the twelfth page!"

  Espen flipped to page number twelve, though by the cover illustration, he had a feeling he already knew what it was about. Sure enough, the headline confirmed his fears.

  Rience Balavan Creates Revolutionary Implant Computer!

  Once again, the brilliant tech giant, Rience Balavan, has engineered something as profound and earth-shaking as the iPhone, Google, or perhaps even the Internet itself. He calls it the Portable Interior Vision Lens, or PIVL, for short. PIVL is designed to equip the user with a computer screen built into their eye and connected to their brain, allowing control merely by thinking and eye movement. Is there surgery involved to have this incredible creation put inside of you? Absolutely not! Mr. Balavan explains that PIVL is installed via a painless pin-prick shot taken at the base of the user's head, containing the entirety of your new computer, which will load within an hour and is set to operate.

  "We are in the beta testing phase," Rience Balavan tells us. "Any small problems will be corrected by the time the device hits the market. Everyone will soon be using PIVL for work, emails, checking Facebook, and banking. PIVL can also be easily tasked with sending you reminders, alerts, and fun news of every kind."

  Watch out, world! Technology has gone to a whole new level, and soon, hackers, viruses, and waiting for your computer to turn on will be ancient history.

  Espen finished reading and stared wide-eyed at his guests. "You know what this means, don't you?"

  "Not really," Tarquin replied.

  "I think I know," Rosalind stated reluctantly.

  "Not only can the operators of this system see through this device out of your eye, into your surroundings; but there's a good chance they can influence your thinking, as well..." Espen trailed off. "We have to find Royce," he announced suddenly, heading for the door.

  "He's in the training room!" Rosalind called after him, as she and Tarquin followed the king out.

  "Royce!" Espen shouted, racing into the knight's training room with Rosalind and Tarquin on his heels.

  The second-in-command looked up, an expression of both confusion and worry upon his face. "What? What is it?" he asked.

  "Could we see the back of your neck?"

  "What?"

  "Long story. May we?"

  "I suppose..."

  Royce removed the battle helmet he had been wearing and bent down slightly so his king could inspect the base of his head. "My king, the doctor has already checked me everywhere for Ytilaer devices. I highly doubt that-"

  But he was cut off as his king let out a short yelp, for he had just discovered a tiny pinprick right below the knight's hairline.