Silence passed from one end of the hall to the next, flushing its serenity on the face of the people who sat on the chairs, with their thoughts almost crawling on the marbled floor. They were eight in number, men and women, each an ambassador of their country. While their skin color gave the distinction in race and language, their mode of dressing also stood as a unanimous code, buttressing the difference that now stood as one. They were the power of the kingdom, the very force that held the world and kept it from crumbling. No decision passed without their notice, and no law was made without their decision. From the far side of Caudlin to Bel Haven and to Emron itself. Northerners and Wetlanders. The only absent seat was the one whom nobody was talking about. Arthesia. Those highlanders had departed from the council a long time ago and had forgotten what it means to be in unity with their fellow men. They were regarded as outlaws, men who worshiped and ruled themselves.“Present your

 Coming back had been a mistake. After what had happened twenty years ago, Carlos Stones never knew he would see this place again on such short notice. He had been forced to leave at first, having spent three years in jail, for a crime he knew nothing about. If his brother were here, he might as well call Carlos a fool for not picking the piece and learning from his past. Well, the good thing was that his brother was not here. Like the rest, he had disappeared with the wind, without a trace.Tugging down his hat, Carlos buried his hands into his pocket as he hurried through the boulevards. To say that it had rained cat and dog would be an exaggeration, the August rain had clearly picked a disturbing day to welcome him back to his hometown. However, he had somehow managed to avert them from drenching his coat despite having stayed on it for heaven knows how long. Men and women, children and ani

“This is experiment twenty-six. A new diverse means of making a toad immortal. If this works, then I would use the same method to make Elixa permanent. That way I can travel back in time, and bring my daughter into the present, keeping her alive and well and free from death” The tape recorder glided away from Claudius’s face as he hurried towards the boiling filament in the cylinder. Using his forceps, he picked the filament and dropped them onto the rack on the table. Steaming out from the filament was a greenish liquid, more viscous and heavier than water. “I will transfer project 26 into the subject.” He muttered under his masked face before slowly picking the filament and pouring out the content onto the toad that was in a laboratory flask. Shutting immediately the lid of the flask, Claudius took off his mask and protective google to observe the result.But for the color change—from brown to green—of the toad, there was no notable reaction. The liquid had also spluttered everywhe

Beth was right. Lucas, Mitch, and Alfred were not just loyal, they were an extension of his very body and would follow him to the grave if need be. He had not met Alfred and Lucas until he had met Mitch. The dark-haired man had grown in the streets. Carlos had met him one evening and had helped him with some of his dealings with some street thugs. Even though Mitch had claimed that he hadn’t needed help at that time, Carlos had helped him anyway and had saved his life when he was shot. That was the thread that had started their relationship. It had grown over the years like the bond of brothers. Alfred and Lucas had joined them afterwards and they had formed the Red Heron, with the help of Beth. While they had argued about it, Carlos could see the clear picture now. He had always tried to protect the men, to do things in a way that would not endanger their lives in any form. Yet, all his effort had been futile. And now, like every other thing he has, he has missed the only friends tha