Revolution (Book 3 of POE Chronicles)

Chapter 24 Balikova

Picture of Victoria Balikova

-----------

The plane ride was short and uneventful. I spent the whole journey worrying about everyone and if they managed to evade the UGE and SMS people that we had momentarily dazed. Whether or not Vulture and Iris got into any trouble helping us, or if no one noticed anything after all. It was strange that I wasn't more nervous about meeting the Balikovas, the other side of my family, one that I never really thought of since the de Silver and Akram had overshadowed everything. It wasn't like Victoria knew of my impending arrival like Akram had, or that she had left e any messages or letter. In fact, my appearance is so similar to Akram that it was difficult for me to even reconcile to the fact that I had Victoria Balikova's blood running through me.

My thought drifted to my mother. She had never really mentioned her side of the family to me. I had always assumed that she was born and raised in London, despite the fact that she told us her mother, my grandmother, lived in Budapest Citybase. It was just something that I had never really dwelled on, and now I wondered how on Earth she managed to get to London Citybase. But every time I consider the possibilities of her being a POE, flashes of her and my Dad arguing over stupid mundane things and her failing to get me or Dan to do any chores appeared in my mind. She couldn't possibly be a POE, could she? But if she wasn't, could it be that my grandmother was? What about my three uncles? Not that my mother ever mentioned them much...

"What are you thinking about?" Diego asked and I looked up across at him, noticing his pale face and tortured look. He still blamed himself for the attack at the Academy and the disappearance of the younger children along with Megan and the staff. It wasn't his fault that the Apocalypse somehow had an Earth Elementalist on their side, or even several of them. They were in the dark and it was hard to anticipate their every move. I was still waiting for me to voluntarily offer up the location of their base, but time was running short and I might have to reduce into drastic measures.

"My mother." I answered, earning a look from almost everyone. You could practically see the light bulb going off in Viktor's head, remembering what the Time Guardian had announced about my lineage. I shuddered at the thought of Glenda, knowing that the machine knew exactly what was about to happen to us all.

"Is she a POE?" Viktor asked, and Diego perked up a little bit at this new topic that was as far away as the Apocalypse as we could get.

I shook my head, then stopped and shrug. At this point it was hard to know what to believe anymore. "She certainly doesn't seem like she is." I finally answered, tugging a piece of hair behind my ear and threw a surreptitious glance at Katerina and Saralisa, who were alternately chatting to each other or staring into space in their own little corner of the plane. Basically – the Originals were being the Originals.

Peering outside the plane as we began to descend, I felt my breath caught as I gaze down into Budapest Citybase. It was absolutely beautiful; I caught a glimpse of a white long structure with towers in front of a church and had an overwhelming urge to let my mind wander through every nooks and crannies of it, but it was too far away.

"We will be landing in their private airfield." Katerina said as the pilot announced the final checks before we descended; and I could feel the adrenaline shooting into my veins at the prospect of the impending meeting.