Perspectives

Chapter 47

The fact that the room was full of people, only made the silence that surrounded Kalen that more weighty. Looking around he could see that about half pairs of eyes were settled on him, while the other half were fixed on the Commander of the Pervicacious. 

With an awkward clearing of his throat, Kalen decided the break the silence. "Um--I suppose you must be the Commander then..." He began rather weakly. 

The Commander nodded, "My name is Kora Dawcett, and despite what you told Lex, yours is not Dane Rayler." Kalen's breath caught in his throat. "Did you really think I would not recognize the son of the Baron and Baroness?" She asked, raising a single thin eyebrow. 

To be honest, Kalen had been unsure whether or not his face would be recognized. After all he was just the son of nobility and had never done anything particularly newsworthy. But after the bartender and Lex had seemed not to know who he was, Kalen had assumed no one else would either. 

"I do not appreciate being lied to Kalen Stenton." Commander Dawcett stated firmly. 

Kalen glanced out of the corner of his eye to see Lex step out from behind Kalen. "Commander, you have my deepest apologies, I had no idea--" He began but was halted by a raise of the Commander's hand. 

"No need for apologies." She told him. "The future Baron was foolish to have come here." 

Kalen lifted his hands in a placating gesture. "Please, I swear I was going to tell you who I really was once I got here." He insisted. "I knew you would never agree to meet with me if you knew who I really was." 

Dawcett wore a highly skeptical expression on her face. "You expect me to believe you come peacefully?" She questioned. 

"What possible benefit could there be in me coming here alone like this?" Kalen demanded.

"Commander, if I may," A broad shouldered bearded man standing to the right of Dawcett intervened, "It is quite possible that this boy was followed here by Sovereign agents." 

An indignant huff came from Lex, "You really think I'm naive enough to allow myself to have been tailed?" 

"Mistakes can always occur." The man replied. 

"That's enough, Zale." The Commander ordered sharply. "I would not have permitted Lex to bring an unknown person here if I did not trust him not to be followed." She explained.

Zale looked like he wanted to argue but seemed to think better of it and held his tongue. The more Kalen looked at the man the more familiar he seemed. After several long moments of staring Kalen finally remembered having seem him featured on the Sovereign Most Wanted List, right below the faceless Commander. 

"Do you really think the Sovereign Council would send teenage son of nobility to infiltrate the Pervicacious?" Kalen asked. Hell, Kalen's parents hardly even trusted him to just be able to speak in front of the council.

Dawcett stood silently for a moment before nodding, "Perhaps not, but if you are not here on behalf of the council then why have you come?" 

Kalen took in a deep breath. This was it, this was where he had to convince the leader of the most dangerous group in Amasis to help him. He had rehearsed what he was going to say a billion times in his head, he had no clue whether it would be enough to convince the Commander. 

The crowd stared at him expectantly. "Well speak, boy." Zale growled. 

Kalen took one more moment to steady his breathing, and then, "Commander, I've come to tell you everything I know about Lord Rothgard."

~

There was a warm breeze in the air that tousled the chestnut colored strands of Piper's hair. The uncomfortable summer heat of the past few days was a distant memory compared to the perfectly pleasant weather of now. 

When Piper opened her eyes the first thing she saw was the completely cloudless blue sky above her. She could feel soft blades of grass brushing against the skin of her bare arms and legs. She pushed herself up into a sitting position and took in her surroundings. A cute wooden fence enclosed the area of grass she sat in the middle of. Noticing the familiar black cherry tree in the corner, Piper realized she was in the backyard at her mom's house. 

In that moment Piper began to wonder why she didn't spend more time in the backyard, it was so...pleasant. The beautiful weather, the sound of the wind and birds singing, even just the simple smell of the outdoors was enough to make Piper want to pick up gardening or something. 

Piper was ready to just basking in the moment. She leaned back onto her elbows and shut her eyes, just feeling the warm sun on her skin. After a few minutes she reopened her eyes, and her blood ran cold. 

The once clear blue sky had turned an angry shade of gray, filled with dark looming clouds. The warmth had completely gone, replaced with a chill that made the hair on Piper's arms stand on end. The noise was the worst. The soft peaceful sounds of nature were no more. Loud booming sounds and echoing screams bombarded Piper's ears. Fear flooded her system as she scrambled to her feet. 

It was then that she saw the massive humanoid shape in front of her in the distance. A skyscraper sized man destroying a suburban house with just a swift kick of his foot. To the right, a giant woman held a screaming couple in her fist that she had just plucked out of a now roofless house. 

A deafening crash sounded behind Piper. She whipped around just in time to see a massive dress shoe lifting up off of the rubble of what had once been her home. She wanted to scream but she couldn't seem to get it out. 

Slowly Piper lifted her gaze to the heavens to see the face of the one who had just destroyed her home. Staring down at her with a malicious grin on his face--was Kalen. 

"You really thought I cared about you?" His voiced boomed like thunder. "You're nothing more than an insignificant scrap." Before Piper could move an inch, Kalen was bending down, his hand reaching out towards her. A scream finally ripped through her throat as his fingers wrapped around her and plucked her into the air. 

Piper was lifted up in front of Kalen's face, his handsome features twisted into a merciless sneer. "You were a fun toy for awhile, but now I think I've grown tired of you." He chuckled. "This time I won't be catching you." And with that, he unfurled his fingers from around Piper. 

A rush of air flew past her as she fell. The world blurred by, a smear of colors and a cacophony of destruction and screams. And then the ground came rushing up to meet her. 

Just when the moment of impact came, Piper's eyes flew open and she sat bolt upright, drenched in a cold sweat. Looking around Piper realized she was still locked up in a cage in the lab and everything she had just experienced had been nothing more than a horrific nightmare. However the real horror wasn't in the content of the dream, but in the high possibility of much of it becoming a reality. The only difference was, Piper wouldn't be there to see it.