The Son of Light Book 1: Rebirth (5 page)

The Pleasure of Power

Nick

Nearly ten years had gone by since that day Lord Hexen attacked. It was the night of December 15
th
, 2017. Within a small private cul-de-sac in Porter Ranch, California, illuminated by the moon light, rested a white two-story house with a blue roof surrounded by a tall stonewall.

Inside, Nick sat at his desk in his messy black and grey office. It was quiet. The only sounds that could be heard came from the wall water fountains around it. In front of him was a notebook. Nick tapped his desk with his pen, lost in thought. Then he began to write.

I hate birthdays. I’m twenty-six today. That’s almost thirty. I thought I’d be married by now, or at least have a girlfriend. I thought I’d have a job of my own. Don’t get me wrong, being rich makes life easier, but I’d rather be working. I wonder how this year will turn out? What will Josh be like when he’s my age? He’ll be sixteen in April. Oddly enough, he’s started puberty late. Maybe he’ll learn about sex on his own? I hope he doesn’t turn out like me when I was his age.

I can remember my mom’s funeral almost ten years ago. It was on October 14th, 2008. I saw the whole guild around the water garden holding flowers and candles. She was wrapped in gold silk and carried in a crystal coffin down the long path over the water into the building. Alaura and her son walked in front of her and the remaining Lieutenant Governors walked behind her.

According to Zelda, they placed her in a special area, under a painted window of her laughing, under her favorite cherry blossom tree. I wouldn’t know. I avoided the funeral. I stayed outside the water garden, trying to pretend she wasn’t dead. Then I felt arms wrapping around me. It was Zelda. I didn’t want to look at her, so I pretended she wasn’t there. I kept thinking, go away! She made my mother’s death final for me.

Later on I listened in on the conversation Alaura had with the Lieutenant Governors in the Hall of Leadership. They were so rude to her as she tried to explain why the guild had to be shut down temporally. I guess the reconstruction of the guild wasn’t a good enough reason for them to keep it active. I can still hear Regina shouting and picture Alaura acting like a scared child. Regina called her an idiot for forcing everyone to return home with Hexen on the loose and that Alaura had no right to be in charge.

Old Man José, the Phoenix Lieutenant Governor came to her defense. But when I heard Regina say that, my breath had felt like fire. I realized how upset I was, so I just thought about what I could do to her once I had power. After they left, I spoke to Alaura, cloaking my disgust in her leadership with a calm face.

Instead of looking at her I stared at my great grand father’s silver statue in the center of the room and the statues of his students that arched around him. It stood tall and proud like a king. I knew I could manipulate her into doing what I wanted, even though she was the acting head governor. She was weak and hardly knew anything about the art of energy. Through her, I could have my revenge. I could have unlimited power.

I used her to get me a house in Thousand Oaks under her name. I chose that area because it was nice. I had been there before when I was younger. But I had to keep Josh in the underwater safe house. People knew where I lived after all. I felt so powerless. Even with all my mother’s money and my own house, it wasn’t enough. I wanted to know what everyone was up to, so I made a super computer and used it to monitor all of their online activities.

I looked at their emails, search habits, and social media accounts. But I couldn’t just rely on my computer. I forced Zelda and her sister, Xena, into spying on the Lieutenant Governors during dinner at the house. Zelda was happy to, but Xena hadn’t liked it. I told her “I’ll consider it treason if you don’t.” I heard a loud pounding sound. She looked so horrified. It was as if I had just strangled a puppy right in front of her. The loud sound continued and I realized it was my own heart.

I felt ashamed because Zelda was almost fourteen, and Xena was still ten. But it got easier to control them over time. I knew Zelda liked me and used that to my advantage. I wanted to use them to find my father, but I didn’t want to waste my time on him, at least not until I had more power.

When I turned eighteen, the guild officially became mine, like my mom’s will wanted. I bought another house in Porter Ranch, and placed a high security system around it, like my house in Thousand Oaks had. No one knew about it. It was the perfect place for Josh. My houses weren’t too far from or too close to each other, at least by my standards.

In the summer of that year, I reopened the guild and welcomed back my friends. If only they had known what I was doing, they’d have hated me. But when I heard from Zelda that Lieutenant Governors, Regina, Ezekiel, and Old Man José had abandoned their divisions, all my muscles tensed. I thought they had joined Hexen. I wanted to punish them. But I didn’t want to do the dirty work, so on Seth’s sixteenth birthday, I made him second Head Governor. I did this for two reasons: To make him do the dirty work and to keep a close eye on him, like I had on Zelda.

But to be honest, from a political perspective, I should have made Seth’s older brother Chad the second Head Governor. He’s a better leader, but he didn’t return either. I tried contacting Ezekiel, Regina and Old Man José, but they weren’t answering my letters or calls, so I read their families’ emails and found out that within the last two years they had left the US. I was able to lure them back after spreading lies that Lord Hexen had attacked some of their family members.

When they returned to their divisional safe houses, Seth arrested them in secret and placed them in my new prison under the guild, on my orders. I interrogated them myself. I hated doing it, but I had to know if they were working with Hexen or Trent. I kept them there even though they knew nothing.

By the age of twenty, I had all the power I wanted. But I still felt empty and the guild was falling apart. Everyone was afraid of being arrested or punished for breaking any rule I set. Things got really bad after I put Ryan in charge of the prisons. He was sixteen, but I had been sixteen and had power. Seth had been sixteen and had had power. My Ryan was out of control, so I thought giving him responsibility would calm him down.

He only made things worse. He harassed and beat nearly everyone as the head enforcer. Then he went too far one day. He tortured a member from Metro division after hearing rumors about them wanting to overthrow me. He had the whole division arrested, which sparked a huge fight between the Dream Kingdom Division and Metro Division. Rebel nearly killed JJ. Luckily, Chad was there and knocked Ryan, Seth, and I back to our senses.

After Ryan’s trial, I held a meeting in my office with all the LTG’s, Chad, and Seth. I apologized to everyone. I didn’t admit to spying on them, but I promised to be a better leader. But Zelda admitted to me that Ryan told her that someone had forced some information from Xena about me. And knowing her, she probably threatened JJ and Metro after the meeting, which is probably why the Phoenix Division and Metro aren’t getting along. Also, Seth didn’t want to be second
in command anymore, so I gave that title to Chad.

However, as of spring this year Chad has gone missing along with many more of my friends like Sophia, Zack, and Tina. Now Seth is back at my side and so my struggle continues. I know Hexen behind it. I don’t know where he has been these last ten years, but I know he’ll show up again. The scary thing is I have no idea when.

I’m not going to lie, I loved having power, but I was just an insecure little boy trying to avenge his mother. I still am in many ways. But now I know there is more to power than just getting what you want, it’s about caring for the people around you. But I still want more. I hope Josh never becomes anything like me at sixteen. I hope he is more like our mother. I miss her so much.

Nick let out a sigh as if he had just run a race, as he leaned back in his chair. There was a bad taste in his mouth. He closed the notebook, placed his pen next to it, and left the office through the glass doors. The office was a part of his room, and once he stepped through the doors, he locked them with a security keypad and then headed for his king sized bed. Like his office, the room was a mess too. There were clothes, books, bags, and papers everywhere. Nick easily made his way through the mess, stripped down to his briefs, and fell into bed.

New Leadership

Seth

It was the afternoon of March 15
th
, 2018. Deep underground, between California and Nevada, rested a massive dome like structure. Within its walls was a place that looked similar to a large college campus. This was the home of the Mind, Body, and Soul guild — The M.B.S. guild.

On the west side of the campus, thundering roars and cheers could be heard coming form a large stadium. It was the day after the elections to vote for new lieutenant governors for the guild’s nine divisions. Sitting in a chair on a wide stage, towards the east side of the stadium, was Seth. He was dressed in a platinum colored dress shirt and black slacks. His blonde hair was neat and his face was shaved clean. On the right side of his shirt was a gleaming platinum triangular badge that read: M.B.S. Guild 2
nd
Head Governor, Seth Parker.

His emerald green eyes surveyed the large crowd of people in the stands and in front of the stage. They were all screaming and hollering and waving their flags in the air. For him, ceremonies like these were always painfully boring.

They were split into eight divisions. Starting on his far right was the Capital Division. They held up banners and flags with a cartoon panda bear with eagle wings drawn onto them. They all were wearing cerulean polo shirts, and two types of scarves: one an admirl blue color and the other yellow. Next to them on their right, was the Sea Shore Division. They were all wearing the colors of grey, green, and white. They held up flags with lighthouses drawn on them and waved around stuffed animals in the shape of dolphins.

Waving giant pictures of a smiling sun was the Desert Oasis Division, next in line. They wore orchid purple shirts and black pants or sweats. Along with their divisional flags, they held up Las Vegas signs covered in glitter. To their right, beating on their drums was the Phoenix Division. They danced around with face paint, showing off their grey phoenix themed shirts and silk capes in the colors of flames.

The Diamond Gate Division was next. Wearing black horse masks with orange headbands covered in diamonds and waving the Brazilian flag in the air. They chanted in unison, Leonardo. Singing along side of them was, the Dream Kingdom Division. They all wore crimson shirts and hoodies, and sky blue pants or shorts. On their heads were fluffy koala ears.

Next to them in the seventh section was the Metro Division. All of them in blue and black attire and holding up blue flags with a cartoon monkey on it. Some of them held up golden stars made of plastic. Finally, there was the Paradise Division directly on Seth’s far left. They wore the colors burgundy and gold. Some of them were in dragon costumes while others held up swords and shields. Some of them held up a large fake red and gold dragon while blowing into their horns made of seashells.

Seth watched Nick approach a podium. The crowd grew louder as he stood behind it waving at them. To his right, sat people in a vertical row. Among them were, an older Zelda, and a more muscular Tyshawn. Finally, he saw Nick raise his hand and the crowd fell silent. Nick, after adjusting his microphone, began to speak.

“Today marks a new beginning on our quest to unlock mankind’s true potential, and with new beginnings comes new leadership. I am proud to introduce to you your lieutenant governors,” said Nick, cheerfully.

The crowd cheered as a young man with fair skin rose up from his seat at the far end, and approached the edge of the platform. He wore navy blue army cargo pants, and a white shirt with a sliver badge. Around his neck was a yellow and admiral blue scarf. On his gray beanie was a drawing of a cartoon baby panda bear with eagle wings. He danced around as if he was listening to a music beat as Nick said:
“Representing the Capital division, Dante Parker!”

Dante turned to his section and the Capital Division went nuts.

“Dance to the beat, dudes!” he hollered.

And he and his division in unison began to cheer.

“C!”
Clap, clap,
“A!”
Clap, clap,
“P!”
Clap, clap
, “T!”
Clap, clap,
“I!”
Clap, clap,
“A!
Clap, clap,
“L!”
Clap, clap,
“Capital, woo!” they screamed in a frenzy.

Dante returned to his seat and Nick spoke again.
I heard that he was a little off,
thought Seth humorously,
with his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and all.
Then Seth heard Nick introduce the next lieutenant governor.

He was young man of nineteen with wavy brown hair and fair skin. He wore a light gray t-shirt with a dolphin outlined in lime green, blue shorts, a belt with the UK flag, and a silver badge. He was Mew Evans.

“Hey Sea Shore!” he hollered.

“What?” his division hollered back.

“When I say Sea, you say shore! Sea!”

“Shore!”

“Sea!”

“Shore! Woot, woot!”

Mew blushed horribly as Nick patted him on the back, before Mr. Evans went back to his seat.
It’s been a while since we’ve had a gay governor. It’s amazing that Nick still can’t tell that Mew likes him.

The next two lieutenant governors that came up, Seth knew very well. They were Tyshawn, representing the Desert Oasis division, in his third term, and Zelda representing the Phoenix division, in her sixth term. Both of them had gold badges and Seth took pride in the fact that he was a level above them. As he watched them approach the stage, calling out to their divisions.
If only the rest of the guild knew that Nick once tried to kill us
, he chuckled.

“We never die! We rise again! We never die. We rise again! We are Phoenixes! HA!!” he heard Phoenix cry.
We never die, right.
He watched Zelda return to her seat.
She looks so much like Kaldea so much
, he frowned.

He watched the next lieutenant governor stride down the stage. Leonardo Ferreira A.K.A Kou, a young Brazilian man of twenty-four with black hair that was long and pointed upwards. He wore a headband similar to his peers in his division, a black shirt with a silver badge and an orange tie. On it was a black horse. He was also the only blind lieutenant governor in the guild’s history.

“Representing the Diamond Gate Division, Leonardo Ferreira aka Kou!” Seth heard Nick say.
We have
a blind lieutenant governor? Well, I guess I shouldn’t judge. Blind people are capable of doing extraordinary things. He can speak nearly every language, so I’ve heard. He deserves my respect.

There was a great level of anxiety when Seth observed the next lieutenant governor. A young Vietnamese man of twenty-one with a shaved head and a mustache. He was in a white dress shirt under a crimson red vest and a sky blue tie. He had blue-grey slacks held up by a brown belt. On his head were koala ears. He was Ryan Tran or as he’s most notoriously known as Rebel.

As Rebel spoke, standing should to should to Nick, Seth noticed the intense glares the Metro division gave the new Dream Kingdom lieutenant governor.
The guild’s former head enforcer now a lieutenant governor, this ought to be interesting. And he’s reached gold rank. Well done, Rebel.

“We are Dream Kingdom and we escape in fantasy!” Rebel and his division said together.

The next thing Seth heard was Metro chanting,
Epic! Epic!
Inside he was jumping with excitement.
Yes we are down to the seventh one. It’s almost over, just two more to go.

As Rebel took his seat, Seth happily watched the next person join Nick. He wore a blue tuxedo over a black dress shirt that was as black as his spiky hair. On his belt buckle was the face of a cartoon monkey. He straightened his tie and silver badge, making sure his appearance was nice and tidy.

“And representing the Metro Division, the handsome, the awesome, the epic, Raymond Velasquez!” shouted Nick.

Seth tried his best to keep a straight face as he watched Raymond wave to the crowd as if he was a celebrity.
Look at that weasel in a tuxedo
.

Raymond waved at his division and then all around the stadium as if he was a famous celebrity, his flat face covered in acne scars panning slowly from side to side. Unlike the other Lieutenant Governors, Rebel and Zelda didn’t seem too enthusiastic as Raymond stood waving at the crowd. Zelda was barely clapping while Rebel wasn’t clapping at all.

“Feel the epicness!” Raymond and Metro hollered together.

Raymond returned to his seat, looking triumphant. Just as his butt hit his chair, the sounds of horns started to blow. Then he felt fire coming from his left side. It was the Paradise Division.

As they danced around stripping their burgundy red shirts off, a young Arab man approached the edge of the balcony in their direction. He too was wearing a burgundy red shirt with a gold drawing of a dragon. On the left side of his chest, a gold badge. He took out a leaf headpiece from his gold color jeans. And placed it on his head. Then he took out a pair of sunglasses from his other pocket and put them on.

“Retuning for his second year as lieutenant governor, representing Paradise, Christopher Azhar!” said Nick.

“Haka! Haka!” shouted Chris.

Then he and Paradise all chanted in the same rhythm.
Ah yeah, my favorite cheer,
thought Seth, happily.

Ka mate, ka mate, Ka ora' Ka ora',
I may die! I may die! I may live! I may live!

Ka mate, ka mate, Ka ora Ka ora',
I may die! I may die! I may live! I may live!

Tēnei te tangata, pūhuruhuru, This is the hairy man

Nāna nei i tiki mai, whakawhiti te rā,
Who brought the sun and caused it to shine.

A upane! Ka upane!
A step upward, another step upward!

A upane! Ka upane, whiti te rā! Hī!
A step upward, another step upward! The Sun shines.

Then Chris brought a hand up to his mouth. Particles appeared around it and moments later, he shot fire into the air from his mouth. Paradise cheered, as Nick looked a little worried.

Chris took his seat. Finally Seth saw the last Lieutenant Governor.
Thank God!
He was a very young, Korean boy wearing sapphire polo shirt, cargo shorts, and a yellow beanie with the picture of a terrifying salmon, bearing it’s sharp teeth.

“And finally, represent our new division, Sunset Mountain, James Park.”

The crowd cheered, chanting his name. James however didn’t even want to stand because unlike the others, he had no members of his own yet. Seth savagely thought,
Come on kid, I want to eat!
He walked over to James and politely pulled him out of his chair and brought him up to Nick. Nick swung his arm around him chanted with the crowd.

After a few moments James sat back down, still trembling.

“There you have it, this year’s new leadership. Let’s wrap things up with our pledge.”

Everyone on stage stood up and a flag dropped down from behind them. It had the themes of the divisions around the guild’s symbol. As it waved above them, Nick signaled over to the band below the platform. As the band tuned up, the stadium fell silent. Then everyone began to sing.

“I live to serve. I will serve my division. I will with all my heart. I will serve till the end of time. I will serve till the end of time.”

As the crowd let out one last cheer, everyone on stage huddled up for a group picture taken by the guild’s media team. When they were all done, Nick pulled Seth aside to tell him that he had to visit his Godmother for a while. When he was done, minutes later, he took off in a small golf cart away from the stadium.

Afterwards, everyone gathered in the food court directly behind the stadium for a very festive after party. All the divisions had their own section, but were encouraged to mix with one another by Seth. When the Lieutenant Governors entered through the large glass doors, Seth called them up to the high table where he and Nick usually sat. He waited until they formed a circle around him and noticed that Chris was missing.

“Where’s Mr. Azhar?” asked Seth.

“Said he was getting ready for the party,” said Raymond.

Seth raised an eyebrow.

“Oh. Well anyways, congratulations once again to you all. I am sorry to inform you, however, that Nick won’t be joining us for the evening. He’ll be absent for a week,” said Seth.

“Is he sick?” asked Mew

“No,” said Seth, smiling. “No, he has some business to attend to for a while. Alright guys, go have fun.”

None of them moved. They just stared at him. He raised his eyebrow again.

“Something wrong?”

“Are you going to be okay, mate?” asked Mew.

Seth stood, puzzled. What was he talking about?

“Your brother, Chad,” said Tyshawn.

“Oh. Yeah. Uh…I’ll be all right. Thanks. Now go have fun,” said Seth, smiling.

All of them nodded and headed down the steps to join their friends.

“Oh, Zelda?” said Seth.