The Phantom Riser

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT - THE PLAN

Lucas, Theodore, Victor, and Karenia reappeared in the cave. Kiro gave out a soft smile. He was glad to see that she was okay. Olivia waved without turning back. She couldn’t afford to let Draco out of her sight. One slip up and he could alert Jovak of their position.

“So, what are you going to do with us?” Ardan asked.

“The same thing we did with Nuri,” Kiro replied. He gestured to Karenia who swiftly knocked out the two of them.

“So, I guess we’re leaving now?” Victor asked.

“Yeah. The last thing we want is Jovak catching up to us,” Kiro replied.

They were all confused. “How would he be able to do that?” Victor asked once more.

“I don’t know. But I wouldn’t underestimate him either. He’s got a lot of tricks up his sleeves.”

“So, are you going to tell us what the rest of your plan is? Or are we parting ways?” Olivia asked. She stretched her neck as she awaited Kiro’s response. Finally, she could relax a little. It’d been quite a bother to have to keep looking in one direction for so long. All eyes were on Kiro. No one was sure what his response would be. And the silence wasn’t helping the tension in any way.

“I guess we can stay together a little longer,” Kiro said. He was startled by the sigh of relief that came from everyone. Had they been so eager to stay together? Well, since the start of the apocalypse, they hadn’t had too many people on their side. It was understandable if there were eager to hold on to whatever partnerships they could find. “We’re taking an early exit.”

“What?” they all chorused.

“Why do you always tell us things at the last minute?” Karenia cried.

“Well, it’s to protect the information. I’m the only one here that can resist mind attacks. Well, and Lucas too of course. So, until you guys get a certain degree of resistance to mind attacks, I have to be careful what I reveal. We don’t exactly want the enemy to pilfer it now, would we?”

The silence that ensued signified consent that no one wanted to admit to. Kiro had a strong point, but it would be nice if he didn’t leave them in the dark all the time.

“Right now, we are being chased by a Ranger. We don’t know when he plans to wait around to find out either. Before I continue, think about the danger that we are in and what you could potentially be in if you join us. If you still want to be around us despite that, then no problem.”

Theodore gulped. Both Lucas and Olivia were looking up to him to make a decision for them. Whatever he decided, they would follow. After a moment’s pause, he finally nodded in agreement.

“Okay then. There’s a valley called the Rift Valley. I don’t know if your sponsors mentioned it, but it allows Risers to clear the test before the end of the test. But there are certain requirements. First, the valley would not appear until a Riser has attained all the three special items; which we have presently. If not for the delay with Isaac, we should have been on the way out a lot earlier. Second, it can only take a total of ten people and not teams. Third, no one knows where the valley will appear. And that’s one of the reasons why this map comes in handy. The location of the valley shows on it.”

“You’ve thought all of this out well. And you don’t have a sponsor. Who are you really?” Lucas asked. He peered at Kiro longer than was comfortable as if trying to see through his soul. “And I can’t get into your mind unless you let me. Is it a perk of being a phantom type?”

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

“But you said we had to get rid of Jovak. That it was important to do it now. What changed?” Karenia asked. And she had a point. Prior to now, Jovak seemed like a top priority. They had the chance to take him out, but nothing in Kiro’s plan showed that they were actually going after Jovak.

“Nothing. I was never after him from the start. It was all a farce.”

“What!”

“Ardan has been following us for a long time. The time when Jovak showed up, I noticed him. Not as someone else, but as himself. I was also aware that he would become a consort of Jovak and that Jovak would still come after you. but I needed a reason for him to be on edge. Because the only time Jovak makes mistakes is when he hesitates. If Ardan heard me say I wanted to kill Jovak, then Jovak was sure to hear eventually.”

“So, you have no reason to fight him?” Karenia asked.

“None. Except in this case where he had something I wanted. Or in a case where we have to defend ourselves. Other than that, we shouldn’t have any issues.”

“So, he’s not a threat?”

“Don’t get me wrong. Jovak… is frightening.”

There was a long silence after that. There was no doubt that Jovak was strong. But if Kiro called him frightening, then he must be the real deal.

“I’ll need you to take us out of here, Theodore. As close to the valley as possible. Since none of us has an idea of how it looks like, we’ll just have to get there the old fashion way.”

“You do know that the old fashion way is actually something like taking a bus, or driving a car, right?” Victor goaded. Well, considering that vehicles were now a thing of the past, he made a strong argument.

“Ah, you get what I’m trying to say. Anyways, let’s leave.”

***

A few minutes after they left, a portal formed in the cave. The aura that emanated from it was strong enough to jolt Ardan and Draco back to consciousness. Jovak and Isaac walked out of it. Jovak had opted not to go with anyone else. He planned to go all out and he didn’t want any reason to restrain his power. Isaac however, insisted on following him.

“Where are they?” Jovak asked. The look in his eyes made Ardan and Draco shiver. None of them could utter a word.

Finally, Isaac stepped in. “Relax, you’re freaking them out,” he said as he put a hand on his shoulder. “So, where are they?”

“I don’t know. They knocked us out as soon as they got here,” Draco said.

“That couldn’t have been too long. Let’s go,” Jovak said as he conjured up another portal.