Regius Read online

  "You gonna go in or are ya gonna make me wait and stand here all day, Altor?"

  Blinking out of my observation, I looked back over my shoulder and stared up at a rather large man, his heeled boot tapping impatiently on the floor.

  Sending him an apologetic smile, I nodded with a frown down at the street below. "Uh, yeah, so I just jump down?" The impatience seemed to dissipate from the pale blond man as he laughed heartily, his hand coming to rest on my back to give it a sympathetic clap.

  "New to the Rangers Alley?" Although I had no idea what that was, I simply nodded at him. "Well, don't ya worry. It's a war free zone, any of our kind can enter and shop there and so can you honorable types." Eye twitching now, I figured it was just best to keep on nodding along with him. War free? Honorable type? Rangers? Altor?

  "Whatever it is you're lookin' for, you'll find it down there. Just slide your feet into the opening first and let yourself drop." Doing as he instructed, I found myself in the tunnel and stood from my crouch when the man landed beside me.

  "See, that wasn't so hard."

  "Thanks." I offered him a smile and watched him give me a nod before he walked off into the mass off people. Clearly I'd found something I wasn't supposed to find. Deciding that I was enjoying this quite a bit, I started walking into the mess, not able to decide what to focus on first. There were so many different sounds, smells and things to see. Guitar music was coming from somewhere on my left, but was then battling with the sound of a fish vendor over to the right. I could smell jasmine as I passed by one stand that offered so many different flowers, I'd have to stop and spend fifteen minutes just staring to be able to count how many there were. A little further ahead the smell of steel filled the air as I saw a man sharpening a saber.

  "Watch it!"

  Eyes widening, I caught a hold of the wicker basket that was about to fall down on top of me, peeking into it curiously once my arms had wrapped around it. Apples, pears and bananas. Smiling at how delicious these fruits looked, I looked up and apologized to their owner.

  "Sorry, I'm new here." I figured repeating the big man's words couldn't do much harm. A girl of about my own age hidden beneath a transparent pink veil lost her glare and gave me one of those smiley blushes instead.

  "It's okay, just make sure to always look where you're going or else you'll never come out of this place alive." She suggested, carefully taking the wicker basket out of my arms and lifting it back up onto her head. So I'd lied. My hormones did sometimes get the better of me. Grinning slowly, I scanned my eyes over her figure, appreciating the view. I could only chuckle when she giggled, her blush brightening and her hand suddenly touching my arm, clearly having the same idea. I was about to throw out my opener line to make sure we'd spend some more quality time together, but was then interrupted by something that caught my eye over the girl's shoulder.

  "Ugh, sorry. Gotta go." The girl's mouth dropped open in surprise and all I could do in return was shrug apologetically before making my way past her and towards the boy that had led me into this alley in the first place. Currently, he was having some issues with a tall pale blond that seemed very intent on rearranging the boy's face. Why? No idea, but considering the difference in size between the two I figured it wasn't exactly the fairest of situations and decided it was time for me to butt in. Why again? I didn't know that for sure either, but whatever.

  "You're lucky we're in the war free zone, Xao." I could hear the boy say as I approached. His hand was resting on his lower back, holding onto the back of his pants while he kept his shoulders squared, his chin tilted high and I couldn't believe he wasn't pissing his pants.

  Nearing his side after some pushing and shoving through people, I threw an arm over the boy's shoulder as he swiveled his head my way to stare at me with a raised eyebrow.

  "Hey buddy." I tried to tug him along with me so we could start walking away. "First time in the Ranger's Alley, remember? Stop skipping off, I keep getting lost." I laughed weakly, the situation making it hard to act humorous as the blond dude carried more muscles than I could care for.

  "Who're you?" At least the boy wasn't a moron as he whispered soft enough so the block of steroids couldn't hear. Before I could answer though, the blond decided to join in on the conversation.

  "And here I thought Rangers swore off any contact with Altors unless it's business. What's up with your warrior friend there, Dell?"

  Dell. Good, now I at least knew the boy's name. It seemed like a good plan to focus on that since I didn't understand any of the other crap the man had sprouted out. What was up with the whole Altor thing?

  Dell pursed his lips and with just a second of hesitation, he slung an arm over my shoulders in return. "I'm converting him to the mid-evil side. He's a pretty good candidate. Now piss off, Xao. Go bully someone you can actually take on."

  Can actually take on? Considering this guy's size, I'd say he'd be able to take both myself and Dell on no problem. Even if I included Brass to the math, calculations made the result zero for us three tiny boys. And that was saying something cause Brass had a mean right hook. I would know; I'd been on the receiving end of it for years.

  "Leave Melody alone, Dell. You're not what her family wants for a future." Xao clipped out. So, it was about a girl.

  Dell huffed. "Who're you to decide what's good and bad for her?"

  Xao gave us a tight-lipped smile. "Her brother." Oh.

  "Hey, so how about we get back to that mid-evil converting thing?" I pressed, about to drag Dell with me, but let out a dumbfounded noise as I couldn't seem to make him budge. Blinking in surprise at the force this kid harbored, I shook my head and pinched his shoulder instead.

  "Hey." Wrinkling his nose, Dell finally detached his eyes off Xao and although he offered me a nasty glare, he considered my line of thought and nodded before starting to walk off with me. Once we'd distanced ourselves far away enough for me to feel better about the situation, I unwrapped my arm from Dell's shoulder, sighing in relief that things had ended without violence.

  "Thanks." The boy said. "But if things had gone too far he'd have either been jumped by the other Rangers, or, ya know, my gun."

  Mouth agape, I stopped walking, staring at Dell's back as he hadn't noticed yet that I'd been shocked by his words. That's what he'd had his hand over by the back of his pants? What was this place?

  "I believe it's time for me to go." I managed to get out after having shaken myself. Scratching the back of my head, I shrugged at Dell and then turned to go and make my way back to the passage. I hadn't taken three steps and the boy appeared beside me, his grin comfortable as I eyed him strangely.

  "You really are new to the Rangers Alley."

  "How can you be so sure?"

  "For one, you're going the wrong way." Reaching over, he grasped my shoulder and then twisted me around, nudging me so I would walk in the opposite direction. "The exit is that way."

  "Oh." Eying everything around me a tad more fearfully, I decided he might as well walk me out since I'd probably get lost on my way back to the garage anyways.

  "So." Dell started, eying me curiously which was making me slightly uncomfortable. "If you couldn't move me earlier that means you haven't been triggered yet." Whatever that meant, it led him to frown, his eyes trailing over me with more attention this time around. I don't know what he was thinking, but apparently it kicked him into action as he grabbed me by the shoulders and forced me to stop walking with strength I didn't know a kid could have.

  "Hey, Imma ask you a series of questions and it's gonna look totally weird because they're sorta personal. I'm just really curious and do me a favor and answer them, yeah?" Dell blabbered out. The serious expression on his face led me to nod my head.

  "Awesome. How old are you?"

  "Going on nineteen." Trying to wiggle free from his grasp, I growled in frustration when I couldn't budge. "How fucking old are you? You look like a fourteen year old squirt, which doesn't make sense because a kid that age shouldn't be able
to overpower me."

  Blinking at that, he let go of my upper arms and took a step back, offering me a smile. "I'm seventeen actually. I get that a lot though. As for my strength," He wrinkled his nose, looking at me weirdly for a moment. "Nah..." He muttered out in disbelief, leaning in closer so he could scan me thoroughly. Kay, being clueless was starting to get on my nerves.

  "I'm a Ranger. We're born Altor. Most of us don't need to get triggered as the blood has mixed too much over the years, but there are still some out there that need the switch. I'm one of those. I triggered early, which is funky what with my looking fourteen and all. It's sorta unique. To Altors anyways, Rangers don't give a damn."

  Eye twitching, I repeated all he said numerous times in my head to see if I could make sense of it. "What?" Clearly, I couldn't.

  Dell's eyes widened and suddenly he grabbed my wrist and started rushing us towards the exit. "If someone finds out there's a Civilian in here, there'll be bloody murder!" I frowned at his words, letting him drag me along as there was really nothing else I could do

  "Do you mind starting from the beginning so I may follow what the hell it is you're trying to talk to me about?" I could see him grimace, shaking his head as we continued on our way out. It wasn't long before we saw an arch that opened with sunlight spilling through, and once we stepped back out into Cobalt's streets, he finally let go of my wrist.

  "How did you pass through security?!" He suddenly shrieked, quickly eying our surroundings to make sure nobody was here. When he was reassured, he gestured for me to follow him. Curiosity killing me slowly inside is what didn't make me think twice about walking after him.

  He moved over to a building, reaching up to pull himself onto the window ledge before continuing upwards onto the roof. Wrinkling my nose, I sighed, cracked my neck, and then set out to mimic him with a tad more difficulty. Dell reached down to offer me his hand so he could help me up with more ease than should be natural.

  "What security?" I breathed out, sitting down beside him on the roof edge, my eyes fixed on the view before me. The city looked awesome from this height, like being on top of the world.

  "There's a transparent barrier at the entrance and exit of the Ranger's Alley. It keeps Civilians out." Dell muttered, clearly confused as to how I'd passed through this 'transparent barrier'.

  "Aren't we too old to believe in magic?" I grinned. He poked me in the side, I retaliated by smacking him over the back of his head. He pulled on my shirt, and I then scratched his arm and he bit my shoulder.

  "Okay!" I laughed, wincing at the feel of his teeth. "Enough. Fine. How about you tell me what it was I saw back there and I'll try and not interrupt?" Letting go of my arm, he did leave a lot of saliva behind which of course had me grimacing, but he wiped it off with his own shirt.

  "Well, first of all." He started. "By telling you all I'm gonna tell you, I'm breaking millions of rules." Good to know. Clearing his throat, he rolled his neck, preparing himself to tell the tale. "Forget everything you know about Zinc, since I'm pretty sure most of it is lies, and if not complete lies, they're definitely twisted truths." How had I ended up here again?

  "All I know about Zinc?" I repeated.

  "It's history, the current political state, etc."

  "Err...forgotten?" Before he could start, I looked at him curiously. "Why are you willing to tell me all of this if you're breaking rules by doing so?" I definitely wanted to know. I had no idea what had gone on these last long couple of minutes, but I knew there was something very I was missing.

  "Cause I'm Ranger." That didn't seem like a reason. "We do sorta follow the Altor, Pallium and Regius rules still, but if it favors us, we ignore them just as easily. I don't know how telling you will favor me, but I'm thinking the barrier let you pass for a reason. If the barrier doesn't oppose you from seeing something you were never supposed to find out about, then how would my telling you all the truths of Zinc do any further damage?"

  Head whirling, I patted Dell on the knee. "Okay, slow down. You still didn't explain squat. So right now all I got floating around in my mind is a big fat ass question mark."

  "Oh, right." Grinning, he nodded at me. "Centuries ago the Regius invaded Zinc and took control over the land that belonged to the Palliums. They installed a kingdom and with their powers, dictated all races, and created a whole bunch of drama. The Blue Blood they were gifted with by creatures higher than us makes them mean and cruel. But you already knew that cause that was never kept from Civilians." I nodded at his words, recognizing what he'd said so far from Cali's many rants after our history lessons. Cali had been obsessed with Zinc's history and he'd been the only reason I'd excelled in that class. "You know about the rebellion, blah, blah, blah..." Dell waved his hand flippantly. "The war started because the rebellion fought against the Regius' cruelty-"

  "Blah, blah, blah." Now I waved my hand flippantly, needing him to skip that part.

  "Today the rebellion is known as the race called 'Altors'." Dell said.

  "Why was I mistaken for one?" I added curiously. Dell grinned, reaching up and undoing the red turban that hid away his hair. Once it was gone, he shook his head, letting long shaggy hair the color of black I'd only seen on a few, myself, Sol, Cali, Lupinus and Acacia, fall out.

  "You look like one. Your hair and eyes match the color of Altors. So does your skin, by the way." Pressing his forearm against my own, he pointed out how our skins were alike. "There's a key difference when it comes to Altors. You got the soldiers and you got the Civilians. The soldiers carry the Blue Blood cell. When they reach adulthood, they need the trigger to unleash the strength the cell carries. But then there are those whose blood is very diluted. You gotta be one of those since you clearly descend from Altors, but since you're nineteen and can't beat me in a fight, it means you didn't need to get triggered. Basically, all you got from whatever Altor that once did the nasty with one of your ancestors, is the good looks."

  "So the Regius, Altors and Palliums are still their own races while the Civilians believe them not to be?"

  "You know that war that was said to have ended a couple of centuries ago?" I nodded carefully. "Yeah, so that's a big fat lie. It's just been moved out of sight."

  "We're being lied too? Why?" I demanded.

  "Cause you guys ain't as strong as the Regius or Altors. The only reason the Palliums are included in the war is because the Regius made a serious attempt on their wellbeing a couple of years back. Before that, our blond natives were very much neutral, kinda like the Civilians, only they were aware the war was still ongoing."

  "But why?" I repeated, feeling a bubble of anger build up inside of myself. "If there's a war, which there is, then I want to know about it, which they didn't allow me. Why?" I paused. "Why?" I felt the need to repeat.

  Dell looked uncomfortable. "Cause you guys are the weak race."

  "Fuck you!" I roared.

  "Hey! It's not my fault. I'm just sprouting out the truth. I know it ain't nice to hear, but scientific bullcrap backs it up. Since you guys don't have any Regius blood in your system, you ultimately can't hold your own against Blue Bloods or Altors for that matter. Though Palliums don't got the strength, they have access to Corium Desert, thus the Creatures of Origin, thus capable to create weaponry and equipment that allows them to hold their own."

  "So we Civilians aren't allowed to be aware because the Altors and Palliums, whom I'm assuming to be on the good side of this fight, believe us to get in their way?"

  "That's one way of putting it." Dell agreed. "And I figure they don't think you guys to be very smart either since they did end up deciding to keep you all clueless while letting the war go on behind your backs."

  Grumbling, I crossed my arms and stared out before me, no longer appreciating the view. "What about the Regius? Why are they keeping us in the dark?"

  "They want to restore their kingdom. How are you gonna have a kingdom when you got no people to rule over? They need you alive as much as the Altors and Palliums do. Basically,
the Regius are fighting for your captivity under their rule, while the Altors and Palliums are fighting for your freedom."

  "All nice and dandy, but I still don't get why they would shut us out." Not even Brass was capable of pissing me off quite like this.

  "Cause back when the war was out in the open, a lot of Civilians died. More than the Altors and Regius. The Altors' purpose is to protect. It's coded into their system. When a bunch of you died, they sorta figured their purpose was being bullied an awful lot. Course the Regius slowly came to realize that by killing off the 'little people', they'd be left with nothing but themselves. Blue Bloods are arrogant by nature, so being king to a country with no people didn't really have that much appeal. Ya know, no worshippers and all that."

  What a shit load of info that was to absorb. I looked at Dell curiously. "If to protect is coded into the Altor system, and you told me that there were two types of Altors, the Civilian and the Soldier, then why'd you call yourself a Ranger?"

  "Cause we're the coolest." I rolled my eyes at his chuckled statement. "Alright, alright. Truth? Rangers are p-" He choked, grimacing my way. "Pi-" He sighed heavily. "We're pirates, okay?" He sounded utterly annoyed. "I was born into the Ranger system, which a lot of us are, but some were soldiers who then decided to cut the crap and the war, dropping their sword to pick up a gun instead and carry the title 'Ranger' while working for whoever pays the best prize in this never ending battle."

  "And you steal treasures?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

  "Well, yes. Not so much treasures. I- We don't like to talk about it, okay?" Smothering a chuckle, I nodded at him as seriously as I could.

  "You're Altor soldiers that have gone bad?" I clarified.

  He shook his head. "No. An Altor soldier on the bad would be if they held onto their weapon and decided to side with the Regius instead. Now those are even more rare than the Rangers are. We Rangers are basically very sick and tired of the whole war and decided to live our lives whatever way we wanted, no longer following Altor procedures and protocol."