Shadows of Destiny

129 Call from Brighton

~Leo~

I got to my room and called Max to check on him and know how everyone was doing.

Max answered after a few rings, and I was glad to hear his voice.

"How are things over there?" I asked him.

"We are fine. The alphas here have gathered warriors upon arrival. They are waiting for word from

you," he said, and I was surprised that they had sprung into action.

"So soon?" I asked, and he chuckled a bit.

"They never want to experience what happened to them again. This Yuri man is a menace and has to

go, Leo," He said, and I chuckled at what he said.

I missed Max, but we had only a few days to go, and everything will be okay.

"Mirabel is alright, by the way, and she told Timothy that she and Andrew are fated. Did you know?" He

asked, and I was shocked. I realised why Andrew was confident about her.

"Now I do," I said, and we laughed. I could only imagine the relief Timothy would be feeling at the

moment.

"She wants to join him in the north, but her grandfather says no,’ he said, which was thoughtful of

Timothy.

"You will have to lead us in the East, Leo. The alphas are waiting for you.’ He said, and I sighed.

"They might have to rally themselves and move towards the West soon. Don't tell them yet; we want to

be sure," I said, and he was silent.

"I thought it would be the south. Yuri has made a lot of moves and changes in the south. I have heard

rumours of a coronation in the south and a council being set up. Although after the broadcast

Yesterday morning, everything has gone silent. I do not know, but I think he is in the south, and we

should strike there," he said, and I could not tell him that the activities in the south were to mislead us.

"When we are sure we will move, there is no rushing," I said.

Max said nothing after that, so I knew he was content with my explanation.

"Gather the warriors and get me their number. But ensure we do not take more than a quarter from

every alpha in the East. I do not want the East to be void of protection. Other than the south, I do not

want Yuri to have anywhere to run to," I told him, and he agreed.

"Your father and Grey already said that. They said they should only donate a fraction of their defence

force to the cause so they can have people to defend the territory," He said. I was happy my father and

I were thinking along the same line.

"How are they?" I asked, and he sighed.

"They are busy, so I doubt they miss you much, but your mother does not seem happy with you and

Amelia. She complained that neither of you had called to check on them. Rebecca is complaining about

Susan and Devin too. I guess you will sort it out," he said, and I laughed, imagining the look on my

mother's face while she complained.

"I will sort it out," I said, and we hung up. I wanted to laugh, But I couldn't.

A few hours later, I got a call from an unknown Western number. It was past twelve in the afternoon. I

answered, relieved to learn it was Kyle, but what Kyle told me troubled my soul.

"They attacked, but we were able to push back. I believe they were not expecting resistance. They

didn't come with force. We lost some men, but they lost more," Kyle said, but it sounded like he was

having difficulty speaking.

"What about you? How are you doing?" I asked, and he sighed.

"I am injured, but I will live. I am not the issue right now. Jake Brighton is. They shot him with a weird

dart. I do not know what is in it, but he is fighting for his life currently. There are medical practitioners in

Brighton, but the facility you and Devin were constructing for them is yet to be completed. Donald has

called to inform Lady Stephanie. I had to talk to her about it. The woman is distraught already. The

troubling part is they ran away after they shot Jake. It was as if they had come for him," he said, and I

did not need to guess what the poison was.

There was a possibility it was the same as what was introduced to Devin's system. Ighor must have

lied about the poison and who possessed it, or Melvin might have replicated it for Yuri.

"Do you think he had dealings with them and did not fulfil his end?" Kyle asked, and I could not process

that thought yet, knowing the severity of the situation if my guess was correct.

"See if you can get him to Gad then Lucland; either way, I will try to get help to meet you in Gad or

Lucland, pending on time and availability of resources," I said, and he thanked me and hung up.

I knew we needed to get Agk32 to Jake immediately. Gad was the closest, but if we couldn't get to Gad

on time, they could bring him to Lucland, and we could meet them with the antidote. I got off the bed

and headed towards the infirmary to see Erik.

"Erik, Where are you?" I asked.

"In my lab, Sylvester just returned to his room.’ He told me, and I hurried out of my room to go to Erik.

I planned to fly the antidote to Gad, so there was no time to discuss anything with Sylvester. Time was

of the essence.

"Leo, have you heard?" I heard Tamia in my head while I moved.

"Yes, I have told Kyle to get him to Lucland. I am on it," I said, and she closed the connection.

I could just imagine what Stephanie was going through right now. I hurried to Erik's lab to discuss the

best way of transporting the antidote and getting it to Jake on time.

"Leo," I heard Sylvester in my head. He must have heard.

"Where are you?" he asked, and I told him I was in Erik's lab.

"Good. I plan on sending an air ambulance with specialists to Brighton.

Send a Specialist from Mountain to Brighton to help out. I am sure they can render first aid before The

air ambulance arrives," he said, and even though he meant well, I doubted Jake had that much time.

"I believe he was shot with the same poison introduced to Devin. He doesn’t have much time. We need

to get AgK32 to him immediately and have it administered there. Forget the air ambulance. Let's use a

jet to send it to Gad now, then find a way to transport it to Brighton from there. Kyle said they are trying

to flush his system, which should buy him some time." I said, and Sylvester was silent.

I knew he was on his way to the lab, so I decided to discuss the matter with Erik.

"When was this poison administered?" Erik asked me, and I did not know.

"If you have a jet, let them pick Jake up and bring him here. He will need more than AgK32; the earlier

he is here, the better..." Erik said, and I sprung into action before he could complete his sentence.

I had not used my jet in a while, but it was necessary now. I took out my phone and placed a call to

Max. He answered quickly.

"Have you heard?' He asked, and I skipped the question because time was of the essence.

"Have Casper prepare my jet, then use the small helicopter to take Jake from Brighton to Mountain.

The flight should be forty minutes. Once he is in Mountain, fly him to Lucland using the jet. I believe

there is a deadly poison in his system." I said, and Max told me he was on it.

This was a serious issue.

If only Brighton wasn't underdeveloped, we would have just flown the antidote to Brighton directly. But it

had no airports or runways to accommodate a jet, and helicopters would be too slow. I honestly

doubted he would make it.

"Leo," Erik finally said, and I realised he had been trying to get my attention.

I was a bit apprehensive but listened to him.

" I have been trying to tell you there is no AgK32 here. We exhausted it yesterday. Due to the rush, I

left a sample in my lap in Hayland. It is in the safe of my office. I forgot to bring it along. They can

administer that to him before bringing him here," he said, and I hugged Erik tightly. I should have

allowed him to complete his sentence before springing into action.

I felt relief wash through me immediately. I called Max immediately and gave him the order. I instructed

him to use the helicopter to Hayland and gave him instructions on how to get to the warehouse.

They might have to land in the clearing in the woods close to the warehouse to be quick.

Erik told him where the safe was and the combination to unlock the safe. Then I instructed him to fly

the content to Brighton with the helicopter and have the antidote administered before they bring Jake to

the Mountain and fly him to Lucland.

That was the fastest way to get the antidote in Jake's system and save his life.

I just hope we won't be too late.

Sylvester arrived after I spoke with Max, and he was relieved.

He made a few phone calls.

Apparently, he had requested that an air ambulance go to Gad. There was no need for that now. It was

a miracle that Erik left a sample in the safe. He claimed it was because he had to leave in a hurry, but it

had come in handy because Erik had no sample available in the Estate.

We had used them, and the ones he was producing weren't ready yet.

"I have to go to my mother; she is trying to leave and go to Brighton," Sylvester said, and I stopped him

before he left.

"On no account should you let her leave? I am beginning to suspect the poisoning of Jake was

deliberate. I think Yuri wants to take your mother. I am unsure, but why poison Jake and leave the

rest?” I asked Sylvester, and he understood my point. I let him leave and decided to leave the lab so

Erik could work peacefully.

Max called me an hour and thirty minutes later to say that they had successfully administered the

antidote and were flying him to Mountain so they could bring him to the North.

Although I was happy with the news, the fact that Jake was unconscious when they administered the

antidote did not sit well with me.

I just had to hope I was right about the poison and they had administered the antidote on time, or all

our efforts would be in vain.

I linked Sylvester to tell him the good news. He told me that Stephanie was sedated to keep her from

acting up. We all had to keep our fingers crossed and hope my guess was correct.

Amelia joined me later, and she looked worried.

I was sure she heard.

I just held her.

'Neither of us could speak.

We all want Stephanie and Jake to have a happily ever after; they deserve it.

Yuri had outdone himself.

Somehow I believe the attack was just to poison Jake, which was why Kyle did not meet too much

force.

Jake was their target, not Brighton or Donald, and I knew it had to do with Stephanie, which led us back

to Sylvester.