Still, the Scavenger trusted James’s mind. Whether James was right or wrong didn’t matter. What mattered was that the Scavenger needed to be vigilant.
“How far is it?” the Scavenger asked Cayden.
“Half an hour, considering the unbelievable speed of this chariot.” Cayden shook his head. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
The chariot was the brainchild of the scientists at the Brentinute. It worked mechanically, without any horses. Its walls had wires inside them. The underside had razor-sharp knives that could tear through any obstacle. In case of an attack, a protective dome would form around it immediately on the press of a button. The chariot also had a variety of weaponry. Such chariots were rare as they were complicated and expensive to build.
The Scavenger said, “You haven’t told me exactly where we are going.” The Scavenger tried to dispel the suspicion from his voice.
Cayden smiled. “You will know. Don’t worry about it.”
The Scavenger felt an unexplainable chill hearing those words. But he controlled himself and nodded.
Half an hour later, they saw a cave with a rough opening at a distance. The Scavenger slowed the chariot.
“Do we need to go inside the cave?” the Scavenger asked.
Cayden nodded. “Yes. Get ready. You need to increase the speed of the chariot to the maximum. Don’t slow down. Got that?”
The Scavenger frowned. “Why? That would be suicidal.”
Cayden shook his head. “Just do what I say. I know better than you about this area.”
The Scavenger was suspicious. “This makes no sense.”
“Unless we move at very high speed, we will be repelled away from the cave. Just press the damn accelerator,” Cayden shouted at the Scavenger.
A bell rang inside the Scavenger’s mind. The whole thing reeked of deceptiveness. He need to think of something. Fast...
The Scavenger pressed a button, and the chariot rumbled. It accelerated towards the cave. The entrance to the cave got closer almost at once. As the chariot started to enter the cave, things happened suddenly.
Cayden tried to jump out from the chariot. With lightning speed, the Scavenger immediately wrapped his right arm around Cayden’s neck. At the same time, he turned the chariot to a sharp right. The Scavenger successfully evaded a massive collision by an inch.
The Scavenger and Cayden slammed against the chariot’s railing due to the sudden turn. Cayden fell unconscious.
Everything happened in a flash.
The chariot was now steady and was moving away from the cave.
The Scavenger took a deep breath and tried to recollect what had happened.
Just as their chariot was about to enter the cave, another chariot barrelled out at full speed. If the Scavenger hadn’t pulled the handle and turned the chariot, the other chariot would have crushed them.
The Scavenger heaved a sigh of relief and looked back. He was surprised to see warriors on roaring hounds chasing him. Without wasting a moment, the Scavenger pushed a button on the control panel. A protective dome formed around the chariot. It was just in time. A moment later, a barrage of arrows struck the dome. It shook a little, but didn’t break.
As the enemy reinforcements started arriving from all sides, the Scavenger sensed that he was trapped.
The Scavenger took out his Lightning Sword and muttered a spell. The ground shook and lightning bolts rained down on the enemy warriors.
The damage to the enemy was significant. However, still, a large number of chariots were chasing the Scavenger, shooting arrows and knives. The protective dome was holding well so far.
The Scavenger accelerated the chariot to the maximum. He glanced at the unconscious Cayden. He still couldn’t believe it.
James was right.
Cayden was a traitor.
For how long the dome would protect him, the Scavenger didn’t know. Cracks had engulfed the dome. It looked like it might break any second.
The Scavenger’s hopes were raised when he saw the stone walls of the Brentinute in the distance. He turned to see that the hounds were catching up.
The children and Pyros assembled in Staler’s office. Flor and Skazen were with Staler, exploring the Brentinute.
“James, it’s the last time I am asking you. Tell me your plans,” Daniel said in a stern voice.
James sighed. “Okay. Listen.”
He paused and said, “The scientists told me that their spaceship has so far only gone smaller distances. The Earth’s orbit is too far. After some tweaks in the design of the spaceship, sending it into the Earth’s orbit isn’t a problem. The challenge is to bring the spaceship back from the Earth’s orbit, as its batteries will get discharged and the spaceship will get stuck in the Earth’s orbit.
“But, can’t you recharge the batteries and come back?” Daniel asked.
“That’s the issue. The scientists and the Greenies said they can’t do it with their current level of technology.”
“What about magic? Can magic help? Ask Pyros,” Archer said.
“Precisely, Archer. I had an idea to use both technology and magic. After discussing with the scientists, Greenies and Pyros, it seems that the idea can be implemented,” James said.
“Would you care to tell, you all-knowledgeable science genius?” Archer was being sarcastic.
“Have patience, my friend. That’s what I am telling you,” James said calmly. “We will create a new space shuttle of a smaller size, powered by a solar battery, and travel to the Earth’s orbit. The existing spaceship will be sent to the Sun since it doesn’t have a solar battery.”
Daniel was curious. “The Sun? But why? And what does the solar battery have to do with the spaceship going near the Sun?”
James held up a hand. “The spaceship going near the Sun cannot have anything which is powered by solar energy, including the battery, as it would explode due to the Sun’s rays. Instead, there will be a magical box containing a wormhole inside it. Pyros will be designing it. The box will be brittle to heat. The spaceship will get destroyed when it reaches near the Sun. The box will remain suspended in space. The brittle box will also give in to the Sun’s heat and crack. From within
