Chapter Twenty-One

The Wrong RightHeart

Knowledge is in the very essence of this universe only one must have the desire to seek

Gilbert RightHeart

Earth (The Mainland) EarthYear 999

Gilbert had whooshed to the top of the minaret of the House of Almighty before the meeting in the Grand Hall. As expected, Vasilias was standing on the topmost balcony. He was in no mood to climb the four hundred steps to the top, even with his newly refurbished young body, but Gilbert knew Vasilias liked doing that, every now and then, just to ease his nerves.

It was a usual calm evening with a light breeze and a clear sky. Gilbert looked around and it was clear to him why Vasilias loved this spot. The majestic views from the tallest structure on the Earth gave him a feeling that the whole world was below him. The sleeping Armateus, the lush green forest of dawn that surrounded this beautiful city, and the majestic river Vinum zig-zagging its course through its heart made it a sight to behold.

"Like the view?" Vasilias asked his friend.

"It is worth the effort."

"Well, you reached here in a blink so don't talk about effort. Anyway, nowadays there is another reason for me to climb all the way to the top," Vasilias said pointing to the south. Mount Tenebra, although more than a day away from Armateus, was visible from here. Gilbert strained his eyes to have a good look at the mountain. "The normal weather conditions don't to apply to your region anymore. Tenebra's peak is always covered in gloomy dark clouds that get thicker with every passing day."

"I live right under its shadow. My Soul can feel the gloom there."

"I heard that areas lying near the Mountain are permanently flooded."

"Vasilias, you know how magic works. This gloom is the after-effect of magic but a prelude for what is about to come. The ever-lengthening shadows don't bode well for this world. Today when we meet our friends we must work out a solid plan before it is too late."

"We will Gilbert, we surely will."

***

Max

Earth (African Coast) EarthYear 1998

Dar-es-Salaam was a sleepy town on the grossly underdeveloped African coast. Although Africa was connected to the Mainland, this area lying to the east of the river Nile was totally different. Here the climate was very hot and humid and despite its proximity to the Valley of Reckoning, people avoided Africa because they didn't want to live under the looming shadows of Mount Tenebra.

Gilbert RightHeart was born in Dar-es-Salaam. When the Pente Potens divided their territories after the first war of Reckoning, Gilbert chose to look after Africa. He was the one most affected by the war. His mind was not at peace, he looked shattered by the aftereffects and thus sought refuge in his birthland. Also, since he was the most learned amongst the new Holy Pieteous, everyone thought it appropriate to keep Mount Tenebra under his watch.

Gilbert stayed on the Earth longer than others to fortify the defenses of the Valley and Tenebra, but his mind was never in the right state to rule. That attitude carried down the generations and the RightHearts never cared too much about governing. As a result, African lands never prospered like the remaining world.

Although Dar-es-Salaam, the only port that connected this world to India, benefitted from the generous gifts from the Sunbornes, the old hag put an end to it some decades ago. That resulted in an exodus of Africans to other more promising cities on the Mainland and a gradual deterioration of this whole area.

Max arrived at the port city on a train and proceeded toward an old castle that stood on a sandy beach. The castle was in shambles, pretty much like the whole city. A single guard was sitting at the main gate and before Max could say anything he opened the gate. "Go around the castle, towards the sea. You will find him on the beach."

"Find whom exactly?"

The guard went back to playing the game on his mobile making it clear that Max wasn't getting any more answers out of him.

Max entered the gate and walked towards the castle. His gold watch turned into smoke. "This place looks spooky. We should have brought others," Stokes said to his master.

"Ryan and Brendon are in America and Mysha and Tri have been prohibited from moving out of the castle."

"Master, can we give up this old-fashioned walking and just teleport?"

Max whistled and whooshed to the beach. An old man was sitting on a table, sipping coffee and reading an ancient-looking book that seemed to have dropped right out of a Harry Potter movie.

"Thank God you have finally arrived," he said without looking up from his book.

"And who are you?" Max gulped.

"Earth becomes inhabitable once someone turns fifty. I have overstayed six years waiting for you and you dare ask me who I am?"

"I was just asking someone his name."

"Absolutely disgusting. My hair has gone grey, I have got wrinkles, digestion problems, heart issues and you are worried about my name."

"He is Julian RightHeart, The former king of Africa and unfortunately my grandfather." A girl, about twelve years old, short, slightly chubby with cropped hair, replied while carrying a tray of mugs towards them. "He hasn't aged well. A little too cranky to endure."

"That is because this moron took ages to find me."

"You could have left this to dad and leaped."

"Your father can't tell an imp apart from a pimp and you ask me to leave the future of this world in his hands? He training a Poten would be the end of this Symphony."

"Sit down and have some coffee," the girl asked Max, pointing to a chair. Max settled down, and the girl sat in the chair opposite him. "Hello, I am Jennifer."

"I am Max," Max said shaking Jennifer's hand. "Can you tell me how did he know I was coming?"

"He has been expecting you for quite some time now. Today our Soulments caught some spike in the paranormal realm, a rare incident in these parts, so we guessed that you are finally here."

"Don't tell me you don't have Soulment issues despite being so close to Tenebra."

"The Dark Souls know that the main battles must be fought and won in the more established areas of the world. We are pretty much undisturbed in these so-called wastelands."

Julian let out a grunt. "Both you devils can have your little chit-chat later. I am already six years behind schedule. So what took you so long to find me?"

"I only learned last month that the Scions can teach us ways to enhance our powers, so I started looking for you."

"Utterly pathetic. It took you almost twenty years of your wretched existence to find that out. And even after that, you took weeks to locate me. I doubt you are the right RightHeart?" "Someone didn't leave me a postal address and for someone's information, I had to figure out this location on my own."

"RightHeart castles are only in three cities. Little devil, what do you call that little toy you keep wasting your life on?" Julian asked his granddaughter.

"A Tab."

"And what is that horrific thing on your tab that pretends to know everything?"

"Google."

"Yes Goggle," Julian said turning his attention back on Max. "A simple Goggle search would have told you that I am here. How did you travel?"

"A combination of train, car, and foot."

"Absolutely pedestrian. Do you have any powers at all? I can't believe they chose such an imbecile as a Poten."

Max wasn't the one who lost his cool that easily, but Julian could set ice on fire. "I avoid teleporting unless necessary. I have slammed into metal a couple of times," Max said through clenched teeth.

"That is a lame excuse to hide your total ineptitude. There are ways to find out routes without such barriers."

"Tell me, isn't this what I am supposed to learn from someone?"

"Absolutely not. This is basic. This little devil's youngest sister, how old is that little prick?"

"Six," Jennifer replied.

"That six-year-old can teleport from here to Mombasa. Don't tell me you haven't figured this out on your own and I have to start with elementary stuff."

Max chose not to reply.

Julian scratched his left chin. "Oh my God, I should have listened to my son and leaped six years ago. This seems like a waste of time."

Max's face had turned red. He wanted to seal the mouth of this annoying old bat with permanent glue. "I know what I know and for someone's information, I know a lot more than the other Potens."

"RightHearts are the most learned. It is in their genes. But if you are the wisest amongst the chosen ones then God help Earth and its people. The doom is near."

"Grandpa, stop being an irritating frog, I mean just stop being yourself and do what you are supposed to do."

Julian pointed his finger at a plate of chocolate brownies in the tray. It rose in the air and floated towards him.

"Darn, how did you do that?" Max exclaimed but immediately regretted that.

Julian twisted his face as if he was about to throw up. "This is absolutely nauseating. You have never moved a thing? Now I am sure old man Gilbert has chosen the wrong RightHeart."

"I once saw Mysha, our Bond, lift an iron rod just like this and drive it through a Soulment's heart."

"You, a RightHeart, the designated Mover can't move things and your Bond can? Have you ever thought about drowning yourself in a glass of water?"

"Grandpa just cut him some slack." Jennifer came to Max's rescue. "Dad couldn't even lift a spoon by the time I started my training."

"Your dad is the dumbest RightHeart to have ever walked on the Earth but now he has some serious competition. He is the reason I decided to hang around because dumb teaching another dumb would have resulted in this dumb becoming dumber."

Max always thought that Harbux was the most annoying person in the three worlds but he was wrong. Julian would beat him hands down. He could shatter a person's confidence and set fire to his self-esteem in a few minutes.

"Don't worry he has this superiority complex," Jennifer said comforting Max with a soft pat on his back. "He will trample you under his feet and make you feel like absolute trash before he teaches you something worthy. You will get used to it. We all have."

Max nodded. Any other person would have remained silent but Max, as usual, couldn't suppress his questions. "Julian, all other Scions were surprised when we told them about the Pente Potens, but you were waiting for me. How?"

"Those idiots are too busy ruling the world and enjoying its luxuries rather than being the protectors they are supposed to be. Had they gone back to their pool of knowledge and read the omens they would have known that it is time for another War of the Reckoning."

"What omens?"

"You ask a lot of questions but you have to earn the answers. I don't want to waste my knowledge on a dimwit dullard who would be slain by the first demon he faces."

"For someone's information, I have fought Soulments and won."

"If you defeated a Soulment then there is a total dearth in the quality of the products Inferna used to produce."

"Max, he will just go on and on," Jennifer said with a sigh. "Grandpa, shall I show him his room? I guess he is staying."

"Absolutely not. I can't risk him staying here. Soulment spies might have followed him and soon their army would be swarming this place. Our people can't afford demon invasions."

"If you are not taking him in then why were you waiting for him."

"Gilbert RightHeart, one of the wisest men to ever live, would be cringing in Bliss upon seeing the totally pathetic mental aptitude of his descendants."

"Don't forget that you are one of them." Jennifer shot back.

"I am the only bright light in this utter gloom. And little devil, I am not sending him away rather I am going with him to the Mainland. We must find a safe place, away from here."

"We don't need to find one, I already have such a place."

***

Max, Julian, and Jennifer were standing atop a hill that overlooked the vast grasslands of Africa.

"Grandpa, do you think this is a good idea?" Jennifer asked looking down the cliff.

"I am certainly not going by train or bus. I was born to whoosh."

"But you are well past your expiry date. Dad told me last time you left a couple of fingers behind."

Julian spread his palms in front of his granddaughters. "Does the little devil know how to count or should I count my ten fingers for her? I left behind toes, and that too because I was sick and wanted to run away from the old hag you call your grandma."

"But still Scotland is far away. Will you be able to jump that long?"

"I can whoosh to London in my sleep and Balmoral is just a couple of jumps away from there. I am doing this since your dad used to run around in nappies. Little devil, I am your grandfather. Never you dare tell me what I can do and what I can't."

Max was pacing around the hilltop. "Okay okay, let us do it."

"Dimwit Dullard, what is the farthest you have teleported?"

"A couple of miles once. No wait, I jumped more than three miles when a grisly demon was chasing after me in Slough."

Julian sank to the floor and slapped his forehead. "I have never seen such a gross waste of powers. Really, three miles, that's it?"

"You can't risk him teleporting hundreds of miles when he has never even done ten miles before. What if he falls from the sky?" Jennifer again tried to convince her grandpa to look for some other option.

"I know we can't risk that. Even though he is utterly useless, the last thing this world needs is a dead Poten. Gilbert made a mistake and now this whole world will have to pay its price."

Max by now learned that the only way to endure Julian is to listen to his taunts from one ear and flush them out from another. "Can someone tell me why are we teleporting from high altitudes instead of ground levels?"

"Oh my God, how can you even live with ignorance running through your veins instead of blood? Dimwit Dullard, high altitude means no obstructions. No iron fences or poles to get hit. I hope you at least know how you zoom from one place to another."

"We teleport through a vacuum."

"That vacuum leaves behind a void that can be dangerous for others. Anything that gets sucked into it is crushed. When we teleport from one hill to another that void is so high up that nothing, apart from a few stray birds, gets stuck in that."

Julian took out a piece of ancient-looking parchment from a traveling pouch he was wearing around his waist. He cleaned his hands on his pants and unfolded the parchment with utmost care. "Because of your absolute inability to do anything worth mentioning, we will have to do hill hopping. We will start with small hops, twenty miles to begin with, and then increase gradually till we find out the maximum limit of your downright mediocre standards."

Jennifer threw her hands in the air. "I have been hopping for years and I am still not allowed to do map-hopping, so how does he get to do it when he hasn't even mastered the traditional long hop?"

"Little devil, if he hops on his own he will be dead before completing the first jump. We will do tandem hopping. I will hold and maneuver him. Now Dimwit Dullard, get hold of these books so that we can start the tedious journey that could have been completed in a blink if not for your unequivocal incompetence."

Max turned around and saw about a dozen maids holding a sack each. "Can someone tell me which one of those I have to carry?"

"All of them, of course. These are the basic ones. We will come and fetch the others later."

"Grandpa, that looks like hundreds of pounds."

"How am I supposed to teach this all-out idiot without books?"

"What about using your brain? I am sure there is enough there to suffice him a couple of lifetimes."

Julian folded his hands in front of his chest and looked away. "I am not going anywhere without my books."

"Okay, choose the most important ones and put them in a sack."

"I have only brought the important ones. They all must travel or else the Dimwit Dullard can go and jump into Mount Tenebra."

"Grandpa now you are being very unreasonable." Jennifer took out a phone from her pocket. "I am going to call dad and ask him to send grandma here right now. She is already pissed off because of the delay in her leap, and the last thing you want is to cut her vacation short."

"Are you threatening me?" Julian asked pointing a finger at his granddaughter.

Jennifer nodded, with some exaggerated movement of her head.

"Okay. Two sacks."

"Only one."

"For God's sake, dullard has two hands, he can surely carry one in each."

Max had had enough. "Okay okay, I will carry two. Now can we please get moving?"

"Sometimes I wonder whether you are my granddaughter or my grandma?"

"It depends on whether you are acting like a kid or a grown-up," Jennifer replied with a cute smile.

They spent the next two hours on the hill. Julian emptied all the sacks on the ground and tried to choose which books to carry. Teleporting maps of the world by Phoebus was the first to go in the traveling sack. Avoiding the voids went in and then came back out a few minutes later. Julian turned a few pages of Moving the immovable before it got the nod to travel.

Julian was like a kid in a toy shop that had everything for free, but he could only pick what he could carry. He was torn between what to take and what to leave. However, one thing was clear, Julian was in love with books. He treated them as if they were some living and breathing entities.

"Sometimes my grandpa can be a pain in the area I am not allowed to mention. Earth is unforgiving on those who have crossed fifty. He catches some new ailment every month and gets crankier day by day, but he cares a lot for this world. He waited six years for you to arrive."

"I can see the care he hides behind his mask of arrogance, you know."

"Are you sure about two sacks?" Julian asked pointing to two sacks that were bursting at their seams. "I can carry one as well."

"Grandpa, you can't hold Max in one hand."

"Yes, I forgot that I have to carry the Wrong RightHeart in my arms like a baby."

"Stop whining and get going, Grandpa. Reach there before dark. The last thing you want is to land on a treetop or a slippery rock."

Julian looked at Stokes hovering behind Max. "Hope your shaky little level three could provide us enough juice for the journey. Gilbert didn't only royally mess up while choosing the Poten, he screwed up while selecting his Guardian too. He should have at least selected a strong Djinn if not a Marid, rather than sending this poor little imp?"

"I am not an imp," Stokes said in a stern voice. Even he was fed up with the constant bickering.

"I am a level four Djinn. 4.8 to be precise,"

"Can you fly?"

"That is the last step to becoming a level five. I am only that far away."

"This means you can't catch him if I lose my grip."

"Wait, Soulments can fly?" Max once again couldn't hide his excitement and he knew what was coming next.

"I am absolutely appalled at the miserably high levels of idiocy around me. Haven't you ever read anything called a book?"

"For someone's information, there is a library in Westminster that has thousands of books written by Pieteous Scions but unfortunately I was too lazy to go there and read." Max tried to counter Julian's jibe with one of his own.

"No need to be sarcastic. Knowledge is in the very essence of this universe only one must have the desire to seek."

Max massaged his forehead. He was having a headache even before whooshing. "Okay okay, when will we finally get going?"

"Jennifer, tell your grandma to be ready for our last journey. However, after seeing the abysmal standards of the Wrong RightHeart's ignorance, I assume I might be gone for a while. Dimwit Dullard, lift the sacks."

Max tried to lift the two sacks but doubled over. "Have you filled these with rocks?"

"That is the weight of knowledge."

Max somehow managed to lift the sacks. Julian wrapped his arms around Max's chest to hold him tight from behind. "Little djinni, you know what to do, right? Turn on your powers and provide us with full thrust."

Stokes started glowing in a sparkling gold shade.

"Baby Dullard, close your eyes and channel your energies. Spread your hands and imagine they are your wings. Your whole body must feel like a feather."

"The wings and the feathers are getting crushed by these sacks."

"You are an utterly useless abomination of a RightHeart. You don't have to actually flap your hands because they will not make you fly. Just imagine that. The key to moving is to forget your body and concentrate on your soul. Become oblivious to your surroundings and lock on your target, in this case, the dot on the map I showed you. Concentrate, start feeling lighter, concentrate, feel light, forget about your weight, concentrate and now click your trigger."

Max whistled. He experienced that familiar feeling of getting sucked into a vacuum cleaner but this time it was prolonged and more intense. His stomach churned upside down, his bile rose to his throat and he felt like choking to death. After ten seconds of turmoil, he felt ground under his feet. His head was spinning, and he threw up the moment they landed.

"Absolutely disgusting. How can a Mover have motion sickness? Are you sure you are what you say you are?"

"I have never felt like this while teleporting."

"Because you have never traveled this far."

"How far?"

"Barely twenty miles. If you keep throwing up like a pregnant lady, you will spill out all your guts before we cover half the distance."

"Okay okay, give me a break. This is my first time, you know. I need some air."

Max lay down on his back and took in some deep breaths. The fresh breeze, high up in the hills, soothed his guts. Stokes had a concerned look on his face, but his bright gold glow suggested he enjoyed the ride.

Julian was in Max's face even before the world stopped twirling around him. "I am not waiting here the whole day. We are moving, you can puke as much as you want."

"If you don't stop irritating me I will accidentally drop the sacks of books during our next flight."

"And I will drop you if you try something like that." The return threat sounded very hollow.

"You won't do that. You care a little too much about this world, and you know this world needs me. Stop bothering me or else ..." Max slowly lifted a sack to his waist and then dropped it on a rock.

The threat worked better than Max had expected. Julian kept his mouth shut. They teleported again a few minutes later and Max threw up again. Gradually, nausea stopped as Max got a hang of the long hopping.

They hopped from small hills to towering mountains and landed on icy peaks, green slopes, and rugged sides. There wasn't much time to admire the scenery because the moment Max was steady Julian grabbed him and whooshed. Thankfully African side was dotted with mountains and lots of landing options. Once they crossed the Nile and entered the plains, Julian increased the distance. They covered a couple of hundred miles each in their last few jumps.

Max was impressed by Julian's accuracy. Apart from a rough landing on ice, where he lost his footing and they slid down a slope, Julian made perfect stops. After what felt like hundreds of torturous hops to Max, they finally arrived at a snowy peak.

Max knew these mountains very well. The Cairngorms was a famous tourist destination and Mount Ferdinand, named after Vasilias's son, was one of the iconic peaks. Thankfully it was midnight and there were no hikers near the top.

Max fell to the ground. He was panting like a runner who had just finished a marathon. "I would have preferred a train ride to this."

"And I would have preferred a two-minute flight from DaresSalam to Balmoral. But because of the ineptitude of a hopeless dullard, I had to hop a million times like a kangaroo with a baby in her pouch."

Max ignored Julian's taunt and pointed to a building below them. "Let us walk to the resort down there. I will call Mysha to send someone to pick us up."

"You are truly woeful. Do you have potatoes inside your head? Why do you even think about walking when you can whoosh?"

"There are a lot of fences around here. We don't want any unnecessary injuries."

"I would take that chance. You see that highway below," Julian said pointing to some street lights thousands of feet below. "Meet me there." Julian was gone the next second.

"Darn, the old fox." Max lifted the sacks and followed Julian's trail to land beside him. They settled down on the grass on the side of the highway.

"When will your lousy friend's vehicle arrive?"

"Cars drive along the road. They can't teleport, you know."

"Why can't we go straight to your place."

"There is heavy security all around that castle. Fences, traps, guns. No chance of teleporting anywhere close to it."

Three government cars arrived to pick them up half an hour later. They got off the highway and drove through a small road to finally reach the outer boundaries of the huge estate.

Max's eyes lit up once their car entered the castle's main gate after clearing multiple levels of Soulment security checks. Mysha was waiting for him at the gate alongside Tri and Graham.

Julian was shaking his head when he stepped out of the car. "This place is absolutely filthy. It reeks of that sissy Alexander and that blood-sucking witch. This much security? Why don't these spineless worms dig a hole and bury themselves under it."

Mysha had just embraced Max in a tight hug when Julian's croaky voice reached her ears. "Well, who is this grumpy gnome?"

"It will take a whole night to describe him."

By now Julian's eyes had fallen on Graham. "You look like Alexander."

"I am his son, Graham."

"So you are in charge now? Where is that crybaby Alex? Has he already leaped? Wait he is forty-nine, he can't leap. Or did that witch grandmother of yours found a way to trick the Protectors of the Valley?"

"He has gone to America for some demon hunting," Graham shot back.

Julian burst out laughing. "Demon hunting? Absolutely hilarious. I can see the signs of Alex's bravery all around this place. Tell me, he is cowering in which dungeon? That boy was bright, but that vicious demoness turned him into a complete bunny."

Mysha's face had turned crimson. "You kind of know her very well."

"I had the utter misfortune of meeting her quite a few times. Sorry to say this Graham, but your grandma was a total pain in the unmentionables. Girl, why are you puffing like a steam engine?" Julian asked looking at Mysha who looked as if she would grow fangs and suck all the blood out of him.

"Because she is her, you know," Max tried to explain the awkward scenario. "I mean Mysha was Elizabeth."

Everyone was eager to see Julian's reaction to this piece of information but he didn't flinch. "It was very logical to send you back to Earth. At least to repent for your sins if nothing else. I hope you mend your ways because not many people get a second chance. Although such a short lifespan might not be enough to wash away the outright wickedness imbibed in your soul."

"Ignore him," Max whispered to Mysha. "Let me tell you, you will get used to this after a while."

"Well, that will only happen if I don't throw him out of the castle right now."

Julian settled down on one of the garden chairs. "Tiny-Little-Witch, tell your grandson to fetch my sacks. Your moron guards have confiscated them at the gate. I don't want anyone to touch them."

"Tiny-Little-Witch? For God's sake, I am at least six inches taller than you."

"The tiny and little refers to the size of your intellect and character. And the witch is self-explanatory since you are the reincarnation of you know who. Your body may outgrow a palm tree but how will you lengthen the soul that was shrunk by that demoness? Now get my books."

Julian had riled up Mysha and she wanted to teach him a lesson. "Well, they will be checked before they enter these premises."

"I thought Max was the Wrong RightHeart but you are dumber than him. You should have got some brains since you are the reincarnation of that ugly crone, but you don't seem to possess the only good quality she had." Julian whistled and the two sacks hovered right beside him.

Mysha's eyes were wide with shock. "Tiny-Little-Witch, your eyes will fall off the sockets. You forgot that I am a Mover and a Shaker. Your protections can stop me from moving in, but they can't stop me from shaking other things around." Julian got up and stretched his arms. "Now show me my room, send some dinner, chicken no meat I have digestion issues, and some fresh clothes."

Mysha glared at Max who raised his hands in apology. "I know someone is cringy in his manners, but let me tell you Mysha, he is awesome in his skills."

***