Read Online Guardians of Rhea by Jose Rodriguez - Free Book Online

to
the top. With a quick jerk, the basket quickly began to go up.
    When they reached the top, Sara could see for
miles in all directions.
    A Vesuvian working the winch locked it in
place so the basket wouldn't fall and grabbed a lever. “Ready?” he
asked.
    “Hang on,” Leon said.
    Sara grabbed the basket's support ropes and
braced herself.
    With a nod from Leon, the Vesuvian pulled the
lever, sending the basket off on its way along a set of cables.
    It was only a matter of seconds till the
basket was racing through the air.
    Leon was leaned against the edge of the
basket with his legs crossed, slightly amused.
    Sara, however, was hit with an adrenaline
rush she'd never experienced before. She looked down and saw the
buildings far below zooming past.
    A good minute later, they reached the next
tower.
    Leon pointed to continue on.
    The Vesuvian manning the tower worked several
winches and pulled a lever to send the basket further into the
city.
    At this point, Sara began to see a few other
baskets in the distance traveling between towers. After the sixth,
she could see even more racing through the air. “This is neat!” She
said.
    Leon looked over the edge. “Almost
there.”
    After several more towers, Leon pointed down,
instructing the Vesuvian to lower the basket.
    Sara stepped out. “We definitely have to do
that again!”
    “Perhaps, maybe on the way back,” Leon
said. “There’s going to be a lot of people here so try to keep
up.”
     
     
     

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
     
    Before stepping out of the tower, Sara could
certainly tell that there was more hustle and bustle going on in
the city. She stuck close to Leon as they passed numerous
Vesuvians, some minding her, others not paying any attention at
all.
    Carl, clearly a Remia, stepped in front of
Leon and Sara. “I don't care what you say. You're getting an escort
whether you like it or not.”
    “Just tell them to keep their distance,” Leon
said, walking around Carl.
    Even at mid-evening and with the sun
completely blocked, Sara could see everything as well as on a
gloomy day. The size of the buildings impressed her the most. Many
were several dozen stories high.
    Before long they were standing in front of
the tallest building in Vesuvia. It was so massive it actually
looked like several buildings put together.
    “Here we are,” Leon said.
    “The Council is inside this building?” Sara
asked, looking up in awe. “I hope you have something other than
stairs.”
    “I hate to disappoint you this time
but...”
    Sara's shoulders dropped like anchors.
    “It won't take too long,” said Leon, leading
the way.
    Inside, the building was well lit with
torches. At both sides of the lobby were dozens of circular nooks
with a platform inside.
    Leon and Sara stepped into one. A small tug
on a rope, coming from a hole in the ceiling and into the floor,
sent the platform on its way up.
    “You should have seen the look on your face.”
Leon said.
    Sara did her best not to smile. “You're a
joker, huh?”
    The platform moved much slower than the
baskets between the towers. The sound of gears turning was a clue
as to how it all worked. With each floor that passed, Sara could
see some of what went on. Much of what she saw though were smaller
lobbies for that floor, but the rest seemed strange – one floor had
literally a giant pool of blood. Another reminded Sara of the
ballroom at the Citadel. In others, the various Houses worked hard
at mastering their powers.
    “What exactly goes on here?” Sara asked.
    “It's a highly exclusive building for the
elite, but not like your Elites,” Leon said. “Here we have the
older, more powerful Vesuvians who've earned the privilege to
reside here.”
    “How about you? Do you have a place
here?”
    “No, I'm only allowed in here 'cause my
parents are in the Council. But there really isn’t much you can do
here that you can't do elsewhere.”
    “Then why bother?”
    “Well...it's like I said, the best are here.
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