The Dragons of Men (The Sons of Liberty Book 2) by Jordan Ervin Page A

already too late. My apologies, Sovereign, but there was nothing we could do. I know how badly you wanted to keep him alive.”
    “It’s alright,” Lukas said, nearly shivering as he thought about Rhys’ week in hell.
    Had the man’s heart truly stopped from the pain? Lukas thought. Can that even happen?
    Lukas smiled and nodded back at Sandra. As she took her seat, Warren Anniston stood and withdrew a tiny device, approaching the middle of the room as he looked toward Lukas.
    “Good afternoon, my Sovereign,” Warren said.
    “To you as well, Mr. Anniston,” Lukas replied before motioning to the device Warren had set down on the center of the coffee table. “And may I ask what that is?”
    “This is called a Point of Reference device,” he said as he clicked a button and set it on the table. Eight drones smaller than his hand took flight, positioning themselves around the room. “And don’t worry, these drones won’t interfere with your protection drones at all. We’ve run extensive tests already. This is something I’d been working on in the private sector a couple years ago and I think you’re going to love it.”
    “Well do hurry,” Lukas said sarcastically. “The anticipation is killing me.”
    “Don’t go falling over dead just yet,” Warren said with a grin. “You’re going to want to see this.” Warren swiped the air around him for a few brief moments before the lights overhead began to dim. After another pause, Lukas’ nVision display lit up, portraying a three dimensional map in the middle of the semi-circle of attendees.
    Lukas’ eyes widened and he reached out to touch the digital map. Though he felt nothing, his fingers moved the display ever-so-slightly to the right, scanning a realistic layout—including terrain, cities, and weather—of the eastern seaboard as though he were gazing down on the world from miles up in the air.
    Like a god, Lukas thought with a grin, looking down from the heavens.
    “Warren,” Lukas began as he looked up, “it’s fascinating.”
    “I couldn’t agree more.”
    Lukas started and turned to face the man who had spoken. Jacob Brekor stood three feet to Lukas’ left, his eyes narrowed and a slight smile on his face. Maria jumped as her father spoke and quickly turned to face him.
    “Jacob,” Lukas began, masking his surprise as best as he could. “I thought you were in Europe?”
    “I am in Europe,” Jacob said, raising a steaming cup of tea. “In London, actually. Seems Buckingham Palace had a recent vacancy and you know how I’ve always loved the place.”
    “You’re…a projection?”
    “As are you, my friend,” Jacob replied. “At least to my eyes here, across the pond.”
    “I call it Farsight,” Warren said with a smile. “Nearly every major tech company has tinkered with this technology over the past fifteen years, though no one has made anything this sophisticated and advanced. It uses dozens of secure satellites to transmit a live broadcast of anything these eight drones record. Only those select few attendees who have been invited can access the broadcast through their nVision displays. Everyone, including Jacob, also sees whatever is being rendered and displayed instantaneously. For example, this map is a live feed that is filtered through a quantum computer and rendered on your nVision. We all see the same thing, but we see it from a different point of view, depending on the placement of the Point of Reference device.”
    “And we’re the only people who can see this?”
    “To any eyes in the area that might not be welcomed, it will appear as if the room is occupied by a handful of lunatics, all staring into empty space as we swipe our hands about.”
    Lukas moved to his left, the map’s terrain shifting with his eyes. He looked over at Jacob who nodded back with a grin.
    “It’s a big world out there,” Warren said. “I just wanted to make it smaller. For example.” Warren moved his hands about the map and zoomed