Kytos

Book excerpt: The second book in "The Rathing Chronicles" trilogy, "Kytos - The Dark Beyond" covers events in Britain in 2078. The half-rat half human Rathings rule with an iron fist but have to rely on press-ganged humans to run the country and the economy, which is crumbling due to trade and travel embargoes imposed by the rest of the world. The Rathings are just one of the breeds of hybrid mutants let loose on the world as a result of The Kytos Project - a genetic engineering, hybrid cloning programme almost 60 years earlier. A disillusioned and altruistic Rathing General and a cabal of senior officers plan to overthrow their government and launch an invasion, initially into Europe, and then further afield with a view to conquering the world.By accepting the assistance of an amoral Rathing Senator from the parallel future dimension, the General unknowingly takes the first step to being manipulated by the duplicitous Senator, who has his own dark agenda. With unrest mounting amongst the Rathing military and elite, a showdown between government forces and rebel troops is inevitable. An epic battle eventually takes place between the two factions. The losing General is captured and executed in a barbaric manner. Meanwhile, a young human called Ashok is laying down his own battle plans. He wants to destroy the Rathings before they mature from their embryonic stage, as he holds them responsible for the death of his parents. The only way he can do so is to return to the past through a Time Gate and persuade the scientist who created the clones to stop his experiment.But his plans are dashed at every turn and his determination to stop the creation of the clones puts two friends' lives in mortal danger. And there's the mystery surrounding the assassination of dozens of Rathings. A small mound of residual molecular dust left at each of the crime scenes is a tell-tale sign that the killers may be etheric beings from another dimension. The pressure is on Rathing investigators to catch these shadow souls before they murder more of their kinsfolk. With Rathing and human lives in peril, the challenges Ashok and the General must overcome change each of their lives forever.