Discovery: Altera Realm Trilogy (3 page)

The basement-level workshop was cramped, as usual. Artimus always had been known as a packrat in the Village. Ever since he had begun to make toys for the youngsters, he had added even more to the clutter, with heads for dolls stacked toward the right and wooden wheels for wagons and trains to the left. It was a large hobby to undertake, but it was just one on a long list. First were coins, then paper animals and even embroidery. Artimus had been the hobby king for eighty long years, ever since he had received the task of being the One's finder. It was the most important useless job in the whole Village. Everyone there had been waiting in great anticipation for the Chosen One, the lost princess and only direct descendent in the great Vilori line, for more than one hundred years, when her coming had been prophesied. Artimus was the last in a long line of people chosen to sit in the lower room, waiting for the sign.

He glanced at the large map that sat on the desk across from him. Above it was a small purple crystal, hung on a black leather rope that was suspended by a hook from the ceiling. It was time for his hourly scrying. The only responsibility the finder had was to scry every hour for the One. Slowly he pulled the crystal down to check whether the piece of hair was still wrapped around it. It belonged to Princess Cassandrianna, a distant blood relation to the Chosen One. Holding the crystal a few inches from the map, he slowly moved it methodically from left to right, only stopping for a moment to drag a stool over upon which to sit. He was getting too old for standing for so long. As he moved
along the map, he thought about the new toys he was going to start making. He needed a doll for Jacbee and Lucinda's new little one. A slight tugging on the crystal pulled him from his thoughts. He looked down as the crystal glowed and pulled itself toward the map. Artimus stared in disbelief. He wasn't exactly sure what he was looking for every time he scried, but this had to be it. This was much more than what usually happened, which was nothing. The tug on the crystal grew stronger, hard enough to pull the rope from his hands. The crystal smacked down onto the map and spun over a specific point, glowing brighter and brighter.

"Oh, my goddess," Artimus choked out.

He rummaged through his mind. What were those ancient protocols? First, don't touch anything. Leave the crystal to make its mark on the map. Second, notify the head of the Royal Guard so that they may prepare the Protector naming ceremony. Third, notify the royal family so they may begin the preparations for the Chosen One's coming. Artimus had to think hard to remember what day it even was. They all strung together for him. It was the second day of the month and only the second scry, so it was still morning, which meant both the Royal Guard and family would be gathered in the meeting room for the weekly meeting.

Artimus started quickly, which for him was walking the distance to the stairs. He sighed heavily at the daunting task before him. There were four flights of stairs and then the great hallway, but he knew he must push forward, and he did. By the time he pushed open the large white doors, he was so out of breath that he could only stare at the startled faces looking at him.

"Artimus?" Leaf, the head of the Royal Guard, asked in surprise. "Are you all right?"

"She...she..." Artimus stopped, took a deep breath, and swallowed. "She has been found."

Syney

"Happy birthday!"

Syney smiled at her friends and family as they surrounded her and the huge cake her parents had gotten for her—chocolate cake with whipped cream icing; her absolute favorite.

"Make a wish!" Joyce exclaimed, putting her arm around her daughter's waist.

Syney closed her eyes and wished for something she'd never had before, a boyfriend, while she blew out the candles in one big huff. She shook her head and laughed. A boyfriend? Where had that come from? Syney always had crushes on guys, but they never returned the feelings. It never had been a huge deal for her, which made the spur-of-the-moment wish so odd. Maybe her biological clock had started to tick, like her mother always told her it would.

"So what did you wish for?" Jess asked, taking a piece of cake from Joyce, who had begun to cut the cake.

"Oh, nothing big," Syney said, taking her own piece.

The two made their way into the Andrews' living room, throwing a few hellos to some friends from school. Syney was always sociable with the other kids her age but never really got too close to any of them besides Jess. She always had this feeling of not fully fitting in.

"Good turnout," Jess joked, as they found a seat on one of the couches. "Even Debbie Linkin came." She smiled and waved to the very blond and tanned
Debbie across the room. "I really don't like her," Jess said through clenched teeth.

Syney laughed. "She's not that bad. Once you get past her complaining about her boyfriend all the time," she said around the cake she was chewing.

"Brad Vinnies?"

Syney nodded.

Jess sighed. "He could do so much better."

Syney shook her head and laughed.

"Hey, you two!" Brigit Nolan shrieked, and sat down on the coffee table across from them. "Great party, Syn. Your parents are way cooler than mine!"

"They're way cooler than most parents," Jess said.

"Oh, yeah!" Brigit paused and leaned forward, a sign that gossip was soon to follow. "So did you hear about that psychic lady from the carnival?"

Syney shook her head. "No, what happened?" She shifted in anticipation.

"She's so dead. They found her in her tent yesterday morning."

"Really?" Syney asked. She couldn't believe this; it had to be a coincidence.

"How?" Jess asked.

"How what?" Brigit asked.

"How did she die?" Jess asked slowly. You sometimes had to with Brigit.

"I dunno. I heard something about a heart attack. But that could be a cover-up."

Jess rolled her eyes.

"I wonder if she knew it was coming." Brigit paused. "Oh, well. Happy b-day, Syn!"

Jess watched her walk away and shook her head. "That girl is so random sometimes."

Syney wanted to laugh but instead found herself thinking of Madam Racksha. Dead? Very weird and sad. She seemed like a nice lady, beyond the creepiness. Then she thought of the black smoke arm. That could give anyone a heart attack—if it had been real, that is. Which it wasn't, of course.

"Hey, you OK?"

Syney looked up at Jess and nodded. "Yeah, just weirded out. I mean, I talked to the lady, and now she's dead."

Jess smiled sympathetically. "I totally get it. But cheer up. It's your birthday!"

Syney laughed. "Yes, a very good reason to celebrate!" Although her birthday already had past, according to Madam Racksha. She swallowed and put her plate on the coffee table. "I'm gonna go get some air." Once out the front door, Syney leaned back against the house and took a deep breath.

Jess slowly walked over to her. "Hey."

"Hey," Syney said. She contemplated what kind of life it would be not to have a best friend who followed you after a sudden exit.

"I don't mean to pry, but you've seemed...distracted the last couple of days. Everything OK?"

Syney shrugged. "I've had a lot on my mind, I guess."

"Like what?"

"Stuff." Syney laughed. "I don't know. It's kinda stupid."

"Nothing is too stupid. Except maybe Brigit."

The two laughed.

"I've just been thinking a lot about my real parents. My mom gave me some stuff I had with me when I was found. Just weird, I guess."

Jess nodded. "That's gotta be a hard subject. But you know I'm here for you, right? Always."

Syney smiled and accepted a hug from her friend. "I know."

There was a scuffling sound off to the side, and both girls turned to see a younger girl with long dark hair smoking a cigarette. The girl was the picture of a bad seed. Her makeup was dark around her eyes and blood-red on her lips. The stockings would have been cute if not for the various holes and runs. Her ripped black T-shirt had the name of some band Syney never had heard of, but it oddly enough matched her red plaid miniskirt. Syney never had seen her before, but the girl eyed her curiously.

"There you are. Kinda disappeared after we got here," Jess said in her fake-kind voice.

The girl puffed on her cigarette. "Whatever."

Syney looked at her friend, waiting for an intro.

"Oh, right. Remember when my mom put in for a foreign exchange student? Well, she showed up this morning. This is Scorpina," Jess explained.

"Oh," Syney said, looking back at the girl. "Hi, I'm Syney."

The girl nodded a greeting, still looking vaguely confused.

"Where are you from?" Syney asked.

"Torvinia."

"Oh." Syney looked over at Jess. "Where is that?" she asked quietly.

"Beats me. She's not super-talkative."

"Is it your birthday?"

Syney looked back at Scorpina. "Yeah. Eighteen."

She nodded and walked closer to them, tossing her cigarette toward the driveway. "That's cool. Nice house."

"Thanks," Syney said slowly, still unsure of the newcomer.

"We should hang out."

Syney stared at her shocked. "Um..." She looked at Jess for help, or something, but Jess was staring at Scorpina in shock as well. "Yeah, I guess. That would be cool."

"Cool." Scorpina tried a smile but then seemed to think better of it and put her half-grimace, half-pout back on. "Right. I'm going to go." She looked at Jess. "Can I leave?"

Jess shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so. The back door should be unlocked."

"OK," she said, before throwing one more look at Syney and stalking off toward Jess's house.

"Charming girl," Syney said with a small laugh.

"Yeah. At least she wants to be your friend. She won't even give me a second look."

"Well, I do have a cool house," Syney mocked.

"Uh-huh, whatever." Jess laughed and walked down the porch to have a seat on the wooden swing. "She's way too weird for me, though, and I have to put up with her for four months."

Syney sat down next to her and looked out toward the street. It was a pretty night. Very clear with a nice crisp breeze. "That's not that long."

"You did see the girl, right?"

Syney laughed just as a rustling in the bushes lining the property caught their attention.

"Don't tell me we have deer again," Jess said.

"I don't think that's a deer."

They both looked over to the end of the porch just as a large wolf jumped onto the deck. Both girls screamed but were frozen in fear. The wolf seemed hesitant to approach them any further and lingered a few feet away. It was much larger than any dog Syney ever had seen, larger even than the wolves she had seen in most pictures. Its brown fur looked silky, and its paws were bigger than basketballs. But its eyes drew Syney in. The second she looked into its big chocolate-brown eyes, she felt an overwhelming calmness. Her frustrations and fears regarding the past few days' events seemed to fall from her mind. She wasn't sure what was happening, but she liked it.

Holding out her hand, Syney slowly stood up and walked toward the wolf.

"What are you doing?" Jess shrieked from behind her.

Syney touched the tip of the beast's wet nose, not once letting her gaze leave its eyes, and smiled. "It's OK. He won't hurt us."

The wolf nudged her hand, pushing her fingers into the soft fur on the top of his head.

Syney laughed in amazement but quickly pulled her hand away when the wolf stared hard at something behind her and growled. She turned just as Scorpina walked back onto the deck from the other end.

"You guys OK?" she asked. "I heard screams."

"It was just..." Syney stopped as she turned back to the wolf, which was gone. "Nothing, I guess." She stared out into the shadows but didn't see anything.

"It was a crazy, rabid wolf!" Jess yelled. She shook her head. "I've got to go over nice animals and not-nice animals with you, Syn."

"A wolf?" Scorpina asked.

"Yeah. Maybe we should go inside, just in case he brings more back with him," Jess said, tugging on Syney's arm.

"Good idea," Scorpina said, eyeing the shadows.

"Syney!" Jess yelled, finally pulling her attention. "Let's go inside."

Syney nodded and followed Jess back into the party, but she still couldn't get the wolf's image out of her head, let alone the calm feeling he had given her with just one look or touch. She almost wished he was in front of her again, making the feeling last much longer. But that would be crazy, right?

Cassandrianna