Shadowstorm (Sorcery and Science Book 6) (9 page)

Lana wasn’t fooled. “There will be a few roasted pigs set out for supper tonight.”

Everett smiled. She knew him well.

“Did you arrange that for me?” he asked.

“Perhaps I heard you were back and asked the kitchen to prepare something I knew you would appreciate,” she said, folding her hands together.

He grinned at her. “Ah, then you must have missed me.”

She leaned forward across the table and kissed him very slowly on the cheek. She straightened back up, lifting her teacup to her mouth to give him a coy smile over the top. Everett stole a quick glance over his shoulder.

“I startled you,” Lana said, then took a slow sip from her tea.

“No, I’m just waiting for Jason to show up. And the inevitable knife in the back.”

“I had a little chat with my dear brother, the assassin. He will not be bothering you.”

“Is that so?” Everett stood up and walked around the table to sit beside her on the bench. “So I won’t die a horrible and painful death for suggesting that we snatch a platter of that roasted pig tonight and then head over to my place for dinner?”

“Everett Black, you thieving scoundrel,” she replied, her lips fighting against the encroaching smile.

“Is that a yes?”

“Of course it’s a yes.” She took his hand and squeezed it. “Pirate.”

“Priestess,” he retorted, squeezing harder.

She raised two amused eyebrows. “Was that supposed to be an insult?”

“No,” he said. “Was yours?”

When Lana laughed, it was the melodious chime of singing bells. Everett set his hand across her back and pulled her in closer, so close that his nose brushed against her jaw. The sweet aroma of her cherry blossom shampoo filled his head, making it swim with thoughts he didn’t dare speak aloud.

“Hello.”

Gritting his teeth, Everett looked up to find Terra standing beside the table.

“Am I interrupting something?” she asked.

Yes. Go away.

“Please, join us,” Lana said with a wide smile, scooting away from Everett.

Terra looked uncertainly at Everett, but she sat down across from them. Lana took another cup and saucer from the tea tray.

“Would you like some tea, Terra?” she offered.

“Yes, raspberry please.”

Lana scooped out a spoonful of dark leaves from one of the tins, the tiny red flakes snowing down as she filled the filter. She poured in hot water, then slid the steaming cup across the table.

“Thank you, Lana,” Terra said, tapping the coaster with her fingernails.

Lana offered her the sugar bowl. “Something on your mind?”

Terra waved it away. “Just the usual annoyances.”

“Let me guess, my beloved brother.”

“Yes.” Terra leaned forward, and the tip of her braid nearly dunked into her tea. “How did you manage all those years to restrain yourself from hitting him over the head with a book…or a tree…or a boulder…” Her eyes drifted upward in thought.

“Simple. He’s a lot faster than I am.”

Everett had chosen an inopportune moment to sip from his tea. It practically squirted out of his nose.

“Are you all right?” Lana asked, slapping him on the back.

Everett cleared his throat. “Fine.” He shot her his most charming smile. “Just fine, cupcake.”

“Good to hear, cupcake,” she shot back.

Everett very nearly choked on his own tongue. “Cupcake? No, no. That’s not nearly manly enough for a rugged mercenary such as myself. Or sexy pirate, if you will.”

“I rather like it,” said Lana.

“It suits you,” Terra agreed. “All sweet and fluffy.”

“You two ladies do realize that ‘cupcake’ is a term of endearment used only for women?”

“Well, that explains why those Diamond Edges got into such a fuss,” Terra said.

Lana looked at her, her lips twitching with curiosity.

“A group of them were annoying me at a party once,” Terra explained. “They kept calling me ‘cupcake’, so I returned the favor. They weren’t amused.”

“Did that at least get rid of them?” asked Lana.

“No, that took a few broken noses.”

Everett snickered. “Good for you.”

Lana sighed. She wasn’t a fighter. Everett really had to start remembering that. It was a hard habit to break. He’d spent years replaying that incident with the mad Elition, over and over again in his mind. He hadn’t considered that there could be an Elition who didn’t fight like a demon. And he’d never expected he would fall for one.

“Here,” Everett said, setting the box of artifacts onto the table. He slid it over to Lana. “I brought you something.”

Lana peeked into the box, and her smile faded. “A collection of Xenen artifacts,” she said in monotone. “You shouldn’t have.”

“You sure know the way to an Elition woman’s heart,” Terra teased.

Everett frowned at her. She wasn’t helping.

“No, they’re not for Lana. They’re for the priestess of Eclipse.”

Lana lifted the lid of the box and peered inside. “Ah, my alter ego.” She reached inside to pull out the sand slate. “Hello, there. You’re not Xenen.” She turned it over several times in her hands, then swept her finger across the front surface. Nothing happened.

“I tried that already,” Terra told her. “I think it’s broken.”

“No, not broken. Locked,” Lana muttered.

“You can lock a sand slate?” Terra asked.

“It’s difficult, but there are a few methods. The first way is to lock the slate with a symbol or pattern.” Lana tapped her fingernails atop the slate’s grey surface, then lifted it up to her face so that her eyes could look across the smooth plane. “But I believe this one uses the second method. It’s keyed into one or maybe a few specific resonances. It can be used only by those people.”

“Isn’t there any way to circumvent this lock?” Everett asked.

“This isn’t technology. It’s magic,” replied Lana. “A person’s resonance is the unique blend of energy that surrounds him or her. It cannot simply be faked.”

“Even by a Phantom?” he asked.

“Some Phantoms can sense and even identify resonances. They cannot emulate them.”

“Perhaps a Mimic?” suggested Terra.

“Maybe,” Lana allowed. “But it’s a skill that would need to be trained. I’d imagine that training could take years.” She looked at Everett. “This sand slate was found with the Xenen artifacts?”

“Yes.”

“Odd,” she said. “You can sometimes get an echo off a sand slate, even see what was written on it. But that doesn’t work on locked ones. The best suggestion I have for you is to track down the matching sand slate. They come in pairs, you know, and the other one might offer some clues.”

Everett picked up the slate. “Unless it, too, is locked.”

“You could also have Cameron take a look at it,” she said. “Locked sand slates tend to also block out the power of Memory, but since Cameron is the Elite Prior, he might be able to get something from it. If you manage to get the pair of them, he would get more from them.”

“Do you know where Cameron is?”

“I think he’s at the vista overlooking the lake,” said Lana.

As Everett picked up the sand slate and stood, Terra rose with him. “I’ll go with you.”

Lana set the lid on the box of Xenen artifacts. “I’ll just put these in the temple storage room for safekeeping.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

~
Prior Memories ~

527AX January 9, Eclipse

CAMERON FELT TERRA coming even before she crested the hill up to the vista where he sat with his legs dangling over the edge of the cliff. The ground was frozen through, so he’d brought a blanket to sit on. Admittedly, it did little to shield him from the cold. A bitter breeze was blowing through Eclipse, beating its residents back into the warm confines of their houses, but Cameron enjoyed coming to the vista. There was something soothing about the lake below, rippling gently in the breeze. Winter’s winds hardly touched it.

But much as he liked coming to this secluded spot, he enjoyed the company of Terra and Everett even more. He jumped up and ran over to greet them. His sister’s eyes lit up, and she slammed hard into him, squeezing him into a tight hug. Beside them, Everett chuckled.

“How was your trip?” Cameron asked them.

“The usual. A few scavengers, some Selpe soldiers, and a load of Xenen artifacts,” replied Everett.

Cameron read his face carefully to make sure he wasn’t joking. Nope, as serious as could be. “You know Jason is going to murder both of you, right?” he told them. “He came back a couple of hours ago and immediately went looking for you.”

“I already talked to him and told him about our trip,” Terra said. She looked at Everett. “But he doesn’t need to know about the Selpe soldiers. He’s making enough of a fuss already.”

“Jason make a fuss?” Cameron snorted. “Or by that do you mean: glare stonily at you as he fondles his knives and absolutely forbids you to do anything even remotely fun ‘for your own protection’?”

Chuckling, Everett slapped him on the back. “I’ve missed you, Cameron.”

Cameron grinned. “Does that mean you’ll take me with you next time?”

“That depends. What do you make of this?” Everett asked, handing him what appeared to be a sand slate.

Cameron tried to write a gigantic ‘C’ with his index finger, but nothing happened. “It’s broken.”

“Lana says it’s locked,” Terra told him. “And she thinks you might be able to get a memory or two from it.”

Cameron squeezed his hands down on either side of the sand slate. He waited a few seconds but felt nothing. “I’ll need a bit of context.”

“This sand slate was found in a Rev hideout on the island of Marsh just after the Selpes attacked the Rev isles,” Everett recounted. “It was inside a box of Xenen artifacts.”

“That’s…weird,” commented Cameron. He tried to pull a memory of something—anything—from the slate, but it wasn’t cooperating.

“Try searching for the linked sand slate,” Terra suggested.

This time, Cameron spread his hand wide across the slate. He pushed out with his mind, trying to find the invisible strand that extended from the sand slate, connecting it to its partner. He opened his eyes to a world bathed in ethereal white light, and honed in on the strand. The subtle shimmer of silver hummed as he plucked it.

He followed the buzzing strand over hills and forests, over oceans and beaches. Further and further, his mind extended, passing stranger and stranger sights. They were places he’d never seen—or even heard of. Wild, rancid woods that oozed and screeched vile intentions. Seaside ruins spilling centuries-old debris into the ocean. Overcrowded cities where flashing text and pictures were projected against monstrous concrete towers so tall that they blocked out the sun. The images blazed past, blurring into an incomprehensible cacophony of a million shattered shards. And then it all went black.

A moment later, a series of broken flashes split through his mind. A pair of white lace gloves. A tall, thin figure in a full-skirted evening gown. Blue-grey eyes looking out through a bundle of dark, doll-like curls. The entire flood of imagery took less than a second. It was gone as quickly as it had come.

“I can’t see the other sand slate,” Cameron told them.

“Maybe it’s broken?” Everett said.

“No, I could feel the connection between the two slates. I just couldn’t follow it all the way to the end. I think it’s…too far away?”

“Like on another continent?” Terra asked.

“I’m not sure. I didn’t recognize the place.”

“Weird.”

“That isn’t the only odd thing about this whole thing, Terra.” Cameron returned the slate to Everett. “I can’t see the other sand slate, but I did see Lady Cassandra. I’m pretty sure this slate belonged to her.”

“What would she be doing with an Elition sand slate?” Terra wondered.

“And a bundle of Xenen artifacts,” added Everett.

“Lady Cassandra is an Avan spy,” Terra said. “Perhaps it was the Avans who were the ones collecting the Xenen treasures.”

“And when the Fourteen Phantoms stole them and hid them in Rev territory, Lady Cassandra manipulated the Selpes into attacking us?” asked Everett.

She nodded.

“That certainly would be her style,” Everett agreed. “But it could also have been the Selpes collecting the Xenen pieces in the hopes of uncovering some great weapon they could use to gain the upper hand against the Avans. And then Lady Cassandra stole them from the Selpes to bring them to the Avans, only to have them stolen from her by the Fourteen Phantoms. And after that the Selpes attacked the Revs to get the artifacts back.”

“And that would be the Selpes’ style,” Terra confirmed. “Ever since the day their precarious peace treaty was signed, both the Selpes and the Avans have just been waiting for the day they would go to war again. But they’re just too evenly matched, so neither was ever willing to take the first step until they had something that would give them the definitive advantage.”

“They must have found something,” commented Cameron.

“Yes.” She bit her lip. “But if either side had gotten ahold of Xenen technology, we’d know it.”

“Perhaps this isn’t the only box,” Everett said. “So far, neither the Selpes nor the Avans have done anything more than flex their muscles at each other. They’ve each set up bases close to the other’s territory, sent soldiers to these bases, the usual. But there haven’t been any actual battles. We’ve yet to see what new weapons they have, if any.”

Terra paled. “A cheerful thought, Everett.”

“It is what it is.” He sighed. “So, Cameron. How about you come back with us to the temple and see what memories you can scrape from a box of Xenen artifacts?”

That didn’t sound the least bit appetizing, but then again, it was better than just sitting there, waiting for nothing to happen.

* * *

527AX January 9, Eclipse

The box that held the artifacts was pretty innocuous compared to what lay within. It was nothing more than a rectangular silver container about the size of a tool box. The lid was completely removable, and Cameron slid it off to pick out the first artifact of thirty-three. He was hardly an authority on technological gadgets, particularly ones that predated his own existence by several centuries. Or did they?