The Xenoworld Saga Box Set

by Kyle West

  Then again, Elder Isandru wasn’t here, and there was no telling when he’d be back.

  “Stay silent if you wish,” Haris said, after a moment. “Just know that the Elder Council will be let known about this find.”

  I said nothing in response. I could say nothing in response. Isandru had forbidden Fiona and I from saying anything, no matter how pointed their questions.

  If Haris was going to figure this out, then he’d have to figure it out on his own.

  “Still quiet, then? I won’t force you to talk.”

  “All I can say,” I said, carefully, “is that when Isandru returns, you will have your answer.”

  “I see.” He stood up, and with that motion, I did too. “To bed with you, then. And my library is no longer to be used as your personal mailbox.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  THE CITY WAS QUIET, EVEN considering the late hour. Anna was restless, and no matter how long she lay in bed, sleep refused to come.

  She opened her eyes and gazed out the window. Though it was now five years after the Ragnarok War, the dust kicked up by the meteor had yet to settle. Sometimes, Anna wondered if she would ever see the stars again, or the sun for that matter. The past seemed like something out of a dream, something that couldn’t exist in the reality she found herself.

  She sighed and turned over, having half a mind to get up and make some coffee. Things finally seemed to be settling down in Colonia. The walls were complete, and there hadn’t been any threats from Onyx Black or the northern governors in months. It was as if they’d finally decided to leave Colonia alone. Anna couldn’t bring herself to trust that peace. Samuel, over the long months, had managed to talk down the Separatists, to the point where there was an unsteady truce in the Senate.

  Despite this truce, the Loyalists and the Separatists were more polarized than ever. Senator Thomas and the former gladiator, Murmillo, had only gained more power and support, and it was everything Samuel could do to keep Colonia a loyal colony of the Empire. Augustus, again and again, was busy seeing to the Empire’s southern borders, and had granted Colonia several concessions in an effort to maintain stability — much to the consternation of his other governors. Colonia might have been safe from the outside, but on the inside, it was festering. Most everyone could see that the ideas of Thomas and Samuel could not coexist forever.

  Anna could feel that something was in the air, and that was what had her up tonight. She told herself that things were going well; Colonia’s crops were bountiful, and its granaries full. Samuel and Julio Valencia were planning for the construction of an aqueduct to carry fresh spring water into the city. Colonia’s high walls were the largest and most secure for hundreds of miles.

  It was as if the lack of a challenge was causing certain people to invent one. Perhaps people couldn’t exist without adversity. Adversity, after all, gave purpose.

  The sound of small feet pattered outside Anna’s door. She looked to see her boy, Alex, rubbing his eyes.

  “What’s wrong, Baby? Bad dream?”

  “There’s a man in my room.”

  Anna felt a chill cross her skin. She sat up in bed, and her hand naturally went toward her katana, which she kept on a stand nearby. “What?”

  “I saw him come in through the window. When I looked he jumped back out.”

  Anna quickly wrapped her belt around her sleeping clothes, latching her sword to it. She walked forward and pulled Alex behind her.

  “Stay behind me,” she said.

  Anna was torn between trying to comfort her son and doing what she needed to do. Alex sometimes had dreams, sometimes — dreams so real that he confused them for reality. Her son’s abilities scared her sometimes, and it was worse to know he was afraid, too. Anna couldn’t explain them to him — all she could do was hold him and tell him it was going to be okay. She had to believe that it would.

  Anna dashed that thought as she walked down the hall, turning into the open door of Alex’s room. It was empty, save for her child’s bed, dresser, and toys. The window was open, the curtains fluttering in the breeze. The only light came from a single lantern, set on low. Alex slept better with it on.

  Anna walked slowly forward, looking out the window. She saw nothing but the scattered rooftops of adobe houses and apartments, lit by amply placed gas-burning streetlights to prevent the near-absolute darkness. Her apartment was on the second floor in the city center, and it was hard to see how any man might have gotten inside without a ladder.

  “Are you sure you saw him, baby?”

  “Yeah, he was there!”

  Anna closed the window, made of clear glass, locking it shut. Such windows were expensive, because there weren’t many glass makers in the city that could make windowpanes close to the quality of what might have been found in the Old World.

  Anna peered out the window, looking for any sign of movement. The city was quiet, however. It almost seemed too quiet.

  “Come sleep with me,” she said.

  Anna walked carefully down the hallway, finally relaxing her grip on the hilt of the blade.

  Then, a shadow entered the hall from her room ahead.

  Alex screamed even as Anna unsheathed her blade in a flash. A gun went off, deafening in the confines of the hallway. Even as Anna’s ears rang, she felt her blade connect with the man’s abdomen. He screamed as the cut was made, and he toppled to the floor.

  Suddenly, more men were in the hall, shouting. Anna wasted no time, using the darkness to her advantage. There were several more gunshots — she felt one graze the cloth on her shoulder — before she cut into each shadowed figure, one after the other. Her son was crying and screaming, and it was only when the next two men were felled that Anna turned to see him wailing on the floor.

  “No!”

  She ran forward, gathering Alex in her arms. She checked him over, tears stinging her eyes.

  “Did they hit you?”

  Alex seemed to be in shock, but he didn’t seem to be physically harmed.

  Anna heard the sounds of more men shouting, followed by something ramming the front door.

  Quietus! Are you near?

  She ran to her bedroom, finding the open window and another man trying to force his way in, using a ladder. She ran forward and pushed the ladder back. The man screamed as he toppled backward into the street below.

  She looked out the window to see two men battering in the door, which was already nearing its breaking point.

  Anna went to the cabinet, unlocked it, and took the AR-15 she hadn’t used in five years, and had hoped to never use again. It was fully locked and loaded, and she had made a habit of making sure it was still in working order every three months.

  She went to the window and aimed carefully.

  One of the men spied her, calling out a warning. Anna shot him first, even as the other men dropped the ram and ran for their lives. Anna took a few more shots, but ended up only hitting dirt.

  Her heart raced as adrenaline pumped through her veins. In the following silence, Anna couldn’t even process what had happened. Three men dead in the hall. One dead outside her front door, and another crushed by the ladder she’d pushed. It was the first time she’d killed in five years, and the feeling wasn’t welcome.

  Her son was still crying. She gathered him in her arms, and he buried his face against her.

  “Shh. It’s all right.”

  Alex went silent, and she listened for more threats.

  Anna?

  Quietus, we were attacked!

  We must go to Samuel’s house.

  Why? Is he in danger? Quietus, where are...

  And then, she was there, lowering herself on the street, her white eyes blazing. Quietus was usually not in the area; the fact that she was now was only because she had come to speak to Samuel on behalf of the dragons just today. When she landed, Anna grabbed up her son and rushed toward the front door.

  When she was out the door, she lifted her son onto Quietus’s back.

  �
��We’re going to go with Quietus, okay? Just hold on tight, like I showed you.”

  Anna hurried to get on, and once settled onto Quietus’s back, she made sure Alex was securely seated in front of her, using her arms to hold him in.

  All right, Anna said. Let’s move.

  With that word, Quietus gave a short hop and flapped her wide wings, for which there was barely room between the narrow buildings. People were now entering the street, watching Anna and the dragon depart.

  Who are these men, Quietus?

  I don’t know. Samuel and his guards are defending at his house. I think...they meant to kill all of you at once.

  All of us?

  You are safe, Quietus said. But Samuel and Ruth, as well as their younglings, are still in question.

  As Anna flew above the city in the direction of Samuel’s house, people continued to fill the streets. She noticed fighting below, as well as others taking advantage of the chaos to break into stores. She wanted to weep for what was happening — everything they had worked so hard to build seemed to be disintegrating before her eyes.

  Whether Samuel had wanted it or not, war was coming to Colonia.

  IT WASN’T LONG BEFORE Quietus closed in on Samuel and Ruth’s house. A vast crowd surrounded the residence, and several pointed upward as Quietus lowered herself from the sky. Whatever had happened, Anna had a feeling that it was over, now.

  Quietus touched down, and the crowd parted to avoid getting crushed. Looking into that sea of faces, Anna realized that they were surprised to see her.

  They had thought her dead.

  “What’s happened here?” Anna called out.

  A voice called out from the crowd. “They say the governor is dead!”

  Anna looked at the house, could see shapes moving within. Indeed, it did seem as if the fighting was over.

  “Run!” an old woman yelled. “Run, before they get you, too!”

  Anna refused to believe. She couldn’t just run when she didn’t know the truth. Anna could never believe that Samuel was dead — Samuel, whom she had seen just earlier that day.

  “What about Ruth? What about the children?”

  No one seemed to be able to answer her. She looked back toward the house. She knew that sitting on Quietus like that, she was a sitting duck for whoever might want to take a shot at her.

  Quietus...to air!

  Quietus roared, parting the crowd ahead of her as she ran and took off.

  Fly around the house for a bit, Anna said. I’ll Call for them!

  And then, Anna focused her mind on the house’s interior.

  Samuel...Ruth...can either of you hear me?

  It was a moment before she heard Ruth’s voice in her head, and hearing it flooded her with relief.

  Anna...

  Ruth! Where is Samuel? Is he...?

  They’ve killed him, Anna. He’s dead.

  Anna felt a lump in her throat, and choked back a sob. Then, she felt anger such as she had never felt before.

  I’m coming in!

  No! There are too many. Dozens. Senator Thomas...they must have been planning this for years...we were completely blind...

  This news came as a numb shock. Betrayed. It wasn’t the governors they had needed to fear: it was the very men they had taken in five years ago when the city was young, given shelter, and raised to the very Senate. These men had killed Samuel — had betrayed the governor that had given them a chance.

  Tell me it isn’t true, Ruth. Please...

  Go, Ruth said. They will want you dead, too. Don’t worry about me. I don’t think they’ll hurt me or the children. They’ve let me surrender.

  Despite Ruth’s words, Anna still feared the worst. If they had seen Anna as enough of a threat to kill, why not Ruth?

  Ruth...

  You help us most by running. Go find Michael and Lauren. They will be in danger, too.

  Both of them were far to the east, at the dig site of Bunker 40. If the Separatists planned on killing them as well, it would be hard to coordinate the attacks to strike at the same time. There might still be a chance to warn them.

  I’m going, Anna said. I’m going, and feeling awful every second I’m doing it.

  Don’t. There’s nothing you can do for me. Colonia is no longer safe, so you must save the people you can. I’ve...agreed to cooperate with them. I...

  And then, her voice was cut off. Anna couldn’t tell what had happened.

  Ruth. Ruth...?

  Anna circled around the house several more times, but Ruth had gone completely silent. From below, several men blindly took shots upward in the dark, scattering the crowd that had gathered.

  We must go, Anna, Quietus said.

  Anna stared at the house, tears stinging her eyes, and Quietus turned away toward the east.

  This is impossible, she thought. Why did this happen? How could this happen?

  She held Alex close, wishing she had some way of shielding him from all this evil. They had not founded Colonia for it to descend into madness like this. They had wanted a safe place to raise their children, but perhaps that peace had been too much to hope for.

  “Is Samuel dead?” Alex asked.

  His voice was eerily calm, and that unnerved Anna more than anything. She didn’t want to tell him the truth, but at some point, she would have to. Might as well tell him now.

  “Yes,” she said. “Samuel was killed by bad men.”

  “What about Ruth...?”

  Anna sighed, holding him closer.

  “No, she’s alive.”

  I think.

  “You think?”

  Anna held back a curse. She hadn’t done a good enough job of guarding her thoughts, so her son had completely perceived her inner voice.

  “Why are we running away?” Alex asked.

  How to explain that? Anna felt wrong for doing it, but trying to rescue Ruth and the kids would be suicidal. Not all of them could even fit on Quietus’s back.

  “We’ll save them, when we can,” Anna said. “I promise. Right now, there is nothing we can do but get caught. But I promise, those men will pay for what they did to Samuel.”

  Anna hugged her son closer, not really wanting to talk about such dark things with him. Anna cried not just for Samuel, but at the fact that her son wasn’t growing up in the world she had hoped to build.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  THE DAYS PASSED WITH NO sign of either the Prince or Elder Isandru. By the third day, people were saying he had run away for good and that Elder Isandru would never find him. Each day was one day closer to when King Taris’s arrival, and the nervousness among the Elders was palpable. Though they were powerful in their own right, it was clear that explaining what had become of the king’s son on their watch was not a conversation they were looking forward to. A king was a king, after all, and the entire reason Isaru had come here in the first place was for Seeker guidance and their famed discipline.

  But more was at stake than the Elders looking foolish. If the king arrived to find the whereabouts of his son unknown, he could very well pull Isaru from the Sanctum for good. If the Elders couldn’t keep the Prince under control, no one could.

  I did my best to deflect any questions I was asked, and at some point I was left alone, even by the Elders. Haris made good on his promise to take his findings to them, but ever since then, I hadn’t heard a word. Maybe Fiona had interceded on my behalf, or maybe she was catching the brunt of their questions. Certainly, I had seen very little of her during the week. In a way, hearing something from the Elders would have been better than silence.

  So instead, I focused on my studies. When I wasn’t doing that, I was practicing forms with either Aela or Isa, or working in the kitchens, and if I had any time after that, I was doing a bit of research of my own in the library, doing my best to avoid Haris by finding out of the way places to study among the stacks.

  I tried reading Trails of the Exiled, but it was only written in English, and my English was nowhere near Isaru’
s level. I couldn’t make much sense of anything. I continued to keep up my dream journal, trying my best to find the time to log my latest entry about Anna. With Isandru gone, I would have to wait until I could tell anyone.

  Perhaps it was a good thing, because it gave me time to collect my thoughts and speculate about the purpose behind the visions. I knew they were a window into the past no one had ever seen — I still had to figure out why they were happening.

  I was in the library writing, losing myself in the words and describing everything as it occurred. I was halfway down the page when the words seemed to jump out at me. I had never written this well before. Everything was in perfect English with immaculate script, as if I had been scribing for years. Not a one of my perfectly formed letters would have looked out of place in any of the books kept here.

  I blinked, the words seeming alien to my eyes. I reread my thoughts, trying to make sure I could perfectly understand what I had written. Something about the English I had written seemed slightly off, despite it making sense to me. I had only seen it in archaic, centuries’ old translations that I always struggled to get through. Even if English was considered a dead language, it had still gone through changes over the centuries. But it was beyond me why I was writing an older version.

  And then, just as suddenly as my realization had come to the fore, the words became indecipherable. I recognized a few here and there — mostly the cognates. For a moment, I had perfectly understood how to read and write English, as well as Isaru or any of the other Scholars. Then, in a flash, it was gone.

  I laughed, somewhat nervously, while looking at the words, thinking they might unscramble. They still looked the same, however.

  “Is something amusing you, Initiate Roshar?”

  Scholar Haris had appeared from down the row. I hadn’t spoken to him since he had ambushed me in the hall a few days ago. He approached and looked over my shoulder. Before I could hide my words, he snatched up my paper and scrutinized it, his beady eyes roving back and forth.