Discovery: Altera Realm Trilogy

by Jennifer Collins

  The service was short—all life and flowing rivers. Hunter guessed it was meant to be symbolic and spiritual, but to him it was just words, and old words at that. Old gods, old rituals, old world. A slight shaking of Syney's shoulders pulled Hunter out of his bitter thoughts. She bowed her head slightly as her whole body shook with sobs. He suppressed the urge to reach out and try to help soothe some of her pain. But that kind of gesture, especially in front of the others, would earn him a pretty big reprimand, and he was in no position to have any more said against him. He felt a little more at ease when Noelle slowly put an arm around Syney. Syney's head rolled to lay on Noelle's shoulder.

  Once the service ended, Branch bowed to them and headed off to the priests' room behind the altar. Syney took a couple of jagged breaths and stood up. She gave them all a small smile, as she wiped tears from her eyes. "Thank you all for coming. It means a lot that I have some...friends here already."

  "You have a whole palace of friends," Cass said, placing a reassuring hand on Syney's arm.

  Syney and Hunter both scoffed quietly and looked at each other. She smiled a little brighter and mouthed, "Thank you."

  Hunter nodded.

  "There's just one last thing," Leaf said, bringing forth a bottle filled with green liquid. "For Lycins the afterlife is a place called Valhalla. All warriors are welcome to join the gods there. It is customary to offer a toast up to Oldin, the keeper of Valhalla, to let him know that the incoming souls are welcome," he explained, as Raine grabbed a set of small metal cups for them. "You are supposed to offer up their good deeds, to show their worth."

  Syney nodded. "OK, um,.. They bandaged my knees when I was clumsy enough to fall, which was frequent. They had the patience of saints and allowed me to make my own mistakes, which was also often." She paused, tears welling up in her eyes again.

  "They took in a young girl, a baby even, and raised her as their own, with no malice or selfishness," Leaf said.

  "They were very loving and wanted nothing but the best for their daughter," Cass said with a smile.

  Syney nodded, tears flowing down her cheeks.

  Hunter raised his cup, letting the words fall out of his mouth, not double-thinking them or else he would remain silent. "They raised our savior and instilled in her the passion and strength needed to save our peoples." He looked over and met Syney's gaze. She didn't say anything, but her eyes said volumes. Everything he was feeling she was as well. It was all right there.

  "To Richard and Joyce. May Oldin invite them in with open arms," Leaf said, lifting his cup high.

  They all raised their cups and followed the Lycins' moves of downing the liquid. The three men seemed unfazed by the burning and heat of the liquor. The girls, however, all choked and gagged.

  "Oh, my goddess!" Noelle breathed.

  "That is horrible," Cass barely got out.

  "Whoa! Now that'll put hair on my chest," Syney said with a cough. She looked up at five pairs of eyes on her, all giving her a questioning bemused look. "Oh, that's a human saying—one I'm guessing you all don't know, and now I sound like an idiot." She let out a small laugh. "Thank you all again for coming."

  Cass gave her a hug and headed out of the chapel with Raine in tow.

  "Do you need me for anything?" Noelle asked.

  "Oh, no. I'm going to go to bed and sleep for days, or at least until you wake me up for these tests in the morning," Syney said.

  Noelle bid her goodbyes and headed out.

  "I'll walk you to your room," Hunter said, gesturing toward the door.

  Syney nodded.

  "Can I have a moment before you go?" Leaf asked Syney.

  She nodded and turned to Hunter. "Can you give us a second?"

  He gave her an odd look but nodded. What did she want with Leaf? He stepped away but, taking advantage of Syney's lack of knowledge of Lycins, stayed within hearing distance. He caught a glance from Syney and almost laughed. She really needed to learn about the Village and its inhabitants or she might get herself into trouble.

  "I wanted to really welcome you here. I think the genuine welcome might have been lost when you got here. I want you to know that there are many, many people who are overjoyed that you are here," Leaf said.

  "Thank you. That means a lot," Syney said.

  Leaf glanced over and met Hunter's gaze. "Don't give him too much grief. This is a hard job on a good day, and this was not a good day, per se."

  "Oh, no. I don't mean to be a pain. I'm really not used to the power structure here. I guess I keep stepping out of line."

  "It'll be a learning experience. But let him help you, and listen to what he says."

  Syney nodded. "I can try." She paused. "So do you know why his family was cast out?"

  Leaf didn't look at Hunter, but Hunter's eyes never left his friend and commander. "I do."

  Syney smiled slowly. "You're not going to tell me, are you?"

  Leaf shook his head and returned her smile.

  "OK, fair enough. Thank you again for your kind words," Syney said, heading over to Hunter.

  Leaf caught Hunter's look again and nodded his goodbye.

  "All ready," Syney said, pushing open the heavy wooden door.

  Hunter followed her out then took the lead to her room. He had a feeling she wasn't going to leave the subject of his family's status alone. He didn't want her to know the truth. It wasn't his shame, but he still bore the brunt of it. Once at her room, he bid her goodnight and left quickly, feeling the heat of her stare on his back. The only thing he knew for certain anymore was that this girl was going to be the death of him, and there was no way he could live without her. Not a very good outlook on their future.

  The First Test—The cliff

  The room around Syney suddenly changed. It was no longer the large stone room Queen Mellisandrianna and her guard dog had left her in. She was now outside, at the edge of a large cliff that overlooked a vast desert. Syney knew she hadn't actually left that room, but everything around her felt as if she were outdoors. The air was fresh, and she could almost smell the heat coming from the rocks and sand below her. She wasn't used to this magic stuff, and after five minutes of standing on the cliff, she was more than a little bored. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do, so she sat down, her legs dangling over the side of the cliff.

  She had been late to meet the queen that morning, which didn't make Her Majesty very happy, not that Syney cared much. It was Gabe who had woken her up. He had jumped very heavily onto her bed, causing Syney to jump up into a sitting position.

  "What the hell!" she had yelled, putting a hand to her head, sleep still slowly moving out of it.

  " 'Morning," the Vampire had said with a smile as he sat up in her bed, his legs crossed lazily.

  Syney rolled her eyes and flopped back onto her pillows. Her sleep had been peaceful. The first real good night's sleep in days, and all she wanted to do was return to it.

  "You need to get up and get ready. Big day for you," Gabe had said in his lazy, velvety voice.

  "Yeah, yeah. They're all big days," Syney mumbled. She sighed however, knowing he was right. She rolled to look at him. "I thought you weren't allowed in here."

  "I'm not."

  "But you're fast."

  He nodded and winked at her.

  "You know, if I have to do whatever the evil queen wants me to do, so do you," she said, sitting up and leaning against the headboard.

  "I'm not very good at following orders I don't like."

  Syney laughed. "I'm finding that I'm not either."

  Gabe slipped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. "See, we're meant to be friends. Fate and all that."

  That was when Hunter and Noelle had come into the room, after knocking. They both stared at the unusual bedfellows for a moment before Hunter's breathing picked up and he gave a look of pure homicide to Gabe.

  "I think he's angry at me," Gabe whispered to Syney with a smirk.

  "He's just normally that way," she whi
spered, before throwing back her covers and sliding out of bed. She had grabbed some clothes—her own clothes—and stalked to the bathroom, ignoring all of the looks the others in the room shot her. She hadn't been in the mood to talk about anything. Now that she was fully awake, the apprehension of the day's events filled her head.

  And now, sitting here on the cliff, she thought she might die of boredom. She sighed and leaned back onto her palms. At least the view was nice. It reminded her of the Grand Canyon trip she had taken with her parents a few years back. She closed her eyes and let the sun heat up her face. She almost had drifted off when something shoved her from behind. She sat up then stood up. She turned around but saw nothing but herself on the cliff edge. That was odd. She definitely had felt something behind her, something that had shoved her rather hard. She shook her head and looked back out over to the desert. Suddenly she felt the shove again, this time harder. Hard enough that she fell forward over the side of the cliff. She had spun at the last minute, time enough to grab hold of the cliff face as she went over the side. She never had been one for good upper-body strength, but now, with death the only other option, she held as tightly as she could, her legs dangling below her. She dug against the rocks, trying to find some leverage for her feet, but there just wasn't any. She started to scream at that point, but it was no use. There wasn't anyone around but her. Out in the desert or in a large stone room, she was alone.

  She felt her fingers start to get numb, and a burning sensation ran up and down her arms. This was it. She was going to fall very soon. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to think of something, anything, to help her. Suddenly a story Hunter had told her entered her mind. Something about a falling Lycin and a Magic User putting up a net. But how the hell was she supposed to do that? She started to think of a net, one made of purple, almost like her lightning energy she had used only a day before. Just concentrate on the net, she thought. She had power; she knew it, had even seen it. And now this was what she needed. A net. Just to catch her. Because she was going to fall. And fall she did.

  The net didn't feel as she thought it would. She had assumed she would bounce like a trampoline, but it was more like a cushion or a mattress. She had hit hard enough to lose her breath for a moment, and she struggled to get it back. She looked to the side and caught a glimpse of the purple net. It was like purple-charged rope knitted together to make a nice flat net. She smiled as it flickered then disappeared, letting her fall the last foot to the hard sandy ground. She groaned and stood up slowly. She was a bit sore, but at least she was alive. She shook her head, remembering Queen Mellisandrianna's promise that the tests wouldn't be anything life threatening. Guess she was full of it, Syney thought, taking a deep breath.

  And then the room changed again.

  The Second Test—The pathway

  She had passed the first test, although Gabe wasn't sure how. It angered him that he couldn't get into Syney's head to see what she was going through in there. He could rely only on the thoughts of the queen and the elders as they stared down into the small fountain in front of them. No one else, not even Hunter, could get near the portal that showed them Syney as she underwent the tests. When he saw the cliff in one of their minds, he silently cursed. That was an old spell, one he never had come across. There was nothing he could do to help her through it. He closed his eyes when he felt the queen's excitement rise as she thought of Syney tumbling over the edge of the cliff. He wasn't sure whether the tests were really deadly, but he wouldn't put it past the queen to take the safety off in this situation. He knew Mellisandrianna, or at least her family, more than most did, and he knew what they were capable of.

  He pushed everyone's thoughts away and retreated into his "safe place." It was a lakebed on the outskirts of Landanbrough. Even though sunlight in Altera didn't bother him, he never really liked direct sunlight. It always made him look paler, more dead, and he didn't want her to see him like that. But she loved that spot, and whenever he pictured himself there, he knew she would be there with him. This time was no different.

  He smiled at Faye.

  She returned the gesture, tossing her long black hair over her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

  "Everything, but that's usual," he said, looking into her scarlet eyes.

  "Is she everything we hoped?"

  Gabe considered this. "More, I think—that is, if they don't kill her first. I think they want her to do the net spell right now."

  "That's not something she would know how to do."

  "I know that."

  Faye sighed and turned to look out at the water. "You need to help. You promised."

  "I know, and I will."

  An overwhelming feeling of anger burst its way into his sanctuary. Syney somehow had conjured the net and passed the first test. She definitely was more than they had hoped for. Now onto the second test. She was in a cavern now, standing on a pedestal in the middle of it, which also happened to be the only raised surface. It had to be around a hundred feet in the air. He could see her now, through the queen's watchful eyes. She was looking across the cavern at the way out, a hole in the wall, the mouth of a tunnel. But she had no way to get across to it. She yelled a curse and sat down, defeated.

  "She needs to create a passage to the tunnel."

  Gabe pulled his attention back to Faye. "You're right. There's a spell for that. What was it?" He racked his brain. He knew it was in there somewhere. "Ostendo sum obduco," he whispered.

  Faye smiled at him. "You remember everything."

  Sadness filled him. "Every detail, always."

  "Go help her then."

  Gabe opened his eyes and stared straight ahead at the door that Syney was behind. He may not be able to see into her mind, but he could still give her a message, or at least he hoped he could. He repeated the spell over and over, aiming it toward Syney in the other room, until he heard the queen utter a silent curse. Syney had made it across the cavern through a passageway she had conjured.

  Two down and one more to go.

  The Final Test—Water

  She wasn't supposed to have made it this far. Mellisandrianna squinted down into the round fountain in front of her. Syney's smiling face stared back at her. She had conjured the net as well as the passage. Both should have been impossible for her to do. The four elders looked hesitantly up at Mellisandrianna. They had fought her on the choice of tests, but she had won in the end, as well she always should. They thought that the tests would be too dangerous. They were of course, but if Syney was the Chosen One, she must have some special ability to complete them, Mellisandrianna had argued. And here she was, actually doing them. Damn her! Well, the last test would decide everything. There was no way her narrow, human-raised mind would figure it out.

  When Mellisandrianna was small, her mother had taught her everything she needed to know about humans. They were weak and inferior. They had no uses to anyone in the Altera Realm. And this girl, although born a Magic User, was very much human. And that was the one thing Mellisandrianna knew she could exploit. It was her weakness. And weaknesses were the end of everyone. Her late husband's weakness had been liquor and loose women. He had been a disgrace, bedding every handmaiden in sight and getting so sloppy drunk that he even boasted about it at festivals and dances.

  When Mellisandrianna had gone to her mother, crying over her unfaithful husband, the queen had slapped her across the face. Mellisandrianna could still feel the sting of that slap to this day. She felt it in her very bones. Her mother had grabbed her arm and dragged her to that damn balcony and shoved her against the stone railing.

  "Do you see that? That is my kingdom, and soon it will be yours. But this land will not be run by a sniveling girl who can't keep her husband pleasured enough so that he doesn't bed any slut with a round mouth and buxom chest. A queen is strong only because she can see the weaknesses of others and destroys them with it." She got close to her daughter's face. "We are a powerful line of leaders. We were meant to rule this land and fought our way to g
et here. Now I suggest you get your life under control. And stop whimpering. You look like hell."

  It was that day that Mellisandrianna realized the great gift she had received to have been born royal. She had been born to be queen. And be queen she would be. A few days later, a mysterious poison was found in her husband's wine. He died only minutes after ingesting it, in the bed of a young girl of the court. No one knew where he was found, of course, only Mellisandrianna and her young Protector, Grass. The whole Village was distressed after it happened. And to pile up the emotion, the queen, Mellisandrianna's dear mother, died only days later. The cause of death was ruled as natural causes, of course. Mellisandrianna had been devastated, her husband and mother dying so close together, but she pushed through her feelings and took her rightful seat on the Magic User throne.

  She smiled at the memories and then at the sight of Syney thrashing about in the closed container filled with water. She was drowning, pounding on the clear box, panic in those purple eyes of hers. Finally she opened her eyes wide. This was the moment, Mellisandrianna thought, the moment when she finally would die, leaving all of this Chosen One nonsense behind.

  But then Syney took a deep breath, water filling her lungs. And then another. The panic subsided from her eyes as she began to easily breathe the water in and out.

  That was impossible. There was no way she could have known the spell to breathe underwater. She squinted into the fountain, her anger boiling over. It would to take a lot more to kill this girl; this Mellisandrianna could see now. She sighed. She had to find a weakness—a good one. And once she did, Syney wouldn't stand a chance.

  Syney

  Syney led the way down the hall, even though she had no idea where she was going. She was pretty sure she was at least heading in the right direction to her room, but she was too angry to even bother asking one of the three behind her. Hunter, Noelle, and Gabe had simply followed her once she had stalked out of that godforsaken room, dripping wet and steaming mad. Her sneakers squeaked as she walked over the polished stone floor, giving her steps a steady rhythm. The relief of being alive had lasted only a moment once the box filled with water had disappeared and she involuntarily regurgitated the water she somehow had been breathing. Anger had replaced her relief, and it had only deepened when she threw open the doors and met Mellisandrianna's icy glare. She didn't even bother talking to anyone. She was too mad to. Or maybe being mad was just what she needed, she thought as she spun on her heels. Her three companions all stopped short, looking at her expectantly.