The Crystal Keepers, An Overseers Novel
Page 26
Tannis expected to walk into the records’ room and have Jacob hand him old maps but that’s not the reception he received. Jacob sat at his desk, with a sheepish look on his face and mouthed the word sorry when Tannis stepped through the door.
Noya stood next to Jacob. Her arms crossed over her chest, her eyes so angry that Tannis could feel the darts piercing the atmosphere nearby. As soon as she spotted him, she took several long strides until she was in his face.
“What do you think you’re doing?!?” Her voice was filled with controlled fury.
Tannis stammered a moment, not sure what she meant or how to answer. “Wh...What do you mean?”
“You came here before your vision asking for old maps. You know where it is, don’t you? You lying little...”
He held out his hands, palms toward Noya. “Whoa...wait a minute. It’s just a misunderstanding.”
Noya grabbed his shirt, pushed him several steps backward until he was up against the wall. “What aren’t you telling us?”
“Noya, it’s not like that. I swear! I just had an idea that I wanted to pursue before I mentioned it to Sir Markus.”
“Which is?”
Tannis hesitated. If his idea panned out, if it proved to be an avenue worth pursuing, he wanted to be the one to tell Markus. In fact, he wanted to be the one, or one of the people, who followed up on it, personally. He wanted the credit for it.
Noya tightened her grip on his shirt and twisted so the opening around his neck shrunk, immediately turning his face pink. Her strength surprised him. He glanced over her shoulder and saw Jacob staring, eyes wide with fear, as he watched.
Through gritted teeth, Noya said, “I’m waiting.”
“I just wanted to see if anything was different back then, with the layout of the land.” He was hoping this would be enough to satisfy her.
She intently studied his eyes for a moment as she loosened her grip slightly. “...because...”
Tannis sighed and his shoulders slumped. He didn’t want to say it. “I had a dream...but I couldn’t recall the details, except for a mountain.” He looked defeated now. “I was hoping the maps would trigger my memory. I think something was missed in the previous searches.”
He hoped his weak response made him sound as much like the idiot that Noya believed he was. He knew she disliked him but her distrust was starting to anger him. He wasn’t doing anything wrong! In fact, he had the Guardians’ and Markus’s best interests at heart. So, why couldn’t she trust him?
“That’s it?!? That’s your idea? That something was missed?!?” She released his shirt and held his gaze longer; then her eyes narrowed. “If I find out you’re lying, I guarantee you’ll regret the day you joined the Guardians.” She turned on her heels, like the perfect soldier, and walked out of the room.
Tannis continued to lean against the wall. He watched as Jacob’s face registered relief. He waited a moment, to make sure Noya was gone, and then he approached Jacob’s desk.
“Uh, did you have time to look for those maps?”
Jacob stared at Tannis as though he didn’t hear the question. Then he shook his head and slowly said, “She doesn’t like you.”
“No, really? Did you find some maps?”
“Yes, in fact, I did.” As Jacob stood, he glanced toward the door to make certain Noya wasn’t coming back. He turned toward the back of the room and motioned for Tannis to follow. They entered another room, filled with shelves and crates of books, documents and scrolls. A rectangular table stood in the center. On its surface were two maps, each sprawled out flat and held down with rocks at the corners.
Jacob handed Tannis a pair of gloves. “If you need to touch the maps, put these on first. One includes our Northland and the Great Mountains south of here, as well as the east and west coast lines. The other covers the plains and the desert, although it doesn’t have much detail. Few people have explored the desert and made it out to document it. The dark forces are strongest down there and easily snare the unsuspecting explorer.” He pointed to the wall. “There’s a more current map for comparison. I have a meeting in an hour so you’ll have to be done before then.”
“Thank you, Jacob.”
Jacob shrugged. “I hope you find what you’re looking for and, please, by all means, do it before Noya returns.”
Tannis leaned over the table to study the maps. He realized, from the author’s description, that a lake in the desert didn’t make sense. He took one quick glance at that map and saw no lakes or mountains. He saw the markings for the red cliffs. Although he had never been there personally, he knew it was the heart of Brethren of Darkness territory. Just thinking about it gave him a chill. The hair on the back of his neck stood out and he involuntarily shuddered.
Quickly ruling out the possibility of a lake in that area, he moved onto the next map. As he did so, he suddenly had the sense that he was being watched and quickly turned on his heels, expecting to see Noya in the doorway but no one was there. He looked around the room to make certain he was alone. There was no one else present but he still had an unsettling feeling. He tried to shake it off and focus on the other map.
TWENTY ONE
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