by D. N. Leo
Then the brightest star in her life came in—Keeve. He charged at the man who had stolen her life with one quick stab of his knife. Soon after, she saw the man drop dead on the floor.
Then she felt the warmth of Keeve’s body—the energy of a mage. But she knew it was too late. She heard him begging her to stay with him, but she knew her natural life had ended. She didn’t know how a mage’s energy worked, but there was one thing she did know—they couldn’t bring someone back from death, and she had been halfway there.
She didn’t want to waste the last moment she had with him. “Whatever it is that you’re doing, please stop,” she told him.
“Shhh, don’t talk. I’ll fix you. Let me heal you.”
“It’s too late, Keeve. Let me look at you.”
She could feel his body shaking with emotion, but he obeyed. He eased her out of his arms so she could look at his face. He was beautiful. Those striking blue eyes were always so pensive. Always thinking. He had never taken life for granted. But there was nothing he could do for her human life. “Sedna asked me to look at a photo I had taken for her… I enhanced the image, and I saw Moss’ reflection in a corner. He was…stalking a new collector in town. He knew the address. And considering what just happened, I think the man had the scorpion sculpture.”
“Please stop talking, Nikki. I don’t care anymore.”
“You do care. You’re a good man. A righteous mage. You should be the leader.”
“I don’t care. Let me heal you.”
“I’m sorry I can’t be there to see that…day…”
“Please don’t leave me, Nikki.”
“I love you, Keeve…” And then darkness claimed her.
Sedna ran as fast as she could. The path from the parking lot to the clinic had never seemed so long before. She wasn’t a psychic. She didn’t have a sixth sense. But her instincts were telling her that something bad was happening to Nikki.
She stormed into the clinic and found Nikki dead in Keeve’s arms. There was another body in the middle of the floor. Tears streamed down Sedna’s face. It was her fault. She had gotten her friend killed.
She crouched in front of Keeve. He withdrew, snatching Nikki out of her reach. She had never seen Keeve so devastated. She didn’t know there had been anything between her friend and Keeve—her competition.
“She told me she loved me.” A tear rolled down Keeve’s cheek. It wasn’t the first time she had seen a man cry, but this was Keeve—one of the most cool-headed and toughest men she had ever come across.
“She’s gone, Keeve. We can’t bring her back from death.”
“It was too fast. I didn’t have a chance to tell her I love her.”
Sedna touched Keeve’s shoulder, but he shrugged her off. He gathered Nikki’s body in his arms and walked out of the clinic.
13
Caedmon snarled at the wrist unit and tried a second time. He was in his hotel room, but if the signals didn’t work here, he might have to go outside. But this time, the unit flashed an engaged signal. In a short moment, his father’s face appeared on the screen. “I thought Eudaiz technology was unbreakable, Father,” he said.
“It’s not the technology, it’s your unit. Someone other than you has been in possession of it for more than six hours Earth time, and it’s about to self-destruct. I was about to send an army down there for search and rescue. Where have you been, and what have you done?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I just need you to get yourself back here in one piece,” Ciaran fumed.
“I’m sorry, Father. When I got here, Sedna was being attacked. I had to take action. Then things kept getting worse. What would you have done if you were me?”
Ciaran rubbed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. Caedmon felt a pang of guilt. It was the first time he had seen circles under his father’s eyes.
“Listen, son, you have to stay put. I need more time. There’s a problem here I need to take care of, and it’s urgent. I wanted to send Roy or your Uncle Tadgh to assist you, but they’re both on an inter-dimensional mission and can’t get back here right away. I’ve got a report saying the two agents they sent to you were killed.”
“Yes, I am sorry about that.”
“Stop saying you’re sorry, Caedmon. You’re on a mission. It’s a dangerous battle, and there will be sacrifices. People will die. That’s the reality of combat. You asked for it. So be prepared. I need you to buy me some time to gather resources.”
“Yes, Father. The unit has just flashed me the location for the scorpion sculpture. Should I go get it?”
“Only a mage can tell if it’s the right one. There’s no point in you going there.”
Caedmon nodded. “The Silver Blood empowers an individual’s unique talent—like you and your mind blades. But I don’t have any talent. So it can only make me stronger, right?”
“How can you be so sure you don’t have a talent?”
“Well, you wielded your mind blades for the first time when you were four, and you dug out an entire hillside. I can’t do anything like that.”
“If I have to guess, I’d think your talent would be something similar to mine just because you’re my son, but maybe it’ll be in a different form. You’ll have to figure it out for yourself.”
Caedmon nodded. “So how does that explain why my twin sister’s only talent is making cupcakes?”
Ciaran laughed. It made Caedmon feel less guilty. “Lyla’s talent is versatile. You haven’t seen the full scope of it yet. The fact that she can make cupcakes and you can’t should make you question your narrow definition of talent.”
Caedmon smiled. “I’ll give it some thought, and I’ll try to look for my hidden talent.”
“All right. Goodbye, son. Stay tough.”
When his father’s image disappeared from the screen, Caedmon stared at his wrist unit for a long time. His father could wield gigantic steel blades in his mind and destroy any target he wanted. What would his talent be?
He concentrated, focused on the coffee table in the middle of the room, and thought of a small metal plate, like a small fan. He felt a puff of wind blow into the room via the window. But nothing else happened. He tried again and got another gentle gust of wind which blew the curtain. This wasn’t working.
Maybe the power wasn’t coming to him because he was in a confined space. Perhaps it was to prevent him from causing collateral damage. Did that mean he had to go far out of town to try out his talent, whatever it might be? Caedmon shook his head. He didn’t even know how he was supposed to travel here. He hadn’t prepared well for this trip, and he didn’t know how to drive a car, let alone going out of town. He couldn’t teleport everywhere.
His talent would be useless if he couldn’t even use it. It was a waste of the Silver Blood and all the training his uncle had given him.
A spark of bright light hit the glass window and shattered it into thousands of pieces. It was like a small explosion. It was too fast for him to see what it had been, but he had a feeling it had come from him.
Then he recalled that his father’s mind blades were sometimes called blades of fury because they were triggered by his anger. And because they were controlled by his mind, his father could send them wherever he wanted in whatever size he desired as long as it was in the same dimension.
It had taken his father a long time to learn how to control his mind blades. Caedmon knew he had no control whatsoever of his talent. He didn’t even know exactly what it was he was capable of.
Something struck again, and the ground shook slightly. The energy was sucked out of him. The vacuum of energy sent him to the floor. He was dizzy, but he scrambled up to his feet. And then there was another round of energy loss. He dropped again. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he heard sirens.
Then he blacked out.
14
Sedna hurried along the back wall of the compound where the collector stayed. She knew roughly where the security cameras were, but breaking and
entering wasn’t her expertise. Anatole was the expert at that. His job was to clear her way into a building. She had called Anatole and Afton, but she was here before them, and the image of Nikki’s dead body enraged her. She didn’t want to wait—she wanted to charge right in.
Nikki had called to tell her that the photo had been taken here, and the person in the photo was Moss. Someone didn’t want Moss’s involvement known. But Moss mentored Neva, and the fact that he had a clear interest in obtaining the sculpture was as clear and public to the tribe as Afton’s or her own interest. This had to have been initiated by someone from outside the tribe, and Moss’s connection had to involve more than just the sculpture and the leadership contest.
How could this information have leaked out so quickly? Sedna frowned and stared down at her phone. A chill ran down her spine—her phone must have been tapped. She was no technical geek, but she knew the implications of that. She realized she’d just called Afton and Anatole from this phone. She’d told them everything that happened at the clinic—and her plans.
She heard light footsteps behind her, and something brushed her shoulder. She swiveled and was about to swing a kick when she saw Anatole. Afton was right behind him.
“Stay here,” Anatole said and raced along the wall to do what he always did for her—clear the path.
Caedmon groggily pulled himself up to his feet. He had been lying on the floor, and he wasn’t sure how long he’d been out. The energy had come back into his body. He vaguely remembered feeling it trickling in bit by bit when he was in an unconscious state. Once he was up, however, it kicked in quickly.
He could think clearly now. He must have triggered his talent— some sort of a capacity for destruction. And because it was the first time, he couldn’t control it and used up all of his energy in one hit. It had cost him.
Recalling the sound of sirens, he sat down on the couch and turned on the TV. The breaking news lit up the screen. A freak lightning incident had occurred on the outskirts of the city. Blurred footage from the security camera outside of a factory had captured the incident. From the sky, a rain of straight, glowing beams of light poured down with incredible force. After the first round of lightning, the ground looked like a moonscape. Gigantic holes littered the perimeter of a small forest. After the second round of lightning, the damaged ground was cut deep. The entire area was cracked and sunken. The forest looked like the Grand Canyon.
Caedmon stared with mouth open at what he had done.
He approached the broken window and looked out to the back garden. How about gaining some control of this? he told himself. He stared at a small decorative pond with a fountain in the middle. The water inside was frozen.
He concentrated.
A line of laser-like light beams sliced a line on the ground around the pond. Then a curtain of light surrounded it. The piece of land the pond stood on cracked apart and separated from the rest of the garden. It dropped down into the ground, vanishing into a hole the size of a large well.
Caedmon smiled.
Sedna and Afton followed Anatole into the grand hall of the house. In the quiet hall, she smelled the stench of fresh blood. When they entered the vault, they saw the body of the collector.
“You didn’t have to kill him, Anatole!” Sedna exclaimed.
“He was in the way. Same with his guards.” He pointed to a corner of the room where he had piled up five bodies.
“There’s no need for a massacre here,” Afton growled.
“I’m efficient. It’s what you hired me for. But this,” he pointed at the locked vault, “I can’t help you with.”
The double steel door seemed to glare at them in challenge. “Any ideas, Afton?” Sedna asked.
“Not at this stage.”
They heard a cracking sound and felt the building shake slightly. “Did you feel that, or was it just me?” Anatole asked.
“Something’s happening,” Sedna said.
“I can help with the door,” said a voice from behind. All three of them turned around, adopting fighting stances. Behind them were Moss and Neva.
“You want the sculpture for yourself, don’t you?” Moss asked.
“Don’t we all?” Afton stepped forward, pushing Sedna behind him.
“What did I do to upset you so much, Sedna?” Moss asked.
“You bastard.” She ground her teeth and charged at him, but Afton held her back. Anatole raised his gun.
“There’s no need for a fight. If you hurt Neva or me, outside of the contest, you’ll be disqualified. You know that,” Moss said.
“I don’t care. I’ll kill you!” she snarled as Afton held her back and lifted her off the ground, her legs flailing in the air.
“Calm down, Sedna. I know you’re upset, but if we’re hasty, nothing will be accomplished, and Nikki’s death will be in vain,” Afton said.
“What happened to Nikki? I talked to her just this afternoon,” Neva asked, her eyes welling up with tears.
“Ask your trainer,” Anatole said.
Neva turned around to look at Moss, waiting for an answer. Moss shrugged. “I have no idea what they’re talking about. Now, do you want to break this door down or not?”
“I fail to see how we can collaborate. If we break in and get the sculpture, who will keep it?” Afton said.
“How about we get the sculpture to ensure the contest goes on—but no one will gain extra points,” Moss suggested.
Afton nodded. “That sounds fair.”
Moss nodded and approached the door. Anatole snorted. “Don’t tell me you’re going to rip it off with your bare hands.”
Moss turned around and smirked at Anatole. “I’m going to use my brain.” He pulled out a key as big as his palm from his pocket. “You’d think people would use an electronic code to lock away their valuables. But this collector is a conservative man, and he prefers the old-fashioned locks. This was in his pocket. If you’d thought to search his pockets, you would have found it.”
“So why didn’t you just wait until we left so you could have the sculpture for yourself?” Sedna asked.
“That was my original plan. But my righteous trainee here wanted to play fair. She said you guys got here first, and she refused to take the credit.” He pointed a finger at Neva.
She shrugged.
The door was unlocked, but before they could open it, a shadow flew into the room and tackled Moss. Taken off guard, Moss fell, rolling across the floor. He regained his balance quickly as if gravity didn’t work for long on him. On the floor, Keeve was scrambling to his feet.
“Keeve, no! You’re not supposed to attack a trainer,” Sedna called out.
Keeve’s eyes were angry, and he didn’t listen to her. He flew at Moss again. They fought, but Keeve was not a well-matched opponent. Keeve was soon rolling on the ground, spitting out blood.
“You give up?” Moss said. “You violated the rules, so now you’re disqualified for the contest.”
“I’ll challenge you to the death, bastard,” Keeve snarled and charged at him again.
“Do something, Afton!” Sedna said.
“There’s nothing I can do, and don’t you make a move, either, Sedna.”
The ground grumbled, and there was a loud noise from inside the vault. Afton ran to the door and yanked it open. Inside, they saw a safe in the middle of the room. Before their eyes, a round circle cracked open on the floor around the safe. Then the floor dropped away, taking the safe with it. All that was left was a round hole in the floor.
Moss grabbed Keeve and threw him toward the hole. Keeve’s head dangled over the gaping circle of darkness in the ground. Sedna and Neva flew over to grab Keeve’s legs and stop him from tumbling in. They pulled him away. Then they all moved over to the hole with caution and peered down into it.
They could see straight down into the basement. The safe box had shattered, and the sculpture lay on top, glowing in the dark. Next to the statue was Caedmon. He looked up at them, “Hello there!” he said.
Caedmon staggered along the edge of the park, his arm around Keeve to steady him as they walked. The snow was getting thicker by the minute. When they approached a bench, he let Keeve flop down onto it.
“You’re heavier than you look.”
“I didn’t ask for your help,” Keeve said.
“I didn’t mean to help you. But it turned out to be the better solution for me. All I want to do is trade the sculpture for something I want in the temple.”
“You’ll have it tomorrow. They’ve moved the contest ahead because of you. Good job!”
“Look, Moss was going to kill you if I didn’t make that deal. But I have no intention to keep my promise with either Moss or Afton.”
“What do you mean?”
“Tell me where the temple is. I’ll go there tonight to get what I want. Then I won’t show up tomorrow. There will be nothing to fight for. Sedna will be fine. She won’t be a leader, so then she can be with me.” He grinned. Seeing Keeve’s glare, he asked, “What’s wrong?”
“You’re an idiot.”
“Hey! There’s no need for insults here. Remember, I just saved you.”
Keeve shook his head. “Moss killed Nikki. He deserves the worst possible death. But I’m not good enough to beat him. I never will—”
“Nikki was your girlfriend?”
Keeve shook his head again. “I wish. She was human. Mages and humans have no future together.”
Caedmon’s ears perked up. “Do you mean they’re biologically incompatible, or that it’s just a matter of tradition?”
Keeve looked up at Caedmon. “I don’t really know. It just won’t work.”
Caedmon frowned. “All right. I’ll figure that out later.”
“Figure what out? Nikki’s death? We can heal, but we can’t bring someone back from death.”
“I mean Sedna and me. But first things first, what’s wrong with me going to the temple tonight?”