Ash of Scorpio - Bloodstone Trilogy - Prequel

by D. N. Leo

  Keeve leaned back on the bench. “Do you think Afton and Moss let you keep the sculpture because you used that to guarantee my head and trust you to show up tomorrow?”

  Caedmon shrugged. “Yes, I do.”

  Keeve snorted. “They aren’t stupid, Caedmon. And you can’t get to the temple without them—at our rank, we’re not allowed to know where the temple is.”

  Caedmon sat down next to Keeve. “I’m an idiot.”

  “Don’t worry. We’ve all been there and done that. If I’d had half a brain, I would have told Nikki I loved her.”

  “Why is that so important?”

  “What? The love or the telling?”

  “The telling bit. Wouldn’t she know?”

  “Have you told Sedna?” Keeve asked.

  “Told her what?”

  “That you love her.”

  “No. I haven’t quantified that verb. I’m not sure I understand the magnitude of the emotion. Until I understand it, I’m not going to say it.”

  Keeve stared at him. “You are an idiot.” He stood up. “And as you said, you’ll figure things out.” He stood and started to leave.

  “So you’re not going to be there tomorrow for the contest?” Caedmon asked.

  “No. I withdrew, remember?”

  “I mean as a spectator?” Caedmon stood up.

  Keeve turned around. “You really don’t get it, do you? It’s not a public event. The temple is a sacred place. I’m guessing it’s somewhere in the ice. You will see no one on that island tomorrow except Afton, Moss, Sedna, and Neva. And if anything happens to you there, no one on Earth would ever know.”

  Thinking about Eudaiz, Caedmon shrugged. “That’s okay. No one needs to know where I’ll be. But if I have any questions about Sedna or about mages—you know, about relationship matters—how can I find you?”

  Keeve waved his hand in the air and laughed. “Oh no, I’m the last person you’d want to ask given what happened to Nikki. It will take me another hundred years to forget her and forgive myself.” He turned and walked away into the darkness.

  Caedmon adjusted his wrist unit and called his father. A warm beam of light brushed at his back. He turned around to see his father walking out of the teleport.

  “Father, you didn’t have to come. You shouldn’t interact with me …”

  “I have no choice. We’re having trouble with a new sub-dimension in Eudaiz. I can’t free a commander I would trust to come and help you. If you want Roy or your uncle, you will have to wait for,” he checked his wrist unit, “three days Earth time.”

  “They moved the contest up to tomorrow.”

  “Then mission aborted.”

  “No, Father. I have the sculpture. We’re so close. I’ll go to the contest—I don’t have to fight or anything—and I’ll find an opportunity to put the sculpture where it belongs. There’s no other option.”

  “I said no. You can’t handle a mission like that on your own. You’re too inexperienced. Am I understood?”

  Caedmon nodded. Ciaran held out two bracelets. “This is the dimensional resistance. It will lock your biological profile in at the time and space of your choice. Use one for you and one for your girl, assuming she wants to be with you. When you’re done with your mission, wear them, then come and see me in Eudaiz. Understand?”

  “Yes, Father.”

  “You’ll need this.” Ciaran handed Caedmon a gun. “Do not go to the contest tomorrow. That’s an order. Nothing will go ahead without the sculpture. After I have sent the commanders and settled the plans, you can find the mages and give them an explanation for your no-show.”

  “I understand.”

  “I have to go now.”

  Caedmon nodded. Before stepping back into the teleport, Ciaran turned around to look at Caedmon. “As your father, I know what you’re going to do. And I know I can’t stop you. Whatever happens, you have my blessing.” Then the teleport disappeared.

  Caedmon realized a tear had escaped his eye. He wiped it away and strode back to the hotel.

  16

  Caedmon squeezed the scorpion sculpture in his hand. It was eerily cold. It felt as if it had a soul and was watching him, judging what he was doing. The boat trip to this isolated and icy island was long. Afton had mentioned the Earth time, but he hadn’t paid much attention, so he couldn’t remember. Everything around him was white and cold. He had no intention of ever coming back here, so there was no point in placing markers to trace or trying to remember anything. It was a memory he didn’t want to keep.

  The fate of Earth was in his hands. It was supposed to be a no-brainer. He would take the key, plug the astronomical hole, and be out of here in a heartbeat. But first, he had to lock the sculpture into the power lock for the tribe leadership contest—otherwise, the key wouldn’t reveal itself. That was his plan.

  He walked down the aisle of the temple as statues of whatever gods the tribe worshipped peered down on him from above. There was no religion in Eudaiz. His father said it was the best thing the council had ever established because when the citizens had no higher power to believe in, they believed in themselves and in good karma instead.

  In the grand dome of the temple, Afton stood to one side, Sedna and Anatole flanking him. On the other side, Moss stood with Neva. Afton and Moss stared at each other, and it seemed more of a fight between them for the leadership than between Sedna and Neva.

  Caedmon put his head down and continued walking. He couldn’t care less about who won the leadership and about the internal friction of the mage tribe. It was minuscule when he considered his mission.

  He glanced around quickly before approaching the altar where the sculpture would be put into the lock. It was so quiet that he swore he could hear the sound of his sweat dripping in this icy room. As he stood next to the altar, Afton said, “Caedmon, place the sculpture in the lock beneath the square plaque. You will find the base of the sculpture fits perfectly. Once it’s in place, please step aside. Sedna and Neva, take your positions. Note that all the contest rules apply here. This is not a fight to the death. Do you understand?”

  Sedna and Neva nodded and walked out to the middle of the room.

  Caedmon approached the altar. He saw the square plaque and the lock underneath it. He held up the sculpture, pointed the base toward the hole, and plugged it in.

  The temple shuddered. Snow fell from the roof and rained down in an icy dust to the courtyard outside. Caedmon stared at the sculpture. A red laser beam shone out from it. The line of light hit the wall then shot up to the ceiling and moved toward the east wing. He pulled the sculpture out of the lock. The hole glowed in alarming crimson.

  “What are you doing?” Moss yelled.

  A beam of dust came from the hole and hit Caedmon. He fell backward, rolling across the platform, still holding the sculpture firmly in his hand. The lock hole burned red.

  “Put it back in!” Afton commanded. Anatole raised his gun, aiming at Caedmon.

  Caedmon thrust the sculpture in front of him. “Approach me, and I’ll destroy your precious sculpture,” he said and pulled out his gun, pointing it at the sculpture.

  “You tricked us. You always wanted the sculpture!” Neva cried.

  “No, Neva. I don’t want your sculpture. But it must serve a higher purpose than being plugged into that lock. I’m sorry, but neither of you is going to have any leadership today.”

  He withdrew toward the hallway leading to the east wing. The group approached him slowly.

  “You’re not going to destroy the sculpture, are you?” Afton asked.

  “No, I need it to get my key.”

  “Your family key is in this temple?” Sedna asked.

  “Yes, I wasn’t lying about that. I need the sculpture to see it. It’s very important.”

  Sedna let out a sigh of relief, and that hurt him because he was still lying to her. She had no idea what was ahead.

  Sedna said to Afton, “Why don’t we let him take his key? Then we’ll put the sculpture
back where it’s supposed to be.”

  “It doesn’t look as if we have any other option,” Afton said.

  “Do you swear not to destroy it?” Moss asked.

  “I swear,” Caedmon said. “I need the key. If you let me get it, then no one will get hurt.”

  “If that’s all you want, why didn’t you tell us before? We could have negotiated. It didn’t have to come to this,” Afton told him.

  “Do you honestly think your people would have been open to a discussion about me using your sculpture? You fought for it for centuries. Do you think you could have gotten your people to agree to lend it to me?”

  “He’s right, Afton. Let him do what he needs to do. My gun will guarantee he doesn’t take the sculpture out of this temple,” Anatole said.

  Caedmon looked at the group. When it appeared they had no further objection, he turned around and dashed down the corridor to the east wing, following the red line on the ceiling. Everyone raced after him, but they kept their distance.

  17

  The east wing was grand and mysterious. The red light beamed across the ceiling and down to the far wall. In the middle of the wall, a secret compartment the size of a large cabinet had opened. Inside the compartment stood a life-sized statue of a scorpion. In the middle of the scorpion head, there was a large eye with a transparent eyelid. Via the eyelid, Caedmon could see the Scorpio key glowing in crimson.

  He turned toward the group approaching him. “Stay right there.”

  They stopped in their tracks.

  Caedmon concentrated. He could do this. This was his first mission. It might be his last, but he had to do this. He looked at Sedna. Catching his look and reading his mind, she approached, but Afton pulled her back.

  Caedmon closed his eyes, switched his Silver Blood on, and wielded his mind light beams. They came. Thousands of them. Like stars in the sky. They formed into hard beams of incredible force outside the temple. In his mind’s eye, he drew a circle in the snow around the temple. He grunted as this directive sucked much of the energy out of him. Thousands of light beams dug into the snow.

  Blood trickled from his nose. His knees buckled as the temple shook with the force outside. He braced himself against the wall. “This temple is going to sink. Leave,” he said. Then he punched the eyelid of the scorpion statue. It opened, and he pulled the Scorpio key out, placing the sculpture inside. The eyelid slammed shut and sealed instantly.

  Afton and Moss charged at the statue. Caedmon pointed the gun at them.

  “Leave. Now!” he told Neva, Sedna, and Anatole.

  The temple shook as if in an earthquake. They heard the first crack in the icy ground outside. All of the glass doors and windows shattered from the force.

  “Leave, Sedna! Right now!” Caedmon shouted at her.

  “No.”

  “Let’s go. We can talk outside,” Neva said. She was already halfway to the door. Anatole pulled at Sedna’s arm, but she broke free of his grip.

  Moss and Afton rushed toward Caedmon. Afton fought Caedmon, and Moss ran to the scorpion statue, trying to open the eyelid. Afton left Caedmon and tackled Moss. Afton and Moss fought each other like mad dogs.

  Neva had gone through the door. The ceilings cracked as the foundation of the temple shook. Anatole let go of Sedna and followed Neva outside.

  Caedmon ran toward the statue to make sure Afton and Moss had not broken the eyelid. They were still fighting. And by Caedmon’s gauge, this fight would take a while. Only if he buried this temple beneath the seabed would the statue be safe as well as the sculpture inside it.

  Sedna ran toward him.

  “No, no, Sedna. Go away!” Caedmon shouted at her.

  “I won’t go without you.” She pulled at him.

  Caedmon knew he didn’t have much energy left in him. He knew what he had done. He had used up his Silver Blood energy in one round. He had to switch back to human form, rest, then use another round of Silver Blood to heal his body. It wouldn’t be so problematic for other Silver Blood users, but due to his lack of experience, it was the only thing he could think of. But switching back to human form right now was a very bad idea.

  The temple sank a bit more, and water began to seep in. Moss and Afton continued to fight. Caedmon snatched Sedna and flung her over his shoulders. As weak as he was, with his Silver Blood on, he was still much too strong for her to resist.

  He darted to the doorway and ran through it. As soon as they hit the edge of the crack in the ice, he tossed her over to the other side. He stepped back inside at the exact time the temple dipped, sank, and became totally submerged in the icy water.

  18

  Sedna screamed. In front of her was a large pool of the Arctic Sea. The temple had disappeared from sight. And so had Afton and Caedmon. “Caedmon!” she cried out, although she knew it was hopeless. “Caedmon!” she called again.

  She dipped her hand into the water. She would freeze to death before she could get to anyone down there. No human could survive the icy water. But Afton and Caedmon weren’t human. She strained her eyes, hoping to see them break through the surface of the calm water.

  There was nothing.

  She thought of Caedmon, and her heart ached. She hadn’t had a chance to tell him she had forgiven him for leaving her. She had no family. No friends. And now, no mentor. She didn’t care what kind of creature Caedmon was. She wanted him to know that the time she’d spent with him four years ago were the best memories she had ever had in her life.

  Under the water, Caedmon held his breath and swam deep inside the temple. He had to make sure Moss and Afton hadn’t cracked the eyelid and taken out the sculpture. He had nothing left of the Silver Blood in this round. He’d had no choice but to switch it off. He swam in the deep water of the Arctic Sea as a human.

  He headed into the east wing and saw the last round of the fight between Moss and Afton. They were incredible creatures. Energy sparked in the deep blue water. Caedmon would take Afton’s side if he could. But it wasn’t for him to decide.

  Moss’s hand savaged the jugular in Afton’s neck in his last attack. Afton’s body floated in the water, flowing past Caedmon with his eyes still open. Dead eyes. I’m sorry, Caedmon thought. He clung to a large rock, keeping out of sight so Moss didn’t see him. He knew he had no chance fighting him.

  But Moss was a mage, not a fish. Caedmon knew he would have to be quick to get the sculpture and then get up to the surface. Moss turned toward the scorpion eyelid and punched hard. Energy sparked. Caedmon wasn’t sure how long it would hold.

  He swam around until he found a loose piece of ice on a broken wall above Moss. He pushed at it. It moved about an inch. He pushed more. And more. Moss paid no attention to him. He was intent on cracking the eyelid. Caedmon used the last drop of his human breath and pushed again. It wasn’t enough.

  He tried to turn his eudqi back on, but he was so weak, it didn’t work. He turned back toward the ice. He thought of his parents. He recalled the devastated look in his father’s eyes when he told him he’d decided to take on this mission. He didn’t even want to think about how his mother would react.

  And now this. Mission unaccomplished.

  He closed his eyes. He was a human with a family to think about. He was a son, not a Silver Blood soldier. And he might have been a good lover, once. He couldn’t let it end here, like this. He pushed one last time.

  The ice piece fell down, crushed Moss and covered the scorpion.

  Running out of breath, Caedmon looked up. He saw the dim light of the surface and knew it was a long way to the light. He pushed up with his feet. His body was numb. He couldn’t feel much. But he kept kicking. And pushing. Above the water, in the dim light, he saw the silhouette of Sedna, bending over the water, waiting for him.

  It was so close and yet so far to the surface. To her.

  He kicked again, but his body didn’t move any further. He could feel nothing. He knew he was drowning.

  19

  Sedna couldn’t beli
eve her eyes. Beneath the surface the dark blue sea, she saw a shadow. It was Caedmon. He was trying to resurface. She bent down right at the edge of the ice, waiting to catch him. But then he slowed down.

  “Come on, Caedmon. Come on.”

  He slowed even more. And about five feet below the surface, he stopped.

  She dipped her body down into the water like a seal, snatched his collar before he sank, and yanked him up onto the ice.

  He barely breathed. His lips had turned purple. And she was willing to bet his internal organs has started to turn into ice.

  She gathered her light. “Come on, Caedmon, stay with me.” His body had rejected her light before. But hell, she had to try. She held his hands and pushed the energy in. This time, his body soaked it up like sunshine. She felt so deliriously happy she almost giggled out loud. She wrapped him up in her arms and let her warm energy pour into him.

  After a while, she felt the natural warmth of his body returning. She heard his strong heartbeat and even breathing.

  Then something happened—his own supernatural defense mechanism kicked in. And as she had anticipated, it zapped her. She dropped him to the snow and laughed. She was pleased that she had been right the whole time. He wasn’t human. She just hadn’t realized his supernatural power could be switched on and off like this.

  But she was pleased he was alive. He opened his eyes.

  “Hey,” she said and brushed a stray wisp of hair from his forehead. She smiled.

  He smiled back.

  She glanced back at the water and then looked back at Caedmon. Now that she knew Caedmon was alive, she thought of Afton. Regardless of how strict he was with her training, regardless of his motive in taking her under his wing, he had been like her father. All he ever wanted was to be the mentor of the leader. She saw nothing wrong with that.

  A tear rolled down her face. “How did he die?”