The Eidolon
Page 30
Eva let out a yelp and clapped a hand quickly over her mouth. She glanced away, embarrassed by her outburst.
“Nicholas’ two agents will work with you in establishing a plan and providing you with any resources you need to assist them in seeking the crystal. We don’t anticipate this renegade organization will even consider the possibility that you or Luke are involved with this task. Attendance at classes will not be required, as this is your highest priority. Your absence will be explained by your advisors. No one,” he said, and though she couldn’t see his eyes, she felt them boring into her, “not even your roommate or teachers, can know about this mission.
“Begin your task immediately. And do not fail us.” The Elem paused, and the darkness beneath his hood seemed to reach out toward her. She took a step back and tried to find her voice. There were so many questions she wanted to ask.
“Who are the agents we’ll be working with?” she croaked.
A gloved hand appeared from underneath the cloaked sleeve and pointed at Hannah. Hannah! Eva had forgotten her advisor had been there the entire time. Hannah was an agent? Eva tilted her head and examined the woman she’d known for three years. Hannah’s status as an agent explained so many things about her: her aura of mystery, why the talented Air Elem was stuck here teaching, her strange office hours, and so on.
She felt a rush of pleasure at being singled out by Hannah. Her prickly advisor seldom offered praise.
“Who else?” she whispered.
“Mr. Braxton,” the man answered, his voice tinged with impatience. “Now, I must go.” He turned and placed his hand on the wall. An opening appeared through which he vanished in an instant. It closed up just as quickly, as if the strange Elem had never been there. Eva shivered at the residual power, and the memory of the enigmatic man.
She took a step back and fell heavily into a chair. Before she’d entered Hannah’s office, she’d been thinking along the lines of an assignment with another experienced Elem somewhere in the field. And now, well now she didn’t know what to think. She dropped her chin to her chest and closed her eyes, the words of the Elem still running through her mind. Phrases like “highest priority” and “do not fail us” shouted at her, making her wonder if she’d just been violently shoved out of her teens and into an adult life she wasn’t sure she was prepared for.
Suddenly, the long-forgotten e-mails of her advisor sprang to her mind, reminding her why she’d come to the school three years ago, why she’d worked so hard to become the best in her class.
Hannah had explained that the four Greek elements; Earth, Fire, Air, and Water were the source of power for the Byzantine Empire. During their incredible thousand-year sovereignty, they’d established a sacred trust to “Restore the Balance” wrought by both human and natural disasters and enforced strict measures to keep their secret.
An elite few, endowed with the same power, had continued the legacy of the Byzantines through the years. Opening her eyes, Eva wondered if she shared their heritage, and if that legacy could be hers. Otherwise, she’d still be the misfit orphan who hadn’t lived, but merely existed at her aunt’s house.
She fingered her mother’s crystal. Time to find out who she was.