Queen of Empire: A fantasy romance (The Relic Trilogy Book 1)

by HR Moore

  Anita woke to the delicious smell of bacon cooking downstairs. She got out of bed, deciding to skip her usual yoga session, and headed straight to the kitchen. Cordelia was standing over the stove singing to herself, and turned when she heard Anita come in.

  'Morning,' she said cheerily.

  'Morning,' replied Anita, less enthusiastically on account of the banging in her head. 'What's got into you?'

  Cordelia was not a morning person. It was usually difficult to get her to be cheerful about anything before eleven o'clock and at least three cups of tea. Today she was sparkling.

  'You got home late last night,' Cordelia chirped.

  'That's why you're happy? Because I got home late?'

  'Tell me all about it,' she said, putting an enormous plate of sausages, bacon and eggs in front of Anita. Anita's stomach growled appreciatively; this was exactly what she needed.

  'There's not much to tell,' she said. 'We ate, we danced, we drank, and then I came home.'

  'Really. You expect me to believe that's all? You can't think of anything else you might like to tell me?'

  Anita shot Cordelia a curious look. 'What else do you think happened?'

  Cordelia changed tack, opting for the direct approach. 'And Marcus? Any news there?'

  'Any news? You're going to have to be a little more specific.'

  Cordelia huffed. 'Do you think you will see him again?'

  Cordelia didn't need to wait long to get her answer. At that moment, a knock emanated from the back door, followed by a rich male voice, 'Hello?'

  Anita jumped up and ran out of the kitchen, throwing Cordelia a look which said, don't you dare.

  'Hi!' said Anita, as she approached the back door. 'What are you doing here?'

  Marcus stepped into her space, crowding her, her senses overwhelmed. He leaned in and gave her a deep, enthusiastic kiss. 'It's lovely to see you too,' he said, pulling away. 'Do I smell breakfast?' He grabbed Anita's hand then pushed past her, dragging her behind him in the direction of the kitchen.

  Cordelia couldn't contain her excitement when she saw them enter. 'Marcus, how lovely to meet you. I'm Cordelia, Anita's grandmother. She's told me all about you,' she lied.

  Marcus flashed a charming smile. 'It's an absolute pleasure to meet you too,' he said, shaking her hand.

  Anita gave Cordelia a stern look from where she was standing behind Marcus. 'Cordelia was just leaving, weren't you, Cordelia?'

  Anita placed her hand on Marcus' arm to draw his attention away from her grandmother. 'She was just about to take Thorn for a walk. Do you remember Thorn?' she said, denying Cordelia the chance to dispute Anita's story.

  'I certainly do,' said Marcus, shooting Anita a devilish smile.

  Cordelia, who Anita had to admit, did at least know how to take a hint, rolled her eyes heavily. She placed a second plate of food on the table. 'There you go, Marcus. Come on Thorn,' she said, not trying to hide her disappointment as she set off out of the back door with her dog.

  Anita and Marcus finished breakfast, then Marcus waited downstairs while Anita got dressed. She had lessons today, and he said he would walk her to the temples as he had to go there anyway.

  'How did you get here so quickly last night?' Anita asked, as they left the house. 'We came straight here, but you got here first.'

  Marcus smiled and looked pleased with himself. 'There's a back way that cuts across our estate, so nobody uses it. It's much more direct,' he said smugly.

  But of course, thought Anita. They walked on in silence for a few minutes before she said, 'So…what did Austin say last night?'

  Marcus didn't reply for several paces, seeming to contemplate what to tell her. 'He wasn't happy. He thought the dance was inappropriate and made a mockery of the occasion, and he blamed you for everything.' Marcus smiled at Anita and she raised an eyebrow, both of them acknowledging the absurdity of Austin's assumption.

  'Amber, Dad's Chief of Security and Research, was there too; he's always worse when she's around. Anyway, long and short of it, Dad doesn't like you. He thinks you're a bad influence and not the sort of person that a future Descendant should be dating.'

  Anita ignored the dating bit, even though it sent a thrill through her; they could deal with that later. 'He must be annoyed that you came here last night and again this morning?' she said.

  'He doesn't know,' he said, 'but even if he did, he can't stop me from seeing you, or anyone else I want to see for that matter. Sooner or later he's got to realize I'm not twelve years old any longer and he can't dictate what I do and who I see.'

  'I'm not sure he wants to realize that.'

  'He doesn't have a choice.'

  His words send another burst of excitement through her veins and she linked her arm through his.

  'So how come the Descendants get to skip weekend classes when the rest of us have to suffer?' Anita asked, firmly changing the subject.

  'Because they make us study three times as hard when we're children. When you lot were all running around playing after school, we were still in lessons, learning how to be Descendants.

  'We're not born with all the skills we have; a lot of them are taught. Something like Alexander's ability to read energy, you're either born with or without, but pretty much everything else can be learned, if you work hard enough.

  'Descendants have to be adept in all disciplines, and we have to work hard to get there. It was bad back when I was eight, but it does have its advantages now, like, for example, not having to go to school at the weekend.'

  'Is that why you were all at the front of the Chase?' she asked.

  'Yep.'

  'So even though I'm appallingly bad at Mind disciplines, there's hope for me yet?'

  'Yep, maybe even for you,' he said, nudging her playfully.

  'Have you ever seen anyone move anything using just their mind?'

  'Of course I have; I've done it myself once or twice.'

  'Really?' said Anita, her voice heavy with skepticism.

  'Really,' he replied, absolutely serious.

  'Could you teach me?'

  'It's not something you can learn to do overnight. You need to be really good at the basics first and build up to it. I've been dedicated to Mind disciplines my whole life, and I've only managed it a couple of times.'

  'But we could try?' Anita wasn't sure why she wanted to. She'd never liked Mind disciplines, but somehow private lessons with Marcus made it sound appealing. Besides, it was a challenge now she knew moving objects with one's mind was actually possible, although she wouldn't one hundred per cent believe it until she saw it herself.

  Marcus looked indulgently down at her. 'Would you take no for an answer?'

  Anita smiled at the ground before looking Marcus defiantly in the eye.

  'As I suspected,' he said, rolling his eyes. 'Yes, Anita, I suppose we could try.' He draped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her hair.

  They arrived at the temples, Anita relieved when Marcus removed his arm. They ran into Cleo and Bass outside the Mind Temple, which was good, because they could walk in as a group.

  They entered the temple, and Marcus told Anita he would find her later, when he'd finished what he needed to do. He left them and headed for the hole in the floor, descending effortlessly.

  Bass, Cleo and Anita chose seats as close to the back as they could. Anita's hangover was abating, but the other two, along with the rest of the class, didn't look in such great shape. Their lesson was subdued.

  The Spirit lesson was a total waste of time, most of them requiring concentration just to stay awake. Meditating was a distant dream.

  As usual, Anita didn't attend the Body lesson, telling the others she was going for a run. However, as she left the Spirit Temple, she thought about what Marcus had said. If someone like Peter could master the art of meditating, or the Mind disciplines, through nothing more than practice, then she could do it too.

  There was the added benefit that if she hung around the Spirit Temple enough, sh
e would have to bump into Alexander eventually, so she turned and walked back into the temple. She picked an open space on a large rectangular mat near the back, and sat down to meditate.

  She closed her eyes and cleared her mind, trying to push away thoughts of kissing good-looking men in the middle of the night. After minutes of sitting with blankness in her mind, the image of an eagle soaring high above the world slid through her thoughts. The eagle descended towards the ground, Wild Land all around.

  There were no houses and no people, just heather and trees and rocks, but as the eagle swooped closer to the ground, she could make out a large, earth colored yurt in a clearing. The eagle flapped its wings and suddenly she was falling. She landed, like a cat, next to the yurt's entrance. It felt safe and familiar here, so she stood and walked towards the tent, pushing aside the canvas and stepping inside.

  She emerged into a boring old yurt, although it was filled with an odd, too-bright light. A low bed covered with animal hides sat on one side, several small tables and chairs dotted around. They were made from bits of wood lashed haphazardly together, and a rack of drying herbs stood near the fire.

  In the center of the yurt, sat on top of a waist high pillar, was a brass cylinder. It was alien in this space, and Anita was suddenly uneasy. She made her way towards the cylinder, about to pick it up to see what was inside, when she felt an overwhelming urge to leave it and turn around. She turned, and to her surprise, saw Alexander sitting on the bed, hair unkempt, shirtless, glorious torso on display. A potent pang of desire filled her, and it was all she could do to keep herself from running to the bed and jumping on top of him.

  Anita's energy was at an all-time high and Alexander smiled knowingly. 'Anita, you need to leave the cylinder alone. You need to make it disappear. Reject it from your mind and it will go.' He spoke to her, and she could hear him, but his lips didn't seem to move.

  'Why do I need to leave it alone? What is it? Why's it here?'

  'I can't explain now; we need to be careful, but trust me, you need to reject it.'

  'How?'

  Alexander got up and moved towards her. He stood in front of her so he could see the cylinder behind her back and looked into her eyes. 'Do exactly what I tell you.'

  Anita nodded, no idea what was going on.

  'Imagine the cylinder lifting off the pillar,' he said. 'It will be difficult and heavy, but lift it up. You're strong; use your strength to raise it.'

  Anita concentrated. She did everything she could to lift the cylinder, but it wouldn't budge.

  'Try harder Anita,' said Alexander, his command gentle yet firm.

  She tried, but nothing she did would lift it. Trying drained her; she was tired, and she dropped her eyes to the floor.

  'Anita, look at me. I'm going to help you, but it's very important you stay focused on the cylinder, okay?'

  Anita nodded.

  Alexander reached forward and touched Anita's index finger lightly with his. The cylinder went light as a feather. She could easily lift it now, and made it fly into the air behind them.

  'Very good, Anita. Now, I need you to imagine the cylinder falling to the floor, but before it gets there, it vanishes, okay?'

  Anita nodded again, Alexander's finger still touching hers. She was concentrating on the cylinder falling when the mood shifted. Another presence blasted into her consciousness and Alexander's finger left hers. The cylinder fell, but bounced when it hit the floor, and rolled through the door out of the tent.

  Alexander had disappeared, and a furious voice invaded her mind. 'What the hell do you think you're playing at?'

  Anita was jolted back to the temple and almost fainted when she got there. She looked up to see Marcus and Alexander standing over her, Marcus livid.

  'I was teaching her a thing or two about the arts of the Spirit,' Alexander replied, unruffled. 'Maybe you should think about doing the same with the Mind disciplines, so she's not so vulnerable to attack.'

  'What?' said Anita and Marcus together.

  'You attacked her?' spat Marcus, squaring up to Alexander.

  Anita, still trying to wrap her head around what had just happened, had to suppress a smile; the idea that Marcus could beat Alexander in a fight was pretty funny.

  'Don't be ridiculous; I didn't attack her. But given what I just saw, it wouldn't take much for someone else to; they would almost certainly succeed.'

  'Who would want to attack me?' asked Anita, her thoughts slow and sticky.

  Alexander rolled his eyes, giving her a do we really have to recap already look, but Marcus answered.

  'It's just a good idea for you to know how to defend yourself,' he said. 'It's basic training for Descendants, and I'm not sure why it's not taught to everyone. It just means that if some crazy person tries to get into your mind, you'll know about it, and will be able to defend yourself. Much as it pains me to admit it, he has a point; I'll have to teach you.'

  Alexander laughed openly. 'You think you'll be able to teach her? You can barely defend yourself. Doesn't your girlfriend deserve expert tuition?'

  Marcus was furious, energy steaming off him. Anita and Alexander stood still, watching as Marcus calmed himself, turning over the options in his mind.

  'Well, I suppose, seeing as I've already agreed to teach you about the Mind disciplines, it would be a bit intense for me to teach you about the Spirit ones as well. And I'm not too proud to admit that, although I am far from a beginner, I'm not a Spirit expert. Alexander would be a more suitable mentor.' He rounded on Alexander. 'But if you lay so much as one finger on her, you'll regret it.'

  'Marcus, I'm not in the least bit interested in Anita. I am interested in someone close to you being vulnerable to attack. I would say the same thing if any of the Descendants were in this position.'

  'I suppose you have a point. We don't want someone getting at me via Anita,' said Marcus. His tone was cringingly pompous, containing strong echoes of Austin, but Anita let it go, so close to getting what she desperately wanted.

  'Although…I'll obviously have to lay a finger on her in a plutonic way, for the meditations that require it.'

  'There is no requirement for you to show her those poses.'

  Alexander looked at Marcus as though he were a petulant child. 'Marcus, you know I need to show her every pose if she's to be properly protected.'

  Anita was intrigued; what could the offending poses be? But again, best to keep her thoughts to herself for the time being.

  'Fine,' spat Marcus, 'but not until she's ready.'

  Alexander gave Marcus a terse look and walked away. 'Meet me here tomorrow evening at seven, Anita. Marcus, don't even think about coming too.'

  Marcus helped Anita to her feet, his face like thunder. Alexander was right; Marcus was possessive. Half of her loved it, while the other half couldn't stand it. She wanted to spend more time with both of them, but she'd had no say in the matter, and she wasn't happy about it.

  Marcus took her hand, running his thumb over her skin. She softened, her anger chased away by the sparks of energy radiating out from his touch.

  'When do we start my Mind lessons?' she said.

  'Tomorrow morning at mine?'

  She nodded, kissed him lightly on the lips, and sauntered out of the temple.

  * * * * *

  Anita went for a run along the river, heading for one of her favorite climbing spots. She'd felt fuzzy since the meditation and hoped the combination of fresh air and adrenaline would help clear her head. She arrived at the cliff, lost in her thoughts, so was startled when a voice called her name, Helena jogging into view.

  'Helena. Hi!' said Anita. 'What are you doing here?'

  'It's a nice day for a climb,' she said, descending the steep grassy slope down to the riverbank where Anita stood.

  'Great minds,' said Anita, warmly. 'In fact, it's probably a good thing you bumped into me,' she smirked, 'at your age, it's a wonder you can still make it out here.'

  'Alright, enough of that, thank you,' said H
elena. 'I'll still beat your sorry little ass up that cliff.'

  They grinned at each other, just like they used to.

  They were free climbing; body types had a healthy scorn for safety. They were halfway up the cliff, just reaching a tricky overhang, when Helena said, 'You and Marcus are getting along well.'

  'For the love of the Gods, not you too?'

  'What do you mean, not me too?'

  'I didn't have you down for a gossip.'

  Helena laughed. 'I'm not. I was wondering how Austin feels about your relations with his son? You should be careful of him,' she said, launching herself upwards to grab a hold that had been just out of reach.

  'Ah, you fall into the save Anita from Austin camp,' said Anita, placing her foot and all her weight on an impossibly small crease next to her waist.

  'There's a whole camp of us?' said Helena.

  'It's a small but growing assembly.'

  'Well, Austin's dangerous, and that woman Amber comes in a close second. She's adept at getting into peoples' minds. If I were you, I'd stay away from her.'

  'What do you mean getting into peoples' minds?'

  Helena paused, looking over at Anita. 'I mean, in the same way as we have Body skills not taught at school, there are also Mind and Spirit skills that most people don't know about. Amber is extremely good at some particularly manipulative ones, and is exceptionally good at getting into peoples' heads.'

  Anita's face betrayed her confusion.

  'Sometimes Amber simply uses the power of suggestion,' said Helena, 'planting things into conversations, repeating words or phrases a number of times so people unwittingly remember them. She's also been known to launch full-scale attacks. She'll find a way into a person's mind, when they're meditating, or praying, or concentrating hard, and plant something in there. Most people won't even realize she's done it. Only those who know how to meditate to the places in their mind would be able to uncover the truth.'

  Helena lifted herself over the lip of the cliff, Anita following just behind. They sat with their legs dangling over the edge, admiring the view, but Anita was quiet, dread settling over her.

  'Are you alright?' asked Helena.