Destiny (Cornerstone Deep Book 3)

by Wilson, Charlene A.

  “Her name is Mianna,” Cole’s heavy tone carried from behind Vincent. “You may address her as an equal here.”

  Rhune nodded and looked at his hands. “I meant no disrespect, Colhart.”

  Vincent wrinkled his nose and glanced over his shoulder to sneer at the old brood. “He wasn’t insulting her. The Uncle Rhune I know always uses pet names. They’re endearing.” He looked at the man seated at the end of the table, bathed in blue light and framed by the parted curtains. “It’s when he doesn’t use them that you need to worry.”

  Rhune chuckled.

  Cole grunted and shuffled to leave. “Rhune. Kid. We need to talk. James is waiting in the study.”

  Chapter Seven

  Cole’s feet scuffed along the hardwood floor as Vincent and Rhune fell into step behind him. Crisp thuds echoed off the foyer walls as they rounded the staircase sentinels, and Cole wondered when he’d adjusted his strides to match theirs.

  As he opened the study door, James swiveled in the master chair, facing them, and then leaned back and steepled his fingers over his waist. Cole still wasn’t sure he cared for the sight of his brother at the Head Sentinel position, though he had every right to be there. His gaze shifted to the three Triad globes sitting along the front of the desk, and then the Utopian at the center behind them. He ran his palm down his chest to ease the knot that formed. Out of habit, if not to give himself something to do, he cocked the counselor chair to the side and settled into the cushions, stretching his legs out in front of him.

  Vincent entered the room, side-stepped, assuming his customary lean on the wall, and then crossed his arms as if bracing his chest. James lowered his gaze before Rhune appeared, and Cole watched from his periphery as the man crossed the threshold and then walked around the back of Cole’s chair, on his way to the other. Cole scoffed to himself at the obvious attempt to avoid stepping over his legs…or not wanting to chance Cole’s refusal to move.

  James waved at the door and it closed with a soft click. A slow sigh breezed through his lips as he quietly issued the silencing spell. “Eko silyst.”

  The air thickened and filled the room with auditory sealant.

  Rhune eased into his seat with a glance at James. His gaze shifted to Cole, and then back. Cole expected the obvious question. “Shouldn’t Cole be seated at the Head of Sentinels’ position?”

  “Thank you for including me in your discussions, Cole,” said Rhune in a low tone.

  Cole’s jaw flexed as he stared straight ahead, and Vincent lowered his chin.

  James laced his fingers. “I included you because I was instructed to do so.”

  “I see.” Rhune’s body filled the counselor chair as he leaned into it. “I take it more has happened that I don’t know about.”

  Foregoing explanations, James waved his finger at the Utopian, and the mirrors rose in turn to create the tulip shaped stage. He spoke clearly, “Colhart Nixtoro Krylu Shilomacj, you are present here today to receive instruction from the Counsel concerning the sentencing of offenses to the Covenant. Rhune Avier Hru Eshnal Shilomacj, you are present here today to receive information from the Counsel concerning assignment. Please assume the required stand in show of respect.”

  Cole rose, squared his shoulders, clasped his hands behind his back, and then lifted his chin. Rhune blinked several times and glanced at each of his nephews in turn. James leaned forward and rested his arms on the desk. Cole moved his eyes just enough to catch Rhune in his side vision. Surely the man heard what James had said. Silencing spell or not, he’d spoken with absolute clarity.

  The new Head of Sentinels looked at his hands as he folded them. “The Counsel will not appear until proper respect is given.”

  “But what would the Counsel want with me? I’ve lived a respectable life. Traveled the realms, unearthing the secrets of ancient civilizations. If it weren’t for me, they’d never have discovered the origins of that band of Rochendaugh on Midway Deep.”

  A scoff caught in Cole’s throat. “And Cornerstone Summit would have never heard of waters that revitalized life.”

  James held up his hand, palm pointed toward their uncle. “Please assume the position.”

  With another glance around, Rhune slowly stood and then mimicked Cole’s stance.

  A glow grew from deep within the crystal globes and created a mystical aura. The gleam from the circular chandeliers that hugged the ceiling, the track lights spotting the tapestries along the east wall, and the bulbs that capped the book shelves slowly dimmed. In a flash, a beam shot from the center of each globe and hit the three mirrors of the Utopian. A sheen of transparent film fluttered along the shafts as the reflectors slowly angled outward and a hologram came to life, filling the space between the desk and ceiling.

  Several familiar souls, adorned with silver shoulder capes and tall golden collars, appeared, sitting on the three-tiered officiator stand of the Triad Court counsel. Age had claimed their youthful countenances, and Cole reeled at the reality. Four hundred years spent on Cornerstone Deep behind the locked door to the realms was short compared to Meridian. The speed at which the portal carried a traveler seemed to throw logic out of the equation. While the average Meridian lived to be well over ten-thousand years old, to them he’d reached nearly six of that and aged little. In truth, he was surprised to see so many Counselors that he knew were still in high rank. Time changed people. He could attest to that.

  The shine from the ornate bronze crowns that capped the high-backed chairs cast a mild halo above the heads of the members and reminded Cole how closely these people worked with the gods.

  He pressed his heals into the plush carpet to anchor himself against what his future held. They couldn’t take him from Mianna, he knew that. The gods of Cornerstone Deep had declared their judgment for him to serve her for the rest of his soul’s existence, and it couldn’t be denounced. Ethereal law ruled observance to their stand. As long as he had her, he could handle it.

  Cole clenched his jaw and lifted his chin a little higher. You deserve whatever they’ve decided.

  Theonis stepped into the picture from the right and faced him, clasping his hands over his long silver robe. Spokesman for the Counsel, his deep voice carried through the room, despite the silencing spell.

  “Colhart, it has been five-thousand millennia since last we spoke, and you stand before me as one millennia at most. I see Cornerstone Deep time has been very kind to you.”

  Cole offered a small smile in response to the comparison. The Terran age of thirty-two would be a better estimate for the realm, but of course the man, who’d never stepped through the portal, would fall back on Meridian reckoning.

  “I’ve known you since you were a child,” the spokesman continued, “and frankly I’m surprised by what has come to pass.”

  Instead of the harsh reprimand he’d expected, the man’s tone sounded fatherly. He had known Theonis since childhood, many mornings spent in his orchard as they harvested. But, duty was duty, and Cole’s thumb twitched as he listened.

  “I’m sure I don’t need to site your offenses. You know well the weight of what you have done.” Theonis stepped to the edge of the hologram and nodded. “Ignoring the sanctity of life and seeking to end it. Stealing one’s freewill by casting a spell denounced by the Gods of Cornerstone Deep. Using the power gifted you to satisfy your unbridled anger…”

  Cole closed his eyes as he wished the man had stopped after saying, “You know well the weight of what you have done.”

  “And knowingly set the noblemen of this plane in a position to pass judgment upon a Sentinel to the Realms.”

  Yes. Those were the offenses. Every one of them, and it took all of his strength not to turn away in shame. Filling his lungs to cleanse his being of the heat in his chest, Cole opened his eyes.

  Theonis leaned his head toward Cole and then reached out. His arms extended beyond the edge of the hologram and shimmers filled the opaque limbs. He placed his hands beside Cole’s face.

  Wa
rmth penetrated Cole’s cheeks, so close to a real touch, so close to being connected with home. He blinked in quick succession, and his jaw dropped. “How… How are you…?”

  His stammer seemed to go unheard as Theonis spoke, “The Gods know of your soul mate and the part she played in your actions. However, anger and actions must be mastered.”

  He withdrew his touch, and his hands dropped to his sides. “Therefore, you are sanctioned to fill your father’s position on Midway Summit.”

  It was as if frigid air slapped Cole in the face. A myriad of questions flew through his mind, and answers spun twice as fast. What position of my father’s? That of when he saved the travelers? It has to be. I’m to pose as their fake God! So I’m being reassigned to Midway Summit. What of my duty to Mianna? The decree of one set of Gods are to be upheld by the others! I’m bound to…

  His heart sank to his stomach, and he couldn’t uphold protocol any longer. He grasped his chest, bunched his shirt into his fist, and doubled over.

  My love. My soul mate! Oh, Gods... Mianna.

  Chapter Eight

  Elaina glanced at Anna as a quirky grin played on her lips. Rhune was a godsend to Shilo Manor, the perfect addition to the Shilo family; simply the most stunning member she could have imagined. Next to Anna, or Mianna, as her name and persona turned out to be, he topped the extraordinary. “Do you remember all the things he’s talking about? Did Sylis tell you any of this when he was with you?”

  Anna’s gaze jumped to her, and then back to her rings, as if she wanted to spend the least amount of time possible to acknowledge the question. “Yes, he spoke of these things.”

  Okay. “Anna, is something wrong with your rings? You’ve been staring at them so much this morning.”

  Mianna tilted the underside of her rings with her thumb. She scooted sideways and flung her leg up to prop her foot on the velvet covered chair beside her. Resting her hands in the dip of her floral print skirt, she leaned her head as if to catch a different view. “Not my wedding band, but the diamond in my engagement ring. It’s so odd. Each angle produces a new…vision, something familiar to me that hangs just beyond my grasp. They’re like memories.” Her brows bit together. “But what do they mean? They’re like slivers of images. My life as Mianna is as clear as it could be, at least the part I’ve lived up to my wedding day to Cole. And that’s been four hundred years ago. And the small recollections of Anna’s life…it’s like I’ve been thrown into a dream. Like walking a path through the future. But, these…these thoughts, feelings, voices, seem as foreign as if I’ve stepped into a stranger’s mind.”

  Elaina’s exuberance melted as Anna spoke. She knew the experiences Anna had been through had to be hard to deal with, but her friend had never opened up to Elaina in such a way. She turned to face her fully, and allowed her to share her thoughts.

  Anna pressed her lips together, holding the ring steady, and narrowed her eyes. “Come on, Mianna, concentrate,” she whispered. “Hold this…whatever it is.”

  A glint flashed upward, and she quickly followed it to the bobble-filled chandelier that hung from the crown of the dining hall. A million sparkles romped among the crystals, free, full of glory within the blue tinted atmosphere.

  Anna smiled. “If only I could...take just a moment to leave behind all the confusing new developments in my life…and lost life spans. You and Linda are my best friends. But you really are strangers to me. And conveniences I’d never dared dream of in the sixteen hundreds, my true life time… If I could just leave it all behind for a few moments, how it would be a welcome change.”

  Elaina’s heart melted. Should she really be the one Anna spoke to about all of this? Perhaps Anna didn’t feel comfortable confessing her true feelings to Cole, who would worry and blame himself for the situation all over again.

  Anna stood, staring at the chandelier filled with crystal globes. As if nobody else was in the room, she stepped onto her chair, and then on top of the heavy dining table. Gaze locked on the lights, her hands rose to her sides, and she twirled in a small circle around the centerpiece. “So much that I am,” she exclaimed. “I feel I’m so much more.”

  Linda appeared at the ingress, accompanied by a trail of smoke from her cigarette. “Have you guys seen…? Anna, what are you…?”

  Elaina waved her hand with a shush to quiet her sister. Whatever Anna was experiencing, she obviously needed the moment to be free, not cluttered with Linda’s opinions of her actions.

  Grabbing the coffee pot and sweet rolls from her path, Elaina slid them to the far side of the table.

  Anna paused, staring at the sparkling spheres that made up the chandelier. Hanging less than a foot from her face, it illuminated her countenance to shine. The brightest smile Elaina had ever seen on Anna spread onto her cherubic features, and her eyes glistened.

  “I see now. I see…mountains of glass, crystal illusions, visions of…home.” Anna clasped her hands to her chest and shook her head. “Listen to the singing! Oh, how beautiful it is!” She lifted her hands as if in praise and expelled a large breath with one word, “Oh!”

  Vincent slowly lowered his hands to his sides as Cole’s face lost all color and then flushed as quickly. He hadn’t known what to expect at a Counsel sentencing, but he’d never imagined this. Regardless of how he and Cole felt about each other, they did have one thing in common—a soul mate—and the worse thing they could have done was separate Cole from his eternal love.

  Should I offer a bracing hand, comfort the old brood? Would it be allowed? He glanced at James for a hint, but the big guy’s lips were pressed tight together and his eyes closed.

  Theonis looked to the side and then faced Rhune. As he spoke, Cole seemed to lose his strength and slumped into his chair. He braced his forehead with his fingers and shallow breaths caused his chest to rise and fall in quick jittery motions.

  Brushing the conversation between Theonis and Rhune aside, Vincent marched to Cole and placed his hand on his shoulder. “Cole,” he whispered.

  A flood of telepathic information hit Vincent’s mind. “Kid. They’re taking me from Mianna. How can they call for this? There must be some mistake. I can’t… My heart… I won’t survive without…”

  Vincent swallowed and dragged his fingers along his stubbly chin. He hadn’t readied for the day yet, and they delivered such news? Never had this brother opened his heart to him and shared his deep emotions, his fears with him. Sinking to one knee beside the chair, Vincent rested his arm along his thigh. What could he say? For that matter, would he be allowed to speak?

  “You don’t have to speak, Kid.” The thought came clearly to his mind, and Vincent recalled Cole’s enhanced ability to read thoughts as well as share them.

  “Cole…”

  “My life just ended. I have no purpose without Mianna. I finally got her back, and they’re ripping her from me.”

  Vincent squeezed Cole’s shoulder to show support and that he understood the pain he must be feeling. “Maybe after the position is fulfilled, they’ll allow you to return. Midway Summit time will seem very quick to Mianna. It will be like you were gone a week… Or maybe a month at the most.”

  Cole shook his head and then glanced at him. “We’re not talking Meridian time. Midway Summit isn’t nearly as pronounced.”

  “It will still be a fraction of the time… A year, maybe, to your century. And if you’re posted near the portal, the time may flow quicker.”

  A sigh huffed past Cole’s parted lips. “Any time away is too long, Kid.” He placed his hand on Vincent’s forearm. “Thank you, brother. To speak with another about the bond of a soul mate is a gift. I guess we’ve finally found common ground.”

  A smile inched up the corners of Vincent’s lips. “I believe we have.”

  Chapter Nine

  The atmosphere in the study couldn’t get any colder for Rhune as Colhart, Vincentor, and Jamesuranton watched him pace to the window, the hearth, and then to Sylisan’s personal role-top desk. He lifted his
hand to brush his fingers along the tambour in remembrance of the agreement that led to this moment.

  “Don’t touch that.”

  Jamesuranton’s voice came through strong as the silencing spell could barely hamper the bark. Rhune pressed his lips together, closed his eyes, and let his hand fall to his side. It spared our brotherhood, Sylisan, but what will I have to do to save my relationship with Jamesuranton? It’s been so long…

  He gazed at his nephews at the front of the room. All eyes stared back, as onyx as the Shilomacj family’s ever was. Colhart lounged in his chair, one leg extended, elbows on the armrest, and tapping his finger on his knee. Vincentor had reclaimed his position by the door, arms folded, and leaning on the wall. They could only pass as Sylisan’s sons, lean and slender, the corners of their mouths dipped into a natural frown that had often thrown Rhune’s judgment of his brother’s attitude. While Colhart had acquired his father’s talent with telepathy, Vincentor excelled in his mother’s gift of light. Though explosives weren’t her chosen form of display.

  Rhune cocked his eye at the thought, and then shifted his gaze to Jamesuranton. As much as the middle Shilomacj son wanted to deny it, he couldn’t hide the fact that he didn’t fit Sylisan’s mold—in body or talent—and one day, the truth would have to be faced…and accepted.

  Vincentor heaved a breath. “Will you just stop your walking and explain what all this is about? I only caught part of what the counsel told you so as usual, I’m clueless.” He drew his hand through the air. “You all know Father didn’t bother to share much of the stuff about Midway Summit with me. Well, now it’s time to cough it up. What’s this prophecy that’s been set into play, and what’s it got to do with Uncle Rhune and Cole?”

  “It has nothing to do with me,” said Colhart, folding one leg and stretching the other.