Eyes of the Eternal (Realms of Rebirth Book 1)

by G. E. White

  Flagstones were embedded in the ground creating a straight line across the clearing up to the temple steps. Lined up on either side of the path were four daunting statues. To their right perched the image of an eagle, its wings wide open looking as if it was about to snatch up its next meal. Behind it was the figure of a female archer, her bow and arrow poised at the ready. To their left, a stone stag reared up on it hind legs attempting to fend off an attacker, while the statue of the bear behind it also stood on its hind legs a claw poised to strike.

  Jared walked towards the temple unperturbed by the threatening sculptures around them. Quinn wandered in behind him, his pace much slower in order to turn back to Surina.

  “So what gives?” he asked.

  “What do you mean?” she replied.

  “I mean, most places that we’ve been to have needed a password or identification to get in, but not this place… Do they not have any safeguards?”

  “You’re looking at them,” the dark-haired woman said, pointing to the stone sculptures. “They can see us.”

  “The magi?”

  “No, the statues.”

  “The statues?” Quinn said skeptically.

  Surina grinned as they walked along the path, “Artemis is one of the most suspicious gods, being a protector goddess and all. She wasn’t just worried about her own safety but of those under her care.”

  “Her followers,” the teen supplied.

  She nodded. “The statues don’t just see us but can see into us. Anyone with bad intentions towards the occupants of the temple will have to deal with them before even thinking of getting inside.”

  “You mean they come to life?”

  “Just like ‘Night at the Museum’,” Jared chimed in.

  Gazing up at the towering statues that now seemed to leer down at them, Quinn suppressed a shudder at the thought of being trampled under the stone creatures. As they passed under them, the eyes of the figures appeared to follow them but did no more.

  Once more the large doors of an ancient temple opened for them. Obviously they were expected if the temple initiates who lined the great hall as they entered were any indication. Every one of them, whether human, centaur, faun or nymph wore indigo blue cloaks.

  None approached, though they could be seen whispering to one another in their small groups.

  While the layout of the temple was similar to the Solar temple, the large display of the solar system was missing as were the inclined steps that lead to the observation deck above.

  Instead the temple had a wraparound second level that could be reached by a pair of winding staircases at the back corners of the hall. More initiates leaned over the railing of the second floor to get a look at their visitors.

  However, it was the back wall beneath the railing that drew Quinn’s attention the most.

  Jutting out from the wall was a semi-circle pond encased by a three-foot-tall wall. But it was the engraved image on the stone above it that was most striking.

  Straight ahead was the image of a beautiful and fierce looking woman holding a bow and arrow. Surrounding her were animals of all types along with a couple of children. Further above this tableau, shapes depicting the stages of the waxing and waning moon had been lovingly carved in an arch across a painted sky. And there at the center where the full moon was placed, shone a crystal-like stone unlike anything Quinn had ever seen.

  Still, there was something oddly familiar about it.

  Polaris.

  He gazed up at the star in wonder as the sea of onlookers parted, the High Priestess, an elderly woman in gray robes, and one of her envoy approached the trio.

  Everything about the woman radiated serenity from her warm brown eyes, to her silver hair that fell braided over her shoulder, to her age thinned lips that were quirked in a gentle smile.

  “My Lords,” she greeted with a slight bow. “Surina,” she said, her fondness for the young woman in front of her obvious to anyone.

  “High Priestess Edelias,” Surina replied with a bow of her own.

  Behind Edelias stood another woman also in gray robes, she was dark of skin and her black hair was cropped closely to her head in a pixie cut to match her pointed fey features. She watched the exchange with a knowing grin.

  “It’s good to see you,” the elder woman said sincerely. “You remember Sylvia,” she continued, gesturing to the younger fey woman behind her.

  “Of course,” Surina nodded before turning to the woman in question. “A Priestess already?”

  “Instructor actually,” Sylvia corrected.

  “You always did have to be the best,” Surina jibed lightly.

  “It really is good to see you Surina,” the Instructor said as she bowed to the three. “I’m glad you all could come, though I had hoped it would have been under better circumstances.”

  “Then you know why we’re here?” Jared asked.

  “Because that brat Reeves couldn’t protect Vega and has now pointed the finger at us,” Edelias jumped in, irritation clearly in her tone. “And to think, just over two months ago, they had been accused of the same crime by the Temple of Demeter,” she huffed. “Yes, I’m well aware of the situation. The Fates have been kind enough to keep us in the loop since the first robbery. We were told that the three of you would arrive soon. You have our permission to search the grounds. I guarantee the only star you find here will be Polaris.”

  “Thank you, but I want you to know we are not here to judge. While we need to do a routine search, we are also here to help protect Polaris,” Surina assured.

  The High Priestess tilted her head in thanks, “Of course, I’ll show you the grounds and from there you can continue your search.”

  “Sounds like a good idea, but I doubt the place has changed much since I was last here so I’ll just begin my search on the lower east wing. If that’s okay,” Surina replied.

  “Of course, you go ahead, we’ll meet back in my study in time for supper.”

  Surina nodded in agreement. “See you guys later,” she said with a small wave of her hand.

  The dark haired demi-god then slipped away into one of the passageways, the eyes of almost every initiate and magi, as well as her comrades, on her.

  “Don’t you all have something better to do?” Sylvia called sternly to the on-lookers.

  Hearing their instructor, the temple followers were quick to disperse, rushing off to train, study or just not be caught milling around. Sylvia went about wrangling up any stragglers, practically frog-marching them out of the main hall.

  The two young men had followed the priestess all over the west wing of the temple; through the library, dining hall, dormitories and even the stables and cemetery outside.

  Edelias, after showing an area to them, would allow them to search to their hearts’ content.

  Quinn found himself both relieved and disappointed when neither he nor Jared could find anything indicating that the Lunar magi had taken Vega. He briefly wondered if Surina had found anything of note in the east wing where the archives, armory and gymnasium were.

  However, during the search of the temple, the blonde young man could constantly feel curious eyes boring into his back. When he looked up from whatever he was inspecting he could often see the flutter of indigo cloaks as his audience would hurry out of sight.

  “You’ll have to excuse them,” the High Priestess would say, “We haven’t had a god visit our temple since Lord Ares came to give a battle demonstration three years ago.”

  Despite her assurances of their general curiosity, Quinn really couldn’t fathom why the temple initiates and magi would spy on them so relentlessly. Actually, that was only half true; he figured that the female followers, along with a few of the male ones, were enchanted with the handsome Death God, what with the way they would whisper excitedly to one another whenever the older man passed by. Even he could admit that his companion had a charisma that most people were attracted to.

  Quinn, on the other hand, considered himself to be
fairly ordinary. At five feet, seven inches he wasn’t overly tall nor did he have an impressive build, having always been on the wiry side. He also was in need of a haircut as his floppy blonde hair often fell into his face. Even his eyes were a dull grey, so what exactly did these people find so fascinating?

  He understood that to them he was considered royalty of a sort, but he still wasn’t much to look at. And perhaps that was it; that was the draw, that someone so mundane could have a power that people like them would rally around.

  He wondered, not for the first time, if there was still a temple dedicated to Athena. He knew that the Parthenon was dedicated to Athena, but doubted that the following remained in the First Realm. He still found himself distancing himself from his previous incarnation; no matter how he tried to look at it, he could not reconcile that he and the god/goddess that garnered such respect were one and the same.

  Now if someone had told him that Surina was the reincarnation of Athena that would be a different story. Not simply because she was female, but because she had an aura around her that demanded respect, which was probably why High Priest Reeves’s behavior had irked him so much.

  Though Surina’s reception here at the Lunar temple was very different, while there was some wariness from the initiates and magi, a sense of awe overpowered it. Quinn had a nagging feeling that it was more than just being the descendant of Artemis – especially if her interactions with the Edelias and Sylvia were anything to judge by.

  “So what gives with Surina?” he suddenly asked Jared. At the moment, the two of them were searching through the second level of the temple library.

  Jared poked his head out from under a desk he was checking for hidden panels. “What do you mean?”

  “I’m talking about that little scene back there with her and the High Priestess.”

  “They know each other,” the Death God said with a shrug.

  “Yeah, I got that, but how?”

  “She’s a descendant of Artemis – her dad probably brought her here once.”

  The teen gave Jared an unamused glare, “It’s more than that. Don’t treat me like I’m an idiot. She’s a magi here, isn’t she?”

  “It’s really not my place to say,” he sighed.

  Quinn propped his hands on his hips in a childish display of frustration. “What’s the big deal? Why can’t you tell me? Is there some sort of rule that while being a magi for one temple, means you can’t help another? She’s a Lunar magi or she’s not, it’s that simple.”

  “Well she’s not… not anymore.”

  Quinn’s irritated features softened realizing that he had struck on something private. Perhaps not for Jared as he and Surina were only comrades in arms, but definitely for their companion.

  “What happened?”

  “I don’t really know all the details. I’ve said too much already. If you want to ask her, that’s your business, but keep me out of it.”

  The snapping tone in which the older man addressed him made Quinn feel a little sheepish for being so nosy, but once presented with a mystery Quinn was very much the metaphorical dog with a bone. He just had to know.

  Regardless of his burning curiosity he let the subject drop, turning his attention back to the book case he was inspecting.

  He skimmed over the books on the shelf; all of the tomes had interesting titles that made Quinn’s fingers itch to read, such as: “One with the Bow - An Archer’s Practical Guide,” “Daimon Lore: The Undefined Race,” “The High Priests and Priestesses of the Temple of Artemis 1723 – 1837,” and “Masks of the Hunter: The Early Incarnations of Artemis”.

  Yet only one caused him to act on this impulse: “Lunar Tracking Spellwork and Charms.”

  He plucked the book from the ledge and flipped through the pages, pausing on a few passages that caught his attention.

  “Mark of the Moon: When placed on an object, creature or person this mark acts like a human designed homing device; allowing the caster to follow the marked object or individual wherever they go within one realm.

  Perhaps one of the magi could mark Polaris and trace it back to whoever had taken the other pieces. However, the following notation absolved Quinn of the idea:

  “Please note that this spell has no effect on magical artifacts or enchanted individuals due to the Magical Interference Principle commonly known as MIP. More information on MIP can be found in Priest Byron’s work “God Magic: Principles and Limitations.”

  Okay, scratch that.

  He scanned further down the page to where the squiggly outline of a wolf was scribbled beside another passage.

  “Lupine Familiar: This magically created familiar is specially designed to assist in the detection and tracking of other creatures. A successfully engineered Lupine Familiar should possess a keen sense of smell that will allow it to follow a particular scent. However,this is the extent of use for the familiar as it holds no solid form with which to be used as a weapon.”

  The next paragraph detailed the actual creation of the spectral blood-hound, and though the information was interesting, it was not very useful at the moment. Though he knew he should be focused on finding Polaris, it was Quinn’s curiosity concerning Surina’s place within the Lunar temple that continued to nag at him.

  It was possible that her time here was documented among these tomes, but as he glanced about at the packed ceiling-high book shelves free standing about the room and lining every wall, Quinn knew he would not have the time to indulge his interest. If he wanted to learn more about Surina’s life as a magi, the only person he could ask was the demi-god herself.

  ~ Chapter 21 ~

  After long hours of searching for the other pieces of the North Star, all three investigators came up empty handed. The only thing of any interest that they came across was an escape tunnel accessible from the kitchen. Quinn and Jared had followed it only to discover it only led to the woods behind the temple. Furthermore, it was obvious no one had used the tunnel in years as they had to rip up some old roots in order to open the trap door outside.

  The three of them, along with High Priestess Edelias, took their dinner in the elderly woman’s study where she regaled them with stories of Surina’s youth.

  “You should have seen her, the first time she came here, all sharp elbows and knobby knees. Braces too if I remember correctly.”

  “I was ten,” Surina said defensively.

  “But then most of the other initiates were more preoccupied with the blindfold she wore,” Edelias continued as if she hadn’t heard the younger woman. “They all thought she was blind – not that she could see past that length of fabric, but they soon learned that blindfolded or not she was easily the best of the new initiates.”

  “So she did actually train here,” Quinn confirmed. “To be a Lunar magi, I mean.”

  Surina cleared her throat awkwardly at the praise. “Yes I was a Lunar magi. It wasn’t that interesting,” she said, turning to the High Priestess. “They don’t want to be bored with childhood stories.”

  “Actually, I’d be very interested in hearing about it. Jared only mentioned she’d been a magi, but not much else,” Quinn assured.

  Jared smirked into his glass of wine, pointedly ignoring the scowl the demi-god now shot him from across the table.

  “Yes she was a magi, one of the best if I recall. But it took her a while to learn to work well with others. Almost cost her a spot on the House of Gemini,” the older woman said.

  “She still has trouble with that,” Jared quipped.

  “Hey, I figure if I can work with a peacock like you, I can work with anyone,” Surina replied.

  “That might be true now Surina, but I distinctly remember a gangly young initiate who quite enjoyed terrorizing her year mates,” Edelias commented.

  Surina paused in the slicing of her potato, wagging her knife toward the priestess as she spoke. “They let themselves be terrorized. Half of the things they feared me for were things they had made up themselves. They started the rumor
that I was a lamiae, so I sure as hell was going to make them believe it.”

  “Lamiae?” Quinn asked.

  “A vampire of sorts,” Jared explained.

  “Cool… So how did you pull that one off? You didn’t bite anyone, did you?” Quinn asked.

  “Just Orpheon and Cybella but they had it coming,” Surina replied.

  “As I remember they refused to leave the temple for two weeks thinking they had been turned,” the older woman said with a disapproving look.

  “Oh yeah,” Surina said, her voice holding a note of malicious glee. “Well, they should have thought of that before they hacked off most of my hair. Also, if they’d paid attention in your lectures on dark creatures they would have known you can’t be turned into a Lamiae, you have to be born one.”

  Edelias shook her head. “I should have known adding that human fiction to the library was a mistake.”

  “I don’t know about that. I mean it was in the fiction section – they should have realized the human interpretation of Lamiae is based on half remembered truths or completely made up fantasy. Besides, I happen to like some of the human fiction, I thought The Count of Monte Cristo was a very compelling story.”

  Quinn almost jumped in to ask about how Surina’s time as a Lunar magi came to an end, but a glance from Jared told him now was not the time. The teen quashed down his intrigue, shoving another spoonful of peas into his mouth, pleased that for once they weren’t cold.

  As the meal concluded it was Jared who brought the discussion back to the situation at hand.

  “Though I’m pretty certain you and your Lunar magi are not responsible for the theft at the Temple of Apollo, the fact of the matter is there is still a thief out there. And if we don’t catch him and retrieve Thuban and Vega we’re going to have a very bloody situation on our hands.”

  Edelias’ eyes narrowed in confusion, “What do you mean?”