So, why am I writing to you? Why am I telling you all of this? Because she is coming for me, and for the Tyls I took from her, including Malinyah’s Sinethal. Which means she will come for you, too.
The letter concluded with another apology from Anabel and a plea for forgiveness. When Anlon finished reading it, he walked outside and strolled to the end of his dock. Once there, he read the letter a second time, bowing his head when he was done.
For all the Munuorians’ special gifts, for all the “fish-men” and their Stones did to save survivors of Munirvo, they’d created tools that, in the wrong hands, were still capable of wiping out all of humanity...ten thousand years after their creation. Thank the stars that Muran never found the lyktyl! Anlon thought. On his way back to the house, Anlon stopped by the patio firepit and torched the letter. Some things, he decided, are better left to the shadows of mythology.
Epilogue
Casa de Cully
Los Cabos, Mexico
October 24
Anlon looked out onto the patio and spied Pebbles staring out at the Sea of Cortez. He opened the door and poked his head out. “Hey, there. How was your nap?”
“Mmmm, delicious,” Pebbles said, stretching out on the daybed. She patted the cushion. “Come join me for sunset.”
“I was hoping you’d ask,” he said, closing the door behind him.
Pebbles scooted to make room for Anlon and he slid in behind her, wrapping his arm around her waist. She nuzzled her body against him and covered his arm with hers. Anlon closed his eyes and listened to her breathe, his arm rising and falling with each respiration.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Better, I guess. Still not all the way back, but getting close,” she said.
Anlon was thrilled to hear the hint of optimism in her voice. Ever since the euphoria of her rescue had faded, the enormity of everything she’d endured had landed on top of her. For the past two weeks, she’d been a different person. Quiet and withdrawn, she spent her days staring out to sea, and sleeping. Her appetite had become nonexistent, but she wasn’t glum or weepy, just quiet. Reflective.
Once Jennifer and Griffin had departed for Maui, Pebbles had opened up a few times, usually when they laid on the daybed together and stargazed. In one of those conversations, she told Anlon she couldn’t go back to Tahoe, not for a while. Anlon had said, “Fine. We’ll live here, or go somewhere else if you want.”
In another conversation, she announced she didn’t want to have anything to do with the Lifintyls, Devlin’s museum or Malinyah, ever again. Anlon had said, “Done deal. I’ll give all the Stones to Mereau. They belong to him more than they do to us, anyway. I’ll get Cesar to deal with the museum.”
At night, she had recurring nightmares. Visions of hands closing around her neck, or of guns pressed against her forehead. After one particularly frightening dream, she’d risen from bed in tears and stomped out onto the patio. When Anlon came out to console her, she’d turned to him and said, “I know people say that when you get thrown off a horse you should get right back on, but when the horse strangles you and tries to take your body, I think it’s time to look for a new ride, don’t you think?”
But, she’d gone several nights now without a nightmare, and earlier in the day she’d devoured fish tacos Anlon had prepared for lunch. He had been so happy to see her eat, he had given her his tacos, too. Now, the optimism in her voice and the affection in her touch seemed additional signs of improvement.
“Whatcha thinking?” she asked.
“Honestly?”
“Yes, of course.”
“I was thinking about fish tacos,” Anlon said.
“Mmmm…those were yummy,” she said. She lifted his hand to her lips and kissed it. “You were sweet to give me yours.”
“Hey, if it’ll get you to eat, I’ll make ’em for every meal.”
She laughed. It was the first laugh he’d heard from her since leaving the hospital. She rolled her body to face him. She kissed him and tousled his hair. “What are we going to do, A.C.?”
He kissed her back. “I don’t know. What do you want to do?”
“Honestly?”
“Yes, of course.”
“How about we find some marshmallows and make a campfire? We’ll worry about the rest tomorrow.”
The Anlon Cully Chronicles series continues with a fourth installment in 2019 that will feature a new archaeological mystery for Anlon and friends to investigate.
To receive updates regarding the series’ fourth installment as they emerge, including the book title, description and expected publish date, follow K. Patrick Donoghue on Facebook by clicking here, or join the author's email subscriber list by clicking here.
Also, look for the first two books of The Rorschach Explorer Missions, a new science-fiction thriller series from K. Patrick Donoghue: UMO (released August 31, 2018) and Skywave (releases December 14, 2018).
ILLUSTRATION: SINETHAL ETCHING
GLOSSARY OF MUNUORIAN TERMS
Andaers – (and-airs) – the council of Munuorian elders/leaders. Malinyah and Muran were Andaers.
Enjyia – (n-gee-yah) – a drink produced from flowers of plants whose seeds are altered by a Terusael (described below). Enjyia’s taste is similar to sweetened herbal tea and it has a translucent, pinkish appearance. Munuorians who consistently imbibed enjyia were able to live for up to five hundred years.
Gensae – (jen-say) – the Munuorians’ magnetic sixth sense.
Kaeto – (kay-toe) – thank you.
Lifintyls – (liff-in-tills) – Munuorian translation: survival tools. The set of six Munuorian tools/stones depicted on the etching carved into a Sinethal. The Lifintyls were magnetized devices forged by the Munuorian civilization. Except for Sulataers (described below), the composition of each Tyl (tool) was a combination of three magnetic stone types: olivine basalt, kimberlite and pure diamond. The Tyls’ different powers were dictated by the relative concentration of the three magnetic stone types and their unique shaping. The six Tyls are described below:
Aromaegh – (air-uh-may) – Munuorian translation: teacher, helper. A square or rectangular tile that houses virtual-reality-like recordings (sights, sounds, aromas, touch and taste). A Sinethal is one type of Aromaegh. Aromaeghs were created to store the collective memories, skills and accomplishments of the Munuorian civilization. They were used to transfer knowledge from one generation to the next, to teach specific skills and to retain important cultural events and memories.
Breylofte – (bray-loft) – Munuorian translation: air mover. A bowl-shaped stone that amplifies soundwaves to levitate and move objects. Devised as a building tool, Breyloftes helped Munuorians place or remove large, heavy objects. They are also used as medium-range weapons to blast or throw opponents and objects.
Dreylaek – (dray-lock) – Munuorian translation: healer, defender. A cookie-shaped and -sized stone. Two of them are needed to create their desired effects. When two Dreylaeks are rubbed together or slapped one against the other, different powers are generated. If slapped with no grinding, Dreylaeks can generate a close-quarters blast of air. If slapped together after grinding, Dreylaeks emit a thin laserlike beam that can be used to treat injuries (e.g., cauterize wounds, conduct surgery) or as deadly short-range weapons.
Sulataer – (soo-la-tare) – Munuorian translation: stone melter. A token/coin made of pure, 24-karat gold. Sulataers are embossed with a fish symbol on each side. The coins were used by the Munuorians to trade with foreign nations/tribes, and they also served as electricity conductors during overtae, the mind-transfer process, regulating the flow of electricity generated by a Tuliskaera into a Taellin.
Terusael – (tare-uh-sail) – Munuorian translation: the refresher. An egg-shaped stone, used in conjunction with a Breylofte, to alter the chemistry of the seeds from poisonous flowers into seeds that produce life-extending flowers. The altered flowers are crushed into a tincture called enjyia. The enzymes in enjyia attack diseased
cells in the body, which slows the aging process, thereby extending life.
Tuliskaera – (tool-uh-scare-uh) – Munuorian translation: fire cutter. A cone-shaped stone that produces a powerful laser when used in conjunction with a Naetir (described below). Tuliskaeras were used by the Munuorians to cut and shape objects (mostly stone objects). Tuliskaeras can also be used as long-range weapons against structures and people, and they provide the jolt of electricity needed to facilitate the transfer of a Munuorian’s memories and consciousness into a Sinethal.
Lyktyl – (lick-till) –the device used to activate the unique Sinethal containing the memories and consciousness of Omereau.
Maerlif – (mare-liff) – the vaults/chambers where the Lifintyls were stored prior to the Munirvo catastrophe. Maerlifs were also used as burial tombs of Andaers and prominent Munuorian citizens.
Munirvo – (moon-ear-voh) – the passing asteroid that nearly wiped out all life on Earth ten thousand years ago. The name means “star washer.”
Munuoria – (moon-war-E-uh) –the Munuorian homeland.
Munuorians – (moon-war-E-uns) –the lost civilization. The name means “star watchers.”
Naetir – (neigh-teer) – Munuorian translation: spark. A hockey-puck-shaped stone that served as a catalyst to operate Tuliskaeras, Dreylaeks and Aromaeghs (including the Sinethal).
Overtae – (over-tay) – the mind-transfer process that allowed the Munuorian civilization to store memories and partial consciousness into a Sinethal.
Seybalrosa – (say-ball-rose-uh) – a Munuorian cliff-side shrine that features a massive ceiba tree surrounded by a garden of saguaro cacti.
Sinethal – (sin-uh-thawl) – Munuorian translation: mind keeper. A specific type of Aromaegh that houses the memories and partial consciousness of select Munuorians, including Malinyah. Unlike other Aromaeghs (which contain static presentations or tutorials), Sinethals are interactive. A user can ask questions of, and receive answers from, the Munuorian whose memories and consciousness are stored on a Sinethal. Not only does a Sinethal interactively share sensory experiences (sights, sounds, aromas, touch and taste), but it also shares emotions associated with memories.
Taellin – (tay-lyn) – the helmet used by Munuorians to stimulate the brain’s hippocampus to transfer memories and consciousness into a Sinethal. The helmet looks like an elaborate headdress that, when atop a user’s head, gives the appearance of a fish head.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kevin Patrick Donoghue is the author of the mystery thriller series The Anlon Cully Chronicles and the science-fiction thriller series The Rorschach Explorer Missions. He lives in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C., with his wife and two sons. His books include:
Shadows of the Stone Benders, book 1 of The Anlon Cully Chronicles
Race for the Flash Stone, book 2 of The Anlon Cully Chronicles
Curse of the Painted Lady, book 3 of The Anlon Cully Chronicles
UMO, a novella prequel to book 1 of The Rorschach Explorer Missions (released August 31, 2018)
Skywave, book 1 of The Rorschach Explorer Missions (releases December 14, 2018)
Ways to stay in touch with the author:
Click here to follow on Facebook
Click here to join K. Patrick Donoghue's email subscriber list
Click here to visit the author's website
COPYRIGHT
This book is a work of fiction. All the characters, incidents and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual locations, events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
CURSE OF THE PAINTED LADY
Copyright © 2018 Kevin Patrick Donoghue
All rights reserved.
eISBN: 978-0-9973164-7-6
ISBN: 978-0-9973164-6-9 (paperback)
ISBN: 978-0-9973164-8-3 (hardcover)
Published by Leaping Leopard Enterprises, LLC
www.leapingleopard.com
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.
First edition: March 2018
Cover art and design by Asha Hossain Design LLC
Author photograph by Down Owens Photography
CONTENTS
DEDICATION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
PREFACE
PROLOGUE
Chapter 1 – Needle in the Haystack
Chapter 2 – Vengeance Is Mine
Chapter 3 – A Weave in Time
Chapter 4 – Autopsy
Chapter 5 – Opening Volley
Chapter 6 – Shockwaves
Chapter 7 – Eve of Destruction
Chapter 8 – Old Terrors and New
Chapter 9 – Narrow Escapes
Chapter 10 – The Longest Flight
Chapter 11 – Pézenas Parlay
Chapter 12 – Pressure Cooker
Chapter 13 – Roller Coaster
Chapter 14 – Clearing Fog
Chapter 15 – One Step Behind
Chapter 16 – Devil’s Due
Chapter 17 – Musical Chairs
Chapter 18 – Captain Courageous
Chapter 19 – Trojan Disc
Chapter 20 – Hell’s Angels
Chapter 21 – Firestorm
Chapter 22 - Reunification
Chapter 23 - Illumination
Epilogue
ILLUSTRATION: SINETHAL ETCHING
GLOSSARY OF MUNUORIAN TERMS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
COPYRIGHT
Curse of the Painted Lady (The Anlon Cully Chronicles Book 3) Page 38
