Cross Keys: Unity

by Ally Shields

  “What if we could resolve the rebellion?” Esty persisted. “Look at us. We get along fine. Couldn’t the rest of our people learn to do so?”

  “In an ideal world, yes,” Kam said. “But no place is perfect, even Elvenrude. Remember the mob of commoners and crossbreeds? That wasn’t long ago.”

  “They were scared and didn’t understand what was happening. I don’t believe they want the fighting any more than we do.”

  Kam gave Esty a thoughtful look. Since when had her sister become so forgiving? Being chased by angry rabble wasn’t something you quickly forgot.

  “Well, we’re not to the point of making a rushed decision,” Trystan said. “Maybe the coming months will reveal a better solution. We’re looking into artificial grow lighting on a large scale.”

  As the men continued to discuss crops and climate, Kam dropped back to join Bria and Esty. “Shall we return to the castle?” she asked with a smile. “I don’t want to tire our mother-to-be.”

  “I do require frequent naps,” Bria admitted. “And I find the fields depressing. Let’s go back, and look through that lovely basket again.”

  Before they reached the castle entrance, the men rejoined them. Caleb seemed unable to have his wife out of sight for long, and Kam assumed the men were no more enthusiastic to be in the wilting fields than Bria was.

  Esty stopped at the front gate. “I think I’ll leave you now. I have an appointment in Elvenrude.” She hugged Bria. “Enjoy the basket. I promise I’ll make a longer visit next week.”

  “Now that’s interesting,” Seth said pointedly. “Rhyden had an appointment in Elvenrude too.”

  Kam looked from Seth to Esty. “Are you seeing Rhyden again? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Oh, it isn’t like that.” Esty flipped her hair nonchalantly. “We’re just friends. He’s helping me with something.”

  “With what?”

  “Nothing that would interest you. I have to hurry now. See you later.” She turned and walked briskly down the path to the portal.

  Kam stared after her. What was that about?

  Seth slipped an arm around her waist. “Don’t worry. Whatever they’re up to, she’ll be fine. Rhyden wouldn’t let her get into trouble.”

  “Yeah, right.” Kam blew out a frustrated breath. “Rhyden is the trouble. He broke her heart the last time.”

  * * *

  It was mid-afternoon when Kam got back to her office. She’d been tempted to go home for the day, but she still had Acquisitions reports to read. She sank into her desk chair and pulled up the new reports on her computer screen.

  But hard as she tried, she couldn’t concentrate on business. So many other things were on her mind. Bria’s pregnancy was exciting, of course, and yet her friends were bringing a child into an uncertain future in Cyrilia. She hated the underlying sadness in Bria’s eyes.

  And then there was Esty. Was she headed for another shattered romance? Just a few days ago, Rhyden claimed he’d broken it off with Esty because “it just wouldn’t work.” Whatever that meant. Now this. She really didn’t want her sister to go through another six weeks of crying if…when he left again. She sighed. Ah, well. It wasn’t her decision. If it didn’t work out, she’d be there to help pick up the pieces. But this time Rhyden would also get a piece of her mind. Her sister wasn’t a plaything.

  Annoyed she couldn’t fix everything, Kam grabbed the papers in her In Box and glanced at the top one. A new artifact. Good. At least it was something interesting. She stood and searched a nearby table until she found a package stamped with the same code as the report. She set it on the desk and opened it to take a look at the contents, arrowheads from the American Southwest. Not of great value and only limited historical significance, but in good condition. She ran her fingers over them to allow her magic to authenticate the age dating, then returned them to the box. She stamped the report “accepted” and set it aside, moving on to the next.

  She was still clearing her In Box when the phone rang at 6:00 p.m. She smiled. Seth would be calling about dinner.

  But the voice on the line cracked with tension. “This is Tomas. I’m in Santorini, and I think Reya’s in trouble. There’ve been shadowy flashes of light around the excavations two nights in a row, and she was going to check it out a half hour ago. Now I can’t raise her by phone. I’m headed to the dig site now.”

  Kam frowned. “We’re not talking flashlights, are we?”

  “No. I’ve seen them myself. Blurs of grayish light shaped like indistinct figures. I think it’s something magical.”

  Her gut clenched. Invisibility magic? “I’m coming. If you see the lights again, don’t engage.”

  Kam grabbed her hooded duty jacket with its hidden mini crossbow, ran to the office portal, held her tattooed hand over the etching on the floor, and stepped into the elevator-like shimmer that appeared. An instant later she arrived at the Cityside Ryndel guild, shouted her destination to Guild Master Barrott, and hopped to Fira, the capitol of Santorini in the Greek islands, using the coordinates for Reya’s temporary portal.

  She stepped out on the other end into the darkness of 2:00 a.m. local time. With her feet barely touching the ground, she sped across the six miles of rocks and volcanic ash between Fira and the Akrotiri ruins. Nearing the ancient site—less than five minutes after leaving her New Orleans’ office—she spotted Tomas in the open, waving his arms to attract her attention. She diverted her course and caught up with him as he turned and ran toward the nearby village.

  “No sign of Reya,” he explained. “But I just saw two of the shadowy lights go behind those buildings.”

  When they reached the edge of the village, Kam leaped onto the rooftops using the enhanced magic in her silver wristband, and Tomas searched from street level. Within seconds she spotted three flashes of light bending over something on the ground in a dark alley, and she hissed at her spotter, pointing the way.

  An arrow whizzed by her head. Holy mother. She whipped her head toward an adjoining street where two more shadowy figures had fired at her. Kam fired back and dropped into a crouch, tempted to give chase but more concerned about what she’d find in the alley. She slid over the edge of the rooftop, nearly stumbled over Reya’s limp body, and knelt beside her.

  The metallic scent of blood filled her senses. Multiple stab wounds, shallow breathing. Heart pounding, Kam swallowed a lump in her throat and touched Reya’s temples with her fingers.

  “Come on, honey. Stay with us,” she murmured. Using the simple healing skills learned from her godmother, she reinforced the young woman’s fading energy, praying it would be enough.

  Tomas skidded to a stop next to them, and Kam forestalled his questions. “She needs the healers. Can you get her home? I’m going after the attackers.”

  “On my way.” Tomas scooped up the unconscious girl as if she were weightless and took off running.

  Kam’s arms tingled with the amount of residual elven magic in the alley. She vaulted back to the rooftops, following Tomas’s progress and scanning the area for the cowards who’d done this. She hadn’t a doubt who it was—Jermon Lormarc and the four Cyrilian fugitives—cloaked in invisibility magic.

  She circled the small village and reached the path to Fira without seeing the shadowy figures again. The delay in the alley to tend to Reya had allowed the attackers to get away. Kam dropped to the ground and raced after Tomas. Reya was still the priority.

  Halfway to Fira and the portal for home, she caught up with the young elf and shadowed him from a parallel course to guard against another attack. But the rogues didn’t appear, and within minutes, Reya was in the hands of the healers at the Elvenrude apothecary and temple of healing. Then they waited.

  Kam paced outside the infirmary room, unable to shake off her nervous fears. Tomas mumbled something about being back soon and disappeared down the hall. The door of the treatment room finally opened, and a healer stepped out.

  “We were in time.”

  Relief washed
over her. When the healer finished his report by banning visitors until Reya woke on her own, Kam left to find Tomas. He was sitting on the floor beside the front door with both hands gripping his bowed head. He stood immediately, his face asking the question he couldn’t say aloud.

  “She’s going to be fine.” His relief was palpable, and Kam gestured to a row of benches. “But she’s sleeping now. Let’s sit while you tell me anything else you know.”

  He described the first sighting the night before. “I’ve been working mostly on the mainland, but I happened to be there when we saw the flashes last night. We were far away, and it didn’t seem like much, except I saw similar lights in the lava fields of Saudi Arabia last week. A year ago, I would have thought it was my imagination, still wasn’t sure until tonight. But after I thought about it…it’s them, isn’t it? The Cyrilians. But why? What do they want at an ancient dig?”

  “Let’s not speculate. Maybe Reya can clear it up when she wakes.”

  “Can I stay here until she does?”

  “Of course, you can,” she said gently. “But you’re covered with blood. Why don’t you clean up and eat first? You might even catch a couple hours of sleep. It’s the middle of the night for you, and she might not wake for hours yet.”

  Tomas looked at his blood-soaked clothes, nodded reluctantly, and turned toward the door. Kam headed for the palace to break the bad news.

  * * *

  Captain Brunic rubbed his chin. “By the gods, Kam, I don’t know what to think. How sure are you?”

  “Pretty sure, but Reya isn’t awake yet to confirm it. Still, I felt the magic, and I’ve seen invisibility before.” She scrunched her forehead. “But it was the last place I expected to find Jermon. Why artifacts? I suppose they need some way to support themselves, but the antiquities business isn’t very lucrative unless you have widespread contacts. That takes years to establish.”

  Brunic snorted. “Forget that! Jermon Lormarc wouldn’t bother to become even a semi-legitimate dealer of relics. If it’s him—and that still seems incredible—there’s some crooked scheme behind it. Something with a big payoff.”

  “On the surface, it does seem petty.” She glanced toward the door of Brunic’s office. “I wonder what’s keeping Seth. I sent him a message as soon as I returned.”

  Seth walked in the door a few minutes later, vigorously rubbing his hands together. “One forgets how chilly Elvenrude is this time of year.” He threw Kam a rueful look. “Sorry, I took so long. I was with a buyer, and they didn’t give me your message until we were done. You said there was trouble. What kind?”

  “Your Uncle Jermon may be alive after all.”

  Seth stilled and blinked at her. “What’s he done now?”

  “Nearly killed one of my spotters.” She gave him the details, including the severity of the young woman’s injuries and her own brief encounter with the fugitives.

  Seth swore under his breath. Beyond the anger over Reya, he clearly wasn’t happy Kam had gone alone. His face darkened when he heard the rogues had shot at her, but anything he might have said about it was no doubt curtailed by Brunic’s presence. He stayed focused on Jermon. “His survival was always a possibility—but the Greek islands? Saudi Arabia? What’s he up to this time?”

  Kam shrugged. “That’s what we’ve been discussing.”

  A tap on the captain’s office door interrupted. Tomas stuck his head in. “Reya’s awake. She’s asking for you.”

  With the blood wiped away, her wounds bandaged, and a little color in her cheeks, Reya attempted a wan smile from her infirmary cot. “We’ve got maybe ten minutes before my mother returns with a pot of homemade tea. I’m afraid she’ll tell you to leave. She’s super upset and fussing. Way too protective.”

  “As she should be,” Kam said. “I’m relieved to see you awake.”

  “Thanks, but I’d better tell you what happened before she gets here and freaks over the details.” Reya glanced toward the door. “Tomas said you saw the shadows running away?” Kam nodded, and the girl went on. “They were inside the excavation. Five, I think. When they left, I followed them to Santorini where they split up. Two elves with nearly white hair materialized in an alley, met with a dark-haired human woman, and gave her something in a small burlap bag. I was going to move closer for a better look, but I heard this sound behind me.” Reya winced. “Then a sharp pain shot across my back, and I was hit in the head. It was a blur after that.”

  “Did you see the attackers?”

  She shook her head. “Not really. They were invisible and never materialized. Tomas thinks it was the escaped elves.”

  “It’s a possibility. But no sign of Jermon?” Seth asked.

  “I just saw the two in the alley.”

  Reya couldn’t recall any other details, and when her mother arrived, the older woman urged them toward the door.

  “She has to rest now. My daughter almost died tonight.”

  Kam touched the older woman’s arm in reassurance. “I’m so sorry this happened, but I know she’ll make a quick recovery with you looking after her.” Kam stopped in the doorway and turned. “Oh, one last question. Has this dig yielded any obsidian artifacts?”

  Reya’s drooping lashes flew open. “Uh, yes, quite a few. Various colors. Most of the native obsidian is mixed with impurities, but they’ve found black obsidian weapons and tools brought in by ancient traders. Is that important?”

  “It might be.” Kam backed out the door as Reya’s mother frowned at her. “You rest now, and we’ll talk more later.”

  In the hallway, Seth stopped Kam with a hand on her shoulder. “Why did you ask about obsidian?”

  “A hunch. Our acquisition reports for the last few months show a decline in obsidian finds. And there was a recent theft of an obsidian collection. Just a curiosity I noted. Maybe Jermon wants it so the king can’t have it.”

  “A lot of trouble just to thumb his nose at Seliwyn, but it’s hard to predict how Jermon thinks.”

  That at least was true. Seth’s great-uncle was an enigma. Uneasiness twisted in her chest. But if he wanted obsidian badly enough to kill for it, he must know something the rest of them didn’t. Unless King Seliwyn knew…

  Half an hour later, Seliwyn stared out the window of his private chambers with his back toward Kam, Seth, and Brunic. “It is a most unfortunate development.”

  Unfortunate? Kam’s lips thinned with irritation. Where was the outrage she’d expected? One of his infamous tantrums when things didn’t go according to his plans? His tone was guarded, as if he’d expected the news or found some hidden meaning in it. “Your Majesty—” She cut off her abrupt reaction and composed her tone. “My young spotter was almost killed.”

  He turned then. “Yes, of course. That was terrible. I’m thankful our healers were able to save the poor child. I was referring to the renegades’ interest in artifacts. Do you have a theory?”

  “No, do you?” She cocked her head and met his gaze.

  He looked away. “Money. Spite.” He threw up his hands. “Who knows? Don’t ask me to think like that lunatic.”

  For some reason, the king was concealing what he really thought, but Kam had already pushed him. She clamped her mouth shut.

  Seth broke the awkward silence. “We should go back to Santorini. See if we can pick up a trail. If it’s Jermon, he probably used a portal. Maybe we can locate it and follow them.”

  “Trystan needs to know his brother may still be alive. I’m sure he’ll want to go with us.” She turned to the king. “Do you have an objection?”

  Seliwyn waved a hand in dismissal. “Do whatever you think best. Let me know what you learn.” He returned to gaze out the window as Kam, Seth, and Brunic made a hasty exit.

  “What was that all about?” she asked Brunic when they reached the corridor. “I’ve never seen him act so pensive, so remote.”

  “Some days the monarchy sits heavier on his shoulders than others.” The captain was noncommittal, as befitted the king�
�s closest advisor.

  No doubt Brunic’s excuse was true, but Kam wished she knew what was going on behind Seliwyn’s gray, hooded eyes.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Kam, Seth, and Prince Trystan met at the Ryndel Guild in New Orleans and transported to Fira, the capitol of Santorini island. Dawn was breaking, and the sun’s rays sparkled off the white, cubist buildings with occasional touches of a bright blue roof or door and equally white cobblestone streets, turning it into a magical scene very different than her tense trip last night. In the dazzling light, it was easy to imagine fairies riding snow-white unicorns to the protruding mountain peak.

  The island town wasn’t yet overrun with tourists from the cruise ships, and Kam quickly showed them the spot where she’d found Reya. There was nothing left to see. The street cleaners had been there before them, removing any trace of blood or disturbance. The bleaching agents had also dispersed any magical trace.

  “It is beautiful here,” Trystan said. He looked toward the caldera, the huge bowl of water formed by a volcanic eruption three or four thousand years ago, and then turned to survey the surrounding Aegean Sea, rocky beaches, and wide stretches of grape vines. “What a shame to defile this place with bloodshed.”

  “I dare say it wasn’t the first time, nor the last,” Kam said.

  “Where are the excavations of Atlantis?” Trystan asked.

  “They call it Akrotiri,” she said. “Humans think Atlantis was a myth.”

  He looked surprised. “I guess it doesn’t matter.”

  “The ruins they’ve uncovered are this way.” She picked her way over the gritty surface of rocks and sparse, stubby brush she’d raced across last night.

  The research digs were enclosed, covered…and guarded. But Trystan had come prepared with three of the silver Cyrilian rings of invisibility. As soon as they were cloaked, they went over the fence and scouted the area. Much of the ancient city had been reduced to partially uncovered walls and was sealed away from tourists. Signs of archeologists and researchers digging in cleared areas were apparent, and a few modern tools had been left in place.