The Lost Relics Box Set

by LJ Andrews

  "My mother?" Mercedes said to the floor. Gwyniera released a sob, but quickly quieted herself.

  "It is unacceptable," the empress began, "races do not join togezer, and zay especially don't have children." She seethed, glaring at Mercedes.

  "Stop it Gwyniera," Egan said forcefully. "Too much is at stake, and you will need to help Mercedes meet her potential. It's time to put your prejudice aside."

  "Are you...my mother?" Mercedes asked the empress, almost unsure if she wanted to know.

  "Of course not," she huffed.

  "Your mother's name was Leena," Egan said softly with a sense of reverence. "Gwyniera's daughter." Maurelle sighed and smiled intrigued by the tale.

  "Very romantic," she said. Gwyniera gave her a scathing look, but Maurelle took no notice.

  "Crossing racial lines has never been done, except on Terrene, but of course the people there don't know their true origins. But Leena and I...well obviously we crossed that line. Tradition is hard to break, and we were faced with obstacles in every direction of our relationship. When I found out you were expected, Mercedes, I—"

  "You couldn't have been vith Leena," Gwyniera shrieked. "She vas misled by you to zink you vould alvays be vith her."

  Egan stood, his eyes burning bright as he glared at the empress. "I was willing to give it all away, my chiefdom, my realm, everything to prove to you," he said pointing at the stony woman, "I would devote my life to your daughter and our child! I gave Mercedes, a half Glacien, guardianship of the Ignisian relic to prove my intent." Dax gasped, his overwhelming surprise and shock at Egan's confession of pledging allegiance to another realm filled Killian's heart. He was beginning to think coming to such an emotional discussion was a bad choice.

  Egan took a deep breath before looking around the room at the stunned faces. Finally, he rested his gaze on Mercedes, with silent tears streaming down her face. "All this is the reason for my appearance. Leena could never live with me in Ignisia, the sun would kill her, but I could change for her. I spent years during our courtship adapting to the cold weather so I could go to Glaciem. You can still see the effects of it," he said pointing to his eyes and light hair.

  "Why did I go to Terrene then?"

  Egan pursed his lips, struggling to find the words. "There are laws in place preventing such relationships. Leena and I disagreed with them, but eventually I was banned from ever entering Glaciem, or they would execute me and declare war on Ignisia."

  Maurelle shifted her silver eyes to Gwyniera as Egan spoke. The empress never met her gaze. Killian thought he saw Dax and Sophia meet one another's hopeful eyes.

  "Leena begged me not to return since she feared I would be killed. The changes I had made personally and my vows to stay in Glaciem weren't enough," Egan explained, glancing at the empress as well. "Not long after I was banned, I received word Leena and my child had died. I knew you weren’t dead because the relic never lost its connection. If you were dead, the relic would’ve found a new bloodline. So I began the search for you. I didn’t find out you were on Terrene for several years." Egan sat down on the overstuffed, white sofa and gave a subtle cough trying to choke back his emotion.

  "Who told you I had died?" Mercedes asked.

  "I did," Gwyniera snapped. "Leena became ill and passed, and I vas saddled vith her child. I sent you to Terrene; it vas better zat vay. Za people soon forgot about Leena's poor judgment and za realms vent back as zay should be."

  "You just banished me?" Mercedes shrieked as she stood. "I'm your granddaughter and you couldn't find an ounce of affection for me to at least send me to my father." Mercedes pointed at Egan, while never breaking her fierce gaze with Gwyniera.

  "You don't know vat you're talking about," Gwyniera seethed. "You vould have died at such a young age on Ignisia because of your mixed blood, so do not accuse me of being heartless." Mercedes shook her head and stared in unbelief at the logic of the empress.

  “Why do you hate me?” she cried, emotion spilling over. Egan hung his head, but jerked awkwardly almost as if he thought he should take her in a burly hug, but then changed his mind. Killian couldn’t hold back any longer. He stood next to her and wrapped his arm around her slumped shoulders.

  The empress just glared before standing and moving toward the door. “Vell now you know za truth. I suggest you prepare to defend yourself. Now zat za Trinity knows you are za guardian, zay vill surely come again.” The empress said no more, she stepped out into the dark hallway and disappeared behind the door.

  Slowly, Mercedes collapsed into the soft sofa behind her. “I don’t understand. This is too much of a coincidence that I ended up here.”

  Egan cleared his throat and slowly inched his way closer to her by taking a seat in a wooden chair next to the sofa. “It’s not a coincidence. You are a guardian; you have a bond with the relic. Throughout your life you were silently being led toward it. I knew you would find your way home someday, though I admit I wasn’t thrilled when I learned how you arrived here.”

  Killian felt a pang of responsibility. The Malumian wolves had violently attacked both he and Mercedes, leading them to the Ponderi. He couldn’t shake the thought if somehow, though, since they were both guardians of a relic, their paths would have crossed regardless. What if their relics were leading both of them to that moment? It eased his guilt thinking about it.

  “I just don’t understand. I don’t look like an Ignisian or a Glacien, I look like my aunt, my dead mother’s sister.” Mercedes breathed out air in frustration.

  “You have both your mother and me inside you. Your skin is like an Ignisian, but your eyes are like a Glacien, the color of the green sea. Your aunt and uncle, were actually Glacien guardians disguised,” Egan explained softly. “Both prepared to defend you should anyone discover your true identity. I’m told they did just that, and I’m sorry you lost them.”

  Mercedes’ lip trembled as she thought back on her family’s recent deaths. No one spoke for several long moments.

  “So what does she do now?” Sophia finally asked, concern plastered along her pale features.

  “Mercedes has the talent from both realms. She is a fierce relic guardian, and has more potential than I think she realizes,” Egan said. Miller raised his eyebrows and twitched his bushy gray mustache as he pondered the possibilities.

  “That’s why you caught on to everything so well,” Blake finally said chuckling. “Now I’m not feeling so bad about myself anymore. He,” he said pointing his thumb at Killian, “has his cheating Infinium, and you are like a double princess from two realms. We don’t stand a chance.” Blake looked back at Dax and Sophia. Killian knew he was trying to lighten the mood, and he as grateful because it appeared to work. Mercedes let out a watery laugh at the title of princess.

  “So Egan,” Maurelle said in her sing-song voice, “where is the relic then?”

  Egan looked thoughtfully at Mercedes. “Can you feel it?”

  Mercedes’ eyes flailed nervously around the room. “I…I don’t know what—”

  “You’d feel a pull, here,” Killian explained pointing to his chest and remembering how lost he felt without his charm.

  With all that had happened, he’d learned how to push the nagging absence of his relic from his mind, but it was still there. “Try to relax, and see if you feel it.” Mercedes closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then relaxed her shoulders. After a few seconds her eyes shot open. She stared directly at Egan.

  “You have it,” she said pointing at him. Egan smiled, revealing the same perfect teeth as Mercedes.

  Lifting up his left hand he showed Mercedes a brilliant gold ring. In the center a small black stone rested. The stone was almost a perfect sphere, but had interesting scars carved along its surface pulsing in reds and oranges—like a never-dying ember. Everyone in the room moved closer to the small relic. Killian had to remind himself most of them probably had never seen one of the powerful relics before, unlike him who had now seen three of the four.

  “I
feel it pulling away from me now that you’re here,” Egan said standing directly in front of Mercedes. He removed the ring and handed it to her. Mercedes’ hand was shaking, but she bravely took the relic. Sliding it on her finger, the gold band immediately shifted size and cradled her finger perfectly just as it had her father’s.

  “It’s your charge now,” Egan explained. Mercedes nodded, not meeting his eye.

  “This has been…quite an evening,” Miller said lightly. “My dear, I was grateful to have you here before, but now I can’t even wrap my own mind around how powerful someone could be to have the blood of two realms. Your father will be a wonderful instructor, and I’m sure he will help you find skills you don’t even know you have yet.”

  Killian smiled and gave Mercedes’ hand a tight squeeze. Egan nodded as well.

  “I can take you far, but Gwyniera will have to help too.” He looked at Mercedes painfully. “It’s not you she hates. It’s me, it’s Leena, and our defiance of the ancient customs. She’ll come around.” He slowly placed one of his large hands on top of Mercedes’ free hand. Killian noticed the faint smile of joy pass over his features. He couldn’t imagine what it must have been like to be without his child for so many years.

  “I have a question, sir,” Dax finally said. Egan shifted his gaze to Dax and nodded his permission to speak. “Well, I remember hearing from my father at one point the Glacien princess had given birth. My father was younger, and I believe it was even before my time if I remember right. How is it possible for Mercedes to be…so young?”

  “Mercedes was taken to Terrene when she was a young child, by Glacien standards. So she began to age like a Terrenian. Since she has the blood of two races she can adapt to any of the four realms. If she went to Cimmerian she would age the slowest, like a Cimmerian and so on.” Killian wasn’t sure he understood what Egan was saying, but Mercedes asked the question first.

  “So are you saying I’m older than I really am?”

  Egan nodded. “If my studies are right, though you were still so very young to us, on Terrenian’s time frame you were about fifty-four Terrenian years when you arrived on the realm, though in a child’s body.” Mercedes’ mouth dropped along with Blake and Killian’s. Dax and Sophia just shrugged, not understanding the time table.

  “You will continue to age as a Terrenian as long as you stay in the Praetorium. It won’t change unless you choose an alternate realm to call home,” Egan finished.

  Mercedes shook her head and hid her face in her hands. “It’s so unbelievable.”

  “It’s quite late Mercedes, and I’ve bombarded you with information. I don’t know how you must be feeling,” Egan said. “Perhaps you should get some rest, and we can talk more…together tomorrow?” The chief had meant it as a suggestion, but it came across as a hopeful question. He smiled when Mercedes gave a small nod.

  “I suggest the same for all of you,” Miller said to the rest of the group. Maurelle stood first and sauntered gracefully toward Mercedes.

  “Don’t worry princess,” she said sweetly, “I’ll talk to the empress. I have a way with grumpy, old Gwyniera. You won’t be left helpless again.” Mercedes gave Maurelle a watery smile, and Sophia wiped a tear of joy away at the grace of her queen.

  Mercedes turned to Killian and gave him a swift hug before Sophia pulled her up and walked her into the hallway. Dax and Blake escorted Maurelle leaving Killian alone with Egan.

  They stood in silence waiting for the elevator to arrive. Thankfully the doors opened in a few short moments. Both men stepped inside in uncomfortable silence. After entering his floor number, the elevator immediately sped downward.

  As the doors dinged open, Egan stepped in front of him blocking his exit.

  “Mercedes is important to you, yes?” Killian’s palms were clammy and hot. He’d never dealt with a girl’s father before, and now he was facing a chief of a realm. He prayed inwardly he would not get the hurt her and you die speech, because Egan really could kill him—he was sure he had ways. Killian just nodded his head in reply.

  “I don’t know how the Trinity made it into this building, but I believe someone learned of Mercedes’ identity and specifically sent the man they did.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “His name is Bant, he’s my brother.” Egan’s taut jaw ground together in disgust.

  “They sent her own uncle to kill her?” Killian couldn’t believe it.

  “It was a taunt toward me. I haven’t seen Bant since Mercedes was born. He deserted shortly thereafter. I always suspected he’d joined the Trinity, but it was confirmed tonight.” Egan turned swiftly on him until his nose was inches away. “Killian, you came to me searching for the relics to protect people, I know you search for them in honor. You have Infinium and so you are the only one truly capable of protecting Mercedes. But we need to find out how the Trinity learned she was here. Bant may have known she was a guardian, but he couldn’t have known where she was. I made sure no one would ever find her no matter what realm she was on.”

  Killian’s mind spun. He wanted to know how they’d found Mercedes just as much as Egan did, and though he tried he couldn’t keep his mind from drifting to secret dark tunnels below him. “There’s only one person who knows about the Trinity more than us.”

  “Who is it?”

  “Nathaniel.”

  Chapter 3

  The Underground

  Vibrant orange and green light filled the empty halls in the Praetorium from the unique multicolored moon that lit the strange limbo. Killian slunk around each dark corner as he made his way to a distant wall to summon the elevator. His heart pounded loudly against his chest. There was no way of knowing what awaited him where he was going. The underground prison was a mystery, and Egan had told him everything he could on how to reach the cells. Now it was time to speak with the man who nearly killed him.

  Nathaniel’s betrayal stung deep in his heart. The former Ponderi leader was once his mentor and defender. Killian thought back on his life of abuse and neglect from his foster parents. After he’d met Nathaniel, for a moment he’d had a steady fatherly figure in his life. But quickly that had changed when Infinium was discovered.

  After training harder with Dalia than ever before, he had enough confidence he could call upon Infinium if anything amiss happened in the underground. Nathaniel had secrets inside they needed, but especially for the sake of all the guardians. Killian told himself he was doing this to defend her, but deep inside Killian believed the traitorous old man deserved a visit from him, and Infinium. Egan had warned Killian Nathaniel's cell would be heavily guarded. As he moved downward, Killian felt a sting of guilt keeping his journey from Miller. His grandfather had forbidden him contacting Nathaniel shortly after his attack. But Egan and Killian had agreed if there were others in the Praetorium working with the older man it was a necessary risk to find him and get the truth.

  The elevator car moved swiftly through the floors stopping at the lowest floor, which was the clinic. He'd spent several days in the sterile facility before, but the clinic wasn’t his final stop. Before the glass doors opened Killian quickly typed in six zeros, as Egan had instructed, onto the translucent number pad. The glass car lurched, pummeling downward at an even greater rate. Killian felt his stomach leap to his throat as he clenched his jaw during the terrifying ride. Finally, with a surprisingly soft stop the two doors dinged open. He stepped out of the car though his legs felt wobbly from the intense ride down.

  Glancing side to side he didn’t see anyone but heard small, swift shuffling. The room was overwhelmed with fresh scents like an ocean breeze, lilac and rose petals. Laughing he looked at piles and piles of folded, tan, gray and black clothing. The elusive laundry room. He’d been trying to discover where his dirty clothes went every night since he'd arrived at the Praetorium. No one had access to anyone else’s room. Personal doors were opened by touch, but still the clothes disappeared and were returned each day.

  All at once the shuffling s
topped, the room was dim, but Killian could sense others with him. The familiar, comfortable prickling sauntered up his neck. Reached for his latched spear he grasped the rod in his hands, but kept the double ended points concealed inside. He scanned the dim room, unnaturally dim, but he had little trouble seeing in the dark since Infinium had activated. Everything had been enhanced: perception, hearing, vision, strength.

  Killian jumped back as something small, but sharp rushed over his foot. His heart pounded as the shuffles all treaded toward a large armoire placed against the back wall. He could make out shadows rushing to the open cabinet, but the elusive creatures were cunning and stayed to the darkest areas of the room. Killian slunk quietly toward the armoire that had now closed. He could hear squeaks and muffled whispers as he approached the doors. Perspiration fell into his eyes as he anxiously opened the doors, unsure if he wanted to see what was behind.

  The large wooden doors flew open against his pull releasing a flurry of shrieks and cries. Killian bent down low as small, skeletal thin creatures bobbed and hopped out scurrying away from him. They were strangely dressed, in long thin strips of silver fabric. They had eyes too large for their small faces, and each creature only had a few wispy strands of black hair on their heads. Their skin was a unique ebony hue dotted with glimmering crystal shimmers. Their bodies were similar to humans with arms, legs and a torso, but they had no ears, just tufts of black hair coming from small holes in the sides of their skulls. The small creatures glared at Killian as they hid from his view. Some resigned to his presence and began folding clean bits of laundry.

  "My laundry fairies," he said under his breath. He didn't know what the creatures were called, but the ones who'd heard his nickname hissed in his direction and turned their backs and let out soft hisses to one another. He chuckled under his breath, grateful to learn the mysterious creatures posed no threat to him.

  Returning his focus to his journey to the cells, he scanned the room. Egan had learned by writing Fia, his niece who also served the Ponderi that another elevator would take him to the cells. That had been all she’d known. After he found the exit from the laundry room he knew he’d be on his own. He placed his hand on the wall trying to signal another car hidden behind the wall. Nothing came.