Sentinels of Creation: A Tale of Two Gardens (Sentinel's of Creation Book 2)

by Robert Ross

  “What was his name, Shannon?”

  She looked around the room. “Why are you all staring at me that way? His name? John. John Milton.”

  “I’m gonna freak out, Kellan!” yelled Juliet.

  “Everyone, just relax,” said James although he looked anything but.

  “Someone tell me what is going on. Right now!” yelled Shannon.

  Kellan reached up and cupped her face with his hand then spoke very softly, “It’s ok Shannon. We’ll figure out—“

  “John Milton is Satan,” blurted Juliet. “He’s Lucifer. Shaitan. The Devil himself. And he gave you jewelry.”

  Kellan continued to hold Shannon and saw her eyes widen in alarm, then said in a low voice, “Why thank you, Juliet. That was most helpful. Now Shannon, just sit down a moment and let’s talk this through. I honestly don’t think you are in any danger.”

  Once he had her resting in one of the overstuffed leather chairs, Kellan sat perched on the center table and leaned forward holding her hands in his. “Now tell me, what he said when he gave you the amulet.”

  Shannon took a deep breath. “Well, he said that he had just met up with you,” she waved to encompass the shop, “here in Atlanta and said you were both infuriating and endearing. I told him that was you exactly.”

  “Great,” muttered Juliet to James, “Satan is sharing his bromance issues with Kellan’s girlfriend. They are going to get a show on The CW.”

  “Shut up, Juliet,” lilted Kellan, while keeping his eyes on Shannon. “Go on. What did he say about the amulet, specifically.”

  “He said that you helped him out with something and that he gave you a thank you gift but that he knew you couldn’t have done it without my help so wanted to give me something too. He said the reason I can’t stay outside my timeline is because to do so brings disorder to temporal—something.” Shannon pulled her hands from Kellan’s getting frustrated. “You know I don’t understand the Timey Wimey stuff, Kellan.”

  “That’s ok, Shannon. Just tell me what you remember.”

  “It’s just that you are supposed to channel through it to activate it. So long as I wear it, the pendant will track how long I can safely remain away from my time line. He said it worked like an hourglass, if that helps.”

  “It’s a trap,” said Juliet emphatically. “If you channel through that thing, it is going to explode and kill us all. It’s clearly a trap.”

  Kellan sighed. “Thank you, Admiral Ackbar. Shannon, did he say anything else about the amulet?”

  The Scotswoman looked past Kellan to Juliet, “He said, he always paid his debts whether for good or ill and that we were even. It didn’t sound like a trap.”

  “He’s clearly lying. He’s a lying, liar from lie-town.”

  “Juliet,” Kellan said, trying to keep his voice even, “You are just upset because he was going to kill you.”

  “Ya think?”

  James leaned in to her and said, “You are decidedly not helping an already stressful situation.”

  Juliet stiffened, setting her jaw and resolving to keep her opinions to herself.

  Kellan’s eyes burst to life and he reached for the amulet, but Shannon caught his hand. “Are you sure? Do you trust him?”

  “Oh hells no,” said Kellan, “But I don’t think he lies. I’m not completely convinced he can lie, but even if he can, I think his pride forces him to stick to truths. That doesn’t mean he won’t manipulate using truths and half truths.” The Sentinel removed her restraining hand and grasped the amulet willing his power through it. All four of them stared intently as a soft green light began to seep out between Kellan’s fingers. He released the power and opened his hand. The six pointed star and its surrounding ring now glowed with a deep green light. Kellan stared at it closely and could barely make out tiny incremental markings along the outer ring like second indicators on a stopwatch. The first dozen or so remained dim, while all the others glowed with that inner green light.

  “What do you think it means,” asked Shannon.

  Kellan shrugged as James leaned in for a closer look. “The markings dim as she loses the ability to remain here,” he said matter of factly.

  Kellan turned on him, “How the hell do you know that?”

  It was James’ turn to shrug, “It’s pretty obvious. You told me she nearly died and had to reconstitute this soul-tether her own time line. She probably hasn’t had time to fully do that which is why the ring isn’t completely full. I’m telling you, watch those little markings over the next few hours and days, I’ll bet you dinner that they blink off over time.”

  “That makes sense,” said Juliet hesitantly and Shannon nodded in agreement.

  “Well, I don’t have any better explanation,” said Kellan “so I guess we just watch it for now.” Kellan rubbed his eyes as he felt a huge wave of fatigue hit him and he looked up at his friends. “You know, guys, I’m just exhausted.”

  Shannon frowned at him. “I thought we agreed you would rest after your portal’ed me back to Glenn Ferry? What were you doing Kellan Thorne?”

  “Don’t be mad at him, Shannon, it’s my fault,” offered Juliet. “I made a complete hash of the shop’s QuickBooks account and bought a fake first edition Francis Jose Farmer, which Kellan was gallant enough to sort out for me. Sorry.”

  Kellan pointed at Juliet, “See, what she said. Not my fault. Anyway, I am completely wiped out and need to sleep for a couple days straight.”

  Shannon slid off her chair and crouched on the floor in front of Kellan. She crossed her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss. “I will shepherd you directly to bed, my sweet,” then more softly, “After all, it’s been three whole days.” She winked.

  “Gross,” said Juliet again.

  “Sleep, Shannon. I’m going to bed. To sleep,” said Kellan emphatically.

  The Scotswoman frowned, clearly unhappy with his declaration, but just said, “Fine, Kellan Thorne, I’ll get you to bed, to sleep, but I promised Old Scratch I’d show you the book he—“

  “It can wait, Shannon. That book looks to be 1,000 pages.”

  “No, Kellan, not the whole thing. It’s the entire old and new testaments, for heaven’s sake. He just wanted to show you a passage from the Gospel of Judas.”

  Just as Shannon spoke the words, Juliet gave a startled cry and jumped back from the table. All four stared as the giant tome pulsed with a red glow and flew open. Pages whirled leftward at blinding speed finally pausing on a page. “What’s it say?” asked James. “I don’t recognize the alphabet let alone the language.”

  Kellan looked at each of them in turn and they simply shook their heads. He leaned over the book, channeled a trickle of power, and the words became clear in his head. The young Sentinel sighed. “It reads, The Gospel of Judas, the Accuser.” Like before with Shannon, as he spoke the words, the pages flipped but this time much slower and only a few pages onward. After it stopped, three sentences began to glow a deep red.

  “I think those are the important sentences, Kel” offered James.

  Kellan stared up at his friend, “Thanks James.”

  “Well, translate it,” said Juliet.

  Kellan braced himself with hands on either side of the book and stared down at the glowing words. “It says It will come to pass that Order will beget Order but that the Son of Order will depart from the path of his father. Creation will falter and the Sion will traverse two gardens. If he prevails the High Prince of Chaos will forge alliance and the two will parlay beyond the sight of God.

  “That doesn’t sound good at all, Kel.” said James.

  “I told you it was a trap,” offered Juliet.

  Kellan sighed. “Now I’m never going to be able to sleep.”

  The Sentinel felt two arms encircle his waist and warm lips brush his ear where Shannon whispered, “Really, such a shame. Whatever shall we do now?”

  The end of Sentinels of Creation, Book Two: A Tale of Two Gardens

  Author’s Note on Pop Culture,
Easter Eggs, and Historical Accuracy

  One of the most common non-plot related questions I receive has to do with the pop culture references and Easter eggs. The two are decidedly different and I am happy to discuss both here. In addition, a less common question I get revolves around the historicity of events in my books. That, too, is a worthy topic and I will cover it briefly as well.

  First, and most common, are the references. Both A Power Renewed and A Tale of Two Gardens have numerous pop culture references. These can range from obscure Doctor Who episodic references picked up by few to iconic Star Wars references understood by nearly everyone. Both have their place and I include them as a way to create a connection with readers that exists beyond the plot. Most of them can be considered subtle winks and nods that exist between the two of us.

  Across both novels set in the Sentinels of Creation universe there are references that include, but are not limited to, Supernatural, Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who, Bladerunner, Highlander. Mr. Mom, and many others. I have even come across readers who have found references that I hadn’t known that I made. Kudos to you by the way. For others who may not have seen even the ones mentioned above, I’d invite you to take a second walk through the books and see what you might pick up along the way.

  Now, let’s move on to Easter eggs, which can be a bit more controversial. The idea for these came to me as an extension of a book I read as a teen by Robert A. Heinlein. It is called, The Number of the Beast and I highly recommend it even though the math can be a bit heady. Like Kellan, I’m not a big fan of math and I managed to get through it anyway. One of the foundational premises that Heinlein makes in that book is that every creative act can spawn a new reality. For example, his characters run across those created by L. Frank Baum in Wizard of Oz. I suspect Baum’s work was already in the public domain when it was referenced in Number of the Beast because the Baum created characters actually interact within pages of Beast.

  A careful reader of my Sentinels of Creation books may notice silent cameos from other fictional work. For my own reasons, I keep these Easter eggs both subtle and in small number. That said, those readers who find them certainly do seem to enjoy the experience as much as I did in making them. I keep to a few pretty strict rules when inserting these special cameos into my work. First, I have tremendous respect for the creative work of others and my inclusion of their characters is more homage than anything else. Part of that respect is knowing that I did not create either their characters or the world in which they live. They are merely visiting my world and thus never speak or directly interact with my characters. Further, while I happily call out pop culture references by name I will never do likewise with these Easter egg characters.

  Now, changing gears a bit, let me provide a brief commentary on the historical references you might find within the Sentinels books. I would venture to say that characters, places, and dates are all over 90% accurate. I’m giving myself some wiggle room here because sometimes 100% accuracy doesn’t make for a good story. In those few cases where facts and fantasy are diametrically opposed, fantasy wins out. After all, these are urban fantasy novels not history books.

  That said consider Shannon’s frantic ride though the highlands to Inverness. One might ask, is that journey possible and if so, how long would it take? What route might someone use? This chapter represents a good example of the approach I try to use throughout my books. Everything about Shannon’s trip to Inverness is as historically accurate as I could make it. Yes, her horse could travel the distance in the time referenced. Yes the Cathedral within Dornoch existed during Shannon’s day and both referenced Bishops were historical people. There is no doubt that including such historical accuracy does slow down one’s writing, but I’ve found it a worthwhile tradeoff as it seems to add additional reality to the world. This, I believe, is especially important in the urban fantasy genre since we are often bending or breaking established physical laws.

  I hope you’ve enjoyed this little peak into my use of pop culture references, Easter eggs, and historical people and places. I am always happy to hear from readers so please don’t hesitate to send along whatever questions or comments strike your fancy.

  A Few Words About Audiobooks

  When I first started out to write Sentinels of Creation: A Power Renewed (APR), there were a few things that I wanted to be sure happened. First, I wanted to make the book as widely available as possible and in as many formats. That box is well and truly checked since APR is now available in Print, Kindle, and Audiobook.

  Second, I knew that I wanted to have the book voiced by a particular person. In this case, Nick Podehl. For other authors heading down this path, I encourage you to explore as many audiobooks as possible to sample the wonderful talents available from today’s voice actors.

  Finally, I strongly believe that stories represent one of the most foundational human desires. From the time we are little, the luckiest of us have parents who read to us. I was one of those kids and I mention it in the dedication of my first book. Two of my fondest memories are of my mother reading The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and Charlotte’s Web to me. Oh how we both cried when Charlotte died. Years later, as a young man, I received a card from mom that included the following poem by Strickland Gillilan. I still keep a digital photo of that poem with me in my iPhone.

  I had a mother who read to me

  Sagas of pirates who scoured the sea,

  Cutlasses clenched in their yellow teeth,

  “Blackbirds” stowed in the hold beneath.

  I had a Mother who read me lays

  Of ancient and gallant and golden days;

  Stories of Marmion and Ivanhoe,

  Which every boy has a right to know.

  I had a Mother who read me tales

  Of Gelert the hound of the hills of Wales,

  True to his trust till his tragic death,

  Faithfulness blent with his final breath.

  I had a Mother who read me the things

  That wholesome life to the boy heart brings--

  Stories that stir with an upward touch,

  Oh, that each mother of boys were such!

  You may have tangible wealth untold;

  Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.

  Richer than I you can never be--

  I had a Mother who read to me.

  Now allow me to tie the latter two points together and put a bow on them. You see, I’ve come to believe that audiobooks are one of the most enriching additions that can be made to any novel. This is especially true when it includes a vibrant collaboration between author and narrator. I have been fortunate enough to develop such a professional and personal relationship with Nick, who I mentioned at the beginning of this note.

  We spent many hours across several weeks getting to know both each other and the characters who inhabit Sentinels of Creation. As I learned, this kind of collaboration between author and narrator is not common. I’m sure there are many reasons for this being so, but I cannot imagine creating an audiobook without such give and take.

  As authors, we bring life to characters who did not exist before we animated them. Similarly, our narrating partners give voice to those same characters who, without their performing talents, would be left silenced.

  In conclusion, I would invite anyone reading this to explore the rich experience that can be had via spoken word stories. They are a wonderful way to pass the time during a commute or to slowly drift off to sleep. If not the audiobook for this story, then seek out a new or familiar one of your choosing. I’ll wager that you’ll find your life the richer for it.

  To my friend and artistic partner, Nick Podehl, I say thank you for your time and talent. Getting to know you, your lovely wife, and beautiful girls, have enriched my life even as your craft has enriched my stories. I am quite sure, you are cringing as you read these words, but alas, your gifts have led you along a path where you give voice to other’s words…even when they make you blush. Like you are doing now. Yes, ri
ght now, while you are reading this.

  Heh…maybe there is something to that old saying about author’s having god complexes.

  Author’s Bio

  Robert W. Ross has spent the last twenty five years spinning stories and user journeys into web, mobile, and social experiences for brands ranging from the obscure to the iconic.

  He has both a passion for pop culture and a deep loathing to discuss himself in the third person. However, his wife convinced him that anyone who took the time to reach the last page of his book or the end of his audiobook, might want to know a little about the person who wrote it.

  To that end, Robert’s influences include authors such as Robert A. Heinlein, Phillip Jose Farmer, and Brandon Sanderson. He has a deep and abiding love for all things Star Trek, Doctor Who, and Sponge Bob. While Robert can often make obscure TV, Book, and Movie references, he sadly lacks Kellan’s eidetic memory. He is quite sure the brain space taken up by all that trivia is directly responsible for his lacking any sense of direction.

  Sentinels of Creation: A Tale of Two Gardens is the second book in the series and Robert’s current plans include three more Sentinels books to round out the initial arc. He is also considering one or two stand alone novels that would feature supporting characters from the main story arc. This is in response to a number of fans who have requested more details on both Shannon and Meghan.