Book Read Free

Starlight(Pact Arcanum 4)

Page 27

by Arshad Ahsanuddin


  Nick stared at her with wide eyes. “And you haven’t told him, yet? Nemesis, you’re about to spend over two decades trapped on board a starship with him!”

  “I only found out last week, during the final pre-flight medical exam. He’s been planning this trip for over a year. I didn’t want to ruin it for him.”

  Nick’s gaze turned shrewd. “And even if he freaks out, he won’t be able to get away. You’ll have time to wear down his resistance to the idea. Is that it?”

  “You make it sound so calculated.”

  “So do you. Look, if you want my advice, tell him before you board. Let him make his own decision without any constraints. Your relationship will be that much stronger for it.”

  Nemesis considered it. “I suppose you’re right. I’ll tell him after the dedication ceremony.”

  “Don’t worry so much. It will all work out.”

  * * *

  Rafael stepped up to the lectern at the front of the Observation deck. “My lords and ladies, I am Guildmaster Rafael Jameson Primogenitor Curallorn. Thank you for joining me here today to say good-bye to these brave travelers. Be they friend or family, lovers or protectors, we wish them all a safe journey on their way to whatever awaits them in the void.

  “It is a byword among us that magic requires sacrifice. We shall miss them deeply, but we are grateful to have walked by their sides for the time they have been among us. Accordingly, I dedicate this Jumpvessel Draconis to them, and bid them all a fond farewell. Godspeed.”

  * * *

  The next day, Rafael and Antonio stood again on the observation deck, next to Nick and Rory. The four of them watched the Draconis pull away from the station, then burst into rippling white radiance as its interstellar drive engaged and it sped into the distance. Within minutes, it was just another star in the sky.

  Rafael draped his arm over Antonio’s shoulder. “I love you.”

  Antonio smiled, but said nothing, still trying to pick out the faint light of the departing ship.

  Rory pulled a silver pocket watch from his vest and opened the case, revealing the skeleton clockwork on one side and a painted miniature of Lorcan’s smiling face on the other. He looked up at Nick, who had caught the movement and was gazing fondly at the small portrait. “Come on. It’s late. Let’s go home.”

  ENDINGS AND NEW BEGINNINGS

  DEDICATION

  To the Lord of Daybreak, for giving me inspiration and a modicum of talent. To my family and friends, without whom I would not be here. To Jerry, for his constant criticism and support as I wrote it all down, and for badgering me into making the attempt to get the story published.

  GLOSSARY

  THE GREAT POWERS:

  The Pact Arcanum: A ritual that allows a being of the material plane to bargain for power with beings from other planes

  The Red Wind: A demonic power of the lower planes, creator of the Nightwalkers via the Pact Arcanum

  The White Wind: An angelic power of the higher planes, creator of the Sentinels and the Daywalkers via the Pact Arcanum

  The Gift: The Sentinel inheritance of supernatural abilities that lies dormant until exposure to Nightwalkers, roughly patterned upon aspects of the four elements: Earth, Water, Air, and Fire

  The Grace:An angelic power granted to the Redeemer via the Pact Arcanum, which allows him to raise the dead and restore the souls of Nightwalkers, in exchange for physical invulnerability and eternal service to the White Wind

  The Crown of Souls: A spiritual prison created by Luscian Firstborn via the Pact Arcanum that permanently enslaves the souls of beings killed by the artifact sword Reaper in order to augment the wielder’s mystical strength

  THE RACES:

  Humans: The Children of the Day: the most populous race, born with the least magic

  Nightwalkers: The Children of Darkness: the vampires, soulless and immortal greater undead

  Sentinels: The Children of Twilight: mystical soldiers genetically programmed to defeat the Nightwalkers

  Daywalkers: The Children of the Dawn: vampires who have regained their souls through the intervention of the Grace

  Harbingers: The Children of Starlight: a hybrid race born of the union between Daywalker and Sentinel; destined to be the inheritors of magic after the Great Work is complete and the Children of Darkness are finally redeemed or destroyed

  Constructs: The Children of Air: Artificial Intelligences created from a fusion of magic and science to emulate the Sentinel Gift of Air; ruled by the Nexus Council, which is composed of one representative AI of each software generation

  THE NIGHTWALKER HIERARCHY:

  The Court of Shadows: Leaders of the Nightwalker Race

  Imperator: Adjudicator between houses, called the Huntmaster

  Night’s Herald: Spymaster, leader of the Inquisition

  Magister: Leader of a house, called the Prince (gender neutral)

  Leshir: Mate to a Magister, called the Prince Consort (gender neutral)

  Primogenitor: Second-in-Command

  Consul: Senior Councilor

  Praetor: Senior Diplomat

  Tribunus: Senior Soldier

  Notable Houses and Territories:

  House Luscian (Daywalker Alliance): France and the Ukraine

  House Jiao-long (Daywalker Alliance): Canada and joint rulership of United States territory with House Curallorn

  House Curallorn (Daywalker Alliance): Mexico and joint rulership of United States territory with House Jiao-long

  House Daviroquir (Daywalker Alliance): United Kingdom, excluding Ireland

  House Diluthical (Daywalker Alliance): Ireland

  House Tervilant: Spain and Portugal, with settlements in major cities of France by treaty with House Luscian

  House Talizered: Russia and China

  THE SENTINEL HIERARCHY:

  The Four Winds: Leaders of the Sentinel race

  The Wind of Earth: Weapon-based physical combat, blademaster

  The Wind of Water: Adaptive physical combat, shapeshifter

  The Wind of Fire: Energy-based combat, magician

  The Wind of Air: Psychic combat, tactician

  THE ARMISTICE HIERARCHY:

  The High Council: Leaders of the Free People

  Archangel: President and Spokesperson

  Speaker for the Watch: Sentinel Representative

  Speaker for the Dawn: Daywalker Representative

  Speaker for the Damned: Nightwalker Representative

  Speaker for the Word: Nexus Representative

  The Hidden Cities:

  Anchorpoint (Colorado, United States): Sentinel Capital, Armistice Security Headquarters

  Icehaven (Hudson Bay, Canada): Nightwalker Capital, Court of Shadows Embassy

  The Citadel (Mare Arcanum, Lunar Farside): Daywalker Capital, Spacer Guild Headquarters

  Sanctuary (French Alps, formerly Castle Night): Armistice Security European Headquarters, Armistice Global Refugee-processing and Immigration Center

  The Colonies

  Cassandra Station: Orbital habitat, Earth-Moon L4

  Hephaestus Station: Manufacturing facility, Earth-Moon L1

  Janus Station: Orbital spaceport, Earth-Moon L2

  Hades Station: Elysium mining facility, Earth-Moon L5

  Ares Colony: Mars

  Persephone Station: Ceres asteroid, ice mining facility

  Lycaon Colony: Europa, Jupiter Space

  Arcadia Colony: Callisto, Jupiter Space

  Cronus Colony: Titan, Saturn Space

  Charybdis Colony: Triton, Neptune Space

  Scylla Colony: Pluto, Neptune Space

  THE PRINCIPAL CAST

  THE COURT OF SHADOWS:

  Imperator Lorcan Ruarc Magister Diluthical (Daywalker): The Prince of Subterfuge, Leader of the Daywalker Alliance

  William Magister Daviroquir Primogenitor Diluthical (Daywalker): The Prince of Lightning, Second-in-command of the Daywalker Alliance

  The Night’s Herald (Nightwalker): Formerly Razheel
Tribunus Talizered

  Vladimir Magister Talizered (Nightwalker): The Prince of Torment

  Eduardo Tribunus Tervilant (Nightwalker): Second-in-command of the Inquisition

  THE ARMISTICE HIGH COUNCIL (PRESENT AND FORMER MEMBERS):

  Sean Rory Brennigan Magister Jiao-long (Nightwalker/Sentinel hybrid): The Traveler, the Redeemer, the Prince of the Dawn, former Wind of Air (2015-2042), former Speaker for the Damned (2021-2075), Founder of the Armistice

  Archangel Nicholas Jameson Magister Luscian(Daywalker/Sentinel hybrid): Soulkiller’s Bane, the Prince of Thunder, President of the Armistice

  Layla Magister Curallorn(Daywalker): Nemesis, the Prince of Wrath, Speaker for the Dawn, Founder of the Armistice

  Jeremy Harkness Jameson (Air Sentinel): The Seer, Governor and Founder of Sanctuary, husband of Nicholas Jameson

  Ghian Achara (Earth Sentinel): The Wind of Earth (2128), Speaker for the Watch (2136)

  THE SPACER GUILD:

  Antonio “Tony” Jameson Consul Curallorn (Harbinger): Captain of the Jumpvessel Singularity, son of Tobias Jameson and Layla Magister Curallorn

  Bradley Ellestan (Harbinger): Junior Crewman of the Jumpvessel Singularity

  Rafael Primogenitor Curallorn(Nightwalker): Captain of the Jumpvessel Starlight, formerly Tribunus Tervilant

  THE NEXUS:

  Revenant (Construct): Nexus Violet (gen6 AI representative), composite fusion of Tobias Jameson simulation and Icarus 6th generation AI

  Rapier (Construct): Nexus Blue (gen3 AI representative), Jumpvessel Starlight navigation AI, former personal AI client of Nicholas Jameson

  Citadel Control (Construct): Nexus White (gen5 AI representative), Citadel municipal AI

  IN MEMORIAM:

  Tobias “Toby” Jameson(deceased 2043, assassinated by enemies of the Nexus): Fire Sentinel, Nexus Liaison (renamed Speaker for the Word after AI emancipation), younger brother of Nicholas Jameson, husband of Layla Magister Curallorn, father of Antonio Jameson

  Takeshi “Take” Nakamura(deceased 2082, jumpvessel accident): The Wind of Earth (2015-2042), Founder of the Armistice, husband of Rory Brennigan

  Anaba “Ana” Nizhoni(deceased 2067, natural causes): The Wind of Fire (2015-2042), triad sister of Takeshi Nakamura and Rory Brennigan

  Scott Phillips (deceased 2074, natural causes): The Wind of Water (2034-2042), dyad brother of Nicholas Jameson

  Luscian Firstborn (deceased 2033, killed during the Burning through combined attacks by Takeshi Nakamura, Rory Brennigan, and Nicholas Jameson): Soulkiller, the Eldest, the Prince of Nightmares, Founder of the Court of Shadows, Creator of the Pact Arcanum ritual

  TIMELINE

  1504 Lorcan born

  1525 Lorcan turned

  1601 Connor dies

  1792 Rafael born

  1815 Rafael turned

  1993 Rory, Takeshi, and Anaba born

  2001 Scott born

  2003 Nick born

  2008 Sentinel assault on Court of Shadows defeated; Antonio Martinez and Edgar Jameson only survivors of assault force

  2015 Rory, Takeshi, and Anaba kindle (Winds of Air , Earth, and Fire respectively), Jeremy born

  2016 Toby born

  2020 Antonio Martinez killed, Rory turned by Jiao-long Firstborn, the Pact Arcanum

  2021 Armistice Declaration signed

  2022 Andrea born

  2023 Anaba develops recursion drive, Armistice space program established

  2024 North American coastal defense barrier established, Edgar Jameson killed

  2026 The Citadel founded

  2030 Spacer Guild established

  2032 Nick and Rory meet at Christmas party and renew friendship

  2033 Nick turned by Luscian Firstborn, the Burning, the Fall of the Citadel

  2034 Scott kindles (Wind of Water), Nick meets Lorcan

  2035 Rafael defects from the Court to join the Armistice

  2038 Lorcan appointed Court Ambassador to the Triumvirate Council

  2039 Nick appointed Triumvirate Ambassador to the Court of Shadows

  2040 Los Angeles incident

  2041 Toby kindles (Fire), Jumpvessel Horizon destroyed in defense of Anchorpoint, Lorcan becomes Huntmaster, Nick becomes Archangel and marries Jeremy

  2042 Andrea kindles (Wind of Air), Odyssey Expedition departs Sol, Antonio Jameson born, Toby marries Layla

  2043 Toby killed, Revenant created, Rafael joins House Curallorn

  2049 Castle Night reorganized into Sanctuary City by Jeremy

  2051 Jumpvessel Odyssey arrives at Alpha Centauri, Planet Nephele detected

  2052 Chiron colony established, planet Nephele

  2062 Antonio Jameson joins Spacer Guild with Rafael and Jeremy’s support, over Nick and Layla’s objections

  2063 AI emancipation, Speaker for the Word formalized

  2065 Antonio Jameson graduates from Spacer Guild Academy

  2066 Jumpvessel Odyssey returns to Sol from Centauri

  2067 Anaba dies

  2073 Antonio Jameson named Captain of the Jumpvessel Singularity

  2074 Scott dies

  2075 Rory retires as Speaker for the Damned

  2076 Rory marries Takeshi

  2077 Rafael named Primogenitor Curallorn

  2082 Takeshi dies

  2083 Rory and Lorcan formalize mating

  2094 Jeremy dies, Nick retires as Archangel to rule Sanctuary

  2095 Layla elected Archangel

  2108 Nick formalizes mating to Rory and Lorcan

  2111 Ghian Achara born

  2112 Rory becomes Speaker for the Word

  2128 Ghian Achara kindles (Wind of Earth)

  2130 Winds of Water, Fire, Air killed by the Inquisition

  2133 Jumpvessel Singularity departs Chiron for Sol

  2135 Bradley Ellestan born

  2136 Ghian Achara becomes Speaker for the Watch

  2142 Jumpvessel Singularity returns to Earth

  POST A REVIEW!

  If this book made a strong impression on you, whether positive or negative, consider writing a review. Alternatively, if you wish to express yourself privately, you can contact me directly through http://pactarcanum.com/contact/.

  Amazon:

  http://www.amazon.com/Starlight-Pact-Arcanum-ebook/dp/B007BCYYL6

  Goodreads:

  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13493406-starlight

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Thank you to those who helped me improve my skills and made this second edition possible, with advice, criticism and encouragement. I especially want to thank my editors, D. Kai Wilson-Viola of IndieUnbound.com, Karlyn Thayer, and Katy Sozaeva for their comments, as well as my beta readers, Jerry, Eric, and Karul. Thank you also to Jason for his proofreading skills. And of course, props to Craig Payst for his terrific illustrations.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Arshad Ahsanuddin is a practicing hematopathologist, a physician specializing in the diagnosis of diseases of blood, bone marrow, and lymph nodes using laboratory data and microscopic evaluation of tissue biopsies. Yes, he’s a blood doctor writing a series of vampire novels. The irony isn’t lost on him. If you enjoyed this story, or if you have questions about the Pact Arcanum saga, check out his website at http://pactarcanum.com and leave him some feedback.

  Website:

  http://pactarcanum.com

  Amazon:

  http://www.amazon.com/author/pactarcanum

  Facebook:

  http://facebook.com/pactarcanum

  Goodreads:

  http://www.goodreads.com/pactarcanum

  Twitter:

  http://twitter.com/pactarcanum

  OTHER WORKS

  Fiction

  THE PACT ARCANUM SAGA

  Sunset: Book One

  Sunrise: Book Two

  Moonlight: Book Three

  Starlight: Book Four

  Cathedral of the Sky

  Non-Fiction

  First Words:

  13 Short Essays on Writing from a
Neophyte Author’s perspective

  Stepwise:

  eBook and Print-on-Demand Formatting using Word 2010

  COPYRIGHT

  First Edition: March 2012

  Second Edition: April 2012

  Third Edition: October 2012

  Text © 2012 by Arshad Ahsanuddin

  “Red and White” artwork incorporates licensed stock images © iStockphoto.com/t.light, Susanne Karlsson, Ivan Rubanov, Vudhikrai Sovannakran, and yystom. “Endings and New Beginnings” artwork incorporates licensed stock images © iStockphoto.com/zennie and SF Photo.

  All other artwork © 2012 by Arshad Ahsanuddin

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, organizations, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, government institutions, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

 

 

 


‹ Prev