The King of the Skies
Page 21
I consulted my compass. No void: the face showed a village of red-brick houses, all quaint and orderly, like something out of a picture book. “Nope,” I said. “Dunno where he’s gone, but he’ll land in civilization.”
“How will he get back to London?” Carson asked. “That’s where he’s from, right?”
“I think he just passes through more than anything,” I said. “Either way, I don’t know, and right now I don’t especially care. I just want to unwind.” And I threw my hands back behind my head and lay out flat on the deck, legs extended. A bit like I was sunbathing … only I lay under a churning Venusian hellscape where the sun’s disc could not be seen.
“Ignore him,” said Heidi, lolling out beside me. “I mean, yeah, it’s … kind of frustrating. But it was fair.”
“Yeah,” said Carson. “You did the right thing.”
“Thanks,” I said. “Bub? What do you think?”
I worried for a moment as he formulated a reply what he would come out with, whether it was too little, too late in the orc world …
Then he said, “Honor has been restored.”
Somehow, from him, it meant most of all.
“Awesome,” I said, loosing a tense breath and closing my eyes.
“So …” said Carson. “What now?”
I grinned. “How about we go home?”
29
Under the million-world clock, we sat: me at one desk, Carson and Heidi at opposite sides of another, Bub wedged in at the foot of that table by Carson’s elbow. Carson had loaded him—and himself—with a stack of books. He landed heavily in his seat after dropping off his pile.
Taking the first from the top, he said to me, “What sort of quest do you want us to go on next?”
With a pang of guilt, I remembered just a few short days ago: how wounded Carson had been, both figuratively and literally, after our stint in the forest, claiming the Necklace of the Regent Adjunct. I’d been so smug, so self-assured—and so forgetful of the people who had helped carry me to each and every one of my goals, my own pomposity entirely unearned.
I hoped to never, ever earn that.
“Carson, my friend,” I said, “this life is not all about me. Any of us could find the next exciting quest to entice us.”
“So … free rein to search for whatever, then?”
“Free rein,” I confirmed with a grin. “Let me know what takes your fancy.”
“Awesome,” said Carson, and he buried his nose deep into the pages of his book. Barely half a paragraph in, he let out a little noise of surprise, and said, “Oh, no way—Bub, have you ever heard of farixies? Check this out; they’re like little fairy, pixie people. Isn’t that weird? Mira, Heidi? Have you heard of these?”
I caught Heidi’s glance. She rolled her eyes, but there was no denying the subtle smile playing on the corner of her lips.
Carson began rattling off information to Bub, who looked … bored, or just lost; it was hard to tell sometimes. I smiled to myself, kicked back—and fished out the journal I’d been following all this time; the writings that had pointed me to Brynn Overson’s crypt on Harsterra in the first place. The pages I’d been reading from were getting dog-eared from overuse. I smoothed them flat and flipped ahead.
I read … and got lost in my thoughts instead, eyes following text that my brain wasn’t taking in.
I could’ve laid hands on the Lamina Ambroscus today. I really could’ve. I wouldn’t have needed to lift a finger; just let Burnton fall out of existence (a nicer way of thinking of it than acknowledging, you know, the crushing pressure that would’ve squeezed him into a meaty, dead cube), and take the Lamina without obstruction.
I could’ve had the next thing I wanted.
But those things were … just things. And sure, I could have them—but that would’ve meant disregarding people.
People were more important than that. I’d learned that once, and not even that long ago: when I met with Borrick to save Carson, willing to lose the Chalice Gloria. Somehow I’d lost sight of it.
Well, I had sight of it again now. And I wouldn’t ever let it go again.
I looked around the library happily. My friends were doing their own thing, and I felt … good. Really good. After all, life’s not all about drinking from the cup of glory and eating from the plate of immortality.
Speaking of …
“I think I’ll go get a burrito,” I said, rising.
“Yeah?” said Heidi, looking above the top of her book. “Not hoping to run into someone while you’re out?”
“Nope,” I said. “I’m fine with just the burrito.”
And I knew as I left for Tortilla, aware of the prospect of not crossing paths with Clay this time, I really meant it.
30
I was in Tortilla, overlooking the Strand, savoring a burrito with much too much sour cream (which is the quantity of sour cream I’m most fond of).
The midday sun shone. We’d been lucky to come out into London again not long after the LEGO shop opened. Not so lucky that we’d lost a full night and needed to power on through the day to keep our sleep in line with our local clock, but it saved explaining to a confused staff—or worse, possibly the police—why five people, one of whom was very convincingly dressed as an orc, were sitting in a locked shop before opening time.
I forked rice and beans into my mouth, savoring it.
Yes. Burritos had definitely been the real appeal about this place.
Yet just as I was musing it, someone approached from my side, coming toward my table.
Ugh, I thought. Clay.
I turned, not sure yet whether I’d put on a happy face or politely ask that he leave me in peace—and stopped.
A man stood before me, with dark hair, and a coat just as long and black that dipped almost to his ankles. A silver belt buckle gleamed against a trim midriff.
“Borrick,” I growled, thrusting to my feet. Cutlery discarded with a clatter, I was already reaching for my spear.
“Peace,” he said, quickly, throwing up a hand and stopping dead in his tracks. “I’m not here to fight.”
“How’d you find me?” I demanded.
He smiled, but not very happily. This was the uncomfortable look of someone who, really, wasn’t quite at ease smiling at all—especially not at me.
“You’re famous now, don’t you know?” he said.
Maybe that was the cause of the sour look.
“Word’s getting around about you,” he said, “and where you like to keep yourself when you’re not Seeking.”
My heart skipped. A few days ago, I’d have been ecstatic to hear that people were talking about me. But that my whereabouts were filtering through the Seeker community …
No wonder Burnton had found me.
A bolt of panic shot through me, because if Burnton and Borrick had been able to find me—who else could?
“Can I sit?” he asked.
“No,” I said. “What are you doing in London?”
“Looking for you.” He licked his lips. “I have … information that concerns you.”
“Whatever information you have, I don’t want it.”
“It concerns how I found you. How Tyran Burnton found you.”
My stomach dropped. “How did—?”
“He did find you, didn’t he?” Borrick asked. “Two days ago?”
“How’d you know about that?”
“Word travels.”
People were looking our way. And I wasn’t surprised. Borrick did not look at home in London. Hell, dressed as he was, he didn’t look like he’d fit in anywhere—outside of maybe a heavy metal concert in Norway.
My lips thinned to a line. These had been pleasant months without Borrick dogging us. Now he was back, and right on my doorstep … it was troubling—and not just because of his proximity.
But he said he had information—and it was information I did want, desperately.
“I’m listening,” I said.
His uneasiness lightened
, just a fraction. “May I sit?”
“Opposite,” I said, pointing. “But no funny business. You poke me with something sharp under the table, and you’ll have Decidian’s Spear through your eyeball, and I don’t care who sees.”
“I’m not armed, I assure you.”
“Uh huh. Sure.”
Borrick slipped in on the other side of the table.
I lowered myself warily.
He briefly eyed the contents of my plate before looking away. Not to his taste, going by the downturned corners of his mouth. Or maybe that was something to do with the fact that he was helping Mira Brand, crusher of his dreams.
“How did you know where to find me?” I repeated, voice hard and flat.
Borrick nodded. “Right.” He reached into his coat, and I braced, one hand sliding down to the umbrella at my belt, but he simply retrieved a small metal disc. Something that looked like the IR sensor of a remote control.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Someone has been whispering about you,” said Borrick.
Looking seriously at me, he pressed a thin thumb to a button on the side of the device, and a hologram appeared.
Two people. One in a cloak, shrouded in shadow. This one was cut off and partly obscured by sharp lines that overlaid his or her body—recording artifacts, maybe.
The other, though … the other I recognized.
I stared in horror as the person in the cloak—a woman, it sounded like, though her voice was muted and grainy—spoke to someone.
“We agreed. Your wish, in exchange for everything—absolutely everything—you can tell me about your life with Mira Brand.”
The person she spoke to was Heidi.
Heidi Luo, who’d had my back, who’d fought by my side, who’d championed me … whom I’d saved by turning back time with the Tide of Ages …
“Every detail … and I’ll see to it that you’ll get what you want.”
… was betraying me.
Mira Brand Will Return In
The Best of Us
The Mira Brand Adventures, Book 5
Coming Spring 2018!
Preorder here!
Author’s Note
Thanks for reading! If you want to know immediately when future books become available, take sixty seconds and sign up for my NEW RELEASE EMAIL ALERTS by CLICKING HERE. I don’t sell your information and I only send out emails when I have a new book out. The reason you should sign up for this is because I don’t always set release dates, and even if you’re following me on Facebook (robertJcrane (Author)) or Twitter (@robertJcrane), it’s easy to miss my book announcements because … well, because social media is an imprecise thing.
Come join the discussion on my website: http://www.robertjcrane.com!
Cheers,
Robert J. Crane
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Editorial/Literary Janitorial duties performed by Sarah Barbour and Nick Bowman. Final proofing was once more handled by the illustrious Jo Evans. Any errors you see in the text, however, are the result of me rejecting changes.
The cover was once more designed with exceeding skill by Momir Borocki.
The formatting was provided by nickbowman-editing.com.
Once more, thanks to my parents, my in-laws, my kids and my wife, for helping me keep things together.
Other Works by Robert J. Crane
World of Sanctuary
Epic Fantasy
Defender: The Sanctuary Series, Volume One
Avenger: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Two
Champion: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Three
Crusader: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Four
Sanctuary Tales, Volume One - A Short Story Collection
Thy Father’s Shadow: The Sanctuary Series, Volume 4.5
Master: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Five
Fated in Darkness: The Sanctuary Series, Volume 5.5
Warlord: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Six
Heretic: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Seven
Legend: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Eight
Ghosts of Sanctuary: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Nine
Call of the Hero: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Ten* (Coming Late 2018!)
A Haven in Ash: Ashes of Luukessia, Volume One (with Michael Winstone)
A Respite From Storms: Ashes of Luukessia, Volume Two* (with Michael Winstone—Coming 2018!)
The Girl in the Box
and
Out of the Box
Contemporary Urban Fantasy
Alone: The Girl in the Box, Book 1
Untouched: The Girl in the Box, Book 2
Soulless: The Girl in the Box, Book 3
Family: The Girl in the Box, Book 4
Omega: The Girl in the Box, Book 5
Broken: The Girl in the Box, Book 6
Enemies: The Girl in the Box, Book 7
Legacy: The Girl in the Box, Book 8
Destiny: The Girl in the Box, Book 9
Power: The Girl in the Box, Book 10
Limitless: Out of the Box, Book 1
In the Wind: Out of the Box, Book 2
Ruthless: Out of the Box, Book 3
Grounded: Out of the Box, Book 4
Tormented: Out of the Box, Book 5
Vengeful: Out of the Box, Book 6
Sea Change: Out of the Box, Book 7
Painkiller: Out of the Box, Book 8
Masks: Out of the Box, Book 9
Prisoners: Out of the Box, Book 10
Unyielding: Out of the Box, Book 11
Hollow: Out of the Box, Book 12
Toxicity: Out of the Box, Book 13
Small Things: Out of the Box, Book 14
Hunters: Out of the Box, Book 15
Badder: Out of the Box, Book 16
Nemesis: Out of the Box, Book 17
Apex: Out of the Box, Book 18
Time: Out of the Box, Book 19* (Coming April 3, 2018!)
Driven: Out of the Box, Book 20* (Coming June 2018!)
Remember: Out of the Box, Book 21* (Coming August 2018!)
Hero: Out of the Box, Book 22* (Coming October 2018!)
Southern Watch
Contemporary Urban Fantasy
Called: Southern Watch, Book 1
Depths: Southern Watch, Book 2
Corrupted: Southern Watch, Book 3
Unearthed: Southern Watch, Book 4
Legion: Southern Watch, Book 5
Starling: Southern Watch, Book 6
Forsaken: Southern Watch, Book 7* (Coming 2018!)
Hallowed: Southern Watch, Book 8* (Coming Late 2018/Early 2019!)
The Shattered Dome Series
(with Nicholas J. Ambrose)
Sci-Fi
Voiceless: The Shattered Dome, Book 1
Unspeakable: The Shattered Dome, Book 2* (Coming 2018!)
The Mira Brand Adventures
Contemporary Urban Fantasy
The World Beneath: The Mira Brand Adventures, Book 1
The Tide of Ages: The Mira Brand Adventures, Book 2
The City of Lies: The Mira Brand Adventures, Book 3
The King of the Skies: The Mira Brand Adventures, Book 4
The Best of Us: The Mira Brand Adventures, Book 5* (Coming Spring 2018!)
Liars and Vampires
(with Lauren Harper)
Contemporary Urban Fantasy
No One Will Believe You: Liars and Vampires, Book 1* (Coming Early 2018!)
Someone Should Save Her: Liars and Vampires, Book 2* (Coming Early 2018!)
You Can’t Go Home Again: Liars and Vampires, Book 3* (Coming Early 2018!)
* Forthcoming, Subject to Change
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