Race for the Flash Stone (The Anlon Cully Chronicles Book 2)

by K Patrick Donoghue

  Anlon had formulated similar suspicions, but he found it as hard to believe as Pebbles. Thinking back to the day he visited Anabel in Bennington, he realized how much she had shaped his early view of the map. She was the one who suggested the connection with the Egyptian Duat map. She was the one who told Anlon the map was “for finding more of the Life Stones.” In so doing, she implied that was Devlin’s primary interest in the map.

  Nowhere else in Devlin’s notes or writings did such suggestions appear. Yes, there was a draft of the map on his computer, but other than that, there was nothing to indicate Devlin was searching for more of the Stones.

  In retrospect, even the Dominica expedition proved to have nothing to do with an archaeological interest in finding an undisturbed cache of Stones. Devlin went there looking for something specific. Need to find one fast. Running out of options. He went looking for a burial Maerlif, presumably to find a Tuliskaera or Taellin. When he couldn’t find a way in, he directed his search elsewhere.

  That curious action should have tipped Anlon earlier. The archaeologist in Devlin wouldn’t have walked away from Dominica once he found the Maerlif beacon. If his primary interest had been archaeological, to find an undisturbed Munuorian site, Devlin would have marked the location and sought permission to excavate. Hell, the man would have moved to Dominica for as long as it took to locate the hidden chamber!

  The unanswered question was, why? Why had Devlin pursued the Tuliskaera or Taellin? Was it to help or foil Muran? It would remain a mystery unless some new information came to light. That, at a minimum, argued in favor of revisiting Anabel.

  “I’m struggling believing Anabel is Muran, too,” Anlon said to Jennifer. “But, I think you’re right, she definitely knows more than she told us. I think we should go talk to her again.”

  “But, A.C., if she is Muran, holy crap! That would be like going to visit the Devil for tea,” said Pebbles.

  “Yeah, doesn’t seem like a smart idea, does it?” Anlon said.

  Pebbles floated an idea. “What if we got her on neutral turf, and then one of us searched her home. Maybe something there will give us the proof we need, one way or another?”

  “It’s a thought,” Anlon said. “Before we stoop to breaking and entering, let’s see if we can drum up proof in Devlin’s research. We didn’t know what we were looking for before; now we do. That might cause something to pop out.”

  While the trio waited to board the first leg of the journey back to Tahoe, their conversation shifted to the topic of the Tyls and Foucault. They all professed amazement at Foucault’s skill wielding the Breylofte, Dreylaeks and Tuliskaera. This led to a discussion of the man himself.

  “I can’t imagine living for four hundred years,” Jennifer said.

  “Crazy, right?” agreed Pebbles.

  “To me, his loyalty to Mereau is more remarkable,” said Anlon. “To do another man’s bidding for four hundred years? And he was so passionate about stopping Muran. It was like Muran had done something to him personally.”

  Pebbles shook her head. “It’s hard to understand, but I get why he felt that way. Malinyah’s memories feel like my memories. It’s your hippocampus-thing-e-o. You said they wanted to make sure their most important memories were never forgotten. What better way than making a person’s brain store Munuorian memories like they were their own?”

  “Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Anlon said.

  “What do you think Foucault meant when he said Muran wanted the Tuliskaera for more than just switching bodies?” Jennifer asked.

  “Yes, that was curious, wasn’t it?” Anlon said. “Maybe Malinyah can tell us.”

  “Let’s hold off on that for a while,” Pebbles said. “I’m not sure I can handle any more rave-outs anytime soon.”

  “Fair enough,” said Jennifer. “What should we do with the map?”

  “I kinda feel like we should let that lie for a little while, too. We’ve got a bunch of the Stones now. I think we should concentrate on figuring out what to do with them before we go looking for any more,” said Anlon.

  “What do you mean?” asked Pebbles.

  “Well, we’ve got some pretty sizeable ethical dilemmas on our hands,” Anlon explained. “It’s one thing to tell the world we found artifacts that prove the existence of a lost civilization. It’s another thing entirely to show the Tyls are more than pieces of art.

  “Imagine if we take one of the Terusaels and tell everybody that it could help them live five hundred years? What would happen? The word ‘stampede’ comes to mind. On the other hand, should we keep it a secret? Should we even use it ourselves?

  “I’ve come to believe that’s why Devlin never announced his discovery. Beyond any intrigue with Muran, I think he struggled with those kinds of questions.”

  Pebbles nodded. “I see what you mean. A lot of people would go crazy for the Tyls. And, we know already they can cause people to do bad things. Those without strong gensae, that is.”

  “Yeah, think about all the bad stuff that’s happened since Devlin first put the puzzle pieces together,” said Jennifer.

  “Right. Think of what it did to the Munuorians themselves, after Munirvo. If they couldn’t control them in a moment of crisis, what chance do we have?” Anlon said. “It’s the reason I’d like to study them, figure out how they work. Learn the technology behind them. Test them. Experiment with them. We might ultimately find a way to reintroduce the Munuorians’ technology without the downsides.”

  Midflight between Phoenix and Reno-Tahoe, Anlon awoke to find Pebbles staring out the window while caressing the medallion’s black stone with her thumb. Anlon touched her hand and said hello. Pebbles didn’t notice.

  Nudging her shoulder, he tried again. “Hey there, you okay?”

  Pebbles stirred from her thoughts and smiled.

  “Whatcha thinking about?” asked Anlon.

  “Do you think she’s on Isabela?”

  “Uh…” Anlon squirmed in his seat.

  Pebbles leaned forward and gripped his hand. “Malinyah. Is that what Foucault meant?”

  “I don’t know, could be, then aga—”

  “I want to go there. I want to see her.” She squeezed his hand.

  “Okay, sure,” said Anlon. “It might take a little time to find her, but we can give it a try.”

  Pressing her hand against the medallion, she said, “I want to take the Sinethal with us. I want Malinyah to be there with us.”

  Wolf Volcano, Isabela Island

  Galápagos Islands

  September 15

  Only half the sun was visible on the horizon when Pebbles entered the crypt. Outside, Anlon sat by the entrance and watched the sun sink into the Waterland. To his right, a full Moon was already visible in the eastern sky.

  Looking upward and to his left, Anlon waited for the stars of Cassiopeia to appear. First would be Schedar, the brightest star in the constellation. Forming the bottom point of the second V of the astral butterfly’s W shape, Schedar sits 1.4 quadrillion miles from Earth.

  Next to appear would be Caph, the closest of the constellation’s stars. Positioned fifty-four light-years away, an asteroid traveling at the whopping speed of one hundred thousand miles per hour would have taken more than three hundred thousand years to reach Earth.

  Depending on its size and speed, a naked-eye observer might have spotted an asteroid streaking toward Earth from the direction of Caph thousands of years in advance, or a mere matter of months.

  At first Anlon found it hard to believe a planet-killing asteroid could go undetected until only months away from striking the planet. But then he changed his mind after reading about the Chicxulub crater bordering the Yucatán peninsula. The massive depression that formed the Gulf of Mexico was believed to have been carved by a six-mile-diameter asteroid. The direct hit by the tiny asteroid was credited with wiping out seventy-five percent of all species on Earth, including the planet’s dinosaur population.

  Ceres, the largest as
teroid in the Earth’s solar system, has a mass equal to one percent of the Moon, but it is ninety-five times larger than the Chicxulub asteroid. At its current distance from Earth, Anlon calculated it would take a non-orbital asteroid of similar size around one hundred eighty days to reach Earth at an average-to-high asteroid speed of sixty thousand miles per hour. Despite the fact Ceres has orbited the solar system for millions of years, the first confirmed observation of Ceres didn’t occur until 1801.

  With these facts in mind, Anlon wondered what combination of asteroid mass, speed and distance might cause the Earth to flip as it zoomed past. Might tiny Ceres, passing between the Earth and Moon at sixty thousand miles per hour, be enough?

  From Pebbles’ first step inside the Maerlif, she trembled with emotion. Carrying Malinyah’s Sinethal in one hand and a small lantern in the other, she moved into the dark and dusty tomb.

  Fallen chunks of volcanic rock littered the chamber floor, some as large as footlockers. Pebbles stepped around the smallish boulders and aimed the lantern at the crypt’s deepest point. There, under an arch carved into the ceiling above, lay Malinyah atop a rectangular slab.

  Her skeleton was robed in shimmering crimson and gold. Surprised any fabric could withstand ten thousand years, Pebbles felt its edge. It was metallic, not cloth. A thin, beaded metallic cloak. With the lantern held close, the beads glittered like diamonds.

  Across her chest were the dusky remains of Alynioria’s tunic. Pebbles recognized the speckles of blue and gold smeared across Malinyah’s crimson cloak. In the bones of her left hand was a trail of dust, the last remnants of Alynioria’s golden hair.

  Pebbles knelt beside Malinyah’s skeleton and lowered her head. The medallion swung free and dangled like a pendulum. After a moment’s silence, she reached into her jacket pocket and withdrew a Naetir. With a heavy sigh, she guided it close to the Sinethal…

  When she arrived in the vision, the marble hall was empty. To her left, through the sheer drapes between columns, Pebbles spied Malinyah in the field of deep-blue Alynioria flowers. Walking toward her, Pebbles looked down to find herself dressed in a tunic of gold and white. Reaching for her hair, she found it tightly cropped in her current style. Holding up her left wrist, she saw her huddled angel tattoo and the scars beneath it.

  Malinyah heard her approach and turned to face Pebbles. She smiled brightly and opened her arms. Pebbles did the same and they embraced. When they separated, Pebbles looked deeply into Malinyah’s eyes and said, “I know. About Alynioria. What really happened to her. I’m so sorry.”

  The Munuorian mother teetered slightly and stiffened her jaw. Reaching out, she wrapped her fingers through Pebbles’ and squeezed tightly. Without a word, she led Pebbles down into the field of flowers. In the middle of the field, Malinyah turned to Pebbles and reached for her other hand.

  A new vision appeared. It was the same blue carpet of flowers, but across the field danced a small child with golden hair. Dressed in white, she frolicked and laughed among the full blossoms. Trailing behind was a flock of butterflies.

  As she circled the field, Alynioria chattered with the butterflies. She waved her hand to the left and the flock followed. She ducked low and butterflies dipped in response. Finally, Alynioria stood up tall with arms outstretched and commanded the butterflies to descend. When they landed, Alynioria was covered with tiny golden wings from fingertip to fingertip. She closed her eyes and fell backward into the flowers, scattering the butterflies like fireworks.

  Malinyah laughed, her voice full of joy. “Aeh el sulous, Alynioria!”

  You are sunlight, Alynioria!

  BENNINGTON WOMAN’S DEATH PUZZLES AUTHORITIES

  Woman found dead in garden, police suspect foul play

  BENNINGTON – September 15 – An unidentified Bennington woman was discovered dead in her flower garden yesterday afternoon by Bennington Police responding to a call from a concerned neighbor. The dead woman has yet to be identified, pending notification of family members.

  According to officers responding to the call, a neighbor’s dog wandered into the dead woman’s yard around 1 p.m. yesterday afternoon and began wailing loudly.

  The dog’s owner, who requested her name be withheld from this report, indicated the animal’s excited behavior was uncharacteristic. The neighbor entered the dead woman’s yard to retrieve the dog and discovered the body. She immediately called rescue personnel and the police.

  An unnamed police official with knowledge of the incident said the circumstances surrounding the woman’s death indicated foul play. According to the official, the woman had been electrocuted.

  As there was no source of electricity in the immediate vicinity, police suspect the woman was killed elsewhere and placed in the garden. The official also indicated robbery as a possible motive. Officers entering the home discovered evidence of a break-in. The official described the crime scene as “chaotic.”

  The Anlon Cully Chronicles series continues with Curse of the Painted Lady. And the adventure doesn't stop there! The fourth installment in the series will be released in 2019 and will feature a new archaeological mystery for Anlon and friends to solve.

  To receive updates regarding the series' fourth installment as they emerge, including the expected publish date, follow K. Patrick Donoghue on Facebook by clicking here, or join the author's email subscriber list by clicking here.

  Also, look for the first two books of The Rorschach Explorer Missions, a new science-fiction thriller series from K. Patrick Donoghue: UMO (released August 31, 2018) and Skywave (releases December 14, 2018) .

  ILLUSTRATION: SINETHAL ETCHING

  GLOSSARY OF MUNUORIAN TERMS

  Andaers – (and-airs) – the council of Munuorian elders/leaders. Malinyah was one of the Andaers.

  Breylif – (bray-liff) – the Munuorian word for butterfly and the name the Munuorians attached to the constellation known today as Cassiopeia.

  Enjyia – (n-gee-yah) – a drink produced from flowers of plants whose seeds were altered by a Terusael (described below). Enjyia tastes like a sweetened herbal tea and has a translucent, pinkish appearance. In Race for the Flash Stone, the Nerium Oleander is the primary poisonous plant whose seeds are transformed to create enjyia. Munuorians who consistently imbibed enjyia could live to the ripe old age of five hundred.

  Fandis – (fawn-dees) – the council of Munuorian astronomers who kept watch over the approaching asteroid named Munirvo.

  Gensae – (jen-say) – the word used to describe the Munuorian’s magnetic sixth-sense.

  Kaeto – (kay-toe) – the Munuorian word for “thank you.”

  Lifintyls – (liff-in-tills) – Munuorian translation: survival tools. Called Life Stones by Devlin Wilson, the name refers to the set of six Munuorian tools/stones depicted on a Sinethal (Master Stone). The Lifintyls are magnetized devices forged by the Munuorian civilization. Except for Sulataers (described below), the composition of each Tyl (tool) is a combination of three magnetic stone-types: olivine basalt, kimberlite and pure diamond. The Tyls’ different powers are dictated by the relative concentration of the three magnetic stone-types and their unique shaping. The six Tyls are described below:

  Aromaegh – (air-uh-may) – Munuorian translation: teacher, helper. Called a Story Stone by Devlin Wilson, an Aromaegh is a square/rectangular tile that houses virtual-reality-like recordings (sights, sounds, aromas, touch and taste). A Sinethal (Master Stone) is one type of Aromaegh. Aromaeghs were created to store the collective memories, skills, accomplishments of the Munuorian civilization. They were used to transfer knowledge from one generation to the next, to teach specific skills and to retain important cultural events and memories.

  Breylofte – (bray-loft) – Munuorian translation: air mover. Called a Sound Stone by Devlin Wilson, a Breylofte is a bowl-shaped stone that amplifies sound waves to levitate and move objects. Devised as a building tool, Breyloftes helped Munuorians place or remove large, heavy objects. It was also used as a medium-range weapon.
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  Dreylaek – (dray-lock) – Munuorian translation: healer, defender. No name was established for this Tyl in Shadows of the Stone Benders, but in Race for the Flash Stone, Anlon calls it the Heal Stone. A Dreylaek is a cookie-shaped & sized stone. Two of them are needed to create their desired effects. By rubbing two Dreylaeks together, or slapping one against the other, different powers are generated. The Munuorians primarily used Dreylaeks to treat injuries. Dreylaeks also served as deadly short-range weapons.

  Sulataer – (soo-la-tare) – Munuorian translation: stone melter. A Sulataer is a token/coin made of pure, 24K gold. Sulataers are embossed with a fish symbol on each side. The coins were used by the Munuorians to trade with foreign nations/tribes. However, Sulataers have specific purpose/value beyond serving as a currency, a purpose which is revealed in Race for the Flash Stone.

  Terusael – (tare-uh-sail) – Munuorian translation: the refresher. Called a Seed Stone by Devlin Wilson, a Terusael is an egg-shaped stone, used in conjunction with a Breylofte, to alter the chemistry of the seeds from poisonous flowers (such as oleander) into seeds that produce life-extending flowers. The altered flowers are crushed into a tincture called enjyia. The enzymes in enjyia attack diseased cells in the body, which slows down the aging process, thereby extending life. Terusaels have a countervailing power not described in either Shadows of the Stone Benders or Race for the Flash Stone (one that will be explored in the third installment of The Anlon Cully Chronicles).

  Tuliskaera – (tool-uh-scare-uh) – Munuorian translation: fire cutter. Called a Flash Stone by Devlin Wilson, a Tuliskaera is a cone-shaped stone that produces a powerful laser when used in conjunction with a Naetir (described below). Tuliskaeras were used by the Munuorians to cut and shape objects (mostly stone objects). Tuliskaeras were also used as long-range weapons against structures and people. They also possess a special power known only to the Munuorian elders (Andaers)…a purpose revealed in Race for the Flash Stone.