The Sword of Elseerian: The White Mage Saga #2 (The Chronicles of Lumineia) Read online

  "Dad!" She yelled to be heard over the crackling flames and snapping timber.

  "What?!" he growled as he pulled the pin from the extinguisher.

  "Do you feel the heat?" she asked. The desperation in her voice caused him to pause.

  Confused, anger, and a trace of fear twisted his features, but he shook his head. He turned to face her with fire consuming the walls around them. Smoke and ash had filled the room yet the three of them stood in a void at the center. Outside the circle the lamp shattered from the heat, its top burning through as it fell onto the floor.

  "What's doing this?" Kate demanded.

  Tess took a breath. "Me."

  They stared at her, bewilderment written on their faces. Tess held their gaze, and then she had an idea of what to do. She took advantage of their stunned expressions to take over.

  "Dad, throw your grenades into the kitchen. The gas lines are probably about to blow anyway, but the explosion will be bigger. Mom, do the same. Then stand next to me."

  They continued to stare at her. Jack held a gun in one hand and the fire extinguisher in the other. Kate had a pistol pointed at the floor. Both had shallow cuts on their faces and arms, but neither seemed aware of them.

  "Go!" Tess barked.

  They glanced at each other, at the raging fire, and then at Tess. Then her father reached for his grenades. "I hope you know what you're doing, Tess."

  Me too, she thought.

  Each of them tucked a gun into their concealed holsters and then gathered their grenades. Once they'd rejoined Tess, they exchanged a look. Their uncertainty only caused Tess to grit her teeth. This was her only chance to get them out alive.

  Then she realized she'd forgotten something. Panic engulfed her as she screamed for her pet grend. "Stel!"

  Reflecting red in the firelight, a small metal cat appeared at the top of the stairs and leapt down. Rebounding off a wall, it morphed into a necklace and coiled around Tess's neck. Despite the inferno, the metal intelligence did not seem to feel the heat. Her parents stared at her with astonishment written on their features.

  "Do it," she said.

  They looked at each other for a long moment, and then pulled the pins at the same time. "Four seconds!" Jack shouted at the same time Kate yelled, "Frag out!"

  For a long moment Tess looked at the fire that was consuming her home. Then she looked up and used gravity magic to blast a hole all the way to the roof. Fire engulfed the hole as soon as it appeared. A single star could be seen at the center, its light dimmed by the swirling flames.

  Three

  "Hang on," she yelled, and then wrapped her magic around them. Both went rigid in shock as their feet lifted off the carpet. To their credit, neither of them cried out.

  Two

  Tess flew them through the hole in the ceiling, her hands out to maintain the heat shield on both sides. They passed through her bedroom, which was hardly recognizable for what it had been. Her desk had disappeared behind a mountain of flames. The wallpaper was tearing off, curling away into sparks and ash as the sheetrock blackened behind it. Her bed had been closest to the outside wall, but it was melted and misshapen. The sight disappeared as she carried them into the attic.

  One

  She reached the roof and then gathered her power, readying them for what she knew was their only chance. Purple lines streaked into the visible spectrum as Tess hovered just under the blazing rafters.

  "Tess . . .?" Her father said in a rising tone.

  Zero

  The house exploded in massive concussive blast, incinerated in an instant as the grenades and the gas lines detonated each other. Walls and furniture were ripped apart, shredded by the shockwave. The foundations cracked as unrecognizable pieces of house embedded into the yard and trees. When the walls on the first floor disintegrated, the portions of the roof that were still intact collapsed, sending a wave of sparks and cinders billowing outward.

  The Harbingers closest were knocked away. The rest shielded their eyes from the glare or moved to help their companions. As sirens sounded in the night the Harbingers slipped from view. Their work finished, they evaporated into the night.

  Chapter 2: Secrets and Truth

  Tess watched it all from above. An instant before the explosion had torn through the house, she'd launched them straight up. Heat and sparks washed over their feet before they were swallowed by the night sky. Shielding their eyes from the blast, the Harbingers had not noticed the three figures floating five hundred feet above the burning house.

  Although relief at their survival was prominent, Tess felt a plunging sadness. She watched her childhood home burn. Every memory she had revolved around that home, along with every possession. Now it was all gone. She felt sick.

  Her dad coughed at her side. Reluctantly Tess turned to face her parents, expecting to see anger and confusion. Instead she saw worry on both their features. Her mom kept twitching, as if she wanted to flail about in the air. Her rigid self control kept her limbs in check. Her father just gazed at her, unflinching in the fact that he was flying hundreds of feet above his burning house.

  "I'm sorry I didn't tell you," she said in a small voice.

  Her dad didn't blink. "Ice cream. Now."

  Tess sighed, and turned them toward the ice-cream parlor that her dad favored, The Sweet Treat. Ever since she was a kid her parents had taken her there as a reward for things—like when she had almost given a concussion to a bully who was teasing disabled kids. It was also the place they went to talk about difficult things, like when her grandfather had died.

  No one spoke as Tess flew them above Richmond. She kept them high enough to avoid power lines and scrutiny, which wasn't hard due to the cloudy night. Still, by the time they were nearing the shop Tess was beginning to tire. She'd flown three friends at once before, but it had nearly killed her. She brought them down behind the building and her dad took charge. He adjusted his gun in its holster so it was out of sight, then he strode down the alley toward the front door.

  Tess followed, her eyes downcast. Her house was gone because of her, and she wasn't looking forward to the upcoming conversation. Then she blinked and straightened. After the way her parents had reacted, she wasn't the only one with secrets. As she stepped into the shop she automatically moved to the seat they always shared.

  It was after ten, but the shop was still open, and would be for another hour. Built in the seventies, the building had most of its original architecture. High stools sat next to the counter, and small tables filled the space. The original owners still worked the counter, and the elderly couple smiled at her dad when he ordered three bowls of vanilla ice cream, no toppings.

  Tess winced. It was worse than she thought. The one time he had ever ordered vanilla for them was when she'd failed out of the lowest level math. No flavor and no toppings was the recipe for lots of talking. She sighed, and sank into her usual seat in the back alcove.

  As if it were an afterthought to the shop, there was a small recess at the rear of the building. To get to it you passed the counter and turned a sharp corner, then went down a narrow hall. The space was too small for anything but a single table and a few chairs, but the artwork on the wall was stunning.

  It rested on the north wall, and displayed darkened streets layered in fog. Old fashioned cars and people appeared to move through it, the fog curling around their feet. The art was lit with a backdrop of soft light that came from the streetlamps, headlights, and an open window, all of which were real, and drew power from a plug near the floor. The points of light were shrouded in mist, but gave enough light to fill the scene. Dimming and brightening, the lights seemed to fight the night's fog.

  The image spoke of a simpler time. With her house gone and her future uncertain, Tess found a part of her missing her simple life before she'd gone to Tryton's Academy of Magic.

  Her mother sank into a seat across from her, and stared at her without blinking. Neither of them spoke until Jack placed the three bowls on the table. Coll
ectively they each took a bite. Then her father skewered Tess with his gaze.

  "Talk," he said.

  She felt a flash of anger. "Why don't you go first, Dad? Where did all the guns come from—and Mom? Since when do you know how to throw a grenade?"

  Her words came out in a harsh whisper, but it didn't provoke her parents. Instead they glanced at each other. Then her mom sighed and relented.

  "I don't understand what happened tonight, but it's time she knew. Tell her, Jack."

  He passed a hand over his face, weary and worn. For the first time he appeared old to Tess. The white streaks to his black hair had always seemed distinguished before. Then he placed a finger on the table and looked between them, his gaze searching.

  "There have been enough secrets. Tonight we put our cards on the table—but," he flicked his finger into the air, "we hold nothing back, and we guard each other's secrets as we would our own." He stared at Tess until she swallowed and nodded.

  "Good," he said, and leaned back. "Tess, you go first."

  She frowned, but didn't argue. "Three months ago they tried to kidnap me. I tried to fight, and almost destroyed a street."

  "With what?" her dad asked, and folded his arms.

  She threw a glance down the hall. Seeing no one, she ignited a ball of flame in her hand. Her parents jerked at the sight, and she extinguished it before it was noticed. "With my magic," she said. "Since then I have been at Tryton's Academy of Magic learning to control it."

  Her dad's eyes bored into hers. "How long have you been a mage?"

  Tess's eyebrows shot up. "What—how do you know about the mages?"

  "Because that is part of what I do," he said with a sigh.

  "You knew about this?" her mom demanded.

  "Not exactly," he replied. Then he shook his head, and said, "Tess, what I am about to say is highly classified, and could land me in prison for sharing. However," he flashed a wry smile, "you apparently already know something about it so the CIA won't have grounds to charge—"

  "You're a spy?" Tess interrupted. She knew he'd worked for the military, but she'd never dreamed he worked for the CIA.

  "Of sorts," he replied. "Your mother was as well. That's actually how we met."

  "Mom?" she asked. And Tess thought that she had secrets.

  "I'm sorry we didn't tell you, honey," Kate said.

  "So the guns, the weapons, all of it was because of . . . what you did?"

  They nodded in unison, and then her father said, "My agency tracks and gathers intelligence on foreign countries, and up until two years ago that was all I did. Then I was promoted to a position high enough to merit learning about the mages. A handful within the agency have such positions, but even they know very little."

  "So you spy on the mages?" Tess demanded.

  "Hardly," he said. "That's reserved for the Mage Investigation Office. From what I've heard they can't seem to gain credible information. Anytime they get close it just seems to evaporate. We know that they—you—exist, but not much beyond that." Then his gaze narrowed. "We're getting off topic. How long have you been a mage?"

  "I found out the day they attacked me," she said defensively. "Before that I thought I was just stuck in summer school."

  "What was that . . . thing," her mother asked, and pointed to Tess's necklace.

  "A grend," Tess said, and then whispered to the steel creature, "It's okay, Stel, this is my family."

  The necklace rose from her neck and seemed to sniff the air. Apparently deciding that it was safe, it morphed into a small bird and soared around the room. It paused to examine the fogged art. It hovered close to it, and a small light blossomed above it, as if it were trying to decipher what the image portrayed.

  "What's a grend?" Jack asked.

  "An energy intelligence," Tess replied. "It's like a sentient piece of magic. They choose to bond with someone and stay with them. It's like a pet." Tess heard a sound in the shop, and said urgently, "That's enough, Stel. I promise you can come out later."

  The bird issued an annoyed chirp but obediently flew back to her neck. A moment later it had returned to its former shape.

  "How could you have been a mage in the first place?" Jack asked, interrupting whatever Kate was going to say. "One of the things we do know is that children from non-mage parents can be mages, but their magic usually manifests from an earlier age."

  Tess swallowed, unsure if she wanted to reveal the truth. Sidestepping that, she said, "Magic can be partially or completely bound. Mage parents typically use a partial binding so their children can use simple magic growing up, but not enough to inadvertently cause harm. Sometimes a parent can bind a child's magic completely, in which case the binding breaks close to their sixteenth birthday."

  "So your magic," her mother said slowly, "was bound? By who?"

  Tess took a bite of her ice cream, which had started to melt as it sat forgotten. The cold in her mouth had no impact on the heat she felt rising to her neck. She didn't want to answer. She wanted to lie, or avoid the question so she didn't have to face it. Ever since she'd found out she'd avoided thinking about it. Now the truth stared her in the face. Then she recalled something that Hawk had said to her.

  Truth shared becomes truth believed.

  She'd questioned Hawk before about why he told her so much. That had been his answer. At the time she'd wondered why he didn't hold back like they did in the movies or books. For better or worse, Hawk's treatment of her had elicited a great deal of respect on her part—and trust. If he could risk telling her everything, then she could risk trusting her parents.

  Swallowing the ice cream, she raised her chin and fought to get the words out. "They said that . . . that you . . . weren't my real parents."

  Her mother blinked in shock. Her dad sat back in his chair as if he'd been struck. Guilt washed over Tess, and she continued, "They said they placed me with you because your daughter had lung problems, and died soon after being born. Don't you remember how I recovered so fast? Didn't you ever question it?"

  "Do you believe it?" her mother asked. She didn't meet her gaze.

  On impulse Tess reached across the table and clasped her mother's hand. "Whether or not it's true, you are my parents, and I couldn't ask for more trusting ones." A thought crossed her mind and she gathered the moisture from the air into her free hand.

  At her direction the water rose and changed shape, until it formed a reasonable likeness of Kate and Tess, gathered in an embrace. Unwilling to leave him out, she added more liquid until her father wrapped his arms around both of them. Her yearning to let her parents know what they meant to her flowed into the liquid, until the girl in the center began to cry. With a burst of power she pulled every bit of warmth from the water, freezing it solid in her palm. The ice figurine's features glistened with emotion and frozen tears. Gingerly, she slid it across the table and placed it inside her mother's hand.

  "You are my parents—I don't care what the truth is."

  Kate's eyes were moist as she clasped the ice statue. Then she asked, "Where do we go from here?"

  "I don't know," Tess said. The doubt was evident in her voice.

  "You are my daughter," her father said, his tone rigid. "And I trust you—both your statement of who you are, and who you choose to be. Now, all of this does not explain why those men came after you."

  Tess fumbled with her answer, unsure of how to explain the larger view of who she was. She was saved from answering as another figure entered the alcove. Tall and well built, his hair was black but streaked with red. The black leather jacket he wore made him appear more menacing than usual. At first glance he looked in his late thirties, but Tess knew him to be much, much older.

  Tess breathed a sigh of relief and rose to her feet. "Hawk, how did you find us?"

  He flashed a smile that conveyed relief at her safety. But his eyes held a simmering anger at the attack. "Who else? Iris got me the message and told me where to find you."

  "And who are you?" her father as
ked. He and her mother rose in unison to face him. Tess noticed that both had palmed their guns.

  "This is Hawk," Tess said quickly, "and he's a friend."

  "Sit," Hawk said with a disarming smile, and settled into the open chair. "There is more we need to discuss, starting with what your daughter hasn't told you."

  Chapter 3: Survival

  Sinking into a seat, Hawk said, "We don't have much time, so I'm afraid I will have to be somewhat blunt."

  "By all means," her father said, and folded his arms. "I prefer the direct approach anyway."

  "Excellent," Hawk said. "The world you live in is based on a lie, that magic does not exist. Over the last six thousand years the mages have gone into hiding to avoid the wars that they had caused. Your daughter is the one meant to unite the two worlds, and bring the mages from their self-imposed exile."

  "How?" her dad said. "How can our daughter do this?"

  Hawk didn't comment on the emphasis."Because she is a unique mage, and can do every type of magic. She is an oracle, and a very powerful one at that."

  "Is that how she can . . . fly?" her mother asked.

  Hawk nodded. "Among other things. For now, I'm afraid the rest of your questions will have to wait. It's imperative that I take Tess to her school immediately. The ones who came after her think she is dead, but won't for long. Once they figure out she survived, they will come after her again. Her school is the only safe place for her right now—ˮ

  Her father and mother were both on their feet, but her dad managed to speak first. "No one is going to take our daughter from us."

  His tone sounded like a threat, and his eyes flashed with the hint of violence. Tess's mother responded in kind.

  "Why would she be safe with you and not with us?" her mother demanded. Her hand casually slipped to her back again, and wrapped around the hilt of her gun.

  "Mom—"

  "No, Tess," she barked at her. "This is not for you to decide. We are well trained to protect you, and will not hesitate to eliminate any threat. Jack, we should go. Whatever is going on here we can figure out once we get her to a safe house."