The Prophecy (Saga of the Chosen Book 1) Read online

  “We Shifters don’t like physical contact – especially by strangers we don’t trust” Raoul stated softly with a glance directed at Tasia, jumping whole-heartedly into the little game with Duncan. “It usually leads to mayhem and blood.”

  The Alpha had just upped the ante with his comment. It was a subtle warning to the wizards that there was a limit to the Shifters’ patience. Tasia observed the unmistakable glint of amusement in the gold eyes. He was having fun bantering with Duncan and seemed to have thrown off his edginess from the elevator ride. The younger Guardian stiffened noticeably at the Alpha’s words.

  He strode away from them to the older Guardian and the guards, his body stiff with affront.

  “I foresee a quick capitulation now” Duncan remarked with a straight face, drawing Tasia’s attention. So, the English Shifter wasn’t as staid as he looked – in this too, the inner man was very different from the outer shell he showed the world. He seemed to possess a surprisingly impish sense of humor.

  Something of her realization must have shown on Tasia’s face for the Alpha chuckled softly.

  “Many have underestimated Duncan at their own peril, witchling!”

  Before an astonished Tasia could respond to his words, they were being ushered through the enormous steel door into The Vault after a cursory pass through a metal detector. The Shifters had been right. The First Wizard’s orders did indeed hold sway on the guards at The Vault.

  The main chamber of The Vault was a large semi-circular room with doors set close together around its perimeter. The Guardians escorted them unerringly to one of the doors. A narrow corridor led to a smaller rectangular chamber with five rows of tall display cabinets arranged neatly.

  “This is the chamber from the surveillance tape” the Guardian said briefly to the Alpha.

  Tasia followed Duncan to the leftmost row of displays while the Alpha and the older Guardian headed for the one in the center. The younger Guardian trailed behind Tasia and Duncan. The displays were a combination of glass, metal and wood. The artifacts behind the glass displays were the only ones visible. Tasia assumed that the type of cabinet for each artifact was determined by its unique magic capability. This chamber, she soon realized, contained artifacts from the Ancients, a group that possessed some of the most powerful magic in the Chosen world. A sign near each artifact had its name noted neatly in English and French. Some had a small description under the name explaining its origin and mythology - these were usually in other languages. Tasia guessed that the languages were native to the origin of each artifact.

  They made their way slowly down each aisle, noting the names and sometimes pausing at the artifacts in the glass cases. Though she could sense no magic residue, some of the artifacts gave off strong whiffs of their inherent magic. The entire room fairly reeked of old magic to someone like her sensitive enough to pick it up. She was convinced that this was why the wizard had broken in here twenty-four years ago. This room certainly had a plethora of artifacts of enormous interest to any unscrupulous Magick powerful enough to work magic relics.

  When they reached the end of the second aisle, their progress slowed by Tasia’s natural interest in the artifacts, their Guardian shadow had disappeared. Duncan cast a comprehensive glance around before moving on to the next aisle while Tasia remained to scrutinize an innocuous looking mud-colored urn to read the details of its bloody history. Engrossed in reading the material, Tasia gave a visible start when the younger Guardian materialized suddenly beside her to address her.

  “What is your name, wizard?” he demanded peremptorily in a low voice. “Why do you travel with Shifters?”

  Tasia composed herself, readying to give him a glib response without answering his questions. She had no intention of revealing her name to the Guardian even though the name, as all else about her, was a façade carefully built up by her father. Duncan materialized silently beside her before she could respond.

  “She is Pack” he stated succinctly. “If you have any questions about her, feel free to ask the Alpha Protector.”

  He beckoned Tasia to follow him and they moved on to the next aisle, leaving behind a thwarted Guardian whose face could not quite conceal his silent fury. They made their progress slowly down the center aisle. This time Duncan was careful to stick very close to her. There was no sign of the Alpha or the Guardians although Tasia was now aware that the Guardians watched them like hawks. It was towards the end of the fourth aisle that she caught a whiff of what they were here for – signs of powerful magic spilled here in the past. Tasia made sure of her prognosis before attempting to draw Duncan’s attention discreetly. Tasia got the feeling that Duncan knew something was up even before she gave him a discreet signal. Hawk had told her that it was hard to hide secrets from a Shifter. Nothing could be hidden from an experienced Shifter - every hitch in breath, every increase in heartbeat, any sign of fear, nervousness or excitement. Tasia nodded imperceptibly at Duncan in response to the implicit query in his calm gaze. For a moment, he stared blankly back at her, probably taken aback by her discovery. Then he gestured at her to follow him to the last aisle.

  “Raoul” he said quietly in a conversational tone, his voice directed at no one in particular.

  Within minutes, the Alpha strode over to join them with both Guardians trailing after him.

  “Do we have time for one more round of the aisles?” Duncan asked Raoul, his eyes steady on the Alpha.

  “Yes” Raoul assented. “Shall we walk them together?”

  The five of them trailed to the end of the last aisle before backtracking to slowly traverse the rows again until they had completed a sweep of all the displays. Tasia, although flushed by excitement and success, was hyper aware of the Guardians’ silent presence. She followed Duncan’s lead, blindly following him through each aisle and trusting in his ability to throw the Guardians off track about her discovery. He allowed her a little extra time towards the end of each aisle although the only one she really needed it at was the fourth one. The magic residue was strong around two of the artifacts – one on display and one locked away in a metal cabinet. Tasia made sure to note the names of the two artifacts carefully while she played her part in foiling the Guardians.

  Only once they were out of The Vault and heading to the airport in their rental car, did the Alpha turn his attention to her.

  “You were successful” he remarked, his tone one of confidence in his prognosis.

  “I did detect magic residue around two of the artifacts” Tasia acknowledged.

  “Powerful?”

  “Very powerful” she concurred quietly. “Certainly enough to not dissipate completely for a few hundred years.”

  Three pairs of eyes focused on her, including Hawk who glanced at Tasia in the back through the rearview mirror.

  “Which artifacts?” Raoul asked.

  “The captions indicated Sinotar’s Scepter and the Stone of Mortality.”

  “The Stone of Mortality” Duncan exclaimed in astonishment. “Are you sure, Miss Armstrong?”

  “Yes” Tasia confirmed. This particular relic had been visible through its glass cage - an innocuous looking hunk of rough-cut and blackish stone the size of a small plate. Tasia had guessed at its lethalness by the name conferred on it and its very presence in The Vault.

  “What kind of power does this Stone possess?” Hawk inquired curiously.

  “The power to leach magic off any Magick who comes in contact with it” Raoul responded. “On prolonged contact, it even possesses the ability to drain all power from a Chosen. Its name is particularly apt - a Chosen without any magic is as good as dead.”

  Tasia could understand the general bemusement of the three Shifters in the car. That such an artifact existed was not surprising. There had even been rumors of the existence of some Ancients who could drain magic with just their touch! However, the idea of a Chosen and especially a powerful one breaking into The Vault to enable the sacrifice of her considerable power was mind-boggling.

&
nbsp; “What would Lady Bethesda want with such an artifact?” Hawk voiced what everyone else in the car was thinking. “Why would a wizard voluntarily give up her magic?”

  There was silence in the car for no one had any response to Hawk’s very pertinent question.

  “I’ve never heard of the other relic. Duncan?” Raoul asked after a short pause.

  “I know nothing of the Scepter but Sinotar was an Ancient rumored to possess the ability to store his power in inanimate objects.”

  “Hmm” Raoul responded. “How do we find out what the Scepter’s ability is?”

  “There is the Library of Magic in San Diego although that too is under wizard control” Duncan responded thoughtfully. “After today, if any Shifter shows up to look at references in the Library, you can bet that the wizards will be all over it like a bad rash. I’m guessing that you’re not keen on sharing this information with the wizards, Raoul?”

  “The only person who gets this information is Faoladh since he is the one who asked me to look into this” Raoul said matter-of-factly.

  “He might be a good source to ask about the Scepter” Duncan suggested. “He’s very knowledgeable about Chosen fable and lore.”

  “And if he is unfamiliar with this particular relic, he’ll know how to get the information without tipping off the wizards prematurely” Raoul remarked thoughtfully.

  “Could you be mixing up the artifacts?” the Alpha asked Tasia after a short pause. “If they were placed next to each other, it would be hard to pinpoint which one had the magic residue.”

  “It would be hard indeed” she agreed. “These two were separated by three other artifacts that had no magic residue on them that I could sense. I checked twice.”

  “The tape showed two people breaking in. Perhaps they used an artifact each” Hawk suggested.

  Tasia, who knew that the magic in The Vault was not from a Blutsauger, stayed silent. She’d done what the Alpha had asked of her. This was something that the Shifters would have to figure out without her help.

  “If I’m right about the Scepter having the same kind of power that Sinotar was rumored to have, I’m not sure either of these relics would be of any use to the Undead. They don’t have magic in them in the traditional sense that the rest of the Chosen do, so neither the Stone nor the Scepter would recognize their magic. A vampire’s magic comes from a very different source” Duncan remarked.

  It was probably one of the reasons her magic could distinguish between the Undead and the rest of the Chosen, Tasia mused silently. She knew that a lot of her Chosen brethren did not even consider the Clan to be fellow Magicks. The vampires’ inability to get along with the other Chosen did not help their cause either.

  Two nights later, Tasia returned to her room at the Lair to find Hawk waiting for her. She hadn’t seen him since their arrival back in San Francisco in the early hours of the morning after their eventful visit to The Vault. Tasia had been surprised and very appreciative to find a grilled eggplant panini and some cold Turkish salad waiting for her on the aircraft on her way back from The Vault. Fernando, the Shifter co-pilot in charge of meals, had utilized his time well by raiding a late night Turkish establishment on her behalf. Overwhelmed by his thoughtfulness, Tasia had thanked him profusely, much to the amusement of the other Shifters. Fernando had murmured something about the Alpha’s commands before making his escape into the cockpit. A tad puzzled by his cryptic comment, Tasia had made haste to wolf down the panini and some salad before sheer exhaustion could lay its claim on her.

  Sometime during the flight, she remembered Hawk covering her with a blanket. The only other memory she had from that night was Hawk helping her trudge up the stairs to her room at the Lair in the early hours of dawn. She’d fallen exhausted into her bed for a few hours of sleep before heading to work in the early afternoon. Somewhat to Tasia’s surprise, she had actually managed to get some rest on the flight back. The nightmares that had been steadily plaguing her had thankfully decided to give her the night off.

  “Alph’s holding a meeting in the Pack Room, Tasia. He’s requested your presence” Hawk informed her with a grin.

  “I live to please him” Tasia rolled her eyes irreverently to return his grin. “Give me ten minutes to get out of these clothes and I’ll come up.”

  “I’ll wait for you, shall I?”

  “Sure, come on in and make yourself comfortable” Tasia invited him into the large cozy room she’d grown to love.

  This time, a Shifter stood guard outside the Pack Room. Tasia now understood that a Shifter sentry by the door meant Pack business in progress inside. The Pack Room was not crowded tonight – only two Shifters awaited them. The Alpha stood at his favorite position by the mantel in conversation with Duncan, in his usual chair beside him. Hawk guided her to a chair by the two Shifters.

  “Duncan was right about the Scepter” the Alpha stated without any preamble. “Faoladh confirmed that the Scepter, if operated by the right Magick, can be used to transfer and store magic in an inanimate object of choice.

  “The right Magick?” Hawk inquired.

  “One with enough power to enable the artifact as well as the requisite knowledge to work such a powerful relic” Raoul replied. “Lady Bethesda was a powerful wizard and a Guardian. There is no doubt that she knew how to work that level of magic. The wizards have also confirmed that prior to the break-in, that chamber at The Vault had not had a visitor for at least sixty years. Aside from periodic visits by their cleaning crew, of course. So, it is very likely that the magic residue the witchling detected was left behind by Lady Bethesda.”

  “If we assume that she used both the artifacts in the thirty minutes she spent in that room, the only way for it to work would mean using the Scepter before the Stone” Duncan pointed out.

  That made sense, Tasia realized. If the wizard had used the Stone first, there would be very little magic left to store. Then, using the Scepter would be pointless.

  “I can understand her use of the Scepter to bottle up her power. From all accounts, she was aware that the Chosen were gunning for her. So, she hid her magic somewhere safe for a future when she could get to it. The Stone, however …” Raoul’s voice trailed off.

  “It doesn’t make any sense” Hawk blurted out. “Why break in to a high security location like The Vault to give up your magic. There are easier ways to commit suicide.”

  “I agree, Hawk” Duncan interjected calmly. “I think it is safe to assume that Lady Bethesda was not interested in committing suicide as you put it. There is something else that we’re missing here. She targeted those particular relics for a reason. We just haven’t figured out what it is.”

  “Would not using the Scepter drain her magic anyway?” Tasia inquired hesitantly. “Why use the Stone if most of her magic had already been depleted.”

  “The Scepter would not drain all of her magic” it was Raoul who answered. “Just the really powerful stuff. Remember, a substantial amount of power is needed to simply work the Scepter and control it. My guess is that she used the Scepter to bottle up every last bit that she could for a rainy day. But for some reason, that wasn’t enough. She wanted to get rid of the rest of her magic.”

  “She used the Stone to drain the rest of it” Duncan commented. “That would make sense. The Stone needs no magic to work it. All it needs is contact.”

  “Yes” Raoul pondered the puzzle. “The question then arises - why did Lady Bethesda want to get rid of every last drop of her magic!”

  “The very magic that made her a Chosen and a powerful one at that” Hawk interjected.

  There was a short silence before Tasia spoke up softly.

  “To hide” her words were cryptic. “Sometimes it is easier to be Si’ffa. A Chosen whose magic is shackled is one without an identity. A Si’ffa’s lot is much better.”

  In response, three pairs of Shifter eyes gravitated to pin her with their collective gazes.

  Tasia had used the colloquial term that Chosen used for hum
ans. Si’ffa was short for Sina Faeytar. It meant ‘not special’ in the tongue of the Ancients. The Ancients had interchangeably used Cheroska (chosen) and Faeytar (special) for centuries to refer to their Magick brethren.

  “The more powerful the magic that flows in your veins, the harder it is to hide from other Chosen” she expanded as gold eyes bored into her. “It is much easier to hide in the general population of humans if you are like them and have no magic. We Chosen use our magic in small ways every day without even being aware of it – over time, it becomes a part of us. Not the big powerful magic that draws attention but the small everyday magic that is integrated into our concept of self. This also makes it easier to track a Magick down if you know the kind of magic he or she is capable of. Perhaps Lady Bethesda intended to hide from the Chosen and this was the only way she knew how to accomplish it.”

  “It is a plausible explanation, Raoul” Duncan spoke up. “She saves her magic for a future when she’s ready to come out of hiding. Then she uses the Stone to deplete all her remaining power and goes to ground.”

  “Hmm” Raoul reflected silently. If their premise was correct, then the rumors of her being alive suddenly seemed more plausible. It seemed that the Lady had made elaborate plans to disappear before the wizards could corner her. Plans that included breaking into a maximum security Chosen installation to deplete all her power for the foreseeable future. A considerable sacrifice for a powerful wizard, made to ensure that nothing could potentially betray her presence to the other Chosen; until the time that she was ready to reveal herself. Raoul was certain that anyone with such an intricate and bold scheme to evade capture had definitely made elaborate plans for the future fought for so tenaciously. For the first time, he wondered how she’d managed to slip away from the Guardians sent in to capture her. Pulling the wool over the eyes of ten Guardians with all of her magic depleted had to have taken a fair bit of planning and ingenuity.