Sentinels of creation a.., p.30
Sentinels of Creation: A Scion of Amber Light, page 30
A single image. The dire wolf standing beside Kellan, both surveying a distant battle field. Cara trust.
“Go!” yelled Kellan, and spun around. Cara burst out from the Sentinel’s protective shielding and his claws dug into the rocky ground as he propelled himself up the hill. Kellan thought he might actually piss himself as dozens of creatures converged on him from every direction. “Now Jarvis!” he screamed. In some quiet corner of his mind, Kellan marveled at how much he actually did sound like a scared little girl.
A thick cord of Chaotic energy burst from the valley below. Kellan felt his stomach twist as he poured what remained of his shielding back into its river bank. He immediately drained it again, momentarily noting how Nurisha stood upon her rock, chin raised. She’s braver than I am, he thought. Here we go, time to level up!
Chaos ripped through him and Kellan met it with all his remaining Ordered power. The two opposing forces began to repel each other, but Kellan gritted his teeth and visualized himself with Micah those many years ago.
He heard his master’s words as Micah stood beside him. In this place, you can do the miraculous if you only have the will.
“Not just there, my old friend,” whispered Kellan, as he steeled his will. Time froze and in his mind’s eye Kellan saw images of stars at the very instant they were born from darkness. Violet power exploded outward in an increasing sphere consuming everything around him. It drank in the ambient Universal energies animating his attackers and converted them to raw Creation. The power continued to build within him and Kellan heard himself laugh at how good it felt. Ghouls and skinwalkers fell like cordwood, then burned in violet flame. He watched as Cara continued toward the lone figure atop the hill, then noted all the Universal power flowing into the necromancer. I wonder, thought Kellan, and he felt himself reach for it. The amber power began to bend toward him.
Stop! It was Nurisha’s voice. Release what you hold and seek no more. Kellan rejected the thought outright and felt a hunger as the power continued to bend toward him. My Sentinel, it is not for you. Release it now or all that you love will perish. Now is not the time. You approach a line you must not cross. Not now.
Kellan felt himself continue to trudge up the hill as waves of Creative power blossomed around him. It would be so easy to reach the top, drink in all that amber light, destroy the necromancer and—. He paused, thinking, —and what? Kellan shook his head as if trying to clear a violent dream. “No, I don’t want this. This is not me,” he cried.
Release it, my Sentinel.
Kellan closed his eyes and emptied himself. The power vanished and he wobbled as it left. He took another uncertain step and saw two figures before him.
The man looked decidedly unremarkable. He wore clothes similar to Kellan’s own, although seemingly of better quality. The necromancer appeared to be in his late middle years with salt and pepper hair, olive skin, and thin lips that were set in a line. His eyes glowed a brilliant amber.
He gave a mirthless laugh. “Your power seems to have left you, Kellan Thorne.”
“I gave it away,” replied Kellan dully. “It…wasn’t for me, at least not now.”
The necromancer shook his head. “Well, Sentinel of Order, I don’t think you will have a later.” He glanced down at the dire wolf at his side and asked, “Will he?”
Cara looked at the necromancer and then at Kellan. The Sentinel’s heart sank. The dire wolf stared at him dully, eyes glowing a dim amber. Kellan saw no recognition in them. The necromancer took a couple steps forward and smiled. “Oh I know all about you, Sentinel of Order. I know about your Soulborn. I even know about Caraid Uasal and his mother, Lupa. You see, they are infused with Universal power and—” the necromancer smirked, “I control the living and the dead infused with such energies.” Kellan held up a hand, but nothing happened. “You have no power,” growled the necromancer, “and I will not give you time to gain it back. Caraid Uasal!” shouted the necromancer, “Kill!”
The dire wolf leaped forward. He phased directly through the necromancer with teeth bared, then stopped a foot in front of Kellan, who just stared in confusion.
“Cara?” Kellan asked.
The dire wolf tilted his head down and opened his mouth. Something large, dark, and wet fell against the rocky floor. The severed heart pulsed twice, then fell still.
Kellan looked past the dire wolf to the necromancer, who collapsed a moment later, a gaping wound in his chest. The Sentinel knelt down before his friend and felt the wolf’s warm tongue lap at his face. Images flowed and Kellan snickered through tears of gratitude. “You’re right, names given freely have power. He probably shouldn’t have used the full name I gave you. Doing so broke his control, didn’t it?”
The dire wolf tilted his head back and howled. Caraid Uasal. Cara protect.
Kellan wrapped his arms around the dire wolf’s neck, kissed his muzzle, and whispered. “Caraid Uasal, noble friend, indeed.”
Soil crunched and Cara lifted his head to look past Kellan. His tail wagged and the Sentinel turned in time to see Nicolae crest the hill. He held Margaret cradled in his arms, her head lulling against the vampire’s chest. Kellan noted how Nicolae’s nose twitched as his eyes moved to where the necromancer’s heart lay in a small pool of blood. Kellan stepped forward to block Nicolae’s view and his brow furrowed with concern.
“Maggie’s fine, or will be after some rest,” said the vampire, in response to Kellan’s unvoiced question. “She emptied herself for you, Sentinel of Order.” His tone hinted at reproach or anger.
Kellan couldn’t tell which, and didn’t much care either. He held out his hands, then said, “I’ll get her home.”
Maggie’s eyes fluttered open when the vampire shifted her to Kellan. “Nico,” she murmured, “Nico, did we—”
He brushed a lock of black hair back from her face, and kissed the young woman’s forehead. “We did,” he whispered.
“So, Kellan is—”
“The one holding you,” added the Sentinel. “You must have drained yourself bone dry, Maggie.”
“Bone…dry…” she said, her voice trailing off at the end.
Kellan smiled warmly at the younger Karnstein, then looked up. His eyes traced past Nicolae and noted how the eastern horizon had begun to take on color. He nodded at the lightening sky. “Unless you’ve learned to day-walk in the last six hundred years, I suggest you make your way into that nifty castle of yours.”
Nicolae nodded unconsciously, but kept his eyes firmly fixed on Margaret as she shifted in Kellan’s arms. “I told you,” said the Sentinel, “I’ll get her home, but if you let the sun turn you into a pillar of flame, I’ll have to deal with a pissed off Karnstein.” Kellan chuckled. “The only thing worse than that, is a pissed off Daugherty, and I don’t need either.”
Nicolae started to turn away, then paused. “How did you do it?”
Kellan arched an eyebrow. “Really? Dude, the sun is—”
“Not rising for several minutes yet,” broke in Nicolae. “You keep forgetting that I am over six hundred years older than you, Sentinel of Order. I know the sun well, and it knows me.”
“Fine,” huffed Kellan, “play the age card, but if you think that swirling ball of fused hydrogen and helium knows you, then you’re still the dumb kid I met on a fifteenth century battlefield.”
“I was speaking metaphorically, and you are deflecting. I deserve better.”
Kellan sighed. “It really wasn’t a big deal.”
Nicolae pointed at Kellan’s face. “You don’t look human now, and you did an hour ago, well mostly.” The Sentinel pinched up his face in confusion, and Nicolae said. “Your eyes, Kellan. They held a ring of violet before, but against what I know to be their natural blue, it was not immediately noticeable. Now, there is but a sliver of blue amongst the violet. Humans do not have violet eyes, Kellan Thorne. What did you do?”
Sentinel Kellan, said Jarvis, I can adjust the prismatic effect of your contacts so your irises appear normal. Would you like me to do this?
“Yes,” said the Sentinel.
“Yes? Yes, what?” asked Nicolae. Kellan’s eyes blazed to life briefly, then faded. The vampire cocked his head, then stared at the Sentinel with open suspicion.
Kellan smiled. “It’s really nothing, just a temporary effect of fusing Order and Chaos.”
“Margaret didn’t seem to think it was nothing. She was desperately afraid for you. She said that Creative energies caused irreversible changes. Both her mother, our queen, and the Soulborn believe this to be so.”
Kellan pursed his lips. “How do you know what Mircalla or Shannon believe?”
“Margaret told me.”
The Sentinel offered his most genuine smile and said, “Nicolae, you keep telling me how old you are, but after all those years, have you not learned that the women worry too much?”
The vampire stared at Kellan for several beats, then burst out laughing. “The women? I believe the women would have quite an interesting reaction to that statement.” He waggled a finger, “That is if you were foolish enough to make it in their presence, which I know you are not.” Before Kellan could object, Nicolae turned to face the eastern horizon just as the sun peaked above it. He leaned forward and kissed Margaret again, then locked eyes with Kellan. “Keep your secrets, Sentinel of Order, but do not think me a fool for I am not. Keep also your promise to see my Maggie safely to Eden.”
“I will,” said Kellan.
“Good, and if it is not too much trouble, please provide me a means of travel tomorrow evening. I do not have Margaret’s gift of flight and wish to join her in Eden. Perhaps you or the Soulborn could open a portal?” He glanced again at the horizon, then added, “Or Ares a circle?”
“I’ll figure out something. We’ll get you there when she wakes up. It’s the least I can do.”
Nicolae nodded, “Yes, it really is, but thank you nonetheless.” Before Kellan could respond, the vampire blurred and was gone.
Fast projected Cara.
“No shit,” said Kellan, and the dire wolf projected another series of images.
Kellan shook his head. “No, all vampires are not that fast. They all develop different goodies as they get older. Apparently, Nicolae’s gift is super-speed.”
Cara snorted, then let out an extended whine along with another series of images.
“Ok, I’m doing it,” said Kellan. He balanced Margaret’s weight against his left shoulder and gestured. An emerald beam split the twilight and rotated into place. Through it, the Sentinel could see Eden’s guardian raise his head and look at them. “Let’s go Cara,” huffed Kellan, “even with sparkle enhanced muscles, Maggie’s starting to get heavy.”
Cara leaped through, then bounded up to the guardian angel. Kellan followed.
“Hey Deckard, be a good guardian and open up the gate will you? I’ve got my hands full.”
“Sentinel of Order,” intoned the angel, “Eden greets you, enter and be welcome.”
“Yeah, thanks, but I can’t enter because I’ve got an unconscious vampire Sentinel of Chaos on my arms. Can you open the gate?”
“Deckard has never opened the gate,” said the angel.
“Ok, but can you?”
“I do not know,” he said, then looked pointedly at Cara.
“Deckard,” huffed Kellan, “Maggie’s really getting heavy and Cara doesn’t have opposable thumbs so he isn’t opening anything. Please just open the bloody gate, pretty please.”
The ground rumbled as the massive angel walked past Kellan and Cara. He reached down and grasped the ornate gate’s handle, then pulled. It opened easily. The guardian’s face split into a grin. “I opened the gate. Deckard can open Eden’s gate.”
Kellan brushed past him and said, “You sure did, and good on you, mate. Thanks.”
Cara leaped past the Sentinel and disappeared into the wooded garden, but not before projecting another series of images as the gate closed behind them. Kellan ground his teeth, then yelled after the dire wolf. “No, I don’t know what teaching him to open the gate will mean, but thanks for giving me something else to worry about. Dogs are a man’s best friend, my ass.” Kellan raised his voice. “I know you can hear me. It’s bullshit, Cara! Bull-fraking-shit.”
The Sentinel laughed despite himself as his mind rang with the distant response. Cara son of Lupa. Cara dire wolf. Cara not dog.
Chapter 31
A Garden Party
Mircalla slipped out of her tent as Kellan approached, carrying Margaret. Outwardly, she retained an air of aloofness, but the Sentinel knew better. Over the past five years his eidetic mind had drunk in countless facial and bodily movements from dozens of interactions with the vampire queen. Mircalla Karnstein was terrified and that took some doing.
“Maggie’s fine,” Kellan called and saw the queen give an involuntary swallow. “If she’s like me, she’ll probably sleep until late tonight or tomorrow.” He snickered, “which means she’ll probably be up ordering everyone about in half that time.” Mircalla nodded and gave a quick, perfunctory, smile. Kellan sighed. “Calla, I said she’ll be fine. Now, be a good queen and move the flap out of my way so I can get her inside.” She did, and Kellan ducked into the tent.
The Sentinel paused as Mircalla joined him. “Holy crap,” said Kellan, “when did you get the upgrade, and where do you want me to put her?”
“Her room is upstairs, first door on the right,” said the queen.
Kellan started heading for an ornate staircase, when a deep voice boomed from his left. “What do you think of it, Sentinel of Order?”
Kellan glanced over and saw Ares poke his head over the back of a large couch that faced an even larger projection television set. “I think, Sera, that you are really pushing the boundaries of what’s considered a tent. This thing is half bigger-on-the-inside TARDIS and half Hermione Granger escape tent.”
Another head poked over the couch back, this one belonged to Meghan Daugherty. “Don’t bitch, nerd boy. I had Sera upgrade your tent too. Not as much as this one, because you aren’t a queen. It’s pretty amazing, though. For the record, Sera didn’t think he could conjure something this nice either, because he’s limited to war related stuff. I thought differently.” Kellan had started up the stairs, but she called up after him. “You see, I’ve been watching you bumble around these past five years. You’ve broken or bent just about every rule you were given, so I was pretty sure as long as Sera thought this was a tent, it would be a tent. So, if it weren’t for your constant bumbling—”
“Yeah, I get it, Meg, thanks. Right now I’m going to bumble Maggie into her bed so she can rest up.”
“Okay,” said Meghan, her voice muffled by the couch, “Oh, and Shannon should be here any second. I’ll tell her you’ve taken Maggie to bed.”
Kellan heard the mirth in the nephilim’s voice, but decided it wasn’t worth the effort to reply. Instead, he shifted the sleeping Sentinel of Chaos, twisted the knob to her room, and slipped inside. He looked around and couldn’t keep himself from smiling. The room was huge, with a large canopied four-poster bed at one end. To the other side lay a second door, which Kellan assumed went to an equally improbable adjoining bath. Fortunately, the bed was unmade so he gently laid Margaret on the crisp, white, sheets, then pulled another sheet and thin comforter over the sleeping woman.
Maggie’s eyes fluttered open. She seemed to stare right through Kellan, but called his name, and said, “Where are…”
“You’re home, Maggie. Just rest.”
She struggled to sit up, eyes becoming wild, “Nico? Where is Nico?”
Kellan pressed her back, and kissed her forehead. “Your handsome Wallachian prince is sleeping the day away in his fancy castle. We’ll fetch him once you wake.” A contented smile crossed her face and she snuggled deeper into her pillow. Seconds later, the Sentinel of Chaos’ breathing deepened and she was fast asleep.
Kellan turned toward the exit, then paused when he caught sight of Margaret’s computer desk. He walked over to it and crouched down. “Spoiled rotten,” he muttered, as he stared enviously at the Mac Pro and matching display. He glanced at the bed, then back to the softly purring computer. “I wonder if they let it get eaten by Eden’s cycles,” he whispered, then nodded to himself. A sly grin crossed Kellan’s face and he whispered, “If they do, I know someone who may just have to sneak in and pinch this fine piece of computing equipment before everything goes poof.”
“Eden’s cycle has just begun, Sentinel,” said Mircalla before adding, “and this is its twelve day cycle so we have over ten days before the next reset. Why do you ask?”
“Oh no reason,” replied Kellan innocently.
“He wants to steal Maggie’s PC before everything poofs away, don’t you, nerd-boy?” asked Meghan, laughing.
Am I bugged or something, thought Kellan anxiously, then narrowed his eyes at Meghan. “It’s a Mac Pro with matching XDR display, not a PC. If you didn’t have devil-blood you’d know that,” corrected Kellan.
Meghan crossed her booted feet and leaned against the wall. “So you noticed it? The PC. You noticed it sitting there like a gleaming jewel, you just had to have.” A catlike grin spread across her face, “then you turned into a jealous geek.”
“No!”
“Stop poking the bear, my Valkyrie,” intoned Ares. “Kellan knows everything within my conjured tents remain within them when the tents are dispelled.” He locked eyes on the Sentinel meaningfully, “He also knows that all such items return when such tents are next conjured. Isn’t that right Sentinel of Order?”
“Pfft,” sputtered Kellan indignantly, “Of course. Everyone knows that.”
“You two are full of shit,” muttered Meghan, then said, “Why don’t you just buy one, Kellan? Aren’t you worth a few million by now with all that gold and time traveling?”
