Shadows Before the Sun

teach mankind. Those beings turned out to be the Elysians and Charbydons. The nobles had inspired the Mesopotamians and early Central Americans. The nymphs and fae inspired much of the Celtic pantheon, and so on . . .

It made one wonder what mankind would have been like had they not come.

“This was the model for the mythical Mount Olympus, the Elysian Fields, heaven . . .” Sandra added.

I dragged my gaze away from the splendor of Ithonia and stared at the oracle. She was smaller than me by almost a head, but her presence well made up for her size. Granted, I didn’t know much about her personally, and she liked it that way, but I did know the oracle never did anything without a price.

“Why are you here, Sandra? So you can’t see my future or Hank’s; it doesn’t explain why you felt the need to come.”

“I told you already.” She moved back from the view and began walking down the long colonnade, so tall and colossal it made us look like ants. “The mages’ league isn’t far from here. We should head straight to Fiallan. We’ll be detained outside of the inner walls until we’re cleared for admittance, so we might as well wait there instead of wasting time here.”

“No, you didn’t tell me already. Not really.” Her steps had gone swifter, until I was almost jogging to keep up. “Sandra. Slow down.” And still she went. “Will you just stop for a minute?”

Several passersby stopped—at least they listened—appalled by my raised voice. Guess that didn’t happen too much in paradise. But Sandra had stopped, too, so I ignored the curious looks thrown our way and edged us over to one of the columns, lowering my voice. “My partner is missing, dead if you want to believe the Circe, and right now he’s probably wishing he was. This isn’t a game or an adventure or whatever it is to you . . . and you can’t keep running away from giving me a straight answer. There’s too much at stake not to know your intentions. I won’t be going in blind like this.”

Frustration ballooned inside of me. Alessandra was two thousand years old. Did she even appreciate how precious time was for those of us whose life span was so small? Did she understand loyalty and love and family? Before we went further, I had to know her objective.

I heard whispers from people who passed by us. Oracle. The oracle. Clearly she was known here. Clearly from the tone, she was revered here.

Sandra pulled me deeper into the shadow of the column, her eyes glowing brighter than before. Ah. There it was. That Pissed Off Green I knew so well. “Okay. Fine. Here’s the truth. The only time I’m not able to see another’s future is when their fate is intertwined with mine in a significant way.” She let that sink in. “Our fates have collided. Mine, yours, Hank’s. I’m here because I must play whatever part Fate has laid out for me. That is the law of the oracle. And as much as I’d rather be back in my temple knitting a sweater for my python, I cannot break Fate’s Decree, trust me on that.” Her voice broke for the briefest of seconds. Then, she squared her shoulders. “Fate requires me to come and face my destiny and so that is what I must do. And, for the record, I’m not enjoying this any more than you.”

“So what if you refused to play your part, what then?”

“That never works, Charlie. Trust me. I’m old enough to know and let’s just leave it at that. I cannot escape my destiny. Neither can you.” She glared at me, daring me to challenge her.

And then it hit me. “You tried once before, didn’t you?”

“What?”

“To not follow this decree. You tried and failed. I can see it in your eyes.”

Her expression went stony, and her hands curled into fists. Then, she seemed to regain some control because her eyes went narrow and shrewd. “You are the most irritating human I have ever known. And let me put that into perspective for you: I’m two thousand years old.”

Yeah, a two-thousand-year-old know-it-all, I wanted to say back.

She swept around me, proceeded to the end of the colonnade, and then went swiftly down the wide marble steps.

“Well, that’s quite an achievement,” I mumbled, feeling a little offended. “Maybe I should add that to my resume.”

We went the rest of the way through the city in silence, which was fine by me. It was all very Utopian. Wide, clean streets. No machines or pollution. Gorgeous architecture that surpassed the great temples of ancient Greece and Rome. Only these buildings weren’t in ruins; they were majestic and pristine.

Don’t let the landscape fool you.

This place was a paradise, no doubt, but I was well aware that evil existed here just as good existed in the hellish realm of Charbydon. Looks were deceiving and I knew better than to be influenced by my surroundings.

“This is it,” Sandra said, veering across a wide square to a massive templelike building that took up one side of the entire square. “Your mage should be here.”

We jogged up the steps. The doors were open like they were back at the terminal—the weather here was always beautiful—and while the mage’s headquarters held priceless artifacts, books, and powers beyond belief, no need for a lock; the Elders here had other measures in place to secure their treasures.

Inside was a long main gallery, both sides lined with statues of mages holding staffs, books, orbs, and other arcane devices. The tall columns that supported the roof and lined the gallery were black as were the walls. Arched doorways led into rooms off the gallery, but it was the marble floor that commanded my attention and awe. It spread out like a perfect photograph of the night sky, like someone had stretched the universe flat and laid it on the ground, twinkling stars and all. The lofty ceiling was a mirror image of the floor.

Low voices, the soft swish of robes, and echoes filled the place, but it was all tempered by the space, a space designed to make one feel small and yet part of something greater, part of the cosmos, and open to the mysteries that lay within. Sandra, in her veil and robes, with those strange eyes, fit right in.

The delegates had been here, had employed the services of the mages who knew how to manipulate matter and energy, to take a person from one place to the next in the blink of an eye. For a hefty price, of course. There might be portals from one world to another, but there were no portals that linked cities within worlds. You traveled the old-fashioned way—by foot, by horse, by flight, by crafting, or you hired a mage.

I pulled out the itinerary Sian had originally prepared for me and Titus, using the same travel template the delegates had used, and proceeded toward the appointed room.

We were stopped several times by mages who recognized Sandra and greeted her with a reverence I knew she adored. And every time we moved on, she gave me a superior smirk, making me wonder which she loved more, the attention or getting on my nerves. “I’m surprised they aren’t asking for your autograph,” I said after the last admirer left us.

“Elysians might be godlike, but one gift they do not possess is divination. They have come to me for ages to get a peek at the future, and they’ve paid in riches you cannot even imagine in your paltry human mind.”

“Which,” I pointed out, “makes one wonder why you set up shop in Underground Atlanta of all places. Why not buy a small country and live like a queen?”

“Well, that particular information would cost you, now wouldn’t it?”

“Do you do anything without a price, Sandra?”

“I’m doing it right now.”

We passed libraries, apothecaries, classrooms, and with all the interruptions, I was pretty sure we missed our destination. I scanned the paper. “I think we were supposed to stop at the room we just passed . . .”

Sandra stopped suddenly and held out her hand.

“What?”

“Your itinerary. Give it to me.”

I gave it over, pointing at the paper. “That’s what it says for travel, it’s the ninth door down on the right. That’s also where they sell the grimwyrd I’ll need to . . .” She tore the paper and threw the pieces into the air. They floated down to the polished floor. “What are you doing?”

“Forget about the schedule, and the grimwyrd. You really want to shove a needle in your arm every day you’re in Fiallan? You’re traveling in style now. Watch and see what being celebrated three worlds over gets you. Perhaps then you will develop some respect for your elders.”

I gave her an unimpressed look. “Doubtful.”

Her lips quirked into a faint smile. “I knew you’d say that.”