Discovery: Altera Realm Trilogy (8 page)

They walked in silence for what seemed like forever before they came across a small motel. It looked about as inviting as the Bates Motel, but Syney wasn't going to start complaining now. Hunter stopped in front of the manager's office and looked down at the ground as he muttered a few curses.

"What?" Syney asked, glancing around.

He took a deep breath, and his face grew a few shades redder. "I don't have any...money."

"Oh, well, yeah. That makes sense...considering." She pulled her emergency card out of her pocket but pulled it away when Hunter went to take it. "This comes with strings. I've been really patient, but I'm done. I need answers."

Hunter looked into her eyes. "I'm not supposed to be the one to answer them for you."

"Well, you're all I've got right now," Syney said, handing him the card. "So deal with it."

He sighed and took the card. "I'll try," he said, before stalking into the manager's office.

Once in the room, Syney broke open a package of Devil Dogs and munched one down.

Hunter slowly sat down across from her on the other bed and eyed her. "What is that?"

"Devil Dog," Syney mumbled through her full mouth.

He made a face. "That's disgusting."

Syney swallowed. "It's delicious." She tossed one at him. "Try it."

"No, thank you." He moved the bag to the side. "Junk food is horrible for you."

Syney laughed. "Really? I was attacked by a guy who turned into a panther. Then I shot purple lightning out of my hands, and right now I'm having a conversation with a wolf, and you want to lecture me on junk food? No, I don't think so."

To Syney's surprise, Hunter's expression softened. "How did you know?"

Syney blushed under his gaze. "Know what?"

"About me?"

"That you're...the wolf?" She shrugged. "I don't know." She thought back over the day. When did she realize it? She looked back at Hunter and smiled. "Your eyes. They're the same."

Something nagged at the back of Syney's mind—something she had heard. What was it? Her smile fell as she remembered the crazy psychic. 'Trust his eyes. You'll know him when you see them." Had Madam Racksha been right? She had been right about the amulet, why not about this?

"What happened? Are you all right?" Hunter asked, concern lacing his voice.

Syney nodded. "Fine. I just thought about something." She paused. "A few nights ago, I saw a psychic. She told me to trust your eyes. It's just a little weird. I think she was crazy. Kept calling me the One."

Hunter stiffened. "The One?"

"Yeah. It was all very Buffyesque," Syney said with a laugh.

Hunter didn't return her smile. He just stared at her, his face beyond serious.

Syney's own smile melted.
"Am
I the One?"

Hunter nodded.

"And you're a werewolf?"

"Lycin."

Syney nodded. "I'm going to assume I'm not going to some academy."

"We were bringing you to the Village. It's...outside of the human world."

"Outside? Like another dimension?"

Hunter nodded. "Sort of. It's here but at the same time not here."

Syney stood up and paced. "And I'm the One what exactly?"

Hunter opened his mouth but only sighed. "It's complicated."

"Then un-complicate it."

He hesitated. Syney could almost see him thinking. "OK," he began. "A long, long time ago, there were five great races that ruled Altera Realm—the one where the Village is. There were the Magic Users; their Protectors, the Lycins; the Shifters; the Daemons, and the Vampires. They all lived in a shaky alliance, until it finally broke. No one is sure how it started, but the Daemons
took out the royal family of Magic Users, and then the Magic Users sent the Daemons to hell and cursed the Shifters, who had helped the Daemons to only change into one creature."

Syney stared at him, her mouth open. "What?"

Hunter sighed in frustration. "You know it's true, after everything you've seen today."

Syney looked away. He had a point, but Daemons? "So how do I fit into this?"

"The Vilori line was succeeded by the Crystallianna line. There was some distant blood connection, but many Magic Users believed no one could replace the Vilori line. They were beloved. And then, a few years after the tragedy, a Magic User who could see the future predicted the coming of a Vilori—a lost daughter of the line who would come and end the hundreds of years of war and devastation. She would bring Altera Realm back to its glory."

Syney slowly locked her gaze on his. "And you think I'm her?"

Hunter nodded. "We know you are."

Syney shook her head. Things seemed to be connecting—the psychic, the amulet, her real parents. Could all of this be true? Syney bit her lip and grabbed the pen and paper from the nightstand. She slowly drew the symbol from the back of the amulet and handed it to Hunter.

He looked at it. "This is the Vilori family crest. Where did you see it?"

"On an amulet that was left with me when I was abandoned as a baby." She took a shaky breath. "My mom just gave it to me."

"That must have been the trigger," he said softly.

"The trigger?"

"After the prophecy, the queen put a spell in motion—one that would detect the Chosen One once her powers were activated." He paused. "That was a long time ago. Some had started to believe that it didn't work, or that the prophecy was fake. Altera Realm is much older than this Realm."

Syney nodded and slowly sat down. "How are you sure...that I'm her?"

Hunter looked away from her. "I can feel it." He paused and looked back. "All Protectors can feel their charges."

"You're my Protector. And you're a...werewolf."

"Lycin," he corrected.

They stared at each other for a moment in silence.

"This is all a little crazy," Syney said finally.

Hunter nodded. "It's a shock. I understand." He looked around. "Is there a phone in here?"

"I think I saw a payphone out by the office. Why?"

"I have to call Raine and let him know where we are. The longer we're away from the Village, the more dangerous the situation is." He stopped at the door. "Please don't let anyone but me in."

Syney nodded. "I promise. No one but you."

Hunter nodded and left.

Syney exhaled a deep breath and lay back in the bed. She still wasn't positive she believed his story. But then again who would make up a crazy story like that? It was so off the wall that it had to be true. All she knew for certain was she felt completely safe with Hunter—the wolf and the man.

Cass

As consciousness enveloped her body, Cass imagined someone squeezing her arm and even pulling it at times. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and saw stars. There were hundreds in the dark sky. Altera Realm didn't have many stars, and the ones that were visible were green and very faint—nothing at all like this sky with its white, twinkling stars.

"They're beautiful, aren't they?"

Cass dragged her gaze to the left and focused on Becca, who sat in a red armchair. Cass nodded and looked around the room. It was a bedroom, comfortably furnished and decorated, the centerpiece being the wooden four-poster bed she was lying in.

"That skylight was the first thing I put in this room. I just love the stars."

Cass looked back at Becca. "You're a Magic User."

Becca looked at Cass and smiled. "What gave me away? The stars?"

"You called me 'Princess.' "

"Ah, so I did."

Cass sighed and looked over at her hurt arm. It was wrapped in a green towel with a glowing red mark on it. She recognized the mark as a spell, by the way it was glowing, but she never had actually seen that particular one. "What kind of spell did you use?" she asked, sitting up.

Becca leaned forward. "It's a healing spell—mainly used for cuts or broken bones, nothing life threatening."

Cass's eyes went wide. "A healing spell? Those were lost hundreds of years ago."

"Not lost, more like ignored. All Magic Users still have the ability to learn the old magic."

Cass shook her head. The old magics weren't talked about, let alone practiced. She had learned about them briefly when she was in school. Back when there was peace in Altera, the Magic Users' powers were much stronger. They could heal, manipulate, and even transport themselves to other places. But all was lost once the fighting had begun, once the One had been lost in time.

"But how?"

Becca sighed. "I can't really explain it to you. There are many books on the old magics. Mostly you just have to believe it can work."

Cass felt a burn deep in her arm. She watched as the spell's design glowed a little brighter before disappearing.

Becca stood and approached the bed. "This won't hurt, but you should keep still. Your bone can break more quickly just after the healing." As she spoke she slowly lifted the green towel.

Cass slowly lifted her arm and tentatively bent it. There was no pain, but she felt an odd tingling deep within the bone. "Wow." She looked into Becca's ice-blue eyes. "That's amazing."

Becca laughed and perched on the bed. "Just magic."

Raine knocked softly on the open door and entered room. "How are you feeling?"

Cass smiled. "Much better. Becca is amazing."

Raine shot Becca a quick look. "We should be going soon."

"Have you heard from them?"

Raine nodded. "She's safe."

Cass got out of bed quickly. She stopped and looked down at Becca. "I'm truly grateful for your help."

Becca smiled. "It was my honor, Princess."

Cass headed after Raine but stopped to look back at her healer. "Would it be all right...I mean...can I maybe... Can we talk again some time?"

Becca's smile fell as she took a deep breath. "I'm not sure that would be a good idea." She paused. "But...don't tell them what we spoke about, and we can possibly speak more."

Cass took a deep breath, swallowing all of her questions, and nodded. The look in Becca's crystal-blue eyes screamed caution and...trust? Weird, since they had just met, but Cass seemed to feel it; it was almost like her trust compulsion with Raine, her Protector.

"Thank you again," Cass said, and headed out of the room to follow Raine. Her day seemed to be getting stranger and stranger but in an oddly wonderful way. She would get out of the Village and come back to see Becca. She just had to.

Mellisandrianna

The council meeting was even more tense than usual. It had been more than a week, and there was still no word from the retrieval party sent out to greet and bring the Chosen One back to the Village. The normal, everyday topics usually brought up during council meetings were pushed aside while preparations for the Chosen One were made. Where would she sleep? When would her crowning ceremony take place? Would she be named "seated queen" or usurp Mellisandrianna's own throne as the long-lost queen? This was exactly what the queen had been afraid of. They were already practicing their blind devotion, and the Chosen One hadn't even stepped foot in their Realm yet.

"We should perform some sort of test," Mellisandrianna said calmly, silencing the room.

Every eye at the large round wooden table before her stopped and turned to her.

"Mother, I'm not sure I understand," Helenandrianna, the eldest of the crowned princesses said, confusion clouding her light-blue eyes.

Mellisandrianna turned her own blue eyes on her before slowly making eye contact with everyone in the room. "The magic that found her is old. Who's to say it even worked properly? And after all the mess with choosing a Protector, you can all see that some steps must be taken, for the good of the Village."

There was some mumbling of conversation among the present Magic Users. Mellisandrianna knew she would have her way, but it would be easier to have a consensus on the topic.

"I agree, Mother," Adandrianna said, her perfect nose shifting higher in the air.

Mellisandrianna smiled at her middle daughter. She would be a perfect heir to her long legacy, but there was much in their way first.

An older man, his hair graying and his voice graveling with age, cleared his throat. "What exactly did you have in mind, my queen?"