Part 25 (1/2)
He left us there, s at his oit
The rest of the day passed as it usually didwith ossipand it also passed as it usually did not I had begun trying to craft in ood idea We practiced shooting pale shing fits ”It'll happen I know that now,” said Lia She winked at uess,” I said I wasn't so sure Lux's pep talk was like a band-aid I needed a new one now
”Where there's sly
At dinner Ballard ith the rest of the olves I saw hi like the rest of the Meadpalace didn't exist He, Paolo and Locke were sitting together Ballard shook his head forcefully, like he didn't want to hear anyot up and left him, after which Paolo paid attention to his steak, and Ballard stared at a spot on the wall
Most of the va to the Meadpalace You saw theaged people in conversation, keeping mostly to the that each particular race had soo, because thetired of each other
I wondered if every Wiccan, olf and vaht about it, yeah, we kind of all were At least we had that in coo back to et there I was hailed by someone I had not seen in a while
It was Asher, and he was uilty about so, or was about to, like he had carnivorous butterflies gnawing at hi
I said, ”Hey, what's up, Asher?”
”Coht to the space in the wall, I had seen hi from once before And there were the stuccoes with the sculptures of the warriors on theer hold which would allow hieway
”This is a cryptoporticus,” he said ”It leads to the columbarium”
Crypto-what? Columbarium-who?
”Hurry! We'll be safe there!” he said
I followed after Asher Ballard's and Gaven's vouching for him wasn't the only reason why I felt safe; I had come to trust Asher He took a torch from a bracket on the wall and whispered secret words to it A fla in a small tunnel which went on for as far as the eye could see
I saw various niches in the walls, Asher said were called loculi They had urns tucked into them
”There are the ashes of the warriors that were killed when a great as fought here, Halsey Rook to start that Halsey Rookain, was he?
”It was their sacrifice that repaired originally relationshi+ps between shapeshi+fters and Iuided h tunnel after tunnelwhat looked like trenches You could still see where the ghosts of soldiers had fought and died
”Where are we going, Asher?” I said
”There's no time Hurry!”
I hurried after hiot there, he entered into a circular rooround An oculus in the ceiling fed into daylight The Columbariu people stood in the corner, as well as other tombs ”The Five Fallen,” he said ”Five i Ros, in the royal colu pit,” said Asher
”So thisabout,” I said ”The tomb of his forebears The Columbarium But there are vampires?”
I asked Asher about this He said, ”Wethat is, shapeshi+fters and other Supernaturalshave not always hated each other Much Don't get place was selected to honor the pastin an atte”
In the center of the rooyptians used to bury their mummies in It looked like a man and woman had been sculpted on the cover of it
”Rhea Silva,” he said ”She was said to possess all eight of the Wiccan Virtues She found her true mate They rest now, in peace, at an eternal banquet”
The man and woman looked peaceful, powerful, old
”Asher I think I may be her,” I said ”This super witch they have all been waiting for I have disturbing nighto places When I asked Gaven about', olves feel before they change”
”I see,” said Asher ”You think you s have existed Before the change, as you call it, young warriors are possessed of their Animals in their dreams It is only natural”
”You mean, it will try and become one with me, that I may be a olf?” I said
Was that what theme? My Animal? Before I became a shi+fter?
”Who were your parents?” asked Asher ”Forgive me” He could see that he had made a fur paw ”So you, like me, Halsey Rookmaaker, are outcast, too You know, this animal may be your Other, or it s for you” He wanted to say ain ”If you are this One, then this would be your Mecca Rhea Silva was a true Level Nine Wiccan She was not any of the Virtues She was all of theed She was also a Witch shi+fter and she could See”
”You mean like you do? Is that why you are here? Did you seeso with me?”
”Camille asked me to come here,” said Asher ”She wrote to ht to look, even though her husbandand these were her orried that youHalsey needs to know, said Camille, for her own illumination, WHAT THESE THINGS ARE,” said Asher
”What what things are?” I said
Asher blinked
”Do you know, Miss Rookmaaker, who and what, the Dioscuri are?”
”I have heard that name before,” I said ”But I do not knohat they are”
”They are here with usin Roue is nervous They have sent their emissaries, the tins Two very deadly men Never speak to them”
”I haven't I won't But who are the Dioscurvy?”
”Dioscuri” Asher trailed his torch along the rounded walls of the olf to in two dimensions ”The stuccoes tell the tale of the First War,” he said ”The Dioscourges, on the other hand, tell the tale of the Second”
I didn't follow ”But what Second?” I said ”I thought there was only one war The First War You mean to say, there's another?”
”The Dioscuri have, indeed, begun to predict of late a second war,” said Asher
”You mean”
”They are Seers The most powerful kind But they are untrustworthy”
”But what are they?” I asked