Destiny's Kingdom: Legend of the Chosen (44 page)

“Avè!” Quade screamed the word, scraped his knuckles against the wall. The last time he’d been there he’d been stuck on the outside of this wall too, but Trina’s amulet had ended up gaining him entrance. Now, without her amulet and no key of his own, he was stuck, and more desperate than ever. “Let me in, Avè! You must be able to hear me, you must know that I’m here! I did what you said! I took the lararium and it attacked the Keystone! You must help me!”
 

Nothing. No response, not even a wind or bird or stir of the sand. Anger rose inside him, got the best of him, and he slammed both fists into the wall, which this time did not give, and he felt the pain of the stone concussion down into his forearms, the scrape of uneven rock against soft flesh. He leaned full onto the wall, reached to grip the pendant again, his mind now blank, for pain and anxiety so the surface showed him nothing. Glancing to the distance he saw the place where he’d landed his ship when he’d been there the day before and without realizing where his mind wandered, the mirror brought an image of
Duplicity
into view, and he saw Clea jumping from the hatch in the darkness, running across a field, sapphire eyes flashing with determination. Quade dropped the pendant once again, the pain from seeing Trina now mixing with the hopelessness of seeing Clea, and he wanted to see no more. He rested his head against the wall and it hurt, jagged and sharp. He felt deserving of the pain, and for a moment he rested in that discomfort combined with the riotous knot in his belly. He thought of his time with the Avè, the strange settings and changeable scenarios. He remembered the granite table, the unfamiliar night sky, the standing stones. He felt the lararium hum inside his cloak and he looked down to the glow of bright light that escaped through the heavy fabric wondering why it had decided to hum just now. The sound somehow comforted him within his pain, so he listened, letting his mind empty of thought. His fingers wrapped around the edges of the pendant that hung around his neck.

“I need to see the Avè.” Quade’s mind communicated this without his willing it, his soul whispering what he so desperately needed. A swell of power blew over him and to his right he knew a portal had opened. Would it take him to P’cadia? Eyes shut, holding fast to the calm that had brought him to this state of mind, he took a deep breath. Taking a step back from the wall, he turned toward the energy, hand still clasping the mirror, and walked into the portal.
 

Coming September
 

Destiny’s Kingdom: A Prophecy Revealed

Available at all Major online book stores