A Pillar Of Light (The War For Ezryn Book 2) - R.S. Penney

A Pillar Of Light (The War For Ezryn Book 2) by R.S. Penney

Book excerpt

Creepy Cave

Desa wasn’t sure what to expect when they summoned her to the Scrappy’s control room. About an hour ago, Jack had called to say that they had passed through the portal that led back to her universe. After that, it was nothing but silence while she waited for the fleet captains to decide on their next move. Assuming, of course, that you could call Claire’s endless chattering “silence.”

The control room had many of the same glass devices that were used to fly the shuttles and activate the SlipGates. Anna called them computer terminals. Finding the other woman seated in the big captain’s chair filled Desa with an overwhelming sense of relief and joy. Anna had survived! Mercy be praised!

Despite her fatigue, the other woman climbed out of her chair and shuffled across the room, spreading her arms for a hug. Desa was about to accept, but Claire beat her to it. The girl slammed into Anna at full speed.

“You’re all right!”

Closing her eyes, Anna smiled and nodded. “I’m okay,” she murmured. “It takes more than that to knock me out.”

She turned her head, her gaze settling onto Desa, and Desa was amazed to find no malice in those deep, blue eyes. Amazed and quite thankful. Truth be told, she wasn’t sure she could be so forgiving if their roles had been reversed. “How are you doing?” Anna inquired.

“I’ll be all right.”

Anna extricated herself from Claire’s embrace, giving the girl one last squeeze on the shoulder, and then shambled over to join Desa by the door. “We wouldn’t have won the battle without you.”

Leaning against the wall with her hands shoved into her duster’s pockets, Desa blushed and studied the floor. “Your crew did all of the hard work. I just Infused a few weapons.”

“And found the Overseers’ weak spot.”

“It was nothing,” Desa insisted. “Does this mean we’ve returned to my world?”

“Well, we were hoping you would be able to tell us.”

Anna guided her toward the large sheet of glass on the wall opposite the door. Jack was bent over one of those computer terminals, conversing quietly with a willowy, young woman who nodded along with everything he said.

He straightened as they drew near, turning on his heel and greeting them both with a grin. “Glad you could make it,” he said. “Tell me something, Desa. Is this your planet?”

She was about to ask what he was on about when the sheet of glass changed colour. It darkened, depicting a sky full of stars with a globe hanging in the middle. It took her all of three seconds to realize that she was home. Oh, the geography was somewhat different from what she would have expected after years of looking at maps but not so different that she didn’t recognize the lands she had travelled for years.

Clouds drifted over the Eradian continent – a vast expanse of fields, forests and mountains that stretched for hundreds of miles from its eastern coast to its western shore. She traced the Vinrella River from its origin in the Thobaran Mountains to its terminus at the Bay of Sidil.

Further south, she found the place of her birth, a small island off the eastern shore. And if she squinted, she could almost imagine that she saw Aladar’s bustling streets and majestic buildings. Well…Maybe not so majestic. Not after everything she had seen on this fool’s journey. But they would get there one day. There would come a time when Aladar rivalled places like Toronto or Denabria.

The Southern Coast bordered the Sapphire and Emerald Seas, twin bodies of water separated only by a narrow land bridge called the Halitha. She had sailed each one several times, but only now did she realize how well they had earned their names. The waters of the Sapphire Sea were a pure, sparkling blue while the Emerald Sea had a slightly green tint.

That land bridge was the only way into the largely unmapped continent of Ithanar. If you wanted to go on foot, that was. Desa could still remember the legends she had heard as a child, tales of men who ran off to Ithanar and never returned. Many people believed the land was cursed. Even in her youth, she had never shared that particular superstition, but any mystique the place might have possessed had long since vanished for her. She had been to Ithanar twice and survived.

Her heart sank when she realized that Kalia and Nari were still down there somewhere. At least, she hoped they were. It had only been three days since she went through the Gateway, but could she be certain that the same amount of time had passed here? What if something had happened to them? She put such notions out of her head. Today was a day of victory.

Covering her mouth with both hands, Desa felt her eyes flaring wide. “Sweet Mercy!” she whispered. “You did it! You really did it!”

Anna put a gentle hand on her shoulder, and that broke the last of Desa’s self-control. To her great chagrin, she started weeping; her tears flowed freely. She wanted to run, to hide away in her room – she hated the thought of anyone seeing her like this – but she never got the chance.

Jack and Anna wrapped her up in a big, fluffy group hug. Which only worsened her embarrassment. She was about to say as much, but then Claire joined in. Despite herself, she started laughing. Sometimes, the absurdity was just too much.

The soft hiss of a door opening announced Larani’s arrival. “Ah. I take it we’ve found the right world.”

Turning around, Desa sniffled and wiped a tear off her cheek. “Yes,” she croaked. “I can’t thank you enough for…for helping a stranger.”

A grin broke out on Larani’s face as she stepped up behind the captain’s chair. “You might say that helping strangers is the reason why the Justice Keepers exist. We will protect your people from the Overseers, Desa. You have my word on it.”

Jack stepped forward, clearing his throat authoritatively, and fixed his steely gaze upon Larani. “Boss lady,” he said. “I’d like to formally return command of the Scrappy to you.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

Now, it was Jack’s turn to grin, and Desa couldn’t help but notice the slight flush in his cheeks. “So, I can hop in a shuttle and take my new friend down to find her partner.”

Lowering herself into the big chair, Larani crossed one leg over the other and regarded them all for a second. Finally, she nodded. “Very well. But please be cautious. We cannot be certain that the Overseers aren’t lurking nearby.”

“The Overseers!” Desa yelped. “They must have ships in orbit of the planet!”

“No,” Anna said. “That’s the freaky part. We scanned the area quite thoroughly. There are no ships here. We even accounted for the tricks the Overseers use to hide from prying eyes.”

“Oh. Well, that’s good, I suppose.”

“No, it isn’t,” Jack interjected.

“It isn’t?”

“When the Overseers do what you expect, it’s bad,” Jack said. “When they don’t do what you expect, it’s worse.”

A soft sigh escaped Desa as she hung her head in dismay. “You will forgive me, Jack, but there are times when I wish you all had stayed in your universe.”

“No forgiveness necessary,” he said. “Let’s go.”

***

The shuttle ride was quick. Within about ten minutes, Desa was looking through the large, canopy window at the hill that led up to the Gateway. She knew it was silly, but she had been hoping that she would find Kalia and Nari waiting there, signalling to her with a friendly wave. But of course, there was no one. Just a silent hill. It looked the same as it had a few days ago. Did that mean that not much time had passed?

“I’ll set her down over there,” Jack said. He was at the controls this time; Anna was still too tired to fly. And yet, she insisted on coming along anyway! Sweet Mercy, even Claire wanted to join this expedition, a proposition that Larani emphatically rejected. And rightly so! Bringing children along for such dangerous journeys…Desa had made her fair share of mistakes, but that was never one of them.

Her thought drifted back to Brendan. She couldn’t help but wonder if her baby boy was safe. If her fears were true – if years had passed here on Ezryn while she had spent only a few days in the other universe – did that mean that he was a man now? And if so, did he even remember his mama?