The grand hall, within which was the king and his court, reminded Devin Shephard very much of some ancient treasure trove. It was because of the pillars, Devin believed, six great spires of pure diamond. According to legend they had been excavated a thousand years ago from the hidden city that lay deep beneath Taelliwey. The king’s crown jewel had supposedly been taken from the same place.
The king’s throne rested upon a step and was the highest point in the room. The throne itself was carved from pure Benezia, and the murky purple colouring pulsed softly from the crystal surface. The king was hardly the man that people imagined him to be, for few had ever actually seen him, even from afar. Around the palace could be seen no portraits of him painted within the last twenty years. He was bitter about his age and very aware that his years were coming to an end. He listened more to his court than he ought to, and he cared only that his nation regained the power it once had when he was a child, which was a long time ago.
He was rather in a hurry on account of having no heir – only a daughter. Princess Elena stood fair and beautiful among the court, who stood on either side on the grand hall. She was a kindly woman, and at eighteen years, she was old enough to become queen regent after the king passed away. There were many, however, who feared she did not possess the audacity to rule with the fire to achieve the king’s wish. If the other nations did not back down then a war would surely follow, maybe not soon, but surely enough it would come. Taelliwey needed a great and powerful ruler, and Devin feared that she was not it.
But Devin had not been summoned to court because of the princess, or even the king himself, for the item of interest today was the mysterious red rock than Devin’s people had uncovered, which he now named the ‘Fire Stone’. He explained to the king all that he had uncovered about the stone so far, particularly the mysterious power it seemed to wield.
The king listened intently. “And these stones, you say there are five of them?” he asked.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Devin was kneeling before the throne. “There is still much to be learned about these miraculous objects, however, and if I may be so bold, I believe that with all five of them in my possession I could harness an elemental power far greater than that of our Benezian Crystals.”
The king stroked his short trimmed beard and hummed softly in thought – he never cared if he kept others waiting, as he was quite an impatient man. And then he spoke again. “I want these stones, Master Shephard. As you are aware my kingdom is on the brink of war, and if I am to prevent it, or win it, I am going to need this elemental power you speak of. Henceforth you will be reassigned from your position on the ‘Anomaly Task Force’ and given a new team, and you will devote yourself entirely to finding these stones.”
It was as Devin expected, and although he was still unsure about leaving the business of the anomalies behind, he was more determined than anyone to uncover the secret of these elemental stones. He bowed low before the king, as per proper etiquette, and said, “I live to serve, your Majesty.”
One thing Devin already knew about the Fire Stone was that it reacted extraordinarily to other great sources of energy. During his summons he had kept it in his pocket – in fact it hardly ever left his person – and although he refused to show it, it burned like a hot coal for the entire time that he stood before the king. A Brother Stone is here! He thought. He refused to believe that the energy from the throne of Benezia was enough to activate his Fire Stone. All the while he could not pull his attention away from the crown jewel. It was set within the centre of the king’s golden crown, and was black and crusted with veins of pink and violet. They say the kings of Taelliwey are blessed with longer life, and perhaps this is why.
If it were true and the crown jewel was indeed an elemental stone – and there was much evidence to support the idea – then Devin would only need to locate three more, and focus on obtaining the crown at a later time. But the thought of stealing the crown did not even phase him, he was so filled up with excitement. The possibilities are endless! But with Noveria on the brink of destroying itself, perhaps I could hold the power to save it. I can’t do it alone though, and I have not nearly enough knowledge to enter this crusade. I need to learn everything about these stones before I even dare to use one!
It was late afternoon when Devin – and the stone – left the royal palace and headed home. He decided to complete the most of his research on the stone away from the prying eyes and ears of the king’s agents, in case he discovered anything troublesome. Devin lived not far from the palace, in a moderate sized flat that he kept to himself. He was walking through the quiet streets when he picked up on an extra shadow behind him. Good heavens I’m being followed. He spied a look at the mysterious man when he could, and learned that there were in fact two men inconspicuously tailing him. He did not want to alarm them that he was suspicious.
After four right turns that led him and his followers in a neat little circle, Devin was certain. They’re not king’s men for sure, and they don’t look like thugs. Could they be after the stone? If that was the case he would not only have to get rid of these men, but find out what their business was. He decided to make a quick stop.
Going somewhat out of his way Devin recalled the address Sam had given him some time ago. He approached the headquarters of Sam’s private band of freedom fighters and promptly knocked on the door. He knew Sam wasn’t home – he was off in Surra dealing with the Arial Basilica business – but he was surprised when Juliet Haines opened the door.
Her time doing military jobs had changed her – she seemed less petite and more muscular, perhaps due to her change in dress code – but she was still very pretty. She had a dimpled smile. Devin could hardly see the streak of blonde in her brunette hair when it was tied up as it was.
Juliet was surprised that Devin would just drop in, but she did not react strangely at first to their initial exchange of pleasantries. Of course, Devin had no idea if his followers could hear them talking, so he tried to come up with a reason for wanting to visit Juliet. Meanwhile he discretely showed her what he had written on his notepad. It said: Don’t react. I’m being followed. Need help. Ta!
Without speaking Juliet knew what he intended, so she waved him good-bye and he returned to the street, which by now had become quite dark and smeared with twilight. Feeling rather smug, Devin began to whistle and he led himself and his followers to a dead end. He then turned around and faced them. “Funny that we were all heading to this same alley!” he cried, and then Juliet and her men – for they were now more or less under her command – came upon these mysterious figures and brought them to the ground. When one struggled he was struck over the head with a baton. “Easy!” Devin told them. “We need to find out where they came from.”
That’s when he noticed something interesting. He stepped forward and took one of the men’s wrists. When the man struggled he was struck again over the back. “I just want a peep,” said Devin. It was now a little too dark to see clearly, but in the flickering light of a lantern Devin made it out to be a tattoo of a skull with green eyes. “Interesting…” The man then pulled his arm back and receded.
Juliet and her men slipped shackles upon them. “We’ll detain them for now, I think, and find out what we can from them later.”
“Thank you Jules.” One thing that Devin knew for sure was that the safety of the stones had been compromised, and there was likely someone within the palace who was in league with these two captives. I have to get the stone to safety! But Arlandra was out on his mission and Sam and Christel were still chasing their thieves. He considered turning to Juliet and her freedom fighters to guard the stone, after all they had no direct ties to the king, in fact, they were coming terribly close to becoming their own faction. He smiled. Jules it is!
Then, out of the night there came a sudden and terrible explosion, right by where Devin was standing. A great inferno suddenly consumed most of the street and the front of several buildings were set alight. From the force of it Devin was thrown off his feet, and he felt his flesh singe at the heat. It was as if some fiery tornado had begun to rage before him, roaring and turning and coughing clouds of black smoke. Devin was too shocked to move let alone escape it.
And then the blaze disappeared and Devin realised that his ears were ringing terribly from the sound of the blast. The night was far blacker than before, and his face – which felt a little cooked – hurt when he squinted to try and see. Though blurry, he saw Juliet was okay however some of her men were tearing off their shirts that were still burning away. The two captives were no more than piles of ash – they had been completely incinerated.
Holding his bleeding ears Devin tried to stagger away but his legs buckled beneath him. Then he saw the dim figure of a man, and heard a muffled sound that he interpreted to say: “This is mine.” With his head spinning and his ears ringing he could hardly make sense of it. He soon found that the Fire Stone was no longer in his pocket. He felt like he was about to black out, and meanwhile the flames began to roar again, louder and hotter and angrier. Any moment now he would be able to fit snugly into an ashtray!
That is when, from afar, a new sound triumphed over the raging blaze; the shattered melody of an unskilled violinist. The tune was slow and eerie and rather unpleasant, but as the seconds flew by it grew louder and closer. It was then accompanied by a voice that laughed madly into the night, and it started to sing into the gloom:
Where am I? Little fly!
In the sky! My oh my!
Run away! Run away!
My toasty Shephard’s Pie!
Soon enough it was the only thing Devin could hear, and it was as if the music that was played that night had doused the flames around him. It gave him enough strength to crawl towards Juliet. Now they and the rest of Juliet’s men ran away from the flames, but they were still under the spell of the mysterious song. Whatever it was I think it saved our lives, Devin thought. When his immediate safety was secured a more troubling thought struck him. Good heavens! The stone is gone!
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