The Shadow Kingdom

Chapter 18ii

"They would if Prince William had the power to execute them just for looking at her wrong." Adrian winks.

I let Adrian's voyeuristic stunt slide as the elevator doors open. The sublevel unveils the militaristic face of the Seven Hills Manor. There is a huge compound filled with training areas, weapons stockpiles, and a Titanic sized vault. Some of the people have faces I recall seeing; Iris, Amanda, and Vanessa from the Neptune Empress mission are all here. For every soldier on the surface, there is at least one more down here.

I thought Diana's toy collection was impressive, but this place has an arsenal that could invade North Korea. They have stockpiles of everything from M134 miniguns to Javelin anti-tank missiles. "Where do you get all this from?" I ask.

"Chinese and American military mostly." Adrian explains. "We used to have a deal with House Ashcroft. We give them my blood; they give us weapons. Today, we've found better suppliers."

The vault resembles something from Fort Knox. Adrian uses a combination of biometrics and a twelve-digit code to open it. I expected to find stacks of gold bars or a series of safe deposit boxes, but instead, there is a large study. The walls are lined with bookshelves that have thousands of volumes. In the center of the room are tables with various antiques housed inside glass boxes. "What is this place?"

"You wanted to know how we control the weather. This is the answer." Adrian shows me a small, very old gyroscope. "This is the Mens Tempus, the Mind of the Seasons. These are called Timeless Conduits; they are magical artifacts, each with a unique ability. The Mens Tempus can control the climate within a certain area."

I explore the room, and there are three of these artifacts, each kept preserved like a museum exhibit. "Do you create the Timeless Conduits?"

Adrian shakes his head. "There was once a fifth major house called House Claudius. They existed in Europe and Central Asia since the time of the Roman Republic. Only they knew the secret to creating Timeless Conduits, and they sold them all over the world as House Shang sells my blood.

"About a thousand years ago, House Ashcroft and House Hassan went to war with them. Ultimately, House Claudius was defeated, but instead of allowing their knowledge to fall into the hands of their enemies, they burned their own libraries. The knowledge has been lost ever since.

"Some of their creations still exist like the ones you see here. All the major houses have a small collection, and they treasure the remaining Conduits like family heirlooms." He points to a small lens in another glass case. "This one is called the Oculus Veritas, the Eye of Truth. If you look through the lens, it will reveal secrets about whatever it is at which you are looking."

"What kind of secrets?" I ask.

"It will tell you if someone is supernatural for one." He answers. "It can also tells you if a person is friendly or hostile, depending on their intentions at the moment. Here, let me show you." Adrian carefully opens the glass case and picks up the Conduit with gloves. He hands me the lens, and I look at Adrian through it. His outline has a brilliant white lustre around it with a blue shade over his body. "The white glow means that I'm a spellbinder, and the blue means that I am friendly."

I grin as I put it back in the glass case. "I don't need a magical lens to tell me that."

He points to the third Timeless Conduit. "This is the Ferrum Vastator, the Iron Destroyer. It is a sword that is able to magically reshape itself into different types of weapons. Give it a try." The sword looks as if it weighs a ton, but in my hand, it feels light as a baton. "There is a small dial built into the hilt. Turn it, and the sword will transform." I turn the dial, and the Ferrum Vastator morphs from a long sword, into a broad sword. I turn it again, and the broad sword morphs into a great sword. Hmm, cool. "It is a novel toy but not particularly useful in modern warfare."

My gaze turns to the shelves. "What are all these books?"

"These are some of House Claudius's texts that were saved from the burning. They are written in a dead language; it's a twisted mixture of Latin and Ancient Greek. Our linguists have worked for centuries to decipher their secrets, but even now, they can only understand a handful of phrases." I cock my head and laugh wildly. "What's so funny?" Adrian asks in astonishment.

I kiss him tenderly. "My last boyfriend tried to impress me with his video game collection." I smile, thinking about how much my standards have improved.

Adrian appreciates the contrast just as I do. We leave the vault, and he takes me to the training floor. It is many times the size of Adrian's exercise room. "Scarlett, it may take years for House Ashcroft to let this go if they ever do. For my sake, I want you to spend as much time with Diana and her friends as possible." I pull my hand away and scowl. "I know that you and her are not on the best of terms right now."

"She lied to me! She sent me to blow up a ship with a hundred innocent women onboard, and she knew that Nathaniel would come after me. She says she doesn't consider Augustus to be her father, but she will do anything he tells her to, including throwing me under the bus!"

"She will also do anything I tell her to do. And I told her to turn you into a Siren. You start tomorrow."