I literally tripped over it\u2014the object of our search, our temporary holy grail.<\/p>\n
It was a jar a little larger than my hand made of enameled silver. It was decorated in Celtic knotwork, the irony of which I suspected Phelan might have appreciated if he hadn\u2019t been stuck inside of it like a genie trapped in its bottle. I found it tucked into a hollow between slabs of concrete near the center of the building, settled on the cracked and dirty gray and white linoleum titles, barely visible in the dim.<\/p>\n
The world was quiet\u2014too quiet\u2014in the slowly growing light of impending dawn, a cold, still winter morning without even a breeze. Even years later, thinking about it is enough to make me shiver and there have been a lot of winter mornings between then and now.<\/p>\n
For a moment, it was like someone had punched in me in the chest\u2014my heart refused to beat, my lungs refused to function. I must have made some kind of sound because Thom and Seamus were there a few seconds later, Leinth trailing not too far behind.<\/p>\n
To this day, I don\u2019t know what I said. I just pointed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs that it?\u201d Thom asked.<\/p>\n
Seamus, grim-faced, nodded slowly.\u00a0 \u201cIf I\u2019m any judge. Leinth?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout a doubt.\u201d She knelt down next to it, tentatively reaching to touch it.<\/p>\n
Lightning crackled from its surface into her hand and she jerked back with a yelp.<\/p>\n
\u201cHell,\u201d I whispered. \u201cWhat was that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA trap,\u201d Lienth said, rubbing at her singed fingers. \u201cEither it will do that to everyone, or she\u2019s keyed it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can do that?\u201d Thom murmured.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust like setting your wards,\u201d she said, straightening. \u201cNow what do we do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe she\u2019s only keyed it to you or your bloodline,\u201d Thom said slowly. He crouched down and reached for it.<\/p>\n
I opened my mouth to tell him not to, but it was too late. His hands closed around the urn and the world exploded in a flash of bright silver-white light.<\/p>\n
The silence of the morning shattered with the sound of our screams.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I literally tripped over it\u2014the object of our search, our temporary holy grail. It was a jar a little larger than my hand made of enameled silver. It was decorated in Celtic knotwork, the irony of which I suspected Phelan … Continue reading