The Prof Croft Series: Books 0-4 (Prof Croft Box Sets Book 1) Brad Magnarella (ink book reader txt) 📖

too strong. It compelled him. And in the end, it improved the likelihood of his demise. Just as the weapon was designed to do.”

I marveled at the power of the blade, but something continued to bother me. “I hate to second-guess my grandfather, but it seems like he took a huge risk, too. I mean, counting on me to find the symbols he’d left?”

“You have to remember, he was dealing with incomplete information. He assumed we were receiving his messages through his familiar, such as the location of the vault in which he’d stored the artifacts. Once he had determined which artifact was the Banebrand and made the switch, he wouldn’t have told anyone, the information being far too sensitive. His focus turned to finding the glass pendant. Clearly, he never did or he would have destroyed it himself. When he felt Lich was too close, your grandfather left the clue in the vault, passed the blade to you, and ended his life. He trusted that, with the power of the blade, and enough time, you would connect with the Front and correctly interpret his message.”

“Still,” I said, “there were no guarantees.”

“There were never any guarantees,” she agreed. “Just better chances.”

“I mean, I barely made the connection between the words and the myth before it was too late,” I went on, remembering the pain of Lich’s crushing tentacles, his eyes burning inches from mine.

“Your grandfather saw something else in you besides your schooling.”

I pushed away the memory. “What was that?”

“Your luck quotient.”

“Luck quotient?” I repeated. “I thought there was no such thing. I thought all those last-second solutions were the result of Whisperer magic.”

“We told you that because a luck quotient is not a thing you want to count on. Experience is more important. However, in this situation, it was something Marlow and I and the rest of the Front were very much counting on. With time running out, it was all we had.”

That explained why they had sent me into the keep alone despite my relative inexperience.

“So … it’s rare?” I asked.

“To the extent it exists in you, it is. But like I said, it can’t be counted on. I’d prefer you—and us, for that matter—never to have to resort to it again. We’ll start you on a new course of training once we’re able to locate the remaining magic-users. That may take some time, however. Lich’s segregation of the community was thorough, and he covered his tracks. Not everyone has a demonic companion.” She cut her eyes to where Tabitha was snoring on her favorite divan.

That reminded me of a question I’d been pondering. “The night I faced Lich, I was blood-drained, low on power, nearly passed out from pain and exhaustion. But Thelonious never came. Is he still … with me?”

“He remains bound to you, yes,” she said, “but he shrinks from the power of the collective. With enough exposure he may decide to terminate the contract on his end and leave you for good.”

“That would be nice,” I said. “So I can call on the collective when I feel him near?”

“Always. But it’s something else you shouldn’t count on, at least not in the near term. The portal to Dhuul’s realm was so deep that when it collapsed, it sent shockwaves through many realms, including this one. Small tears formed in the fabric that separates them. The more experienced of the Order have already begun repairing them, but it will take time.”

“Are you saying our world is more porous now?”

I thought about my father’s sacrifice, worried now that it had been for nothing.

“None of the tears extend to Dhuul’s realm, or even close,” she reassured me. “The portal is sealed. But yes, our world will be more porous for a time. Creatures who yearn to enter our world will do so more easily, and sorcerers who command such creatures will become more powerful, especially where there are potent currents of ley energy. We’ve restored the wards in the city for you to monitor. Your work here will become more important than ever.”

Her words felt daunting. “I’ll have help from others in the Order, though … right?”

“When it can be spared, yes. Like I said, the most experienced will be addressing the problem at the source while others will be tracking down the Diaspora of magic-users. That’s what is most urgent right now. In the meantime, you’re to form a team.”

“A team? Of magic-users?”

“Of anyone committed to protecting our world from the darkness and the creatures that darkness spawns. That was the original mandate of the Order. Our numbers are down, however. Lich murdered many, including our most powerful. We must solicit help where we can.”

“I suppose I can start with James,” I said, not entirely enthused at the prospect. Though he’d been a big help against Lich, our styles weren’t exactly complementary.

“We’re sending James out west,” she said.

“What’s out west?” I asked, feeling disappointment now.

“An area better suited to his particular energies. And it’s what he wanted.”

I thought of his cowboy hat and battered leather boots. Made sense, I guessed.

“We’ll introduce you to his replacement when we have one. You’ll be able to collaborate as needed.”

“No more compartmentalization then, huh?” I said with a smile. “So, where do I find this team?”

Arianna looked at me as though reading an invisible cast of bones. “They will find you, Everson. One at a time.”

I was preparing to ask what she meant, but she held up the sword. “We’ll have to keep this, of course.”

“Of course,” I agreed.

“But know that for twelve years you wielded the mightiest weapon the Order had ever forged. Not many can say that.” She smiled and disappeared the sword into a fold in her skirt and then produced a new sword. “Your father made this for you. It will fit inside your staff.”

My heart cramped as I accepted the sword from her and looked up and down its length. The handsome steel blade was beveled, its edge lined with silver. Runes ran down one