Silver at Midnight: A Paranormal Romance Urban Fantasy (The Keepers of Knowledge Series Book 5) Bridgette O'Hare (ebook offline .txt) 📖

many tunnels there were. I stopped, looked around, and grabbed the first loose stone I saw, centering it in the opening of the tunnel to mark the exit. As I moved to Cian’s side, he held his hand out for me to get a better view of the arrow.

It wasn’t just spinning; it was out of control. “Do ya think we got off course somewhere? Missed a turn?”

“No. It was dead on pointed this way until I stepped in t’ this area.”

I held the orb a little higher and walked around, trying to see down each tunnel, but to no avail. I moved over to the pillar in the center to sit for a moment and think. When I did, the glyphs engraved within the stone glowed beneath the presence of the orb.

“Well, didn’t expect that,” I mumbled, drawing Cian’s attention.

“Wow. That’s kinda cool. I wonder what they mean.”

“What? You don’t speak wolf?” I jabbed. “You’ve lived thousands of years, but haven’t found the time to learn this?”

“Wait. What? How’d you—”

“Kage. He ratted you out.”

“Oh.” He plunked down next to me. “You know . . . time doesn’t work for us as it does for beings with a shorter lifespan. It doesn’t feel like I’m as old as one may expect. It just feels like I’ve been super busy and packed a lot into time I’ve had.”

“Okay. I will have more questions later. We don’t have that much time for that conversation right now. But since we’ve already missed that twenty-minute window of getting back before Kage, I am goin’ t’ ask this. What do ya know about my father?”

He linked his hand with mine, I assumed to comfort me based on his response. “I wish I knew everything and could answer every question you’ve ever had about him.”

“But ya can’t . . .”

“Afraid not. All I really know is what we were told when you became a person of interest to our cause.”

“Person of interest? That sounds like I committed a crime.”

“Not at all. When we were interested in working with Lachlan, we did a background check on him. Ran his family line back. And checked on any living relatives. That would be you.”

“So, you know who my father is then?” My hopes perked.

“I don’t. Someone does. All they told us about your father was that his file is sealed, and he is of pure descent.”

So much for getting my hopes up. “What does that even mean?”

Cian rubbed his thumb in circles over the back of my hand as he looked me in the eye. “It means your dad is a big deal.”

Great. That could mean a lot of things in the world of Supernaturals. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the pendant Cian had returned to me and began twirling it in my fingers like I often did when I was anxious. Apparently, it was the only thing I had of my father. All this time, I’d treasured it because Grams had given it to me and told me to always keep it close. I smiled. “Grams knew more than she ever let on,” I uttered quietly.

“You two were close, eh?”

“Very. She practically raised me.” As I twirled the pendant between my fingers, it slipped from my grasp and tumbled to the floor. Cian, being the gentleman he was, quickly moved to retrieve it.

“Hey, uh . . . Aish. You’re gonna want to see this,” he said from his position crouched on the floor.

I leaned over to see what he thought warranted my attention. There, shining like a beacon in the dark beneath the spotlight of my pendant were silver words etched across the stones. Without a thought, I crouched down next to Cian.

“What does it say? Where do the words begin?” I rambled off.

He glided the pendant to the left, searching for the beginning. Halfway around the bench, he found it.

Thirty-One

“Here!” Cian announced and anxiously began to read.

Two brothers stood together until envy broke the bond.

The scale now sits unbalanced, what was right has become wrong.

The pure in heart can equalize. The pure in soul can heal.

The two in one together reveal what evil has concealed.

The stone you seek is covered yet hidden within sight.

Look inside to find it, the pure in heart will hold the light.

“Yeah, that’s not cryptic at all,” I grumbled. “Would it not be possible for just one thing t’ be simple? Just one.”

“I’m rather sure if it were simple, we’d think it was a trick.”

“Fair point.” I reached for the pendant and moved over to where I had a clear view of the entire message. “A’ight. Shall we solve the riddle then?” I gave him no time to reply. I read the inscription aloud once more then sat back with my knees tucked beneath me on the cold stone floor and mulled it over. “The Lunar goddess mentioned the Stone of Two Brothers and said the stone was the same as the one I seek. She had t’ have meant the Kanna Stone since I told her I was looking for it, and this references two brothers. Ya keep sayin’ there are no coincidences. So . . . what does this tell us?”

“Seems t’ me the Lunar lady was on t’ somethin’. What else did she tell ya? Might be helpful.”

“She said this orb is one of eight. They each represent a moon phase; this one is the full moon, and it has power—aside from being a pretty fantastic flashlight. She said I wasn’t alone in my quest for the Kanna Stone. And here ya are tryin’ t’ help, so . . . she’s two for two.”

“Anything else?” His attention was locked in.

I thought for a moment. “She did tell me t’ drink from the fountain in the garden and my power would return when the Silver Moon was at its peak . . . actually, her exact words were ‘your powers will be fully realized.’ I was paraphrasin’.”

“Never underestimate the influence of