Page 18 of Spears and Shadows (Defenders of the Light)
Adam grimaced. “And what’s the verdict?”
“I think I’ll let you explain yourself and then decide if you deserve to go for a swim.”
“Fair enough,” Adam conceded. “What do you want to know?”
Nora opened and closed her mouth a few times before admitting, “I don’t know what I want to ask first.” She paused again and then settled for, “Who are you?”
Adam sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “That’s a complicated question.”
“Then talk,” responded Nora, leaning back on her hands and crossing her legs. Adam quickly looked away from where a large expanse of Nora’s bare thigh peaked through the red fabric. Nora tried not to think about the fact that she wasn’t wearing any underwear.
Adam took another deep breath as if to steady himself before diving in.
“I am one of the Eteria, an ancient order dedicated to defending the Light. The Light is an endless source of wisdom and beauty, but it is also the source of our power. It allows us to do things like heal the wound in your leg, but it can also be concentrated and used in battle to take out dozens of enemies at a time.”
“You’re…what? Sorcerers?” Nora knew she should have been dizzy with disbelief, but her mind was strangely logical as she weighed his explanation.
The corner of Adam’s mouth twitched. “I suppose you could say that, although that calls to mind all sorts of images of garish hand waving and strange incantations. Our use of the Light is far more…cerebral than that. Not to mention we don’t spend all our time haphazardly throwing around balls of Light. We also celebrate the gifts of wisdom and beauty the Light brings us by studying philosophy, art, and literature.”
“That explains the whole English professor thing I suppose,” Nora mused, tapping her chin. “Can anybody learn to use the Light, or are you some special breed of human or something?”
Adam shook his head. “We are human, just born with a unique ability. It’s like…being able to roll your tongue or wiggle your ears. Not everybody can do it, and it seems to be hereditary. We haven’t exactly used genetic testing, but nobody with the ability has been born outside the Eteria in thousands of years.”
“But if you Eteria people can do so much with your Light, then why hasn’t anybody noticed you guys?” Nora asked with a furrowed brow.
“Because we can’t actually do much with the Light. Not anymore, at least, so we keep to ourselves. When I said we were an ancient order, I was not exaggerating. With the Light, there is also Shadow, a power of darkness that feeds on doubt and insecurity.”
Nora couldn’t help but snort, and Adam raised a brow at her. “Sorry, it’s just that this is starting to sound a whole lot like a sci-fi movie—the whole light and dark sides thing.”
“Storytellers often come closer to the truth of the world than people like to think.”
Nora had to suppress her disbelief that she was discussing science fiction movies with a sorcerer and dragged her attention back to the issue at hand. “You were saying about the Shadow?”
“Right, about three thousand years ago, the Shadow started gaining power. The Eteria did our best to stop it, but for every bit of power we gained, the Shadow gained even more. It was insidious, worming its way into the dark recesses of people’s minds, causing fighting within the Order and turning us against ourselves. Both the Shadow and the Light reached the height of their power in about 400 BC. At the time, the headquarters of the Eteria was located near Athens, which was a center of Light, with art and philosophy being developed there at the time.
“There came a point when the Shadow was threatening the existence of Light itself, and we knew we had to act. The full force of the Eteria marched out to meet the forces of Shadow on the plains outside the city, and we clashed in the largest battle our order has ever seen. At the end of the battle, when the dust had settled, the Eteria learned that we had won, but at a terrible price. While it appeared the Shadow had been vanquished, only a few dozen of us had survived. Nearly all our leadership had been wiped out. Even worse, a barrier had formed between us and the Light, making it difficult to use without exhausting oneself to the point of near death. The survivors used what little magic we had left to take our headquarters, the Sanctuary, and put it in a pocket dimension with points of access all over the world for those who know how to find them.
“What remains of the Eteria have lived here in this Sanctuary ever since, thinking for a time that we had paid a steep price, but it was worth it to rid the world of the Shadow. We stayed out of worldly affairs for the most part, assuming we had done our job and could now hide in our pocket dimension to lick our wounds. We were wrong, though; the Shadow has begun to creep back into the world. With our limited access to the Light and our decimated numbers, we have done what we can to slow its spread, but it’s not enough to make a big impact.”
Nora was breathless from Adam’s story, but her brain was already whirring, reconciling everything that had happened to her with what she had just learned. Unable to hold still any longer, she stood and began pacing back and forth in front of the fountain. Adam followed her movements with unreadable eyes.
“So, the Shadow is back, and for some reason, it decided to attack us at the museum? And you knew how to fight it because you are a warrior sorcerer from an ancient order?”
Adam nodded.
Nora blew out a breath through her lips and stopped her pacing. “You know what? I don’t have time for this. I already only get five hours of sleep a night without having to worry about an ancient war. Thank you for saving my life and all, but I’d like to go home now.”
Adam’s mouth twisted as if he was chewing on his next words in distaste. “I’m not sure that’s an option anymore.”
Nora froze. “What do you mean, not an option?”
“When the Shadow left a cut on your leg, some of its essence was left in your bloodstream, which acted as a poison against you. Thad managed to draw it out of you, but the Shadow does not like being denied a victim.” Adam shifted uncomfortably on the edge of the fountain. “There is a chance it might be…drawn to you, now that it has been in your blood. It tends to act as a kind of homing beacon for disasters.”
Nora blinked once. Then again. “You mean I can’t leave this place without those…things attacking me again?”
“No, we can keep you safe,” Adam assured, shaking his head emphatically, “but you have to work with us. You’ll need a guard for now, and we can teach you to defend yourself going forward.”
Nora sat down hard and dropped her head between her knees. The cool stone was reassuring against her bare legs, but she still felt as if a pair of giant hands had picked up the entire courtyard and thrown it on its side.
