Gateway to War: A Military Scifi Epic (Ruins of the Galaxy Book 3) by J.N. Chaney & Christopher Hopper

Author:J.N. Chaney & Christopher Hopper [Chaney, J.N.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Variant Publications
Published: 2019-09-07T16:00:00+00:00

21

Once everyone was out of the ESCE, Awen took Piper’s hand and led her to the hexagon’s northern edge. She felt Piper turn and look behind them. Following Awen’s quick instructions, only Valerie came with them—everyone else was disappearing back into the camp.

“Where are we going?” Piper asked.

“To my favorite place on the island,” Awen replied.

“Is it up there? On that hill?”

“It is.”

“And you said there’s a present for me?” Piper hugged the stuffed corgachirp so hard Awen thought the head was going to pop off.

“Yup,” Awen said, squeezing Piper’s hand gently. “It’s pretty special.” She could tell the little girl was excited by how big her eyes were. “Just a little farther.”

Awen led Piper and Valerie down a grass-covered street bordered by several old buildings. The structures loomed overhead like sleeping giants beneath green blankets. The three of them passed empty windows and dilapidated door frames as the street began to slope upward. Awen felt the muscles in her legs strain as the path rose. Piper padded along beside her without any signs of stress, while Valerie’s labored breathing matched Awen’s.

“Are we there yet?” Piper asked.

“Not yet, little one,” Awen replied.

“How much farther?”

“Another hundred meters or so.”

“Okay.”

As the street began to level out, the view opened ahead to the small clearing that Awen and Magnus had discovered a few days before. Awen led Piper under the old gate that separated this space from the rest of the town. As they stepped beneath it, a soothing sensation flooded Awen’s senses. She’d noticed it when they first arrived but had been too overwhelmed from the journey to think much about it…

Who am I kidding? Really, she’d been too preoccupied with being alone with Magnus to think much about anything else. Awen had decided the sensation had just been her emotions playing with her. Only when she returned to the clearing later by herself did she realize there was something strange about the temple’s atomic composition. Something had been done to it in the Unity. When she stepped into her second sight, she saw it—a bed of vibrant orange energy underlying every stone, step, and structure. It held this space like a giant hand palming a collection of gems.

She didn’t know the full purpose of the energy, but one aspect of its presence was that she could slip in and out of the Unity with the mere whisper of a fleeting thought. So effortless was her first attempt to see with her second sight that she startled herself. The idea had barely entered her mind and—just like that—she’d crossed over.

This knoll was a thin place where the veil between the natural realm and the Unity was more like a clear silk curtain than heavy fabric. Instead of trying to shove the barrier aside like a heavy suitcase, Awen simply sighed, and she was over the threshold. Whatever this place had been, the Novia had made sure that those fluent in the Unity would have the easiest time accessing it. That made it sacred, safe, and the best place to train Piper.

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