Page 10 of Shadows of the Lost Relic (Vanguard of the Ancients #1)
Chapter 10
Theo
W hen my brothers and I had been taken in by the Vanguard as children, I knew our lives wouldn’t be easy. We had trained every day since then, learning to understand the weight of our legacy as Scions of the Fates.
The mission was clear; protect the world from people misusing ancient powers that could tear it apart. But nothing had prepared me for how complicated things would become, especially with Lyra and Caspian in the mix.
Over the past few weeks, I’d watched Lyra become an integral part of our team. She proved herself time and again. She was quick and resourceful, with an innate connection to the artifacts that even she didn’t fully understand. What worried me more than anything, though, was the prophecy she’d uncovered, the one that tied all of us to a destiny we weren’t ready for.
That morning, as we gathered in the Vanguard’s briefing room, the prophecy weighed heavily on my mind. We had spent all our time since Lyra had brought it to us poring over ancient texts, trying to piece together the fragments of information we had. It still felt like we were grasping at shadows, though. My brothers and I had only found two references to it, and both of them had led to dead ends. Now there was an additional threat looming over us, one that made everything else feel even more precarious. I wasn’t sure how much I could keep bringing from the Council to the team.
Most of the light in the room was coming from the holographic table. The walls were lined with maps and diagrams of artifacts, their locations, and the dangerous individuals who sought them, along with the missions different teams stationed here were working on.
Kane leaned against the far wall, arms crossed, his usual carefree demeanor replaced with a seriousness that was becoming more common to see. Evan was beside him, his expression thoughtful as he studied the map in front of us. Caspian was in his usual spot near the corner of the room, his eyes focused on the small device he was tinkering with. Then there was Lyra, seated at the table, her brow furrowed as she flipped through a thick book.
I stood at the head of the table, trying to keep my focus on the mission briefing, even as my mind kept drifting back to the prophecy. We had only scratched the surface of what it meant, but the more we uncovered, the more it felt like we were running out of time. We had wasted enough time this morning. It was time to start the briefing.
I cleared my throat, drawing everyone’s attention. “A new group has surfaced, one that poses a direct threat to everything we’re trying to protect.”
Evan straightened, his eyes narrowing as he looked at me. “Who are they?”
“They call themselves the Shadowborn. Descendants of ancient beings, beings that predate even the gods. They believe the artifacts we’re protecting belong to them, that the power within those artifacts is their birthright.”
Lyra’s eyes were full of confusion as she looked up from her book. “Descendants of ancient beings? What does that mean?”
Evan tilted his head, his brow furrowed. “We’re Scions of ancient beings that predate the gods.”
I took a deep breath, nodding at Evan. “The Shadowborn are the offspring of primordial entities, creatures of darkness that existed before the world was fully formed. If you were to put them into our Pantheon, they would be Scions of Chaos, perhaps. But they aren’t just from our Pantheon. Most creation myths have beings that predate the gods. The Shadowborn have been hiding for centuries, but now they’ve resurfaced, according to the Council, and they’re after the same artifacts we are. Only they don’t want to protect them, they want to use them.”
A tense silence fell over the room as everyone processed what I had just said. The idea of a group like the Shadowborn, Scions with ancient bloodlines who had a desire to wield the power of the artifacts for their own gain, was terrifying. We had faced powerful enemies before, but this was different. This was personal. As Scions of the Fates, primordial Scions were a topic we knew more about than most people.
“How much do we know about them?” Evan asked, breaking the silence.
“Not much,” I admitted, feeling the frustration welling up inside me. “They’ve been operating in the shadows, using proxies and intermediaries to do their dirty work. Apparently, the Vanguard has been tracking them for centuries. We know that they’re organized, well-funded, and willing to do whatever it takes to get their hands on the artifacts. The Vanguard has already lost a few members to them, but now they’re after a big score.”
There was a hint of bitterness in Kane’s voice as he spoke. “Let me guess, we’re the ones who have to stop them.”
I nodded. “There’s an artifact, one of the most powerful we’ve ever encountered. It’s called the Amulet of Erebus. According to the texts, it has the power to manipulate shadows, to bend darkness to the will of its bearer. If the Shadowborn get their hands on it, they could use it to tip the balance in their favor. We all know how powerful artifacts of the primordial gods are. We can’t let them get it.”
“Shadows, like the Mirror? What if it’s one of the items we’re trying to track?” Lyra asked, her voice steady despite the concern in her eyes.
I pulled up a map on the holographic table, enhancing it until the part I needed was in focus. “It’s very likely it is, which is why the Council gave this mission to us. We need to retrieve the Amulet before they do. It’s hidden in a remote temple deep within the mountains of northern Greece. The temple is protected by powerful wards, but the Shadowborn have been working to dismantle them. We need to get there, secure the Amulet before they do, and bring it back to the Vanguard.”
“What happens if we don’t get through the wards first?” Caspian asked, his tone matter-of-fact.
“If the Shadowborn get their hands on the Amulet, they could unleash a darkness we’ve never seen before. They could use it to control entire regions, or to plunge the world into chaos. We can’t let that happen.” My voice was grim as I answered him, but the seriousness of the situation demanded it.
Kane let out a low whistle, shaking his head. “So, no pressure, right?”
I couldn’t help but crack a small smile at his attempt to lighten the mood. “No pressure, but this is serious. We can’t afford to make any mistakes.”
Evan stepped forward, his expression resolute. “We won’t. We’ll get the Amulet and stop the Shadowborn.”
I felt a surge of pride as I looked at my team, at the people who had become more than just comrades in this fight. They were family, and I knew I could count on them to face whatever challenges lay ahead. But that didn’t make the task any less daunting.
“The Amulet is in a labyrinth beneath the temple,” I continued, laying out the details of our mission as I adjusted the map to show what little we knew of the temple. “It’s a maze of traps, puzzles, and dark magic. We’ll have to work together to navigate it, and we’ll need to be prepared for anything the Shadowborn might throw at us.”
“How long do we have before they reach the temple?” Caspian asked, his voice calm despite the urgency of the situation.
“We don’t know for sure,” I admitted. “Based on the information we’ve gathered, they’ve been working on these wards for a while. They don’t have quite the same knowledge or the resources the Vanguard does. We need to hurry if we’re going to have any chance of beating them to the Amulet. We’re going to be relying pretty heavily on Lyra to help us with this one. Leadership seems confident she’ll be able to get through the wards.”
Kane pushed off the wall, clapping his hands together with his usual grin. “Then let’s get moving. We’ve got an Amulet to steal.”
As we left the briefing room and headed toward the transport bay, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this mission differed from the others. The Shadowborn made my skin crawl. But I pushed those thoughts aside, focusing on the task at hand. We were the Vanguard, and we had a duty to protect the world from those who would seek to destroy it.
We boarded the transport, the familiar hum of the engines filling the silence as we took our seats. Lyra sat across from me, her expression determined, but with a flicker of uncertainty in her eyes. I could tell she was thinking about the prophecy, about what this mission might mean for all of us. I wanted to reassure her, to tell her that everything would be fine, but I knew better than to make promises I couldn’t keep.
Instead, I focused on the plan, running through the details in my mind as the transport lifted off the ground and shot into the sky. We had a long journey ahead of us, and I needed to be ready for whatever came next.
I hadn’t been settled for long when Lyra got out of her seat, moving over to the seat near mine. Caspian was flying, Evan was following fate strings, making use of the spare time, and Kane was looking out the window. What he was thinking about, I couldn’t even begin to guess. Lyra’s choice to move closer to me was curious, but I didn’t let my thoughts race away from me, waiting patiently for her to voice whatever was bothering her.
She wasn’t silent for long. “The more I think about this, the less sense it’s making.” She fiddled with the snaps on one of her thigh holsters. I didn’t interrupt her, letting her finish the thought. I wasn’t sure if her reluctance was because she was still thinking of what she wanted to say, or if she was worried about bringing it to me. I hoped it was the former, rather than the latter.
“If these Shadowborn are such a threat, why haven’t you heard about them before? Aren’t you guys a big deal in the Vanguard?”
She was speaking thoughts I had been doing my best to suppress. When the Council had handed down our latest mission, I’d wondered these things myself. Why were we being brought into this now? And if there was a group of primordial Scions out there, why hadn’t we been brought in sooner?
“You’ve only seen a small part of the Vanguard. We have offices and teams all over the world, and they aren’t always the best at communicating. Some of it is for safety, just in case a chapterhouse falls, which has happened in the past. But I have been wondering the same thing you have.” It was hard to admit out loud. I was loyal to the Vanguard. Their cause was one I believed in, one I had pledged my life to, and I rarely disagreed with the decisions they made. But this, in conjunction with what we were learning about the prophecy, made me wonder if the Council had kept this from us on purpose.
Lyra was still fiddling and didn’t look like she believed me. “All of this, it has always felt bigger than just us. Every time we find something new, it gets bigger and worse.”
Her pessimism had me worried, but I wasn’t sure how to reassure her. Kane would have something witty to say, but she hadn’t gone to Kane to express her concerns. She had come to me. “No matter what happens, we stand together. There is merit to what you’re saying, and we can look into it more when we get back. For now, though, we have a mission to do, and I need you focused on it.”
I didn’t mean to make her feel guilty, and immediately regretted what I said when I saw it flicker across her face, but I couldn’t take the words back. She nodded, and without saying anything, went back to her seat.
This mission couldn’t be over soon enough.