Page 4 of Shadows of the Lost Relic (Vanguard of the Ancients #1)

Chapter 4

Lyra

T he next morning, the triplets were at my door obnoxiously early. Between the heist and the tour, we had been up late the night before. Didn’t they have any respect for sleep? I had always been a nocturnal person, perhaps because of my lineage. I’d never thought much about it. Glaring at them across the table hadn’t achieved anything except smirks and teasing at my expense.

After breakfast, they announced it was time to meet the fourth member of their team. Evan had made his apologies as he walked in a different direction. Kane teased him about being scared of someone named Cas, and Evan had shrugged, not disputing it.

I didn’t think anything else could surprise me. I’d seen enough in my life to make me believe the world was full of secrets, most of them ugly, and that people were even better at hiding the truth than I was at picking locks. But when I walked into the workshop the next morning, I was taken aback.

The place was a mess, but it was the kind of mess that had a story to it. Tools were scattered across workbenches in what looked like chaos, but was probably a system only the person who worked here could understand. Half-finished gadgets and mechanical parts were strewn about, wires and cables draped like vines in a jungle. It was a weird mix of machinery and technology. The air smelled of oil, metal, and a sharp, acrid scent that tickled my nose.

I wasn’t alone in the workshop, at least. Kane and Theo had accompanied me, rather than just throwing me to the wolves. Or the mechanic. They didn’t walk in, though, standing at the entrance of the workshop, waiting for the fourth member of their team to make an appearance.

“So, where is this guy? And why wasn’t he with you last night?” I asked, trying to mask my curiosity with a casual tone. I had a lot more questions, but I was trying to pace myself, to keep them from spilling out of my mouth all at once.

“He’s around,” Kane said with a grin, glancing around the workshop as if the person in question might materialize out of thin air. “Probably buried under some contraption or other. Or he’s fallen asleep at one of his computers again. Fifty-fifty, really.”

Theo didn’t say anything, just gave me one of those looks that said more than words ever could. He was good at that—watching, like he was seeing more than what was right in front of him. It was unsettling, and I wasn’t sure I would get used to it.

Before I could press either of them for more details, a soft clatter came from the back of the workshop, followed by a muttered curse. I turned in time to see a man emerge from behind a towering stack of boxes. He was shorter than the triplets, broader though, with tousled dark hair that looked like it hadn’t seen a comb in days. He’d clearly swiped his hair from his eyes without thinking, leaving smudges of grease across his forehead. He wore a white t-shirt and jeans, both of which were stained from his work.

But what caught my attention—what made me pause—was his heavily scarred arm, the skin puckered and discolored in a way that suggested a long-healed burn. It was an old injury, one that still bothered him, from the way he held it close to his body.

“This,” Kane said, gesturing toward the man with an overly dramatic flourish, “is Caspian.”

The man—Caspian—looked up, his eyes locking onto mine. They were a deep, stormy gray, intense and guarded. For a moment, I felt like I was being weighed, measured, and assessed, all in the space of a single glance. Then he blinked, and the intensity softened, replaced by a shyness that made me feel guilty. He grabbed a dark hoodie from the counter, shrugging it on over his head and pulling it into place, covering his arm.

“Hi,” His voice was low and rough, like he wasn’t used to talking. “You must be Lyra.”

I nodded, still trying to get a read on him. He was so different from the triplets, but I hadn’t worked out more than that yet. “That’s me.”

He didn’t smile, but there was curiosity in the look he gave me. “Welcome to my workshop,” he said, gesturing vaguely to the cluttered space around us. There was a lot of ownership in his tone. This was his space, not the team’s space.

“Nice place.” I looked around as I spoke, giving up on trying to work him out. There were some things I recognized around, and many, many more that I didn’t. “Looks like you’ve been busy.”

He shrugged, glancing at the mess with a mixture of pride and embarrassment. “There are always things to fix. New tech to build. Especially when the triplets are always breaking things. Or asking for very specific, annoyingly non-existent tools. No one comes in here unless they want something.” His tone was exasperated, but I thought I heard a touch of affection there. Or maybe I wanted to hear it.

“That’s Caspian,” Kane said, clapping him on the shoulder with a grin. “Always tinkering. He’s our resident genius, although don’t let Evan hear you say that. He might get jealous and talk your ear off, trying to prove how smart he is.”

I had to bite back a laugh. Of the three of them, Kane was the one who struck me as the chatty sort. And Theo seemed more prideful than the others. They knew each other best, though.

“Genius is a strong word,” Caspian muttered, clearly uncomfortable with the praise. His grease-smeared hand rubbed the back of his neck, ruffling his hair and making the curls stick out in odd directions. I noticed he used his left hand, keeping his right arm close to his body.

“Well, he’s not wrong,” Theo said, finally speaking up. “Caspian’s been with us for a long time. He’s the one who keeps everything running around here. He handles all our tech needs, like dealing with museum security measures that tooth fairy Scions can just walk past.”

I didn’t let Theo’s dig get to me. I had skills, and I used them to my advantage. They were the ones who had come after me. It was their own fault if they needed to do more prep work than I did. Not wanting to engage with him and let him bring down my mood, I looked at Caspian again, taking in the details I’d missed before.

There was grease under his fingernails and around the tops of his ears. He must have spent a lot of time here. I wondered if that was by choice. Did the triplets make him stay out of the field because of his arm? I didn’t think it was the only reason as I watched the way he held himself, like he was always half in his own world, half in this one. He differed from Kane and Theo—quieter, more introspective. There was a seriousness about him, a depth that intrigued me. It reminded me more of Evan.

“So, you’re the one who builds all the toys?” I asked, trying to break the ice and move the conversation away from the teasing. They had brought me here to get to know him, and that was what I was going to do. Besides, he might have some tools that I was interested in. My powers and abilities helped me a lot, but they weren’t infallible. It was always good to have a back-up.

“If by ‘toys,’ you mean the equipment the triplets use to keep themselves alive, then yeah. That’s me.” There was no arrogance in his tone, but there was a hint of annoyance. Like he wanted to convey to me just how important his work was, despite the boasting and the teasing from the triplets. He obviously took his work seriously. I respected that. It was a quality I’d seen in very few people—most of whom weren’t alive anymore.

“Well, I’m glad to be on your side. I’m sure your skills come in handy more often than not.” I did my best to sound sincere. The tech guys rarely got the credit they deserved.

Caspian didn’t respond right away. Instead, he nodded, not raising his head back up to meet my eyes as he turned his attention back to the workbench he was closest to. “There are always things that need fixing,” he murmured, more to himself than any of us.

Kane and Theo exchanged a glance, and I got the sense that they were used to this—Caspian retreating into his own world, losing himself in his work. He clearly wasn’t the type to engage in small talk. Honestly, I couldn’t blame him. I wasn’t exactly a people person myself. People always wanted to talk about things that didn’t matter.

“So, what are you working on?” I asked as I stepped closer to the workbench. It wasn’t small talk; I was genuinely interested in him and his work. I thought I had more in common with him than I did with the triplets. Besides, if anyone could help me get out of here when I needed to run, it was the person the Vanguard would turn to in order to try to track me. I wanted him on my side.

Caspian looked up, surprised by the question. He hesitated for a moment, then motioned for me to join him at the counter. “It’s a new energy converter.” His voice was low and focused as he responded. “I’ve been working on it for a while. It’s supposed to increase the efficiency of our power sources, make them last longer. Kind of like extending the battery of an artifact.”

“We work with a lot of ancient technology,” Theo cut in, not giving me a chance to ask any questions I had. “Stuff that’s not exactly compatible with modern power sources. Caspian’s job is to figure out how to bridge that gap, to make sure everything works together smoothly.”

I frowned, looking between them. Caspian wasn’t meeting my eyes anymore. I wanted to tell Theo and Kane to get out of here, but I wasn’t sure they would leave me alone with someone they clearly viewed as their weakest member, no matter what they said about his intelligence.

Watching the way Caspian had retreated from the conversation, I knew this wasn’t the first time one of the triplets had cut him off and taken over. He avoided looking at them as they spoke, making it look like he was busy with whatever was in front of him. It was a defense mechanism. One I knew all too well.

“Do you ever build anything for fun?” I asked, trying to shift the conversation back to being focused on him. I could only hope the other two got the message. I wanted to know more about Cas, and the easiest way to do that was to keep things light.

Caspian looked genuinely surprised by the question, his attention snapping back to me as his dark eyes widened. “Fun?”

“Yeah. You know, just for the hell of it. Not because the team needs you to, but because you want to. You know, stuff that interests you. Passion projects.” His surprise at the question made me want to frown, but I was careful to keep a smile on my face.

He shook his head after thinking about it for a moment. “I guess I never really thought about it that way. There are always things that need to be done for a mission. There isn’t a lot of time for anything else.”

I raised an eyebrow, not buying it. “Come on. You can’t tell me you don’t have a pet project or two lying around here somewhere. What are you working on that’s just for you?” I risked a look behind me at the others, then leaned in quietly. “You can tell me. I can keep a secret.”

He hesitated, then a small, almost sheepish smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “There’s one thing, I guess.”

Kane perked up, clearly interested in the conversation again. Damn it. “Well, come on, Cas, show us this pet project of yours.”

Caspian shot him a look, clearly not thrilled about sharing, but he relented under the force of my curiosity. “It’s a drone.” He turned back to his workbench and rifled through a pile of parts. “I’ve been working on it for a while now. It’s nothing special. I mess around with it when I have the time.”

He pulled out a small, sleek device no bigger than my hand. It was clearly a work in progress, with exposed wires and incomplete circuits, but it was still impressive. Caspian handled it with a kind of reverence, like it was more than just a machine.

He had my attention and my curiosity. I wanted to know more about it. “What does it do?”

“Right now, it doesn’t do much,” he admitted. “But I’m trying to get it to map out areas and create 3D models of environments. It’s for scouting, especially in places we can’t go ourselves.”

Kane had pushed his way into our conversation physically as well as verbally now, leaning across me to get a better look at the drone. “That’s pretty cool, man. You should have shown us this sooner.”

Caspian shrugged, all of his attention on the drone so he didn’t have to look at either of us. “It’s not ready yet. And besides, it’s just what I do to unwind. It’s not really important. I didn’t want to bother anyone with it before it was useful. There are a lot of kinks to work out.”

“It is important,” Theo’s voice came from behind me. He spoke in a low voice, like he didn’t want to intrude, even though he was. “What you do, everything you build… it all matters, Cas. Don’t downplay it.”

I watched the exchange, noting the way Caspian’s shoulders tensed at Theo’s words. There was an unspoken respect between them, but there was a deep tension as well. Caspian was carrying a weight that the others understood, though didn’t talk about. Maybe he had tried before, and they wanted to keep it hushed up? Whatever it was, there was a wedge between them, and it could be useful to me later.

Right now, though, I needed to lighten the mood. Caspian looked like a startled horse, ready to bolt at the first sign of conflict. “That’s really cool. I wouldn’t even know where to start working on that.”

Caspian finally looked up, meeting my eyes for the first time since we’d started talking. There was a hint of gratitude in his gaze, like he appreciated the compliment but didn’t quite know how to accept it. “Thanks.” His voice was barely above a whisper, but I had pretty good hearing.

I nodded, feeling a strange connection to him at that moment. We were both outsiders here, both trying to find our place in a world that didn’t quite make sense. But where I kept people at arm’s length with sarcasm and defiance, Caspian did it with silence and distance. It was a different armor, but armor I recognized.

I took a step back from him, giving him the physical space he so clearly craved. “I’m sure you’ve got plenty to do. We’ll leave you to it. The triplets have more hell to put me through. I just know it.”

Caspian didn’t respond verbally. He nodded and turned his attention back to his work, the conversation over as far as he was concerned.

Not taking it personally, I turned to Theo. “You said there were going to be tests?”

Kane was the one who answered, clapping his hands together with a grin. “Now we get to the fun stuff.”

Fun stuff? I was already groaning. Maybe Caspian would let me hide in here from them later.