against Selpe Diamond Edges and Avan Spirit Reapers. Surviving the Crescent Order. Trading blows with Elitions.”
Beside Everett, Terra snorted. He gave her a hard look.
“Sorry. I’m just remembering your earlier description of Jason as demonic.”
“Jason?” Ryder wondered. His eyes lit up, going wide. “Jason Chanz? The assassin? You know him? Personally?”
“He’s dating Jason’s little sister,” Terra said. “Kind of.”
Ryder’s chest rumbled with laughter. “Perfect. You’re even crazier than I thought.”
“Thanks,” Everett said to Terra.
But Ryder thought Everett was talking to him. “It was a compliment. You hang out with the premier Elition assassin. Unraveling the truth about these Xenen artifacts and Hope should be just another day on the job for you.”
Everett sighed. How do I always let myself get talked into these things?
“So, you think the Selpes had these artifacts, then the Fourteen Phantoms stole the box from them? And then what? The Selpes attacked the Rev islands to get them back?”
“Something like that,” said Ryder.
“You realize that makes no sense, right?” Everett pointed out. “It’s just not the Selpes’ style. First, the Selpe city of Decia was attacked. The Selpes accused us and then attacked Hope in retaliation. As sick as the Selpes are, I find it unlikely that they’d bomb their own city just to have an excuse to attack the Revs.”
“Maybe it has nothing to do with Decia. Maybe it’s all just a coincidence,” Ryder suggested. “Say a Selpe lord or two was collecting these artifacts as part of a scheme to move against enemies of the Selpe Empire—the Avans, for instance. These Selpe lords would be pretty motivated to get the artifacts back. Then Decia happened, and these lords managed to convince their emperor that we Revs were responsible. They planned on sending their own men in to search for and retrieve the hidden stash of Xenen artifacts. Does that sound more like the Selpes’ style?”
“Perhaps.”
“Hello, there. You don’t belong in here,” Terra declared, peering into the box.
She pulled out a tray, as large as a handheld chalkboard but as deep as a pie pan. Its frame was beige and made of wood. It seemed to serve both decorative and functional purposes. The depth of the tray suggested it was intended to hold something in there.
A combination of wood and slate parts, the no-tech piece looked about as Xenen as Everett looked Elition. Wait a minute. Elition , Everett pondered. The tray did resemble something found in Elition temples.
“The sand pit,” he said aloud.
Terra looked at him, her eyes twinkling. “Close. This is the portable version. A sand slate. But while an Elition can use any of the temples’ sand pits to speak with another person standing at any other sand pit, the sand slates are only linked in pairs. That means you can use your sand slate only to communicate with the person who holds its match. And instead of actually hearing the other person’s words, you see them written in the sand.”
Ryder leaned over to look at the sand slate. “What sand?”
“Hmm.” Terra traced her finger across the bottom of the tray. When nothing happened, she frowned. “Odd. I think it’s broken.”
“This just doesn’t add up right. Any of it,” Everett said. “What’s an Elition sand slate doing in a box of Xenen artifacts?”
“And it’s the only non-Xenen thing in there,” she told him.
“None of this makes sense. It’s a whole lot more complicated than you think, Ryder. I wonder how deep it goes. Ambrose Selpe is already dead, but if it reaches beyond him, perhaps to the Advisory Council…or even beyond the Selpes… Others must have been involved. Others who can still be reached.”
A wide grin broke out across Ryder’s face. “Does that mean you’ll take the job?”
“Job, you say? So what’s the pay?” Everett asked.
“Vengeance on the responsible party.”
“Uh-huh. So, in other
Beside Everett, Terra snorted. He gave her a hard look.
“Sorry. I’m just remembering your earlier description of Jason as demonic.”
“Jason?” Ryder wondered. His eyes lit up, going wide. “Jason Chanz? The assassin? You know him? Personally?”
“He’s dating Jason’s little sister,” Terra said. “Kind of.”
Ryder’s chest rumbled with laughter. “Perfect. You’re even crazier than I thought.”
“Thanks,” Everett said to Terra.
But Ryder thought Everett was talking to him. “It was a compliment. You hang out with the premier Elition assassin. Unraveling the truth about these Xenen artifacts and Hope should be just another day on the job for you.”
Everett sighed. How do I always let myself get talked into these things?
“So, you think the Selpes had these artifacts, then the Fourteen Phantoms stole the box from them? And then what? The Selpes attacked the Rev islands to get them back?”
“Something like that,” said Ryder.
“You realize that makes no sense, right?” Everett pointed out. “It’s just not the Selpes’ style. First, the Selpe city of Decia was attacked. The Selpes accused us and then attacked Hope in retaliation. As sick as the Selpes are, I find it unlikely that they’d bomb their own city just to have an excuse to attack the Revs.”
“Maybe it has nothing to do with Decia. Maybe it’s all just a coincidence,” Ryder suggested. “Say a Selpe lord or two was collecting these artifacts as part of a scheme to move against enemies of the Selpe Empire—the Avans, for instance. These Selpe lords would be pretty motivated to get the artifacts back. Then Decia happened, and these lords managed to convince their emperor that we Revs were responsible. They planned on sending their own men in to search for and retrieve the hidden stash of Xenen artifacts. Does that sound more like the Selpes’ style?”
“Perhaps.”
“Hello, there. You don’t belong in here,” Terra declared, peering into the box.
She pulled out a tray, as large as a handheld chalkboard but as deep as a pie pan. Its frame was beige and made of wood. It seemed to serve both decorative and functional purposes. The depth of the tray suggested it was intended to hold something in there.
A combination of wood and slate parts, the no-tech piece looked about as Xenen as Everett looked Elition. Wait a minute. Elition , Everett pondered. The tray did resemble something found in Elition temples.
“The sand pit,” he said aloud.
Terra looked at him, her eyes twinkling. “Close. This is the portable version. A sand slate. But while an Elition can use any of the temples’ sand pits to speak with another person standing at any other sand pit, the sand slates are only linked in pairs. That means you can use your sand slate only to communicate with the person who holds its match. And instead of actually hearing the other person’s words, you see them written in the sand.”
Ryder leaned over to look at the sand slate. “What sand?”
“Hmm.” Terra traced her finger across the bottom of the tray. When nothing happened, she frowned. “Odd. I think it’s broken.”
“This just doesn’t add up right. Any of it,” Everett said. “What’s an Elition sand slate doing in a box of Xenen artifacts?”
“And it’s the only non-Xenen thing in there,” she told him.
“None of this makes sense. It’s a whole lot more complicated than you think, Ryder. I wonder how deep it goes. Ambrose Selpe is already dead, but if it reaches beyond him, perhaps to the Advisory Council…or even beyond the Selpes… Others must have been involved. Others who can still be reached.”
A wide grin broke out across Ryder’s face. “Does that mean you’ll take the job?”
“Job, you say? So what’s the pay?” Everett asked.
“Vengeance on the responsible party.”
“Uh-huh. So, in other
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