Page 86 of Rose and Shadows
“Well, thanks,” I said, tapping my assignment on the desk before turning to go.
“Your lesson notes?” he called after me.
“Right, sorry.”
“No worries, there’s a lot on your mind.” With a twirl of his hand, a navy textbook materialized, along with a parchment scroll that was shimmering with green magic—not his. He flicked the textbook to me and I snatched it from the air. “Notes are slotted inside, along with section highlights for your next set of readings that you’ll find helpful."
“That’s really nice of you.”
“Minds like yours need to be protected—fierce, progressive, and visionary.”
Was that what I was?
Instead of asking, my attention was drawn to the scroll still levitating in front of him.
He caught my eye and told me, “I need you to give this to Sylas.”
“What is it?”
“We’ll call it a compromise.”
“From Ryker?”
“And the Unity Council.”
“Really? You guys want him to work with you?”
“Collaboratewould be the best way to put it. Especially where Sylas Morgrave is concerned. Tell him to review the documentation, then use the card that Ryker gifted him to set a meeting with the benevolent Head of the Guardian Movement.”
“Yeah, all right.”
Sure, I wanted to ask more, but as so often went hand-in-hand whenever Sylas was involved, there was a whole lot of cryptic that took more than one conversation’s worth to cut through. Plus, it would be best to get it from Sylas anyway. The more I asked, the more it could reveal what I knew, and I couldn’t risk that.
So, I took the scroll, thanked Lenos again, then headed on out.
15
~Cassius~
“Motherfucker!”
We watched from the shadows as Sylas swept his arm across his kitchen table, smashing beakers, test tubes, vials, and even knocking apparatus, books, and piles of notes off the surface and onto the floor, making a spectacular mess.
Ketheron turned to me. “You were correct. Our plan for today is very much needed at this specific juncture.”
“Yes. He needs a reprieve. Velra and Lazriel need some levity.”
We observed Sylas through the living room window as we stood outside his home.
I hadn’t wanted to risk interrupting his magical research if he had been verging on a breakthrough, so when Ketheron and I had teleported in we’d chosen to observe first.
Clearly, I needn’t have worried, because Sylas was flummoxed—a state he absolutely did not do well with. Unfortunately, that was worsened beyond belief with what was at stake now.
Everything.
However, since being temporarily restored by The Shadowed’s necromantic core transplant, Sylas hadn’t stopped. Even when he’d been briefly bedridden while in the Shadow Tunnels, he’d still been conducting magical research, just without magic. He’d also been calculating in order to hold onto control among the likes of Remnant.
“This is burnout,” Ketheron uttered, virtually speaking my own thoughts on the matter.
