Excerpt: Lore of Sanctum: Fireball

 

Excelsior

General Rorkis’ Home

 

TRISTAN SNIFFED AT THE air like a bloodhound. He sensed something was off-kilter and could not quite place it. Then again, perhaps his imagination was out of control. Setting off explosions could damage brain cells.

Reading titles, he wandered along the shelves of the General’s library. Not bad; the man at least was not a moron, if he had read them, that is. Some philosophy, a lot of poetry - maybe those belonged to Mrs Rorkis - advanced calculus and geography.

A tread on the wooden floor spun him around. His senses screamed danger. Tristan froze in disbelief. “You!”

“Me,” came the soft reply.

A hand lifted and Tristan lost all sense of his surroundings, and then he lost all sense of self. Soft, satisfied laughter floated over the library.

  

Weapons Facility

 

QUILLA HAD INSERTED HIS tiny form between two crates in the loading bay. He watched as massive cranes lifted pallets of packed missiles. Then they were rolling the great shutter down on the gigantic flatbed truck. He whistled, throwing his voice to the front of the truck, and the two men ran towards the sound with their weapons drawn. Quilla, birdman and spy, hopped up and hid behind the nearest pallet.

A moment later he heard loud arguing and then the shutter came down. The sound of a lock being engaged, and the vehicle started to roll. He wondered where he would end up.

  

Warehouse

 

TEROUX LEANED AGAINST the dirty wall, eyes closed. He seemed asleep, but actually tracked Elianas’ movements. Teighlar paced with a low mutter. They heard him say ‘Alik’ and ‘Alexander’ but were too wrapped in their thoughts to question him. Elianas, for his part, barely moved. He listened to the sounds outside, those further afield and those in the spaces. Since Torrullin left he felt something build, a kind of layering of intention. Something evil was out there and evil would rear its head before Excelsior’s night was done with. If only he could place it.

Then it was too late.

Teighlar gurgled and fell senseless to the oil-spattered floor. Teroux’s golden head slumped sideways. Elianas had but a moment to know their attacker … and then he collapsed nerveless to the filthy floor. A loud chuckle sounded through the empty warehouse.

  

TWO TRAVELLERS LIFTED INTO orbit from Excelsior’s major landing site and one cargo ship lumbered up into the skies from a lesser and more protected one. They achieved the vacuum of space seconds before a massive fireball-mushroom engulfed the planet.

From a sterile world reclaimed to a heartworld abandoned, from the purity of a unicorn to the hunt for the ultimate clock, the Sanctum series uncovers the accumulated traditions and beliefs of every sentient being in the multiverse. This visionary omnibus edition includes The Nemesis Blade, The Echolone Mine, The Nowhere Sphere and The Master Mechanism.

 With the energy that connects an ancient sword and throne, a man steps forth to entirely alter the future. Waiting for him is Torrullin Valla, but another is in the wings and wishes to negate the bliss of the Light, sinking into depravity and dragging all with him into a pit of psychic darkness.

 Wielding the Lumin Sword and a blade that is all about Catharsis, with Nemesis at his side, The Valla strides through Time itself, scattering behind him both the light and the dark. Only one factor can now save him; sacred space.

 In Lore of Sanctum the need for inviolate, sacred space is revealed; it about sanctuary and it also delves into the truth resident in souls.

SANCTUM Omnibus