BOOK TWO in the DELOS SERIES
The magikal world gets even larger, the adventure gets even more thrilling, and the mysteries get even more intriguing in the second installment of this epic fantasy series, where climaxes and anticlimaxes once again abound, keeping you glued to the story.
THE QUEST OF SIX WATERS
When Cynthia Summers and Kaden Krossway learn that the Lil of Lurkur has gone missing, they join up with Alec Mulsiver and a surprising fourth companion to find her. This leads to another trip into Lurkur Woods, a haunting discovery about what has happened to the Lil, and then to Diluvium where they must undergo the Quest of Six Waters to claim what they need to save the Lilâs life: the Seventh Water. The problem is, no one has survived the Quest in over 6,000 years. . . .
The amazing story of Cynthia, Kaden and Alec continues.
BOOK TWO in the DELOS SERIES
The magikal world gets even larger, the adventure gets even more thrilling, and the mysteries get even more intriguing in the second installment of this epic fantasy series, where climaxes and anticlimaxes once again abound, keeping you glued to the story.
THE QUEST OF SIX WATERS
When Cynthia Summers and Kaden Krossway learn that the Lil of Lurkur has gone missing, they join up with Alec Mulsiver and a surprising fourth companion to find her. This leads to another trip into Lurkur Woods, a haunting discovery about what has happened to the Lil, and then to Diluvium where they must undergo the Quest of Six Waters to claim what they need to save the Lilâs life: the Seventh Water. The problem is, no one has survived the Quest in over 6,000 years. . . .
The amazing story of Cynthia, Kaden and Alec continues.
chapter 00
Wrottly
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Wrottly hated thisâwaiting, doing nothing.
Four weeks had passed since Wrottly, the Monitoring Teamâs Finder, had located the so-called âimpossibleâ twins. But since then . . . nothing at all. No instructions. No commuÂnications. Not a word from the Monitoring Teamâs leader, Ambrosia Keene. This had never happened before. It was unprecedentedâand troubling. Yes, there was something highly unusual about these sixteen-year-old twins, someÂthing that made them . . . uncommonly dangerous.
Waiting meant so much could go wrong. The twins could realize they were being watched, monitored. Or their part-time employerâwho kept a much closer eye on them than even they knewâcould realize they were being followed. Yes, this Alonis Boreall man was clever, worrisome. He was the reason Wrottly had never stepped foot in his restaurant, the Oaken Door, to monitor its hostess and busboy.
But now this was about to change.
Finally, last night, Ambrosia Keene had made contact and given Wrottly actual orders.
Finally, no more waiting.
Finally, on behalf of their lord and master, Iblis Arrayal, it was time to do something about those magikal abominaÂtions . . . Cynthia Summers and Kaden Krossway.
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chapter 01
The Halo Message
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Located in the bustling Old Town district of Alexandria, Virginia, the Oaken Door was a quaint restaurant with a red brick rear patio brimming with wrought iron tables and enclosed by brick walls climbing with hearty green ivy. Todayâs lunch rush had just ended and only two customers remained in the blistering late-August heat. One was a grandmotherly woman with a kind face and 1960âs-style bouffant hairdo, sitting near the oak tree at the patioâs center and sipping on a glass of iced tea. Seated at the patioâs far corner, the second person was a stocky, powerfully built man with the strong jawline of a pitbull, his black baseball cap pulled down low over his face.
Adding another sugar packet to her iced tea, the grandÂmotherly woman stole a glance at the baseball-capped man, noticing he was keeping a close, watchful eye on the sliding door that led inside the restaurant. The man turned quickly away, however, when the door slid open. A hostess and a busboyâwho couldnât have looked anything less alikeâhad just stepped onto the patio to finish their end-of-shift duties.
The hostess, Cynthia Summers, was a tallish black girl with dazzlingly silver hair and eyes; and the busboy, Kaden Krossway, was an average-looking white boy with a perfectly unremarkable face and dull brown hair and eyes. According to their birth certificates, Cynthia had been born in London, England to Michael and Thandiwah Summers; and Kaden had been born in San Diego, California to John and Janet Krossway. But the only accurate detail on their birth cerÂtificates was their birthday. Because, in actuality, Cynthia and Kaden were just about the most unlikely twin siblings conceivable.
The baseball-capped man, nestled in close to the glossy leaves of ivy growing up the walls, was darting glances at them as they went from table to table. Cynthia was topping off the ketchup bottles and Kaden, in a long white apron, was filling his bussing tray with dirty dishes and used glasses. They hadnât suspected anything might be wrongâuntil the grandmotherly woman subtly waved them over to her table.
âI donât want to alarm you two,â she said lowly when they arrived, âbut that manââ She made an inconspicuous nod at the baseball-capped man. ââhas been watching you the entire time Iâve been here.â
âBoth of us?â said Kaden, not particularly worried by this. âBecause Cyn gets looked at, well. . . .â
âAll the time,â finished Cynthia truthfully, indicating her gleamingly silver hair and eyes, which always caused her to stand out, often making her feel like a zoo attraction for gawkers.
âHeâs been watching both of you, Iâm sure of it,â said the grandmotherly woman quietly.
Cynthia and Kaden exchanged uncertain looks. They couldnât think of anyone here who might want to spy on themâhere being Earth. And they didnât need to worry about being found by the one person they had been warned about, Iblis Arrayal, because Earth was still an Unknown Planet. They had been assured that while here they were safe . . . out of Arrayalâs reach. Why exactly they needed to fear Arrayal had something to do with their powersâcalled magÂikasâbut they didnât know what. Actually, they hadnât even known they had any powers at all until nearly three months ago when, on their sixteenth birthday, their magikas had first manifested.
But . . . they had also learned that Iblis Arrayalâs most dangerous toolâmore dangerous even than the magikal beings called shadowraiths that he commandedâwas his mind. He was even called Arrayal the Uncanny because of his ability to know things he shouldnât. Cynthia and Kaden shared a worried look. . . . Could one of those things Arrayal knew about be . . . the existence of Earth?
For the first time in four weeksâsince returning from Lurkur Woods on the planet ExetrosâCynthia and Kadenâs sense of safety was being threatened. Slowly turning their heads, they glanced over their shoulders atâ
Screech!
The man had leapt to his feet so suddenly he had sent his chair scraping backward atop the bricks. While yanking his hand out of his pocket and appearing increasingly panicked, he glanced at the sliding doorâbut it was on the opposite side of the patio. So he spun around and, while grabbing great handfuls of ivy, hastily climbed up the wall. He had already disappeared over it when, in a rattling of plates and glasses, Kaden dropped his bussing tray on the nearest table and sprinted over. Kaden was halfway up the wall whenâhis apron got tangled in the thick ivy. By the time he had freed himself and made it to the top, the man was nowhere in sight.
âHeâs gone,â huffed Kaden, jumping down.
The old woman, clutching her chest, let out a nervous laugh. âThat was quite an exciting end to my lunch, wasnât it,â she said. Before standing to leave, she reached into her large handbag and pulled out a very grandmotherly sort of thing: butterscotch candies. âOur little secret,â she said with a grin, handing each of them a yellow plastic-wrapped treat.
âThatâs so nice of you,â said Cynthia, pocketing hers for later.
âYeah, thanks,â said Kaden graciously, taking a closer look at his. He had never seen a six-sided hard candy before.
Smiling sweetly, the puffy-haired old woman stood and strode through the sliding door. The moment she was out of sightâCynthia and Kaden hurried to the table where the man had been sitting and scanned it for any clues as to his identity. But there wasnât much to see, other than an empty plate and a drained pint glass that still held the vague aroma of beer.
Frustrated, Cynthia began looking around. She spotted something small, square and white amidst the glossy green leaves of ivy. Retrieving it, she said, âKaden, check this out.â It was a piece of folded-up paper.
âI bet he accidentally yanked it out of his pocket with his hand,â said Kaden of the baseball-capped man, moving to Cynthiaâs side as she unfolded it.
Together they scanned what was . . . an internet search for stores that sold guns. While this was worrisome, it wasnât nearly as disturbing as what they found handwritten in the top margin:
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âtwinsâ â age 16
girl â black; silver hair
boy â white; brown hair
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But these werenât the only handmade notes. . . . The side margins contained a running list of restaurants here in Old Town. And each restaurant had been scratched out . . . except for one. This one. The Oaken Door. It had been circledâtwice.
âSo he was definitely looking for us,â said Kaden, rattled.
âBut under whose orders?â said Cynthia, refolding the paper and putting it in her pocket. âNot Arrayalâsâright? He canât know we live here, because he canât know Earth even exists. Itâs an Unknown Planet.â
They went silent when the sliding door opened and Wendy Wong walked out. Wendy was a nineteen-year-old sophomore at Georgetown College in nearby Washington, DC, but worked here as a waitress and hostess depending on what was needed. âOh good,â said Wendy, spotting them. âMr. Boreall just called from his office. He said he needs to see you two right away.â
âYeah, we need to see him too,â said Kaden, eager to tell Boreall about what had just happened. He picked up his bussing tray then followed Cynthia inside. They made a quick stop in the chrome-countered kitchen so Kaden could put his bussing tray at the dishwasherâs station, and they waved back at the restaurant manager, Darnell Jones, who was chatting with a cook while having a burger between the lunch and dinner shifts. After passing through a door at the rear of the kitchen and climbing the adjoining staircase, they arrived at Boreallâs office, which was also the bottom floor of his home, as Boreall owned the whole building.
Kaden knocked.
âEnter,â came Boreallâs uplifting, gusting voice.
Part-library and part-workshop, Boreallâs office was as large as the entire restaurant one story below. Books, manuÂscripts, and hand-drawn maps were scattered across its many tables; easels stood here and there with canvasses in the process of being painted; and the walls were lined with bookshelves that bore all sorts of interesting-looking objects and items, not just books.
Pacing behind a desk near the rear wall, Boreall was tall and slender with a flair for life despite his tremendous age, and his deeply lined face was highlighted by a pair of specÂtacular cerulean blue eyes.
They made their way through the neatly organized clutÂter and came to a stop at his desk. Boreall, however, continÂued pacing, appearing troubled.
âIs everything okay, sir?â said Cynthia, speaking before Kaden could tell him about the baseball-capped man.
âIâm afraid not,â said Boreall ominously. Finally coming to a stop, he pointed at a plain-looking golden ring on his desk. âYou remember this, I take it?â
They nodded.
âYou were given it when your daughter married King Mulsiver the Last,â said Kaden.
King Mulsiver the Last was the grandfather of their newest best friend, Alec Mulsiver, who lived on the planet Exetros. They had even been staying at Alecâs incredible home, Mulsiver Palace, when King Mulsiver the Last had died around a month-and-a-half ago. Upon the kingâs death, the Mulsiver family title had been demoted to thane, though Cynthia and Kaden hadnât learned why. When Alecâs father, Garret Mulsiver, had taken the throne, it had therefore been as Thane Mulsiver I.
âItâs made from a really odd gold you called chrius,â said Cynthia, the ring seeming to glow in her eyes now that she had been staring at it for a few uninterrupted seconds. Then she realizedâ âThatâs why we hadnât ever heard of chrius gold. Because itâs not from Earth.â
âCorrect,â said Boreall, nodding. âWhat youâre looking at is called a halo ring. Halo rings are the only devices in exisÂtence capable of communicating across the cosmos, regardÂless of distance. This makes them just about the most highly prized objects in the entire universe.â
âWhoa,â muttered Kaden.
âJust minutes ago,â resumed Boreall in a serious tone, taking a seat behind his desk, âmy halo ring received an urÂgent message from Isimir. But the message wasnât for me.â He took a deep breath. âIt was for you two.â
Cynthia and Kaden had only met Isimir twice before, but Isimir had known about them all their livesâliterally from the moment of their births. Isimir was both magikally powÂerful and highly knowledgeable about the larger magikal world.
As Cynthia and Kaden took seats across from Boreall, they exchanged anxious glances, wondering what could be so important Isimir needed to contact them directly.
The halo ring, upon being touched by Boreall, produced an upward spray of light that then became an interactive, three-dimensional hologram with staggered menu pages. He selected the Incoming Messages page, then opened the most recent one.
At once the halo image above the ring changed. They were now looking at the remarkably lifelike image of Isimir: a grizzled older man with one eye and a disturbingly large scar in the shape of a spiderweb surrounding his missing eye. The halo image was so high-resolution they could even see the intricately carved, rune-like designs and star-shaped symbols on Isimirâs wooden eyepatch.
Grinning, Cynthia and Kaden leaned forward, examining Isimirâs surroundings. They knew where he was. In fact, they had spent several wonderful weeks there. It was Alecâs home, Mulsiver Palace, on the planet Exetros. Presently Isimir was on the grand front drive, almost to the palaceâs double front door.
Boreall, visible through the partially transparent halo image, asked if they were ready. Feeling suddenly nervous, they nodded back. He swiped a finger upward, causing the three-dimensional video to play. . . .
Isimir, with the aid of his tall, knotty wooden staff, began limping ahead. âWeâve got a big problem,â he said, his gravÂelly voice sounding exactly as it had in person. âTirah has gone missingââ
âWHAT?!â shouted Cynthia and Kaden in unison, comÂpletely drowning out Isimirâs next words and forcing Boreall to pause the recording.
âThe Lil of Lurkur is missing?â said Kaden in horror, turning to Cynthia.
âButâbutâshe canât be missing!â stammered Cynthia, looking pleadingly at Kaden. âSheâs a Lurkur Witch! Sheâs too important to all of Lurkur Woods!â
Lurkur Woods was a massive forest on Exetros that began just south of Mulsiver Palace. Hidden away in the Skelcrionâa mazelike forest of Skeleton Trees within Lurkur Woods itselfâwas something of immense importance: a sacrosite called the Arba Magon. Also known as Sanctuaries of Life, sacrosites were the power sources for all magikas.
Desperate to know more about the Lilâs disappearance, they nodded at Boreall. For a second time he swiped a finger upward through the halo.
â. . . Before Tirah disappeared,â resumed Isimir, âshe mentioned something about needing to check on a well. . . .â
Boreall, spotting Cynthia and Kadenâs eyes widen and heads turn toward one another, swiftly paused the message.
âYou donât think. . . ?â said Kaden worriedly.
Cynthia was already nodding. âI do,â she said.
Facing Boreall, they explained how at the age of sixteen the Lil had battled an evil Lurkur Witch called Straiganna, and even though Straiganna had been much older and more experienced, the Lil had defeated her. After the battle, the Lil and the Arba Magonâthe sacrosite in Lurkur Woodsâhad worked together to imprison Straiganna.
â. . . But not in an ordinary prison,â said Kaden.
âTogether the Lil and the Arba Magon magikally transÂposed Straiganna into a drinking well,â said Cynthia. âThey literally made Straiganna a part of the wellâs stones.â
Boreall considered for a moment. âDid something go wrong?â he asked. âWas the well no longer functioning as a prison for Straiganna?â
âWe donât know,â said Cynthia. âBut weâre pretty sure Straiganna found a way to access her magikas even though she doesnât have a body anymore. When we told the Lil, she assured us she would check on itâcheck on Straigannaâs well-prison.â
âThat was the last thing the Lil said to us, actually, before we left Lurkur Woods about a month ago,â finished Kaden.
âIâll make sure to relate all of this to Isimir as soon as weâre done,â Boreall assured them, sensing their distress. âBut thereâs more you need to hear first.â With another upÂward flick of the finger, he resumed playing the message.
â. . . About a week ago,â Isimir was saying, âTirahâs miliÂtary leader and close friend, Dallaghey, went looking for her. And now heâs missing too. . . .â
This was truly crushing news. During their time in Lurkur Woods, Cynthia and Kaden had grown to care deeply for Dallaghey.
â. . . Tirahâs disappearance couldnât have come at a worse time either,â Isimir was saying. âA crew of eterne pirates has begun acting highly suspiciously. A couple of them, includÂing their recklessly dangerous captain, Despona, have even managed to slip beyond my magikal Sight. I donât know how theyâve done it, nor where theyâve gone.â Isimir fell silentâexcept for a few grunts of painâas he limped up the stairs to the palaceâs entrance.
âEterne pirates?â said Kaden, glancing at Cynthia.
âThey must have something to do with eternes, right?â she said, shrugging.
Eternes, they had learned from the Lil herself, were obÂjects that came directly from sacrosites and significantly enÂhanced a personâs magikas. The Lil had been given her eterne by the Arba Magon. It was in the form of a circlet tiara bearing an interlacing image of the Arba Magonâs two trees: the White Tree, which grew upward, and the Black Tree, which grew downward.
â. . . Listen closely, you two,â resumed Isimir, having just climbed the final stair. âThings are happening faster than I expected. If you find yourselves in danger, disregard what I previously said about not using your powers while on Earth. Use them to protect yourselves! Cynthia, this means going full Lurkur Witch. It doesnât matter how many people see you doing magikas or how much destruction you cause. Donât hold back, understand? Iâll repair any damage. And Iâve already put the DiGalli family on notice. Theyâre mind charmers. Theyâll be able to handle any fallout from your powers being witnessed.â
Isimir threw open the double front door, then limped into the massive entrance hall where half a dozen staffers were hard at work cleaning and polishing the many sculptures. Isimir banged his staff against the marble floor. At once everyone in view froze in place, appearing as if human statues next to the stone ones they had just been cleaning.
â. . . Kaden,â resumed Isimir, now sounding like he was giving an order, âonly if Cynthia canât protect both of you should you summon Devilâs Fire, understand?â
Indignant, Kaden wished this was a two-way call so he could demand to know why not.
â. . . Stay alert, both of you,â concluded Isimir. âAnd as always, Iâll be keeping a very close eye on you.â With the end of his staff, he tapped his wooden eyepatch as if to indicate this was how heâd be watching them from another planet. Then the halo message ended and the image of Isimir reÂceded into the halo ring.
Kaden turned slowly to Cynthia. âItâs like Isimir thinks weâre going to be attacked any second.â
âActually, if not for that sweet old woman, we might have already been attacked by the man in the baseball cap. Oh rightââ Cynthia faced Boreall. âSomething just happened you need to know about. . . .â
As they recounted the events from the patio, with Boreall appearing more and more concerned by the word, Cynthia reached into her pocket and pulled out the folded-up paper. She didnât realize she had snagged the butterscotch candy until it hit the floor beside her. Rather than pick it up she handed the folded-up paper to Boreall. âYouâll want to see thisâespecially after everything Isimir just told us.â
Boreall unfolded and read it, his brow furrowing with concern.
âCould this have something to do with whatever Isimir meant by: things are happening faster than he expected?â asked Kaden.
âI donât know,â said Boreall slowly. âBut Iâll add a copy of this to my return halo message to Isimir.â
As Boreall scrolled through the interactive menu to set his halo ring to record a message, Kaden leaned over and picked up Cynthiaâs candy. âYou want this, Cyn?â
She hadnât even opened her mouth to reply whenâ
âWhere did you get that?â demanded Boreall, staring through the halo menu at Kadenâs hand. He got to his feet so abruptly that Cynthia and Kaden actually jumped. StridÂing purposefully around the desk, Boreall peered down at the item in Kadenâs hand, appearing unnerved.
âItâs just candy, sir,â said Kaden, wondering why Boreall looked so alarmed. âI got one too.â
âDid you eat it?â asked Boreall at once.
âNo, itâs right here.â Kaden retrieved his butterscotch.
Boreall, without offering a single word in explanation, swiped both candies from Kadenâs hand and departed for an upstairs room, leaving Cynthia and Kaden alone, and worÂried, in his office.
DELOS: The Moonâs Eye by Blake Miller is an incredible fantasy novel that is the sequel to, Delos: The White Tree. But the good news is that you can jump right into this book without reading the previous one! The narrative opens by introducing twin siblings, Cynthia and Kaden. The main narrative of the story is about how their lives are about to be irrevocably altered by exposing the truth about the twinsâ origins and a particularly useful power that they both possess. Their path intersects with that of their friends Alec, a prince, and Sorra, whose lineage ties her to a ruthless ruler intent on their downfall. United by circumstance, they embark on an adventure to rescue a mysterious witch who is a guardian of all magic nestled within the woods.
This novel is a remarkable fusion of science fiction and fantasy, that are combined to craft an engaging narrative. The story's foundation, characters, and world-building are executed almost perfectly. Each page is infused with vivid imagery, inviting readers to lose themselves in the rich tapestry of the story's universe. The book contains quite a few unexpected twists, and the characters show a lot of strength and perseverance through all of the challenges, that keeps readers enthralled. The elements are combined in such an artistic and vivid way, that makes it incredibly easy to continue from one page to the other. It does well with combining âthe power of friendshipâ with âyour true strength lies from within.â
If I had to give this book a rating, I would confidently award this book a solid 4.5 out of 5 stars. The narrative's unique and creative way of combining science fiction and fantasy elements shines through in a spectacular way. This book is an ideal fit for lovers of science fiction and fantasy who enjoy a twist of adventure. As a whole, the story skillfully navigates the spectrum between tension and humor, leaving a lasting mark on those who navigate through the journey of the bookâs pages.