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Mara was quiet for a minute. She could see her sister’s mind working. They had lived under the same roof then, and Alana had taken off time and time again. She came up with a variety of excuses. None of which Mara believed, but she was starting to put the pieces together. “What kinds of artifacts have you been collecting?”
“Not everything I seek out is for Adara. I only go after those when she needs it. The majority of my acquisitions went to the museum. I won’t work for private collectors, even though the money is better.”
Mara nodded. “I know that. I saw some of your pieces in the local museum. You are named as the benefactor, but I am interested in the ones you used to power the temple.”
Alana recalled the list Adara had given her. “The first was a Celtic horn. It called its enemies to war. Then there was a mage wand. It focused the power of its user to boost the spell being performed.”
Legion frowned. “The Celtic horn is a dragon artifact. It was thought lost when the druid bomb exploded.”
Mara glanced at her mate. “I am guessing that all the artifacts Alana collected for the temple were mage or dragon in origin. She needed a connection to absorb them. The circles are part of her. She can use them but not absorb them and the circles are connected to the druid they signify. Only they can place the circle in the temple.”
Legion turned back to Alana. “What happens to these artifacts after Adara uses them?”
“They are glorified paperweights. At least until she is returned to this world. Then she could re-infuse them.”
Mara’s eyes narrowed on her sister. “It must have taken a lot of effort for Adara to contact you at such a young age. Not to mention the ethical boundaries she crossed to have you start risking your life in your teens.”
Mara had no idea that Alana had crossed those boundaries. That Adara had to react to Alana’s mistake. “True, but it was essential that the realm be maintained.”
“Why? What happens if the realm fails? If Adara can’t recharge?” Mara asked.
Alana hated to put this burden on her sister. She had avoided this since she learned Mara was the seer. “Then Adara is severed from this world. She will die.”
Mara’s eyes widened with fear. “Then we will all die.”
“Yes.”
CHAPTER9
Alana took a sip of her tea. The warm chamomile was soothing, and she remembered it was one of Mara’s favorites. She grabbed another oatmeal cookie from the plate on top of the oak table as her sister processed the gravity of their situation. She knew exactly what Mara would ask next. It was the question she had avoided since finding out she was a druid.
Mara took a calming breath. “How did you find out? About Adara and the druids.”
Alana swallowed the cookie. “I was telling the truth about not knowing what happened to cause the temple... to decline. I was exploring the west ridge, close to the high school, when it happened.”
“Adara reached out to you?” Mara asked.
“Yes. I was hiking that day. Threading my way between one of the steeper slopes when my body began to tingle. At first, I thought there was a storm front. I’ve always been able to sense pressure changes in the weather. You don’t want to be scaling a rock face in a thunderstorm, but it was completely sunny, and I couldn’t find any source for the disturbance.”
Mara nodded. “Adara contacted you, but how?”
“She spoke to me telepathically. I recognized her voice from the camp.”
Mara glanced at Legion. “She never did that with any other druid. How is she able to make that connection with Alana?”
Alana tapped on her pendant. “The pendant she gave me at the camp. It has certain powers. One is a connection to Adara.”
“What did she ask you?”
Alana shrugged. “She told me she had a job for me. I was always a climber and sought adventure. It seemed like the perfect fit. A way to make money when I wasn’t procuring artifacts for her.”
Mara smiled. “I can understand that. We could never keep you home after the camp.”
“It’s like a compulsion. Once I know there’s something to find, I can’t stop myself.”
Mara glanced at Kell. “When Alana was fourteen, she heard the story of Marty Grainer.”
Alana’s eyes widened. “You are going to tell them that story? It had nothing to do with the temple.”
