Shifting Stars by Gary Stringer (best fiction books of all time txt) 📗

Still, Dreya thought as one of her ghoulish guards shimmered into the room to inform her that dinner was ready to be served, undead creatures did exist all over Tempestria. Ulvarius had a particular penchant for them, she knew. In fact, had he had his way, the whole world would have been populated by the undead. He had considered them infinitely more useful than the living. So, given the Ulvarius connection to Quernhow, it was plausible that he might have left a legacy beyond just the lake. Dreya knew Cat wouldn’t be fazed by such reports, though, and Dreya herself was not worried as she descended the steps to the dining room.

Catriona Redfletching, the girl with a thousand ridiculous radical plans in her head, searching for a lost repository of ancient knowledge at the site of a terrible atrocity, committed by the most dangerous tyrant in modern history, perhaps infested by the undead?

What could possibly go wrong?

*****

“Thank heavens for shapeshifting,” Cat said to herself as she retook her natural form on the outskirts of New Quernhow. Flying there swiftly as a falcon avoided all the hassle of a long, uncomfortable journey on horseback. She, more than anyone, understood the truth of the expression, ‘free as a bird.’

Cat began wandering the streets of the village. Houses and businesses were still being constructed as the settlement was developed. The expansive Lake of Tears at the bottom of the valley, surrounded by gentle grassy slopes certainly made for a picturesque landscape. She could see the attraction, as long as one wasn’t put off by the history. Cat felt it would be rather hypocritical of her to criticise, considering the history of the Black Tower that she called home. That it had once sat at the heart of Ulvarius’ web of tyranny and death was all the more reason, in her opinion, to turn it into a place of beauty and life. The same was true of Quernhow.

Thinking of Ulvarius, Cat took her notebook out of her pocket dimension and went over the notes she had made regarding the wizard’s exploration of this place. As always, her notes were written in her own private shorthand in case of prying eyes, so they meant nothing to anyone but her. In between the pages, she also had a few photographs of three-hundred-year-old sketches Ulvarius had made of the surrounding area, to aid her search. With these references as a guide, she believed it should be possible to tread in his footsteps. After all, three centuries may be a long time to humans or even Faery, but on a geological timescale, it was no time at all.

Ignoring the new construction, then, Cat continued to walk, all the time trying to match up the outline of the lattice of peaks and valleys to the sketches. However, Ulvarius was not known for his artistic skill, and the view from one side of the lake was similar enough to that from the opposite side, so even after an hour, she still wasn’t sure which was correct.

“Ah, there you are!” came a voice, breaking her out of her inner thoughts.

Cat looked up to see a young red-robed wizard she knew at least in passing. His name was Jett and she’d first met him a couple of years back, when she’d been researching all things related to Shifting Stars. As usual, her research had told her that he had a rare text that could be useful to her, so she’d gone to visit him. Thankfully, there had been no need to demolish his home, as he was only too pleased to exchange knowledge. He was an archaeologist by profession, and as such he, too, was often searching for rare texts to advance his research. Therefore, he told Cat he would be happy to dig out the book she wanted to borrow, if only she would try and find what he was looking for, in return. She didn’t just try – she succeeded.

As soon as she’d come across Ulvarius’ notes about this store of ancient knowledge, she immediately thought of Jett. After all, what was the point of knowledge without people to share it with? So, she’d sent him an urgent magical message, inviting him to join her on what she had described, without hyperbole, as ‘the archaeological find of a lifetime.’

Grinning, he opened his arms wide and said, “Hey, Cat!”

“Jett!” she cried, matching his smile and embracing him. “How’d you get here so fast?”

“Asked a friend to teleport me.”

Teleportation may be faster than flying, Catriona conceded, but it meant missing out on all the scenery along the way, and the sheer joy of flight itself.

Realising they were attracting attention, Cat said, “Better break the hug, or people will start saying you’re my new wizard lover!”

Stepping back, Jett nodded. “Yeah, I heard about you and Asante.”

“Oh? Do you keep tabs on all my love interests?”

“That would be a full-time job, wouldn’t it?” Jett laughed. “But most of your love interests don’t come with photos.”

Cat blushed slightly and agreed, “Yes, you’re right, photos of me with my ‘lovers’ are much rarer, but that one was not at all what it looked like. The camera just went off accidentally and the angle was…unfortunate.” She shook her head to clear her mind of distractions. “Why am I even explaining? I didn’t ask you here to talk about rumours,” she said. “Well,” she amended, “not rumours about me, but rumours about an ancient repository of knowledge buried around here, somewhere.”

When she explained in detail, Jett was clearly as excited as she was. “If we could really find it,” he said with a crooked smile, “that would be well worth putting up with a few rumours about being your new lover!”

Doing her best to act offended, Cat replied, “I don’t even know how to take that, so I shall rise above it.”

Of course, Jett couldn’t read her notes, and she wouldn’t translate them word-for-word – that would defeat