A Simple Darkness (The Young Ancients: Tiera) Read online

  Books by P.S. Power

  The Young Ancients

  (Tor)

  The Builder

  Knight Esquire

  Knight of the Realm

  Ambassador

  Counselor

  Slave Line

  (Timon)

  The Dark Half of the Sun

  (Tiera)

  A Simple Darkness

  *Coming in January 2013

  Keeley Thomson

  Demon Girl

  Keelzebub

  Mistress of Souls

  (Related Works)

  (Richard)

  Christmas of the Vampire

  Other Places

  Shortcuts

  Gwen Farris

  Abominations

  Monsters

  Strangers and Lies

  Dead End

  A Very Good Man

  A Very Good Neighbor

  A Very Good thing

  A Very Dark Place

  The Infected

  Proxy

  Gabriel

  Cast Iron

  Proxy: Reunions

  Cellophane (*Coming January 2013)

  Stand Alone Titles

  Crayons

  Unrelenting Terror

  Tiera Book One

  A Simple Darkness

  P.S. Power

  Chapter one

  There was a hush over the students' dining room when Tiera walked in. She remembered what Regina, her best friend at school, had told her to do before she left the room. How to present herself. Head up, face set and calm. Her posture straight. It was normal for the other girls to dislike her a little, since she was so pretty and well connected. It hadn't been what she'd expected when she'd first gotten there at all, but it seemed to be the truth. Most of the girls thought of her as competition, instead of as a potential friend. They'd gone out of their way to make that plain.

  Honestly she'd expected everyone to kind of dote on her when she'd first gotten to the Lairdgren school. After all, she really was good looking, and people tended to like that. It wasn't like she was stuck on herself though, so she hadn't figured that would be a problem. Tiera was also a Conserina. True that wasn't exactly something real, since she'd never inherit anything, not with the Count, her own mother and one of her older brothers being immortal like they were, but that didn't matter, the title itself should have been enough. People were supposed to respect you for being a noble.

  A lot of things ran through her mind as she went to the back of the room to get her tray of food, but the main thing was not showing that she heard what people were saying about her under their breaths.

  "Bitch." It came from a collection of kids in drab brown clothing, which really wasn't any different than what she wore herself. She wasn't trying to show anyone up after all, and neither were they though they all could have. There were only four of them that day, but she avoided them, even if they were friends of her brother Tor. The one that had spoken was decently tall, and also a Conserina, Farlo Ross. It was said just loud enough for her to hear, but not at a level that would require her to try and do anything about it. They were all like that, the ones in that group, treating her as if she were inferior to them. She would have thought it was her small size that did it, since that was a commoner trait, but most of them weren't much bigger than she was.

  They were all builders though, and thought that meant they were special or something. That didn't mean Tiera wanted to put up with people being crude to her though, did it? Anyone could do magic, if they had the mind for it. She could do it, and had a few times, just to see if she liked it. It was interesting enough, but not her primary area of study, since she liked numbers a lot more. It was probably why they were really going after her, since she hadn't joined their section.

  They didn't have much of a life though, did they? They kept to themselves and acted superior to people like her, as if they were some kind of a big thing on campus. They were, which made it even worse for her. She kept her nose in the air and pretended not to hear the other noble girl, since the bullies would only get worse if they thought they were winning.

  When she got to her seat the first year girl she'd sat next to actually got up and left, rather than deign to share the same table. Tiera knew that her face went dark then. It made her angry when people didn't treat her well. She very nearly lashed out at the girl, but let her go, knowing that losing her composure wouldn't help at the moment. It was going to happen soon though, wasn't it? There was only so much she was going to put up with, and being called names had just about pushed her to that mark already. Now a public snubbing? No, she could feel herself getting really upset already. It was taking an act of will not to react.

  The food looked bland that day, being mainly dried fruit in oats. It had lumps in it, which she examined before pulling her poison detector to make sure the food was safe. Something about it just seemed off, the lumps being slightly yellow inside. A thrill of shock ran through her when the magical device lit up, the nimbus of golden light getting everyone's attention suddenly. Then people started laughing. As if trying to kill her was funny? It wasn't everyone that was making merry over it though, just the Lairdgren group. The builders.

  A sudden rage sang through her blood.

  "You tried to poison me? Me?" She shot to her feet, pulling an explosive weapon from the small pocket on the right hand side of her magical clothing. It might have looked like what almost everyone else was wearing, and pretty much was, since her brother had just given the things away to almost everyone the year before, but it meant she could carry almost anything with her, making the needed pockets and pouches with just a little extra concentration.

  She pointed the weapon, which was on a small copper tube, at the table of builders.

  "Get up! I... You're all under arrest. For attempted murder!" She didn't know if she could apprehend anyone or not, but she could darn well destroy them, if nothing else.

  Helpfully everyone else froze at first, then scattered, leaving the room. It was a good plan, since she had to figure that the builders all had shields on. That was confirmed a half second later, when Farlo growled at her.

  "Do you think you can touch us?" It had a slightly smarmy tone to it. That just made Tiera even angrier. The girl tried to kill her and then was going to act all superior after the fact?

  "No. I think I can collapse the floor under you though and leave you buried under the building. See how I'm actually aiming at the floor? Now, take off your amulets and set them on the table. Do it, or so help me I will bring this whole thing down on you!"

  "Fuck you." This came from one of the boys at the table, which was far more rude than she would have thought anyone would ever be to her. Then, after trying to kill her, why not? He kept talking, his small frame larger than her own, since they both looked a little common that way. Sam Builder glared at her angrily. "We didn't try to do anything to you."

  It was a lie, of course, they'd been out to get her since just after the first week. No one had said why, but she wasn't so dense she didn't get the idea. After all, she'd turned down one of their friends when he asked her out. It wasn't her fault he was poor and kind of ugly, was it? Sure, she'd been a little rough on him about it, but that was just because she hadn't wanted to give him false hope, not because she was trying to hurt his feelings. That had to be clear to them, didn't it?

  "Shut it! Amulets. Now!" For just a second she seriously contemplated doing it, taking the building down around them. She could fly out of it, if she triggered her flying rig fast enough. Then, so could most of these others. They probably didn't even have to move in order to do it. She did. It wasn't fair, but that was the kind of thi
ng builders were good at. Cheating.

  No one moved for a second, so she let her chin come up and slowly started moving her thumb to actually do it. The four at the table glared at her, but they did what she said, setting a whole lot of magical devices on the wooden table in front of them. It was a strange and varied array of things. All of hers matched, since she didn't have everything she owned on her. All things on copper or focus stone, all made by her older brother. These kids, some of them orphans, and so poor that they were there on scholarships, were dumping thousands of golds worth of things in front of them. It was, she had to admit, impressive. Scary too, since she didn't know what most of them were.

  "Clothes too."

  That got an outraged sound from Sam and the boy across from him. She didn't know what his name was, but he looked pretty common too, if with slightly lighter hair than her black or Sam's medium brown.

  Farlo just did it. The other boy, who was taller, and sort of good looking in a stuck up way, did the same without batting an eye. They were both used to public nudity, which wasn't her way, but was a lot more accepted in the large cities and in royal circles. Then she made them move to the side of the room, so that when she killed them the floor wouldn't be destroyed. She didn't think it was a major load bearing wall, at least it shouldn't be.

  Not that she was going to kill them yet.

  No first she had to wait, because people would be coming. Probably to arrest these four. She was going to enjoy watching them swing by the neck, she decided. Farlo gave her a long suffering look and sighed at her.

  "Tiera... We didn't do anything. It's just..."

  Before she could speak the Headmaster ran to the door, followed by a taller man that she vaguely recognized from the day before. The new Weapons Instructor. Or, if she understood it all correctly, the old one having finally gotten there. She'd seen him at a bit of a distance with all the instructors while she was teaching some kids to fly in the morning section.

  She didn't let them speak, pointing with her left hand, so that the smooth copper weapon could stay trained on her would be assassins.

  "The food is poisoned and they laughed when it happened, when my detector started glowing. I want them killed for it! They've been harassing me for weeks." It was pretty tempting to do it herself, right then, but that would damage the building. The problem with explosive weapons was, of course, that they made things blow-up. They were kind of useless inside your own spaces that way. And this was, for now, her place. If she destroyed it, she'd be personally inconvenienced. It was annoying.

  Instead of cowering in fear like they should have, the naked boy she didn't know who was smaller and covering himself with his hands... Rolled his eyes and looked at the Headmaster.

  "Sir... We didn't do anything. It's pretty clear that-"

  He stopped as Tiera let her hand tighten again.

  "Quiet! You won't get away with this. I know that you hate me, and now you try to kill me? I'll..." She started to finish the move when the big bald man chuckled.

  "Calm down a bit girl. Let's see what's going on first. We always have time for executions later. Headmaster Hardgrove? I believe that poisons are one of your areas of interest? Perhaps you could tell us what exactly is going on here?"

  Pulling his own copper rectangle, meaning a first generation detector, the stooped and ancient bearded man set to work immediately. He nodded when he saw the glow, but using a fork he examined the lumps in the oat cereal, making a tight face after a few moments.

  "Ah. Well. It isn't strictly poison at least, but I wouldn't eat it. Someone expectorated mucus into this dish. They seem to be rather ill as well, probably a bronchial infection from the color. We really shouldn't let them work with food until they get better. The bacteria showed up as poison, or I dare say you wouldn't have been alerted to it." He didn't smile about it at least, looking at the naked builders along the wall his black velvet doublet being straightened a bit as he regarded them.

  "I take it that you four know something of this? Laughing at such a thing is an uncommon reaction, don't you think? Most would respond with shock to a potential poisoning." The voice was mild, but seemed a little annoyed.

  Farlo answered for them, her hands held loosely at her sides, even as the old man looked at her face. She was thin, and didn't have a vast amount of muscle like some of the noble giants did, even though she was pretty tall already.

  "We saw the boy in the kitchen do it. We're... Not all that pleased with Doretta here, so we didn't tell her. It was wrong of us, but, well, she deserves it, doesn't she?"

  The statement got a half nod from the Headmaster, which got Tiera to flare into true rage.

  "How dare you!" The device in her hand got turned on the man for agreeing with the scum in front of them. It was madness, but she wasn't going to let this... cretin, insult her like that.

  "I deserve to have my food spit in? They were trying to make me sick... or something. I won't put up with this. I demand they be punished. I demand..." She didn't know what to proclaim next, but the tall and muscular bald man with the scarred face smiled at her. Then he waved at her a little with the back of his left hand, palm toward the floor.

  "Put the weapon away. He wasn't saying that you deserved to be made ill, just that your behavior might have caused that kind of reaction from people. We'll punish the person responsible and make certain he doesn't do it again. These four have been rude to you, true, but that stops now. You all understand that? If nothing else you should realize how close you all just came to dying. Get your clothing on and get to classes. Baker, meet me in the practice yard in fifteen minutes." He gestured to the kids along the wall who didn't look at all sorry for laughing at her.

  She'd make them sorry though. They weren't getting away with this. None of them were.

  "What, so you can punish me? I quit. I want these... monsters arrested. Now! They're not getting away with this. I won't let them. You too, for trying to help them." She pointed at the Headmaster, who was, after all, not anyone with authority over her anymore. She used the explosive weapon to gesture with, but after a few seconds of focusing she realized that he had a shield on. It was already triggered too. The weapons Instructor's was too.

  It seemed like a good plan so she reached up and triggered her own, which hadn't kicked on yet. They were handy that way, but you had to think something was a real threat to you for that part to work. The effects varied. A bowl of poison wouldn't do it, not for her, since there was no way she'd eat it, was there? It was gross now, but she had to admit that it did seem to be green and yellow mucus in her food when she glanced at it.

  She aimed at the kids again.

  "Hostages. Sir, I suggest you come along peacefully, if you don't want their innards scattered over the building next door." This came out as a growl, but the large bald man raised his eyebrows and made a face.

  "Sorry, your application to resign has been denied, since you're being a silly twit. Good idea, using the others as hostages, but right now you're blowing this situation so far out of proportion it's almost not funny anymore." He smiled then and pointed with one finger at the weapon in her hand. It was a good one, designed to dominate an entire battle field. "So weapons away, now."

  "Are you stupid? I just quit and have these people under arrest. I can do that." Because, obviously, she had the drop on them. She didn't know if she had a legal right to do it, but the Headmaster sighed at her.

  "True, you can do that, however Instructor Kolbrin is correct. This situation, while a thing that would make anyone angry, is being blown out of proportion. I think we can safely assume that this is about your rather harsh treatment of their fellows, instead of an actual attack on your person. It wouldn't serve to let childhood squabbles become major issues."

  Clenching her jaw Tiera had to glare at the stupid man a bit.

  "You mean like trying to infect a person with a disease?" True, it wouldn't work, since she had the Ancient pattern, which made her pretty much immune to such things, but it
wasn't about it being a good attack, just an attempt to harm her. "We can test them under Truth Amulet. Then have them put to death. Or at least in prison." Possibly in a mine. There was always need for strong young workers to get at mineral resources.

  Farlo moved back to the table and picked a single amulet out of the mess on the table, one of the few that was obviously made by Tor himself, a white focus stone piece with a glowing pink sigil on the front. When she tapped it, holding it in her hand, an aura of gold and white surrounded her. For some reason it had stripes of gold with a cream colored background. It was what her brother had made, but she didn't know why he'd picked that pattern at all. A simple glow of either color would have worked after all. It was kind of showy, but pretty enough really. It would produce an ugly black streak when they tried to lie however.

  The other Conserina looked at her, making direct eye contact, even as the explosive was pointed at the tall girl's midsection, ready to end her for all time.

  "I didn't try to harm you. I didn't warn you either, because you've been very rude to several boys here. It isn't good to be a Doretta and you've been walking around here acting like you're the Princess of the Realm, instead of just another school girl. It's stupid and is giving you a bad name. I suggest you correct yourself before you start a real problem." Then she stopped, the field never so much as flickering.

  Sam took it next, still looking highly embarrassed about being naked, which she could see. He wasn't ugly or anything, but just average in build, and in other areas, though he didn't cover himself overly.

  "I didn't have anything to do with that boy spitting in your food. But you deserved it, and more. I did however pull strings so that you were in nearly the back row of Lyn's wedding at the Palace the other day. Just so you understand why that was. No one likes a Doretta."