37
It was the one thing she’d been dreading the whole ride home. Beneath the pride at having survived Evermoore… at having saved Lucus — and saved herself — the ultimate failure of her mission tainted every other accomplishment.
You had one job.
Xiomara’s gaze hardened. She knew.
One task…
Melody wanted to look away — wanted to avert her eyes as she tried to explain away her failure. Anything out of her mouth would sound like an excuse. Anything she said would fall woefully short of explaining—
THUMP!
She looked down at the same time Xiomara did. Lucus had pulled something from inside his shirt and planted it on the desk. His dirt-caked, blood-stained hand was still wrapped around it:
A beautifully crafted, gold-chased, ivory jeweled egg.
Xiomara’s expression was rapturous. Her eyes went wide with inexplicable glee.
“We brought back Lady Neveux’s egg,” said Lucus. “Just as you asked.”
It was the first time he’d spoken since they arrived. Slowly Melody turned to face her lover, absolutely incredulous. If Xiomara had been paying attention to her expression, she’d realize Melody was just as shocked as she was.
Her eyes never left the egg though.
“You…” The old woman’s voice cracked as she spoke. “You did it?”
“She did,” said Lucus.
Carefully he placed the object in the Head of Order’s outstretched, reverent grasp. When he finally released it, Xiomara’s hands were shaking.
“T—This…” She could barely contain her emotion. “This is…” She blinked twice, then looked up at Melody. “Do you have any idea what this means?”
“No,” she shrugged. “But I’m hoping it was worth it.”
Xiomara took the egg back to her side of the desk and stood it on end. Very slowly, she began turning it, examining it from all angles. Her face was a mask of unbridled euphoria. Melody had never seen anything like it.
“It really is beautiful,” Melody noted. “I can’t believe how delicate and—”
She gasped as the top of the egg suddenly popped open. Xiomara’s fingers were moving deftly over the surface, pressing a series of jewels and hidden buttons that were invisible to the naked eye.
“What the—”
The sides of the egg folded downward, tiny hinges collapsing in upon themselves as the egg peeled open from the inside out. Jewels popped off, clattering to the desk. Piece of gold filigree twisted downward, bending and curling.
“You’re destroying it!”
The Head of Order had forgotten them entirely — it was like they weren’t even there. She continued the elaborate opening of the egg until its contents were finally revealed: an opaque, frosted white orb. About the size of a ping-pong ball.
Xiomara turned the egg upside down and shook it, until the orb fell into her hand. Then, unceremoniously, she tossed Lady Neveux’s egg over her shoulder. It hit the floor with a loud CRACK! Jagged shards of broken ivory and tiny gemstones scattered everywhere.
“HOLY SHIT!”
The old woman rolled the orb in her hands, turning it over and over. The more Melody looked at it, the more she noticed something: the orb seemed to glow.
“Why the hell would you do that?” Melody asked. “What would make you—”
“Do you know what this is?” Xiomara asked. She held the orb out in her palm.
“No.”
“Touch it.”
Melody reached out hesitantly in the direction of the tiny object. She laid one finger on its glass-like surface… then jerked her arm back violently.
“OW! It’s freezing cold!”
Xiomara looked almost pleased. “That’s because it’s not for you,” she said. “It’s not for me either, although I know barely enough to be able to handle it.”
She stared down at the orb, which Melody could swear had somehow grown bigger. There looked to be something inside it now, too. Something white. Something cold and… swirling.
“This is one of the greatest prizes the Order has ever recovered,” the old woman said gravely. She looked up to Melody again, and there was pride and gratitude in her eyes. “Thank you Ms. Larson.”
She nodded slowly. “You need to thank Lucus too,” she said. “Without him—”
“I realize that now,” Xiomara smiled.
She opened a drawer, and pulled out a small but intricately carved box. Melody watched as she flipped it open. Inside the velvet-lined container was a circular depression — exactly the right size to fit the strange, glowing orb.
Xiomara put the object away carefully and locked the drawer with a loud ‘click’. Then she sat back in her chair.
“Not bad Ms. Larson,” she said with a sigh. Though her expression was hardening again, her lips betrayed a wry grin that not even the stoic old woman could contain. “Not that bad at all...”