Excerpt: Solunastar and When Fire Burns Black

Chapter 1: The Strangest Seer

Obsidian crept along the dark hallway, holding the prized sapphire in his hand. He was invisible to the common eye, just a silhouette in the consuming blackness. The security system had already been shut down, but Obsidian knew it would only last for another five minutes before someone put it back up.
Not that he would ever be caught. He was far too skilled to be outsmarted by even the most cautious plotters- and when all else failed, he had a power that could stall even a god, though he hesitated to use it. Taking another glance behind him, Obsidian proceeded to the prison rooms, where he had first entered the building.
Something had changed. The scent of smoke was barely detectable in the air, but it was enough to reveal that that a candle of some sort had been lit, and still could be. The person holding the candle had to be nearby- the security system hadn't gone off yet, and the only way to the normal entrance required someone to pass through the same hallway Obsidian had left, which also contained the security switch. He turned the corner silently, and found himself looking straight at a silver-haired teenager.
He was holding a tea candle in one of the cells. T he boy turned his head to stare directly at Obsidian, even though he was far beyond the range of the candle's light.
"You came." The child's voice was soft, almost lyrical. He stood up from the cement bench and faced Obsidian, revealing a pair of emerald green eyes and a strangely angelic face that looked about 14 years old- half of Obsidian's age. His clothes were pure white, with silver markings along the sleeves. It was difficult to tell what they were from Obsidian's position. He looked neither surprised nor afraid, but completely calm. Is this one of the many projects Sarven was working on? Obsidian wondered, moving soundlessly to the left. The child's eyes did not follow him.
"I know you are there. I foresaw your coming- please, come out. I am unarmed and powerless in every way."
Obsidian hesitated, wondering if this was a trap. Stranger methods had been used. "Tell me your name," he said in a low voice. If it wasn't a trap, it was certainly a servant of one of the gods- they tended to be oracles- and he wanted as little to do with them as possible. He had already broken at least 350 of their commandments to live by, and didn't expect to continue evading their punishment for much longer. "Tell me your name and I'll get someone to help you later."
"I am Lyon," the child said. He suddenly unfurled a pair of brilliant white wings that seemed to sprout from his robes, shining as bright as the sun. They vanished just as quickly, leaving only the light from the candle. "I can't fly, or see, or hear, or fight, or-"
"Yeah, I get it," Obsidian cut him off. So this isn't an angel. But if he is deaf, how can he understand my words? "Look, you'll have to wait for someone else, kid."
"Wait? But the roof will collapse in exactly 57 seconds and three milliseconds..."
Exactly 57 seconds? No seer could predict anything with that level of accuracy. "You're on your own," Obsidian told him.
"Wait! All you have to do is unlock the cell from the keypad seven feet to my right. The keycode is 4528..." The child jumped in surprise as the earth began to shake."The roof's coming down..."
Lyon was right. A distinct rumbling sound filled the air. Obsidian entered the keycode, freeing the winged creature. He half expected a bomb to explode in his face. When it didn't, he took off down the secret exit he had used to come in, keeping the sapphire hidden under his red cloak.
Lyon followed him through the new exit, gripping his tea candle as if it would protect him from the falling debris around them. The child moved with surprising agility, as if weightless, dodging falling tiles left and right with unnatural accuracy. If Obsidian wasn't busy trying to remember the map, he might have wondered how Lyon managed it with his blindness.
"Middle!" Lyon called as they reached a three-way split, running in the correct direction.
"Why does it seem like you know this route better than I do?"
"Because I receive images of it moments before it happens!" Lyon called back over the pounding of tiles. "Now left!"
They turned the corner, emerging into direct sunlight. Lyon stopped running and then blew out his candle as the remainder of the roof crashed down in a huge cloud of dust.
He smiled. "Thank you."