CRYSTALLUM (The Primordial Principles Book 1) by Laney McMann Page B
Authors: Laney McMann
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was because he was stronger than everyone else. Something he loved to remind Danny, or anyone else who would listen, every chance he got.
They'd both been nine when Danny moved into the Brotherhood, and they'd been inseparable since. Fratres, brothers, they were called in Latin, the language Danny had been forced to learn after he'd moved to Boulder and hated to use. The fact that it was Cole's native tongue only made it worse. He constantly corrected Danny when they were younger and it drove him crazy.
Even as a little kid Cole knew everything , was constantly quoting books, poetry, Latin sayings, and he was never afraid of anything. Not of moving from Rome to the U.S. by himself, or being a Primori, or what that meant. Cole's confidence had given Danny courage. Made him less afraid of what he truly was, and he'd always looked up to Cole for that. Even though he would never have admitted it to him. His head was big enough.
9
COLE STOOD STARING through the dirty windows of the cafe storefront. Steeples rose into the gray sky, light rain dripping from the eaves of the old basilica across the street. From the dilapidated sidewalk, the palisade bordering the Ward appeared like any other defense system; a fence of iron stakes enclosing an old building, but in truth, the Ward had been built within a vortex overtop one of the largest converging Leyline systems in the world that connected the U.S. to Rome. That was the only defense it needed.
The only other site with a bigger defense system was in a hidden location in Great Britain sitting overtop the planetary grid, where every Leyline in the world led and connected. It was the most heavily guarded building on Earth. The Ward referred to the site as the Araneum, but the Daemoneum called it the Nexus. The Spider's Web.
Tugging the collar of his suit jacket up, Cole made his way through the back door of the cafe and onto the front walk. The late afternoon sun in Rome was so much warmer than Boulder’s morning chill, but it didn’t stop the rain. Shimmering waves of energy snaked and swirled into the sky from the Ward's run-down courtyard, as he crossed the street and entered the property. The energy field always reminded him of heat rising off a car hood in the summer. Quivering gaseous vapors. Occasionally, the fields shimmered in rainbow colors, but with so many Primori and Primeva in one place today, their coronas mixed and became muted, muddled, blending into brown.
A Primordial's corona was an internal gauge that divided everyone into ranks. Most were green, blue, and yellow—middle grade colors of average strength. Purple and pink were higher up in strength level. Brown was considered the lowest, although the reason had nothing to do with strength, but with descent.
Most Primordials kept their corona hidden in everyday activities, not wanting others to know their true nature, or their true strength, but in times of stress, like fighting, it showed in everyone. It also showed in love—the hardest emotion for a Primordial to control.
Swinging the rusted iron gate open, Cole made his way up the cobbled walk between marble sculptures and overflowing tiered fountains. Elaborately carved double doors adorned the front entry. An eagle with wings spread wide, a serpent wound through its beak and talons, emblazoned the archway, along with the Ward’s maxim engraved into off-white stone:
Ducunt volentem fata, nolentem trahunt.
The fates lead the willing, and drag the unwilling.
Nothing like positivity to keep the flock in order.
Jake stood near the basilica's entryway in a dark blue suit and black tie, his face still disfigured from the fight—something Cole would have to answer for soon. Over Jake's heart, near his lapels, his suit jacket bore the Kinship's insignia; an owl, its talons and beak sewn with silver thread on a white background with two drops of blood. He didn't grin when Cole came up the pathway, dressed in his own regalia of black and gold, the falcon
They'd both been nine when Danny moved into the Brotherhood, and they'd been inseparable since. Fratres, brothers, they were called in Latin, the language Danny had been forced to learn after he'd moved to Boulder and hated to use. The fact that it was Cole's native tongue only made it worse. He constantly corrected Danny when they were younger and it drove him crazy.
Even as a little kid Cole knew everything , was constantly quoting books, poetry, Latin sayings, and he was never afraid of anything. Not of moving from Rome to the U.S. by himself, or being a Primori, or what that meant. Cole's confidence had given Danny courage. Made him less afraid of what he truly was, and he'd always looked up to Cole for that. Even though he would never have admitted it to him. His head was big enough.
9
COLE STOOD STARING through the dirty windows of the cafe storefront. Steeples rose into the gray sky, light rain dripping from the eaves of the old basilica across the street. From the dilapidated sidewalk, the palisade bordering the Ward appeared like any other defense system; a fence of iron stakes enclosing an old building, but in truth, the Ward had been built within a vortex overtop one of the largest converging Leyline systems in the world that connected the U.S. to Rome. That was the only defense it needed.
The only other site with a bigger defense system was in a hidden location in Great Britain sitting overtop the planetary grid, where every Leyline in the world led and connected. It was the most heavily guarded building on Earth. The Ward referred to the site as the Araneum, but the Daemoneum called it the Nexus. The Spider's Web.
Tugging the collar of his suit jacket up, Cole made his way through the back door of the cafe and onto the front walk. The late afternoon sun in Rome was so much warmer than Boulder’s morning chill, but it didn’t stop the rain. Shimmering waves of energy snaked and swirled into the sky from the Ward's run-down courtyard, as he crossed the street and entered the property. The energy field always reminded him of heat rising off a car hood in the summer. Quivering gaseous vapors. Occasionally, the fields shimmered in rainbow colors, but with so many Primori and Primeva in one place today, their coronas mixed and became muted, muddled, blending into brown.
A Primordial's corona was an internal gauge that divided everyone into ranks. Most were green, blue, and yellow—middle grade colors of average strength. Purple and pink were higher up in strength level. Brown was considered the lowest, although the reason had nothing to do with strength, but with descent.
Most Primordials kept their corona hidden in everyday activities, not wanting others to know their true nature, or their true strength, but in times of stress, like fighting, it showed in everyone. It also showed in love—the hardest emotion for a Primordial to control.
Swinging the rusted iron gate open, Cole made his way up the cobbled walk between marble sculptures and overflowing tiered fountains. Elaborately carved double doors adorned the front entry. An eagle with wings spread wide, a serpent wound through its beak and talons, emblazoned the archway, along with the Ward’s maxim engraved into off-white stone:
Ducunt volentem fata, nolentem trahunt.
The fates lead the willing, and drag the unwilling.
Nothing like positivity to keep the flock in order.
Jake stood near the basilica's entryway in a dark blue suit and black tie, his face still disfigured from the fight—something Cole would have to answer for soon. Over Jake's heart, near his lapels, his suit jacket bore the Kinship's insignia; an owl, its talons and beak sewn with silver thread on a white background with two drops of blood. He didn't grin when Cole came up the pathway, dressed in his own regalia of black and gold, the falcon
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