Legacy of the Mind Read Online Free Page A

has no direct female heir.  The bloodline could be broken anyway and the prophecy could already be dead,’ Anita chipped in trying to take in the magnitude of what she had just heard.
    ‘Well Gwyn certainly doesn’t act like it’s dead, given the way she was strutting across the Temple earlier,’ Cleo retorted indignantly.
    ‘So they’re having the Crowning here?  But where will it take place if not by the relic?’ asked Bas.
    The three Temples were always built as triangles, with three tips, one from each Temple, meeting at a point in the middle.  In Kingdom, the main parts of the Grand Temples were open to everyone, had a central triangular section that Descendants only were allowed to use, and the joined tips, which housed the relic, were also open for everyone to visit.  Crownings usually took place by the relic, so everyone could see them, but in Empire the layout was slightly different.  The Temples were open to everyone, but underneath each Temple were chambers that only the Descendants were allowed to use.  Underneath the joined tips was a sacred area, but nobody apart from the Descendants and a few select Councillors were allowed to know what was there.  The area of the joined tips was closed off to everyone but the Councillors, who used the hexagonal chamber inside to host Council meetings when in Empire.
    ‘The rumour is that most of each Crowning will take place in the public centre of the relevant Temple.  The Descendants will then go to the sacred centre underneath the tips to perform some part of the ritual and then will come back up to complete the ceremony.’  Cleo really had excelled herself this time.
    ‘And the Chase?  Where and when will that take place?’ Anita asked as offhandedly as she could.
    Cleo and Bas smiled.  ‘Bet you can’t wait to get your teeth stuck into that one,’ said Bas.  ‘See if you can’t beat the Descendants.’
    Luckily at that moment there was a ruckus across the bar and Anita took the distraction as an opportunity to evade a ribbing and head to the bathroom.  But what Cleo had failed to mention was that the young Descendants had been in the back room of the bar; the commotion a result of them deciding to leave.  Anita found herself trapped in the middle of their path to the door; a mass of bodies had closed ranks behind her to gawp at the Descendants as they passed, she couldn’t go back the way she had come and she couldn’t go forwards or she would run right into them, there was nothing she could do to avoid them apart from duck her head and try to be inconspicuous.
    Gwyneth came first.  Cleo was right, she did have flowing golden locks, her long blond hair seemed to glimmer in the light.  She was tall and thin, unpleasantly thin.  Her floor length silk dress and red cloak made her look the part, but she had the air of someone trying just a little bit too hard and she wasn’t that pretty, her nose was just a bit too long and eyes set a little too close together.  Gwyn walked past Anita without so much as glancing in her direction.  Unfortunately, the same luck was not to be had with the next Descendant, Alexander.  As soon as she saw him her energy lifted.  Anita did everything she could to try and supress it, but Alexander’s head turned slowly, carefully, so he could see where the energy was coming from.  Here we go again, thought Anita, desperately trying to curb her energy, his piercing blue eyes looked down at her, this time only a meter away.  He didn’t say a thing, doing nothing but looking intensely into her eyes.  She held his gaze and wished she knew what he was thinking, but his expression gave nothing away.  People had started to turn and watch them now, but Anita was determined not to break first.  He might have an effect on her, but she wasn’t going to let every victory be his.  By now, Marcus, who had been talking to a couple of Councillors at the bar, had noticed something was going on and sauntered over to see