The Wizard of Time (Book 1) by G.L. Breedon Page B

delights such as India could have such an insensitive palate,” Marcus said.
    “I can’t understand how an old man from England could claim to know anything about food at all,” Rajan retorted.
    “Ah,” Marcus said in mock seriousness. “Point taken. Unless it’s fried.”
    “I’ll grant you fish and chips,” Rajan said, “but that’s as far as it goes. If you want real fried food, you go to the South of the States.”
    “I hardly think so,” Ling said. “The Chinese were frying food while the Europeans were still eating meat raw.”
     “Ah, I love steak tartare,” Marcus said, licking his lips.
    “With a raw egg and capers,” Rajan agreed.
    “What is it?” Gabriel asked.
    “Raw ground meat,” Teresa said.
    “Barbaric,” Ling said with visible distaste.
    “Raw meat with raw egg,” Gabriel said. “That’s gross.”
    “One culture’s disgusting is another culture’s delectable,” Sema said.
    “For an example of that, just look at Rajan,” Teresa said. “I hear that Medieval Germanic girl, Brigit, thinks he’s quite tasty.”
    “People like sweet, not sour,” Rajan said, visibly embarrassed. “Or so I heard Lord Edward say the other day.” Now it was Teresa’s turn to be embarrassed. Gabriel didn’t know who Bridget or Lord Edward were, but had a pretty good idea of what Teresa and Rajan thought of them.
     “I have something else for us to talk about,” Ohin said, speaking for the first time since finishing his meal. “Something we’re all hungry for.” A silence fell over the table as all eyes turned to Ohin.
    “We have a new mission?” Teresa asked.
    “Yes,” Ohin said.
    “About bloody time,” Marcus said.
    “What’s the mission?” Rajan asked.
    “Am I included?” Gabriel asked.
    “You are most definitely included,” Ohin said, settling his gaze on Gabriel. “This mission was chosen with you in mind. After the display of your talents this morning, the Council wants me to accelerate your training.”
    “Is that wise?” Sema asked, glancing at Gabriel with a look of concern.
    “We can only hope so,” Ohin said. “The operation is not particularly dangerous, but it will be educational for our young Time Mage.”
    “What is the mission?” Rajan asked a second time, raising his voice a little.
    “Severing the link to a crystal,” Ohin said. “Yesterday, Vladimir’s team salvaged a concatenate crystal from the Hiroshima outpost. It is the first of a linked chain, so we do not know how many more crystals it is connected to.
    “However, when Vladimir severed the link between the first crystal and its tainted artifact, he was able to sense the time and location of the next artifact in the chain, linked through the second crystal.”  Gabriel hadn’t realized that such a thing was possible and he suspected by the way Ohin was speaking in his direction that the information was being recited mostly for his own benefit. “Our mission will be to locate the second artifact and sever the link to its crystal. And if possible, determine what might be the next artifact in the chain.”
    “What’s the artifact, and where are we going?” Ling asked.
    “The artifact is an Aztec sacrificial dagger,” Ohin said. “While you were studying this afternoon, I spent some time with Chimalli and Vladimir trying to pinpoint where the dagger is. We suspect it is one of the daggers used during the reconsecration of the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan in 1487.”
    “That was before the Spanish Conquistadors, wasn’t it?” Teresa asked. “Does Manuel know anything about it?”
    “Yes, it was,” Ohin said. “And Manuel knows a little from his time there later, but unfortunately Manuel is on a mission right now. However, Chimalli’s time period was also close to that of the dagger, so he will be helping us to prepare for the mission and will accompany us as a guide.”
    “Who’s Chimalli?” Gabriel asked. “And who is Manuel?”
    “Manuel is an Earth mage,” Sema said.