Dominil closed the door behind her. She found herself in a marble foyer. A door led to an office on her right. Straight ahead was the sitting room. Empress Kabachetka was staying in the Queen Victoria Suite, which the hotel claimed to be among the finest accommodations in the country. Dominil had studied pictures of the rooms on the hotel’s website and knew what to expect. She knew there were eight windows with views of the Thames and the Houses of Parliament. There was a dining room, a kitchen and several bedrooms, all recently refurbished back to their original Edwardian style.
Dominil advanced into the huge sitting room. She took a moment to glance at a painting by George Clausen, but was otherwise unmoved by the luxuriance of her surroundings. There was no time to thoroughly search the suite. It was unlikely that the Empress would leave the ballroom, but she might send her staff to her rooms. Dominil didn’t really expect that she’d find any useful documents there. The Empress wouldn’t carry documents. The possibility of a portal to her own dimension was another matter. Dominil quickly examined the office, looked round the sitting room and living room, and glanced into the kitchen. Everything seemed normal. Outside she could see the dark gothic shape of the Houses of Parliament and the Thames below. She walked into the master bedroom, switching on the light.
This hotel is keen on chandeliers, she thought. There were clothes strewn untidily on the bed, and the dressing room door was open. Inside she found more clothes hanging neatly and a dresser covered with cosmetics. She noticed a small marble-topped table next to the dresser. On top of it was a flower arrangement and an object she couldn’t put a name to. Some sort of jewel, which seemed to pulse with an internal light. Dominil studied it.
It doesn’t come from this world, she decided quickly. Is this the communication device?
Dominil reached out her hand, but hesitated. For all she knew the jewel might suck her into some nether void. Or a volcano, perhaps.
Dominil shrugged. It would be an interesting way to die. She touched the jewel. Pale yellow streamed from the gem into the room, forming itself into a large oval disc, tall enough to step into. Through the pale disc she could see what appeared to be another room. It was opulent too, but dark red, with a black marble floor. From the otherworldly designs on the red tapestries, Dominil surmised that she was looking into a room somewhere in the Empress Kabachetka’s realm. She heard footsteps. The sound was coming through the oval light.
Interesting, thought Dominil. The portal allows both light and sound to pass through. I wonder who’s there?
A large, dark figure came into view. The figure turned toward the portal. A huge man, with long dark hair and a distinctive scar on his jaw. As he saw Dominil, his eyes opened wide with surprise. There was a long pause.
“Hello, Sarapen,” said Dominil.