32

Thoughts smacked at Kai from every side and he shut his mind to all of them. Bree had sunk into a ball at his feet with her fingers shoved in her ears, rocking and whimpering.

He threw the doors open, grabbed Bree underneath her arms, and dragged her onto the bridge. DarKounds swarmed at the doorway. One stepped inside and then leapt back, whining. It rolled on the ground as if ants crawled under its skin. The bridge in its untainted form seemed treacherous to darKound feet.

The doors slammed shut and silence settled, broken only by Bree’s sniffing.

“Are you hurt?”

Bree shook her head, but a violent tremor passed through her from head to foot, rattling her teeth together.

“It must have been the smudged writing that made us wrong.”

“I want to go.”

“I need to show you your father’s grave. It’s important.”

Bree shook from head to toe. She said nothing, but she didn’t need to. There was no way she would cope with more. But there was one problem. Kai hadn’t saved the coordinates for the doorway that would take them back. He could try and remember, but if he got it wrong, who knew where they’d end up? The best he could do was to follow the other coordinates and hope for sanctuary in the place where Shasta couldn’t watch every movement. There was a chance it would work out, but it could also go horribly wrong.

Right now, they needed to move.

He read her upside-down writing and typed it into the navigator. The tiny gadget whirred and lit up, and a comforting light beam shot out across the bridge. Grabbing Bree’s arm, he managed to pull her onto her feet though she clung to him. They walked.

They reached the central ball and followed the light toward the bridge that would lead them to the place beyond Shasta’s sight. A sulphurous odour blew in and hung thick in the air. Kai swallowed hard.

“Bree, can you run?” He pitched his voice low, but a sliver of desperation sneaked through. She lifted her gaze, meeting his. What she saw must have frightened her, and she nodded.

“Come on. Let’s go. No time to lose.”

Following the light beam, they took off as fast as they could safely travel, dodging holes. There was no web on the bridge leading to the doorway, yet the moment their feet touched the bridge, a slithering sound started up behind them. Kai’s blood ran ice cold.

“Run!”

Kai ran with his arm around Bree, half-carrying her when her legs gave in. Meters from the door, the web flung a loop of gooeyness and hooked Bree’s ankle. She went down hard, and her chin smashed into the bridge.

“No!” Kai yelled. LifeLight quickened through him as he ran toward the web, jumped high, and came down with two feet smack into the black goo. It severed and shot back, recoiling but leaving Bree’s legs lashed together. She stared, her face a mask of horror.

Kai picked her up in his arms and ran for the door before the web could regroup and try again. He flung himself at the door at the end of the bridge. This one seemed to be made of glass, half-filled with water and tiny fish. He only hoped it wasn’t submerged on the other side with water that would rush in with force and drown them.

As the door swung back, Kai heaved a sigh of relief. The water and fish were all just decorative. He bolted through. The gloom closed in around him making it difficult to see. He was on a riverbank from which fog rose like steam off murky waters. His arms burned with the ache of carrying Bree.

A light appeared in the distance, bobbing up and down in time to the lapping of the water at his feet. As the light drew closer, he could make out a boat on the river. It turned directly toward them, though how they had seen Kai and Bree was a mystery. The dark here was thick, broken only by the bobbing light. Whoever manned the boat rowed in lazy strokes, yet the boat pulled steadily closer.

Kai didn’t feel the need to run. Even if he had, his legs couldn’t have carried him. He stood his ground and waited.

~*~

“Where are we going?” Evazee couldn’t think straight. Her mind folded every time she tried. Shasta kept her close to his side, and each time she breathed in the scent of him, she lost a little more of herself.

“There is something I want you to see.”

Evazee’s mind floated, detached. She glanced up at Shasta. He was staring at her face. Her knees felt weak, and she was grateful for his arm around her waist.

They passed through the holding cells containing those with implants and through to the room with the holographic map. How was it possible for some things to be a shapeless blur and yet others to be in such sharp focus, all at the same time? She was keenly aware of Shasta’s fingers brushing her skin, the fine wisps of hair in the nape of his neck, the flecks of silver in his grey eyes.

“Are you ready?” He slipped his hand from her waist and took her hand.

Evazee watched every movement in his face, the twinkling of his eyes and every gesture of his hands. She nodded, not trusting her voice.

Still holding onto her, Shasta stepped over the low water fountain at the base of the hologram and into the hologram itself, drawing Evazee with him. He led her to the centre, and they sat together on the floor beneath the glowing depiction of earth. Shasta stretched out on his back with his hands behind his head. Evazee hesitated a second then joined him. The view took her breath away. The shimmery globe hung in mid-air, suspended on nothing.

“You’ve been wondering what this is all about. Why I’m doing what I do.” It was a statement, not a question. He knew. There was no thought she could hide from him. “Let me show you.”

“My, or rather our, mission is to give each and every person a purpose, a reason for living. That is why we’re gathering all those who respond to our call. Let me show you.” His fingers flew, spinning the globe. It came to rest, and he double tapped to zoom in. Zulu’s village appeared, glowing purple. Unlike the time she’d been there with Zulu, there were many people crossing the walkways and doing normal things—carrying water and dodging playing children. Shasta pinched and stretched his fingers and the view zeroed in on one man—the same one who Evazee had thought looked just like Zulu. He’d been one of the priests who’d performed the ritual.

“You see this one? One of our converts. He answered the call of the drums and responded so well to our training that we could plant him back in his own home village. That’s always a bit of risk, but in this case, it worked. It didn’t take him long to establish himself as a powerful leader.”

But...

Evazee frowned, but Shasta moved right on. He zoomed in on a city of clean light, built from glowing stones. It was one of the most beautiful places Evazee had ever seen. A double tap took them close to the outside wall.

“Most of the guards who protect the city walls are converts.”

Evazee had seen those uniforms on the guards here in the underground too. Wasn’t that odd?

Shasta waggled his finger at them. “Very important job.” Slide and zoom. “Those who work in the kitchen? Ours. Feeding people matters too, right?” Slide. “Temple workers. Responsible for the spiritual health of the city. I won’t even comment on how important those are.”

“Yours, too?”

“Oh yes. You catch on quick. “

It all seemed good, but questions swooped through her mind and bothered Evazee. Questions she couldn’t find the right words to frame into thoughts, let alone ask. Not with all this sandalwood and silvery-grey filling her senses. Even so, one question wouldn’t leave but stayed right there in her head, bold and strong. “But what about the others? Those who won’t convert? The coerced or whatever you call them.”

Evazee had never seen Shasta so unguarded, relaxed, and she watched his face, fascinated.

He shrugged. “Oh, don’t worry about them. We manage to find useful things for them to do as well, in spite of the fact that they refuse to cooperate with us. It makes it all so much harder. Sometimes I don’t even know why we bother when they so clearly don’t want help. I honestly don’t understand the way they think. But we do our best. Even amidst all the resistance. So we gather those who respond to the call, train them, and deploy them as agents all over the world. It’s a beautiful thing. Almost as beautiful as you.”

He turned, leaning on his elbow, and shifted his attention from the map to her. She felt beautiful and none of her buts seemed that important anymore.

He leaned so close his breath filled her lungs. “How about you? Are you ready to step into your role?”