He brought his hand up in front of my face and clicked his fingers.
The world went dark.
Part Three
It’s all meant to come together here, right?
Chapter 21
AN ANCHOR WITHOUT A SHIP
BLUE
There’s a crushing weight on me chest and a throbbing pulse in me head. The glowing glyphs pulsing around me warn me that I’ve woken too early.
I roll off my bed and land on all fours.
The others continue to sleep, but I’m flooded wiv the need for action. Somethin’ is wrong with my Leela.
I need to get out of this fecking nest.
Now.
I bang on the door, hammering with me fists. “Open up! Fecking hell, open up now!” They don’t usually open till sunrise, but I ‘ave to try. How long till sunrise?
Feck, I’m awake early cos something’s wrong with Leela.
I can’t breathe.
I back away from the door, hand on me chest. I need air. I need to know what’s happened.
The glyphs glow brighter then wink out. Around me, the others begin to stir, and then the door cracks open andmoonlight floods in. The door yawns wide, and Chandra is silhouetted in the frame.
I rush forward. “What’s ‘appened to her?”
He shakes his head. “I’m sorry, Blue. Leela was taken by the primordial evil.”
Blood thunders in my head, and the world goes dark.
Low voices pullme out of sleep. I’m on some kind of cushion. It smells like jasmine. The room is unfamiliar and shrouded in shadows, but it looks like a study…Wait, I know this room. Part of the main palace near Chandra’s quarters.
Chandra…Leela!
She’s been taken.
I scramble off the chaise, claws snagging on soft, velvety material that also reeks of jasmine, and scamper across the carpet toward the door which I remember leads to a sitting room.
The voices get louder, and instinct warns me to slow down. Tune in and listen.
“This is your fault,” Chandra says. “I counseled you against this, and you ignored me. You convinced the Authority to move forward with your ridiculous demand and now…”
“It was a risk that was necessary,” a male voice replies. “The people needed reassurance and?—”
“Bullshit, Rajni. This was never about the people, and you know it.”
“Oh, come now, Chandra. Are you saying that you don’t feel some relief that you will no longer have to pander to a young woman who has no idea how our world operates? A womanwith ideals that could destabilize everything that we’ve worked so hard to build.” A derisive chuckle follows. “You can stop pretending to care about her welfare now. We both know how much you desire that throne, and now, with her gone, you can have it.”
Come on, Chandra, say summit. Tell the Rajni bastard to shove it.
