Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 117246 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117246 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
“First walkers,” the guards at the seams called.
Roman advanced with eagerness, disappearing inside the shadows.
Inhale. Exhale. Mere moments until departure.
“Next walker.”
Knees knocking, I plodded forward, bracing for my first realm walk. Was I truly about to do this? I paused at the edge. Inhale, exhale. Last chance to stay. Inching backward . . .
“Go,” Lark shouted.
Yes. Go to Cyrus. Fear wouldn’t stop me. Fortifying my resolve, I took the final step forward. Shadows swallowed me. The foundation at my feet vanished, and I fell into an endless void. Head thrown back, spine arched, I screamed in anguish. Too much, too much!
Blink. The foundation returned, and the agony fled. I collapsed, my legs unable to hold my weight. But strong arms wrapped around me, catching me before I hit.
“I’ve got you.” Cyrus’s voice came from outside my head, not inside. “You’re all right. You’re here. It’s over.”
Panting, I clung to him, desperate for some kind of human connection. Anything to anchor me to this present sense of safety and security.
He righted me and didn’t protest when I poured myself over him. He might have even petted my hair. “You good?”
“Yes, thank you. Sir.” I forced myself to straighten and release him, but I secretly rejoiced when he maintained our connection.
“Good. Look up.”
I did, and my jaw dropped. The ceiling was transparent. For the first time in my entire life, I peered up at a night sky, and the beauty stole my breath. Pinpricks of light glittered in a bed of black velvet. Stars I’d only ever read about in books or seen in pictures, unable to glimpse from my tiny bedroom window while pritis lights glowed from buildings around the city. The photos had failed to accurately portray the miracle of the in-person sight.
“It’s glorious,” I breathed.
“Yes.”
“This is a utopia.”
“Yes. Until you see past the veneer.”
My brow furrowed. What did that mean?
Commotion around us drew my attention to the rest of the room. Rounded walls covered in iridescent crystals. A dazzling golden floor. Pure luxury. “Walkers” recovering from travel.
Behind us, Juniper appeared from thin air, dropping to her knees. A fully recovered Roman rushed over to pull her up, and Cyrus released me at last. He said nothing else before stalking off to join a contingent of uniformed officers.
Titus arrived, appearing shell shocked, and I bounded over to assist him. He clung to me, as I’d clung to Cyrus.
I patted his back and offered the same words of comfort I’d been given. “You’re all right. You’re here. It’s over.”
He drew in a ragged breath, his tremors fading. “Thank you.”
“No problem.”
As more and more soldiers showed up, free space shrank. On-site medics hurried to examine those who vomited, passed out, or screamed. When Lark emerged, the last member of our team, Roman ordered us to huddle together.
“Welcome to the Annex. As the HP explained, we’ll be safe inside a heavily guarded facility as we do our ride-along with ground patrol today and tomorrow. I’d love to tell you we get to take a beat and regroup before we start, but one day we’ll be sent through a rift and straight into combat. This is how we prepare. For that reason, our shift kicks off in ten. We’re heading to dock 3, where we’ll be linked to a preassigned partner. Don’t speak again until you’re secured in a POD or in an off-duty sector.”
I didn’t understand the need for silence, but I chose to obey the rule.
Roman guided us through a building as massive as Fort Bala. Opulence abounded. Windowed walls revealed a sea of shadows with hints of flashing lights in the distance. Veins of gold ran through a polished white floor. High ceilings accommodated an array of statues featuring the same male, with the top half of a human and the bottom half of some sort of dinosaur. He was unlike any statue in Ourland. A hood covered his face, and a long tail curled in a counterclockwise circle. Precious gems glittered from top to bottom.
Did anyone offer historical tours?
We entered a large room filled with hundreds of soundproof cubicles. Each possessed a side table and a central dais with a fat metal bar protruding from its back end. In some of the cubicles, a soldier, appearing to mime, stood atop the pedestal, banded in place.
An older woman stood behind a counter. Roman approached her first, and she motioned to an ID pad. He pressed his palm flat. She typed something, swiped up a small metal card and a small box, and passed both to him. Off he went. When my turn arrived, she and I followed the same process.
I dragged my feet to an unoccupied POD. To whom was I to be linked?
Having memorized the steps I was to take, I entered, inserted the card into the proper slot on the console, and donned the required attire: a two-piece bodysuit meant to go over my clothing, plus a headband and gloves, all of which waited on the side table. The box contained a pair of contacts.