by F. F. John
The interior of Bel’s ship is brown leather and steel. The dashboard consists of inlaid wood and flashing pink symbols. Definitely, a girl’s ship.
“This is Neith Reffour. Ship control granted to Scion Invier Floran.”
A male voice fills the space. “Scion Invier Floran, please say the following words. Flock. Plato. Xylophone.”
I speak the words and the ship acknowledges my authorization.
She takes my left hand, pinching the skin between my thumb and index finger. “There,” she says absentmindedly. “I need you to find something sharp and get this tracker out.”
“Woah, isn’t that extreme?” The prospect of cutting myself open is not appealing. Especially not with my other hand still healing. “We were told it will dissolve.”
She takes my fingers and clamps them around the tracker sitting just beneath my skin. “Yes, but that’s not for another two days. Would you like to be found by then? I’m going to be taking mine out as well, Invier, so,” she lets go of my hand and walks off, “get to it. I’ve got to remove the ship’s beacon. I’ll be back.” She steps out and soon, there clanking from the back of the ship.
“What is our destination, Scion Floran?” The ship asks.
Neith’s still busy outside, so I make a decision. “Return to the last location,” I say. Once we’re in the air, we can choose where we want to land after we take off. We finally get to choose. Together. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.
I stumble into the kitchen in search of a sharp knife and find a fully-stocked kitchen with drinks and flash-frozen foods in the freezer. The repli-fridge has fresh fruit, sandwiches, several cakes and from the look of it, promises to offer plenty more if requested. My airship never has such decadent meals but it needed an upgrade six years ago. Had I done that, I’d have a repli-fridge. Maybe not as nice as this but one nonetheless.
The ship’s door clicks shut and the engine purrs.
When I reach the door, the ship is already lifting off the ground. I slam on the closed door but it won’t budge.
“Open the door!”
The ship responds, “I am unable to open the doors as the takeoff sequence has begun. Please find a seat and buckle up, Scion Floran.”
“Neith!” I call for her. The nose of the ship tips upwards and I slide over to a window.
Her hair dances in the wind as she watches me. Beneath her, flowers toss from their stems, hurtling into the dark chasm of night. I bang on the window as hard as I can but it also doesn’t give way to me. My hands smart and I give way to the pain, putting them down. Our hands at our sides. Our eyes locked. We stare at each other.
The ship jerks forward, cutting through the air.
I plunge to the floor and tumble towards the back of the ship until I’m stopped by a wall. The pressure created by the acceleration pins me in place. All I can do is yell her name.
When the ship levels out, I’m hoarse and there’s nothing but dark sky outside.
Glossary
Adjudicator (n): lawyers.
AI (n): Artificial intelligence robots.
Airship (n): mode of transportation.
Baka (n): slang for idiot.
Council (n): group of 10 representatives who meet to discuss matters concerning the Nomes.
Doge (m): male who will not inherit control of his Nome from his Titan or Titane.
Dogenne (f): female who will inherit control of his Nome from his Titan or Titane.
Ekebati (n): location of Nome Reffour’s Estate.
Group of Twenty (n) twenty most powerful nomes.
Insignia (n): emblem representing a nome and its conglomerates.
Kavat (n): slang for pimp.
Lower Houses (n): sixty families less powerful than the Group of Twenty Nomes. Their members play supportive business and administrative roles to the nomes.
Macani Rebellion of 2189 (n): period of social and political upheaval in the last remaining nation states of the world where the poorest people publicly executed political leaders, celebrities and the rich.
Master (n): male individual who is tied to a Nome and gives advice to its Titan or Titane as well as aids in preparing a scion or scioness to one day become leader of a nome.
Narthex (n): reception area outside Titan Nabo’s office.
Nome (n): family belonging to the Group of Twenty.
Opening Ceremony (n): precursor event to the Pursual competitions.
Osmite (n): metallic substance mined for asteroids.
Restorer (n): healers, medical doctors.
Pairing (n): engagement period between a couple; trial period during which the Nomes of the paired individuals work to seamlessly blend aspects of their businesses.
Pairing Ceremony (n): event during which individuals are paired before their Nomes and other invited guests.
Paladin (n): winner of the Pursual.
Partite Relationships (n): marriage relationships involving more than two people.
Pegasos (n): annual class of soldiers trained by Nome Cyra, individual Pegasos soldiers are purchased by Nomes to add to their security teams.
Pernold (n): location of Nome Mezan’s estate.
Phalanx (n): Nome Reffour’s army of soldiers.
Pomrose (n): popular drink made from a combination of pomegranate and other ingredients, can be alcoholic or non-alcoholic.
Pursual (n): competition to find a worthy Paladin to be paired with a wealthy scioness.
Scion (n): male who will inherit control of his Nome from his Titan or Titane.
Scioness (n): female who will inherit control of his Nome from his Titan or Titane.
Shell (n): virtual reality construct structure within which virtual worlds can be created.
Sixty, The (n): term used to reference the families of the Lower Houses.
Skuliki (n): large, worm-like creature in the second Pursual competition.
Synod (n): annual event held by Nome Cyra where new graduate soldiers from the Pegasos Program are purchased by the other nomes.
Titan (n): male head of a Nome, typically the first born male child of a Titan or Titane inherits this position.
Titane (n): female head of a Nome, typically the first born female child of a Titan or Titane inherits this position.
Zarts (n): mode of transportation; flat metallic sheet that carries people or things across far or short distances.
Author’s Note
Hope you enjoyed reading THE PURSUAL, Book 1 of The Nome Chronicles as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you did, consider leaving a review. Just a few sentences would be helpful. Reviews help to share your experience with other readers who depend on comments from people like you to guide their purchasing decision. Much thanks! Click here for this book’s review page.
Need more from The Nome Chronicles Series? You can find out a lot more about the characters and their nomes at my website http://www.ffjohn.com.
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Acknowledgments
Writing this book was one of the hardest things I ever did in my life but it has also proven to be one of the most rewarding. Thanks to Mr. J for making sure I ate food all those times I was too deep into writing to remember to feed myself. To the munchkins for the constant encouragement and requests to read the book. It is always my hope to make you proud.
Thanks to my alpha readers - Johnnie and Nwadi. This version of the book is different from what you read but your comments and suggestions got me to this point. To AJ - thanks so much for your hard work and comments on nome insignia.
I’m also grateful to Graham of A Fading Street and Mike of Pocketwatch Press. Thanks as well to my ARC readers and the launch team.
About The Author
F. F. John was an incredibly inquisitive child who was encouraged to find answers in books. When she’d read everything her home had to offer and there was no more space in the house to accommodate additional boo
ks, her mother told her to write her own stories. So, she did.
Today, she continues to create worlds of characters that have a lot to say about everything. And she lets them do just that. They tend to give answers to the riddles she’s yet to solve.
Books
THE NOME CHRONICLES SERIES
The Paladin
The Paragon
THE NOME CHRONICLES SHORT STORIES SERIES
The Proem – available at https://ffjohn.com/theproem/
The Pith
The Pegasos