Kathini gasped, her expression melting into pure awe.
The Empress remained expressionless. “Do you now understand the responsibilities inherent to this position?”
She nodded. “Yes, dear Empress.”
The Empress smiled down to her. “Then take on this new power and use it well, for the highest good of the Mirage.”
With her finger, the Empress made a circle around Kathini’s head, causing a ring of light to form above it for a moment before fading out of view.
The Empress nodded and looked up to the audience. “Let it be known Anurakti Kathini is our prime coordinator of curriculum taught in this city. Every teacher in the city is under her authority, and she does not take on this responsibility lightly.” The Empress looked back down to her. “My dear Anurakti, you are dismissed. Go forth and bless our city.”
The woman quietly zipped back over to her seat, and once again the Empress scanned the audience for a particular face. For a moment, Jyana thought she might be looking at her.
“I now call on a citizen who has shown great ingenuity in the face of adversity. Today, he deserves to be recognized for his excellence. A natural problem solver, this servant of our city is the perfect choice to help us face the challenges that lie ahead.” The Empress paused, running her fingers through her fiery hair.
A hush descended upon the room as she studied the faces of everyone present.
Finally, she spoke. “Torin Gavendra, approach the platform.”
A smile spread across Torin’s face as he practically jumped out of his seat and zipped over to the front of the platform.
He bowed to her. “I am at your service, your Majesty.”
The Empress nodded slightly. “Torin, today I present you with a chance to go beyond a mere apprentice. Today, I give you an opportunity to become the Chief Ambrosia Director.” She appraised him thoughtfully, and Jyana wondered what she thought of Torin’s sharp white collar and unnecessarily long cape. “However, to accept this prestigious position, you must understand the power you would be taking on. Open, and I will show you.”
Once again, the Empress closed her eyes, and a ball of golden light popped out of her forehead and into Torin’s.
He gasped and shut his eyes tightly. As Jyana watched him, she wondered what visions and feelings must have been rushing through him.
Still, the Empress remained expressionless. “Do you understand the gravity of this situation?”
Gradually, he opened his eyes. He appeared stunned from all that he had seen.
“Yes, Empress,” he whispered. “I have imagined this day for years, and nothing would make me more joyful than providing this service to my people.”
The Empress smiled. “Turn around.”
He did, and in one swift motion, the Empress tore his cape from his body, sending a collective gasp through the audience.
“Today, you transcend your past self!” the Empress called out, her dark eyes radiating a raw power that few in the audience had ever seen.
Jyana was held transfixed as the Empress made a wide circle with both of her hands. To her surprise, her fiery hair blew around as if it were in a chaotic storm, and a band of golden light appeared over Torin’s head, like the outer edge of a bubble. The golden band of light flowed around him for a moment, before rushing into him, causing his entire etheric body to glow golden for a few moments.
The Empress closed her eyes, and her hair went limp, falling down over her shoulders. She took a step back and gestured toward Torin with open palms, showing the audience a man who would never be the same.
Her eyes flashed open once again, and she spoke quietly. “Behold, my dear citizens, your new Chief Ambrosia Director.”
The audience could no longer hold back and erupted into applause. Jyana looked around and noticed that even Zahn and Asha seemed happy for him as they clapped, and for the first time in a great while, Jyana felt proud of Torin.
“Use this power well, Torin Gavendra, for the highest good of the Mirage.” The Empress spoke with conviction.
He nodded. “Thank you, wise Empress.”
“My dear Torin, you are dismissed. Be well, and join your Empress after the ceremony. My royal escorts will locate and assist you.”
Torin bowed to the Empress and turned back to the audience, an unstoppable smile filling his face. He really did look sharp in that white collar.
Once he returned to his seat, Jyana noticed that he was quietly crying, and she embraced him tightly.
“I’m so proud of you,” she whispered into his ear.
“I know,” he said, holding back for a moment. “I’m sorry.” He hesitated. “I guess my emotions are overwhelming to me right now.”
“It’s okay,” she said softly. “It’s okay to cry.”
He backed away, his gaze becoming intense. “Things are going to change now. Life will be better. You’ll see.”
Jyana saw something new on Torin’s hand. “Look! Something is on your hand.”
As if it were a holy brand, the back of each of his hands now had a small glowing symbol of a square within a square.
She looked back up to him. “What does this symbol mean?”
“Every Ambrosia Director has had the symbol. It means I work with planetary resources. It’s a great honor.”
She would have embraced him again, but the Empress spoke once more, demanding the attention of all present.
“The final person I acknowledge tonight travelled a fantastic distance to be with us. She is the first refugee to return home, and we must honor her for her bravery in crossing the light-years to return to us.”
A hush fell upon the room, and Jyana noticed that the Empress was smiling at someone on the far end of the platform.
“Oh no,” she whispered.
“Ashakirta,” the Empress said, “approach the platform.”
Jyana watched as Asha stood up, carefully glided past dozens of Mirage citizens, down the aisle, and toward the Empress. When she reached the foot of the platform, Asha bowed.
“Your Majesty, I do not feel worthy of being honored tonight. I never asked to be honored.”
The Empress gazed down to her. “My dear Ashakirta, you need only to return home safely to be deserving of recognition. No doubt you have experienced much and have overcome many trials to return. Indeed, I am quite curious about your methods in reaching us, and I wish to speak with you later in private. For now, take this nugget and consider it.”
A golden ball flew out of her hand and into Asha’s head, and she froze.
Jyana studied the scene as it unfolded, desperately wondering what the Empress could be sharing with her.
“You are indeed generous, dear Empress,” she said. “I will consider your offer.”
Jyana turned to Torin. “What’s going on up there?”
“I don’t know, but obviously the Empress knows something that we don’t.”
The Empress looked out to the audience. “For those of you who have not heard, Ashakirta left our world twenty planetary years ago, an expansive length of time by our standards. She and her father barely escaped with their lives. Yet fate has brought her back home. As the Empress, her thoughts are as plain to me as Rundikha rising in the sky, and I have found her trustworthy. She is on the healer’s path, and I advise you all to treat her with the respect that such a path deserves.” The Empress looked back down to Asha, who was still at the foot of the platform. “Ashakirta, go forth in peace. We shall convene later.”
Asha bowed to her. “With great gratitude, your Majesty.”
In silent disbelief, Jyana watched as Asha glided back over to where Zahn was sitting, and they both appeared almost as surprised as she was.
“My dear citizens, Servants of the Mirage, we are facing a challenging time, but I know that if each of us remember that we are part of a cohesive whole and work together with this in mind, victory will be inevitable. Thank you for standing in audience for the recognition of these bearers of light. You are all di
smissed.”
And with that, the Empress spun around, her red-orange hair flowing in a graceful curve, and walked back down to the other end of the platform. In a blink, she vanished from their sight, leaving them in the darkness of night.
“Something is going on with them,” Jyana said. “I can feel it.”
“Take it easy,” Torin said. “They’re neophytes. They’ve only been here for, what, a few days? You overestimate them, Jyana. The Empress will deal with them soon enough.”
Jyana frowned. “Perhaps that’s what concerns me.”
CHAPTER 23
INTO THE LABYRINTH
Darshana inhaled sharply as Yantrik tightened the strange device around her waist.
He looked up to her with sympathetic eyes. “Too tight? Sorry about that. Like I said, it’s a makeshift design. Let me see if I can adjust it.”
With care, he removed the device and took it back over to the dining room table.
Vivek, who was sitting at one end, shook his head. “This is too risky. If this contraption malfunctions when she’s in the room, who knows what they’re going to do to her!”
“Shh!” Yantrik sat down and adjusted the device. “She’s going to be fine.” He held it up to Darshana before fastening the belt around her waist once more, carefully centering a bronze square below her navel.
“That should do it.” Yantrik stood up. “Keeping the emitter centered should be the most comfortable orientation, but you can experiment to find what’s most comfortable to you, of course.”
Darshana pulled on the belt and breathed deeply. “It’s fine. But how long will it last?”
“Well, a single cloak cell from a fighter isn’t designed to run alone, so I had to tweak it a bit. I’d say you should have cloak for at least all night.”
She nodded. “That’ll work.”
Vivek stood up and set his hand on his beloved’s shoulder. “Are you sure about this, dear? What if they catch you and realize who you are? They’ll interrogate you.”
Darshana pursed her lips. “It’s the only way, my love. I know that complex like the veins of my hands. I’ll come back safe.”
“Just be careful,” he whispered.
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, picking up a small daypack and putting it on. “Okay, let’s test it.”
Darshana pressed a small button atop the bronze square at the center of her waist and faded away like a cloud of smoke in the breeze.
Yantrik nodded. “It’ll do.”
Vivek only blinked in surprise.
The old engineer walked around Darshana, admiring the sight of his handiwork, or rather, the utter absence of sight, except for a ghostly distortion toward the floor.
He grumbled. “I’m seeing a slight wavering toward your feet. Could you try rotating the central dial a bit?”
The wavering shape grew larger, appearing as tall as a person.
“No, no,” Yantrik said. “The other direction.”
Within moments, the shape faded away until not a single trace was visible.
He nodded. “Good. You’ll do fine. Oh, and don’t forget this.” He handed her a small white card. “If the documents I decoded are recent, this should get you into the underground complex.”
“Thanks, Yantrik,” Darshana said, taking it. “I don’t know what we’d do without you.”
Yantrik felt Darshana embrace him, though he could see nothing. He looked down to the floor and chuckled. He’d never been hugged by someone he couldn’t see.
…
Later that evening, Darshana found herself walking along one of the large outer rings of Ashraya City. To raise as little suspicion as possible, Yantrik and Vivek had dropped her off in the nearby forest on the edge of the city. Now she only had to reach one of the service elevators located in most of the underground subway stations. She remembered there being a small station on the 13th ring and had them drop her there, where there would be the least chance of discovery.
Air traffic was minimal, and despite being a residential area filled with round, multilevel homes, the street was oddly quiet.
As Darshana passed a lighted column, she checked to see if she cast a shadow at all. She squinted but could find no trace. Yantrik’s contraption was working beautifully. At least she didn’t have to worry about that.
She walked faster, toward an intersection ahead. An airboat zoomed by her on the right, gliding a few meters above the street, and she felt grateful that the pods no longer had to ride over the land. At the corner, she found a narrow stairwell heading below street level and followed its lighted handrails as they curved down to one of the smallest subway stations she’d ever seen.
Not much had changed in the twelve years she’d been absent. The lev-track, oversight office, and benches were as she’d remembered them. But where was the service elevator?
She walked along the wide wall opposite of the lev-track, but saw nothing.
Great. There are dozens of stations in this city, and I pick the one without a service elevator? What are the odds?
Darshana continued to search and was relieved to find a narrow elevator in the farthest corner of the station.
Whew. That was close. Okay, Darshana. Stay calm.
She pulled out the small white card from her pocket and slid it into the slot beside the elevator door. It chimed, and the door slid back, revealing a cramped, gleaming white room.
Darshana stepped inside and studied the small display embedded in the wall. Instead of touching one of the five levels it displayed, she typed in a number. The door closed, but nothing else happened. She bit her lip and waited.
At last, she felt the elevator move downward, and heaved a sigh of relief.
Okay. Step one complete.
After a few seconds, the embedded display went blank.
That’s odd. Didn’t the displays show the destination? Maybe they changed it.
The elevator slowed down, and once again the door slid back without a sound. Ahead, she saw the familiar stone walls of the underground tunnels and stepped out. A few other people were in this corridor too, and she breathed as quietly as she could. Just because she was rendered invisible didn’t mean she was undetectable. She would have to remember to stay quiet.
Darshana followed the curving corridor to a larger intersection where three similar corridors met. On a nearby wall was a large display, showing off a high resolution map of the main arteries of the tunnel system, spanning the area under the city in perfect concentric circles.
Of course, she didn’t need the map. Darshana could find the Confluence Hall even if she were blindfolded. She’d been there countless times and moved ahead with confidence, gliding past dozens of people in silence.
After navigating another elevator system and several curving ramps to lower levels, she found herself at one of the hall’s ten entrances.
She was in luck. The door was half open.
Okay. I am like the wind. I am weightless.
She sucked in her stomach and tried to slip through the opening without making a sound. But as she made her approach, one of the representatives swooped in from behind her, and she nearly lost her balance to avoid bumping into him.
Yikes! That was too close.
She tried to catch her breath as quietly as possible. Still, the door was opened wider than before, and she slipped inside without a sound.
Arranged in the center of the room were various Ashraya officials, Island Defense officers, and even a few United Island Peace ministers. Then she spotted a familiar face: Master Nirupak, her old friend and director of the Ashraya Observatory. She hadn’t seen Master Nirupak since the day she’d disappeared from her lab, all those years ago.
She blinked. Something was different about him, but she had trouble placing it.
Despite the hall’s grand size, only about a hundred people were here, and she watched as the guards closed each of its ten large doors, sealing them all in.
At last, she heard a low horn reverberate around t
he expansive room, and as everyone sat down, a feeling of nostalgia filled her, remembering that the low horn was their traditional call to attention. She’d forgotten it and had somehow grown to miss it at the same time.
She sat near the center of the last row to reduce any chances of discovery. Far ahead, one of the ministers stepped up to the central pedestal and spoke.
“On behalf of the United Island ministers, we welcome you to the Confluence Hall with somber tidings on this clear night.” The woman’s voice suggested that she was older than she appeared. “I am Minister Shradha, and I call this emergency meeting into session. As you are all no doubt aware, we haven’t held a meeting like this in quite some time, but unprecedented developments in our skies have necessitated this meeting. As shocking as it may seem, the future of our world could depend on the choices we make over the next few days.”
A platform behind the director rose slightly, and a large hologram appeared in the air behind her. The image that hung in the air was dreadfully familiar: a dark circle that oozed by one of the gas giants. It was similar to the video that Darshana had seen in Yantrik’s ship, only this time the clarity was much greater. She could even see the little shard-like shapes of the Vakragha ships around it.
“Captured by the Ashraya Observatory, the images behind me have been reviewed by every major political leader on this planet with adequate security clearance. I must stress that this information is being closely guarded, and for now is not being shared with the public. We believe that, until we have a clear course of action, this information should be kept secret. I now present Master Nirupak, director of the Ashraya Observatory, to discuss some constructive responses to this unusual, and I believe dire, circumstance.”
Another man with long dark hair and a deeply lined face walked up to the minister and bowed. She bowed in return and backed away from the podium.
“Greetings, council,” Nirupak began. “As many of you know, I made it my top priority to settle the ET debate within my term as director, but I never imagined it would come to this. As you have all seen from the recording, we now have irrefutable evidence of intelligent life from beyond our world. Yet after careful analysis, these entities appear aggressive in nature.” He paused, considering sea of faces that filled the hall. “We had hoped that any civilization developed enough to reach our world would have cultivated a peaceful culture, but in this case we believe it wise to be prepared for the worst.”
The Mirage on the Brink of Oblivion (The Epic of Aravinda Book 3) Page 13