The Sentient
Page 34
D’Arcy stood behind Amira.
“Ready to go home?” D’Arcy asked.
The wide leaves on the palm trees trembled with each powerful gust, a hypnotic dance that calmed her as she scanned the sky. No stations were visible through the clouds. Smog rolled in from San Diego along with the Pacific tide, muting the moonlight as it bounced off the gentle water. Hundreds of miles up the coast, she imagined the lights of Westport spreading into the sky, drowning out the stars.
Forces pulled at her from different directions like the churning currents of an undertow. Westport to the north, her friends all around her, and the skies above them, from which the universe spread – all drew her closer, reaching to that part of her in search of home.
Home. Though there was much Amira did not yet understand – about her own abilities, the challenges and dangers that awaited her – she knew that she was a scientist of Aldwych, and Westport was her home. Her feet felt steady on its concrete streets, rooted in purpose. The pursuit of knowledge, in aid of those she loved, was her life’s purpose, and that purpose gave her the power to overcome anything that the compounds or Cosmics threw at her.
Someone called to them from the living room. Dr. Mercer was in deep conversation with Barlow in the kitchen. Amira folded her arms against the strengthening winds. With a final glance in the direction of Westport, Amira followed D’Arcy inside.
Acknowledgments
It takes hard work, focus and a pinch of masochism to finish a novel, but it takes a village to bring it to life. Firstly, a huge thank you to my brilliant, tireless agent, Naomi Davis from Bookends Literary Agency, for working with me to address the elements in earlier drafts that weren’t working and strengthen the parts that were. I couldn’t ask for a better advocate and supporter, always ready to talk through a plot hole or a new idea. I’m also grateful to my editor, Don D’Auria, and the Flame Tree Press team for believing in this novel and working with me to sharpen the prose and work through those small but critical details.
I’m also indebted to those who gave me feedback on the first drafts of this novel, as well as family and friends who supported me through the ups and downs of the writing process. Thank you to the Lighthouse Writers Workshop in Denver, for giving me the opportunity to get some crucial early feedback on my first pages. Heather Webb, who I met at the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ Conference, for her excellent insights that greatly improved my later drafts. Thanks to Laila Arand and Kathy Breining for their kind but constructive input, and to Adrianne Kolano and David Bender for their willingness to be early beta readers. To my English teachers in high school, Neil Horner and Alistair Pugh, for that report card in which they said I could be a published writer one day. And last but not least, to my grandparents on both sides of the family, gone but present in so many ways, thank you for being great storytellers and instilling that same instinct in me.
About this book
This is a FLAME TREE PRESS BOOK
Text copyright © 2020 Nadia Afifi
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
FLAME TREE PRESS, 6 Melbray Mews, London, SW6 3NS, UK, flametreepress.com
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Thanks to the Flame Tree Press team, including: Taylor Bentley, Frances Bodiam, Federica Ciaravella, Don D’Auria, Chris Herbert, Josie Karani, Molly Rosevear, Mike Spender, Cat Taylor, Maria Tissot, Nick Wells, Gillian Whitaker. The cover is created by Flame Tree Studio with thanks to Nik Keevil and Shutterstock.com.
FLAME TREE PRESS is an imprint of Flame Tree Publishing Ltd. flametreepublishing.com. A copy of the CIP data for this book is available from the British Library and the Library of Congress.
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