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does he not sing ?
said another woman .
hes a newbie , said brian .
then i will teach him , said the woman who had my hand .
thats okay .
i uh ... actually dont plan on sticking around .
to tell you the truth , if i knew i was stuck here in the deeps i couldnt handle it .
i can see why people end up chasing the horus .
oh come on !
its not that bad .
we got some good people here .
get yourself a cozy chamber cut deep .
nice to get out of the light once in a while , if you know what i mean .
i got my hand back and kept it clasped over my privates , legs together tight .
do you sleep ?
he looked at me funny and shrugged .
dont even remember what its like .
i guess i do meditate .
its nice to clear your head and chill .
and theres plenty of time for that .
the quorum requires short time duty one song per cycle , plus one full cycle every six .
long time .
me and taro are serving long time right now .
if they let you stick around , thats how itll be .
and the big thing is , were safe .
the seraphim dont mess with us .
the quorum trains some bad ass fighters .
and its all spell craft , you know .
magic .
were in good hands .
nobody slips through the cracks .
thats nice , i said , distracted by group of dust devils down on the plateau .
there were four of them and occasionally the wind would shear off one side and reveal a group of runners bearing weapons .
there were objects in the sky , too , hovering about the runners , shimmery , semi-transparent things .
dont worry about them , said brian .
they stage fake raids all the time .
trying to intimidate us .
but they dont dare come onto the hill .
if they did , wed send them all back to kingdom come .
are they the ones who followed us ?
looks like they got some reinforcements , said brian .
but im telling you .
dont worry .
the pickets see them .
our warriors know .
youre not ?
a warrior ?
fuck no .
i aint got the chops for spell craft .
im just a scout and do my picket duty like everybody else .
taro reappeared at the bottom of the stairs , accompanied by a slight , but well-proportioned woman whose posture and demeanor exuded gravitas .
her gaze sought and demanded mine as she came up the stairs .
i couldnt look away if i wanted .
not because she was too beautiful or bizarre .
she just had this tractor beam of a gaze that demanded attention .
it had to be some sort of spell craft .
no human could be so transfixing through charisma alone .
her torso was covered with little , curly scales more delicate than anything i had seen , more ornament than armor .
overall , they gave the effect of a shaggy , tight-clinging dress .
her deep-set eyes gave the impression of advanced maturity , but her face was ageless , as if she had always been thirty-five years old and always would be .
but those eyes !
they had hundreds of years of seeing behind them .
hello , she said .
i am an .
im james .
she took my hand .
it was strange touching someone so cold with my own cold and numb hands .
it did not feel like any kind of human contact i ever knew .
taro has told me some rather unbelievable things about you .
do i understand correctly that you have the ability to transit to the birth realm ?
life ... she means .
she smirked .
thank you , brian , for clarifying .
yeah i go back .
i come and go .
just like i did in the liminality .
and how do you summon these transitions ?
well i dont .
not here .
it kinda just happens .
she just blinked at me , her eyes inscrutable .
a guy came bounding down an alley , skidding to a halt in the dust .
lady an !
a runner approaches .
i forgot to mention , said taro .
we saw him coming in .
we already know , said lady an .
hes from tiamat .
im not looking forward to the news he bears .
she turned her attention back to me .
i would love to have the chance to talk to you , when things are not so hectic .
taro , why dont you take our friend down below , get him under cover , get him situated .
brian , you stay with me .
we may need a runner of our own , depending on whats happened in tiamat .
nothing good , im sure .
*** i followed taro down a stairway of concentric squares that led down into a huge , inverse pyramid of a pit .
at each corner , there were openings every twenty steps or so , just as there would be in a football stadium .
but we went down to the very bottom where four square passages were carved deep into the bedrock .
the stone looked like hardened talcum or chalk .
there was no sign of any roots , just this uniform , fine-grained rock .