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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 . |