Page 5 of Spectral Seas (Spectral Worlds #2)
T HE CRAFT GRACEFULLY set down, the canopy slid open, then Uhggwa and his elite guard exited. Uhggwa extended a gloved hand back to Leta. “Be careful of your step, Captain,” he said. Leta smiled and accepted his assistance. Abby followed on his own weight but it was he who could have used the assist. He was struck with a wave of disorientating imbalance and nearly collapsed when he stepped out onto the tarmac. The condition worsened as he made his way through the curves and twists of the corridors that wove into, up, and around each other in a physics-defying Gordian knot.
In the century since Abby had last visited the ancient alien city of Ghrauk, the eldritch Viridian capital had become noticeably tainted by the modernity of the Alpha Plane. The craft they’d arrived in had projected Viridian language augments onto the canopy in the style of a Homeland vehicle, and here in the city, he found small electronics in the hands of the citizens, electronic advertisements where there had been none for thousands of years, and even neon signs above the eternal market stalls.
The Viridians otherwise appeared the same. Some spotted, others striped, some a combination of both. The citizens of Ghrauk hauled their parcels or sat in cafes, their long-clawed fingers moving odd carved pieces across game boards or tapping handheld vid screens. Apart from a few commando fatigue-clad soldiers at the docking bay, the citizens of Ghrauk wore colored togas that shifted slightly in hue as Abby and Leta passed by—the only sign that the visitors from the Alpha Plane were noticed at all. Compared to his last visit, there was an obvious indifference to his presence.
Except for the children. Their w-curved eyes blinked full open on Abby’s approach then—unable to hide their wonder or fear—their togas radically scrambled a plethora of muddy reds, greens, and blacks. Some disappeared from view altogether, blending into their surroundings or the colors of their parents, to hide from the visitors in the odd suits.
Children—Viridian, Umbra, all of them—always behaved that way. A century of guilt sunk into Abby’s gut.
“ Look at them ,” Leta chin-chipped.
“ The children? ” asked Abby.
“ No. Those two .” She was referring to the two Viridian guards leading the way, the same pair who had greeted them with Uhggwa in the Bubble. “ They seem perfectly at home .”
“ Well ,” said Abby, “ They are .”
“ I heard it when I said it,” she said. “What I mean is, if they don’t slow down, I’m going to fall over .”
“ It’s affecting me too,” he said. “You’ll get used to it. ”
Aloud, she said, “I suppose you don’t receive many visitors. ”
“We do,” said Uhggwa. “Many splendid visitors. From the syndicate, primarily.”
“ Was that sarcasm? ” Leta silently asked Abby.
“ Sounded pleasant, ” said Abby.
“ It sounded contemptuous.”
“You’re imagining it.”
“Well,” she said, throwing an arm out to stop herself from falling to the side, “ I’m imagining he didn’t get the hint.”
“We’re almost there.”
“How can you tell?” asked Leta. “This isn’t a city, it’s a maze.”
“This tower. My bearings are coming back to me.”
The tower he referred to revealed itself over the top of a foot bridge that, soon after traveling under, they found themselves crossing, drawing ever closer to the mossy green spear, until they found themselves beside it. They rounded the tower and at the point they should have made a full journey of the perimeter, were met by a massive iron door, its borders trimmed with embossed reliefs of countless tentacled sea creatures. One of the leading Viridians waved his gloved hand over a section of the gate. In response, a small glowing emerald circle with a trident in its center appeared at that spot, then a panel—a door within the larger iron one—slid open.
They entered through the panel into a great hall adorned with a tall vaulted ceiling and wide tentacle-limbed chandeliers that lit high-walled portraits of prominent toga wearing Viridians and two-story tapestries detailing ancient battles with what could only be described in Homeland terms as monsters of the sea—mammoth tentacled and multi-headed beasts.
“ Are those for real? ” asked Leta.
“ Certainly,” Abby replied. “At least at one time. Do they disturb you? ”
“Not in the least. This is the best place I’ve been in all day. At least the floor is flat. ”
Abby nodded. “ I feel better already.”
Archways lined the sides of the hall. Behind those to the right, a covered walkway and several open doors, the archways on the left were sealed by stone, with the exception of one, far down the long hall. It was unique in that it was sealed by glass. The group stopped when they reached it.
Uhggwa stepped up to the glass.
“Only I can open the habitat,” he said, and with a wave of his hand, a loud clack came from behind the wall. The glass slid to the side to reveal a two-meter-long passage to yet another glass wall, backlit by a white glow.
With a gesture from Uhggwa, Abby and Leta entered the passage and approached the second glass. The bright light behind it came from an all white room, furnished with white furniture.
“It looks like the HUB,” said Abby.
“Yes,” said Uhggwa. “We designed it to your mortal taste, for your mortal leisure. There have been many upgrades since your last visit, Abernathy Squire.”
Leta turned toward Abby and though the orbs of her eyes were black, he was sure that she rolled them.
The panel to the great hall slid shut, leaving the Viridian on the other side.
A compressor hissed loudly, expelling the mossy Viridian gas that had followed them in.
Uhggwa’s digitized voice filled the chamber. “You can remove your visors, Abernathy Squire and Leta Serene. The atmosphere is synchronized with that of the Alpha Plane.”
“Shouldn’t we wait until we’re in the habitat?” asked Leta .
“If you prefer, Leta Serene.”
The glass wall separating Abby and Leta from their apartment slid to the side.
The two walked through— ZWIZZ, CLACK, CLACK —the glass wall rapidly closed behind them and fastened shut.
Leta and Abby popped the locks to their visors. There was a hiss from the suits then a slight swoosh of suction as they removed them.
“Explore your rooms,” Uhggwa said through a hidden speaker. “The habitat now encompasses this entire wing. Elggwa is expecting you at dinner in the royal hall.”
~*~