statement. He quickly regained his composure. "I have a better method in cranium."
I gave him a suspicious look but nodded.
He motioned me toward hallway. "Come. We will go to a better meeting place."
"Where?" I wasn't about to walk into a trap.
He pointed up. "The minister's office at the top." He held out his hands, palms up, as if to show they were empty. "I promise trickery befall you will not."
I really hoped he had a better way to translate because the random word order was really starting to get on my nerves. I couldn't imagine listening to someone talk like this all the time. I looked at Nightliss. "What do you think?"
"It is our best hope," she said. "Perhaps our last hope."
I snorted. "No need to get melodramatic."
She offered a wan smile. "I am female, Justin. This is the perfect opportunity to be dramatic."
A laugh burst from me. "Fine." I offered my hand to Cephus. "My name is Justin Slade." He gave it a confused look but eventually extended his own. I gripped and shook it. "Let's do this."
Cephus looked at his hand after I released it, as if looking for some sign that I'd cursed him. He recovered, smiled reassuringly, and led us down the hall.
We took a right and headed toward a glowing shaft of light in an alcove. Cephus stepped inside. Nightliss and I joined him. Our host charged a gem on the wall and we zipped upward on an invisible platform, other floors blurring past until we neared the ceiling at the top of the shaft. When our momentum ceased, Cephus simply stepped forward and into a room.
I looked down at the long drop and quickly followed him.
We entered a wide, empty room with no furniture or walls aside from the curving windows along the exterior of the building. The shiny black floor rippled like water beneath our feet as we walked across it, giving me an uneasy feeling. I wondered if we could sink into this material, or if it was some sort of special effect. Cephus charged a gem inset in the floor. A holographic image sprang from the floor displaying an organically curved piece of furniture that only slightly resembled a desk. Cephus flicked past it and several other interesting designs until settling on a plain circular table with tufts of cloud floating around it.
He charged the gem again, and ultraviolet mist rose from the floor in front of us, slowly forming into the image we'd just seen. Within seconds, a floating table with cute little clouds as chairs hovered before us. The color of the table changed to a deep mahogany while the clouds turned white.
It was a nice change from the homogenous color of Murk. I mean, I liked purple as much as the next guy but had begun to wonder if these people lacked appreciation for any other hues of the rainbow.
"Impressive." I ran a hand along the table. It felt like wood. "You made this with Murk?"
He nodded. "The force of creation." He touched his ear. "How are you sending words to my ears?"
I noticed the word order from the translation had improved marginally and wondered if the translation program had made adjustments as it heard more and more speech. I took out Nookli and showed it to him. "This is an arcphone. You can talk to people with it."
He raised an eyebrow. "Can you not use your mouth to talk to people?"
I chuckled. "If another person has an arcphone but is across the city from me, I can call them." I made a show of dialing a number and speaking into the handset. "It is like a communicator."
"Ah." He touched a gem on his collar. "We also use long-distance communication magic." Cephus looked at my phone. "Is this Brightling magic?"
I shook my head. "No. The Brightlings don't have this sort of technology."
He looked a little confused and I had to wonder if technology translated into Cyrinthian.
Nightliss said something and Cephus nodded as if she'd cleared it up.
"What is the language you speak?" He looked at me. "I know you are not speaking Murikan."
This was officially the point where I had to tell him I was from Eden.
I gave him a suspicious look but nodded.
He motioned me toward hallway. "Come. We will go to a better meeting place."
"Where?" I wasn't about to walk into a trap.
He pointed up. "The minister's office at the top." He held out his hands, palms up, as if to show they were empty. "I promise trickery befall you will not."
I really hoped he had a better way to translate because the random word order was really starting to get on my nerves. I couldn't imagine listening to someone talk like this all the time. I looked at Nightliss. "What do you think?"
"It is our best hope," she said. "Perhaps our last hope."
I snorted. "No need to get melodramatic."
She offered a wan smile. "I am female, Justin. This is the perfect opportunity to be dramatic."
A laugh burst from me. "Fine." I offered my hand to Cephus. "My name is Justin Slade." He gave it a confused look but eventually extended his own. I gripped and shook it. "Let's do this."
Cephus looked at his hand after I released it, as if looking for some sign that I'd cursed him. He recovered, smiled reassuringly, and led us down the hall.
We took a right and headed toward a glowing shaft of light in an alcove. Cephus stepped inside. Nightliss and I joined him. Our host charged a gem on the wall and we zipped upward on an invisible platform, other floors blurring past until we neared the ceiling at the top of the shaft. When our momentum ceased, Cephus simply stepped forward and into a room.
I looked down at the long drop and quickly followed him.
We entered a wide, empty room with no furniture or walls aside from the curving windows along the exterior of the building. The shiny black floor rippled like water beneath our feet as we walked across it, giving me an uneasy feeling. I wondered if we could sink into this material, or if it was some sort of special effect. Cephus charged a gem inset in the floor. A holographic image sprang from the floor displaying an organically curved piece of furniture that only slightly resembled a desk. Cephus flicked past it and several other interesting designs until settling on a plain circular table with tufts of cloud floating around it.
He charged the gem again, and ultraviolet mist rose from the floor in front of us, slowly forming into the image we'd just seen. Within seconds, a floating table with cute little clouds as chairs hovered before us. The color of the table changed to a deep mahogany while the clouds turned white.
It was a nice change from the homogenous color of Murk. I mean, I liked purple as much as the next guy but had begun to wonder if these people lacked appreciation for any other hues of the rainbow.
"Impressive." I ran a hand along the table. It felt like wood. "You made this with Murk?"
He nodded. "The force of creation." He touched his ear. "How are you sending words to my ears?"
I noticed the word order from the translation had improved marginally and wondered if the translation program had made adjustments as it heard more and more speech. I took out Nookli and showed it to him. "This is an arcphone. You can talk to people with it."
He raised an eyebrow. "Can you not use your mouth to talk to people?"
I chuckled. "If another person has an arcphone but is across the city from me, I can call them." I made a show of dialing a number and speaking into the handset. "It is like a communicator."
"Ah." He touched a gem on his collar. "We also use long-distance communication magic." Cephus looked at my phone. "Is this Brightling magic?"
I shook my head. "No. The Brightlings don't have this sort of technology."
He looked a little confused and I had to wonder if technology translated into Cyrinthian.
Nightliss said something and Cephus nodded as if she'd cleared it up.
"What is the language you speak?" He looked at me. "I know you are not speaking Murikan."
This was officially the point where I had to tell him I was from Eden.
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