Read Online Eternity's Edge by Bryan Davis - Free Book Online Page B

his pace. Nathan glanced back at Kelly again. “Maybe you'd better stay here.”
    She tightened her grip on his elbow. “Not on your life. I'm not leaving you for a minute.”
    “Me neither,” Daryl said. “This place makes
The Village
look friendly.”
    Nathan gave them a nod and followed Tsayad, closing the gap as they neared the strange gathering. When the guardian came within several paces of the group, he sang a short burst of vowels that sounded more like an “ahem” than words.
    The group turned toward them. The seven men and five women, all with short white hair, flashed eerie smiles that gave Nathan a new shiver. Three of them shifted to the right, leaving a gap that provided a view of the glass dome. As they parted, they revealed the rest of the chamber's central area. Two other domes abutted this one, making a triangle of domes, each one with white-haired people gazing into it.
    Nathan took a step toward the closest dome. Resemblingthe top half of a transparent sphere, the glass edges had been anchored to the floor with foot-long clasps and fist-sized bolts. Within the dim interior, a girl no more than fifteen years old sat at the center, shivering. With her head tucked between her knees, she pulled at the hem of her simple cloth skirt, trying unsuccessfully to cover her legs.
    Kelly gasped. “Oh, Nathan!”
    His heart pounding, Nathan crept closer. The girl looked so pitiful … so frightened. Why would she be in there?
    Suddenly, the girl swiped at her shoulder, as if swatting a bug away. Her face stretched by terror, she slid on her bottom toward the outer wall, pumping her legs furiously. When she reached the glass, she pressed a hand against her chest, panting and swinging her head back and forth as if searching for something on the floor.
    “Could she be having a nightmare?” Nathan asked Kelly. “I don't see anything in there with her.”
    Then, closing her eyes, the girl raised her head and moved her lips, apparently in song, but as Nathan leaned toward her to listen, the men and women raised their hands and sang a warbling phrase that drowned out her voice.
    Their song jolted Nathan's senses. This was nothing like the heavenly aria he had heard when he first arrived. It was an operatic train wreck. Every note clashed with the others, as if battling to see which one could most effectively sabotage the choir. Still, it seemed that the individual singers hit each note perfectly, as though twelve master artists had chosen to paint a different portrait on the same canvas.
    As the singing continued, clouds of black mist rose to the top of the room and disappeared into a purplish haze above, as if there were a chimney drawing out and dispersing this solidified music.
    A cracking sound returned. The purple breach stretching from the red planet to the blue widened, slowly, yet noticeably.
    As the song continued, the girl inside the dome shook. Still singing, she wrapped her arms around herself, but she seemed unable to quell her shivers.
    Nathan rushed to the dome and laid his palms on the glass. “She's terrified! Let her out of there!” He swung toward the other domes. They also enclosed human figures, but the interiors were too dim to discern any details.
    Turning back, he gazed at the forlorn girl behind the crystal wall. Her features were all too clear — tear-streaked face, frazzled braids of red hair, and wringing hands. Her terror shook him to the bone. Suddenly, she looked straight at him. With her eyes wide again, she mouthed two silent words.
Help me.
    A firm tug on his sweatshirt sent Nathan flying backwards. Holding his violin aloft, he fell on his side and slid at least twenty yards across the polished floor. He jumped to his feet and whirled back toward the dome. Tsayad scowled at him and sang a string of vowel sounds that resembled a strident scolding.
    Kelly ran to Nathan's side. “He says it is forbidden to aid the supplicants. You will soon learn the rules that govern this sacred