Page 104 of Kingdom of Tomorrow
The crowd thinned as I approached the final corner. Faster.
Heavy treads erupted behind me. I cast a glance over my shoulder and huffed. Two feeders gave chase, swiftly gaining on me.
Rounding the corner, I expected to see the Lux. Shocked, I drew up short. Not an apartment building, but the Rock. But how, why, when—no, it didn’t matter. I was here. It was there. Currently, four people were clawing at the surface, as if desperate to get inside. No sign of Domino Crane, the librarian.
Deal with the imminent threat; figure out the rest.I turned and fired on one of the maddened chasing me. Yes! Another dove my way. Evading, I squeezed the trigger. Two down. Three shots left. No chance to pause and plan. The other four pegged my arrival and converged in unison. Definitely infected. I netted two, but the weapon jammed, leaving me with one less net than anticipated and two opponents to go. Like a pro, I exchanged the gun for my second dagger, prepared to engage in up-close combat.
Suddenly a net I hadn’t released whizzed through the air, caging a challenger. I jolted with satisfaction when Cyrus zoomed into view, a weapon in each hand. He incapacitated the remaining infected with expert skill.
“You good?” he demanded, tossing me a new netter.
I caught it with ease. “Very.” He sported bruises, gashes, and ripped clothing, but he was alive and well. “You?”
“Been better.” His focus jumped over my shoulder, and he scowled. “Three incoming. The biggest is carrying a severed arm.”
I geared up to help him save the day, but. The Rock. My gaze landed on it. A powerful connection gripped me and refused to let go.I couldn’t look away. Didn’t want to. Everything else faded away, utterly insignificant.
A pulse vibrated over the maze of veins that branched through the iridescent, mirrorlike stone. Crimson flowed straight into the outer rim of the circles. The inner lines shifted and clicked together, forcing a connected crisscross, sending the symbols into a spinning rotation. Vibrant flames sparked within each loop.Mesmerizing.
Just as I’d seen in my vision, dream, or whatever it had been, the wall vanished in the smoke. An image appeared in the rock face, shaking me to my core. A man sat upon a throne made of sapphire. He appeared as human as anyone else. Or would have, if a crown of light hadn’t radiated from his head, obscuring his face, and flames of the purest blue hadn’t bathed his lower half. A flawless metal breastplate shining and golden covered his torso.
Noises garbled in my throat. My knees knocked, threatening to buckle. I knew his identity without being told.
“Arden, Arden,” he breathed out. “Troubled by so many things.”
His voice nearly buckled my knees. The sound carried the weight of many rushing waters, sending ripples over my entire being. “You are Soal.”
“I am. You desired an audience.”
Heaviness settled over me, but it wasn’t confining. More like a velvet-soft winter coat, warm and comforting. “You aren’t what I expected.”
He chuckled a little. “What did you expect, hmm?”
Good question. “To be honest, I’m not sure.” I released the first query in the ammo clip of my mind. “Did you cause these breaks? The maddened are killing in your name.”
“What do I have to gain from such deaths?” he asked.
“DeprivingCuredof its citizens.” To start.
“They do that job well enough on their own.”
I waited, but Soal provided no more. No real defense or evidence. Frustrated, I took a step closer. “My friend Shiloh told me you’re thesolution to every problem. From my vantage point, you don’t seem to be doing much.”
“That’s because your vantage point is too low. Read my Rock. Unless you prefer to continue dealing with Astan.”
I wouldn’t read the Rock, risking Madness, possibly playing right into his hands, until someone convinced me of its safety. “I’ve had no dealings with Astan.”
“You have. Often.”
I sputtered. No way I’d met a god with huge ram horns and wings and not realized it. Just no way. Since we were getting nowhere, I shifted gears. “I’m told you hope to recruit me.”
“I seek to recruit everyone. Only some are ready to hear.”
“Well, you made a mistake, thinking I’m ready.”
“Then let’s get you there.” His image began to fade.
“No!” I surged forward the rest of the way. I had some many more questions, but the image of a book took his place. My book. Tremors rocked me in my boots.
