Page 107 of Anatomy of the Immortal Species
She searched for the source. It was a hideous creature with dark red skin, hooves instead of feet, and two horns. The monster moved towards her, dragging a leather whip across the ground like an extension of its right hand. “Come here!”
Amelia refused to obey. Suddenly, a child appeared, and he reminded her so much of Dave – the boy she had befriended at the Hospital, the one who had been hurt because of her. The child had dark brown hair, thick dark eyebrows, expressive eyes…
Dear God, itwasDave! But what was he doing here?
“Come, little friend,” the monster beckoned, tightening its grip on the whip’s handle.
Dave started towards him, wearing that same broad smile he always gave Amelia.
“Dave!” she screamed.
The monster’s whip lashed across her thigh, stealing her breath. Amelia cried out, an excruciating pain piercing through her.
“Consider this a warning, Amelia.”What?This time, it wasn’t the monster speaking, but a familiar voice. “There is one rule you must obey. Unconditionally.”
The Creator?
“Never lie when while looking through the Oracle’s eyes. Next time, your punishment will be real. Someone you care about will suffer. And youwillwatch.”
Amelia found herself back underneath the shower. Water, tears, and blood mingled into streams that ran down her body and disappeared into the drain.
Helplessness and shame weighed heavy in her chest.
40
With its hue reminiscent of still-warm blood, the Queen’s dress dominated all the colours in the grand hall. The white gold in her hair shimmered with the intensity of a midday sun. Through the window, Antambazi’s orange-red moon peeked in, providing a perfect background for the impending speech.
In the middle of the throne room, her subjects knelt like withered flowers, awaiting permission to return to life.
They adored her. The woman who would gift them their place back on Earth.
“Come, my children.”
The gentle melody in the Queen’s voice was nothing short of enchanting, even though the Mother of the Reptilians possessed no real magic. In the soft tones of her words, it was hard to detect the simmering fury Kathrine had witnessed minutes before the start of the wedding ceremony. The Queen held her and Sevar accountable for the slow progress of her war plans. She blamed them for Mikhail Korovin’s detainment by the Tribunal. Their failed attempts to uncover who was feeding evidence to the Tribunal about Korovin had shaken the Queen from her usual icy indifference.
Kathrine didn’t get it. The Queen found Mikhail to be a bothersome manticore, obstructing – albeitinsignificantly– her aim to weaken the other immortal species. What, then, could she possibly gain by breaking him out of prison, when by all accounts, his imprisonment was in her best interests?
Kathrine glanced at her fiancé on the right side of thethrone, standing tall in ceremonial attire adorned with golden embroidery. He still wasn’t speaking to her – not as he used to. Not like when they would lie on the grass, gazing at the sky, promising each other that beyond Earth, there were countless territories and stars they would conquer. Sevar wasn’t a romantic, but his drive was addictive. With him, Kathrine could believe the world revolved around the two of them.
She observed the two newlyweds before the throne. The butcher’s daughter displayed her gaudy dress and future husband with equal pride. A not-much-smarter smile replaced Branko’s usual dumb scowl.
Kathrine knew the Queen’s wedding speech down to the subtlest inflexion. First, she would introduce the newlyweds, never missing the chance to exaggerate their qualities and their contributions to Antambazi. Then, she would extol the virtues of entering a sacred union. Next, she would point out the witnesses – Kathrine and Sevar. Praise for the reptilian species would follow. Finally, the usual rousing tirade, where she claimed that soon the reptilians would rule the entire world and each of them must move towards this victory with a willingness to sacrifice.
Then, they would feast.
***
“Are you ready for your mission at the Al-Hatib Tournament, my daughter?” the Queen asked hours later, after summoning Kathrine and Sevar to her chambers.
Kathrine met her gaze over the crimson tablecloth. “Absolutely, Mother.”
“Don’t come back empty-handed.”
“Never, Mother.”
The Queen smiled.
Something in her expression put Kathrin? on guard. Something that hadn’t been there before the ceremony began. Sevar stood by the window, with his back to them, but judging by thestiff posture of his shoulders, he’d also noticed the shift in the Queen’s energy.
