The Sapphire Pass: All-Father

Matriarch

Ophelia squinted as the bright blue light pierced her vision, brighter than it had even been. There was whoosh of sound, and the familiar rush of air as they stepped through. The air always smelled different when she traveled. She crouched low as she watched the light fade to a single pinpoint, staying open just enough to send and received messages in case something went wrong.

"James? Iago, you there?" she asked in a whisper. "Where are we and where do we need to go?"

"I'm here," Iago said, "your comms are open. Do you see a truck?"

She nodded.

"We see it," James confirmed for her. "I've got it from there."

They climbed into the large semi and it roared to life. Ophelia's eyes lit up as they cleared the trees. There were so many people, and the city was glowing so brightly that it cast a fuzzy halo around itself pushing away the dark. She relayed everything she was seeing to Iago.

She was mesmerized as they finally pulled to a stop at a small building.

"Get dressed," James said pulling clothes from his pack.

She did as she was told, putting on the long black dress and heels James had picked out for her. He grabbed her hand and the walked to a large lobby.

"Name?" a bored woman staring at a clipboard asked.

"James V. Alleghan," he said calmly, "Plus one."

"Your mother already checked you in," she said. "She's waiting in the conference room."

"Thank you," he said, pulling Ophelia behind him.

They walked away quickly, just in case this woman decided to pay attention to him and notice that he didn't look like he should.

He kept Ophelia close, blending in expertly. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do so she mimicked his expressions and gestures as well as she could, until they were finally in a secluded hallway.

"Wait here," he said, "I'll get the control. Just a few more minutes."

Ophelia nodded, and leaned back against the wall, until a flash caught her eye, and then another. She looked around before following it just around a corner to see a large booth. It said, "PHOTOBANK," in bold letter across the top and side. There were two people on a small screen, like a movie. They were smiling and kissing each other, then there was a whir as something fell into a small tray.

She picked it up and looked at the small row of photos curiously. Her head snapped up as a small black curtain was pushed aside.

"Ew. Who are you?" the girl said snatching the pictures from Ophelia's hand. "Freak."

"What wrong? Angie?" a boy asked stepping out of the booth behind her.

"Andrew!" a woman's shrill voice called out from the other end of the hallway.

The two teenagers yelped and pushed Ophelia out of their way as they fled in the opposite direction.

She wasn't sure what was going on, but she also wasn't sure she was allowed to be where she was, so she decided she probably shouldn't wait around and decided to go find James. First she needed to find someone to tell her where he was. She wondered down a few hallways before seeing a man with a hat pulled down low over his face.

"Hey! Man. Mister?" she called to him.

He looked up at her for a brief second before turning slowly and running away from her.

"Hey! I need to know where the confer room is!" she yelled as she chased after him.

He turned a corner and was thrown backward as James raced around the other side, momentarily stopping before his eyes flickered up to Ophelia then back down at the man. When she caught up, the man was backing away. The contents of his bag were scattered on the floor.