The Opelux and Other Monsters || Book One

CHAPTER 16 (PART 1) - UNKNOWN

Three guards rushed to Pharro's aid.

And something about the entire situation felt like I shouldn't be there.

Beyond the doorway Pharro had collapsed in, five guards stood facing a wall, the entire thing one massive screen displaying an aerial view of a black, circular table, dozens of fancily dressed people surrounding it. Smaller squares surrounded the edges of the large screen, each square containing the zoomed in image of the face of each person around that table. Symbols and graphs flashed and fluctuated beside each face, occasionally zooming in on the irises of the younger attendees.

And there was the Emperor, Tritteon watchful at his side.

This was one of those meetings.

I wasn't supposed to be here.

With everyone still distracted getting Pharro into a chair in the observation room, I stepped through the door, ignoring my pounding heart, my slipper shoes soundless on the marble floor.

The narrow hallway curved right and out of sight, the inner wall made of slanted glass that looked down into a huge circular room. Before anyone could say otherwise, I went right, following the hallway around to a glass door that led out onto a small balcony overlooking the room below.

I leaned forward to peer through the glass. The top was angled outward so the observer could see everything directly below. The room was big and deep, that glossy, black, round table I'd seen on the wall screen, the electronically detailed image of a map covering it, taking up most of the floor, deep, gold, high-backed chairs surrounding it. I counted fifteen important looking men and women seated around the table and a young man or young woman stood at each person's shoulder.

"Who are they?" I thought to Lexicon.

"Princesses, Princes, Ambassadors, and their FengDohrn, and, of course, the Emperor."

I scanned the chairs again and spotted Rilyin and Tritteon ninety degrees to the right of where I stood. Tritteon stood so close, his arm brushed Rilyin's shoulder. The movement was so subtle and frequent, I wondered if it was deliberate, a reassurance the man was still beside him. He watched those gathered with an intensity I could only label distrust.

He wasn't the only one. The room was full of wary, darting eyes and clenched jaws. Every few seconds, the eyes of a FengDohrn would flash black and the other FengDohrn would ball their fists and zero in on the troublemaker as if readying to spring at them at the first sign of provocation.

"For a Respite about relieving tensions, it's awfully tense down there."

"What's the plan if you get caught?" Lexicon asked shrewdly.

"You're in my head. You know perfectly well I don't have one."

"I felt pointing that out would be rude."

"You felt?"

"A figure of speech. Now, start thinking of something. It's a miracle they haven't noticed you already. With the amount of tension down there, I cannot see them taking too kindly to your uninvited presence."

I scowled. "In this obnoxious hunt for answers and information, I'm really not interested in an accompanying voice of reason. Is there an off switch for you?"

"I would slap you if I had hands."

I snorted. "I apologize if that got under your non-existent skin."

"Fine. Then I won't warn you about the person behind you."

I spun too late.

Something hard struck me across the side of the head. The world reeled and in seconds, I found my face pressed against the cold floor, something hard digging into my head, my hands cuffed behind me.