Dell's Journey

Chapter 41: The Trial

The two bewildered and sleepy characters had only a

moment's peace before they saw shapes that looked like

stick figures with disproportionate antennae steadily

advancing toward the disc. They soon realized the shapes

were the suspended bodies of passengers, grasped by the

hovering machines and hanging from both arms. There were a

whole flock of them coming from every direction. The

silent flyers began to land, filling the circular court.

Many were pale, gaunt figures with the same penetrating

eyes of their host. But there were others: beautiful women

with surprising natural beauty that were hard to look away

from; strong, confident looking men with dark, shining eyes

and angular jaw-structures. Some of them looked artificial

in a way that was difficult to pinpoint. They landed

without a word, but with a force of power and grace that

made the two captives feel rude and unsophisticated in

comparison.

Dell found his eyes returning compulsively to the face

of a handsome woman as she alighted and moved toward the

edge of the circle. In her dazzling green eyes there was a

haughtiness he found irresistible. She was not without the

common features which arouse sexual attraction, though the

broadness of her shoulders and exaggerated arch of her

spine did strike him as imperfect. It didn't matter; it

was the aura surrounding her which drew his gaze so

steadily; it was the way she tossed her chin and the way

her eyes glinted as if to say, "I am from above, you are of

the earth." His mind assured him that she was beyond his

reach, not physically, for he could certainly have rushed

at her and taken her in his arms, but in a different sense.

They were separated by everything she was and believed, and

it was as though he knew it in an instant. Something about

this enraged him and made him feel sick with wanting at the

same time.

The landing party continued to fill the space, the

crowd growing to dozens, perhaps even a hundred. The

vessels deposited them, and noiselessly departed like

dutiful servants at a royal table. The people moved to the

sides, some walking quite close to the two as they took

their places. As their bodies displaced the air around

them, Dell and Monster smelled an unlikely mixture of rich

perfumes and the musky odor of people aware and accepting