Exciti

Chapter 22 (Adam)

Adam's impression that he was looking at crows didn't improve much as the flying figures made it to the crystal dock. They were all robed from the chin down in black fabric, with black hoods and white peaked masks covering their heads. He and Liam quickly stuck to Lucy's sides as the four identical Hushers formed a tight circle around them.

"You are to come with us." It was impossible to identify the speaker; the voice came from all four directions.

Adam tried to swallow, but his mouth was too dry, so he decided to object instead. "We...ow!"

Lucy didn't look at him as she pinched him with a shaking hand. "Just do as they say," she whispered from the corner of her mouth.

The Hushers herded them to one of the docked ferries. They were made to sit down before a Husher turned away and headed to the cone. Adam stared at a red and golden kite sewn into, and covering the entire back of the robe, and thought distractedly that this must be the Excitus that allowed them to fly. The Husher then took hold of the cone and commanded in the same collective voice, "The Grand Hall."

Lucy winced.

The TerraFerry started moving in the same stomach-dropping acceleration they experienced on their way to the Sumerian Bubble. This time, however, Adam thought one of them would snap a neck. The TerraFerry zigzagged between various Bubbles in lurching bursts of speed. He was starting to get sick when they reached a large, luminal Bubble in the very center. It was the one sphere that didn't move or rotate, as if anchoring the entire system.

"Where are we?" Adam asked when the Hushers moved them out of the TerraFerry. When no one answered him, he mumbled, "No small talk. Got it."

The Hushers led them through the crystal docks. Adam tried to steady his knees enough to climb the stairs, this silence wasn't helping his jittery nerves. Then, they entered the most impressive amphitheater he had ever seen.

The place reminded him of pictures of the Colosseum in Rome, except it was domed, too. This dome was a solid mass of colored glass that tinted the marble seats below with vivid pictures, as if each tier of seats told a story of light, shadow, and colors. A staring crowd sat in groups of threes and fours on the tiers closer to the center.

The center of the amphitheater was far from where they stood. A circular space the size of a football field. It was covered with white marble. Thin veins of gold almost glowed under the bright beam of light cascading down from a clear patch of glass that centered the dome.

A Husher pushed him toward the center. "Move to the Circle," the collective voice said.

Adam obliged and trained his gaze ahead, avoiding the staring eyes of the crowd. A thought started forming in the back of his mind as he noticed that the Circle was empty except for a small semi-circular high bench accentuated in jade and gold.

A jolt went through him when he realized that it looked just like a judge's bench. They were taking them to court, right now!

The Hushers pushed them along, and whether it was the dread or the actual distance that made the trip to the center of the amphitheater so agonizingly long, Adam wasn't sure. He was, however, confident that the entire amphitheater could hear the loud pounding of his heart. He stole a glance at Lucy and Liam, even the colors sliding across their faces couldn't cover their alarmed expressions.

When they finally made it to the Circle, the Hushers lined them up, and they stood there, waiting in the eerie silence. Adam examined the delicate golden lines in the marble floor to avoid meeting any staring gazes.

A door clanged in the distance, and the collective voice announced, "All rise for the high bench of the Society's reigning Board: President Liu Sun, and Vice presidents Samuel Dawn and Gafol Adjourn."