Ellie emerged from her room, dressed in a long, green dress. Instead of the straps wrapping over her shoulders, the two, skinny pieces of fabric swathed around her neck. As a result, her shoulders were completely bare.
She smiled weakly. “How does it look?” She did a full spin so that I could get a full look of her body and the dress that covered it.
I could feel my jaw hanging like a zombie. “I . . . I think it suits you.”
Ellie’s smile weakened even more. “Really?” She looked down the hall, bathed in the orange glow, indicating that the sun had begun to set. “Let’s head off.”
The main square, like the day before during the nullification ceremony, was occupied with a large stage, lights bathing its surface in a dull blue light. The square was beginning to fill up with people, their faces wary with the knowledge of a murderer running on the loose. That’s when a thought occurred to me: What if the murderer was going to be at the Tascaque?
I instantly looked around with suspicion.
No, that would be impossible. The last thing a murderer would want would be to draw attention to him or herself. The killer was probably hidden in some dark alley or in some other abandoned area of the city.
The sun was now setting, the walls of the shops that surrounded us glowing a brilliant orange.
Nobody was dressed in traditional Egyptian clothing – most of the men were either dressed in tuxedos or cloaks familiar to the one I was wearing just then. The women wore long, flowing dresses, most draping a wrap or scarf behind their backs.
Just then, I caught sight of the Empress. She had changed from her bright red dress to a flowing, blue dress that rippled like water. The crowd hushed, and it wasn’t until then did I realize that the main square was massive – about the size of a neighborhood. Not only was that, but all four corners of the area packed with people. I had barely enough room to wiggle my body.
The Empress made her way up the steps, gracefully tilting her head upwards and grinning with two rows of teeth. The crowd hushed, so she began talking into a gold microphone.
She didn’t waste a beat. “I will now call up the Anti-Lucids who will be participating in this Tascaque!” She raised her hands, cueing everybody to start cheering. The crowd only clapped awkwardly, and when they saw the Empress’s fierce expression, they managed to cheer half-heartedly.
It was obvious that the crowd was too preoccupied with worrying about getting stabbed to death like Recaro.
The Empress seemed satisfied and continued. “For you Anti-Lucids out there, you know what to do. When I call your name, bring up whomever you’ve chosen to be your Acquaintance.” She began reciting the names from memory. “Kate Jacklyn.” I spotted a girl about eighteen years of age pushing her way through the crowd. I saw some boy around twelve trailing behind her, ferociously shoving people aside. Kate and her acquaintance made their way up to the stage and stood by the Empress.
“Who’s this?” The Empress addressed Kate’s acquaintance.
The boy said in a voice of authority, “Solare.”
“Interesting name,” the Empress nodded. She waved her hand at them; the two went to the left of the stage and stood, waiting for more names to be called: Deothoy Dunkin (male, around thirteen) and his acquaintance Serafin (female, about the same age. I’m guessing Deothoy’s girlfriend?); both of them seemed rather feeble; Lonnie Hellinger (female, either fourteen or fifteen) and her acquaintance Brea Green (also female, about fifteen); they both had long, flowing brown hair, and Lonnie’s perky smile was a great contrast to Brea’s neutral state; Enthania Ferante (female, in her late teens – maybe nineteen) and her acquaintance Semsoy (around fifty years of age, her father, I assumed. At least I hope that was her father); they both had that determination Kate and her acquaintance acquired.
And then, once the crowd’s cheering subsided (they were undoubtedly trying to forget about what happened to Recaro), I heard the Empress call my name.
My heart lurched, and I looked at Ellie. The crowd began to look around franticly; even the Anti-Lucids up on stage were the slightest bit curious. Who wouldn’t want to see the supposed kid who made that mountain appear the day before? It wasn’t like everyone was certain that I had done it, but, even I had to admit that it made sense. Apparently everything had been going out of whack ever since that mysterious kid named “Darrel” arrived.
Ellie took my hand, leading me through the crowd. Normally the Anti-Lucid would be leading the acquaintance, so I wondered if everybody was confused why a girl had a name like Darrel. We made our way up the steps on the left side of the stage.
The Empress had a flicker of amusement in her black eyes. “I had a feeling you’d be his acquaintance,” she mumbled to Ellie. At that, the Empress turned back to the crowd. “This, in case any of you are wondering, is Ellie!” She raised Ellie’s right arm. “This young man next to her is Darrel!”
I could feel thousands of eyes turn to me. An uncontrollable shaking began to sneak up my legs, and I could hear my voice crack like some adolescent when I said, “I’m Darrel, and I will prove to you all that I’m the Lucid.”
The crowd burst into an ear-deafening cheer, calling out my name, asking questions that overlapped one another. It was chaotic. To be honest, it was a bit funny to see everyone going into such frenzy – I mean, after that pathetic speech I had just made.
“Okay!” The Empress signaled us to stand by the other Anti-Lucids and their Acquaintances on the left side of the stage. I could see that every one of them was staring at me with disgusted eyes. I had taken their limelight, and, more importantly, their chances of staying in the city. I was well aware of the fact that I would end up winning the Tascaque, and that they would end up being banished . . .
That’s when a thought occurred to me: which Anti-Lucid was Eeloy’s daughter? Kate, Lonnie, and Enthania were the only Anti-Lucids competing. Lonnie and Enthania were too proper and feeble to be the kin of someone so fierce and . . . let’s be honest: gross. Kate appeared to be the only reasonable candidate; her eyes were as fierce, if not, fiercer than Eeloy’s, and she wasn’t the least bit proper. When Ellie saw my constant stare at Kate, she nodded to me, as if to clarify that she was, in fact, Eeloy’s daughter.
The Empress called out, “Let the Tascaque begin!”
The crowd continued cheering. I felt like putting my hands to my ears, but knowing that would make me appear weak, I allowed the ringing to form in my eardrums.
Dozens of service bots appeared from behind the red curtain at the back of the stage. Their tires squeaked against the wooden floor, mimicking the sound of wailing babies. The lights dimmed as dramatic music sounded throughout the square. In response, the stage was cast in a dim, purple hue.
The crowd became silent, waiting for the Empress to explain what the first task will be. She glanced at me and said, “All of you are aware of these service bots. To be honest, they’re utterly useless, but one thing they’re not is that these contraptions are indestructible!” I didn’t need her to explain what the first task was going to be anymore. But she eventually screamed out, “The Anti-Lucids will have to dismantle them!”
