Chapter Seven

7 – Walkabout

This time was different. She never lost consciousness and was keenly aware of the exact moment where her feet touched the ground. She felt a strange pressure in her chest and a crackling of static electricity as her feet landed softly on the cobblestone street. She opened her eyes to see her hair and Corwyn’s floating around them as though they were both suspended in water. Then the electricity faded, the pressure released, and she stood, hands clasped with Corwyn’s, staring up into his mask-like face.
Read more »

Chapter Six

6 – Home Again

Between Sil’s apartment and the Kitazawa residence stretched about half an hour of uncomfortable silence interspersed with Yuri describing, somewhat awkwardly, her second experience in the darkness.
Read more »

Chapter Five

5 – Spires

She hadn’t known exactly what she’d expected when the spindly towers in the distance became less distant, but she knew that she hadn’t quite believed Len’s description of the heart of the city practically being carved from the bedrock. At first, it seemed she had been right: the first few layers of the city seemed like a cross between an idyllic Victorian suburb (or what she imagined one might look like) and some sort of bland architectural style that wouldn’t have seemed too out of place back home. As near as Yuri could tell, the streets were all cobblestone or brick, extremely well taken care of, and apparently laid out in a sort of spiraling pattern like a nautilus shell.
Read more »

Chapter Four

4 – A Brief History

Len made a short detour behind the counter, preparing two more cups of tea and a plate with four more delightful pastries before leading Yuri gently to the patio in front of the Sunset Cafe. Through some seemingly miraculous equilibristic feat, he managed to balance both cups (on saucers), a small pitcher of cream, a tiny pot of honey, and the plate while opening the door, then pulling out two chairs. Yuri graciously planted herself in one of the chairs, and Len sat across from her, laying out the tea and pastries in a cheerful spread. He then cocked his hips to one side as he fished around in his pocket and produced a battered silver case and a bedraggled box of matches. “You do not mind, do you?”
Read more »

Chapter Three

3 – Tea and Honey

Lunch was good, as Ro had declared it would be, and it passed relatively amicably. Briefly, Yuri wondered how lasagna could taste so anal-retentive, but she decided it was a subject better left for some other time. Once the dishes had been piled in the sink and Kiih had changed into more presentable clothing (which constituted a gunmetal gray three-piece suit accented by a silver pocketwatch in the vest), they set out for town. “S’not a bad walk,” he said. “No need for bicycles. ‘Sides, it seems like ya’ve had a bit too much of ‘em for one day.”

“I appreciate that,” she said.

Read more »