As it was, they left many stunned looking faces behind them. Rive wondered if maybe the people who worked here in the Temple of The Watcher, which was clearly the command center of the planet, used less of the “Peace Drops” than the common people they had seen on the street. It was possible that the Drops inhibited cognitive ability as well as emotions, which would mean that people tasked with more complex jobs wouldn’t be able to take quite so many of them if they wanted to function at their appointed tasks.
After the fiftieth floor when they still hadn’t seen any path, Terra turned to him and said,
“Rive, I’m getting worried.”
“Do you fear that we’ve lost the path completely?” He had been wondering that himself. After all, they were putting a lot of faith in technology they hadn’t tested themselves. What if Mistress Bodikin’s scientists were hacks? Ideally, Rive would have liked to have sufficient time to test the rings they were using himself before going headfirst into another world or universe.
But Terra shook her head.
“No, I think it’s up here somewhere. What’s worrying me is how high we’re going. What if the door to the next world leads us right over the edge of a cliff?”
Rive frowned.
“It’s possible, I suppose. But—”
“Oops, sorry!” Terra chanted, as the next floor showed no sign of the path and she pushed the door closed button. “But what?” she asked him, continuing their conversation.
“Well, I was going to say that the height we’re at in one world doesn’t necessarily translate to the altitude we’ll find ourselves at in another world,” Rive said. “I don’t believe we need to worry, though I think it would be wise to look through the doorway before stepping into the next world.”
“As long as we’re not on the fucking run,” V’rone growled.
“Oops, sorry!” Terra pushed the doors closed button again.
“I just wish the path could have chosen someplace other than this building to send is through,” Tem murmured. “Whoever this ‘Watcher’ is, I don’t think it’s going to be very reasonable if it thinks we’re invading or disrupting the society it rules.”
Rive had to agree with his colony-mate. But there didn’t seem to be anything they could do except go on with their quest and hope and pray to the Goddess that they could get through this world without incident and that the next world would be easier to traverse.
TWENTY-TWO
The elevator seemed to climb forever. Terra got so used to saying, “Oops, sorry!” and jamming the doors closed button that she almost did it again even when she finally saw the glowing golden path.
It was on the next to the last floor and she was just wondering if they were really going to have to go all the way to the top when the golden path finally appeared again, right outside the elevator doors.
“Oh—there it is!” Tem exclaimed, pointing, and Terra barely stopped her finger, which was poised over the door closed button.
“Is there anyone else out there?” V’rone muttered. He had crammed himself into the corner right beside her, to the right of the panel of buttons, and now he peered around her cautiously.
“I don’t think so.” Terra looked out too, but the plain white hallway—the same as every other one they’d seen on their many stops—looked clear of any people. Cautiously, she stepped out of the elevator with the Monstrum warriors right behind her.
“Wait, little Terra,” V’rone cautioned. “I don’t think we should—”
But just then, someone stepped up and grabbed Terra by the arm. Something cool and hard was jammed against her neck and a voice said,
“Not one step further or she dies.”
Terra froze, not even daring to look at the person who was shoving a weapon into her neck.
“I…I know this must look strange,” she said in a voice that shook more than she liked. “But we’re not here to harm you or your people in any way.”
“Though if you touch a hair on our Queen’s head, we’ll rip you to shreds,” V’rone growled.
There were answering growls from both Rive and Tem and Terra saw the three of them glaring at her captor.
“Your emotion-filled threats do not frighten me,” the person holding Terra said coolly and it occurred to her that it was a woman. A very strong woman—her grip was like iron—but the voice was most definitely female.
“Let her go!” Tem demanded. “We’ll do what you want, but let us have our Queen.”
“Yes—she is no threat to you,” Rive added. “Terra is not armed.”
“I will release her when I am ready to,” the woman holding Terra said. “For now, The Watcher wants to see the four of you. Come this way. And remember—if any of you so much as gives me a threatening look, I’ll blow her head off.”
The threat made Terra feel weak in the knees—she’d never been in this kind of situation before! It felt like a scene out of an espionage novel where the spy gets caught trying to infiltrate the enemy base.