Fractured Darkness (8 page)
“Give me an hour and I will go.”
She nodded, closed her eyes and searched the timeline for the moment when she had left. The burst of energy was unmistakable, she just hoped that she hit it right on or the world would have shifted and he would emerge in space.
Hosting a nebula, he could move in space, but it was difficult to get propulsion from a standing start.
Noma smiled at Urad across the courtyard. He was working on colony plans for a new Citadel on Necridid. They could reach it with the salvaged shuttles, and it would enable Skora-Mark to disappear into history.
After Envix made his farewells and returned, she gave him the briefing. She told him about Io Vix, Urad’s aunt, who had been taken before he had escaped. She mentioned him not telling Trala about why he was there until he couldn’t hide it any longer. “Trala loves a mystery and she gets paranoid when folks are looking out for her.”
“So, keep my distance and don’t tell her anything.” He smiled. “This is sounding tricky. I like it.”
“Are you ready to go?”
He nodded. “I have said my goodbyes. Will you pass on messages if I see you?”
“As often as I can.”
Noma looked around. “We had better do this outside.”
She, Urad and Envix took off, flying into the open meadow and standing in the grass.
“Ready when you are, Auntie, Uncle.”
Noma swallowed, focused on the point in time and the orb she cast swallowed him up as a bug flew across her field of vision. The orb disappeared and she winced. “Oh darn.”
“What?”
“I think he ended up in the moon. I mean he will be fine, but he will need to get to the surface and there is an armada in his way.”
Urad wrapped his arms around her. “I think he will be fine. We can keep an eye on them.”
She leaned against him. “That is the idea. In my mind, Trala has been locked in the moment that I left. I can’t communicate because we are out of synch. With Envix there, I will have a glaringly obvious tracking point.”
He grinned. “I am glad to sacrifice my flesh and blood for your relationship with your sister.”
“You say the sweetest things.” She nipped at his lips, and they flew back to the Citadel, light and shadow entwined forever.
And so, we see how the Citadel began. We have not seen the end of Skora-Mark or its inhabitants. After a few dispersals throughout time, it becomes a
Well of Time
. That will be a different book very far down the line.
Do you remember the haunted, young woman in
Shattered Light
? Well, she is out in the stars now, and she is hunting a soul
.
See you next time,
Viola Grace
Viola Grace was born in Manitoba, Canada where she still resides today. She really likes it there. She has no pets and can barely keep sea monkeys alive for a reasonable amount of time. Her line of day job tends to be analytical which leaves her mind hopping to weave stories. No co-worker is safe from her character analysis. In keeping with busy hands are happy hands, her hobbies have included cross-stitch, needlepoint, quilting, costuming, cake decorating, baking, cooking, metal work, beading, sculpting, painting, doll making, henna tattoos, chain mail, and a few others that have been forgotten. It is quite often that these hobbies make their way into her tales.
Viola’s fetishes include boots and corsetry, and her greatest weakness is her uncontrollable blush. Her writing actively pursues the Happily Ever After that so rarely occurs in nature. It is an admirable thing and something that we should all strive for. To find one that we truly like, as well as love.