Dark Company by Natale Ghent Read Free Book Online

discovered that she could hear the owner speaking quite distinctly. What’s more, if she concentrated harder, the face of the being talking emerged from the ether of her mind as though it were standing right in front of her. “This is incredible,” she said, and despite how low she felt, she began plucking strings, as lively as a harp player, skipping from one conversation to another. Until the silver being intercepted.
    “It is forbidden to eavesdrop. There are strict communication protocols.”
    Meg dropped the string she was holding and the conversation slipped away.
    “Shall we continue?” the being said.
    They glided through the city, the being playing tour guide. Meg wanted to pay attention, but she just felt more and more sorry for herself the farther they went. She couldn’t appreciate the gilded domes of the Hall of Records where
The Book of Events
was kept, or feel excited by the soaring pillars of the Tower of Knowledge where the Pools of Knowing held the vast expanse of intelligence in the universe. She smiled politely at the river that bubbled and snaked through the streets, and the green pastures that strolled for miles beyond the city to rest comfortably at the feet of snow-capped mountains. And she only pretended to care when the silver being stopped in front of the crystal-walled conservatory of the Auditorium to listen to “the most exquisite music” rising above the murmurings of the crowd.
    “It’s nice,” Meg said, feigning interest. The closer they got to the Great Hall where the initiation ceremony was to take place, the worse she felt. What was waiting for her there?
    On the stairs of the Hall, she paused and stood beneath its marble archway. It was carved with an elaborate series of mysterious symbols. Was she supposed to know what they meant?She panicked, thinking she’d missed something important she was supposed to have learned during her transformation. She was tempted to turn around and leave, go anywhere but here. And then she was struck by the most unsettling feeling. She was being watched.
    Lowering her gaze, Meg met the questioning eyes of hundreds of recruits and their silver beings. They were staring at her bound arm and the impossibility of her shape. The heat rose in her face for the second time that day. She pressed her arm against her body to conceal it. Now she really wanted to run and hide.
    The silver being placed a hand on her shoulder. “You must learn to rise above such things,” it said. But then it gave the spectators a look so scathing they quickly retreated into the Hall.
    Meg shadowed her silver being up the stairs, practically gliding over its robe in the process.
    “There’s no need to travel so closely,” it admonished her.
    She apologized, and kept tailing it all the same, she felt so exposed.
    Inside the building, a fountain flowed. Meg hardly glanced at it, or the armoured sentries that stood on either side of the Hall. She was so nervous about the initiation ceremony she didn’t acknowledge the ethereal singing floating through the corridor, ushering the seemingly endless number of recruits inside. The silver being led her into a cavernous room, blithering on about the wonders of the city. It pointed out the massive marble pillars and alabaster walls, and the ceiling, all gilded and glistening. It noted the brilliant warm light illuminating the space, “like the composite flame of a million candles,” even though there were no candles to be seen—as if the room were generating light on its own. “And look how the walls seem to breathe and expand to accommodate the multitudes,” the silver being went on.
    “Yeah,” Meg said, distracted by a large stage behind a heavy marble table at the back of the hall. There were sixteen golden beings sitting there. They looked very important—even more important than the silver ones. “Who are they?” she asked.
    “The Council,” the being said. “Two for each Frequency represented.”
    The Council