Survivors: Book 4 Circles of Light series by E.M. Sinclair Read Free Book Online Page A

remarked.
    Kertiss halted and
turned to the silver blue Dragon. ‘What do you mean?’
    ‘Coverings and cushions
and books and – other people.’ Farn’s eyes whirred innocently.
‘Lady Emla and Lady Lallia filled their caves with such
things.’
    Kertiss sniffed. ‘Those
things are not essential to existence.’
    ‘Lady Emla and Lady
Lallia would not agree.’
    ‘Our work is all that
is essential to us,’ said Kertiss firmly. ‘And this is where some
of that work is done.’
    A closed door blocked
the passage ahead of them. Kertiss touched a small panel set in the
door. ‘This door opens only to my hand print or my sister’s. It
will open to no other.’
    He stood to one side as
Tika passed through, waiting until all of Seela’s tail was safely
clear before closing the door again. Immediately the friends felt
enclosed, trapped, but Kertiss simply walked ahead again and turned
left. Ren broke the sudden silence.
     
     
     

Chapter
Four
     
    They found they were in
the largest room other than Singer’s chamber that they had so far
seen. There were many sloping desks lining three of the walls and
an opaque sort of pipe rose from another larger desk in the centre
of the room. Kertiss waited until most of Seela’s bulk was inside
the room.
    ‘From this room we can
monitor what happens on Kel-Harat,’ he explained. ‘Among other
things.’
    ‘Kel-Harat?’ Gan
frowned. ‘What is Kel-Harat?’
    Kertiss laughed. ‘This
world is Kel-Harat. It was so named millennia ago by astronomers in
the Zeenol Galaxy.’ He laughed again and went to the central desk.
He pressed various coloured buttons scattered across the desk top
and a low hum vibrated the air. The opacity in the pipe swirled for
a moment before clearing. Hanging in the pipe they saw a round ball
with brown, white, green and blue markings over it. The ball hung
against a black background.
    ‘A map?’ Maressa and
Gan spoke together.
    ‘No. An image of this
world seen from far beyond your skies.’
    Ren walked right round
the pipe, studying the image within it.
    ‘How do you make such
an image appear in here?’
    ‘There are Ships still
orbiting Kel-Harat, some sadly are dead, but some still function to
an extent. They relay the picture of this world back to me here.
Look, I can magnify the image for closer examination.’
    Kertiss tapped at the
buttons again and Tika felt her stomach lurch as she had the
sensation of rushing closer to the ball in the pipe. Kertiss
glanced up and tapped another button. The ball was enlarged enough
now that it completely filled the pipe. He raised his hand to point
at what the companions finally recognised were mountains clustered
towards the right upper part of the ball.
    ‘That is your City of
Gaharn.’ Kertiss smiled, his finger jabbing again at the
desk.
    Once more they seemed
to rush closer until they really could see mountains, then trees,
farms, then – stars above! – the Lady Emla’s House! Closer still
and figures moved. Gan’s face was white: he recognised the
formation of a squad of Guards escorting the Lady herself. Another
click on the desk and the image vanished, the humming ceased and
the pipe slowly clouded again. Ren broke the silence.
    ‘Can you see what is
happening in my land of Drogoya?’ he asked Kertiss.
    ‘Unfortunately no. For
over a millennia there have been odd conditions in the atmosphere
over nearly all of that land mass. Wave transmissions have thus
been severely impeded.’
    They didn’t understand
half of Kertiss’s words but they caught the gist of his
meaning.
    ‘You spoke of dead or
damaged Ships,’ Tika queried. ‘Where are they then – floating high
in our skies?’
    ‘Much higher than that,
in a holding orbit. Orbiting means going endlessly round this
world,’ Kertiss explained with noticeable impatience.
    ‘So this is your work:
spying on the people of our lands.’ Sket was scarcely
polite.
    Kertiss raised an
eyebrow. ‘I showed you that image as a simple