The Mirage on the Brink of Oblivion (The Epic of Aravinda Book 3) by Andrew M. Crusoe Read Free Book Online Page A

we came in?”
    “No,” Asha said. “I didn’t even think about it, actually.”
    “Well, obviously there’s something above that part of the ceiling those people came through. I think we should check it out.” Zahn visualized his path ahead and flew upward in a straight line.
    “Hey! Come back here! We should wait for Jyana.”
    “She said the time dilation was a factor of about sixty-four, right?” He called back. “And you said you were waiting for me for a while.”
    “Yes, but wait.” She zoomed up into the air, easily catching up to him.
    “Well, then we have plenty of time to explore.” He pointed up to the ceiling. “Don’t you want to see what’s up there?”
    Asha rolled her eyes. “Of course I do, but we should wait for Jyana. We don’t want to offend our hosts.” She zipped ahead and blocked his path, but he didn’t slow down. She locked eyes with him. “Zahn, as commander of this mission I really think—”
    But he only grinned and zoomed directly toward her.
    Instead of bumping into her, as he would have in the physical world, he passed right through her, and for a moment, he was overwhelmed with a feeling that utterly obliterated his senses. For an instant, he felt nothing but pure bliss, and it took his breath away. At least, it would have taken his breath away if he’d been breathing air at all, which he wasn’t.
    He froze, and collected himself. After a few moments, he turned around, finding Asha in a similar shocked state.
    “What was that ?” she whispered.
    He quietly glided over to her and went to touch her shoulder to reassure her, but she held up her hand to stop him.
    “Please,” she said, “I just need a moment.”
    “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. Are you okay?”
    “Yes. It—I didn’t expect it, that’s all.”
    “Did we—”
    “I think we accidentally blended our energies for a moment.”
    “But did you, I mean, did you feel… good?”
    “It felt incredible.” She reassured him, her eyes meeting his. “Just a little intense. I wasn’t expecting it, okay? Don’t worry.”
    “Okay. As long as you’re all right.” He took a deep breath and waited for a few moments.
    “So,” Asha continued, “how about we go down and wait for Jyana? I feel like we don’t fully understand this place, and I would feel more comfortable exploring if we learned more.”
    “Yeah,” he nodded. “Lead the way.”
    Zahn wanted to take her hand, but thought against it. And as he glided back down to the roof of the cube, he considered how this chamber was nearly unrecognizable from what it had been before. As he studied it further, the structures reaching down from the ceiling were almost like tendrils, hinting at more structures above the surface.
    He reflected on how all of this had been here the entire time, only his eyes hadn’t been able to see it, until now.
    Just before his etheric feet touched the roof of the cube, he thought he saw a shape protruding from it. And after a few seconds, Jyana arose gracefully from the roof. Even in her out-of-body state, she was wearing the same burnt umber jumpsuit. Only now, her black hair was up in a bun, and she wore a concerned expression.
    “Oh, good,” she said. “I’m glad you two haven’t wandered off. I’ve heard that first-timers can get overwhelmed and go missing for days. I’m sorry I couldn’t come sooner. The time dilation, as I said before, is a challenge. Even moving around can be a challenge for newcomers.”
    “Actually,” Zahn said, “we’ve had an out-of-body experience before when we met the Council of Amithya, during our first mission together. Although, that place felt pretty different. I don’t think there was any time dilation.”
    “Oh.” Jyana blinked in surprise. “Interesting. So, you two know how to move and orient yourselves, then?
    “Yes, I think we’ll be fine with that. So where’s Torin?”
    “He was called away for his work.” A look of disappointment flickered across Jyana’s