AllFreeNovel
Share Us
13
LIGHT
“I don’t trust this setup,” Dark growled to Light as they headed for the tall golden tower that rose like a shining spire into the pale pink sky. “I don’t like all these fucking guards!”
“Come on, Brother—f’loon has an incredibly valuable collection,” Light pointed out. “You can’t blame them for wanting to keep it safe.”
“I still don’t like it,” Dark muttered. He had one arm protectively around Lili and Light did as well, making sure she was safe between them, even though they were surrounded.
The Chulaz guards, all wearing golden uniforms, had met and surrounded them the minute they opened the hatch of their ship. They were extremely tall—at least three meters in height—which made them considerably taller than either Light or Dark. However, they were also extremely thin. They had narrow skulls that were almost rectangular in shape and four long, skinny arms sticking out from their slender bodies. Long, skinny legs and narrow feet completed the look.
The guards also had brown, bark-like skin. That coupled with their slender bodies and multiple skinny limbs made them look like an animal that Light had seen while watching vids about the inhabitants and fauna of Earth—he just couldn’t remember the name.
Finally, it came to him.
“A stick insect!” he murmured to Dark. “That’s what they look like!”
“What? The fuck are you talking about?” Dark muttered.
“That’s what the guards look like—stick insects,” Light explained in a low voice.
“Huh,” was Dark’s only reply. Light understood that his twin’s main focus was making certain Lilibet was safe and he was disinterested in anything else. He felt the same, of course, but he was still eager to see the art that she had talked so much about. It seemed to him that, living without emotions for so long, he and Dark had missed out on a great many interesting and beautiful things.
He hoped they would get a chance to learn about art and see if it raised any new emotions they hadn’t felt before.
He had no idea that his wish was going to come true…though not exactly in the way he had hoped.
14
DARK
Dark glared at the guards surrounding them and kept one arm firmly around Lili’s shoulders as they entered the golden tower. It was massive but the entrance was tiny—barely big enough for them to walk in single file. The tall, gangly Chulaz guards all had to duck their heads to go inside.
Dark went first in case it was a trap and Light took up the rear with Lili staying safely between them. He wondered if the narrow entrance was to discourage theft. Probably, but it was still a pain in the ass. He practically had to turn sideways to fit his shoulders, which were too broad for the tight passage.
At last, however, they came out into a kind of entryway. It was a broad, round area with a floor made of multicolored Ionian marble swirled in all different shades of purple, blue, black, and white. Veins of pure silver and gold ran through the other colors and the walls seemed to be pure silver, so shiny they could see their reflections in it.
As though by mutual but silent agreement, the band of guards surrounding them suddenly came to a halt. The head guard—a stick-insect-looking male, (Light had been right about that,) wearing a tall golden hat, turned to them.
“Here is the entry to the Golden Tower,” he said in a stilted, buzzing voice. “And here all secrets must be revealed.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” Dark growled, pulling Lili protectively close to his side.
“It means we must all undergo the serum of transparency,” the head guard buzzed. “Please be assured that it will do no physical damage but it is necessary for entry.”
“What is the serum of transparency, exactly?” Light asked, frowning.
“You will see,” the guard assured them. “In three…two…one…”
The countdown made Dark fucking nervous. He started to ask what in the Seven Hells was going on, but just then a light mist began falling from above.
“The fuck is this?” Dark looked up, reflexively trying to shield Lili at the same time. On her other side, Light was doing the same thing.
But this seemed to agitate the head guard.
“No, no!” he buzzed. “You must allow the mist to penetrate your clothing! Unless the serum of transparency covers you, you may not pass beyond to see the Collection of the Great One, f’loon.”
“We’re not letting a single fucking drop get to our female until you tell us what the fuck this stuff does!” Dark growled. He was ready to fight the guard—The Fury boiling up inside him—but Light put a hand on his arm.
