Page 10 of The Void

On the evening of the second day, a group of women came into her rooms again. Once more she was showered, her hair done up in another fancy braid piled on top of her head.

She was helped into another gown, this one a darker shade of teal. Rings and jewelry were placed on her fingers, wrist, ears, and around her neck.

Once she had been dressed and prepared, she was guided down many hallways and up so many stairs that she felt breathless when they finally reached the top. She walked through two carved wood doors and stepped out into the large outdoor chamber that she had first arrived at. This time the space was filled with hundreds of people, who were dressed much like she was, with the exception of the heavy jeweled crown that had been placed on her head.

When she entered, everyone fell silent. Every eye watched her as she moved to the front of the room.

None of the spaces here were like she’d imagined they would be. While it was obvious that the buildings were old—older than anything on Earth—everything looked modern.

She didn’t notice any of the classic building styles found on Earth—Renaissance, Gothic, Greek, or even Victorian eras.

The space they were in now was an outdoor roof garden that looked out over a huge modern-looking city. She could see tall buildings in the distance, all of them much lower than the one they were on now.

Black shiny tile floors gleamed on the pathway, and cream and teal carpets guided her across the space.

Trees of every color surrounded the crowd. Plants of different shapes and sizes sat on either side of the doorway and front area.

The furniture in the rooms she had stayed in had been pretty standard, with the exception of some of the color choices. Gold and teal were the preferred shades in most of the rooms she’d been in.

Now, as she stood under the three moons, she glanced up and noticed the intricate glass chandeliers that hung from large beams that crossed high overhead.

Every eye was on her. She turned and saw a large golden chair on a large pedestal in front of everyone else. Both of the suns were setting directly behind the large golden throne.

The two women who had kidnapped her and flown her here were standing at the top of the dozen or more stairs to the throne area at the end of the aisle. Lifting her chin, Mia slowly made her way towards them.

In her mind, she likened the scene to a wedding. While she wasn’t in all white and the man of her dreams wasn’t waiting for her at the altar, she felt as if whatever happened now was going to be life altering.

Both of the women appeared to be in their mid-twenties. One was dressed in a long flowing silver and lavender gown, much like Mia was. The closer Mia got, the more she realized that this woman’s dark skin practically glowed, as if it had been sprayed with tiny golden sparkles. A large sleek silver crown sat on top of her jet-black hair.

The other woman was dressed in a flowing golden gown. Her paler skin appeared as if it were made of stardust, and her long golden hair held a crown much like Mia and the other woman were wearing, but this one was gold and it gleamed so brightly it hurt Mia’s eyes.

When they’d kidnapped her, she had thought that both of them had been pretty, but now she could see that they were absolutely gorgeous. They could have easily been supermodels. Instantly, Mia felt short and boring.

The woman dressed in lavender moved forward slightly and lifted her arms. Everyone gathered fell silent once more.

“Welcome, Mia Li, daughter of Malik al-Ahmar,” the woman said clearly. “We are sorry for keeping you waiting so long for answers. We needed to be assured of a few things and had to get everything in order for our departure.”

“We have been expecting you for a very long time,” the other woman added.

Since her arrival, this was the first time she’d heard someone speak English. Or for that matter, speak to her at all.

Then Mia frowned. Her father’s name wasn’t Malik al-Ahmar. It was Ken. Ken Li. Maybe they had the wrong person?

Both women looked down at her, waiting.

“Thank you,” she said, unsure of what to say. Should she point out that they had made a mistake? They had obviously kidnapped the wrong person.

“I am Elpis, this is my sister Pandora.” The woman turned to the other woman in gold. Sister? The two women were polar opposites and looked nothing alike.

Then she ran over the names in her mind.

Elpis. Pandora.

That couldn’t be right. Could it?

Had she just gotten very lucky? Standing in front of her were the two people they had been told by the fates that they would need if they were going to win their battle with Moros.

Mia knew that, according to legend, Elpis was hope. Hope that had been locked away in Pandora’s box. Elpis was technically Moros’s sister, the only entity that could actually bind him. Which is why he’d tricked Pandora into locking her away.