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“No, of course not—I feel the same way you do,” Mia said quickly. “Er, how does your husband feel?” she added. She knew from her conversation with Teebra and Kissie the day before that Zellah was a widow, but she thought it would be better not to let the other woman know that she already knew something about her.
Zellah shook her head.
“I have no husband—not anymore,” she said bleakly. “My Kal died in an accident not long after we got here to the Dome. I’m a Concubine of The Prophet now.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Mia told her—and she really was. There was a desolation in Zellah’s lovely face that tugged at her heart. “Er, though I’m sure it’s amazing being with The Prophet all the time,” she added, trying to be careful.
“It’s a great honor to be chosen as a receptacle of The Prophet’s seed.” Zellah spoke dutifully, as though she was just repeating what she was expected to say.
“Oh, uh—I’m sure it is,” Mia said. “Come on—why don’t we sit down?” she added, nodding at two of the empty desks. “You can show me how to work the holo thingy and tell me about your life as a Concubine—if you feel like talking, that is,” she added.
“Thank you. It’s kind of you to take an interest—not many do.” Zellah smiled—a small, sad smile, but a smile nonetheless, Mia thought. They took a seat in the empty desks and Zellah started showing her how to work them.
“Just type here on the light-keyboard,” she explained, pointing to the lighted red outline of the keyboard that was being projected from somewhere under the glass desktop. “Tell it what you want to know and as long as The Prophet has done a lecture on it, you’ll get results.”
“Oh…” Mia frowned. “Um…I was actually hoping to get some information on the Dome itself. Not the social structure—thephysicalstructure. Like the blueprints?” she asked hopefully. “I’m, uh, interested in architecture and I’ve never seen anyplace like this,” she added, by way of explanation.
Zellah brightened.
“You’re in luck—my late husband, Kal, was the architect for the Dome. I know just how to get to his plans—though I’m afraid there’s no lecture associated with it,” she added apologetically, as she typed rapidly on the light-keyboard.
“That’s all right,” Mia said quickly. “I guess I’m really lucky I ran into you!”
Zellah shrugged her slim shoulders.
“I’m here a lot. It beats the Inner Sanctum,” she added and made a face.
“Oh? You don’t like living there with The Prophet?” Mia asked, guardedly. “It’s certainly a very grand building—my husband and I were there yesterday for a Judgment and Review Session,” she added.
“Then you were only in one of the antechambers. You ought to see theInner-Inner Sanctum,” Zellah told her. “That’s where the Prophet lives with all his Concubines—and where he performs his Binding Ceremonies and gives his vid addresses too,” she added.
“And you live there with him?” Mia asked.
Zellah nodded.
“Yes, but if I stay there, The Prophet wants me to, uh…let’s just say that he likes topunishhis Concubines often.” She made a face.
“Oh, er…sorry.” Mia felt her own cheeks heating with a blush when she remembered how Sev had “punished” her the night before. God, she still couldn’t believe she’d let him do that!
For some reason the memory made her breasts feel heavy and her nipples tingle—or was that the damned Chastity Devices? Trying to ignore the strange feelings, she turned her attention to the blueprints that Zellah had called up for her. They came up in 3-D holo form—the entire Dome traced in blue light on the glass desktop.
“Your late husband must have been some kind of a genius,” she remarked to Zellah, staring at the holo from all angles. “I’ve never seen a dome like this one before. Not that I’m any kind of expert—because I’m not—but this is just so amazing!”
“Thank you.” Zellah smiled wanly. “That’s very kind of you. Kalwasextremely talented and he knew this Dome inside and out.” She frowned. “Which is why his death was so surprising to me.”
“Oh?” Mia asked. “How so?”
“Well—he knew the danger of the Dome’s semi-permeable walls,” Zellah explained. “He knew that leaning against one of them would result in falling through—falling into the Grey Desert where it’s freezing cold and there’s hardly any air. But somehow that’sexactlywhat happened to him.”
“He leaned against a Dome wall and fell out into the desert?” Mia asked, frowning. Thatdidseem like a suspicious way for the man who had built the Dome—or at least designed it—to die, she thought.
Zellah nodded sadly.
“That’s what they told me, anyway. There was a rescue team that tried to get to him but…but he had already expired by the time they reached him.” She swiped at a tear trickling down her cheek. “There was nothing anyone could do.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Mia put a hand on her arm and squeezed gently, trying to offer comfort. “That must have been horrible for you!”
“It was.” Zellah nodded. “And then that very night, The Prophet called for me to come to him. He performed a Binding Ceremony between the two of us and required me to…to lay with him.”
