Ah! There’s an alliance - Phrexz and Vyrpy. The impostor Empress was using the Throne to talk to them, and to her own species. They were defeated by us, but they haven’t given up.They will still be coming for us. Both Phrexz and Vyrpy. And there’s an even bigger danger...
The blood freezes in my veins. The Throne doesn’t show me the details, but there’s a terrible darkness coming through space-
“What?” I’m suddenly aware that Umbra is speaking.
She looks up at me, eyes clear and her ring shining so bright it nearly blinds me. “Behold, the great serpents of shadow and flame, born of utter darkness. They shall eclipse the very heavens and sup upon the light of a thousand burning suns, turning mountains to weeping stone with their greed and fire.”
I stare at her. What the hell is going on? She’s using an archaic form of Khavgrese that I can only barely understand. And she’s saying some strange things. “What’s happening, Umbra?”
“She’s being held in place,”Bellatriz pipes up. “I would recommend getting away from this thing right away.”
I want to bounce out of the Throne, but many tentacles shoot down from the Throne and whip around my arms, my legs, and my chest, holding me firmly. And sure enough, one tentacle has snaked around Umbra’s waist while another lies along her neck and chin as if ready to strangle her.
“But forsooth,”she goes on with a clear, calm voice, “the truest peril is harbored from within. The root of thy blessed tree shall blacken with a fell plague, and the hand that offers thee a token of peace shall clench a blade in its unseen grip. The foe ye seek shall be found within thy very gates.”
“Aaargh!” I use all my strength to writhe out of the Throne’s grip, but it holds me firmly. Two more tentacles come snaking around my chest. “Bellatriz! Do something!”
“I’m a sword, not a robot,”she tells me calmly. “There’s nothing I can do here. Use your Syntrix, maybe?”
Umbra looks me right in the eyes. “Yet from a rift hidden from all, a new star shall arise. A strong hand shall reach through the chasm, and by a tongue ye comprehend not shall ye be saved.”
I get ready to mobilize all my strength again, for one last try to get off the Throne. But before I can unleash my furious might, the tentacles loosen and allow me to stand up. The ones around Umbra also withdraw quickly.
In two steps I’m next to her, holding her, my heart beating fast. “Are you all right, my love?”
She looks up at me, eyes widening. “Mareliux. I’m fine. Why?”
“You just… do you remember what just happened?”
She blinks once. “You sat on the throne.”
“And then?”
She frowns. “And then you got up.”
“And what happened while I was sitting there?”
She shrugs. “Um… nothing. Did something happen? Did you feel something?”
I take her hand and lead her fast towards the door. “Something did happen. I’ll tell you later.”
At the double doors, I look back at the Throne. It moves in its mesmerizing way, looking innocent. But I should never forget the reputation it has for its strange and sometimes deadly actions.
The doors close behind us. This is a smaller anteroom where supplicants and visitors wait before they’re admitted to the Throne room. Now it’s also empty of people, and it’s much brighter than the gloomy Throne room.
I sit us down on the lowest couch in the room, which is still so high that Umbra dangles her legs.
“Bellatriz, can you repeat to Umbra what happened in the Throne room?”
“Of course,”the sword says and goes on to recount the strange occurrence, playing Umbra’s words for us.
Umbra gasps and grabs my arm, squeezing it in alarm. “I don’t remember that! I don’t even know most of those words! Whathappenedto me in there?!”
I lift her onto my lap and pull her close. “You’re safe now, my love. We won’t go in there again. Bellatriz, has the Throne done anything like this before?”
“Not that I know of.”
“How do you interpret it?”
