These are chapters from an old manuscript, chapter one is available here. The chapter and my annotations are paywalled for people who actually love me and also love freedom and puppies. So. Time to prove some stuff.
Enjoy the first few paragraphs for free!
*31 was short so I doubled up on this one.
Chapter 31: The Movements of the Stars
The hot wind scratched at Redd's dirty work shirt, irritating his skin. Standing on the Summoning Platform with his hands and ankles shackled, he tried to turn his face away from the wind, with little success.
The Korba had also clamped a steel muzzle over his nose and mouth that kept his jaws closed. Breathing was hard enough without the air slits filling with sand. Moss stood beside him, likewise restrained, and for good measure, they were chained to each other.
“Hey there, kiddo!” Dobkins said, genial as ever. “Just between us, the jawlocks weren’t my first choice, but you Brimstones like to run your mouths, and I have important guests tonight.”
“Mmmm rrm,” Redd said.
“That’s the spirit.” Dobkins patted Redd's cheek before walking off. Redd glanced over at Moss, whose eyes were red with fury. They had to get out of this, but how? Redd kept studying the spires overhead, trying to understand what they did, how they could be compromised, and if he could do anything about it.
The short answer was: he couldn't. Not like this.
Near the center of the Summoning Platform, Kreeves and his team of tailors fastened Empress Prateva’s armor to Mom’s legs and torso, working their way up to her shoulders and arms. Her eyes gave nothing away, but she was still his mother and Redd could tell when she was upset. Stoic as ever, she wouldn’t let Dobkins see that.
On the other side of the Platform, Commander Glavnar stood at attention in his cleanest uniform, next to a Korba High Chief called Nydark. Glavnar fumed, but Nydark beamed with excitement, if Korba could express anything like joy.
To round out the ceremony, Councilor Dandelor Florenshade was also there, flanked by four of his personal guards. Each of them looked like they’d had nothing but sour milk for dinner, standing so close to—and working with—their most hated enemies. Redd didn’t feel any pity for them. They deserved whatever discomfort they had.
Dobkins also had a large, complex telescope on the Platform, and he fiddled with its dials and lenses while Kreeves buckled Prateva’s helmet under Mom’s chin. When he flipped the visor down, Mom disappeared altogether. Hot tears burned Redd's eyes.
“I give it a few more minutes before the Patron Star aligns with the magnascope, gentleman,” Dobkins said to the Korba. He pointed to the spires overhead. At the top, the spiderlike legs came together and held a perfectly round crystal lens.
“Just make sure this works, Andoran,” said Chief Nydark. “We’ve invested a lot of resources in this procedure.”
“I’m only following your Empress’s schematic, my good man. It won’t be long now.” Dobkins stepped away from the scope, stretched, and planted his hands on his hips, watching the sky with childlike wonder. “Such a curious thing, the movements of the stars. They say our destiny is written by them. I never agreed with that, but then again, if this is my destiny, I won't complain.”
Kreeves shackled Mom’s ankles, which to a pair of bolts on the Summoning Platform. The final piece was the new amulet, which clicked into the breastplate. Axle opened the box with the white ringrock and, using his gauntlet, loaded the rock into the core of the amulet and quickly backed away.
Instantly the armor lit up with a red glow. Mom’s hands floated up from her waist, and a moment later her feet left the ground. High overhead, the magnascope thrummed with power.
“Don’t be afraid, Redd,” Mom called over her shoulder.
He wasn’t afraid.
He was furious.
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