I’ve got a lot of people to see before then. I’ll see you with the rest of the family then, all right?” He looked off into the distance. “In the meantime, you should probably go see your friends. I think Charity’s about to lock them in a box and sit on them.”
“What do you mean?” Mercy asked.
“Where are we supposed to go at sunset?” Pride added.
In an implosion of wind and a swirl of shadow, Fury vanished.
Mercy stopped herself in the doorway as she was about to leave, leaning back to check on Pride. “Are you going to be okay by yourself? Do you need anything?”
He gave her a flat look. “If you ask me that one more time, I’m going to pick a fight with Yerin.”
“Do…” She hesitated to say anything, but she couldn’t let that go. “…do you think you can?”
Pride folded his arms and sat back down on the bed. “Shut up.”
The cloud fortress that Lindon shared with Yerin had a control panel similar to those that he had used before. It was a raised, polished podium that looked like it had been designed to hold a book, but was instead covered in script-circles.
These controls were more elaborate than those he’d used in the past, and there were several secondary panels to his left and right. The main control panel was situated in the highest room of their home, and broad windows gave him a clear look outside even as projection constructs showed him glimpses of other angles.
It was designed to be as easy to pilot as possible, which would come in handy whenever he was allowed to do so.
The Ninecloud Soul’s feminine voice filled the inside of the control room. “We regret that we still cannot allow any air travel away from Ninecloud City at this point. We will inform you as soon as our security procedures change.”
“Apologies, but I don’t need to fly out of the city. I need a portal.”
“Sadly, our spatial travel is even more restricted at this time, and I cannot guarantee that we will ever be able to accommodate that request. If you would like to make an appointment with one of our Heralds, I can submit your petition into the queue, but we are experiencing a higher-than-normal volume of requests.”
Lindon was finding that even his polite tone was becoming strained. “I understand that, but as I said before, I don’t need you to provide me a portal. I would like you to connect me to the Akura clan.”
Every Akura he’d found had been more than happy to speak to him, but none of them were able to help him find Charity. Or Fury. Or Malice, for that matter.
In short, he couldn’t find anyone who could actually get him out of here.
He couldn’t even get to Mercy; the last time he’d tried, he had been told—politely, and with more than a few fearful glances—that she had asked not to be disturbed while she cared for her brother.
Under normal circumstances, he would have waited for her. He didn’t want to leave the city without letting her know, whether he needed her help or not.
But the Dreadgod was on its way to Sacred Valley. The ending that Suriel showed him had come at last.
No matter what assurances Eithan gave him, he couldn’t waste another second.
And now his seconds were being wasted for him.
“I apologize, but I have been unable to contact any Sages or Heralds from the Akura clan myself,” the Ninecloud Soul said. “I will pass along your message when it is appropriate; until that time, please return your cloudship to the dock.”
“Ram them,” Yerin said.
She stood at his shoulder, arms folded, two metallic red sword-arms poking out from over her shoulders. The fresh crimson streak in her otherwise-black hair still struck him as unexpected, as did her scarlet eyes.
“Who?” Lindon asked.
There were other cloudships in their view, but none of them were the ones trapping them in. It wasn’t as though he could ram the Ninecloud Soul.
Yerin shrugged. “Anybody. That ought to perk up their ears.”
He knew she wasn’t serious, but it was a measure of his frustration that he considered it for a moment.
The Ninecloud Soul’s voice gained an edge of panic. “Please, do not do anything in haste. You are valued guests of the Court, and I assure you, your requests will be considered with due importance.”
That was quite a sudden shift in attitude. Maybe threatening to ram someone had worked after all.
Dross popped onto Lindon’s shoulder, scowling with