A Hint of Hope: A Towers of the Earth Novella by Nita Round

Author:Nita Round [Round, Nita]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pink Tea Books
Published: 2020-01-30T23:00:00+00:00

12

Are we ready?

Magda stood on the flight deck as they approached the western edge of the Patagena mountains as the sun made its first appearance on the distant horizon. They were still two hours out from Patagena Field, but they would make an early morning surprise for someone.

She maintained the null field around the entire fleet, and had done, for hours. Now, her feet hurt, her back ached and her stomach rumbled so loud everyone on the bridge heard.

Zack, in the Captain’s chair, had spent much of their flight with his gaze fixed through the observation window with a perpetual scowl upon his face. At the sound of her stomach, he turned to her instead. “You’re hungry.”

“Yes,” she replied. “This is draining.”

“You will be too tired to do much more at this rate.”

“Yes,” Magda agreed.

“I think it is too late for them to change their plans now, so drop your gift and rest a while. Go and get something to eat and take a break.”

“Aye, sir,” she replied.

“And get the galley mob to bring us all tea and sweet rolls whilst you’re there,” he added. “We’ll need to get the final preparations started soon, so a bite to eat would be a good now.”

Magda didn’t answer, but the relief when she dropped her null field could never be measured. She left the bridge and headed to the mess hall to look for tea and food. She found Ascara staring out of one of the portholes. She turned around the moment Magda entered the room.

Magda served herself a cup of luke-warm tea, sweetened with honey and finished off the last two sweet rolls. They were dry and stale, but she was so hungry she didn’t care.

“I take it you haven’t eaten today?” Ascara asked.

“No, and I’m using a lot of energy.” She wiped her mouth on a napkin and drank another cup of tea. She grimaced at the bitterness of the brew.

“You need something more substantial then.”

“Zack needs food too.”

“Come on through to the galley and we’ll sort you all out.”

There, they located the cook and Magda passed on Captain’s request. He grunted a bit, moaned a great deal, and then produced a tray of sweet rolls and a plate of fresh bread which he cut into slices and added ham and chunks of cheese.

Magda bent over the sweet rolls and the sweet smell of honey and cinnamon filled her nose. Her knees almost buckled as her memories transported her back to the desert. Now she could smell cinnamon, sandalwood, hibiscus, and orange blossom. She could feel the heat of the sun on her shoulders. The galley faded away and instead she saw the rocks of the wadi and sands that stretched forever. Something arose from the sand, and when she felt a hand on her arm she almost screamed.

“Magda are you all right?” Ascara asked.

She tried to smile. “The rolls reminded me of something. That’s all. I’m fine.”

Ascara squeezed her arm and then let her go. “Cook was ready for us, everything is ready.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.