Black Swan Planet (Black Swan Planet Trilogy Book 1) by James Peters

Author:James Peters [Peters, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Black Swan Productions
Published: 2022-01-03T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER Twenty-two

String of pearls

Maven pressed a button on a panel, and the walls separated horizontally at a seam I had hardly noticed, opening up to reveal a room about ten square foot in size. She then typed a keycode into the panel, and the doors slid closed behind us. The room shifted, and the feeling of lightness indicated we moved downward. We came to a gentle stop, the doors opened, and we stepped onto a floor of polished granite, cut flat and smooth to a level of perfection. My eyes worked their way around the room to take in the sight. I’d been in churches with less space than this one room. The walls held large tapestries of intricate detail, handmade into fanciful pictures of mythical beasts. Unicorns, hippogriffs, dragons, and a minotaur, all expertly stitched in blazing color into massive banners.

I looked to the arched dome ceiling, emblazoned with a fantastic mural: the view into the night sky from Altrusia. The triplet moons formed a line, and the mural depicted the festival of the String of Pearls, in an artist’s romantic interpretation of the Altrusian night sky, showed more stars and clarity in the constellations than in reality.

It must have taken years to paint.

Maven walked to an archway leading into another room and clapped her hands twice. A red-skinned girl with straight black hair answered. Maven whispered into her ear, and I heard scurrying coming from the other room.

Maven returned and directed me to sit on a leather, buttery-soft sofa. As soon as I sat down, a servant appeared with a perfectly chilled bottle of Dom Perignon champagne and two tall fluted glasses. Another servant appeared and walked toward a grand piano that until that moment, I hadn’t even noticed. She started to play a beautiful classical masterpiece with perfect timing, and another joined in on her violin. Maven smiled, sat down next to me, and took my hand.

“How lucky I am to have you back! Tell me, how did you survive all this time?” Maven asked, tilting her head at me, her pupils dilated widely and she touched her tongue to her upper lip for an instant. The look appeared both intimidating and intriguing.

“I’ve survived. Done things I’m not proud of but survived.”

“Don’t be evasive. I want to know. How did you survive the fall?”

“The guard’s suit had auto-deploying airbags. I must have bounced a dozen times.”

“That would have been a sight!”

“I’m sure it was.” And a smell, I thought, remembering how my bowels reacted at impending death.

“Well, I’m glad you survived. You look good!”

“As do you. You’re doing well, it appears.”

“Appearances don’t tell the entire story.”

“I’m sure they don’t.”

“Something wrong? What brought you here?”

“I was looking for you,” I said, not sure what to say next.

“You flatter a girl,” Maven said, her face flushing. “I’m glad you did. A toast! To old friends reacquainted.” We clanged glasses and took a drink. The music reached its climax, and Maven closed her eyes for a brief moment, her lip quivering briefly before she turned back to me.

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