Midnight by Joshua Rutherford

Author:Joshua Rutherford [Rutherford, Joshua]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-07-28T22:00:00+00:00

***

As though granules in a sandstorm, images rushed all around and past Ashallah, each one a memory from distant past brought to life. She caught only glimpses of them, recognizing only the outline of figures in various situations. One image that flashed by showed two opponents locked in swordplay, while another showed a man and woman in a loving embrace. Ashallah could make neither sense nor reason of what she saw. She could only assume that it was all connected.

The rush continued for what seemed like hours. Then, as quickly as it started, it stopped.

Darkness surrounded Ashallah. The shaft of light, the bronze disc, the calligraphy – all of it was gone. Even Darya’s hand was absent from her own.

“Darya! Darya!”

No one answered.

“Rahim! Anyone?”

“You must go now.”

Ashallah looked around her.

“Who is that?”

“It is the only way.”

“Where are you? Where are you?”

Ashallah instinctively reached for her back, expecting to find her khukuri blades sheathed there, before remembering that she was without. She cursed the heavens under her breath. She knelt down and groped in the dark, hoping against hope for a rock or some object with which to defend herself.

The ground held no such reprieve for Ashallah. Only sand.

“You must leave tonight.”

Ashallah lifted her head. She rose to her feet and clenched her hands into fists as she searched the darkness in vain.

“Who is that? Show yourself!” she demanded.

As if in answer, a pinpoint of light appeared ahead.

Ashallah froze. She watched the point of light – a white, glowing orb – move toward her, growing larger as it approached. Ashallah considered stepping back but thought better of it. After all, she thought, I am in a cave. Where would I go?

The light grew brighter. Stronger. Larger. By the time it reached a diameter similar in height to Ashallah, she could make out the silhouettes of figures within. It continued to draw closer to Ashallah. For all her uncertainty, Ashallah stood firm, defiant in the face of her own doubt.

The orb was nearly upon her when she heard the same voice that had echoed through the darkness.

“A horse will be waiting for you outside the palace gate.”

Ashallah peered into the light. The figures, having been hazy only moments before, became clear.

“Ommah...”

Ashallah reached toward the orb. In that instant, it enveloped her.

She found herself surrounded by lattice. Checkered moonlight illuminated the floor. Down the hall, a gathering of women dressed in fine silks sat in a circle, each one brushing the hair of the one in front. Many more women were all around, all talking to each other as they groomed themselves.

I am in a harem, Ashallah realized.

“Where will I go?”

Ashallah swung around. The voice who asked the question - that of a woman - was not the one from the darkness. It seemed familiar, somehow.

“Yasem. You will go to Yasem.”

That voice, that is the one from the black void, Ashallah told herself. She searched around her. Women aplenty there were, but none seemed to be involved in conversation such as the one she had heard.

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