Read Online The Beholder by Ivan Amberlake - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Ivan Amberlake
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lulled Emily to sleep, and she leaned against him, warm and trusting. Jason drove for a while, not wanting her warmth to ever go away, but he needed to wake her. He’d reached a crossroads and needed to ask for directions. Reluctant to lose the sweet presence of her against him, he pulled up at the side of the road and carefully turned to her, trying to wake her gently.
She stirred at his voice and slowly opened her eyes. The sun filled them with a dazzling beauty, and all Jason could do was stare. It was a face of an angel, pure and heavenly. Flawless, Jason thought.
With a deep breath, Emily sat up and looked around, blinking in a daze. “We’re nearly there,” she said and pointed to the right, off the pavement. “Go that way.”
They swerved from the road and plowed through the sand. Dust rose in their wake in massive clouds, transforming to gigantic moving statues in the air.
As Jason drove, he looked around and noted there had once been buildings in the area. Here and there bricks, wooden frames, and pieces of roofing slate lay in ruins, and foundations of nonexistent buildings stuck out of the sand.
Emily nudged Jason’s back and told him to stop. She climbed off the bike and led him to a round old hatch covered in sand which looked large enough to hold one person. He never saw her touch anything, but the hatch began to open, and the newly-formed hole dilated like a pupil in the dark, gaping fixedly at the sky. From inside the hatch came a platform, onto which Emily stepped. She held out a hand and Jason stepped up beside her.
“What about the motorcycle?” he asked.
“Don’t worry. You can leave it here. No one’s going to steal it.” She smiled. “Besides, now that we’ve met,” she told him, “you have no choice but to come with me.”
Jason was about to say he would have come with her even if offered another choice, but Emily raised her hand to stop him. “You are the first Unsighted to consciously step onto the other side,” she said. “I have to warn you about something before we go any farther. It is very important that you do not doubt your sanity over the next while. You will soon see things that you never believed could be true.”
Jason nodded and didn’t ask questions. What was there to ask? A flutter of anticipation danced through his chest as the platform slowly descended into a sunless void, sliding smoothly underground. Once they were safely hidden away, the hatch closed, shielding the sky from their eyes. The platform continued to travel deeper into the earth, and the air filled with clouds of dust surging up from below, making breathing more difficult. Pure, silent blackness combined with thick air began to overwhelm Jason, closing in on him from all sides. Just as he was starting to panic, a shimmering light passed through the platform from below, illuminating the walls and revealing a hidden world. Even Emily herself had changed and was now robed in a mantle of the silver shimmer.
Emily saw all his questions and answered before he could ask. “It’s an uninhabited city built upon many levels that go deep underground. Right now we are at the upper levels. These were mostly used to hide the Unsighted in case of threat from the Evil Ones.
“The lower levels are much deeper and accessible only to the chosen few: those with the gift of the Sight. Unsighted people would never be able to find them, even if they knew where the secret rooms and entrances were located. Now we’re heading for the Hall of Refuge. It’s located at the very bottom of the city, so we’ll have to speed up a bit.” Emily’s mouth curved into a smile. “There is only one way to get there, and there are hundreds of false turns and passages that would lead trespassers to dead ends.”
Tunnels whizzed by, black holes in the even blacker space. Jason stared in awe, wondering how any of it could be possible. Again, Emily seemed to sense his questions before he could voice them.
“There are
She stirred at his voice and slowly opened her eyes. The sun filled them with a dazzling beauty, and all Jason could do was stare. It was a face of an angel, pure and heavenly. Flawless, Jason thought.
With a deep breath, Emily sat up and looked around, blinking in a daze. “We’re nearly there,” she said and pointed to the right, off the pavement. “Go that way.”
They swerved from the road and plowed through the sand. Dust rose in their wake in massive clouds, transforming to gigantic moving statues in the air.
As Jason drove, he looked around and noted there had once been buildings in the area. Here and there bricks, wooden frames, and pieces of roofing slate lay in ruins, and foundations of nonexistent buildings stuck out of the sand.
Emily nudged Jason’s back and told him to stop. She climbed off the bike and led him to a round old hatch covered in sand which looked large enough to hold one person. He never saw her touch anything, but the hatch began to open, and the newly-formed hole dilated like a pupil in the dark, gaping fixedly at the sky. From inside the hatch came a platform, onto which Emily stepped. She held out a hand and Jason stepped up beside her.
“What about the motorcycle?” he asked.
“Don’t worry. You can leave it here. No one’s going to steal it.” She smiled. “Besides, now that we’ve met,” she told him, “you have no choice but to come with me.”
Jason was about to say he would have come with her even if offered another choice, but Emily raised her hand to stop him. “You are the first Unsighted to consciously step onto the other side,” she said. “I have to warn you about something before we go any farther. It is very important that you do not doubt your sanity over the next while. You will soon see things that you never believed could be true.”
Jason nodded and didn’t ask questions. What was there to ask? A flutter of anticipation danced through his chest as the platform slowly descended into a sunless void, sliding smoothly underground. Once they were safely hidden away, the hatch closed, shielding the sky from their eyes. The platform continued to travel deeper into the earth, and the air filled with clouds of dust surging up from below, making breathing more difficult. Pure, silent blackness combined with thick air began to overwhelm Jason, closing in on him from all sides. Just as he was starting to panic, a shimmering light passed through the platform from below, illuminating the walls and revealing a hidden world. Even Emily herself had changed and was now robed in a mantle of the silver shimmer.
Emily saw all his questions and answered before he could ask. “It’s an uninhabited city built upon many levels that go deep underground. Right now we are at the upper levels. These were mostly used to hide the Unsighted in case of threat from the Evil Ones.
“The lower levels are much deeper and accessible only to the chosen few: those with the gift of the Sight. Unsighted people would never be able to find them, even if they knew where the secret rooms and entrances were located. Now we’re heading for the Hall of Refuge. It’s located at the very bottom of the city, so we’ll have to speed up a bit.” Emily’s mouth curved into a smile. “There is only one way to get there, and there are hundreds of false turns and passages that would lead trespassers to dead ends.”
Tunnels whizzed by, black holes in the even blacker space. Jason stared in awe, wondering how any of it could be possible. Again, Emily seemed to sense his questions before he could voice them.
“There are
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