Her foot slipped but she found that she was more than able to keep her balance. The floor was unusually, almost frictionlessly smooth and lubricated by the water that had come through the gate. Faceted pink crystals glinted beneath her feet like stars and she had to tilt her head up quickly before she was engulfed by the sense that the floor was no ( Read more... )

The water was pleasantly warm and, when she accidentally swallowed it, entirely tasteless. Her eyesight remained utterly clear and she still appeared to be able to breath perfectly as they sunk to the bottom so that the only thing that had changed was the ease of movement and the dappled quality of the light. When Emily realised why she was having ( Read more... )

Emily did not need to follow his dripping finger because she heard a noise that suggested to her that she would not like what she saw. The sound was like that of an animal in excruciating pain and it seemed to tear the air like metal nails scratching glass. The lighthouse quivered and it was only a moment later that she realised that everything ( Read more... )

She was sitting on the edge of a four-poster bed. She had no idea how she got there; her last recollection was her life oozing away into the dust of Salonia. A pale, directionless light was pouring in through the windows and reflecting off the polished wooden floor.

It was blindingly bright but Emily did not need to shield her eyes from the glow. ( Read more... )

The sand was pattering on the windows in the darkness. The dust storm had not abated all day and now night had fallen. The landcrawler would reach Salonsa at midday the following day.

Many of the occupants of her segment were asleep, curled up against the seats or had retired to the bunk beds in the sleeper segment. In the dimmed light, Emily was ( Read more... )

I think I've written about 8000 words now...

A short time later a young man was seen running down the main street near the ( Read more... )

The Mercanter slid aside the clear panel that opened onto the interior garden and ( Read more... )

A creature with milky white eyes had watched the entire episode quizzically. It scuttled unseen into the shadows at the end of the street, its cloven hooves making no sound.

The bar had become hot and noisy, filled with the clatter of glasses and the loud ( Read more... )