Blue Moon Chain - The Coalition
Viridis Company
The Pavilion
The Pavilion was an elaborate, formal open building with white stone arches and columns framed with ivy and a pedestal with a wide shallow bowl like a big bird bath.
That birdbath held fire.
Drake Alcaide was exchanging what looked like a differing opinion with a tall red-head. She was wearing what might be a formal outfit at a formal dinner for a formal occasion, the kind of occasion where you'd wear long black gloves. It showed cleavage. It was the sort of outfit his mother might wear to a funeral.
"Alcaide runs the place right? Who's the woman with him?"
“That's Robanna,” Marek told Jay. “She guards here.”
"Guards what?”
Marek paused, and in a solemn voice and a smile said, “The dead.”
Cute, Jay thought. She guards people from the scary dead, or she guards the dead themselves, or maybe the dead attacked each other. The outfit the woman wore was more suitable than he had at first thought. It was a perpetual funeral here.
He wouldn't know unless he asked, which he didn't intend to do. Fiona stopped at one of the little buildings on the other side of a narrow bridge over the green water. The door's thick red paint did not cover an impressive lock. It was in use. He joined her and glanced down the line of buildings. All had locks but some had been painted over, some had not.
"Marek said Robanna guards the dead," he told her quietly.
Marek paid neither of them any more attention, walking up the short flight of stairs ahead of them.
"Jaegar Lombardo," Robanna called him using his full name. "Will you come up and talk?
Jaegar Lombardo...well they knew who he was. Jay shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans, held his ground and looked up at the two of them. The woman in particular faced him down. Don't try it, he thought, it's not going to work on me. He'd been raised by the whole pantheon of his family, and Camilla Lombardo was his mother.
"I'll come up, but if you're looking for someone to save the world, I'm not your man. I left my sword at home."
Interesting and the plot thickens! I wonder if Jay was annoyed that he was called by his full/formal name. lol
ReplyDeleteFor some reason I never got a message that you left me a comment - thank you!!
DeleteI don't know the answer to that question. Probably not annoyed. These people don't know much about him but you'd think they would have used the name Kenley Dirac gave them which would have been his nickname. Maybe. She's a mystery now. Nothing about that place makes any sense to him and none of his questions are being answered.
Again, the comment is precious and so much appreciated. Thank you.
Short and sweet chapter. It sets things up nicely for what's coming next.
ReplyDeleteThat night sky is stunning <3 And I really like the lighting in these shots. The lanterns cast a very dramatic light in certain spots, which are surrounded by darkness. Feels pretty symbolic of the current situation for the characters.
I really enjoy Jay's sarcastic and surly thought process. You write him so wonderfully. He doesn't intend to ask even though he wonders. That fact really reminds me of the scene in the previous chapter when he asked Fiona a question, and makes it that much more powerful.
I like Robanna: she's cool and seems powerful. I'm excited to find out how she'll react to Jay and Fiona's colorful personalities. / Ani
Thank you! I find it hard to write and illustrate this kind of scene. It's background, necessary background for me to continue, but just difficult for me to do without getting boring. I really appreciate it that you read through it.
DeleteJay learns fast. People expect him to do something he doesn't think he wants to do. He asked a question and was rebuffed which is a good sign that his power is limited, and he's determined not to give any of it away. Let them come to him. He's not going to them.
Robanna appeared in my intro, just one shot but I put her there deliberately. She's in her tentative position; apparently given some kind of responsibility Jay doesn't understand. She protects the dead. Is that a magical protection she offers or a physical one?
Right now Robanna knows Marek, the other teenager, and can show some exasperation with him. Her attitude toward Jay and Fiona is sympathetic for the moment but yeah, subject to change!
Thank you so much. I'm glad you made it through this one!