Karla hunkered down in the corner of the shower and cried. She'd managed to keep up her facade of 'no, no, I'm fine' up through the portal trip and back to the dorms. She'd begun shaking in her room, kicking the blood-soaked gown into a corner with a cry of horror. By the time she'd gotten into a shower, she'd been sobbing ( Read more... )

Merlotte's Bar and Grill was teeming with guests tonight. There was a redheaded woman bopping from table to table, paying only enough attention to the newcomers to give them an odd little look. (Merlotte's didn't see a lot of strangers.) There was a sandy-haired man behind the bar who also gave them a quick once-over, in a marginally less judgey ( Read more... )

While the action went on inside, ( a different discussion went on just outside the compound. )

A Garden, Caliph's Estate, Damascus

Enough was enough.

After his conversation with Ben yesterday, Bean had run out of patience, and despite the presence of the others here with him, he didn't want to wait to get some of his answers.

( I need to talk to you. )

The elevator they had ridden up into the building had dropped them off in, of all things, a garden, lush like a jungle. The courtyard was glassed over, keeping it moist, preventing anything from being given up to the dry desert air ( Read more... )

Karla liked Catalan. If she wasn't worried sick about Ender and having annoyingly-cryptic nightmares, it'd be the perfect vacation spot. As it was, she had taken to spending an awful lot of time outside with the land. The nightmares, coupled with rising tensions between the four of them, was getting to be a bit much. Only time outdoors, caring for ( Read more... )