of Worlds. She knew where to look. She soon felt the warmth of Umbra’s humanity... but also the burning cold of Shadow. Thulu told her, “The Oracle of Telluria shall indeed be mine to command.”
“Are you certain of this?”
“Yes. She fears for her companions. I shall grasp this fear and drive her by it.”
“Thulu, my friend, is this fairy worth your effort? Send her to me and your siblings shall tear from her all that she knows.”
“No,” Thulu insisted. “She draws from this world by her touch. Break her and we shall have nothing. I shall make her mine and take from her all that she is.”
There was a long silence until Mistress Umbra gave her blessing, “Do as you will.”
“Thank you.”
The eyes of the demon and the devices of the Concubines could see the Oracle’s magic... but not her strength. She could not inflict harm nor bend things to her will, but she was not powerless. If she were subtle, perhaps she could escape their notice. The Oracle snuck about the edifice, trying to find a way out. She could feel the living warmth of the many Concubines... and the malevolent cold of the lifeless demon. Eventually returning to her body, the Oracle opened her eyes and stood. She stared up into Hairy’s eyes, knowing he would understand what was not said, “I shall guide us, but you are the soldier. Kill for us.” She took the sasquatch’s hand and Shrubby’s one branch. They all closed their eyes... then stepped through the door of their cell; as if there was no door.
Only one Concubine guarded the interior of the detention ward. The armed Sentinel did not fidget. She merely stood there, facing the only entrance (with her back to the cell corridor). Feeling herself being stared at, the woman looked over her shoulder– cringed and screamed! A looming, monstrous form was reaching for her!
A Concubine of the Great Seen Unseen did not exist for herself. She was the loyal and obedient servant of a higher power. His will was her only will and the entirety of her purpose.
A Concubine Sentinel stood at her post; erect, silent and weapon in hand. She was not bored. She was vigilant... yet unnoticing as a pair of very large hands reached for her from behind. They grabbed her by the shoulder and over the top of her head– then snapped her face past the shoulder! The woman convulsed and dropped.
“Not the stairwell,” the Oracle warned Hairy. “There are too many guards below.” She pointed at a ladder access and told him, “We shall go where none would go willingly.”
Naydeen was in the command-and-control room when one of her many subordinates in blue reported, “The southwest heat vent has been accessed.”
“Maintenance?”
The Keeper checked before answering, “Maintenance for that section is neither scheduled nor reported for this time.”
Naydeen looked over the subordinate’s shoulder at the monitor. Whoever was in the vent had less than a minute before a lethal gust of hot air blew through the duct. She thought aloud, “Whoever is in there had better hurry.” Naydeen had already lost ninety-eight women taking prisoners. She did not want to lose any more; especially by a foolish accident.
The Oracle of Telluria dropped from the mouth of the metal tunnel and slowly fell to the ground below. Shrubby was on Hairy’s back, her branches wrapped around his thick, firm, hairy neck. The sasquatch climbed out of the metal tunnel. As he scaled his way down the side of the edifice, a strong gust blew out the duct from whence they came! Shrubby remarked, “We got out of there just in time!”
The three Tellurians fled into the woods. A beetle-type aircraft passed overhead, but it sped onward... until it could no longer be heard. “They are not yet searching,” The Oracle assured, “for they remain unaware of our escape.”