Fracture (Chronicles of Discord, #1)

Fracture - Chapter 2

The building was strangely silent; the sound of their shoes on the black granite floor rang out unnaturally loud and faintly ominous. At first it seemed as though the ground floor of the large building was a single room, then Ben noticed that there were partitions, seemingly made from glass. It explained why there was no sound even though he could see people in conversation.

They continued to walk toward the centre of the hall where twenty etched glass columns, moulded with rope work and fleurs-de-lis, held aloft an intricately woven half sphere of beautifully formed glass. Inside this huge circle, a wrought iron framework of twisting metal cradled twelve clear glass globes that Ben immediately recognised as lifts. It was like nothing he had ever seen before and for a few moments he stood silent.

It was there, under the clear glass dome that their procession halted and the eleven Tula councillors turned to Senator Burton.

“We considered that you would enjoy a few moments rest before eating the greeting meal that has been prepared.”

“Thank you, it would be appreciated,” responded Senator Burton.

Ten of the eleven councillors placed their hands over their hearts and inclined their heads before moving away, their robes whispering against the glittering black floor, leaving Councillor Ladron and the young woman behind. Corbani Va Dic Ladron smiled and gestured towards one of the lifts.

“May I ask for your first impressions of our country Senator Burton?”

Ben looked up from the fascinating spectre of the ground floor seeming to disappear beneath his feet as he shot upward and saw his father glance around their surroundings with indifference before allowing his eyes to come to a rest on Councillor Ladron.

“It’s very different from the Free Nation,” he answered lightly.

Ben hid a smile.

Councillor Ladron had not been expecting such an unimpressed answer and it took him a few moments to regain his balance.

“And you Ben, what are your thoughts?” he asked pleasantly.

Ben stiffened at the over familiar use of his first name and gazed at Councillor Ladron somewhat hostilely. Corbani Va Dic Ladron seemed to sense that he had said something inappropriate and turned to the young woman asking a question that Ben didn’t catch and receiving an immediate reply that he didn’t hear either. Councillor Ladron turned to face Ben, laying his hand over his heart and inclining his head.

“Forgive me Mr. Burton, I didn’t mean to offend you, it is customary in our culture to use first names without it being thought of as a liberty; the term ‘Mr.’ has not been used in our lands for over a century.”

Ben forced himself to relax and smile even though he was pretty certain that Councillor Ladron had purposefully tried to make him feel small and unimportant.

“Then you won’t mind me calling you Corbani?”