Dark Matter - The Mors Mortis Trilogy Book 2

Chapter Two - Judgement

The room was like an auditorium, round and massive with towering glass windows carved into the walls. Hundreds of chairs were arranged in a semi-circle and every seat was occupied, except two; one in the centre, and one off to her right. Leah was silent as Seth and Riley moved across the empty floor to the vacant chairs. She could feel all the human breath in the room rolling at her, like an ocean swell, or a gust of wind, or a fire.

"Leah Azemar."

The voice came from the centre and Leah followed it until her eyes settled on the broad, dark-skinned man Seth had sat next to. His face was coldly expressive, the face of a man not easily influenced by sentiment. Leah swallowed down her panic and met his gaze head on, fighting the urge to scour the room for moving shadows.

"Welcome back," he said, gesturing to the middle of the room. "Please, come forward."

Leah did as he asked, moving until she stood in the centre of the semi-circle, her guards following behind. The silence pressed down on her like a physical force and she felt acutely aware of her every action.

"I'm sorry about the formalities," the man continued. "I hope you understand the predicament we're in. If you care for your brother's safety, like you claim you do, I'm sure our caution won't come as a surprise."

Leah's eyes flicked around the room, taking in the hard, stoic faces and guns that protruded from many jackets. The S.I.S were almost silhouettes against the glare of blue skies behind them. She suspected they'd planned it that way.

"Of course," she said. "Seth's safety is more important than anything else."

The man smiled.

"We'd like you to answer some questions. Would you be okay with that?"

Leah glanced at Seth. His face was strained, his knuckles white on the arms of his chair.

"What would you like to know?" Leah asked.

The man smiled once more.

"Your memories were erased when you moved to the world of the dead, yes?"

Leah nodded, shifting her weight self-consciously. She felt every eye follow her action.

"Would you agree that it's suspicious you remembered to come back to this world then? Given you'd forgotten everything?"

His question was asked with an air of detachment, of objectivity, but Leah could see there was something impenetrable in his gaze.

"I didn't know about this world at first," Leah said, trying to convey a strength in her words that she didn't feel. "But I was different down there; I was stronger and faster than everyone I'd ever met, and I had dreams where I saw Seth and Danny. I spent my entire life trying to hide what I was. It wasn't until Jared kidnaped me that –"

"Jared Caldwell?"

Leah looked towards the woman who'd interrupted her. She sat straight, her gaze sharp. There was nothing unique about her, but for a moment Leah stared. The light seemed to treat her differently than it did the others, it went through her, and Leah realised in surprise that she was a hologram.

"Yes," Leah said quietly. "Jared Caldwell."

"He kidnapped you in the world of the dead?"

Leah glanced towards Seth. She knew what she was about to say wouldn't be received well. "Yes."