Chapter 2

            Lis didn’t leave me any time to be surprised. I just stood there, jaw hanging open in my usual stupid Hunter way - I could see Sofi smiling - while Lis moved her hands around a bit and told me that it wasn’t safe to talk about it here, and that we needed to go somewhere else. I didn’t know where this ‘somewhere else’ was, but I knew it couldn’t get much worse than this place, with the burning sun and lack of habitation.

            Sofi grabbed my hand, which felt weird - she shouldn’t have been able to do that, seeing as she was dead. She smiled down at me, and for the first time I noticed that she had grown since I last saw her. A few inches, at least, and I reckoned I would have to stand on my toes to kiss her.

            Not that I was going to be kissing her or anything.

            I looked around, and saw that the others had all started holding hands, and we had formed one large circle. Lis was at the center, looking even more radiant than before as she uttered some strange words - like a magic incantation.

            “Close your eyes, Hunter,” Sofi whispered in my ear, and it reminded me of when we were going out in high school. She had always been so sweet. “It’s going to be bright, and, well, you’re not as used to it as we are.”

            I obeyed, screwing my eyes shut as if it would make the light dimmer. Sofi, or I assumed it was Sofi, put our hands, still linked together, up to cover my eyes as well, to make it a bit easier.

            Then there was the bright flash of light again, and I felt unreal. It was like I was in water; I felt so light, almost weightless, and I kicked out to see if my movements were slowed. They were, like I was moving through sand or something.

            And then the light faded, and Sofi took our hands away from my face. Like before, I had no inclination to open my eyes, but I knew I had to.

            What I saw was almost more beautiful than Queen Lis herself.

            Golden structures towered over our heads, tapered at the top. All of them looked similar, but different heights for a little variety. There were no doors, just wide, open archways leading into brightly lit halls - and all of them were halls, so much bigger than anything I was used to.

            It was like a golden city, everything so bright and shining and new. And when I looked around, and saw how the array of buildings came to an abrupt end at the edge of a cliff, I realized that it really was its own city. I unclasped my hands from Sofi’s and the other person’s hands and ran to look over the edge, just like a little kid. My breath caught and I felt dizzy, symptoms of vertigo or whatever.

            I was on an island - floating a thousand feet above the ground.

            I sat back suddenly, not wanting to fall off and be dashed to pieces on the ground below. Sofi came over and took my hand again, smiling like she knew what I was feeling.

            “I know how you’re feeling,” she said softly. What a coincidence. “I was like this the first time Lis brought me here, after, well… y’know what I mean, right, Hunter?” I did, but I didn’t say anything. I had always had a fear of heights and I didn’t trust myself not to vomit.

            What was more, when I had looked down, the ground was moving. This airborne city was literally sailing through the sky. I could see that a pair of giant sails were attached to the buildings - one on either side, several hundred metres in height each.

            “This is,” I gasped, “just amazing.”

            Sofi’s smile widened into a cute grin, and I was reminded once more of why I had been dating her, until that fateful day. It had always hurt to think about it but now that she was here, with me, it hurt a lot less.

            “Welcome to the Sun,” Lis called from back with the group, at the wrought iron gates that marked the entrance to the city. My eyes widened as I stood once more, having decided that I was not going to fall over. I was almost proved wrong - but I had always had an excellent sense of balance.

            Sofi laughed, and I noted that she sounded a lot like Lis now, with a laugh like bells. “It’s not the actual Sun, that’s why we’re not burning. But since Lis is the goddess of the Sun, we figured it would be sensible to name the city after her.”

            It made a lot more sense, but I still had a few questions. Like this one: “Why have I never seen this before?”

            “Cloaking magic,” she said easily, as if she had known that all her life. But I knew that calm demeanour just came with being like she was. “Lis is a very powerful magician.”

            I was starting to get a little bit jealous. All Sofi seemed to want to talk about was Lis - but then I scolded myself, seeing as I had asked the question.

            By that time, we had started walking back, and had made it back to the group. None of them seemed the slightest bit annoyed that we had just run off like that. A few, however, seemed concerned. I looked around, noted all their different expressions - none of which were that different to the next - and finally realized what I should have seen at first. All of these people, Lis’ followers, were female.

            “Males go to Lun,” Sofi murmured, like she could read my mind. Although, compared to the rest of today, that wouldn’t have seemed so strange. “But I think we will be together for a time.”

            “You’re the Oracle, you would know,” I whispered back, and we both laughed. Lis glanced at us with a knowing expression as the shining gates swung open, the hinges not even so much as creaking, and the city was opened to us. I grinned like a madman at the thought of going inside this beautiful place - but I couldn’t help wondering why this place seemed so exciting - or why Lis had chosen me.

Reviews

[Matthew Ian Herrawood W]

i feel like somthing is lacking in this chapter though im not sure what... prhaps a bit more description wouldent go amiss.