Page 159 - DivineSparkRising II-TheMirrorofSilenceFinal

Nicholas Boothman
without ringing. Then Henry set his hand over
theirs. Three wrists, three pulses.
The glass bell fogged with breath it hadn’t asked
for. A fissure crept across its rim. It did not ring. It
learned to be an object without purpose.
Sofia’s voice, gentle:
“You make this harder than it has to be.”
Henry thought: Yes. He did not answer. The
thought did not belong to the labyrinth. It belonged
to his body.
4. The Test of Kindness
A woman stepped into the corridor from
nowhere, carrying a tray as if from a dream where
she had always just been about to tip. She wore the
neutral smile of a service algorithm. The tray held
three cups of water. Her hands shook.
THIS IS NOT REAL, a new sign said, helpfully.
The woman’s eyes begged anyway.
Sera took the tray. The woman sagged in relief,
then vanished; the tray did not. Three cups of water
waited, sweating truth onto the glass.
Carolina drank. Henry didn’t realize until the
second swallow how thirsty he had been. Sera
lifted her cup last, watching the corridor not watch
them. The sign flickered.
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