Page 93 - DivineSparkRisingFinal

Nicholas Boothman
Inside smelled of sage and citrus. Mirrors lined
the corridors. A silver-haired woman in white linen
emerged.
“You’ve come for the fragment,” she said.
“You’re Vela?” Carolina asked.
The woman’s eyes glinted. “I was. Until they
buried me.”
Inês brewed tea, motioned them to sit in the
mirrored chamber. “The God Word broke me open.
At first I thought it was freedom. Then I saw:
freedom without integration is madness.”
Henry leaned forward. “The Mirror Protocol?”
“I remember only the doorway,” she said. “This
room reawakens it.”
T h e c h a m b e r s h i m m e re d , t h e i r f a c e s
multiplying. Inês’s voice was low. “Close your
eyes. Ask the question you fear most.”
Henry’s mind whispered: Who are you without
your work?
Carolina’s: What if brilliance is your cage?
Jinji didn’t close her eyes. “No way. I’ve had
enough of questions. Chorus used to brand us—
criminal, broken girl, hacker freak. I’m not playing
their game again.”
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