The Space Between Stars

Chapter Nine

Hi! I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long. You know how it is, school is just ending, and suddenly you're bombarded with twenty five huge assignments, just when you thought you could kick back and relax. Anyway, I'll make sure to write a lot over the summer to make up for it!:) Thanks for reading!

Chapter Nine, properly

For starters, the dining hall of the Rebels of Davnir was huge. The roof loomed upwards nearly forty feet, and the floor space was roughly equal to half of Castellum. Almost a hundred tables were laid out, each able to seat about ten. It was clear this room was meant to accommodate a small army, but only four hundred or so figures milled around, filling plates at a small buffet and chatting at tables. The effect was overall quite unsettling. As me and Pinna entered alongside Harola and Doeva, conversation in the room ground to a halt. I tried to retreat out the door, but Pinna grabbed my arm with his aquiline talon. He pulled me up next to him.

"It's not often that a new member joins." He whispered in my ear, then raised his voice and addressed the room.

"Attention, fellow rebels! We have a new member among us today! Saelem Noxe, my partner. Please, resume your meal." Making a little bow, he headed for a table at the back of the room, dragging me along with him. Whispers and stares followed us all the way to the back of the room.

"Did you see her eyes?"

"Violet, they were."

"Could she be the--"

Pinna reached an empty table first, curling up on a bench while I took the seat across from him. A few seconds later, Harola sat down next to me, followed closely by Doeva. He slid a plate of chicken and potatoes in front of me.

"Eat." Harola said earnestly, handing me a fork. "You're going to need your energy."

For what? I thought, but at the moment, I was almost to hungry to care. Stabbing a forkful of chicken, I tasted it. It was very good, cooked to perfection and drowned in salty gravy. The potatoes were delicious as well.

While the others chattered about this and that, I tried to absorb my surroundings. The ceiling was held up by enormous wooden beams, and tapestries were sparsely placed on the walls. In each corner of the room, and in the center, there was an intricately carved totem pole, the ones in the corners representing a mountain lion, a crow, a fox, and a bear. The carved pole in the center depicted, well, I'm not entirely sure. It may have been a leopard, but it was too small and muscular, the teeth too large in it's mouth. I could feel the thing's wooden eyes burning a hole in my forehead. I quickly looked away.

Suddenly, a quiet rustling noise reached my ear. It sounded like the beating of many wings. Many wings too large for a bird. Other people were starting to notice by now. The sound was growing louder and an uncomfortable churning started in my stomach. By now the sound was thunderous. I heard someone across the room yell:

"The Knights! The Knights of the Black Cross! We've been found!"

Just before the roof exploded.