Entrance to the Song (completed)

Chapter 10 - Arrows Will

I blinked in astonishment trying to picture me over his knee. Would he do that?

"And don't think your earth powers will work on me. I'm protected against such things."

My eyes widened. I was considering wrapping a tight vine around his neck and hanging him from a tree. I looked forward to learning what else I could do. He took my silence for assent.

As soon as he turned to leave, I threw up a vulgar sign.

"Back at you," he said never turning around before exiting.

What had I gotten myself into?

I dragged myself into the bathroom. Anger kindled in the numbness living in my heart. What if Daddy hadn't made it out of the car? Sol promised to find out, but he'd done nothing more than bully me when he came to visit. He should be out looking for Daddy instead of aggravating me.

Benin was no better for allowing him to leave them behind. Daddy would never have left me.

"Shower," I said causing water to fall from the designated area. I adjusted the temperature and let the water run over me with my eyes closed. The warmth felt good on my skin. I took in some deep breaths and tried to relax.

A stern face popped onto the panel on the wall. "You have five more minutes to exit the room."

"I just got in here."

"You've been standing in the water for twenty minutes now."

"What?" I smacked my lips. "Well, that means I still have ten minutes."

"No, you wandered around the bathroom mumbling for five minutes before entering the shower." The young woman wasn't anything less than beautiful and exotic with her slanted eyes and soil colored skin.

I wonder who designed her. She reminded me too much of a certain bullheaded man. Only he'd make an avatar as irritating as him.

"Okay," I said between gritted teeth, getting out of the shower. I dried off and chose one outfit in the closet. They were all the same design, but the colors varied.

The face nodded in satisfaction and then faded out.

I had to admit that it felt good being clean.

I shuffled to the door, not looking forward to facing the world.

Stepping out, I ran into Benin. He examined me with the intensity of a computer search program. "I've been so worried." He put his hand on my shoulder. The spark of his emotions shocked me. I moved from beneath his touch.

"I'm fine." I started down the hallway expecting him to follow. "What have you learned?"

"Well for one they're expecting us that way." He pointed in the opposite direction.

I halted and barely avoided running into him again. Why did he stand so close? We turned and started in the other direction.

"Pendra, there's something you should know about this place." He gazed at the many faces on the wall. Pictures lined the walls of people becoming more beautiful with each photo, and a soft swooshing sound came from the closed doors.

"Oh, my." I realized. "It can't be," I muttered, examining the pictures. I had never been to a Beauty Bar before, but I heard stories from the people that went. They all reported the abundance of faces throughout the bars.

"I thought I should be the one to tell you."

"I thought we were at our guardian's house." I kept my voice low. My eyes darted in suspicion.