Framework of the Frontier, Sain Artwell [read me a book .TXT] 📗

lips. Warm lick graced his skin. William took the invitation and dove deep into the slow dance of tongues.

In the dark crimson embrace of her wings, the world fell away. Burning sensation on his knee became a distant echo. She filled his mind. Her touch, her lips, the cool silkiness of her breasts, the rippling tension of her abs, and the taut curve of her luscious ass became all that was.

In silent blackness, behind his closed lids, William blinked.

An eruption of white branching lines scattered from the center of his vision, filling the void. Tingles of electricity traveled down his every nerve. Buzz of static replaced the wet sounds of their mouths, intensifying until the noise blurred William’s sense of touch. The white cracks in his vision pulsed and entwined with the blackness, folding in on themselves in loops of fractal, before settling into worming grooves of glistening dark iridescence.

The shifting pattern carved into his brain like it was clay.

It carved the shapes of hallways that folded upon themselves in an infinite loop until William felt the tunnels as extensions of his limbs. It painted doors locked by codes of arcane encryption until their memories were more vivid than yesterday’s threesome. It sculpted the single tunnel leading to the central Junction, and embedded into his brain the mould of the cubic city, the core room, the ruined hall filled with Dreaming mist, a hall opposite to it filled bones of an ancient warehouse, and further into two other great rooms designed in shapes that William’s overwhelmed brain could process.

From the spiraling hieroglyph to the door to Nastall and all other twenty three doors, he now knew the entirety of the red angel’s domain. Not merely knew. The domain was a part of him, like he had simply lived up till now while forgetting he actually had extra ten thousand sets of arms and a million more fingers.

Wet warmth slipped out of his mouth. William plunged back to reality, falling on his knees.

“Ow, fuck!” A sharp needling hurt reminded him of the injured one.

Ember hurried to hover by him. “Will, Will are you okay? What did you do to him?!”

Sensations, senses, and memories whirled chaotically in his brain. The sensory overload was receding, but the world around him seemed to still spin when Ember helped him stand.

As if waking up slowly, things were coming to him. Among them was an opening below the spiral under their feet and a leash binding the red angel to him.

He cut it.

The red angel shuddered, blinking rapidly. “Thank you, William Adams.”

“You’re welcome. Feel free to let yourself out, I haven’t changed the codes yet. Or stick around, we could use someone with a few sharp feathers.” He gave her a hopeful smile.

She nodded, said, “Good luck,” and with a strike of her wings took flight, soaring over them.

William fell back into his own thoughts as others began to hustle around him, chattering excitedly. He sensed the golem forge linked into the Framework and turned it off. There were far too many things to control and too much to do. He needed to focus now, on how to get to the southernmost gate of the Frontier and how to save Rulu.

An idea was already forming.

An exit from the Maze lay at the bottom of an ocean ravine that led up to the portal between the Frontier and the Emerald Sea. Located hundreds of miles south of Nastall, it was far enough that Rulu might not have made it past yet. As long as he could somehow survive underwater and lure the leviathan and Rulu to the door, he was sure he could get them inside.

“…Will, Will. Is something wrong?” Ember shook him. “You have a crazy grin.”

“Ranger, you mind dropping us off somewhere? Preferably around New Ea. Now, while we’re eternally thankful to Rulu—”

“Ori! She saved my life,” Trotto interrupted. “Ranger, ignore her. I’ll give you a hand, if you need it.”

Orien balled her fists, scowling at her man. “You… I will stay too. Are you happy?”

“Overjoyed.”

William gave Ember a reassuring pat. “I’m alright. A bit woozy, but otherwise better than good. And I’ve got a plan that might work. Duhie, can you make me breathe water?”

“I can, for about half a day. That would be a rather simple spell for a hydromancer. Though be careful, my bubble is easily broken.”

“Good enough.” He pointed to Trotto. “I could use a hand actually. I need as many of those echording crystals automated with the vapor shrimps as possible. And Ori, I don’t expect any of you to join me against the leviathan. Even with a plan it’s a fifty-fifty chance of ending up badly. I’ll open you a door to the gate to Nibir. But first I need help. I can pay in draft days.”

“Draft days you say?” Orien stroked her blue chin. “Well well well, seeing how we’re about to be filthy rich, I think we do need some help with upcoming taxes.”

“Will, can you go over this plan?” Ember pulled his tattered tunic.

“A pinch of panache and a bag of suicidal crazy. I’m hoping some parts will work. Let’s see. ” William picked up an echording crystal. “Say, Ember, do you know how to reset these?”

26

Ocean danced to the rhythm of Ishaiolthess’ sails. Though bleeding in Rulu’s palms had stopped, the shifting tendrils buried in them kept sending painful reminders through her nerves. She was thankful for that pain, for it provided her an escape from reality.

Beneath her, the pale bottom silt lay still, afraid. Where Ishaiolthess’ shadow touched ground, clusters of mollusks withdrew into their shells and the corpse eating eels squirmed into the porous openings of the steep black cliffs lining the ancient road. Once, before the R’lyeh, this had been a highway between triton kingdoms. Now, only defiled carvings remained of