Resonances

Wealthgiver 16

This is the fifteenth chapter of Wealthgiver, an alternate history serial romance about nationalism and cave-Thracians. For the back-of-the-book description and an index of chapters, click here. For the beginning, click here. For the previous chapter, click here.

MOOD MUSIC

Hands over his eyes, Andrei stumbled backward. The edge of a cot hit him in the hip.

"Andrei?" came Kori's voice from the streaming brilliance. Andrei lowered his hand and looked for her.

The hard, white light seemed to pin Kori, suspend her in a sea of black velvet. One eye and half her mouth lay still in that sea, shadowed by her chin and nose. The other eye shown as if polished. A curl of hair cast a shadow on her cheek, bold as the stroke of a Chinese brush.

Andrei swallowed. "So that's calcium light. It will be hard to work around the shadows. Perhaps I can rig up some mirrors for all-around illumination?"

A smile swam up from the depths. "Of course we have already done so. Look into the corners of the room."

He squi…