Read Rift in the Races for Free Online

peered out, adding, “Jump in, the water is fine.”
    Baron Thoroughgood and his son Thadius both followed the Queen’s example and went casually to the stone box. Thadius stopped when he came near Orli and offered her his arm. “Shall we, Miss Pewter?” he asked, tilting a smile down at her from his lofty six-foot-five-inch height.
    “Why of course we shall, Lord Thoroughgood,” Orli replied. “I’d be delighted.” She took his arm, knowing that doing so was the best way to show the other officers that there really was nothing to fear, and she let him lead her toward the teleportation chamber on the heels of his father and the Queen. She flashed a grin back at Roberto, who, in response, mouthed her own words back at her mockingly. “Why of course,” he shaped silently. “I’d be delighted.” He even did a little half-curtsy, holding out invisible skirts at his sides.
    Altin would have laughed, but the situation was too precarious for mirth. Besides, Thadius shot him a smug look as he passed by. “Nice work, old man,” the young lord said sarcastically just before he went inside.
    Altin’s right eyelid quivered for a moment, but he pushed jealousy away. Now was not the time for it. And besides, Orli’s plan had worked. Or at least mostly so, for the rest of the group were making their way toward the chamber, though a few of the captains were doing so reluctantly. Altin eased their minds, saying, “You won’t even know what happened. There is truly nothing to fear.”
    “It is true,” said General Darklot as he walked past the sluggish cluster of fleet officers. “Our man Sir Altin there is the most powerful teleporter on the planet. He is a Z. You could not possibly be in better hands.” He ducked inside with Lieutenant Andru right behind.
    Altin couldn’t decide who looked more put out by the whole experience: Captain Asad at having to place his fate and that of his fellow fleet officers in Altin’s hands, or the marchioness who clearly felt as if she were about to be crammed into a bucket full of pig feces. He had to work pretty hard not to grin as each of them walked by.
    Soon enough, however, they were all inside. The fit was cozy, made more so at the edges because nobody wanted to get too close to the Queen out of respect or to the elf out of fear, and the marchioness radiated an aura of hate that bought her a bit of extra space as well.
    Given that, Altin wasted no time getting the spell underway. He closed the door behind himself and quickly made the cast that brought them into Citadel . It was only a matter of seconds before he opened the door again.
    “We’re here,” he said as he stepped into the room beyond. He beckoned them out with a movement of his hand.
    The chamber’s occupants flowed out into a large, shadowy room in which several heavy wooden desks sat unoccupied. Orli noticed that all the desks were bereft of anything that would give evidence of use. There was not a quill or parchment to be seen. The chairs were all snugly pushed up against them, uniformly so, and it seemed as if the room had never been used before. The walls were barren, and even the sconces mounted on them had no torches in them yet. The whole room was lit dimly by a pair of lamps burning on the nearest desk.
    “I apologize for the bare bones of this particular area,” the Queen said. “Our people use the servants’ teleporter, and we haven’t gotten the Transportation Guild Service office fully functional yet. But, you know what they say, ‘You can’t just conjure a kingdom, you have to conquer it piece by piece.’”
    Captain Asad turned to share a raised eyebrow with Captain Jefferies at that remark. Orli saw the movement and shared an eye roll with Roberto who’d seen it too.
    Light spilled into the room then as Aderbury opened a door leading out into a hallway beyond. “If you’ll come with me, everyone, we can show you some of Citadel’s finer points.”
    “Yes, please do,” said Captain