CHAPTER NINE

The Invisible Circle

VI

“Toucans!” Wilburn blurted. He had only just remembered. Toucans lived in jungles—this was one, so, math. “Guys! Come on! We’ve gotta go and look for them!”

“Certainly not,” Alfajean said, astonished. “You must remain within the circle, Wilburn. I thought I told you that already.”

Wilburn’s shoulders slumped. “What circle?”

Alfajean pointed around the perimeter of the pavilion.

“That’s not a circle, it’s a hexagon,” Wilburn said, before he could stop himself. Mom’s stupid math punishments. There had been many on geometry.

“True enough,” Alfajean said, giving Wilburn several small smiles, “but a hexagon implies an invisible circle—and those the most powerful kind. Isn’t it so, Master bungflower?”

“Quite so,” Iddo agreed. Look again, he added in thought-speak, and projected to Wilburn his vision of a fiery ribbon of impossible colors encircling the hexagonal platform of the pavilion, touching it only at the six points, where stood the six towering pillars of black basalt. The magic circle was incorporated into the greater complexity of the spiral flower-fractal dome—it was no wonder Wilburn hadn’t picked it out before.

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

“How come I’ve gotta stay inside it?”

“Because it’s… part of the ritual,” Alfajean conceded. “During the ritual, you must be inside the circle, and the rest of us must be outside it. The ritual isn’t starting just yet, but I don’t want you running off to look for toucans, Wilburn.”

“Aww…”

Ask them what the ritual’s all about, Iddo thought. They seem more inclined to answer your questions than mine.

“Er, what’s this whole ritual thing about?” Wilburn asked.

“Well, it’s about…” Alfajean tapped one of their chins. “It’s about your destiny, Wilburn. Upper Management has chosen you to serve a very important purpose. I’m sorry, but that’s as much as I can tell you right now. You’re getting a bigger peak behind the curtain than most mortals ever do, trust me.”

Ask who else will be participating in the ritual, Iddo thought.

“Who else will be participating in the ritual?” Wilburn parroted.

Alfajean squinted at him suspiciously. “You’re not thought-speaking with Master Bungflower behind my back, are you?” Wilburn’s guilty face must’ve been as good as a confession. Alfajean harrumphed. “Well, that’s not very polite. No, no, don’t mind me. I’ll just leave you two to your thoughts, then.” The angle stalked away in a huff.

They can’t do this? Wilburn wondered.

Iddo shook his head. Angels don’t operate in Thoughtspace. No one knows why. Well, no one on our level—I suppose Upper Management must know. But few mortals ever interact with an angel, so there’s not exactly an extensive body of research to consult. My personal theory is that angels are made from the same meta-material as Astral armor, and each one of them contains a private bubble of Thoughtspace sealed inside themselves. All their thinking happens within the bubble, but no thought ever enters or escapes.

****** Sign up for the email list at yaklaughter.com to read the rest of Chapter Nine immediately and get early access to future chapters before they come out on Royal Road *******