Parallel Read Online Free

primitives who resort to violence?”
    Ryol reflected. She had difficulty masking the feeling of disappointment this conversation awoke inside her. “What if I can prove this people is indeed ready to join the Alliance? Then we would be free to trade with them.”
    “My daughter, your heart is in the right place, but you know how unlikely that probability is,” Falia said, her posture slackening.
    “It’s not probable,” Ryol said, “but all things are possible.”
    Falia smiled and placed a hand atop Ryol’s. The warmth transmitted through the touch spread into Ryol’s chest like a blossoming flower. “I see no harm in exploring the possibility. You are free to visit this world and apply the measures for acceptance into the Alliance. Be stringent, however. Do not let your desire to save Lenora cloud your judgment. You understand that more is at stake than the security of our own world.”
    “Yes, Mother.” The corners of Ryol’s lips crept into a smile.
    Falia’s pupils glowed orange beneath a veneer of white, reminding Ryol of the sunrise burning through the early morning mist. A black hole appeared in the corner of the room. It hovered inches above the ground.
    Ryol rose, watching the sides of the hole expand until the gaping blackness stood tall and wide enough for Ryol to walk through.
    “Before you go,” Falia said in a melodious tone that soothed Ryol’s nerves like warm liquid spreading through her insides. “If the presence of Eitr is discovered, it is of the utmost importance that the people of this world do not discover its capabilities prematurely. If they do, and they are not in fact prepared to join the Alliance, it could usher in the annihilation of all worlds.”
    A chill slithered down Ryol’s spine. She shivered. With the fate of so many worlds hanging in the balance, she could afford no mistakes.
    Ryol nodded to her mother and then stepped into the portal.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER FIVE
    Hari
     
    “What in the name of all that’s holy is this?” Gerald paused for emphasis between each word. “I leave you alone for three hours and you destroy the lab.” He held up three fingers in case his words were unclear.
    Only one word described Hari’s appearance: frazzled. Curly black locks had straightened to stand on end. His cheeks, blackened with soot, were glossy with exertion. Where he’d found soot was an unanswerable question.
    “It’s not that bad,” Hari said, observing the carnage that had replaced the laboratory. For some reason, Hari did his best and (much to Gerald’s chagrin) dirtiest work in Gerald’s absence. It had something to do with cats being away and mice playing, but such thoughts were beyond Hari for the time being. He was one step closer to unlocking the Door. Nothing else mattered.
    To Hari, since they had a device named the Key, logic dictated that what they were attempting to open should be called the Door. Gerald’s face assumed a puckered look whenever they discussed the topic. Gerald, ever the traditionalist, felt the apparatus on a whole deserved a more academic name. Something in Latin, perhaps.
    “Come here. Take a look at the wiring.” Hari waved his older colleague over with a wide arm movement that appeared as if he was trying to waft some unseen smell towards his face. “Make sure I did this correctly.”
    “One second.” Gerald maneuvered gingerly through the labyrinth of tools and parts now littering the floor. “Would it kill you to put these things back where you got them? We could fly a man to the moon with all the equipment you’ve left on the ground.”
    Gerald’s words fell on deaf ears as Hari leaned over the device like a surgeon. It wasn’t until Gerald’s substantial shadow fell over the workstation that Hari looked up, wearing a look of elation.
    Gerald, immune to such looks, frowned. Sliding his glasses up the broad slope of his nose, he gave a heavy grunt as he bent over the Key lying