Folding the Sky

-39-

The minutes ticked endlessly by, Zuri only growing more tired and the dancers unlucky enough to bump into her growing more wary. Hers and Aldric's hapless frolicking about the dance floor was starting to gather attention, which was the very last thing they wanted to do.

"I hope Jem and Kalindi have found something," Zuri whispered, casting a self-conscious glance around the room. She clung to Aldric, hands tightly grasping his, and though she would never say so, she was afraid she might fall over if she let go. "At least more than we've found. None of these people here know anything about Vernon, as far as I can tell."

Aldric frowned; Zuri could tell he was trying to maintain his optimism, but at the same time, she could see that he was losing his grip. He sighed. "We need to keep trying."

The music sped up, just slightly, and there was a collective murmur of glee as people started to turn faster, twirling out of their partner's arms and into another's. The realization seized her: a mixer dance. Zuri didn't know whether this was a blessing or a curse, but perhaps, she thought, it was up to her to decide.

Aldric, on the other hand, had blanched visibly. Zuri shook her head at him, loosening her grip on his fingers. "If I need your help, I'll signal you."

His eyes widened. "Zuri, are you sure about this?"

"Switch, Aldric," Zuri ordered under her breath, and with a sigh of dismay he did as he was told, releasing her and swinging around to dance with the older woman behind him.

A new set of hands found their way, tentatively, to Zuri's waist. She looked up into the face of a stranger, dark-skinned with a salt-white beard, grayish eyes hidden behind circular glasses, just before the visions ambushed her.

She saw...she thought she saw home, Naino, with its gray stone and gothic buildings, the streets criss-crossed with wood and metal trolley rails. There was a loud noise, a boom, the squealing of metal. A crumpled trolley rolled onto its side, hundreds of bodies trapped beneath it. It was senseless, all of it, a melee of smoke and screams and bloodstained pavement.

She saw something else, too. A name, glaring at her from the top of a title deed: Omari Effiong.

Unease spread through Zuri's veins like a gelid glacier. This man was the current owner of Mulaim?

"Excuse me," Effiong was saying now, his eyes wide with concern. "Excuse me, miss, are you alright?"

Zuri snapped back to her senses, her shoulders squaring. She wrestled the tidal wave of nerves rising within her, trying to calm her breath. Surely he knew he hadn't invited her; surely he knew that she wasn't supposed to be there, right? "I—um, yes. Sorry. My head is just...in the clouds, as they say!"

Effiong simply smiled at her. "Are you enjoying the ball, at least?"

"Oh, yes sir! It's fantastic. I'm having a wonderful time."

"Glad to hear it," he said, inclining his head. "Let me know if you need anything, young lady."

Zuri paused, her gaze flitting away towards the floor as she fought for the right words. "Actually, there is one thing," she began, her tone careful. "Are you...are you from Naino? Sorry, I've just...heard rumors. About the accident."

Effiong didn't answer her immediately, and Zuri winced, sure she must've scared him away. After a moment, however, he let out a weary sigh. "Rumors," he said, his eyes trailing up, focusing at some point above Zuri's head. "Well, I suppose you cannot stop people from talking; it's what they do. It's true, I did live there for a time. I met the love of my life there, even, but I lost her when the trolley derailed. So many lost their lives—young people, too. It happened just outside the university."