“I bet Lucy’s watching their every move,” I say, sitting cross-legged on my bed with Churchill perched on the end.
Churchill is Kaira’s cat, and I’ve offered to look after him while Kaira’s on her travels. He’s gentle and doesn’t require a lot of fuss, just wanting company like all of us. I tap the bed to invite Churchill over — an invitation he accepts, settling in my lap.
“Probably,” Conrad replies in reference to Lucy struggling with her feelings for Noah, whatever they are. “We should help her to take her mind off the date.”
“What have you got in mind?”
“Some night ranging … maybe a trip to The Royisin Heights.”
“To track Neve, you mean?”
Conrad strokes Churchill before adding, “We’re probably going to have to, anyway, helping us to explain how we got into a firefight with her in Drandok. I’m sure Casper will know if she’s holed up in The Royisin Heights.”
“Can’t we leave that until tomorrow night?” I suggest. “I’d rather watch how the date goes.”
“Which is a bit weird.”
“Why?”
“Watching our friend on his first date with the girl he’s wanted for ages …?”
“It’s encouragement,” I suggest in an unconvincing tone.
“It’s prying in personal business.”
“And a trip to The Royisin Heights is another trek beyond The Society Sphere,” I reply. “A job other sleeping soldiers are taking care of.”
“Don’t you want to know where Neve is hiding? And if Odin’s left Drandok?”
“Yes, I want to know, but we can use the Panorilum to find that out, can’t we.”
“It’s not the same as visiting, seeing them with our own eyes.”
It’s obvious Conrad doesn’t want to watch the date, maybe sharing my concern that Zoe’s potentially stringing Noah along. If he is worried about this, he obviously won’t want to see his friend humiliated, so I make him a deal.
“Okay, we wait for Noah and Zoe to get to Velerin’s, just so we know he hasn’t been let down, and then we contact Lucy and head to The Royisin Heights. That way, we help both our friends.”
“Deal,” Conrad says, grabbing my waist as we fall onto the bed laughing, conscious that Society eyes might be on us. We know the limits of ‘decorum’ as Society elders like to put it, deciding to push the edge of those limits, getting lost in one another until another date begins.
The sight of Noah appearing outside Velerin’s returns our attention to the Panorilum hovering in the bedroom. The restaurant is in the magical part of The Winter Quarter, decorated by snow that falls all year round.
There’s nothing like the Society anywhere else in the world, and you can never get tired of the endless wonders it offers. Velerin’s is another wonder: a globe-shaped building formed of glass and steel, rotating anti-clockwise on the hour. The snow adds a decorative touch to the building, drawing couples seeking a romantic backdrop to their evening.
The colourful glow is one of the best things about Velerin’s, the lighting inside coming from the Spintz charms hovering above each table, formed in the shape of a chandelier in the colour of the diners’ penchants. When it rotates on the hour, you get a glimpse of the people inside — couples mainly and the odd family, the children absorbed by a winter wonderland of colour.
It’s not the sort of place you drop into and you’re encouraged to dress up for the occasion, something Noah’s clearly taken to heart. He’s abandoned his chino and waistcoat look for a purple suit decorated by a gold pocket chain. He’s also got some gel in his hair from the way his fringe spikes up into a quiff. I’m not sure about the hair gel but he looks the part. All we’re waiting for now is the arrival of Zoe Tallis.
I start to get nervous when the minutes pass, the moving illustration on the Panorilum offering no clues to Zoe’s whereabouts until she appears out of nowhere, using a Cympgus to add a touch of drama to her arrival. The girl’s got style, that’s for sure, stepping through the portable Perium to the delight of Noah.
Zoe’s drawn to a more classic look like the dress and coat she’s wearing now, looking like she belongs in a 1920s movie. The Winter Quarter helps with the backdrop, Edwardian buildings stretching high to add to the image of romance Noah and Zoe are doing their best to maintain.
“They look good,” I say to Conrad who smiles at the sight of Noah offering Zoe flowers.
“A nice touch,” he comments as they head for Velerin’s, the snow swirling around them.
With Velerin’s rotating slowly in the snow, offering a glimpse of romantic meals within, Noah maintains his gentlemanly rhythm, opening the door for Zoe who lifts her dress as she steps in, waiting inside to be met by an equally elegant woman who takes them to their table on the top floor.
The choice of table was also Lucy’s idea, a strange attention to detail from a girl who harbours certain feelings for Noah, but that’s a puzzle for another day. For now, we’ve agreed to keep Lucy company to take her mind off the date: a bit of night ranging and a trip to The Royisin Heights.
As Noah and Zoe reach their table, Conrad utters ‘Undilum’ to deactivate the Panorilum — the large piece of parchment folding of its own accord, returning to the little book its hidden within when not in use. Reaching out for the book as it spins in mid-air, I return it to my Keepeasy stitched into my black, leather trousers, readying myself for another journey beyond The Society Sphere.
I’d rather stay here with Conrad, keeping Kaira’s cat company, but we’ve promised to spend time with Lucy: a friend and
