Page 57 of Abducting Sarah

“They think some foreign conduit will come and destroy the power of the sisterhood?” I asked incredulously.

She flatly laughed and rolled her eyes. “Fucking conduits. Bunch of paranoid little girls. Good news for you, none of them like me since I left, so I don’t really care what they think of me talking to you about all of this. No, I take that back, talking to you will piss them off and that suits me just fine."

"I'm glad to be of service, Omen. Any idea who their leader is these days?”

“No. It was Mother Portend, but from what I’ve heard, she’s holed up in the mountains, keeping away from all of it.”

“Damn,” I muttered beneath my breath before asking, “So, what does the text mean, according to the conduits?”

“They think the contra is some alien conduit who is coming to destroy them.” She shook her head in disgust. “They don’t realize that Justice Bateenwasthe contra. He murdered us and took our power—it’s right there in the text. But none of them think it washim, because of the pronouns.”

She laughed caustically. “As if we hadn’t spent years interpreting and reinterpreting the sacred texts, debating their true meanings and hidden mysteries…yet somehow,thissection of textmustbe completely accurate, according to the sisterhood. According to them, the contrahasto be a woman, so it couldn’t be Justice Bateen. They’re ridiculous!”

I frowned. “Is that why they’re trying to rebuild here on Halla? To strengthen themselves before a fight with the contra?”

“I guess that could be it. That, or they feel slighted because no one has paid them homage since they arrived here. Maybe both. I don’t know what they’re thinking anymore.”

The conversation felt like a dead end. “Where are we, anyway?” I wondered, glancing around.

“My home.”

“Your home is a ship?”

“Can you think of a faster way to get off of Halla?”

I shook my head. “If you leave Halla…wait, are you strong enough to leave Halla?”

She smirked. “I may have done it once or twice.”

“Damn, Omen, I had no idea.”

“Never underestimate a powerful woman, Jac.”

“I try not to. Why come back?”

She sighed. “I may be powerful, but even I have my limits. When you’re dead, Halla pulls at you when you leave. It’s the strangest sensation. Like when you try to separate magnets—you’re just drawn back here, until you’re born to the ether. Not physically, but mentally. I don’t know how else to describe it.”

“Hmm.” I felt the same way about getting back to Sarah and Deacon. “And your ship—when it’s your home, it’s an illusion?”

“Every conduit has her gifts.”

“Even some non-conduits do too, I’ve heard.” I didn’t mention the gifted Ladrians I knew.

She nodded once. “That’s true. What are you fishing around for, Jac?”

“I need to know if you would use your illusions or anything else to attack the contra.”

“Attack Justice Bateen?” She laughed. “If I get the chance, absolutely.”

I wasn’t sure if I should share what was on my mind, but I needed to know where her alliances were. “What if the contra wasn’t Justice Bateen? What if the other conduits are right, and it’s some alien conduit? Would you attack her?"I had to know, for Sarah’s safety and wellbeing.

"That’s an interesting question.” She pondered it for a moment. “But I would not. If there is someone who can stop the conduits’ reign of terror here, I would support that. Wholeheartedly. If you ever come across such a creature, let me know. I’ll be first in line to follow her.”

I tried to get a read on her, but Omen was too mysterious for me. “How can I know you’re telling me the truth?”

“You can’t. We’re not friends.”

“And if we were?”

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