FIFTEEN
“SO THIS IS LIMBO,” I said, looking around. I wasn’t much impressed.
“The word ‘limbo’ is a mortal term used by some religions to express the concept of the Akasha, something most people have difficulty understanding,” the small boy next to me said as we walked down a rocky hillside. He waved his hand at the sparse landscape around us. “The Akasha is more than limbo. It is a place few visit, and from which even fewer return.”
“Really? What sorts of things do people have to do to get sent here?”
The boy’s face gave away no emotion. “The Akasha is a place of punishment, Portia Harding. The ultimate place of punishment. To my memory, the sovereign has granted respite from its confines to only three people.”
“Only three in that many millions of years?” I shivered. “Right, so note
