Free Dominion by John Connolly

don’t understand,” said Fara, and her voice was softened by sympathy. “It has already happened.”
    â€œThat’s not possible,” said Syl. “We would have heard about it. Syrene wouldn’t have been able to resist taunting me with it.”
    â€œAnd an evacuation of all Illyri personnel would have been required,” said Meia. “That was still only in its early stages when I left Earth with Syrene, and it will be a mammoth operation. It’ll take months, perhaps even a year. And I was monitoring all communications. Even if the infection of Earth had been imminent, I would have known. But the fact remains: none of that could have been achieved so quickly.”
    â€œTime,” said Fara. “It is not the same here.”
    â€œStop speaking in riddles!” snapped Paul. “Tell us what you mean! We have family on Earth, and friends. It’s our world, our species.”
    â€œAnd they are gone,” said Kal. “All gone.”
    â€œA higher gravitational field,” said Meia. “No, oh no . . .”
    â€œWhat?” said Paul. He looked at his brother. Steven had gone very pale. His chin was trembling, and Paul thought that he might cry.
    â€œTime passes more slowly in higher gravitational fields,” said Meia, “and the gravitational field surrounding the Derith wormhole is immense. But there is also the wormhole itself.”
    She looked to Fara for confirmation. Fara nodded.
    â€œOne mouth of this wormhole accelerates to near light speed, then reverses, but the other remains stationary,” Meia continued. “The moving mouth ages faster. We’re at the stationary one.”
    â€œSo time passes more slowly here,” said Syl.
    â€œHow much more slowly?” asked Paul.
    â€œWe don’t understand these things in the same way—” Kal began.
    â€œ How. Slowly ?” repeated Paul, and his tone brooked no argument.
    â€œA day on this side for a year on the other,” said Fara. “Approximately.”
    â€œWe’ve been here almost two days now,” said Steven. “So two years have gone by back on Earth?”
    â€œYes. Or thereabouts.”
    Steven leaped from his chair, his hands twitching frantically as if he was already at the controls of the Nomad . “We have to leave,” he shouted. “We have to get back.”
    Rizzo stood too, her hand automatically reaching for the holster where she normally kept a gun. Alis rose and joined them.
    â€œWe have to return!” said Rizzo, slapping in frustration at the empty holder on her hip.
    â€œReturn . . . and do what?” asked Kal.
    â€œHelp them!” said Steven. “What do you think?”
    â€œYou knew this?” said Paul to Kal and Fara. “You knew about the passing of time, yet you kept us here?”
    â€œWe saved you,” said Fara. “Without our intervention, your pursuers would have killed you. And we did not know about the Others’ plans for Earth until you told us.”
    â€œTwo days!” said Paul. He was shouting too now. “You marooned us for one day, and brought us here for the next, and for what?”
    â€œTo give us time,” said Fara. She did not seem even remotely troubled by Paul’s rage.
    â€œTime for what?”
    â€œTo decide whether or not to destroy you,” said Kal.
    It was Steven who cracked first. He lunged across the table at the Cayth, but he had barely stretched himself before cords of tissue snaked upward from the floor, holding him where he was. Rizzo tried to help him, but she too was gripped and held in place.
    â€œStop!” shouted Syl. “Everyone, please stop!”
    She reached out and took Paul’s hand, willing him to be calm so that he might in turn calm the others, then turned to Fara.
    â€œWe’re alive,” she said. “You let us live.”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œNow, will you let us