“You have news,” he says.
“The man who owned the ship that brought Chrys here, he’s called Atker.”
Dread through the bond makes my stomach twist, and I look at him, surprised at the pallor of his yellow skin. “What do you know?”
“I know that that’s not what we called him.”
CHRYS
I’m early, so when Risk leaves me at the cafe, I once again tellPaisley that I left Kissu at home.
“I really thought you’d bring him in this time,” Paisley says it like we’re friends and she’s disappointed, but her face betrays her.
“Sorry. He’s very stubborn.”
She scowls sharply, and I try to ignore it. “I’m meeting my friend again, so I’ll just be over here waiting.”
I sit on one of the sofas where I’m promptly buried in zurgles who want to sniff every inch of me. A few inquisitive chirps follow.
If Kissu can understand me, I assume these ones can too.
“His name is Kissu,” I tell them. “He’s very big and he’s very old, and I love him to pieces.”
I spend the intervening minutes before Mary’s arrival telling them all how pretty they are and scratch their ears where Kissu likes.
When the door opens, I lose their attention completely and they jump away to investigate. But that’s okay. I need to stand up anyway.
“Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiii,” Mary hugs me tight and rocks me almost in a dance. “You’re bonded!”
“I am! Sorry it took so long to get the paperwork in.”
“Believe me, I understand.” She gives me a knowing smile and steps back, looking me over like she’s taking measurements. Not sure I like that.
“Just us again?” I ask.
“For the moment,” she rolls her eyes but doesn’t actually look annoyed. “Wren is running a little late. She was out with her sponsor, but she’ll be here in a few minutes, so let’s grab a table. Oh! She’s not here.”
I look behind the counter where the waitress is supposed to be. “She was a few minutes ago.”
“Oh well, she probably had to run to the back for something. We’ll sit and talk until she reappears.” Mary chuckles. “And if she doesn’t come back, I think I know how to work that machine.”
That machine is enormous, has far too many knobs and levers, and looks like it would kill me if it fell on me.
Even if she can work it, I’d rather leave it to a trained professional.
“Or…” I counteroffer, “We’ll harness up one of the zurgles and hunt her down.”
She laughs again as we go to a booth in the corner. “I bet if we got them all hooked up, they could move the whole building.”
“I would like to see that.” I sit, looking around at them—waiting, watching us—and ask, “Why are there so many of them? It doesn’t seem like they’re very busy.”
“That is because I timed this meetingverycarefully. In two hours, you wouldn’t be able to find a seat.”
Movement outside catches my eye and I glance out to the sidewalk. I almost tell Mary I’ve found the waitress, but she’s arguing with a Sian and something about him unsettles me. I watch as he responds dismissively.
Maybe that’s all it is.
Then he turns his head just enough that I can see his face.
