Page 4 of On a Barbarian World

He winked. “A good trader never gives the game away.”

Rogue. “Okay, I’m off to my quarters.”

Aurina traveled down several decks, heading to her cabin. She was going to override the water-saving timer on the shower and take a long one. She’d earned it. The damn thing was mostly mist anyway.

She rounded a corner and nearly mowed down a tiny body. “Hey there.” She grabbed the small girl’s shoulders to steady her.

“Hi, Aurina.”

The girl, about eight years old, had a wide grin on her face. She had skin the color of deep space, eyes that glowed green like the emerald Justyn had said he wanted, and adorable hair that was all corkscrew curls. “What are you doing down here, Tamra?”

The girl’s grin morphed into an annoyed frown. “I’m playing hide-and-seek with Rock. But I can’t find him. He’s too big and he always wins.”

Aurina crouched down to the girl’s level. “It isn’t about size or age, sweetheart. You have special skills that he doesn’t. You just have to use them to find him.”

The girl’s face screwed up as she pondered that. “Like what special skills?”

“Well, you know I’m a scout, right?”

The girl nodded.

“So, I use my observation skills to be a really good scout. You have to look all around and notice the things that other people miss.”

“Okay,” the girl said slowly. She glanced down the hall. “But I don’t see anything, and I don’t see Rock.”

Aurina tapped the girl’s nose. “Don’t use your eyes. Everyone does that. Close them and concentrate.”

Tamra’s big eyes closed.

“Take a deep breath. Notice anything now?”

“It’s a bit cold in here.”

Aurina laughed. “So it is. Dare likes to keep it cool. What else?”

“I can smell you.” Her nose wrinkled. “You smell like daddy does after he’s been working at the factory.”

Sweaty, in other words. Aurina knew Tamra’s parents were from the impoverished manufacturing world of Mancha. Not so different from her homeworld. Tamra’s father was heavily enhanced to make him better at factory work—metallic arms to make him stronger and faster. Knowing their kids were destined for the same, hard menial work and a life of enhancements to keep up with other workers, they’d saved up for passage on the Phoenix Convoy. Hoping for a better life somewhere else.

“What else do you smell?” Aurina asked.

“Flowers.”

The last of Aurina’s perfume. “Anything else?”

“Loxian candy.”

She tapped the girl’s nose again, and Tamra opened her eyes. “And who likes to eat Loxian candy?”

“Rock!”

The girl spun, sniffed, and then raced over to a storage locker built into the wall. She yanked it open, and her ten-year-old brother tumbled out. “Found you!”

“Aurina helped you,” Rock said. “That’s cheating!”

“She didn’t. I smelled you. I have special skills.”

Aurina stood and ruffled both the kids’ hair. “I think you might find it a bit harder to hide from her next time. Now, your mother is probably looking for you both. Go.” She shooed them off, and they waved and giggled as they ran down the corridor.