Andromeda's Guardian by Debra Jess

Author:Debra Jess
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781648981104
Publisher: City Owl Press

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Mayla’s name wasn’t on the list. Tohva swiped the holo closed, the tight clench of his stomach not easing up one bit. How many times did he suffer through the tease of anticipation that this time he’d find her? Of course, he still couldn’t escape his hope, because the list was incomplete. Half the puppets didn’t have names, just a number designation and a nickname. Part of him wanted to demand a tour of the colony so he could see each and every puppet still working for the director.

Another part of him wanted a drink strong enough to drown his sorrow and spend some time alone on the deck doing nothing more than staring into the distance. The view begged him to watch the aves swoop in the wind and apidux stingers crawl over the box gardens looking for a sweet drink.

A third part of him wanted to find Io and bring her back to bed. The longer they were separated, the more his fingers itched to touch her soft skin, wrap a curl from her hair around his finger and let it spring free. Even though Uhla strategically separated them into their own quarters for the dozen or so hours they were on board his ship, it didn’t matter. Without access to the computers, or the bridge, or any place other than the wardroom, he and Io mostly spent time snacking while under guard. Well, he snacked, while Io talked. Her voice had a lilt that traversed the musical scale, making his emotions fall into her rhythm, her pace.

Under the watchful eye of Uhla’s guards, they had kept their conversation simple and focused on finding her missing sister. Watching the guards listen as Io talked about sneaking into various Manitac facilities by using techniques she learned from the holos must have sounded anywhere on the scale of pathetic to hysterically funny.

Tohva didn’t care about the guards or how much of their discussion got back to Uhla. He’d guessed correctly that once Uhla got to Dawn’s Landing and was given a new assignment from the Shadows, he’d forget about his former spy and the Guardian he’d picked up along the way. It was the best outcome, but it still upset him to realize just how little Uhla had cared about Tohva’s life.

How could anyone live with themselves by not caring about the people under their command? Tohva couldn’t, but in Uhla’s book that was a personal failing.

Grabbing a plate, Tohva found containers of cooked noodles, vegetables, and some sort of green goop in the pseudo-entropy chamber. Bringing the food out on the deck, he ate faster than he’d intended, mostly because it tasted better than ship’s rations. Overhead, Dawn warmed him, and as he ate, his pent-up grief slowly unwound. He couldn’t look directly at Dawn, but seeing the sky brighten and the landscape come alive, he had to wonder about the creature that lived in the center of the star.

Was she like Io, curious as a felion and

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