House of Fate by Barbara Ann Wright

Author:Barbara Ann Wright [Wright, Barbara Ann]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781626397798
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2017-08-14T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

They docked quickly, and Judit, Annika, Noal, and Spartan gathered near the hatch on the bottom of the Damat. They’d have to descend a ladder into the station airlock, which would be a bit tricky if they had to leave in a hurry.

Judit had filled Annika in while Noal and Spartan had gotten ready. Since the primary function of the Damat had been to ferry Noal from place to place, he had quite a wardrobe on board. He was dressed in what he probably thought of as a modest suit, electric blue, but it had a thin covering of nanosheen that changed color ever so subtly. It might take an hour to make the transition to emerald green, the color of his cravat. A large diamond pin held the cravat in place, and similar diamonds winked from the cuffs of his jacket.

Instead of the ragtag suit he’d been wearing when he came aboard, Spartan was now in one of Noal’s suits, a comfier affair with wider legs and shoulders, probably to accommodate his slightly larger frame. His shirt hung open at the collar low enough to show a smattering of blond chest hair. He’d rolled his sleeves up almost to his elbows. To Judit’s unpracticed eye, he looked sloppy, but Noal had no doubt dressed him to send some sort of message. Maybe it was “This is my slovenly—though expensively so—associate who handles my initial contacts.”

Judit stayed in uniform. When he saw her, Noal sighed but didn’t say anything aloud. He gave Annika a grateful nod. She didn’t have any of her elaborate gowns on board, but she’d paired the military trousers Judit had loaned her with a bright pink shirt she borrowed from Dr. Sewell. She wore her hair down but fashionably swept to the side, and she’d taken Noal up on his offer of cosmetics and jewelry. She wore a platinum earring that curved around her left ear and a sapphire stud in her right. The makeup was subtle, like Noal’s, but it softened her cheekbones and features. Maybe such artistry was why Judit had never considered her dangerous before.

A disturbing thought.

Evie accompanied them to the station. She would wait outside the appointed restaurant, though the sound dampening would also deaden her comm. She was another pair of eyes to look for trouble, and someone who could fight if it came to it. Noal seemed confident they wouldn’t need any help, but Judit would only take so many chances.

When they were all aboard the Scipio, Annika hooked her arm through Judit’s as if they were taking a stroll. She hadn’t added anything to the plan, and Judit wondered if she’d have played it the same way, or if she would have threatened her way through. She had too many qualities of both Noal and Judit to be sure.

The restaurant was on the topmost floor of the station, halfway between the Damat’s pylon and the bay where smaller ships docked on the Scipio’s side. Strategically, it was the sort of place Judit would have chosen, and she bet Antiles picked it for the same reason.

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