Kinsman's Oath by Susan Krinard

Author:Susan Krinard
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Open Road Media
Published: 2020-09-01T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Charis blinked. “Ser Ronan. I—” She glanced around the cabin. “I had to see you. But I seem … I seem to have forgotten—”

“Will you sit?” he asked. “I have little to offer, but I have kept this cake from the morning meal. You have not eaten today.”

“As a matter of fact, I—” She sat down heavily, legs sprawled, and dropped the passcard onto the bunk. “Captain said the Dharmans tried to do something to your mind and we had to get you away. You all right?”

“Very well, thank you.” He unwrapped the cake in its napkin and presented it. “I wished to express my admiration for your extraordinary skill in maintaining such a vessel.”

“Thanks.” She took a bite of the cake with obvious pleasure. “This isn’t bad. They’re always nagging me to eat down in engineering, but I forget—” Her brow wrinkled, and she pinched the bridge of her nose. “I had something important to tell you, but damned if it hasn’t slipped my mind.”

“Perhaps when we reach Persephone,” he said, “you can tell me more of your world.”

“Be glad to. Goddess knows I’m happy to help anyone who’s been through what you have.” She finished the cake and dusted her fingers on her shipsuit. “Well, I have to apologize. My memory just isn’t what it used to be when I was younger—but it’s enough to get this bucket of bolts around, I guess.” She stood, and her hand felt for the passcard.

You don’t need it, Ronan suggested. It is necessary only for emergencies. This is not an emergency.

Charis froze, staring at the bulkhead. Then she shook her head and blinked one of her eyes in a gesture humans used to indicate shared secrets.

“Well,” she said, “I hope it works out between you and the captain. I’d better get back to work.” Leaving the passcard on the bunk, she strolled out of the cabin. Ronan quickly closed the door and dropped the passcard in his pocket. He did not entirely leave Charis’s mind until she had reached engineering, spoken to the marine on duty, and returned to her console. It was, for her, as if nothing had happened.

Sickness overwhelmed him. He fell to his knees on the deck and clutched his stomach, which threatened to spill its meager contents. A pounding darkness crouched behind his eyelids.

He had succeeded. Charis wouldn’t notice the absence of the card until she needed it again—unlikely, since retinal scans were usually sufficient for access to every restricted portion of the ship. She would simply assume she’d misplaced it.

But it was Ronan’s way in, once he got past the marine at the door. He must act quickly to gather information before the ship arrived at Persephone.

Without a few hours of rest, he would be useless for such an operation. He crawled to his bunk and fell across it, summoning the Way to hold his unruly gut in check. He slept, and when he awoke again it was to the wail of sirens.

The clock by Ronan’s bunk showed that several hours had passed.

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