Reign of the Colossus by Grotepas Nicole

Author:Grotepas, Nicole
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-01-30T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Darius cursed a few times.

A lot.

A string of curses that would make the most hardened factory worker on Paradise blush.

A few hours after leaving to knock on the doors of strangers, Holly stepped into the foyer of the Surge Club and the rush of wind and snow hit their backs, pushing them into the warmth of the club.

The glow of the amber light was inviting. The sounds of customers laughing, the clinking of silverware, the pleasant music of the band on the stage, and Charly behind the bar helping Torden fill orders, all struck a sense of comfort in Holly.

It was bittersweet.

“What a waste of time.” Darius rounded off his cloud of vitriol as they wove through the crowd of patrons.

“Now’s when I tell you to look on the bright side, right?” Holly said.

She caught Charly’s concerned glance and held it, then shook her head that they hadn’t found what they’d gone looking for.

Disappointment crossed the club owner’s expression. Torden caught the interaction and a shadow fell over his violet complexion.

“I’m starting to worry that my parameters for narrowing down which asshole vinyl collector it would be were totally off.” His voice echoed in the stairwell. The music and noises of the club proper followed them up the into the Bird’s Nest.

Holly shut the door at the top of the stairs—something she rarely did, or ever wanted to.

Inside the Bird’s Nest, she made a beeline to the bar along the far wall and started some kasé brewing. She opened a bottle of bourbon and poured it into a tumbler and swallowed a mouthful.

“Hey there, lady, you want to slow that down?” Darius asked, noticing her frenzied actions.

“I’m fine.” She wasn’t.

Their lack of leads meant they’d be traveling to Joppa as soon as possible. She’d already decided as much on the way back from their recon and investigative door-knocking. It was a long shot. So far, she could see entire solar systems standing between herself and her goals before she could see the end result of her goal.

“Call Trip, Darius.” If Trip couldn’t help them immediately, who knew what they’d do?

“‘Call Trip, please, Darius.’”

The brewing kasé filled the room with comforting fragrances. Not that they worked on Holly at the moment. Darius took her order lightly—perhaps realizing she was at the end of her rope—and pulled out his communicator as he slumped into an armchair.

Holly’s communicator buzzed in her pocket and she had the strange thought that he’d accidentally called her.

She answered. The voice that came through was unexpected.

“Holly Drake. Thorn in my side.”

Magna. A chill like a knife stabbed Holly’s heart. “Speaking.”

“Missing someone?”

Holly bit her lip.

“He hasn’t stopped humming since I got him.”

Emotion wouldn’t make the job easier. She fought back the avalanche of rage. She put steel in her own voice. “He’s smart.”

“Maybe, maybe not. I have heard that a Yasoan can’t live long without food. Some races can, as long as they have water. But Yasoan who are attempting self-healing, not so much.”

She didn’t want to know why he was attempting self-healing.

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