Sean Williams - Cataclysm 04 by The Devoured Earth

Author:The Devoured Earth
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

THE BETRAYAL

‘A golem doesn’t hate; it loathes. A golem doesn’t

love; it craves. A golem doesn’t hope; it schemes.

A golem doesn’t live; it only kills, and kills again.’

THE ROSLIN CODEX

W

hy are you in such a bad mood?’ Chu asked. Skender bit his tongue on the truth. Because he had barely had time to recover from the battle in the cavern before Marmion had sent them on a damn-fool mission that meant climbing halfway up the side of the crater wall and possibly flying to his death. Because Chu had seemed more worried about the wing when the Ice Eaters had brought it to her than she had about him. Because even now, although she was talking to him and although they had kissed as soon as it was clear Treya and the others were gone and only friendly Ice Eaters remained in the cavern, it felt to him like she was holding something back, something she didn’t want him to know.

You’re crazy, he told himself. She’s just stressed out and short a really good sleep, like the rest of us.

‘Why am I in a bad mood? Because this thing is heavy,’ he said. Somehow he had ended up carrying the pack, even though, being at the rear of the wing, it meant he was already bearing more than his fair share of weight. And with an injured arm, too. Yes, Chu had to keep an eye on the path; and yes, she had to concentrate on finding a good place to launch from; but still it irritated him.

‘Poor baby,’ she said. ‘That’s what I love about you. So stoic; so noble. Where most men would whine and complain, you bear your burden in silence. There should be more like you, I reckon.’

He blushed. She loves me…?

‘I don’t think the world could cope with more than one Skender Van Haasteren the Tenth,’ he said.

‘Yes, good point. The one I’ve got is already something of a handful.’ She glanced over her shoulder. Her white teeth flashed in the night. ‘Maybe I could trade up to a model that hasn’t been banged around quite so much.’

‘Bruises add character.’

‘No, scars add character. Bruises are just ugly.’

‘I’ve got some scars I could show you, too, if that’s what you want.’

‘Actually, what I really want is a long hot bath, a stiff drink, and a bit of a lie down. That would be ideal. Would you join me?’

‘If I could get my battered old body moving, sure.’ And there it was again: in her banter, a sad note he couldn’t quite decipher. She hadn’t been like that the last time he’d seen her on the balloon — or after the defeat of the Ice Eaters in the cavern. It had emerged since the climb, or earlier, during the meeting and Marmion’s speech. Was it something the warden had said?

Skender sometimes regretted having an eidetic memory, but it was perfect for occasions when his mind had been wandering. While he had concentrated more on the feel of Chu’s

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