Spiraling by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Goodreads: 39705407
Publisher: Serial Box
Published: 2018-05-23T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7

Takeshi

Takeshi couldn’t hear Michiko’s conversation with Galanis, but he watched the body language of the two women, and Galanis’s companions. The Vanians went from bored, to annoyed, to interested. So: Michiko had the sense not to start by insulting Galanis. It would have gotten her a duel, but not an entry point into Apolytoi circles.

After a moment, Galanis belted up her gown to a more practical length for fighting and led Michiko over to Phaedra Kouris, the ringmistress. Kouris entered them into her book, and Takeshi settled in to wait. It wouldn’t take long; Kouris had a habit of prioritizing Vanians, especially Apolytoi, who wanted to fight.

“Are you going to place a bet?”

He recognized the voice without turning around. “I never bet, Joshi. You know that.”

She leaned against the wall next to his seat, arms folded. Her gaze was on the stage, not him. “Yes, but this seems to be an unusual night. Friend of yours?”

It wasn’t a real question—not when she asked in that tone of voice. But Takeshi was never sure just how much Joshi knew, and how much she was pretending to know in order to lure someone else into spilling more than they should.

He said, “If you want to bet, be my guest. I’d put my money on the newcomer.” Galanis was good, but not in Michiko’s league.

Joshi merely shrugged. “I came by to see how you’re doing. You haven’t been at the clinic much lately.”

Training with Kris had eaten into Takeshi’s spare time. He still couldn’t believe he’d told them the truth—that he didn’t have a birthright. Even Joshi didn’t know, though he sometimes wondered if she suspected. They’d been friends since Takeshi first arrived on Twaa-Fei, as the junior warder to Fuwa no Yae. Joshi was a native of the tiered city, and the reason Takeshi had gotten involved with the clinic on the lower island, lending his medical knowledge to the work they did for Twaa-Fei’s poor.

There was no reproach in her tone, but Takeshi still felt guilty. “I’m sorry. Things have been … Well, there was the Gauntlet, and now we’re all adjusting to having a seventh warder. And then this business with the trade fleet—you heard about that?”

This time he was sure her nod wasn’t a pretense. “Is that why your friend is down here, delivering a very tidy thrashing to a Vanian officer?”

Takeshi’s attention had wandered badly. Michiko and Galanis had taken the stage, and true to Joshi’s description, Michiko had the upper hand. She could have won by now, he suspected, but she was holding back so as not to humiliate Galanis, who’d clearly had more to drink than she should have. The Vanian birthright didn’t do anything to mitigate the effects of alcohol. When Galanis bore down, Michiko evaded and counterattacked only once, a cut to the knee that was easily parried. If she’d pressed, she could have put Galanis back on her heels, off-balance and easy prey.

Takeshi might not be very good at focusing in his own battles, but he was perfectly able to analyze other people’s.

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