The Ruby Celeste Series - Box Set, books 1 - 3: Ghost Armada, Dire Kraken, and Church of Ife

Author:Nicholas J. Ambrose [Ambrose, Nicholas J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-07-13T00:00:00+00:00

7

Knock-knock-knock.

Déjà vu told Francis, for just an instant as he awoke, that Tesla’s drone was fixed to the side of the ship. It was out there, peering in, tapping to get his attention.

And then the thought was snatched away as he realised it wasn’t the drone; it was Brie.

Don’t open it. You were stuck with her all yesterday. Just ignore her. Maybe she’ll go away.

But she knocked again, and Francis knew he was wrong. So he opened it.

And, of course, he was spending the day with her. Again.

Worse, she kept grabbing at his wrist.

At first it irked him. Now, as they waltzed through one of New Harlem’s many public gardens, she did it again and Francis paid more attention to the way she held him.

She’s not pulling me along, he realised all at once, gently retracting himself from her grasp. She’s trying to hold my hand.

Well. Wasn’t that a pleasant thought.

“Isn’t it pretty?” Brie asked. She gestured at a pond backed by vibrant pink cherry trees. Children threw bread to the long-billed birds sailing across the water’s surface, and parents sat on benches. A curved path arced to and fro, and couples drifted up and down, arm in arm. It was these Brie’s eyes fell most to.

Francis grimaced.

“Did you have trees like those?” Brie asked. “Down there?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow …”

Why does she sound impressed? They’re just trees! Trees are everywhere!

They walked on.

Brie had quieted, watching the far-off wanderers skirting the pond. In the wake of silence, Francis’s thoughts shifted. It had been in the back of his head all day, but Brie’s question served as a solid reminder: he was supposed to be trying to find out if anyone knew a way he might be able to get back to the surface. Instead he was being carted around by a seventeen-year-old blonde girl with the nervous disposition of a rodent.

A blonde girl who keeps going for my hand, he amended as her fingers wrapped around his wrist. Lower this time; a pinky was tucked delicately into the crook his palm made, before she again let go.

A hut loomed ahead, by the path.

Brie cried, “Oh!” She halted and waved to the nearest door; a restroom. “I just need—can you wait—”

Francis nodded. “See you in a moment.”

“Okay!”

She hurried off.

Offset half a dozen metres opposite was a bench. Francis wandered to it glumly, and sank down, crossing his legs.

Could he escape her? He had, after all, better things to do. And so did she! The other technicians had been more than willing to pick up her slack two days in a row. But she could be busy right now, checking in on the Harbinger when needed. Instead she’d extricated herself, and Francis was stuck.

He eyed the door she’d gone through. Could he make off now? He could hide behind a tree or bush, wait until she wandered past, and then make his way in the opposite direction. The morning was wasted, as well as the first two hours of the afternoon, but that didn’t mean the entire day was lost.

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