Timediver's Dawn by L. E. Modesitt Jr

Author:L. E. Modesitt, Jr.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates
Published: 1992-05-15T04:00:00+00:00

XXXIV.

I slept for most of the day, because it was late afternoon when I finally woke out of some nightmare I could not remember.

“You’re finally awake.” Mellorie’s voice was a welcome relief. “You must have had some strange dreams.”

“How long have you been here? Did I say anything?”

“Not long,” she laughed softly. “You are suspicious.” She paused, then uncrossed her legs, and moved from the chair to the bed next to me, running her fingers over my bare shoulders. “You were groaning, and I was about to wake you.”

She wasn’t saying something, but her fingers felt good kneading out the stiffness. So I waited.

Mellorie’s hands stopped, and she put her arm around me and squeezed before letting go. “Your mind is somewhere else.”

I nodded, stifling a yawn. “On food…”

“And?”

“I still have to find out how effective…my efforts…were…”

Mellorie stood up, not exactly looking at me or out the window, or anywhere. “Just what were you doing this morning, Sammis?”

“Killing people.”

“Be serious.”

“I am being serious. I killed some of the people who were killing our troops. I just don’t know how many.”

“The other ConFeds?” She was wearing a dark blue tunic and trousers, with matching, if scuffed, blue boots.

“You’ve heard about them?”

“They’re the real ConFeds, aren’t they?”

“Both groups are real. The others were in Eastron and did all the dirty work, though. At least from what I can tell.”

“I hope you killed them all.” Her voice wasn’t husky. It was hard. “I hope you killed every single one of them.”

The coldness of her words gave me a shiver, even as she turned to look directly out the window.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked.

“No.”

“Are you certain?”

“I’m very certain, Sammis. Don’t ever ask me again. Not if you care one bit for me.” She still kept her face from me.

“That was why I asked…”

“I understand. But…just don’t ask.”

“All right. I won’t.” I slowly swung my feet onto the floor.

“If you don’t mind…I don’t feel well…” Her voice was brittle as well as hard. “I’ll see you later.” She walked to the door and let herself out without looking back.

Whatever had happened to her at the hands of the ConFeds was internal, or long ago, because there weren’t any scars on her body. Scars on her soul—that was something else.

The light outside was dimming as another late afternoon storm built up.

The door Mellorie had left ajar blew shut with a gust that also brought the odor of rain into my room.

I was hungry, again. So I looked around. While I had been sleeping, someone had removed the tray and its dishes and replaced it with some fruits—chyst and pearapple—and cheese, flanked by a small pile of biscuits. I sat down at the desk, uncomfortable chair and all, and ate every last bit, alternating the biscuits and cheese with the fruit.

A hot shower in the antique tiled stall remedied some of the lingering stiffness. After toweling myself dry, I pulled on another undress uniform. Despite my growing dislike of the uniforms, I had nothing else to wear.

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