Zoe Archer - [Ether Chronicles 03] by Skies of Gold

Author:Skies of Gold [Gold, Skies of]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

* * *

Kali came instantly awake the moment someone’s hand touched her shoulder.

“Easy.” Fletcher’s voice, low in the darkness.

She shoved herself upright, heedless of the blanket pooling at her waist. “What’s going on? Are we under attack?” She fumbled with her prosthetic leg, kept just beneath her bed.

“No attack. We’re safe.”

She rubbed the heels of her palms into her eyes. “What time is it?”

Shadows still veiled the cabin, and she could just make out Fletcher’s tall, broad outline as he paced to the window. “Almost time,” he said cryptically.

“For what?”

He turned back to her. She felt more than saw his gaze linger on her, particularly where the blanket revealed she was wearing only a chemise.

“Get dressed,” he rasped. “Meet me topside in ten minutes.”

“But—”

Then he was gone.

She’d half a mind to go back to sleep. The dream had been so blessedly pleasant. Well, pleasant didn’t quite cover it. She and Fletcher had been lying in a grove of mango trees, feeding each other dripping slices of fruit and licking the juice off their skin. They’d been growing quite sticky, and all around them had been not birdsong but a raga yaman, the lush, lilting music of the evening.

She’d just been sucking mango juice off of Fletcher’s stomach when the real Fletcher had awakened her. Likely for something far less enjoyable than her dream. Perhaps one of the battery relays she’d rigged up had broken and needed repair. Though why it couldn’t wait until morning, she had no idea. And none of the relays were on the top deck. The whole thing was an irritating mystery.

If she lingered in bed, he’d certainly come back to fetch her. And not to recreate her dream. Muttering, she lit a lamp and pulled on her clothes. Checking her timepiece, she saw it was just past six in the morning.

It was damned chilly in the cabin, her breath misting in front of her as she fastened on her prosthesis. After slipping on her boots, throwing on her cloak, and grabbing her tool belt, she left the cabin. She carried a lamp with her, since none in the passageways had been lit. At least the corridors were cleaner and straighter now than when she’d first arrived, and she had less risk of tripping and snapping her neck.

She climbed the companionway stairs leading to the top deck. Despite her cloak, it was bitter cold. The sky was still full black, except for the pale edge of ash on the eastern horizon. She scanned the deck, looking for Fletcher. Beyond the circle of light thrown by the lantern, she just made out his silhouette standing near what had been the central support column for the ship’s main ether tank. Some other objects stood near him, but it was too dark to make out what they were.

Still muttering to herself, she crossed the deck to him. “All right, what needs fixing?” she grumbled.

He frowned at her. “Nothing.”

“Then why drag me out of bed at an hour fit only for bakers and dipsomaniacs?”

He glanced at the object beside him.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.