[Quantum Gravity 03] -Going Under by Robson Justina

Author:Robson, Justina [Robson, Justina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-05-16T03:02:21+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

ila woke up on the futon mats that passed for a bed now that ordinary beds didn't support her weight anymore. She felt exhausted but the sun was high so she had to have been out a while. Her room was empty except for her and Zal, who was awake, sitting propped up against the wall, playing on a hand console. His face was set with concentration. She heard the tinny tune and pop of a game where all the characters were cute, big-eyed furry ninjas. Zal's character was a pink fluffy squirrel in a minidress and high boots who wielded a twohanded sword bigger than her entire body.

"Eee-cha!" said the squirrel repeatedly, slaying flying monkeys left and right, leaping from tree to tree in search of nuts.

"Homesick?" Lila asked, rolling onto her back and rubbing her face with both hands. She felt so sleepy she'd like to turn over and go back to oblivion, but she'd already spent too long on rest. A halfdigested super salad with mesquite chicken and avocado salsa shifted with sluggish acidity in her gut. She tried to swallow the nasty taste in her mouth and remembered all the faery beer she'd drunk.

"Haha," Zal said, losing concentration with his squirrel and falling off a log. His face was scraped down the side with a red graze, hair matted with mud on the ends. Mud caked his clothing and had started to fall off on the bedsheets.

"You fell off."

"Your bike doesn't hold the corners that well over a hundred. Not on wet gravel anyway. Just a small tumble."

"Is the bike ... ?"

"I bought you another one," he said, tossing the console aside. "It's on order, anyway. They don't stock them for some reason."

"Where's the old one?"

"In a field halfway to Frisco. Thanks, I'm fine."

He bent down and kissed her.

He felt rough and tough in his armour, and tasted of bruising and chilli. She decided she liked it and was just deciding that maybe they could spend another hour here when there was a knock on the door. She made to answer but Zal held her down and finished his kiss.

"It's only me," said Max's voice from the other side of the door. "I'm gonna make you some breakfast. Come down when you're ready. No rush."

Zal stared into her eyes with dark focus. "There's a lot of moth dust out there," he said. "One of them followed me out into the country, tried to swipe me when I came off the bike. It only veered off because it realised I was elf."

"Ah, faery kryptonite."

"At close range. How are they affecting you?"

"Me?" she yawned and did a systems check, sitting up suddenly appalled when she saw that she was twenty percent slow. "Actually ... not so good."

"Too much magic," he said. "Aether can really interfere with electronics at these magnitudes. I thought maybe the elementals would buffer it but I guess they can't block it all. It will be worse in Faery."

She watched his mouth moving as he spoke, noticing the sensual shapes his lips made.

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