The Silver Arm: A Science Fiction Retelling of Beauty and the Beast (Rove City Book 3) by Ariele Sieling

Author:Ariele Sieling [Sieling, Ariele]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-02-01T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 8

MAYBELLE DIDN’T CHANGE after Sedna dropped her off. She had no intention of playing their games—whatever games they were. She washed her face and prowled around the room for a few minutes, searching for anything she might have missed before—secret drawers, tools, anything that might be useful. Nothing. Finally, she tried the handle on the door. It was unlocked.

She slid the door open slowly and peered out into the hallway. No one was visible. No bots, either. Leaving the door unlocked must have been a mistake, unless they expected her to find wherever dinner was supposed to be on her own. Cameras lined the hall, though, so she supposed it didn’t really matter—they could see where she was going and stop her if she went somewhere they didn’t like.

She exited the room, slid the door shut behind her, and turned left, striding confidently down the hallway. She had seen this type of ship before. They were large ships that tailed the city. They often provided transport services or shipping between the city and nearby planets. Sometimes, the Queen would hire them to hold prisoners when the city’s dungeons were full, or, other times, people who wished to immigrate to the city would live on board one of these vessels until their case was heard. Still others were filled with pirates, bandits, and any other number of unsavory people. She had a feeling Amarok and his sister were likely of the unsavory variety.

The ship probably had close to ten levels, the bottom being where smaller vessels could dock, and the higher levels where people lived and slept. Somewhere in the middle she would find storage, kitchens, and living areas. But what she was most interested in was the bridge, the place they controlled the ship from. Maybe she could hijack it. Maybe she could take over. Maybe, just maybe, she could steer the ship home. Somehow. Or call for help. Or anything.

She tried the handle of a door on her right. Locked. She continued down the hallway, trying door after door. They were all locked. Of course. They let her out of her room, probably to see what she would do. They were probably watching her every move. And they had locked anywhere they didn’t want her to poke into. She paused and thought for a moment. Maybe she could find something down in the workroom to help her break in—for example, maybe one of the damaged robots had a functioning keycard still attached.

She sighed and headed back toward the elevator, where she was surprised to see Quirk rolling down the corridor toward her.

“Hello, Mistress.”

“What are you doing here?” she asked. “I told you to quarantine.”

“I was looking for you,” Quirk replied.

“Why?”

“We’re friends.”

She frowned at the little bot and then pointed at the door she had been trying to break into. “Can you open this?”

Quirk rolled forward and held out a small key with a computer chip attached. Maybelle raised her eyebrows and reached out to take it. She held it against the key scanner, and the door slid open.

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