Page 46 of Seven Oars
“We were hiking.”
He cocked his head.
She faltered. “No, we were… going.”
He cocked his head the other way.
Alyesha’s face paled, and she moistened her lips. “We were… we were…”
Panic overtook her. Her face lost all color as she frantically struggled to find the right Universal words.
“We were exploring the station, Striker,” Rosamma came to her rescue.
Predictably, his focus shifted to her. She could taste his displeasure.
“I wasn’t talking to you.”
She tensed, anticipating pain and death, in this exact order.
“My apologies, Striker.” Her voice was reed-thin, breaking. “I only wish to help my friend Alyesha translate.”
She kept her eyes fixed on his angular, scarred face still cloaked in shadow.
In the Habitat, the “music” started. Raised voices and laughter carried from the passageway.
“Shift change time,” the Striker murmured. “You should attend to your duties, Ucai.”
Ucai didn’t linger, but the way he brushed past the Striker spelled out things he left unsaid.
Ucai resented Fincros and was afraid of him.
Same here, brother,Rosamma thought with a touch of hysteria.
The Striker beckoned Alyesha to come closer. “Why did you leave the Cargo Hold?”
“We were looking for… looking for…” she stammered.
“We wanted to see where we were,” Rosamma whispered. She could see her breath as she spoke; that’s how cold it was in here.
The Striker stepped deeper into the Meat Locker, crowding her.
She dropped her eyes as her chest grew tight from holding her breath.
“Stop shaking,” he snapped.
“Yes, Striker.”
She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to hide her body’s reaction to the cold and to him.
“Can we?” Alyesha cut in.
Just like that, the oppressive weight of his attention lifted. “Can you what?”
“Leave the Cargo Hold?”
He gave a one-shouldered shrug as his dark, sharp teeth caught the flicker of lamplight. A monster’s grin.
“Yes.”
