Page 29 of Vicious
“On it,” she said and followed afterhim.
I hated not trusting Randolph. I hated not trusting my own sister who sat me down and dunked a napkin into a water glass to clean the blood off the side of myface.
“Tell me what happened,” she demanded. “What was the Ring Guild talking about when they said we had seven people on board? Did you see something? What did this toyou?”
“I didn’t seeanything.”
“Then what did this to you? Aghost?”
“I’m not sure.” I gazed up at her and winced under her touch. “Have you been in the room at the end of this hallwaylately?”
Captain Glenn barged in out of breath. “Did you all hear? I needed to make sure you heard what I did because Icouldn’t—”
“Absidy.” Mase shoved past him through the door to my side. “What the hell happened? Are you allright?”
I reached out for him automatically, and he folded my hands into his. “I’ve been better. Captain, we heard. Sevenpeople.”
“Seven lifeforms,” Poh corrected as she re-entered from thekitchen.
Behind her, Randolph came through with an armful of towels and unloaded them on top of the table in front of Ellison. She knelt by my side to clean and patch me up for the thousandth time in my life while Poh guarded the hallway door and Captain Glenn and Randolph took their usualseats.
Randolph tipped two drops out of the wine bottle into his glass then ran a hand over his bloodshot, watery eyes. “Are you all right?” he asked, his chinwobbling.
His concern speared into my chest. “I’ll be fine. Really. This is why, if you believe in that sort of thing, fate gave me a doctor for asister.”
Mase sank into the chair next to me, his elbow on the table, his worried gaze pinned to me. “What happened? Were youattacked?”
I nodded. “I was in the airvents.”
Ellison paused to gaze at me, her gray eyes so much like mine, appearing tired but normal, like my sister really was in there and in fullcontrol.
“Why?” she asked as she pressed a towel to the side of myface.
“The grating was gone over the one in the Vicious room, the room at the end of the hallway, and there was a chair with your smock on it. Did you leave itthere?”
“No.” She frowned. “It’s in theinfirmary.”
“What made you climb in the air vent?” Maseasked.
“I was trying to find the source of Ellison’s scream, and I heard a noise.” I twitched my mouth at Randolph across the table. “I smelled river beans when I wasinside.”
Randolph swirled the tiny bit of wine in his glass and ducked his head. “I got to the top of the elevator from the air vent in my room. With the amount of terror I experienced on my first night on this ship, I learned pretty quick that I can squeeze into anything, probably even a bikini.” He held up a hand. “I apologize for thatimage."
"We’ll need to take a look at it," Captain Glennsaid.
Randolph tossed the wine drops into his mouth. "Mybikini?"
Captain Glenn heaved a sigh, his breath clouding in front of him, and closed his eyes. "The airvent."
“Of course.” Randolph’s hand trembled when he set his glass backdown.
“What else, Absidy?” Captain Glenn asked, his voice soft but commanding at the same time. “Did you see anything? Anything at all that would explain why we have an unaccounted lifeform on ourship?”
“And why it sounds like me, if that’s what we heard.” Ellison pressed a towel into a particularly deep cut behind my ear where my chains must’ve gouged my scalp during my head’s meeting with thechair.
I winced. “Something grabbed me in the air vent, but I got away by jumping down and cracking my head in the process. I didn’t see a thing. But I was bleeding and nothing attacked like a rabid animal with glowing green eyes. So I don’t think it’s a Saelishybrid.”
Mase rubbed at his stubbled jaw. “Maybe we picked up a stowaway onOrin.”
