Page 43 of Vicious
“One, two,three.”
A strange ticking sounded at the back of my throat, not quite a whimper, but something more guttural. I’d seen her do this before when I hid in the infirmary cupboards aboard theNebulouson an old man dying. But not here. Not Randolph. I tried to swallow, but ended up choking back amoan.
Captain Glenn stepped cautiously past me, his eyes wide as he neared the impossible scene. “Ellison?”
She shook her head fiercely, and strands loosened themselves from her braid. “No.” That was all she said, her voice coated with tears, as if that one word could changeeverything.
No.
He knelt next to Randolph’s head, his eyes shining bright as he moved his gaze from him to her. “I need you to tell me whathappened.”
She stopped pushing at his chest and hung her head, her shoulders hitching. I wished I could go to her, but I wouldn’t be able to cross that distance withoutimploding.
“He said he wanted to cook something or he’d go mad. Like a dessert. He tried one of the heatherberries to see if it was ripe.” She glanced behind her, likely searching for me, with tears tracking down herface.
The sorrow behind her gaze buckled the truth into place with a painfulclick. I shook my head while my heart snappedopen.
“And he dropped dead,” shecontinued.
“Jesus.” Mase stepped closer and took myhand.
“Poison?” Captain Glenn stood quickly, wiping his hand over his jaw as he gazed at the stasis pantry door at the back of thekitchen.
“It looks that way.” Ellison stood to face me and squeezed her eyes shut. “If it had been someone else who ate it… If it had beenallof us… I’m sorry, Absidy. I know how much he meant toyou.”
I nodded, the movement jerky and unnatural. I couldn’t rip my gaze away from Randolph’s two left shoes, one beige and oneblack.
“I’m sure you did all you could, Ellison.” Captain Glenn gazed at us standing in the doorway. “We have to assume our whole food supply waspoisoned.”
A deep, bone-chilling silence penetrated the room as we all were likely thinking the same thing. We couldn’t land anywhere with Parker so close on our tail, we weren’t allowed through the rings, our outside communications were jammed, and we had no edible food. One of these things had togive.
Mase slid around me and treaded slowly into the kitchen, his head bowed. “Captain, we need to move the—” He glanced over his shoulder at me and winced. “We need to move Randolph somewheresafe.”
Captain Glenn nodded. “The stasispantry.”
They covered him up with an old burlap sack from head to both left shoes, and once Mase gently guided Ellison away, they hefted him up and walked him into the weird blue light in the pantry as if it were a gateway into the nextlife.
He didn’t need me for that, not that this came as a surprise or a disappointment. But I would miss his need for me, period. I would misshim.
I hoped they settled him next to his wine, next to the very thing he’d finally found an escape from in death. If I’d been able to speak around the knot in my throat, I would’ve made sure ofit.
A light touch skimmed over my elbow. “Sit with me,” Mase said, his voicegentle.
I followed him into the dining room, only because I didn’t know what else to do, and sat on his lap while he held me close. The others drifted in quietly, their shared gloom constricting my chest even tighter. Half the crew had seen more death on this ship lately than we cared to. If we didn’t warn the rest of humanity about the Saelis, we would see a lotmore.
Ellison started around Mase’s chair to her usual spot at the gurney, and as soon as she sat, I reached for her hand, unable to look at her grief-stricken face, but needing her reassuring touch anyway. She gripped my hand tightly, but her concerned gaze aimed behind her at Poh by the hallwaydoor.
“I can look at that for you,” Ellisonsaid.
“No.” Poh gripped her wounded arm tighter and glanced at the ship’s map on the wall. The red dot seemed to be hovering between the second and third floors. “It’s just a graze. It’sfine.”
“Do you know Randolph’s family, Absidy?” Captain Glenn asked, checking the map before he lowered himself into hischair.
Moon Dragon. She’d said he was her uncle, but not really her uncle, which I still didn’t fully understand. I would have to tell her.Somehow.
I nodded at the captain since Moon would know the rest of his family. I just needed to get ahold ofher.
Mase touched his lips gently to my tears. “I’m sorry,Absidy.”
