6
(Terraday)
.
“Mommy? Why aren’t we home? You said we’d be home last night,” Hira Raiden wondered.
“Yes, Hira,” Ada answered. “I thought we’d be home last night too, but that’s not how it’s turned out.” She looked out through the net curtains in the window casually, grateful that the window was high enough that Hira couldn’t see they were only next door. She muttered a curse, seeing others searching the grounds around the house. Egan was with them, as was the woman he’d been with last night. “Bastard!”
“Mommy! That’s a bad word!”
“Well, sometimes mommies need bad words,” she replied, trying to remain calm as she continued watching, remembering to shield herself from detection. At the front door, Egan paused and seemed to think of something before walking directly towards the house.
“Quick, Hira!” she cried. “Into the closet and pull the leya tightly around you – as tightly as you can – like you’re hiding!”
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Do as I say! Quickly! Don’t come out until I or Blaise tell you.”
The girl nodded and obeyed.
Ada made sweeping motions across the floor and made up the bed as quickly as she could before the loud knock could be heard.
She stood against her door, opening it just a crack so she could hear what was going on downstairs.
Another knock.
“Just a minute!” Tom called angrily.
The door opened.
“Looking for Ada,” she heard Egan say.
“I thought she was away,” Tom replied.
“She was meant to get home last night.”
“Maybe she was delayed. You know how buses are!”
“I feel her imprints here.”
“Of course you do. She comes over whenever she’s bored, I’m sure you know that. That planter next to your feet was from her. I’m sure it’s completely covered with her imprint.”
“I will check with the bus company then. Let me know if you see her.”
“Of course, Egan.”
The door closed and Ada heaved a sigh of relief. “You can come out, Hira,” she said quietly.
“Is it safe?” she asked.
“I hope so.”
Tom’s footsteps came up the stairs. “You heard that?” he asked Ada.
“Yes.”
“I think we’d better get you out of here. Especially after I saw something this morning.” He showed her the flyppad.
“He thinks he can get a bounty for me?!” Ada asked, stunned.
“Sounds like he’s mixed up with some very bad people. Anyway, Blaise set your clothes in the hallway here. Get yourselves dressed, then downstairs for breakfast. We’ll take you down to the Project as soon as you’re done eating.”
“But Egan’s involved with the Project!” Ada protested.
“The A’mara are still running the office. You’ll be fine. Once you tell them about the bounty, they’ll take you into protection. There are some better single young men down there too. I know that because that’s how my daughter ended up on Irola – married an A’mara!”
Ada tried to smile.
“Hey, they can’t be any worse than what you’ve found thus far!”
Ada nodded, knowing he was right. Maybe her third time would be lucky.
“I’ll let you get dressed and pack your case. Leave it on the bed, I’ll manage it once I’m sure there’s no one watching Egan’s house.”
“Thanks.”
Ada dressed quickly and helped Hira with her clothes. Then, everything was packed up again before they went downstairs.
“You have just enough time to eat, we figure. Egan has to go all the way to the SE side of Joton. Then, he will have to go through at least three managers before he can find out whether you were on that hoverbus yesterday,” Blaise said cheerfully, putting a stack of pancakes on the table. “All the same. Eat quickly. When he finally comes back, he’s going to be raving mad. I want the house cleansed before that happens.”
Ada nodded.
♥
Marline Seiber tried to look irresistible as Egan flew along, ignoring speed limits. He was on a mission. He activated the hoverbil’s PCS unit and mentally plugged in the code he needed.
“Number 1, do you have any news of my Ada?” Egan asked as he parked at the Joton Interior Hoverbus headquarters.
“I thought I was yours,” Marline crooned, thinking of their lovemaking all night long.
“Shut up, Marline,” he told her.
The woman laughed. Marline thought the woman was named Xanthine, but after she had caught Egan’s eye in yesterday’s meeting, she had heard very little, thinking instead of getting into the man’s bed. What better way to get into the rankings, after all. Marline had done her homework and Egan had been all too willing to oblige. The fact his partner was meant to return home hadn’t hindered them very much. Marline had hoped to see the look on the woman’s face, in fact.
“I haven’t heard of anything. When was she supposed to return?” the woman on the PCS asked.
“Last night.”
“I presume you’re going to check with the bus company?”
“Of course. I’m just going in now.”
“You checked your neighbors?”
“Of course.”
“I’ll ask around while you’re doing that,” Xanthine replied.
Egan disconnected. “Stay here,” he ordered Marline.
“Let her go, Egan,” she encouraged.
“I can’t,” he replied and left.
She scowled, but then made herself ready for his return to the hoverbil, sitting in the driver’s seat. She removed her top and positioned it so that if any passersby looked in, she would appear decent enough to avoid unwanted attention.
After what felt like an hour, Egan approached, looking angry. Marline worried a moment that she had made a bad gamble, but she sent him a mental image of what she wanted and threw her top onto the passenger seat.
“What are you doing?” he asked when he saw her.
“It should be rather obvious,” she replied, massaging the already-prominent lump in the front of his pants.
“I need to find Ada!” he said.
“Let her go,” she begged. “I can satisfy you more!”
“Of that, I have no doubt,” he replied, closing the door and pushing her back onto the seat.
Marline didn’t know whether it was the fact it was a hoverbil or that it was semi-public that made her respond to him even more than before. Maybe it was the fact that she knew full well how the hierarchy worked and that bonding with a ranked member would help her ascend as well. Or maybe it was due to the fact she was stealing him right out from under the nose of Ada. Obviously, she didn’t mean that much to Egan, though why she mattered now was still a mystery to Marline.
“Ada knows too much,” Egan said as he lay on her in the afterglow. “The moment she disappears, she becomes a liability to our organization. I placed a bounty on her the moment I got up this morning – simply because as a group, we need her back. I don’t care who she’s sleeping with after that – though you should know that the baby she carries is mine.”
“And if she’s run away?” Marline asked.
“Then, she’ll die. She’s too dangerous to allow to live at that point.”
“And her baby?”
“My baby,” Egan corrected. “You can raise him along with the one we’re making.”
“You knew that was what I wanted?” Marline asked, dumbfounded.
“Of course. I accepted because it’s useful in helping both of us rise in the rankings. When I depose Xanthine, you’ll be my #2 automatically if we’re a bonded couple. After that, anyone challenging us has to defeat both of us – together.”
“I’m no good with a shaze.”
“Time to change that, though once you’re pregnant, you can’t be challenged to shaze.”
“I like the sound of that,” Marline replied.
“Now, I need to report to Xanthine. She is still our #1.”
♥♥♥
If you have enjoyed this book, I would be grateful if you could put your thoughts as a review on [Goodreads](coming soon) for me.
Buy at: (coming soon to Books2Read, Scribl, LBRY and Lulu - paperback.)
Other Chapters of this set
Birth of the Neví - Chapter 1 on Whaleshares
Name of the Neví - Chapter 1
Mind of the Neví - Chapter 1
Game of the Neví - Chapter 1
Maps and Guides
- Kri'enden & Joton - 830 TCE (New/imprived map coming soon)
- Character Guide and Image Credits
- Calendar and Glossary - for Name of the Neví but these two parts are true throughout.
Writing and artwork copyright myself 2005-2019 – all rights reserved.
If you are interested in helping me publish these works, please contact me on Facebook or Discord, viking-ventures#2883.
Lori Svensen
author/designer at A'mara Books
photographer/graphic artist for Viking Visual
verified author on Goodreads
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blogging on: Steem, Whaleshares, WeKu, Hyperspace
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