Rivers of Orion by Dana Kelly (a court of thorns and roses ebook free .TXT) 📕

Edison retrieved a blanket and draped it over Nimbus. “I’ll give Mike the news.”

◆◆◆

Mike squinted at Casey and played the Eight of Diamonds. “Spades,” he said.

Casey groaned and held up her remaining card, taking care to keep it hidden. With a sigh, she drew from a face-down stack of cards and immediately played the Four of Spades she had just drawn. “Ha!” She set her one card face-down on the floor and looked to her left. “April, you’re up.”

“Queen of Spades,” said April, and she placed it on a pile of face-up cards. “Back to you, dear cousin.”

“Both of you, I swear,” muttered Casey, and she drew several cards before playing the Five of Spades.

Mike scanned his cards, but the movement coming from down the hall caught his attention. He consolidated his hand and set it down on the floor before quickly getting to his feet. Everyone in the room turned to regard Edison as he approached.

“Is he all right?” asked Mike.

Edison waved him over, and Mike hurried close. Edison spoke in hushed tones. “Nimbus appears to be fine, but there was a complication.”

“What does that mean?” asked Mike, and his heart raced.

“No, no—it’s nothing to worry about,” said Edison. “Nimbus is fine, but he’s bonded with the surgical site for the moment. It’s probably reversible, but I’m not sure that’s what Nimbus wants right now. He actively resisted extraction, for some reason.”

Mike shook his head. “I thought it was a slug—a body blank. From what I’ve been able to find on the t-net, it’s genetic pink slime. What’s there to bond with?”

“The retrieval team brought back the shell of a synthetic servant, not a slug,” said Edison. “The bag was mislabeled. I’m not an expert on nanobot hives, but my guess is Nimbus got confused. As soon as he realizes his error, he’ll leave voluntarily. Oh, and he wanted me to let you know he lives. He wanted the rest of the team to know that, as well.”

Mike breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank God.” He squeezed Edison’s shoulders. “Thank God for you, and Hector, and Cajun. Can I see him?”

“He’s sleeping right now,” said Edison. “It’s probably best not to wake him.” He glanced down the hall. “I should head back. Rest assured that someone will be with him until he wakes up. One of us will come get you at that time.”

“Thank you,” said Mike, and Edison excused himself. Mike watched him vanish around the corner. Turning about, he found Orin standing nearby.

“Is he okay?” asked Orin.

Mike related Edison’s update. “So, Nimbus is okay, but he’s taking a quick holiday inside a synthetic servant,” said Mike. “As soon as he gets his bearings, he’ll be skittering around just as cheerfully is ever.” He addressed the rest of the group with an enthusiastic thumbs-up. “Nimbus is okay!”

“That’s great news,” said Casey, and she stretched. “Anyone else thirsty?” She rummaged through the duffle bag. “We’ve got plenty of water and a couple pouches of fizzy mix.” She glanced around as the ground shook gently. The building creaked here and there, and she stood up. The rest of her team did the same. “Is that an earthquake?”

“Surface quake,” said Orin.

“It’s just the planet’s crust settling, due to the extreme difference in diurnal and nocturnal temperatures,” said April. “Cajun explained it to us last night.”

A moment later, they heard people running and shouting.

“Are you completely sure about that?” asked Casey.

April and Orin shared a puzzled look. “I’ll be right back,” said Orin.

“I’m coming with you,” said Malmoradan. They exited the office and closed the doors behind them. Hundreds of residents crowded the building’s main entrance, and hundreds more converged from stairwells and lifts. The blizzard had vanished, and afternoon sunlight cascaded through the concourse.

“What the hell is going on?” asked Malmoradan. He and Orin approached the throng and cautiously threaded their way through the bazaar. A din of excited chatter filled the air. “Orin, look,” said Malmoradan. He gripped Orin by the shoulder as he pointed.

Vast as a metropolis, a colossal, tiered structure appeared in the distance. Roughly pyramidal in shape, its surface swallowed up the light, creating an illusion of deep space. From the lowest level, bright white illumination sliced open a yawning doorway. A howling chorus of machinery and dissonant tones flowed from the fissure, and the crowd fell silent.

Tiny from such distance, yet somehow entirely visible to the utmost detail, a single figure stepped into view. It wore a gloss black shell, with no discernable face. Slowly, it studied the crowd.

“God help us,” said Orin. “It’s one of those things from the space station!”

Silently, eleven more figures emerged and gathered behind the first, taking the form of a crescent.

◆◆◆

An urgent knock rattled Hector’s doors. “It’s unlocked,” said Casey, but a second knock followed. “It’s unlocked!” she yelled, though her speakers did little to amplify the volume. With a sigh, she walked to the doors and opened them.

“Officer Cartwright,” said Rusty. “Am I glad to see you! Something very strange is going on.”

“I gathered that from all the running and shouting,” said Casey.

He cupped his hands over his mouth and breathed. The air whistled between his fingers. “Those xenos you saw up on Six—what did they look like?”

◆◆◆

Outside in the distance, the first figure raised its arm. One by one, it peeled off its gloves, displaying pure white, human hands. After a moment, it rolled away the head covering to reveal a woman’s face with pale skin and deep blue eyes. Long, snowy locks tumbled down to the small of her back.

“Hello, good people of Taranis Arms!” she said, her voice broadcast with perfect clarity. “I’m Persephone, Director of Human Resources for Porrima Industrium. Before we continue, take a moment to bask in the wonders of our unsurpassed technology.” The mechanical dissonance grew louder, showing no