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

“My sweet girl,” said Iona, and she beamed as she pulled away. “I’m so glad you made it! How was the flight?”

Torsha shrugged as Iona led her toward an industrial lift, where Martin, Eridani, Thuraya, and two denshi-tengus waited. “Okay, I guess. I slept through most of it. I think I recognize the denshies, but who’s that?”

“That’s Thuraya Mir,” said Iona. “Eridani’s girlfriend. I should hope you recognize the denshies, because they’re the ones you and Mike used to gaslight us.” She narrowed her gaze, though only briefly. “After Izel told us what was going on, Martin retained their services indefinitely.”

“Sorry about that,” said Torsha. “We couldn’t think of any other way to help Orin.”

“You know, it’s okay to tell Mike no sometimes,” said Iona.

Torsha hugged Iona sidelong. “I did. That’s why I’m here.”

They joined the others, boarded the lift, and made their way down to the ground.

Chapter 18

Binary States

Overhead vents hummed quietly, blowing against April’s hair as she stood beside her old bridge station. Next to her, Casey sat back in her chair, wringing her hands. Both stared fixedly at the scintillating disk seated dead-center in the viewscreen. Within its massive frame, the nightmare gateway shifted constantly between shades of red and purple.

“Tell me we’ll be safe,” whispered Casey.

“We should be,” said April.

Casey breathed out. “Can you do any better than ‘should be?’”

“I don’t foresee any complications.” April faced her cousin. “Orin and I spent twelve hours on Deck 5, and every reading held steady, despite all the noise.”

“We should put him in the airlock, just in case we need to jettison him,” said Casey.

“Be reasonable,” said April.

“I am,” said Casey.

“Orin’s our passenger now, not our ward,” said Edison. “Locking him in the airlock staging compartment constitutes reckless endangerment, and if you jettison him for any reason at all, that counts as murder.”

Casey groaned into her hands. “I know, I just…”

“We’re all in this with you, Captain,” said Krané. “If catastrophe awaits us beyond the gateway, we will all face it together.”

“That’s not helping,” said Casey.

“If something were going to happen, it’s extremely likely it would’ve happened while we were in the presence of the S-Ring,” said April.

“Yeah, I know. I guess.” Casey chewed on the inside of her cheek. “What’s the plan for the transition?”

“Orin’s already secure in the cargo hangar, and I’ll be in my quarters. I’ll remain there for the duration of the trip, but I can’t tell you what Orin will do. We have no idea how his nightmare body will manifest.”

Casey forced a steady breath. “What about the ranch-hand?”

“I deactivated it.” April squeezed Casey’s shoulder reassuringly. “Don’t worry. I’m confident that everything’s going to be fine.”

The vents thrummed overhead.

“We’ll find out in an hour,” said Casey.

“That’s true,” said April. “All right everyone, it’s about time I headed over to my quarters. I’ll see you in a couple weeks.”

“Until then,” said Cassey.

“See you on the other side,” said Shulana, engrossed in the missives she exchanged with the gateway crew. “Thanks for the coffee the other night. I could not figure out how to work that thing.”

April smiled politely. “It was no trouble at all.”

“See ya for chow,” said Cajun.

“Please just leave it at the door,” said April.

He grinned. “And give it a sound knock. I know the drill.”

“Enjoy your personal time,” said Krané. He lifted each of his facial tentacles in sequence.

Edison looked up from the scanning console. “I hope one day you’ll be able to accept yourself completely and walk unashamed in your binary state.”

“Maybe one day,” said April, and her cheeks reddened slightly.

“Farewell. Don’t hesitate to comm me if you need to talk,” said Edison.

“Thanks, Edison.” She ascended the ramp and exited the bridge.

◆◆◆

April’s datapad displayed a countdown: 24 minutes and 17 seconds… 16 seconds… 15 seconds…

Exhaling audibly, she plopped down on her bed and sat with her hands clasped between her knees. She glanced at the bulkhead near the door and crossed over to the ship’s communication interface. She entered the cargo hangar’s three-digit extension and pressed a small white button. “Hey, Orin. Are you there?”

After a moment, he answered. “Hey, April.” Faint static filled the space between words.

“How are you?” she asked.

He laughed awkwardly. “Scared. You?”

“I’m fine,” said April.

“I wish I had your peace of mind,” said Orin.

“You’ll get there,” she said.

“I hope so,” said Orin. “The only time I’ve ever been in the nightmare is when my mom was pregnant with me, when we were moving from Earth to Rhyon. Obviously, I don’t remember any of it.”

“Why in heaven’s name did she do that? It’s a miracle you survived, let alone were born with all your limbs in the usual places,” said April. “Expecting mothers are not supposed to be anywhere close to the nightmare!”

“She didn’t know she was pregnant,” said Orin. “According to my parents, she was only three weeks along at the time, and the pre-screening showed up negative for pregnancy. I can’t blame her. She did everything right.”

“You’re extremely lucky,” said April. “Most newborns who survive the transit aren’t nearly as fortunate. I’ve seen pictures of infants with tentacles where their arms and legs should be. One little girl had telescoping eyestalks, and this adorable baby boy had a stinger growing out if his solar plexus.”

Orin took a deep breath. “I could still have any of those things. Or all of them. God only knows what’s going to happen to me after we cross through. What does the rest of the crew look like in the nightmare?”

“They don’t look any different,” said April. “Only binaries get nightmare bodies.”

“Ah, well I bet mine’s an actual nightmare,” said Orin.

“You have no control over what it will look like,” said April. “Try not to worry about it.”

“What if Casey’s right? What if I’m a monster?” asked Orin.

“You’re not a monster,” said April. “No matter what form you take.”

He smiled and relaxed a