A small smile tipped Sora’s lips. “He is. He’s been my friend for a very long time.” She stepped closer. “I am a bit protective. He needs someone who will be there for him, not toy with him.”
“I’m not toying with him.” The skepticism on the other woman’s face set her off. “Tell me what your real problem is. Is it the prida? The clans? Is it that you want Felix yourself?” Blue stepped closer until only a few inches separated her from the taller woman. She tilted her head back, maintaining eye contact. She would not let this woman, or anyone else, make her feel bad for her decisions.
Abruptly Sora laughed, merriment lighting her eyes. Okay, now I see why they’re friends.
“Maybe this will work.” Sora took a step back, still grinning. “One more thing. I don’t know what you are really doing here.” Sora held up her hand, cutting her off. “I do not doubt that you are here to find your family. I also do not think that is the only reason you are here, or you would have just searched the records instead of coming to me.” Her eyes narrowed, and the smile slid off her face. “Tell me, Blue, what happened to the fourth friend? Three died, but you said there were four of you missing when you returned. Better work your story out better.” Abruptly she smiled again, and Blue’s head whirled with her quick mood changes. “Maybe we could meet up for a meal before you go, or some shopping—get to know each other better. Though we may want to avoid the lower shops. There has not been another attack there since Gabriella, but you cannot be too cautious.” With that Sora turned, rounded her desk, and sat in her chair, waving her hand to dismiss Blue.
It was too much, and Blue laughed. Sora reminded her of Phe, with a little Felix thrown in. It was a weirdly charming combination.
It wasn’t until they were back at the inn and planning out their next move that Blue realized what the other woman had done. Blue groaned and let her head fall back against the wall behind her bed, making a dull thud. The guard had practically handed Blue the next piece of the puzzle on a silver platter, and she’d been too dense and embroiled in angst to realize it.
The others were arranged around her room, Forrest and Levi on the floor to her right, Felix leaning against the wall to her left, and Mo’ata in the only chair. Mo’ata, Felix, and Levi were in deep discussion, using Common. Forrest was playing with the cubs, but Blue had been trying to follow what she could of the conversation.
Blue thumped her head against the wall again, and the movement attracted Mo’ata’s attention. He rose from the chair. “What is it?”
“I just realized what Sora was telling me back at the guards’. Ugh, I could kick myself.” One more thump and she sat forward. All eyes were on her now. “She basically told me where we should go to try to track down the killer.”
Mo’ata spoke quickly to Levi then turned back. “Where?”
“She said we should avoid the lower shops, even though there have been no more attacks there. Ugh.” Blue crossed her arms and frowned, still annoyed with herself. “We need to get to wherever that is. You guys can do your questioning thing. Maybe I can rattle some cages.”
Forrest nodded. “She also talked about the outer warehouses.”
“Is there an area where those intersect?” Blue was getting excited. They had a place to start.
Felix pulled out his comm and tapped, talking to Levi in Common as he did, presumably filling him in. A moment later a three-dimensional picture was projected into the air. It looked like a map of the area. I need to figure out how to get mine to do that.
A few more taps and three areas were shaded on the map.
“Three? What’s the third?”
“Location of Faust home. Sora sent.”
Blue swallowed at the reminder that she had family members out there she’d never met, one of whom she never would. She pushed the feelings aside and concentrated on the matter before them. “Okay. Why that one too?”
“To see if there is any relation.” Mo’ata sat beside her on the bed. Garfield stumbled away from Forrest and climbed the clansman’s leg. He reached down and scooped up the cub, absently stroking his fur while he studied the map. Blue felt the contentment coming from Garfield, and she eased.
Turning back to the map, she studied it along with everyone else. It was obvious which areas were which. The outer warehouses were close to the border of the city and the barren open plains. The lower shops were close to the more affluent areas where the Fausts’ home was, near the foot of the mountain.
“I can’t see a connection between the warehouses and the shopping area.” Blue deflated. They were back to zero.
“Not quite. Look here.” Forrest pointed to a road that connected the two areas, then moved on through the lower shops and into another area. “What’s that?” He pointed to where the road ended.
A few more taps and Felix spoke, Mo’ata translating. “Housing complex for some of the workers. It’s a little nicer than most, which is why it connects to the shops there. It’s mostly for the… middle-level employees.”
They studied the map for a few more minutes, looking for any other connections, but that was it. The streets in this city were arranged oddly, not the grid pattern she was used to. There were only a few larger roads running through and connecting the different areas. Within the neighborhoods there were smaller roads, but only a few connected to the larger roads, and even those larger ones didn’t all connect to each other.
It was designed to keep people in their place, she realized, and that bothered her.
“I guess it’s time to go shopping.” Finally. “You did promise, and I need warmer undies if we’re going to stick around here for a while. And a new coat.”
Mo’ata leaned in and whispered in her ear. “Little shopa, I thought it was my job to keep you warm. With cuddles, yes?”
The blood rushed to her face, and she somehow managed to choke on air. Forrest, still seated near her on the floor, snorted. He looked back at her and winked. “I think our Blue is saying she needs more than just you.” Then he grinned. “Quack.”
LEVI
Levi studied the map carefully, ignoring the byplay going on around him. He understood their need for a little levity, but with a minimal understanding of English, he couldn’t join in. He also wasn’t sure he knew how. He concentrated on what he did know: crystals and how to track them down.
He had a slight sense of the crystals—it was why the Elders had sent him on this mission, over other, more experienced agents. Oh, he had been a guard and an agent for the Prizzoli for quite a while now—years—but he’d never been off-world before this. He’d studied the cultures and the languages, but until this mission he’d spent his life fulfilling his duties to his people on their own lands.
If they could get close enough, he could track the crystal down. He knew, already, that they were on the right track. The closer they’d gotten to this city, the stronger the presence of the crystal had become. It was frustrating that he couldn’t pin it down better, but his range wasn’t great.
He looked again at the road Forrest had pointed out. The young man was sharp. Even Levi had missed it until that point. He could also now see the strange arrangement of the streets in this city, as if designed to deliberately maintain a segregation of the population.
“We need to get to the shopping area. It is the only area we can take Blue that would not look suspicious.” Levi’s stomach tightened. Guilt gnawed at him for using her, using them, when he couldn’t share the whole truth. He hadn’t even told Mo’ata about being able to sense the crystals; it would open up an avenue of questioning that he was forbidden to answer.
They all looked at him, even Blue and Forrest, at hearing her name. The grins slid off their faces, though the blush lingered on Blue’s cheeks. He wondered briefly what had been said to put it there.
“That is what we were just discussing.” Mo’ata switched to Common but shifted closer to Blue on the bed. “We will take them shopping. We do still need to pick up clothing more appropriate to the climate, so we c
an take care of that at the same time.”
“And put out the bait.” Levi reminded them. Felix stiffened, and Mo’ata’s jaw tightened further.
“She is not bait.”
“I am.” Blue’s soft voice cut through the room, the quiet strength there putting a pause on the scene.
She continued in English, and Levi’s frustration almost boiled over. He pulled it back, again, but he hated that he couldn’t understand her. He should have joined Felix in the language lessons.
Felix, Moa’ta, and Blue entered into a heated discussion. Levi was about to put a stop to it—they didn’t have the time for this—when Forrest beat him to it. He twisted, still sitting on the floor, and slapped his hand on the mattress between Blue and the clansman. He spoke quickly, forcefully. Levi had never heard the other man sound like that.
FORREST
Forrest was pissed.
They’d come all this way. He and Blue had made it to Karran against both their expectations. They’d found the clan again. They’d rescued cub-babies. Blue had followed through on her plan to tell Mo’ata that she wanted to really try a relationship with him and with Forrest. He’d known how much that scared her, even though she put on her brave face. They’d traveled for over a week through some god-awful weather, only for Blue to find out that she did have family here and one of them was dead.
Now, Mo’ata was trying to wrap her up in cotton, even after he’d already agreed they would have a better chance of finding Phi and the crystal using Blue. Oh, Forrest wanted her safe, but never at the expense of changing who she was. He’d learned that lesson from his mother. You didn’t try to change the people you loved—you just loved them.
“Enough.” Forrest twisted and slapped the bed between where Blue and Mo’ata sat. “Blue is bait. She and I are here to help. We will help. And the best way to do that is to go shopping, dangle Blue like a worm, and wait for Phillip to bite.”
He looked straight at Mo’ata. The older man needed to understand that Forrest was there for Blue. He would back her, he would defend her, even from someone who supposedly loved her too. Forrest wasn’t convinced Mo’ata did, though he was willing to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. But his first priority was always going to be Blue and what she needed, and right now she needed to help.
Mo’ata’s eyes widened. Just then, Vivi launched herself at the clansman, her little claws out, the snarl coming from her chest no less scary for being squeaky. Garfield leaped from Blue’s lap to intercept his sister, knocking her into the mattress on the other side of the clansman. Forrest quickly scooped up his girl, trying to quiet his feelings. She’d picked up on his resentment and wanted to hurt the source of it, defending him. She couldn’t know that the resentment was not that the man was alive, just that he couldn’t see what Blue really needed.
Forrest continued to pet Vivi, humming quietly to calm her. He picked the tune for that first lullaby he and Blue had sung for the cubs, and she quieted.
A heavy hand fell on his shoulder, and he looked up. Mo’ata was kneeling on the floor beside him, an expression of pleading and understanding mixed on his face. “I know. I know, Forrest. I am… having trouble adjusting.” The man squeezed his shoulder a little. “You are a good protector for our Blue. Thank you.”
A tightness lingered around the other man’s eyes. There was also something else. Shame. Forrest held out a hand. “I’ll make you a deal. You tell me when I’m being a reckless idiot, and I’ll tell you when you’re being an overprotective asshole. I’ll even keep Vivi from killing you.”
Mo’ata took it and shook. “Deal.”
Blue snorted from where she still sat on the bed. “If you guys are done bonding, maybe we can get some shopping done? Also, I resent being compared to a worm. You couldn’t have figured out something better?”
“What, like chum? Maybe a haunch of raw meat?” The teasing snapped Forrest out of his dark mood.
“Hush.”
Felix laughed, and Mo’ata smiled. “Yes, let us be going. We need to ensure our Blue stays warm. And… dangle her like chum for bait.”
Forrest slapped his back. “A bit mixed up, but basically.” Who knew the clansman actually had a sense of humor? He headed for the door as the others bundled up, singing. “A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go…”
Chapter 8
BLUE
Blue entered the next shop and sighed at the clerk’s double take. Yes, she’d already gathered that she looked like her distant cousin. Yes, she knew the other girl was dead. No, she hadn’t been up to meet her family yet. No, she was probably going to put it off; she didn’t want to interfere with their grief. Yes, these men were with her. Yes, she knew one of them was a clansman. Yes, she also knew they didn’t really like to employ much technology. Yes those were piquet cubs, and yes, they were also with them.
She’d gotten the same reactions and questions at every single shop they’d entered. At first it had been amusing how the shop owners and clerks had opened up to her after they found out her last name was Faust. Now, after five rounds of this, she just wanted to get back to the inn and be done for the day. Surely if they were going to get Phillip’s attention this way, they had it by now.
She was also pretty sure that if Gabriella’s parents didn’t know she was here, they soon would. And she had no idea how to deal with it when they showed up.
This store, one recommended by the bootmaker, had a wide assortment of coats and cold-weather gear, including, she saw as her eyes roamed, a section of what looked like long johns.
She moved farther into the store as the others crowded in behind her. Mo’ata had ended up taking charge of Garfield a few shops ago, making it easier for Blue to browse. They hadn’t bought much yet, just some boots for her and Forrest at the last shop and a small dagger with a blue sheath and matching belt that Felix had insisted on getting for her. He’d said it was made of the same material the Cularnian mercenaries used and was a good find.
The clerk, a young man about Forrest’s age, rounded the corner and approached, a hesitant and mournful look on his face.
She let Felix take the lead, as he had for all the other shops. The people of Filiri definitely reacted better to the giant than to Mo’ata, and neither Forrest nor Blue knew enough Common to do the job. Levi, despite his colorful clothing, faded into the background, watchful.
After a few moments, the clerk guided them to the rear of the store where Blue had spotted the long johns. It looked like they came in all kinds of colors and patterns, and she smiled as she ran her hand along the collection. The clerk pointed to some that were more her size, and she browsed, pulling out one set in a beautiful floral pattern and another of abstract swirls that reminded her of the tie-dyes Forrest’s mom liked. The colors were bold, and she enjoyed the idea of wearing something so bright under her outer clothes.
She hesitated. “I’ll need to try these on.” It was the first time she’d need to be separated from the others, and after Mo’ata’s protective display earlier, she wasn’t sure they’d let her.
Expecting an argument, she was surprised when Mo’ata and Forrest exchanged a look and Mo’ata nodded, speaking to the clerk who indicated an area in the back of the shop. Turned out stores on Karran and Earth weren’t so different.
She stripped down and tried on the first set as quickly as she could, even putting her own clothes back on over them. They were perfect. The material wasn’t so thick or baggy that she couldn’t get her own jeans and sweater back on, and she already felt warmer. Deciding not to bother trying on the other pair, she exited the changing area, intending to tell the clerk to just ring up the two sets. She didn’t want to change back out of the one she had on.
Shoving aside the curtain, she looked for the others. Felix stood a few feet away, partially hidden by a rack of coats. As she scanned the store for the others, a figure across the street caught her eye. He was partially hidden in a doorway, and the glare of sun against the front door obscured his features. But s
omething about him…
“Felix.” She tilted her head to the building across the street, not wanting to take her eyes from the figure. Felix came to her side and looked where she indicated. “You see it?”
“Yes. Looks man. Phillip?”
“Maybe. Forrest might be able to tell for sure. I didn’t know him that long.”
“I tell, you stay.” Felix’s voice was calm, but she was sure that was just for her benefit.
He moved across the store, not hurrying—more like he was browsing. She knew he was trying not to give away that they’d spotted the figure, but anticipation rushed through her, and she had to suppress the urge to sprint from the store and tackle whoever was across the street.
Just as Felix reached the others and Forrest was turning, a large transport went by, obscuring their view. When it had passed, the figure was gone. Disappointment and frustration gripped her, and she clenched her fists.
“Damn.” She’d been so focused across the street she hadn’t noticed the others coming to her side.
“Yeah. Did you see him at all? I really couldn’t tell if it was him. It could have been anyone really.”
“Maybe. Maybe you’re too tired or hyped up or something.”
“Or maybe it was him. We can’t be too careful.” Mo’ata’s voice was matter of fact. He reached out and gripped her hand, telling Blue he was far from feeling the outward calm he portrayed. He looked to Felix. “Can you find out if there is any… surveillance in the area?”
Felix nodded and pulled out his comm, moving away from the others. Blue suspected he was calling Sora, though what he would say, she didn’t know, unless they gave up on keeping their true purpose here secret.
A few minutes later he was back. “She send.”
“What did you tell her?” Blue was curious.
He shrugged. “I no tell, just ask.”
Beyond Blue Frontiers (The Adventures of Blue Faust Book 3) Page 11