Shadow War: Book 3 of the Shadows Rising Trilogy (WIP Rough Draft)

36. The Stakes are Raised

26th of Thira

Rushidi was watching me again. I could feel her beady stare on the back of my head as I followed the guard out of the canteen and into the waiting two-man engine idling in the courtyard.

I knew what that stare was for. It had been almost a month since I began working at the head office, and I had yet to do anything useful with it. I could practically see the wheels churning in her shifty brain, and I had the sneaking suspicion it wouldn't be much longer before she started demanding favors. Karalli couldn't hold her off indefinitely.

The guard, a young foot soldier named Ayago, pulled the two-man onto the road that led to the head office compound. "So... you're from the Continent, then?" He asked in stilted Low Altyran.

I glanced at him. He wasn't supposed to speak to me at all, much less in the lower tongue, but lately he had started initiating conversations. I nodded slightly. "Tetton."

"There are many... girls like you, there?" He asked, his face turning pink beneath his patrol-man tan.

Was he flirting? "There are girls in Tetton, yes," I said dryly. "Why?"

He turned even pinker, his blush flooding his ears. "I am... hoping? Hoping to meet some. You know. Quiet. Nice."

"There are no nice girls here?" I asked, watching the road.

He snorted. "Paradazh girls? No. Paradazh girls like the officers. They like the... birdboys. The flyers. But... when we return to take our homeland... we will all be top choice for the quiet, nice girls." He shrugged, as if this was simply common knowledge. "Maybe even for you."

I pasted a smile on my face. "Maybe even for me," my mouth said, while my brain whispered, and you have no idea how much I want to smack you in your conceited face. But, just like the Stadhepheravalden had no real idea what was going on outside his neat, tidy bubble of an office, this boy had no clue what waited for him beyond the walls of the Paradazh. He believed that everyone outside was inferior and uneducated. He had no idea how insulting he had just been, either, or that the woman next to him had left 'nice' behind in a burning Starre and Sons ocean liner. I turned toward him, giving him my best Pendar sparkler. "So, do you know when we will be returning to the homeland?"

That made him chuckle. "Only the High Councilor knows that," he said, grinning like I was just being silly.

Blast.

We reached the head office gate, then, and a moment later Ayago pulled up in front of the service entrance, his grin a little self-assured when he popped the pin into the flywheel. "I will see you later."

I just smiled and let myself out. I made a mental note to ask him what a 'bird boy' was on our return trip, and entered the scrub room, where I made quick work of using the lavatory stand to wash the stink of the hut off me. Then I traded my jumpsuit and canvas shoes for the prim staff uniform, made sure my hat was on straight, and snagged a quick breakfast of fruit and a biscuit from the tea trolley in the kitchen.

The crumbs were still on my lips when Sanjar leaned through the doorway, drumming his fingers on the jamb. "The reports need to go up to the Headquarters, but I'm still dealing with all the requisition forms from yesterday. Can you take them? I can get the S.P.V. his tea."

I nodded and brushed my hands off, careful not to seem too eager. "You'll have to forge me a vehicle request and a Headquarters pass."

He heaved a sigh of gratitude and handed me the dispatch bag. "Everything's all set. Thank you. You're a joy."

I rolled my eyes and waved him off. Sanjar wasn't Paradazh born, either, and spoke his Low Altyran with a slight Caraki burr. We had formed a sort of careful alliance over the last few weeks. I helped him, he helped me, neither of us asked any questions, and together we tried our best to hold onto our stations. Sanjar because he was desperate to escape the butchery floor, and me because I was too weak to survive Kreighvalden Ygraine. Or that's what I let him think. Truthfully, I helped him because he had access to the official stamps used to make inter-Sector passes and transport requests and could forge the Stadhepheravalden's signature better than I could.