No one else could have caught it from me, right?â
Once again Ord bobbed its head. âYes, if Liang and Aferra are correct.â
âAnd thereâs no one in Silk I could have caught it from.â
âThis plague structure is not known here,â Ord confirmed.
âSo I brought it with me from the great ship. Thatâs what youâre saying?â
âUnknown, Skye. City library does not say.â
âHow long before this plague becomes active?â she asked again.
Everyone huddled together, awaiting Ordâs answer. âLiang and Aferra propose seven to ten days,â Ord said.
Zia made a little moan deep in her throat. âSkyeââ
âI donât think Iâm hungry,â Skye said. Her voice had an ugly squeak to it. She started to get up, but she was trapped in the booth by Buyu.
He stared at her, his eyes glistening with too much moisture. âThis is crap, Skye,â he whispered. âItâs unprocessed garbage. Ord doesnât know what itâs talking about. Thereâs nothing wrong with you.â
Skye looked up, startled to see that the hostess of the Subtle Virus had returned to their table. Had she overheard anything? Surely not. Yet she frowned suspiciously at Buyu. âAh . . . are you all ready for dinner yet?â
âNo,â Devi said. His voice was curt. âSomethingâs come up. We wonât be having dinner tonight. Thank you. Thank you.â He scooted against Zia, bumping her out of the booth.
âHeyâ!â she protested as she stumbled to her feet.
âAre you quite certain?â the hostess asked. She looked seriously annoyed. Skye was glad to see it, sure now that she had not overhead any talk of plague. âThe special tonight is grilled fungus with synchovy stuffing.â
âAnother time,â Devi growled as he stood up behind Zia.
Skye watched him anxiously, waiting for him to run away, to alert the monkey house. And why shouldnât he? I would . Seven to ten days. She suddenly felt terribly small, and horribly alone.
But Devi didnât leave. He was standing by the table, glaring at her with a fierce expression. âCome on!â he commanded.
âW-what?â she stammered. âWhere?â
âOut of here. Some place private. Where we can talk.â
She blinked at him, not getting it. âYou want to talk to me?â
Devi rolled his eyes. âSkye? Please?â
The hostess treated him to a disapproving frown. âIf the lady would like to stayââ
âNo,â Buyu said, scooting out from his seat. âSheâs coming with us.â He turned, and very deliberately, he held out his hand to her. âCome on, Skye. Youâre not as scary as you like to think.â
Outside, the night sky gleamed faintly white with the light of the nebula. Only a handful of bold stars shone through it. Skye felt herself gliding dreamlike on the gleaming street. Sounds arrived muffled as if by distance and her skin felt numb. Inside though, deep in her core, her sense of self blazed hot and frightened and vitally alive.
Seven to ten days. Worlds had changed in far less time than that.
âYou shouldnât be with me,â she said abruptly. She looked around. Devi was just ahead, rushing down the street like a madman, almost breaking into a run on the steeper sections, turning back every few steps to exhort her to âHurry up!â Jem held onto his shoulder, an awestruck expression on his little fox face as if he had never traveled so quickly before. Zia held onto Skyeâs elbow, almost as crazy for speed as Devi. Buyu followed a step behind.
âYou shouldnât be with me,â Skye repeated, stumbling to a stop in the middle of the street. âAt the least, it will mean trouble from city authority when they find out whatâsââ
Zia gave her elbow a little shake. âShut up. Deviâs got something in mind and