Free In Heaven and Earth by Amy Rae Durreson Page A

Eskil said, “and destroy the infected
parts.”
    “ That’s exactly
what Vairya has set in motion,” Reuben pointed out, “and exactly
what the Fleet will do when they arrive.”
    They all went quiet. Then
Meili looked up, her face fierce. “I don’t care. I don’t care if it
won’t make much difference. I want to go down fighting. This thing,
these nanites, they’re worse than a disease. I want to destroy as
many of them as I can before they get me.”
    “ Yes,” Reuben
said and reached out to offer her his hand. “No waiting to
die.”
    She grasped his hand,
squeezing tightly, and Eskil reached out tentatively to press his
fingers over theirs. “Me too. I’ll fight.”
    Chanthavy was more
hesitant, but she reached out at last. “I’m not sure what we can
do, but we must try something.”
    Reuben nodded. “We need
detailed information about the city if we’re going to start
building fire breaks.”
    From the doorway, Vairya
said quietly, “I think I can help with that.”

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Seven
     
     
    THEY all turned to stare
at him, and he offered them a hesitant smile. “The sedatives wore
off. If I can’t be in my garden, let me keep you
company.”
    “ Come in,”
Reuben said and moved up to make space for him.
    Vairya came and sat down
beside him, a little tentatively. He was wearing his filmy chiton
again, and was barefoot, and looked utterly out of place in their
grotty mess. As soon as he settled into the neighbouring chair,
Reuben was aware of him, warm and solid and real beside him,
suddenly present in the real world in a way that was both bizarre
and made the hairs stand up on Reuben’s arms.
    “ Captain,”
Reuben said, remembering some basic courtesies, “this is Vairya of
Caelestia. Vairya, Captain Chanthavy Som, Lieutenant Meili Peake
and Lieutenant Eskil Levin, crew of the Juniper .”
    “ I am
honoured,” Chanthavy said.
    “ The honour is
mine,” Vairya said gravely and glanced up at Reuben. “Any chance of
a drink?”
    “ No,” everyone
around the table said at once.
    “ You have a
head injury,” Meili reminded him. “No alcohol.”
    “ My brain is
made up of entirely different elements from yours,” he pointed out,
pouting a little.
    “ Does alcohol
make you giddy, absent-minded, uncoordinated, or overemotional?”
Reuben asked.
    “ On a good
day,” Vairya muttered.
    “ Then you don’t
get to drink with a head injury, whatever your brain is made
of.”
    Vairya sighed.
“Food?”
    “ That we can
do,” Eskil said and bounced to his feet. “Is there anything you
don’t eat? I can make something fresh if you like.”
    “ Don’t go to
any trouble, please.”
    “ Eskil’s never
met a TC4 before,” Reuben said. “He’s expecting you to have wings
and a halo.”
    “ Coop!”
    “ No,” Vairya
said, and he grinned a little. “Nothing like that. I’m just a
gardener. You want my brother Jibrail if that’s what you’re after.
He makes everyone feel unworthy.”
    “ For now,”
Chanthavy said, “I would like to give my crew time to record
messages for their families. We welcome your help and mean no
rudeness, but perhaps we could leave you to your meal?”
    “ I’ll keep him
company,” Reuben said. “No one will expect a message from
me.”
    “ I’d appreciate
that,” Vairya said before any of the others could comment. “Perhaps
you could lend me a change of clothes. This isn’t particularly
warm.”
    “ Sure,” Reuben
said and watched him eat. Vairya looked so out of place here, in
such an ordinary place, and he couldn’t make sense of it enough to
look away. Some people belonged in imaginary kingdoms, not mundane
kitchens.
    It still felt strange
when he walked with Vairya to his cabin. Inside Vairya’s garden, it
had been easy to talk, to play games with words and wit. Here, it
was all a little too real.
    “ Have you
turned shy on me, good Sir Reuben?” Vairya said. He had fallen into
step with Reuben easily, but