Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 85794 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 429(@200wpm)___ 343(@250wpm)___ 286(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85794 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 429(@200wpm)___ 343(@250wpm)___ 286(@300wpm)
But he only nodded and said,
“Half Scourge. My mother was a Blood Kindred. See?” And he bared his teeth, showing long white fangs that Phoebe somehow hadn’t noticed before.
“Oh,” she said faintly, trying not to stare at the long, curving fangs. “Er…how long have you been an Agent in the Elite Espionage Corps?”
“Ten years,” Sirex rumbled. He nodded down at himself. “I got most of these scars during that time. It’s not an easy job—or a safe one.”
Phoebe lifted her chin.
“That’s fine. I’m not looking for easy or safe.”
“What are you looking for then?” He asked like he really wanted an answer—as though he was genuinely curious about what she wanted out of life.
“I’m looking for a fair shake,” Phoebe replied firmly. “Back on Earth, police work is an extremely male oriented field. I graduated from the Police Academy at the top of my class but I still had trouble getting a place in the department in my home town. Then once I finally did, they had me doing scut work like cleaning the bathrooms. And okay, I understand that everyone has to start at the bottom,” she added. “But it was clear I was never going anywhere in that place—there were women who had been working there ten years and were still doing the menial jobs, not actual police work.”
“So that’s why you decided to apply for a place in the Elite Academy?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “Because the males on your home planet treated you as an inferior?”
“Yes—I’ve heard the Kindred don’t do sexism,” Phoebe said. “Or racism, for that matter. I’m mixed—my mom is white and my dad was black. It can be hard when you don’t feel like you fit in anywhere because you’re different from everyone around you,” she added.
“Yes, it can,” Sir agreed, nodding thoughtfully and Phoebe thought he probably knew from personal experience. It couldn’t have been easy for him growing up in the Kindred world when he looked so much like their worst enemy.
The tram came to the end of the line before she could ask him any more questions and they got out with the rest of the crowd. Without a word, Sirex started walking.
“Where are we going?” Phoebe hurried to keep up with his long strides.
“To the Garden Levels—the farming platforms where the Mother Ship grows most of her food,” he returned. “I have something to teach you.”
Phoebe wondered what kind of lesson could be learned on a farming platform, but she followed him anyway because what else could she do?
After walking a long way, they came to a vast open area of the ship that was bigger than an airline hangar. Phoebe’s eyes got wide as she looked up…and up and up. There was a thick central column as big around as a building in the middle of the room. From it sprouted many long, curving “arms,” each one supporting a vast tract of land where different crops grew.
“Come,” Sir said and led her to the center of the enormous silver column.
Once they got there, Phoebe saw there were industrial sized elevators located all around the column, each with broad silver doors. Sir pressed the button for one of them and it opened at once with a silent whoosh of air.
“Top platform. Unglix crop,” he said. The doors closed and they rushed upwards so fast Phoebe felt like she’d left her stomach behind on the ground below.
When the door slid open, she saw a vast area about as big as a football field, covered in short, dense, purple vegetation.
Sir stepped out of the elevator at once but Phoebe hesitated. The field was surrounded by a waist-high barrier but that didn’t keep her from seeing how high in the air they were.
We must be twenty stories up—maybe more! she thought, feeling dizzy at the very thought.
“Is something wrong?” Sirex asked, frowning as he turned to look at her hesitating in the doorway.
“Er…I’m not great with heights,” Phoebe admitted. “They make me dizzy.”
She felt like a fool, but Sirex didn’t jeer or make fun of her. He only nodded.
“Good. You admit your fear. Now you have to face it. Come out.” He held out a hand to her.
Hesitantly, Phoebe took it. She was surprised when her mentor interlaced their fingers and tugged her gently out onto the vast field. He didn’t let go once she came out of the elevator either. He kept holding her hand as they walked along the narrow white walkway that ran down the center of the field. His hand was large and warm and Phoebe’s heart pounded at the intimate contact with the big warrior she hardly knew.
“Sir, why are we here?” she finally dared to ask as they reached the very end of the field. She was trying not to look over the waist-high barrier to the metal floor, many stories below.