The Last Narkoy: Gathow: Book 2 by Elizabeth Price (good e books to read .txt) 📗

his face with a pillow and proceeded to sleep, his way of dismissing Sedom. She took the hint.

Outside, Danstu still waited. She was now beginning to envy his patience for waiting. She walked past him, this time, he followed. “Twenty of our best equipped at dawn for fighter-ship training. I want you to choose. And find someone to handle the equipment,” she ordered over her shoulder.

Danstu returned with a stern nod. “Yes, Chadon.”

“Also…” she paused to think, “find me the best ship mechanic in this galaxy. And make sure no one,” she turned to Danstu, looking him straight in the eyes with a no-nonsense gaze, “no one touches my ship accept me.”

“I’ll have a guard on it as soon as we have enough men to do so,” he harassed back, mainly as a joke. She didn’t respond kindly, her mouth gaping and her eyes flexing in their sockets. “It will be constantly monitored,” he covered, clearing his uneasy words from his throat.

Sedom remained a moment longer, watching him, her face taught when she finally responded. “A word of advice, I have no humor. So... don’t.” With that said, she continued towards the ship bay, determined to learn how to use the weapons on her ship.

“Sortec,” Danstu called back. She paused, turning to him. “Neither do I,” he replied then continued on his way.

She remained motionless for a moment, attempting to determine what he meant.

Danstu returned to Lolum’s quarters and knocked on his door. When he didn’t answer, Danstu knocked again. “WHAT?” Lolum yelled.

“It’s Danstu Keriney, Sir. May I enter?” he called back.

“Might as well. Come in,” Lolum grumbled.

Danstu entered, finding Lolum sleeping on his sofa. “Sorry to interrupt,” he started. Lolum waved him to sit. “How can I arrange an office? I need a base of operations.”

Lolum slowly stood, his bones cracking as he walked over to his meal table. He pulled out a schematic of the city then pointed to a building. “This once served as the main government hub. It’s the same building we had our,” he chuckled, “meeting in. There are offices there.”

“I know, but I don’t have security clearance and you have to have a clearance of five or above to even walk into the building,” Danstu explained.

Lolum handed Danstu his all-access keycard that was sitting on the coffee table before him. “The building has power. Choose whatever office you wish. I’ve been meaning to arrange office space for everyone in our group; just sleep has managed to creep into my agenda first.”

“Understood. And thank you,” Danstu said with enthusiasm, rushing to the door. He paused, holding up the card. “When might I be able to get my own card?”

“Ask Sortec,” Lolum mumbled.

“So, never?” Danstu joked.

“Thought you didn’t have humor?” Lolum caught.

“You heard that?” Danstu asked amused.

“You yelled it from my porch. How could I not?”

Danstu nodded. “I won’t for her… not until she gets to know me better.”

“Good man. You learn fast. Fast is what we need around here to keep up with Sortec,” Lolum said as he followed Danstu to the door.

As he left he could hear Lolum lock the door. Danstu turned his eyes to the keycard in his hand. “Well… let’s see what I have to work with.”

Sedom watched Danstu as he disappeared around the corner. Everyone seemed enamored by the man, but she couldn’t tell why exactly. Other than his clothing, she saw nothing unusual about him. Yet the others were treating him like he was a celebrity.

She remained hidden in the shadows, watching Danstu’s every move. To her surprise, he was walking into the very building they had their meeting in. Sedom recalled going into the building a few times when she was very little. She knew there were offices there, but beyond that, she knew little about the building.

The front doors slid shut behind him, blocking Sedom’s view. If she was curious, she would have to follow him into the building. The call of louder curiosity beckoned to her from the ship bay. She would have to wait for another time to tail him.

The lights of the old building fluttered to life, illuminating a long hallway, nearly three arm lengths wide. Twenty doors lined the hall, each a brilliant deep cherry wood color. Around each door were ornate wood carvings depicting the different stations and responsibilities that particular office it held. The first door, to the right, had types of currency around the door frame, depicting that as the head of finance, and so on down the hallway.

At the end of the hallway stood a four-story atrium, which was encased in dark glass. Opaque skylights cascaded light down from above. The area was constructed from what looked to be shining rocks, but they were unlike any rocks Danstu had ever seen. Growing from the rocks was an ancient vine with bright yellow and blue leaves, which miraculously stopped growing once it hit the main walls.

Within the middle of the room stood a round reception desk, crafted from the same wood as the doors. In the middle of the desk glowed a computer screen with a map of all the offices, hidden beneath a thick layer of dust. Danstu whisked away the dust, revealing the map. To his count, there were thirty offices on his particular level. He pointed to the two largest offices and then turned finding their doors behind him.

He opened the first, the larger of the two and entered. The office was quite ornate, the furniture within in need of only minor repair. It too had a skylight and four-story ceiling. Danstu thought this office was obviously meant for the Chadon. And Regardless if she wanted it or not, eventually she was going to need one. He stepped outside the door, noticing the carving above was a depiction of the gateway that was rumored to have