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

mentioned as he began gathering up the information Sedom gave him. As he leaned over, the pistol fell out of his pants, crashing onto the table. Instantly he dropped the computer pads, nearly spilling the wine over the pistol.

“Stop!” Sedom yelled, forcing him away from the table. Danstu stepped back, his hands raised. She carefully picked up the pistol, examining it. She pointed to three buttons on the side. “If these three buttons are pushed at the same time, it will cause the pistol to overload and explode. Be more careful!” she warned as she handed it back to him.

“I’m sorry, Chadon. It’s been a long day.” He took the pistol from her again. “I will look these over in my office and we’ll talk tomorrow.” He started for the door.

Before he could leave, Sedom called him back. “Danstu, it’s been brought to my attention you haven’t slept in several days.” She walked over to her cabinet, removing a holster and handed it to him. “I don’t know about the Crehail, but I know for most species sleep is necessary.”

Danstu took the holster. “So I’ve been told.” He removed his new pistol, sliding it into its holster. “Nice, thank you.”

Sedom rested her hands on his shoulders, shocking him at first. “Go back to your quarters, take the night off and sleep. This is a direct order. I better not see any commands coming from you for the next seven hours or I’ll have you confined to your quarters. Now thanks to you, I have the man-power to act on my threats. I don’t want you making a stupid mistake. That’s my job,” she stated.

“One last thing,” he began, not wanting to mention it, but he felt there was a need. “It was brought to my attention that one of the Crowell’s citizens was removed from the city,” he motioned.

“He was being insubordinate to me,” she said.

Danstu took in a deep breath as he began. “Once he was evicted, he went directly to the Marisheio for the reward. We’re going to need a better way of evicting those who don’t follow the rules,” he mentioned.

Sedom’s expression fell. I messed up? She remained silent for a long moment, unable to form words. “Uh… how bad is the damage?”

Danstu shrugged. “I sent a security team to handle it. We’ll know more within the hour. The fact we haven’t been attacked yet is a good sign,” he joked without meaning to.

“In the future, I’ll send them to a holding cell on level three. I do ap—“

Danstu raised a quick hand, forcing her to stop her words. “I’m here so you never have to say that. We check each other,” he said with a grin.

Sedom closed her eyes, holding back her frustration with herself. “And apparently save each other…” she grumbled. She pointed a stern finger into his chest, seeing him waver. “Get to your bed, now!” she ordered.

He nodded slowly. “I suppose that would be a good idea.” With that, he left without touching his wine.

Sedom took his wine glass, sniffing it. The smell was divine. “Garric,” she called. He peeked around the corner from the living room. “Taste.”

He took the glass, sniffing it. Hesitatingly, he took a sip. “Exceptional year.”

“One of our best. He didn’t touch it,” she mentioned.

“Rumors say he’s worked with the Windrit. I doubt you’ll ever see him drink,” he mentioned.

Sedom sat back, waiting for an explanation. When no explanation was returned, she asked, “Why?”

“Why? Well, wine weakens the defenses. After all his training, he won’t allow himself to be compromised by his superiors. He’s the kind of man who’d kill himself if he was ever caught,” he explained. “Your Nom’kel listened to your prayers,” he mentioned as he cleaned the unit.

Sedom raised an amused eyebrow. “Good to know. How the hell did I end up with him?”

***

Within his quarters, Danstu collapsed on his freshly made bed. He couldn’t remember making it, but he was grateful that it was. Though he was too exhausted to even pull back the covers or take off his shoes.

Some time later, a knock came to his front door. He woke abruptly with a snort. “Who is it?” he called out, his face smothered in his pillow.

Moments later a shadowy image of Rosanheer appeared in the doorway of his bedroom. “Forgive the intrusion. We have a distress call from the surface. Sortec is unavailable. We need to know if we should investigate.”

“Investigate,” Danstu grumbled into his pillow.

“Right away, sir,” Rosanheer said, hurrying out of the unit.

“Hold up,” Danstu called out. “Let me change. I’ll be right there,” he said.

He pulled himself out of bed, glancing over at the com unit in his room for the time. “Well, at least I managed five hours,” he muttered to himself. He rushed into the restroom, gave himself a quick towel bath, tossed on a fresh shirt and hurried after Rosanheer, who was waiting in the hall.

“Did you get any sleep?” Rosanheer asked, with concern. He didn’t have to read the man’s thoughts to know how exhausted he was.

Danstu shrugged as he yawned. “I managed a few hours. It’s enough sleep to know my mind is back in the driver’s seat. How did your mission go?” he asked.

A sneer pulled at the corners of Rosanheer’s lips. “It’s been taken care of. Beyond that, I won’t bother you with the details,” he said with a grimace.

“He’s dead?” Danstu asked.

Rosanheer grunted. “If not, he will be soon,” he returned cryptically.

“Fine. You do your job how you feel fit as long as it gets done.” Danstu sighed deeply, attempting to keep himself from asking the grizzly details. “Where’s Sortec?”

“In her tower with Tremble, but the orbs won’t allow anyone near her,” Rosanheer explained.

Danstu cupped his hands around his face to clear the sleep from his