book.
Guards still watched them from windows in the deck above them. Guards escorted them to and from the barracks. Once they reached the rec room, they couldn’t leave until they were escorted out again, under guard.
Dalia, the huntress who’d supposedly gone ‘rogue’, remained with the group of hunters, as much a prisoner as the rest of them. Despite the fact that their bunks were on opposite ends of the barracks, Amaryllis had caught several glimpses of her in the past week, along with the rumors that Dalia was a plant, there to spy on them and report everything they said and did to the cyborgs.
Amaryllis didn’t know whether to believe it or not. There didn’t seem to be much point to it when the cyborgs could as easily survey them and collect intelligence through electronic means, but she wasn’t the least surprised that the rumors persisted. It was just the sort of thing that ‘people’ did when they were bored and/or scared--search for a target to take out their frustrations on. Unlike her, however, Dalia was neither ‘invisible’ nor ostracized.
Mentally, Amaryllis conceded that that was most likely because Dalia was the best of the best and there probably wasn’t one among them, the males included, who didn’t suffer just a tiny bit of hero worship where she was concerned.
Regardless, as tired as she was of having nothing but her own thoughts for company, of being alone even in a crowded room, she knew better than to attempt to change the situation. Any overtures on her part would almost certainly be resoundingly snubbed, and she thought she might as well spare her pride at least.
To Amaryllis’ surprise, she discovered on the third day that either the hunters hadn’t heard the rumors the huntresses were speculating on, or they simply didn’t care, or the rumors intrigued them rather than repelled them. One of the hunters, Cain, who’d actually been her recruiting officer, approached her. She eyed him warily, wondering if he’d merely come to see if he could discover any juicy tidbits to pass along to the others pertaining to the rumor that she’d taken a cyborg lover.
They were bound to be getting bored with what they had and had managed to invent by this time.
“I didn’t realize until the other day that you were among the captured.”
Amaryllis felt a blush rising in her cheeks in spite of everything she could do, but, even if he was alluding to the rumors about her, she wasn’t going to acknowledge it. “My partner and I were close enough we were called in to take part in the mission.”
He looked uncomfortable for several moments and she thought he was going to leave again. “Do you think there’s any truth to what they told us?” He asked after a moment, and then shrugged. “I suppose anything’s possible, but it’s hard to accept that nothing I think I remember was real.”
Amaryllis relaxed fractionally, realizing he wasn’t referring to her time with Dante. She wasn’t a great deal more comfortable with the conversation he’d chosen, however. “I don’t know, but it’s hard to argue with their logic,” she responded. “No matter how well trained, it seems unlikely a human would be a match for a cyborg in strength, speed, or agility.” The comment prompted a line of thought that hadn’t occurred to her before and she frowned. “But if it’s true, it makes me wonder what The Company had in mind for us when we’d finished cleaning up for them. I’d assumed we would be reassigned to security, but….”
Cain studied her assessingly for several moments. “Actually, it’s fairly clear what they had in mind.”
Amaryllis looked at him in surprise. “You must know something I don’t.”
“I must … but then I’d assumed we all had the second, ‘mystery’ locator.”
Amaryllis nodded, but she was more puzzled, not less so. “The tech found two on me, too. Which was almost as curious as the fact that I don’t even remember them planting that second
Guards still watched them from windows in the deck above them. Guards escorted them to and from the barracks. Once they reached the rec room, they couldn’t leave until they were escorted out again, under guard.
Dalia, the huntress who’d supposedly gone ‘rogue’, remained with the group of hunters, as much a prisoner as the rest of them. Despite the fact that their bunks were on opposite ends of the barracks, Amaryllis had caught several glimpses of her in the past week, along with the rumors that Dalia was a plant, there to spy on them and report everything they said and did to the cyborgs.
Amaryllis didn’t know whether to believe it or not. There didn’t seem to be much point to it when the cyborgs could as easily survey them and collect intelligence through electronic means, but she wasn’t the least surprised that the rumors persisted. It was just the sort of thing that ‘people’ did when they were bored and/or scared--search for a target to take out their frustrations on. Unlike her, however, Dalia was neither ‘invisible’ nor ostracized.
Mentally, Amaryllis conceded that that was most likely because Dalia was the best of the best and there probably wasn’t one among them, the males included, who didn’t suffer just a tiny bit of hero worship where she was concerned.
Regardless, as tired as she was of having nothing but her own thoughts for company, of being alone even in a crowded room, she knew better than to attempt to change the situation. Any overtures on her part would almost certainly be resoundingly snubbed, and she thought she might as well spare her pride at least.
To Amaryllis’ surprise, she discovered on the third day that either the hunters hadn’t heard the rumors the huntresses were speculating on, or they simply didn’t care, or the rumors intrigued them rather than repelled them. One of the hunters, Cain, who’d actually been her recruiting officer, approached her. She eyed him warily, wondering if he’d merely come to see if he could discover any juicy tidbits to pass along to the others pertaining to the rumor that she’d taken a cyborg lover.
They were bound to be getting bored with what they had and had managed to invent by this time.
“I didn’t realize until the other day that you were among the captured.”
Amaryllis felt a blush rising in her cheeks in spite of everything she could do, but, even if he was alluding to the rumors about her, she wasn’t going to acknowledge it. “My partner and I were close enough we were called in to take part in the mission.”
He looked uncomfortable for several moments and she thought he was going to leave again. “Do you think there’s any truth to what they told us?” He asked after a moment, and then shrugged. “I suppose anything’s possible, but it’s hard to accept that nothing I think I remember was real.”
Amaryllis relaxed fractionally, realizing he wasn’t referring to her time with Dante. She wasn’t a great deal more comfortable with the conversation he’d chosen, however. “I don’t know, but it’s hard to argue with their logic,” she responded. “No matter how well trained, it seems unlikely a human would be a match for a cyborg in strength, speed, or agility.” The comment prompted a line of thought that hadn’t occurred to her before and she frowned. “But if it’s true, it makes me wonder what The Company had in mind for us when we’d finished cleaning up for them. I’d assumed we would be reassigned to security, but….”
Cain studied her assessingly for several moments. “Actually, it’s fairly clear what they had in mind.”
Amaryllis looked at him in surprise. “You must know something I don’t.”
“I must … but then I’d assumed we all had the second, ‘mystery’ locator.”
Amaryllis nodded, but she was more puzzled, not less so. “The tech found two on me, too. Which was almost as curious as the fact that I don’t even remember them planting that second
Similar Books
