faith in Tigh.”
She hurried down the corridor, rounded the sharp corner to a back wing of the building, and stopped as if an invisible wall blocked her way.
Tigh walked down the corridor—slumped shouldered with hands hooked under a loose low-riding belt. She was oblivious to people passing her, off in another world as far as Jame could tell.
“Tigh,” Jame said.
Tigh looked up, startled. She straightened and shuffled to the wall, as if being out in the middle of the corridor was too conspicuous for her.
“Hey,” she said.
Jame was unexplainably happy to see Tigh again although it had only been two days since the hearing. “Have you met with the counselor yet?”
Tigh nodded. “I have to report to the infirmary tomorrow.”
“All the Guards start out in the infirmary.” Jame wondered why she felt tongue-tied.
“That’s what the counselor told me.” Tigh scuffed the toe of her boot against the worn floor boards.
“I’d like to hear about what you learn there.” Jame wanted to just spend time with Tigh and get to know her better. “Would you, uh, be interested in joining me for the evening meal tomorrow night? You can tell me all about your first day.”
Tigh looked so astonished that Jame was afraid she’d say no.
“All right,” Tigh said.
“Great. I’m late for class. I’ll pick you up at the infirmary.” Jame trotted down the corridor. She glanced back several times at Tigh and smiled at the stunned gaze that followed after her.
“I’M LOOKING FOR Bede Komlic,” Tigh mumbled to the assistant healer seated at a small table in the foyer of the infirmary.
“Ah, we’ve been expecting you. I’m Pakar, assistant healer.” The young woman with the black hair and the healthy bronzed skin of the people of Ynit smiled at Tigh. “Bede will be here when the sand hits the quarter mark.”
Tigh raised an eyebrow. “Can you foresee the future?”
Pakar laughed. “Bede always walks through the door when the sand hits the quarter mark. He says ‘good morning,’ then he walks into the ward and checks the overnight reports. Then he comes back in here and asks if there’s anything that needs his attention. It never varies. Ular, who has worked here for thirty years, says she’s never known him to deviate from this routine.”
Tigh pondered this for a heartbeat as a long absent hint of mischief lurked around the corners of her mind. She wandered over to the opened double doors of the long ward and peeked in. She saw the overnight reports and slipped them under a pile of papers next to them.
“Please, have a seat,” Pakar called.
Tigh wandered back into the foyer with a nonchalant expression. “I think I’ll wait outside.” She sauntered out the door before Pakar could respond.
She knew she was acting like a mischievous child but it helped take away her apprehension. Besides, she’d have something amusing to tell Jame.
She wanted to hear Jame’s laughter again. It rang so sweetly in her ears. She still couldn’t believe Jame had invited her to share the evening meal in a public place, even if was only a mess hall within the compound. But it also meant being with Jame for no other reason than two friends sharing a meal. The thought took her breath away.
She snapped back to her current challenge and looked around, putting her solid problem solving skills to use. She wasn’t interested in the easiest solution to the challenge she set up for herself. That defeated the purpose of making the exercise as absurd as possible.
Delicate vines that weren’t indigenous to the arid climate of Ynit clung to the adobe wall of the infirmary. Tigh noticed that all of the plants on either side of the doorway looked as out of place as a mountain cat in Maymi. Their neat arrangement and meticulous care told her that these were someone’s serious hobby. Her ability to absorb and retain much of what she read allowed her to make the connection between Bede’s name and the upper coast of the
She hurried down the corridor, rounded the sharp corner to a back wing of the building, and stopped as if an invisible wall blocked her way.
Tigh walked down the corridor—slumped shouldered with hands hooked under a loose low-riding belt. She was oblivious to people passing her, off in another world as far as Jame could tell.
“Tigh,” Jame said.
Tigh looked up, startled. She straightened and shuffled to the wall, as if being out in the middle of the corridor was too conspicuous for her.
“Hey,” she said.
Jame was unexplainably happy to see Tigh again although it had only been two days since the hearing. “Have you met with the counselor yet?”
Tigh nodded. “I have to report to the infirmary tomorrow.”
“All the Guards start out in the infirmary.” Jame wondered why she felt tongue-tied.
“That’s what the counselor told me.” Tigh scuffed the toe of her boot against the worn floor boards.
“I’d like to hear about what you learn there.” Jame wanted to just spend time with Tigh and get to know her better. “Would you, uh, be interested in joining me for the evening meal tomorrow night? You can tell me all about your first day.”
Tigh looked so astonished that Jame was afraid she’d say no.
“All right,” Tigh said.
“Great. I’m late for class. I’ll pick you up at the infirmary.” Jame trotted down the corridor. She glanced back several times at Tigh and smiled at the stunned gaze that followed after her.
“I’M LOOKING FOR Bede Komlic,” Tigh mumbled to the assistant healer seated at a small table in the foyer of the infirmary.
“Ah, we’ve been expecting you. I’m Pakar, assistant healer.” The young woman with the black hair and the healthy bronzed skin of the people of Ynit smiled at Tigh. “Bede will be here when the sand hits the quarter mark.”
Tigh raised an eyebrow. “Can you foresee the future?”
Pakar laughed. “Bede always walks through the door when the sand hits the quarter mark. He says ‘good morning,’ then he walks into the ward and checks the overnight reports. Then he comes back in here and asks if there’s anything that needs his attention. It never varies. Ular, who has worked here for thirty years, says she’s never known him to deviate from this routine.”
Tigh pondered this for a heartbeat as a long absent hint of mischief lurked around the corners of her mind. She wandered over to the opened double doors of the long ward and peeked in. She saw the overnight reports and slipped them under a pile of papers next to them.
“Please, have a seat,” Pakar called.
Tigh wandered back into the foyer with a nonchalant expression. “I think I’ll wait outside.” She sauntered out the door before Pakar could respond.
She knew she was acting like a mischievous child but it helped take away her apprehension. Besides, she’d have something amusing to tell Jame.
She wanted to hear Jame’s laughter again. It rang so sweetly in her ears. She still couldn’t believe Jame had invited her to share the evening meal in a public place, even if was only a mess hall within the compound. But it also meant being with Jame for no other reason than two friends sharing a meal. The thought took her breath away.
She snapped back to her current challenge and looked around, putting her solid problem solving skills to use. She wasn’t interested in the easiest solution to the challenge she set up for herself. That defeated the purpose of making the exercise as absurd as possible.
Delicate vines that weren’t indigenous to the arid climate of Ynit clung to the adobe wall of the infirmary. Tigh noticed that all of the plants on either side of the doorway looked as out of place as a mountain cat in Maymi. Their neat arrangement and meticulous care told her that these were someone’s serious hobby. Her ability to absorb and retain much of what she read allowed her to make the connection between Bede’s name and the upper coast of the
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