The Gardener of Nahi

Chapter 33

Cassidian

As the world became sharp again I stepped out of the crossjump platform and immediately saw Blue ahead of me.  He was walking quickly away from me, the sides of his open gray trench coat visible as they flapped in the manufactured breeze caused by the passing innerships to his right.  He brought a finger to his ear tellingly and I knew he was speaking to someone on his commpatch.  Cyris most likely, saying that I was dead. 

I wondered then if all of this had been planned.  The fight in The Canopy Garden.  The drunk men at the table.  Seung Lei.  All of it.

     For some reason I didn’t think so.  To me it seemed like Blue simply took advantage of the situation.  Blue didn’t care about the cassies in my account.  He didn’t want what Cyris wanted.  He only wanted me dead to avenge his brother Green, and he saw an opportunity and took it.

And now he was most likely asking Cyris for forgiveness instead of permission.

In profile I witnessed as he spoke out loud and walked to the covered innertaxi stand at the edge of the artery, activating the kiosk there.  I could see him talking irritably as he pressed the touch screen harder than he had to.  Soon the light on top of the stand turned to a flashing green.

Even though I was surrounded by a thick crowd, I prudently found a large man wearing a garish oversized coat with fur trim who was walking slower than the rest.  I stayed behind him and watched as one of the colored lines in the artery far ahead of me shortened, becoming something tangible and beaming.

Within seconds an innership had pulled aside, hovering just within the covered alcove and a gull wing door opened.

My bloody serrater still in my hand, I broke away from the pack, sprinting towards the innership stand and passing through the arched opening.  Blue’s back was to me as he ducked into the innership and I followed, forcing my way in behind him.

“No, no, no.  Take the next one,” he said loudly, but then our eyes met as we both fell back into the black padded seat together.  I pushed the serrater into his side.

“Tell Cyris you have to go,” I said quietly.  “Do it or you lose an arm.”

“I have to go,” he said flatly.

“Now rip it out,” I said.  I could hear the tinny sound of Cyris yelling at him through the commpatch.

He slowly brought his right hand to his ear as I pulled my serrater away and leaned against the right inner padded wall of the innership.

“Destination?” the innertaxi said.  The programmed voice was a woman’s.

     Blue had ripped the commpatch out of his inner ear by then, showing a round flesh-colored tab in his palm, and he held it out to me.

     “Throw it out the door,” I said.

     He started to lean over and I raised my weapon.  “From where you’re at,” I said.