Deception Well (The Nanotech Succession Book 2) Read Free Page B

veins. It forced its way past the membranes of each one of his cells. He cried out softly, and felt a responding ache in his lungs.
    Jupiter.
    A hand touched his shoulder. “Shh, Lot. It’s all right.”
    He turned his head at the familiar voice. “Alta?”
    She sat beside him in the half-light. Alta was Captain Antigua’s daughter, and already eleven years old. She was good at commando games. Sometimes she treated Lot like a baby, but she’d partnered with him once, and that time he’d lived.
    Now she looked nervous. She kept glancing to the side. “You have to wake up quick, Lot. The medic doesn’t know I took the sedative patch off. She’ll be back soon.”
    Lot remembered the medic, but he didn’t remember falling asleep. “I feel scared.” His voice was a hoarse croak. He coughed softly to clear his aching throat.
    “I feel scared too. Everybody’s scared. The Silkens want to panic us. They’ve bombed the air with a psychoactive virus. It’ll clear soon. We’ll be all right.” She glanced again to the side. She had black eyes and black, wispy hair that clung to her chin and her throat above her armor. Her skin was very pale.
    “You look funny in armor,” Lot said.
    She frowned at him. “You look funny asleep, so get up , before the medic slaps another patch on your neck.”
    Her anxiety pried at him. Coughing softly, he pushed himself to a sitting position. They were in the cavernous loading bay, though it was almost empty now. Light spilling in from the corridor was augmented by a few headlamps on the floor. Nearby, five women sat cross-legged, infants cradled against the hard breastplates of their armor. One of them rocked gently, her eyes squeezed shut. Lot could hear his heart running fast. “Why are we still here? We’re supposed to follow Jupiter.”
    Alta leaned close. Her lips moved beside his ear as she spoke in a barely audible whisper. “Not everyone’s going to make it down.” She sat back a little. “That’s why you have to wake up. We have to go now . Only a few elevator cars are running below the city. The corridor is packed with people waiting for a turn. It can’t last. We have to get to the lower terminus before it’s too late. Don’t be afraid. I’ve waited for you. We can do it together.”
    His sensory tears grappled with her scent. A sticky, pervasive fear seeped out of her, but that was undercut by a gleam of confidence, delightful in its unexpected presence. He fed on it, and felt his own mood lighten. “Where’s the medic?”
    “In the corridor. She’ll try to stop us—”
    A strange sound stirred in the far distance, a muffled roar blended of deep bass notes and high-pitched accents that set Lot’s nerves on edge.
    One of the huddled women muttered, “Oh, I hate that sound.” Someone else hushed her. A baby fussed.
    Alta surprised Lot with a quick hug. “Don’t worry. That’s nothing. Just the Silkens, trying to scare us.”
    Lot thought she might be wrong. “I want to look.” He got to his feet and edged toward the door. Alta followed, her approval sliding coolly over his sensory tears.
    In the corridor Lot saw more people—several hundred armored troopers sitting on the floor, their backpacks on. There wasn’t room to walk between them. They were silent, but their anxiety spoke loudly in the absence of words. They stared vacantly: at the walls, at their hands. Lot knew they were listening. He listened too.
    The distant roar grew louder, the keening overnotes more strident. Lot could almost believe he heard Jupiter’s name in that wail. Alta nudged his elbow. “If we stay calm, we’ll be all right.”
    “Something’s wrong down there.” He could taste it on the air, panic and terror like dark sparks flashing against his cheeks.
    “It’s not good,” Alta admitted. “But Lot, you could get through. The troopers will let you pass, and I’ll take care of you. We can get there together—”
    A startled voice interrupted her. “Lot, what are