Change of Edict Page 18

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  SIRAY DIDN’T encounter anyone on her way back from the washroom and couldn’t hear anything behind the doors that she passed. When she reached the door to her accommodation, Siray reached her hand out to the activation pad, but before she could tap it, the door swished open to reveal Deson standing there.

  ‘Oh. Sorry,’ he said, backing up awkwardly so that Siray could enter. ‘I was just coming to look for you.’

  She quirked an eyebrow. ‘Well, you wouldn’t have found me, because I was in a females-only area.’

  ‘That’s what I told him,’ Genlie called from somewhere inside in a singsong voice.

  Deson just shrugged and turned to walk with Siray to join the others where they were lounging.

  Genlie’s feet were resting on the edge of the couch she was sprawled on. ‘I told him you were probably taking some time for yourself, and that he shouldn’t worry, but …’ She spread her arms out in an exasperated males gesture.

  ‘I thought she might have gone ahead to lunch without us,’ Deson said defensively.

  Genlie giggled at having gotten a rise out of him. ‘Ah, yes. The meat market.’ She lifted her feet and swung them to the floor. ‘Let’s go across now. We can show Siray the other rooms after we eat.’

  Siray realised she must have been in the washroom for a while if it was time for the midday meal. But then Nafren hadn’t released her until midmorning. She nodded at Genlie’s suggestion. ‘That sounds good to me.’ Really, she was just relieved to be out of the healing level and back with her friends. And after the unfriendly exchange with Melora, she was more than happy to go sightseeing with the others who had already interacted with this new population.

  Tamot, who had been lazing around on the couch opposite from Genlie, stood, stretching. ‘I’ll come.’

  Baindan, Kovi, Wexner, and Jorgi, who had been playing some kind of throwing game at the far end of the room, also looked over at the mention of food.

  ‘We’re in,’ Baindan said.

  As the group made to leave the room, Jorgi called out, ‘Hang on,’ and moved towards the couch. Picking up a cushion, he turned and threw it at Loce, who was still napping on his bunk.

  When the cushion connected, Loce sat up with a start, waving his hands around in alarm, as if to ward off any further attack. Then he saw the group peering across the room at him, and blinked. ‘Why the huddle?’

  Genlie pointed in the direction of the hallway. ‘We’re getting food if you want to come.’

  Loce rubbed his face and yawned. ‘Can’t you just bring me back some?’

  ‘Nope.’

  He groaned and rolled off his bunk. ‘Fine. I’ll come. As if I could refuse my stomach.’

  Genlie led them out, Siray following close behind, and guided them down the same central hallway. ‘The meals hall and the recreation rooms are all off this corridor,’ she said. ‘And the meals hall is closest to the risers.’

  They strolled down the length of the hallway, and now Siray could hear sounds starting to emerge from a doorway located near the far corner of the hall.

  As they drew close, Genlie turned her head, wiggled her eyebrows mysteriously at Siray, and stepped through the door. Entering after her, Siray quickly took in the layout of the room.

  It was large and rectangular, with long tables running across its width. And it was busy.

  ‘Mealtimes run strictly for one span, and you’re not supposed to dawdle when you’re in here,’ Genlie informed her in a low voice. ‘The kitchens are towards the back,’ she said, nodding at the far end of the room, ‘but you grab the food from over there.’ She pointed towards a closer wall that had a long inset.

  Siray could see steam rising from trays placed there, and her stomach grumbled. ‘Let’s grab some food, then,’ she told Genlie, who nodded and steered them that way. Siray was keen to eat, but she was also keen to move. After their group had come in through the door, a lot of eyes had turned their way.

  And a majority of eyes still watched her and Genlie. Male eyes.

  She ignored this and kept a pleasant expression on her face as she followed her friend across to where the food was being served.

  However, after she had turned her back on the room to grab a plate and was busily placing food onto it, she asked, ‘Is it just me, or do you feel like there’s intense interest being shown in our general direction?’

  She spoke in a low voice, as Tamot was serving up his own plate of food nearby.

  ‘Oh, so you noticed,’ Genlie said dryly as she heaped something green and round onto her plate. Then she turned more serious. ‘This is why I call it the meat market. I think the ratio of males to females here must be around ten to one.’ She finished scooping some stew into a bowl on her tray, and said, ‘It’ll be worse when you walk across the room. Just ignore anything you hear and join me at the table over there.’ She jerked her head in the direction she meant and left Siray at the servery.

  Quickly, Siray turned her attention to her plate, finished spooning some other food onto it and picked it up, then turned to track the direction Genlie had gone. As she wended her way between the tables to where her friends were picking out seats, she faced a gauntlet of eyes—some merely curious, some intense.

  But there were also muttered comments between the males as she passed.

  ‘Whoa … now there’s a body I could get used to.’

  ‘Look at those hips!’

  ‘Blue eyes—you guys know I like blue eyes.’

  ‘Look at her eye—a female like that can move …’

  Although she could feel heat spreading up her neck, Siray did as Genlie had instructed and ignored anything she overheard, keeping her chin up and her eyes on the table where Genlie sat. As she reached her friend, she placed her plate down opposite her and sat with relief, pulling the chair in close to the table.

  A moment later, Tamot sat down next to her, and Deson on the other side. The other males from their group sat a bit farther down, as there wasn’t any more room at that end of the table.

  Genlie didn’t say anything more about the attention from the males in the room or from those seated close by but talked to Siray about what they had seen so far and who she had met. She also asked Siray about her recovery and the healers.

  The strange males seated close by didn’t talk much themselves but seemed interested in listening to the conversation between Genlie and Siray. Siray ignored the attention and told Genlie about Nafren’s final words that morning, and how he had advised her not to go tearing herself up again.

  But she shrugged towards her friend. ‘But like you said, where’s the fun in that?’

  Genlie smiled and nodded, and she looked like she was about to say something in agreement when a smooth voice joined the conversation from Siray’s left.

  ‘I like a female who can … handle herself.’

  Siray groaned inwardly, but, shifting her head, she identified the male who had spoken by the looks the other males were throwing him. He had sandy hair and intense golden eyes.

  Out of the corner of Siray’s eye, she saw Deson’s body had tensed a little.

  ‘Really?’ she asked, feigning interest. She leaned forwards on the table in his direction, placing her chin in one hand. ‘Is that because you need the protection, or is it a just a fetish you have?’ She looked right into those brilliant eyes and raised an eyebrow at him in challenge.

  If these males were really going to bother her with their attentions, then she would weed out the weak ones straightaway.

  Golden Eyes held her gaze, but he didn’t seem annoyed or embarrassed by her question. Instead, his smile deepened. ‘Neither. I just appreciate quality.’

  Oh, Mother. ‘Uh-huh,’ was all she said.

  Genlie stood and picked up her plate, all her food gone. ‘Shall I give you the rest of the tour then, Siray?’ she asked purposefully.

  Siray turned away from the unfamiliar male and nodded. ‘Yep. I’m done here.’ She snatched up her mostl
y empty plate and left the table, following Genlie, who was heading for a trolley by the door. After scraping off the remains of her meal and adding her plate to the pile of dirty dishes, she left the room.

  ‘Whew,’ Siray said with relief. Stepping out of the meals hall was like breathing fresh air after being stuck too long in a stifling room.

  ‘Yep. It’s intense,’ said Genlie. ‘I saw Deson was getting all possessive again.’

  Siray shrugged. ‘I think he’s still tense in general after the events of the last turn. But how does Kovi react to all that attention?’

  Genlie smiled. ‘Pretty well. Especially after I’ve made it clear to them all that he’s my choice.’

  Siray considered her friend. The more she got to know Genlie, the more she learned that the female never did anything without purpose. ‘I’m guessing you haven’t been subtle, then?’

  ‘Not at all,’ Genlie said with a big grin. ‘I’ve been sitting with him, walking with him, holding hands, etc., etc., and I even growled at one male who really annoyed me.’ She tilted her head to the side, making her pale hair fall over one shoulder. ‘It also has the upside of ensuring that no females try to make a move on him. Not that there’s a huge risk of that with so few of us here.’

  ‘I noticed,’ Siray said dryly.

  Genlie gestured to a door back down the hall. ‘There—that’s the main recreation room.’

  She walked towards it, and Siray followed, keen to see what the Resistance members here did for entertainment. When they entered the room, at first Siray didn’t see much of anything to distinguish the space from the one she had just left. It had the same type of floors, bare walls, lighting, and general busyness of the meals hall. But as she stood in the doorway watching people shift about the room, a loud round of cheering erupted from somewhere deeper in.

  Genlie nudged her. ‘This way.’

  Siray trailed Genlie as the female weaved her way through the room towards a large group of people all standing in a large circle around something. Just as Siray and Genlie reached the group, they burst out again in loud applause, but Siray still couldn’t see anything. Genlie was trying to peer over the shoulders of those in front of them, but Siray was even shorter than her.

  Pivoting, she saw some stools not far away, so she dragged one over, calling to Genlie.

  Smiling, Genlie saw her plan and went to get her own.

  Meanwhile, her stool now in position at the edge of the mass of people, Siray stepped up onto it, her head and shoulders rising above the crowd.

  Now with a clear line of sight, she could finally observe what was happening in the middle of all those bodies.

  The centre of attention, it seemed, was one male and one female, who were seated at a round metal table. Sitting across from each other, their forearms were flat against the table, their hands purposefully placed on two pads that were imbedded in the table at each seated position. There were also two other sets of pads around the table, but no chairs were currently positioned there. In the middle of the table was what looked like a small, empty bowl.

  The only other unique feature of this setup was that the table and seats were positioned on a slightly elevated platform, which made it easier for spectators to watch.

  Unless you were right at the back.

  The male and female stared at each other, and the crowd grew silent. Eventually, a sparkling mist began to form between them, centred over the bowl.

  But it wasn’t centred for long.

  As Siray watched, the pair continued to stare at each other, barely moving, while the mist hovering above the bowl changed colour a number of times, from orange to purple and back again, before it settled on half orange and half purple.

  Then the mist started to shape itself. Slowly, it pushed outwards from the bowl, drawing closer to both the male and the female.

  Then one side slowed and stopped moving.

  The other side, however, kept expanding out. Slowly at first, then faster.

  As it expanded, the colour of the mist began to lighten more and more to orange until it was almost all the one colour, and then … the table chimed, and the pads under the male’s fingers lit up.

  The masses cheered again, and the male stood, raising his arms in victory, his response to the crowd fuelling its excitement further, some of them jostling to get close to offer personal congratulations, while the female rolled her eyes, nodded to the male, and disappeared into the throng.

  Unfortunately for Siray, this chaos caused someone to stumble backwards into her stool, making it slide out from under her, and with nothing to hold on to, she fell straight backwards.

  Into someone’s arms.

  ‘Gotcha!’ a male voice said.

  Siray was swung around away from the crush of the crowd and, blinking, stared up at her rescuer. Golden Eyes.

  He grinned and smoothly deposited her on her feet before him. ‘I knew you’d fall for me eventually,’ he said, chuckling.

  Siray straightened her shirt and tried to look dignified. ‘Thank you for catching me.’

  Golden Eyes pouted a little. ‘What, I still don’t get an introduction? Even after my noble efforts?’

  Siray tried to display a countenance that was devoid of emotion, but Golden Eyes spoke with such gentle humour that she couldn’t resist a small smile at his words. ‘Fine.’ She crossed her arms as she regarded him. ‘I’m Siray.’

  The smile on the male’s face deepened, and he seemed to think on her name for a moment. ‘Siray … I think I can get used to saying that.’

  She raised her eyebrows at him. ‘And what is the name I should attach to your noble efforts?’

  Golden Eyes smiled further at her wit and gave her a mock bow. ‘I’m Zalorand. But my friends call me Zale.’

  Siray nodded. ‘So Zalorand …’ The male pretended to look away at that name, and Siray sighed, giving in. ‘Alright, Zale,’ she said. He looked back, giving her his undivided attention. ‘What,’ she continued, ‘was that game I just saw?’

  ‘Ah, interested you, did it? It’s called Force of Wills.’

  Siray frowned. ‘Force of Wills?’

  ‘That’s right. And, as the name infers, it’s a battle of minds.’ Zale glanced to his left where the small crowd was gathering again. ‘And it looks like another round is about to start, if you’re interested …?’ He made a grand gesture to the stool she had been standing on.

  Siray snorted but, intrigued by the notion of such a game, obliged him by standing up on the stool once more.

  Once she was up, Zale moved to her right-hand side, where his height meant he could see without obstruction. ‘Both participants must place their hands flat on the hand pads on the table,’ he explained, ‘and the removal of a hand from either pad causes instant disqualification.’

  Siray watched as two new players settled themselves into their seats and moved their hands carefully into position.

  ‘Then,’ Zale continued, ‘once the pads both light up, the players need to exert their will on the field being projected—their minds are connected to the game through the linkage of their hands on the table pads. As a player, you attack by pushing the field in the direction of your opponent, but you also have to defend by trying to mitigate your opponent’s attack.’

  Siray watched as the hand pads on the table glowed briefly, and the crowd grew silent once more at the battle began. ‘How do you win?’ she asked softly.

  ‘You push the field far enough so that it touches your opponent, before his attack can make his share of the projection touch you.’

  Siray nodded. So it was about both will and strategy. Interesting. As she watched the battle, it appeared the male on the purple side of the table was the stronger of the two, and he quickly pushed the field towards his opponent, until the pads under his hands lit up.

  The crowd cheered, and Siray hurriedly stepped down from her stool.

  Zale turned and, gesturing to her, led her over to a section of the wall by the door.

 
When he stopped, Siray found she was standing in front of a long board with a list of names on it. ‘What is it?’

  ‘It’s the leaderboard for the game,’ he answered.

  Siray looked at the board carefully, running her eyes up the list of names before pausing. She turned to Zale. ‘I see your name is at the top. Should I be impressed?’

  Zale nodded, smiling. ‘Although you’d probably be more impressed if you had a go at the game yourself …’

  Siray detected the question in his words, but she shook her head. ‘Not today. I’m just trying to get my head around this place. You know, see the sights and main attractions.’

  ‘Well, this might be disappointing,’ came Zale’s response, ‘but this room is probably one of those main attractions. On this floor anyway. Apart from Force of Wills, there is the old-style holographic fighting game’—Zale pointed it out to Siray in one corner—‘and an even older blocks game,’ he finished, directing her gaze towards another corner where a couple of people were bent over a table.

  At that moment, Genlie appeared, and Siray introduced her. ‘Zale, this is my friend Genlie. Genlie, this is Zale.’

  Genlie nodded and started to say something, but another male approached and interrupted.

  ‘Zale, nice work,’ he said, drawing out the words as he eyed Siray and Genlie up and down. ‘Care to share?’

  Siray tensed, but from Genlie’s glare, it was evident that the male was a breath away from being pounded into the floor.

  Yet Zale surprised them both by turning on the spot and sidestepping so that he blocked the male completely from joining them, leaning forwards to say something in a low voice to the male.

  The male nodded, gave them a last look, and left without another word.

  Zale turned back to them and smiled apologetically. ‘Sorry about that. I think he’d had a little too much batra juice.’