Cat and Company by Tracy Cooper-Posey Read Free Book Online Page B

Yennifer’s message, put the board face down on the table, and sat up with a bright, interested look on her face while her body and brain churned. Nothing anyone was saying around the board table registered in the slightest.
    Bedivere was back.
    She tried to sort out her feelings. It was a hot soup of unclassifiable emotions. She could barely sit still as they prodded her.
    The meeting broke up ten minutes later, for which she was eternally grateful. Dignitaries filed out of the big boardroom. The room was one of the grandest on the Hana , designed to impress and intimidate visitors, with its ranks of pillars and walls and ceiling of glass that revealed the stars beyond.
    Devlin leaned toward her and spoke in an undertone. “Did you get bad news a few minutes ago?”
    She shook her head. “It’s nothing. My AI screwed up my lunch order.”
    Devlin smiled. “You need to scrub that AI and get another one. It’s woefully inefficient. We’re heading for Gry next.” His smile slipped just a little. “Another round in the ongoing war over the interpretation of Glave’s meaning of the word ‘human’.”
    “The Ammonites know they’re losing,” Catherine told him. “That loss will bring an end to the very meaning of their lives. They have to fight it.”
    “You may have to remind me of that every five minutes. No one can make me as angry as they can with their unquestioning platitudes.”
    Catherine got to her feet. “I’ll be back for the Ammonites,” she told him. “I’m just going to my room for a moment.”
    Devlin turned to speak to the senior Varkan still sitting at the table, laying the groundwork for the Gry meeting, as she left. She hurried through the passages down to the next level where her stateroom was located. Her heart outpaced her.
    Bedivere was back.
    What did it mean ?
    * * * * *
    The tap on the door came a microsecond before the door opened, which meant Brant wasn’t looking for permission to enter.
    Bedivere put down the board he was reading, resting it on his chest. He tucked his hand under his head.
    Brant nearly bumped his shoulder against the shelves that started just inside the door and stepped out of the way of them with a startled glance upward. The shelves had been there when Bedivere moved in and he hadn’t bothered trying to get rid of them. There were boxes and items on the shelves that no one seemed to be interested in, so he was never disturbed.
    Brant’s side step brought him to the foot of the bed Bedivere was lying on. Brant looked around the room. “I’m surprised a bed could fit in here.”
    “I gave the printer the dimensions.” Bedivere shrugged. The bed was narrow and shorter than he was used to, although it held him up and allowed him to sleep.
    “There is a perfectly good suite across the room and it’s empty,” Brant pointed out.
    Running water. Trees. Dappled light. Peace. Warmth. Softness. Her scent….
    Bedivere took a deep breath and shook his head. “No, thank you.”
    Brant crossed his arms. His eyes narrowed down thoughtfully as he considered Bedivere.
    Bedivere waited him out. He had time.
    “What are you doing, anyway?” Brant asked.
    He was going to come to his point from the side. Bedivere rested his hand on the board lying on his chest. “Reading about the destruction of the Last Gate.”
    “That was nearly a hundred years ago,” Brant pointed out. “They never learned what happened and who did it back then. You figure you can out-smart everyone now?”
    “I was curious. We always thought that Kare Sarkisian escaped into the Silent Sector and he’s never turned up again.”
    “If he was in the Sector when the Gate was destroyed, then he’s still in the Sector and probably stone cold dead by now,” Brant replied. “So you don’t have him to blame for your woes this time.”
    Gloves off , Bedivere thought. He put the board on the floor and sat up, resting his back against the wall behind him. “That’s why you’re here? Time for