Ellie Quin Book 2: The World According to Ellie Quin by Alex Scarrow Read Free Book Online Page A

more black market items and illegal goods on offer than down on the first floor where she’d just bought the Podkin seed. With a chill of recognition she spotted through an open doorway a small arsenal of illegal weapons spread out across a low table. The vendor inside the habi-cube, a pale blue skinned man, with hair gelled up into two stiff glistening devil-horns, met her eyes and then swiftly pulled a rag over them and jerked his head at her to move along.
    It made sense that the illegal things, the more risqué items, were on sale up here on the twentieth floor. If any law marshals actually bothered to do their job and paid the tower a visit, there’d be a warning and far more time for those up here to pack away their goods, or perhaps even hurl them down the disposal chutes, than there would be down in the foyer.
    ‘I think that’s the one,’ said Jez, pointing down the passageway towards a habi-cube doorway on the left. Ellie could see a woman sitting cross-legged outside, draped in swathes of elaborately patterned materials.
    As they drew up to the opening she could see around the doorway that someone, presumably this lady, had meticulously painted the same ornate swirling patterns on the plastic walls. It reminded her of some religion she had read about, a religion from Old Earth –
Eslamic
? Something like that. She could smell the rich aroma of burning incense wafting out from the dimly lit cube beyond.
    ‘Hello miss,’ said Jez. ‘A good friend of mine told me there is a boojam up here, working as a fortune teller.’
    The lady smiled pleasantly. Ellie could see she was dark skinned, a sort of dark brown tone. ‘Yes. Here in New Haven only for a short time I’m afraid…until His Excellency’s work here amongst us is done,’ she answered enigmatically.
    ‘Really?’ Jez replied with a hint of cynicism.
‘His work amongst us
?’ she repeated, winking at Ellie. ‘So, can we see him? His
Excellency
?’
    ‘Of course you can. Kazan will see anyone who wishes to see him.’
    Jez began to step into the darkened cube beyond, but the woman blocked her way with an arm. ‘That’ll be two credits please, lady.’
    ‘Two credits, huh?
    The lady, still smiling, nodded. ‘Of course. Kazan has to eat just like anyone else.’
    Ellie leaned forward. ‘Is that two credits each? Or for the pair of us?’
    The woman stared up at her and reached out a hand towards Ellie. She grabbed one of her hands and stroked it gently. ‘So young, you are. Just a child. Why are you here? This city is no place for a young boy.’
    ‘I’m not a boy!’ replied Ellie, a little piqued. She pulled her hand back. ‘I’m not a child either!’
    ‘Please forgive.’ The woman studied her carefully. ‘Far, far older than your years I think.’ She nodded towards the entrance to the darkened habi-cube beside her. ‘For you then,
lady
….you have a good strong karma. I let you both in for three credits. Three, the pair of you.’
    ‘Thank you,’ said Jez. ‘Come on, Ellie.’
    Ellie was somewhat baffled by the woman’s words.
    ‘You ready then Ellie? Your first alien?’
    She forgot the woman’s esoteric nonsense about karmas. She nodded. An excited grin spread across her lips. All of a sudden here it was, she was about to do one of the things she had told Sean that she hoped she one day would; to finally meet a real alien. The growing excitement of the moment stole the reply from her mouth.
    ‘Then let’s go do it, girl,’ said Jez, dragging her friend in through the open door.

CHAPTER 7
    Inside the cube the ever present neon-lights of New Haven night-time had been blocked out with more elaborate patterned materials draped over the two round windows. Ellie looked around the small cube. Once upon a time this had been someone’s living space. Stains and marks on the fibre-mat floor told a brief tale of long gone tenants, and long ago spills and mishaps. The modest oval room was illuminated by half a dozen candles