Indigo Rain by Watts Martin Read Free Book Online Page B

town she’d grown up, Roulette caught a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye, and glanced over to see Lisha approaching. The vixen nodded to her as she walked past, then took a seat alone at a table against the wall.
    The wolf turned to follow Roulette’s gaze. “I do not usually see her eat here.”
    “I’m surprised she’s eating alone.”
    He grunted, and downed the rest of his drink. “Because she is so bubbly and social, yes.” He tapped her plate. “Raccoons eat too slow.”
    “Canines eat too fast.”
    Gregir grinned, and stood up. “I must get to the general store before it closes. I shall see you later?”
    “I’ll be here, somewhere.”
    She watched him walk off, then smiled demurely at Tylee. “It was nice meeting you. Will you excuse me?”
    He nodded, smiling back uncertainly. “Sure.”
    Before he said anything else, she stood up, picking up her own half-empty plate and silverware, and walked over to Lisha’s table.
    The vixen looked up sharply, her expression almost as wary as Tylee’s.
    “You don’t mind company, do you?” Roulette said.
    Lisha’s ears came forward, although her expression remained guarded. “No.” She waved at the seat across from her.
    “So are you from Achoren?” As she spoke, Roulette tried to guess Lisha’s age. About thirty, if that? Not quite. Older than the raccoon, but not by as much as she tried to project.
    “No. I’ve lived here five years. I grew up in Raneadhros.”
    Roulette’s ears perked. “Really? That’s where I want to live. I grew up in Orinthe.”
    “Raneadhros is closer to Orinthe than Achoren is. How’d you end up here?”
    She didn’t feel like telling the story again. “Not so good luck. You?”
    “I was with the Ranean Guard. They usually keep officers in the areas they know. But they wanted to move non-human officers into Achoren, and asked for volunteers. So I went.”
    “A kind of…of outreach program, then?”
    “That was the idea. It just wasn’t a good one.” The vixen’s expression softened into something more contemplative as she looked past Roulette, eyes unfocused. “The first thing you learn as a Guard member is that it isn’t a royal guard, that you’re not a soldier. The drill was ‘not in service to the law, but in service to the community within the law.’ In Raneadhros that worked.” She refocused on Roulette. “But when I came here, I was always the other . You can’t win the trust of people who treat you like that.”
    “That’s just a few people, though. And older people, ones who don’t want to change. I mean, I haven’t been treated badly,” Roulette said, then looked down. “Other than last night, I mean.”
    “Bullshit.” Lisha’s tone was—for her—gentle, but the raccoon’s ears still went back. “You’re stuck in a boarding house in Furville. You know that’s what they call that part of town, don’t you?”
    “Yes, but it’s a nice enough place for now. There weren’t any vacancies at the places closer to the city center I asked at.”
    “That’s what the landlords told you,” Lisha said softly. “And you don’t have a bank account because they asked for an extra security deposit, since you were from out of town? You didn’t have enough credit?” She abruptly leaned forward, pinching Roulette’s arm fur between two fingers. “Or because you have this?”
    The raccoon jerked her arm away. She was starting to see why people didn’t like to eat with Lisha. “Is that why you left the Guard?”
    “I was released a year ago.”
    Roulette hesitated, unsure whether to ask the obvious next question.
    “Sometimes people get—a little bold verbally with the Guard when they realize we’re supposed to be polite and formal all the time. Someone pushed me too far and I decked him.”
    “Oh. But being let go just for one fight seems harsh.”
    “It wasn’t the first,” the vixen said curtly.
    “Oh,” Roulette repeated. She couldn’t think of anything else to