Skye Object 3270a by Linda Nagata Read Free Book Online Page B

startled dokey sprang to the right. Ord saw its chance, and streaked to the left, but as soon as the golden robot moved, the dokey darted after it. Skye yelled and dove for Jem, trying to grab him, but the dokey was too low to the ground, or she was too tall. All she got was a pinch of the loose skin and silky fur behind his neck before Jem slid free.
    Skye stumbled after him, off-balance and almost falling down, suddenly aware of Buyu only a step away. She watched him reach down to snatch Ord up with hands as fast as anything she had ever seen.
    Then, triumphantly holding the little robot in two hands, far above the reach of the frustrated dokey, Buyu whirled around—
    â€”and Skye crashed into his upraised elbow.
    A hot, black explosion of pain clouded her awareness. The next thing she knew, she was sitting on the gleaming street, leaning forward with her hand pressed against her nose while blood dripped out between her fingers. Apparently Ord had once again escaped Buyu, because the little robot was on the ground beside her, one tentacle patting her cheek, the other tapping at the drops of blood glowing a bright ruby red against the light of the street. “Poor Skye. So sad. Nasty, nasty accident. It will fix, Skye.”
    Then suddenly everybody was all over her with the poor-Skye routine. Zia crouched beside her. “Poor Skye. You never were too graceful. Let’s get a look at that nose . . .”
    â€œYou okay?” Devi muttered. He scowled at the bright blood droplets in the street, as if he’d never seen blood before. Or maybe he just hadn’t seen that much blood before.
    Buyu sat down beside her with a thud. His wide, round face looked devastated. “Skye, I’m sorry. I’m just a clumsy fool. I—”
    â€œItz jus a bloody noz!” she snapped. “It’ll figs in a minute.”
    But blood was still dripping between her fingers. This was crazy. Like everyone else in Silk, her body carried an army of Makers, tiny nanomachines that should quickly repair any trivial wounds. She’d had a bloody nose before, but it hadn’t bled for more than a second or two.
    Devi knelt in front of her. Jem was once again perched on his shoulder, and once again he was suspiciously eyeing Ord. Skye shifted her leg to block the robot from the dokey’s view. “That should have stopped bleeding by now,” Devi said, frowning in concern.
    â€œWell i’ hazn’t! Give i’ a minute.”
    Her nose felt swollen to three times its normal size. So la di da, she must be looking great just now. A big bloody nose and snot mixed in with the blood. She finally let Zia pull her hands away, and instantly her worst suspicions were confirmed. “Yuck! What a mess. Maybe you should wash your face.”
    â€œYou thig so?”
    Ord raised a tentacle to her nose. She heard a hiss, and felt a cool mist. The bleeding stopped almost immediately, but now her nose felt stuffed with jelled blood. Zeme dust .
    â€œYou okay?” Devi said, as she clambered to her feet.
    â€œOh sure. Nothig’ wrong here.”
    â€œI—”
    â€œDon’t mind Miss Nasty,” Zia told him. “A little water will wash that temper right off. Get us a table, will you? We’ll be back in a minute.”

Chapter 6
    â€œD id you really find him on a dark rooftop?” Zia asked, as she held a wet towel to Skye’s face.
    Skye snatched the towel away. “Let me do that!”
    She sat in a swivel chair, staring at her projection in an image wall mounted above the ready-room’s countertop. The bloodstains on her dress had flaked away, ejected by Makers in the fabric, but her nose looked like a rotten plum, just before the fruit flies started hatching out. It might take an hour for her body’s Makers to heal the damage. Or it might take longer.
    Why had her nose kept bleeding like that? As a kid, she’d earned a bloody nose once or twice, but it had never