Strange Skies by Kristi Helvig Read Free Book Online

must be at the command center. We can stop by the bar on the way. Doubt James will be there, but at least you’ll be able to say hi to Markus, maybe talk some sense into him since no one else can. Oh, and here.” Alec plucked another flower from a nearby bush and tucked it behind my ear. “You haven’t seen James in awhile. Don’t you want to make a good impression?”
    The bar was little more than a dimly lit shack. A strange wood and metal structure sat atop its roof. Every few seconds the inner metal pieces rotated closer to a large groove in the wood. There were multiple grooves and each had a different marking on it.
    I pointed. “What is that?”
    “Our version of timekeeping,” Alec said. “We had to create some sort of standard ‘day,’ since so few people have access to an Infinity. Each groove means six light breaks have passed—a new day. It would be hard to organize anything otherwise.”
    I stared at the intricate contraption another minute before entering the bar. Makeshift tables constructed from driftwood were scattered around the room in a haphazard pattern. People clustered around them on rough plank benches. It amazed me to see furniture made from something other than thermoplastic. The only thermoplastic items in the room were clothes and the drinking mugs. Someone must have brought a stash from Earth.
    A long-haired man held some sort of wooden, stringed instrument that he played with his fingers. I vaguely recalled the instrument from the Net. His voice warbled earnestly as he sang something about fighting and freedom.
    “I’m guessing he’s not Consulate,” I joked.
    Alec laughed. “None of these gringos would be caught dead hanging out with the Consulate.”
    I raised an eyebrow at him. “You were Consulate and they hung out with you.”
    He shrugged. “Yeah, but I had to prove myself like you wouldn’t believe to earn their trust.”
    I scanned the room. One group at a table clinked their mugs together and chugged the contents in apparent celebration. A group of girls at another table listened with rapt attention to the long-haired dude, swaying back and forth with the music. Then I saw Markus. Or, rather, the side of Markus as he made out with some girl against the wall. I pointed him out to Alec. “He doesn’t look like he’s coming up for air anytime soon, does he?”
    “No. We’ll stop by again on the way back from the command center. You want a drink or are you ready to go?”
    The last thing I wanted to do was stick around and watch Markus stick his tongue down a girl’s throat. “Let’s get out of here.”
    As I turned, a movement caught my eye from the other side of the room. There was a small table I hadn’t noticed in the far back corner of the bar. The light barely even reached the table. My breath caught in my chest. It was only his back, but I’d know him anywhere.
    James .
    And he wasn’t alone.

Chapter FIVE
    R EDDISH HAIR FELL IN WAVES OVER HER SHOULDERS AS SHE leaned toward James, her mouth curved into a smile. His left arm rested on the table, and her fingers playfully walked up his muscled forearm as she spoke. I felt like I’d been punched in the gut and wanted to throw up. So shooting you is okay but talking to another girl makes you sick? I couldn’t speak, so I grabbed Alec’s arm before he could leave. He followed my gaze to the corner table.
    “Oh, her,” Alec said.
    She looked up and noticed us staring. Her eyes fixed on mine and something flashed across her face before she removed her hand from James’ arm.
    My heart beat like crazy in my chest. I was so mad at myself for believing that even after everything he did to me, James still cared about me. You shouldn’t be mad at yourself; you should be mad at him. He shot you, remember? Anger welledup and I grabbed a full mug from the nearest table, ignoring the protests of its owner. I stormed over to the table.
    Alec yelled something that I couldn’t hear because my ears throbbed with rage.