The Diamond Deep by Brenda Cooper Read Free Book Online Page A

judgment.”
    Joel snapped, “Acknowledged.”
    Ruby pushed herself away from the table. “We have to tell everyone.”
    â€œNo.” Joel gave her a glance full of warning. “Not yet.”
    Ruby tensed. “Of course we do. What if it’s dangerous?”
    Laird spoke over her, his steady gaze a clear challenge. “What can they possibly do to help?”
    Joel looked at Laird for a long, contemplative moment. “It’s decent to tell them. But we need a plan first.”
    Laird dropped his eyes and his lips twisted into a bitter half-smile.
    SueAnne spoke up. “They are possible fighters.”
    Ruby grimaced, but offered a compromise, “Perhaps we need to plan both a welcome and a defense.”
    Joel grimaced. “Defense first.”
    Ruby had achieved a partial victory; Onor and Haric were ordered to take the train to the cargo bars and tell Colin about the ship. This time, there were no unscheduled stops. For the most part, the train was returning tired festival-goers to their homes. A peacekeeper rode quietly in each car.
    Onor had believed Ruby when she told him they were going home. He had felt the journey when she sang “Homecoming.” But never before had there been physical evidence that anything except the Fire existed.
    He wanted to see a planet and a sky. Animals. The Fire held no live animals except humans.
    Now, after staring at all of the mysteries on the outside of the ugly ship and contemplating the mysteries inside, he wondered if he had been naïve.
    Maybe he should be afraid instead of excited.
    The train stopped, and he and Haric got off and jogged to the cargo bars. It felt good to move, and even better to turn up the steps and take them quickly.
    The watchers at the door waved Onor and Haric past without hesitating. Inside, the room hummed with the extra-loud laughter of drinkers.
    Haric led Onor to Colin, seated over a game of Planazate with a man Onor had seen but didn’t really know. He struggled for the man’s name. Allen. He’d led a group of Colin’s fighters, and Onor recalled that he had been successful. There wasn’t a mark on him.
    Although Colin was the same age as Joel, and also had graying hair and a slight but strong build, the resemblance ended there. Colin had a wildness about him that Onor loved and feared. He smiled at Haric as they walked up. “How’s my little turncoat doing?”
    â€œMiss you too,” Haric shot back. He pulled himself up and looked serious. “Ruby and Joel sent us with news.”
    â€œWhat is it?”
    Haric shifted his weight from foot to foot. “We need to talk in private.”
    Colin looked across the game board. “This is Allen. You can talk in front of him. He’s trusted.”
    â€œIt’s not about last night’s attacks.”
    Colin merely raised an eyebrow.
    Onor spoke as softly as he could. “There’s a ship. Another ship. Ix saw it. We could see it on the map.”
    Colin stood up and gestured for Allen to do the same. “Come with me.”
    He led the four of them to a small office and shut the door. A table and four chairs filled one side, a long couch on the other. A dark vid screen hugged a third wall. They sat around the table and Colin leaned forward, his features tense and curious. “Tell me.”
    They told him, Haric filling in details after Onor told the main story.
    When Colin ran out of questions, he sat back, his face as stony as Joel’s had been at the news. Maybe that was a lesson about leading: don’t give your emotions away.
    Allen wasn’t nearly as hard to read. His dark eyes had narrowed and he brushed a lock of dark hair from his face, tucking it behind his ear and shaking his head. He looked both determined and scared. He blurted out, “We need to get everyone ready for a fight. Just in case.”
    Colin unclipped his journal from his belt and fiddled with it for a few seconds.