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.”“It’s the Bones.Or the Mask.Maybe both.I usually scar up pretty good, though.” Jav didn’t seem to be engaged at all, his tone was completely flat.The words came without any thought.Vays scrutinized him for a moment and said as he realized, “You don’t have any scars on your face.”Jav turned to him, and Vays started somewhat at the slight sign of animation.“Let’s see that you don’t make it your goal to change that,” Jav said.Vays laughed a little nervously at that, but his concern returned.“Are you all right, Holson? I’ve never seen you lose your focus in a fight before.What happened?”Jav shook his head noncommittally.“The scary thing is, even when you lost your focus, you still managed to catch my damned sword in your bare hand, and I couldn’t budge it.If I didn’t know better—and maybe I don’t—I’d say you might actually be the monster some people say you are.”Jav looked at him with eyes that were still far away and yet seemed to see into and through him.Vays hissed his breath in as a chill racked him suddenly.They stood like that, regarding each other for what seemed a long time until finally Jav spoke in the same flat, unaffected tone, “I have to go.”“O-okay,” Vays said, unsure of how else to respond.Jav was already passing through the exit when Vays called out after him, “Get that hand looked at anyway, huh?”• • •Jav had to go, but where he had to go, he had no idea.He couldn’t help feeling a sense of loss, of desolation that painted everything gray and hopeless.He’d never felt like this before.Had he? He started to think that this feeling was not so unfamiliar to him, and it frightened him a little.He returned to his quarters, stripped his clothes off, leaving them strewn about on the floor, and crawled into the shower.He sat beneath the spray, letting the water rinse the blood covering his hand and the last of the blood coming out of it.His cuts had already sealed at bottom and would be thin white scars by morning.When he concentrated on it, he could feel the minute itch of the skin mending.Through that though, that feeling of desolation once again overwhelmed him.The hopelessness that came angered him, and he sensed in himself the capacity for black hate.A return to black hate? He tried not to think about it.Tried to think of nothing at all.Eventually he pulled himself from the shower and got into bed, curling up in the fetal position, clutching his hand which no longer bothered him in the slightest.• • •Hours later, Mao returned to the quarters she shared with Jav and was surprised to find him in bed.She bent over him and gently turned his face to hers.When his eyes opened, they went wide with something akin to shock.“Mai!” Jav shouted.“Thank god you’re here.”“God?” Mao shook her head in confusion.“Jav, it’s me, Mao.Are you all right?”He looked at her for a moment, his sleep-muddled head clearing.“Mao.I’m so sorry.”She shook her head again, but this time she was smiling.“It’s okay.Just as long as your still glad I’m here.”Jav’s lips trembled, and for a moment Mao thought that he teetered between tears and a smile.It was the latter that won out and he threw his arms around her.16.YOUTH & CONSEQUENCES10,691.133Salton Stoakes rarely left his concealed quarters within the Palace, but did so on occasion, if only to stretch his legs or to keep certain people company.As yet, no one knew or even guessed at his true identity.He was always careful to avoid contact with the current generals or anyone from Blue Squad.They would know him, but he was discreet and good at going unnoticed.Immortality brought with it its own brand of boredom, and being confined to a small space only intensified that boredom to unendurable levels.His quarters had been expanded and equipped with a small gravity block to allow him to train, but there were times when he simply had to get out.There was a small group of middle-aged women, all of them still quite attractive, who, unknown to each other, awaited his unexpected visits with the remembered blush of youth.They were always so astounded by his stamina, which was rare in a man his age.But a man was only part of what he was and a man had to keep busy, or so he thought, and this was justification enough.He would need to leave that behind for a time, though.The new system harbored an assignment for him.There were twelve planets in System 284.Planets six, seven, and eight were populated and had exceptionally close orbits which were nearly synchronized.Regular contact between these three planets had been observed, and it was the last of them, the eighth planet, to which Stoakes would be sent.Another hapless soul echo awaited.He stood over the sleeping form of Ana Tain.She was his favorite with her appetites, her freckles, and her red curls—on her head, under her arms, and between her legs.She lay totally exposed upon the bed they’d put to good use not more than an hour ago.He placed a hand upon her smooth, white belly, feeling a useless charge rush through his body.No more time for that.He finished dressing in his charcoal field gear, raised the special collar to cover the lower half of his face, and went Dark
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Tematy
IndexCidney Swanson [Saving Mars Saving Mars (epub)
Christine Wood [Life Plan 01] A Life Plan Without You (epub)
Cheryl McIntyre [Infinitely Infinitely (epub)
Clair Delaney [Coral 01] Coral (epub)
Christine Cody [Bloodlands 01 Bloodlands (epub)
Christina Ross [Unleash Me, A Unleash Me, Vol 3 (epub)
Christine Flynn [The Hunt for Once Upon a Christmas Eve (epub
Christian Fletcher [The Left Left on the Brink (epub)
Christopher G Nuttall [Royal The Royal Sorceress (epub)
Hamilton Laurell K Anita Blake 02 UÂśmiechnięty nieboszczyk