Garnets or Bust Read Online Free PDF

far. Together they moved toward
    the opening and Daaron stepped out slowly. Tessa nudged him with the blaster, and he
    27

    Joanna Wylde
    opened his mouth to speak. Before anything could come out, a hail of drugged
    flechettes rained through the air.
    Daaron went down first, tranquilizers blazing through his system in a mere
    heartbeat. His last sensation as he fell was the punishing hit of a blaster bolt. She’d done
    it, he marveled. Soft, sweet Tessa had just shot him in the back. He heard her shriek and
    the world turned black.
    * * * * *
    Tessa awakened slowly, her mouth tasting metallic and bitter. She took a deep
    breath. The air smelled odd, recycled, like the air on a space station—or in the deepest
    reaches of the Warrens. Not the fresh, clean breezes of her camp, certainly. She opened
    her eyes and looked at the ceiling, finding bare metal punctuated only by endless rows
    of rivets. The bed upon which she lay was soft but far from luxurious, although the
    fabric of the covers had the smooth, perfectly inviting feel that only natural fibers could
    create. Expensive, like everything else Daaron had ever owned.
    Daaron.
    Memory flooded back. Dear Goddess, she’d killed Daaron . Shot him point-blank with
    his own blaster. Tessa felt sick, completely disgusted with herself. She’d killed a man
    over a handful of stupid garnets.
    Daaron had given his life for a pile of fucking rocks.
    How could she live with herself? Of course, her continuing survival probably
    wouldn’t be a problem, not after his people got through with her. She’d enjoyed
    threatening Daaron, liked the idea of him feeling uncertain and scared, the way he’d
    always made her feel. But dead? No, never that. For long moments Tessa lay back on
    the bed, trying to think.
    Finally she sat up listlessly, wondering when her executioners would arrive. Her
    cell was sparse. Bed, metal basin with water spouts and a fresher. Some drawers with a
    mirrored surface on the wall above them. A small table beside the bed. Everything one
    28

    Garnets or Bust
    piece, everything bolted to the floor. She stood, trying to detect any signs of artificial
    gravity. If they were in space, it was on something big and powerful enough to have the
    best gravitrons money could buy.
    Of course, money had never been an issue for Daaron.
    The door pinged, and she watched it slide open without interest. Then Daaron
    walked in and she froze.
    “You’re alive,” she said, stunned.
    “Obviously,” he replied, his voice tight. “Good thing you didn’t check the blaster to
    see if the charge was lethal.”
    It hadn’t even occurred to her.
    “For the record, I’m sorry I shot you,” she said, meaning it. “I think I panicked. I
    didn’t want you dead… Just out of the way.”
    “I find that tremendously comforting,” he replied, tone dark with sarcasm. “Getting
    shot with a blaster, even on the lowest setting, hurts like hell. And my men are pissed.
    You’re lucky they didn’t kill you.”
    “Why didn’t they?” she asked, trying to figure out her next move. She supposed
    that as long as they kept talking, she’d stay alive. Anything to buy time.
    “Because I gave them strict orders not to,” he replied. “And they always obey. I’m
    not so sure I believe in the whole Warrens subservient wife thing though. Clearly it
    didn’t sink into your psyche growing up.”
    She fell silent, unsure of her response. According to the traditions of the Warrens,
    they were married and she should obey him. She just didn’t want to though. And why
    should she? He sure as shit wasn’t from the Warrens, she couldn’t expect him to love
    and honor her in return for her obedience. No, he’d just use it against her.
    “You said you had to marry me, to keep me from testifying,” she said after a long
    pause. “What did you mean by that? Honestly, I don’t know anything about you or
    your people. I just want to take my garnets and leave. Surely you can