Haven 6 Read Online Free PDF Page B

men.”
    Boy, the scouts ran quickly. Weaver had guessed word would reach Jolt before he could explain. He’d prepared for such a fight. He straightened, standing tall enough that he could reach the dangling wires above him. “Your army is a bunch of cowards who scramble at the first sign of death.”
    Jolt lurched and lunged, shoving his face into Weaver’s. His lips quivered as his bitter breath fell on Weaver’s cheek. “No one insults me and lives.”
    Weaver didn’t flinch. He had to stand his ground, or Jolt would turn him into a pile of mush on the chrome floor. “It’s not an insult. It’s the truth.”
    Cold pricked Weaver’s skin. He glanced down. Jolt had snuck an obsidian blade against his gut, slicing into his shirt.
    “Give me one reason not to kill you right now.”
    Weaver’s gaze strayed to the blank control screens. “Look at this ship. The circuits are corrupted beyond repair. Only I know the exact coordinates of the one working spaceship on Refuge, complete with data files on both the space pirates of Outpost Omega and the Guardians’ advanced technology from their home world. Only I can scratch the codes and mimic the claws of the Guardians to get you in.”
    “It does me no good on this side of the fence.” Jolt narrowed his eyes. “All this failure has got me thinking. Who’s to say you’re not a spy?”
    Weaver put both hands on his hips, jutting his thumbs through his belt loops. “Nothing worth having is without risk.” He hated quoting his father, but the old man had been right about some things, even if he’d favored Striver over Weaver since birth.
    Jolt eased, slipping his blade into a side sheath. “Of that, you’re right. I’m giving you one more chance to prove yourself. Meanwhile, I have my eye on you. No ship, no place here in our lands. I can’t let you crawl back to your brother’s cheery little village. You know too much.”
    “I’d rather die than go back.”
    Jolt smirked. “So be it. But all in good time. I have another project for you.”
    “If it has to do with that scout droid you found last week, you can count me out. There’s no way I can get it running again after your huntsmen skewered it. My expertise is with bows, not technology.”
    Jolt eyed him. Weaver cocked a brow. He had his ways of finding information.
    But Weaver’s knowledge of his secret didn’t seem to intimidate Jolt. Something more profitable than a scout droid stirred in the depths of his dark eyes. He savored his words. “No, it’s something much, much better.”
    …
    The scent of smoked boar filled the air. Wooden flutes trilled, accompanied by the heavy beat of leather drums. Striver stood apart from the festivities, watching Guardians thread strings of flowers through the trees in the twilight.
    “You don’t care to celebrate?” Phoenix appeared from the branches above him, proving to Striver that he could never truly be left alone. Although sometimes he resented the constant attention leadership thrust upon him, tonight the Guardians’ presence soothed him. At least someone else noticed the discord slowly twining through their everyday lives.
    Striver leaned against a wood railing. “What’s to celebrate? The attack was too close this time. One of our men died.”
    Phoenix perched on the upper branch, giving Striver space. His voice was patient, kind. “Thrift gave his life to protect us. Tonight, we gather to honor him.”
    Striver clenched his fist. “I should destroy the ship, Phoenix. Then we’d all have peace.”
    “And erase our two people’s histories?” Phoenix cooed softly like a parent warning a child against playing with fire. “How can we ever hope to live a better life on Refuge without learning from our mistakes of the past?”
    “Sometimes I think it’s better to start with a clean slate.”
    “Is it? Or will we fall prey to the same demons that led your ancestors to Old Earth’s end?”
    “Sometimes I think it’s inevitable. The rise and