The Temporal Void Read Online Free PDF Page B

behind a huge casing containing the blunt nose cone belonging to a Wessex-based exospheric combat aerobot. Her lean body was dressed in a simple white suit that emitted a hazy glow as if she were some historical saint; it was wreathed in black bands which undulated slowly; ten of them formed a bizarre cage around her head. Troblum knew the suit had to be some kind of armour. Even now with fear so strong it threatened to reduce him to tears, he acknowledged she looked quite magnificent.
    ‘Troblum, my dear,’ she said brightly as if she’d only just caught sight of him. ‘How lovely to see you again. You’re really a lot of fun. It was a brilliant game we played. Well, I thought so.’
    ‘Game? he said weakly. His integral force field had come on instantly, though he knew it would be no use against her .
    The Cat took a few paces towards him. Troblum lurched backwards in near panic. Even now he couldn’t resist admiring her movements; they really were feline.
    ‘Why yes, darling,’ the Cat said. ‘How funny you couldn’t work it out. Marius was right, wasn’t he? You don’t connect with humans on an emotional level. You marched in here completely oblivious to dear old Stubsy and his naughty little posse. Didn’t you see their faces, Troblum? Take a look now.’
    Troblum gave Stubsy a wild glance. The dealer’s face was a rigid mask, teeth clamped together so hard his lips were quivering. Two of the companions appeared at the chamber door, tall and powerful. Troblum recognized them from his last visit: Somonie, wearing a scarlet dress with a high hem; while Alcinda’s taut muscles stretched her shiny black bikini fabric to near bursting point.
    The Cat let out a mocking wolf-whistle. ‘Aren’t they gorgeous? And they play nasty, too, which is really fun.’ She cocked her head at Troblum. ‘You still don’t get it, do you? Fantastic. You are interesting. Run an emotional context recognition program, my dear. It’ll tell you they’re all very, very pissed off. They were when you came through the front door, and sadly they still are. All because of little old me.’
    ‘Okay,’ Troblum said. ‘You’re right, I didn’t get it. Congratulations.’
    ‘I know.’ The Cat gave a fulsome pout. ‘Me and Stubsy here had a small wager going. I thought you’d realize by the time you reached the pool, Stubsy said it would be as soon as you arrived and saw him. We both lost. Your fault.’
    ‘How did you find me?’ Troblum said. He didn’t really have any tactical programs to run, no smart way to work out how to escape from an underground room with only one door and no communications. But then he was pretty sure even the best tactical program would tell him he was going to die. His own knowledge unfortunately supplied him with a host of extremely unpleasant methods she was known to use to kill her enemies (and friends), and that was before he called up her file to check. If he could just keep her talking . . . He glanced at the door again.
    ‘Oh my!’ The Cat’s delighted laughter rang across the chamber as she caught his unsubtle motion. ‘Troblum, darling, are you going to make a run for it? Tell you what, I’ll give you a five minute head start. Do you think your fat legs can reach the bottom of the stairs by then? Will you need to sit down and take a breather?’
    ‘Fuck you.’
    ‘Troblum! How jolly rude!’
    From anyone else it would have been ridiculous. From her, it frightened him even further.
    ‘How did you find me?’ he repeated.
    The Cat batted her eyes. ‘It was so difficult. You’re such a master covert agent. Let me see, could it be all the illegal money your Accelerator friends pay into your External world bank accounts, which is rather easily traceable to Stubsy here? Or was it when you called ANA:Governance and told my dearest old chum Paula Myo to meet you here? Humm, which was it now? My memory is not what it was.’
    ‘Oh.’ It wasn’t often Troblum felt foolish, but the way