Snowburn

by E J Frost

  issues. I could growl at her, payback for her

  boyfriend’s many sins. Or I could give her

  dead face, which most women find scarier

  than my growl. In the end, undecided, I shrug.

  Turning away from her slightly, I see Kez

  watching us. When our eyes meet, she smiles

  at me, an open, unrestrained smile.

  That was the right play.

  While Kez, Gig and Chiara finish loading

  the food onto warmers, I contemplate this

  facet of my kitten. I like it. I don’t remember

  Mouse or Selly being jealous. Maybe they

  didn’t care enough to worry if I strayed. I

  wasn’t with Marin long enough to find out if

  she was the jealous type. Or the girl on the

  Galaxaura, whose name I never knew. But I

  also recognize that jealousy’s unhealthy.

  Whether it stems from Kez’s abandonment

  issues or something else, she doesn’t like me

  even interacting with other women and that

  could become problematic. Particularly if

  I’m going to try to fit in and play nice with

  her little crew. What’s more, she’s got no

  reason to be insecure. I’ve been so faithful to

  the women in my life, I haven’t even cheated

  on their damn ghosts. I file it away for now,

  but sooner or later, this is another bridge Kez

  and I are gonna have to cross.

  Duncan arrives for breakfast and helps

  carry the food to the big table in the garden.

  Chiara loads a plate and disappears for a

  few minutes, presumably taking breakfast to

  Ape, wherever he’s hiding. Pussy. I see

  movement through the kitchen while we’re

  eating and as I shovel down the last few

  bites, the beautiful girl joins us. She’s freshly

  showered and wrapped in several layers of

  towels and robes. She must still be cold. Or

  safeguarding against further mess. She

  doesn’t say much, but she eats, which is a

  good sign, if Kez’s smile is any indication. I

  don’t add to the conversation, but put my arm

  around Kez after I finish eating and drop a

  few crusts of bread to the swarm of rabbits

  milling around our feet.

  Once all the food disappears, everyone

  begins moving. It’s chaotic, but it’s

  organized chaos. Even the beautiful girl

  helps, carrying dirty dishes to the kitchen,

  although her steps are slow and shuffling.

  Kez and Gig glance at each other as the

  others clear the table. Without speaking, they

  rise and move off in a different direction.

  Kez catches my hand and draws me after her.

  Curious, I follow Kez through the garden,

  past the bathroom, and into a room I haven’t

  been in before. Like the lounge on the far

  side of the kitchen, this room is dominated by

  a flexypane screen that takes up one wall.

  Kez taps it as she enters the room and it

  flickers to life. Most of the screen becomes a

  detailed map of the Western Colony, while

  smaller panes at the bottom show several

  different vid channels: local news flashes

  and a weather forecast.

  Gig rolls a small, high table in front of

  the vid screen, taps it and several colored

  lines appear on the map.

  Kez stands next to Gig, with her arms

  wrapped around her middle, and surveys the

  map. “Six runs. Are the two Hemos-Nock for

  Leigger?”

  Gig nods.

  “Put Dunk on those. The client likes him.

  And he can take that one to the Delta on the

  way back from the second leg to Nock.”

  Gig nods again and the three lines

  connecting Hemos City to Nock and Nock to

  the Delta shade from red to blue.

  “What time is that North Shore run?”

  “Pick up by noon.”

  Kez grimaces. “You’re going to have to

  do a run.”

  “Yeah, I figured,” Gig says. “Chi can

  hold the fort.” The red line connecting

  Hemos and the small settlement of Ykimo on

  the North Shore turns yellow.

  “Take the skimmer. That’s right through

  NoBo territory. Ape can handle the other

  two.”

  “That’ll make him happy,” Gig observes.

  From the lines, I can see that one of the runs

  is long – Shyl to Roysten, all the way across

  the width of the Western Colony – so the

  chimp will be pressed to get both runs done

  in a day, particularly if he’s on foot.

  Kez hugs herself a little tighter. “I really

  don’t care,” she says.

  I move up behind her and slide my arms

  around her. I move slow, so she can shrug

  me off if she doesn’t want that much show in

  front of Gig. She relaxes and leans back into

  me. Wraps her arms around mine. Her soft

  head nestles against my shoulder and the

  clean soap smell of her hair rises to me. I

  drop my head and nuzzle her crown.

  “So,” Gig says slowly. “Where are you

  going to be today?”

  “Zhonnys to the Cloudlands,” Kez

  replies. Her eyes are fixed on the map like it

  holds her entire attention, but I don’t think it

  does. She’s avoiding meeting Gig’s eyes.

  “Could you put up that last run I did to the

  Cloudlands?”

  “Sure.” Gig fiddles with the table for a

  moment, opening and closing small panes on

  the map. The colored lines disappear and a

  broad dotted line traces its way down the

  Western Colony’s southern shoreline,

  through the desert separating Hemos from

  New Brunny. As the undulating shoreline

  curves westward towards the southern town

  of Jielt, the dotted band makes a sharp turn

  north-east and cuts across the wavy blue of

  Hemos Bay to the archipelago of islands that

  make up the Cloudlands.

  “Whaddo you have, gills?” I ask. The

  Cloudlands – the preserve of Kuseros’s

  founding families and the nouveau riche they

  allow to rub shoulders with them – are

  closed to outsiders. Approaches from the sea

  or air are only permitted at certain times,

  from certain directions, under a special

  permit. Anything else is met with extreme

  prejudice from the Cloudlands’ defenses.

  Kez’s dotted line doesn’t follow any of the

  permissible routes, and I know she didn’t

  bother to get a special license from the

  Cloudlands authorities. Not her style.

  Kez rubs her head against my shoulder. “I

  used a finboard. And I still nearly got my ass

  fried.”

  “And the package got wet,” Gig says.

  “Yeah, that didn’t go down too well.”

  Kez rubs her nose. “We got anything new on

  the Cloudlands?”

  Gig taps the table and small icons scroll

  down the right side of the map, over the blue

  of Kuseros’s ocean. “Rumor from Zures.

  You know what that’s worth.”

  Kez makes a sm
all scoffing noise.

  Gig continues, “Rumor from Trunny

  about an approach through Jielt. Oh, no, I

  heard about that. It was a transport funnel.

  Couple of runners got killed trying to ride it.

  Remember, couple of weeks ago?”

  Kez nods. “Uh-huh. Let’s not go the

  certain death route.”

  I smile into her hair. At least she still has

  her sense of humor.

  “Here’s one,” Gig says, scrolling down

  through the icons. “Three days ago. Hot

  Sands to the Cloudlands . . . oh, you’re not

  going to like that one.”

  “Why not?” Kez asks.

  “It’s from Nasnay.”

  Kez rolls her head against my shoulder

  until her neck pops. “Figures.”

  “Who’s Nasnay?” I ask quietly.

  “Chain’s new girlfriend,” Gig answers

  when Kez doesn’t seem inclined to.

  Chain, the boyfriend who never stayed

  the night. The boyfriend her brother said she

  couldn’t hold on to. Somehow, I doubt that’s

  the whole story.

  “Think she holds a grudge?” Kez mutters,

  more to herself than Gig or me.

  “After you knocked three of her teeth

  out?” Kez glares at him, but Gig shrugs.

  “Want me to try to get in touch with Chain?

  See if he’ll divvy?”

  “Yeah. Plex him. Tell him I want to talk.”

  Kez hugs my forearms to her chest.

  “Nothing more than that?” Gig asks.

  “C’mon, Kez. If he thinks it’s personal, he’ll

  be banging down the door in half an hour.

  Give him a break.”

  “And if he thinks it’s just business, he

  won’t call back. This run’s important,” she

  says. She doesn’t tell him why.

  “Okay, okay.” Gig taps at the table for a

  few moments. Panes open and close over the

  map. Finally, all of the little panes close, the

  lines disappear, and the map dominates the

  wall on its own. Gig reaches under the

  terminal and pulls out a pair of eskeys,

  probably loaded with schedules and

  directions. “I’ll give these to Dunk and

  Ape,” he says.

  “Thanks. If either of them bitch, send

  them to me.”

  “Will do.” Gig nods at me and slides out

  of the room.

  Kez remains, staring at the map, loosely

  holding my forearms to her chest.

  “Knocked three of her teeth out, huh?” I

  say, to divert her from whatever particular

  worry is chewing through her mind.

  She lowers her head until she can rest her

  chin on my crossed hands. “It’s not like it

  sounds.”

  “Nothin’ is with you.” When she laughs, I

  ask, “C’mon, what happened?”

  “It was an accident. We were all at

  Bounce, the club the guys went to last night.

  Chain and I were up in harnesses. A fight

  broke out.” At my murmured, uh-huh, she

  says indignantly, “It wasn’t like it sounds. I

  didn’t start it. We’d have been fine, we

  weren’t involved, but Nasnay had to get in

  the middle of things like she always does.

  She was screaming at everyone. The guys

  fighting, Chain, the rest of his crew, me,

  everyone. One of the guys threw a punch at

  her. Chain and I dropped down to help her

  and in all the craziness, I kicked her in the

  mouth.”

  Bet the girl went down like she’d been

  kicked by a mule. Running hasn’t just given

  Kez a great ass. She’s got strong fucking

  legs. No wonder the girl lost three teeth.

  “Accidentally.” I lift an eyebrow in

  disbelief, a gesture Kez will be able to see

  in the reflection off the map.

  “Mostly.” Kez shrugs. “It shut her up.”

  “So you get along well with your ex’s

  new girl.”

  Kez chuckles. “Oh, yeah, we get along

  great. She calls me the Dreaded Bitch. Says I

  scarred Chain for life.”

  “Did you?”

  She shrugs, leans more firmly into me. “I

  wasn’t the one who slept with his best

  friend.”

  So it’s not just her abandonment issues

  that are the root of her jealousy. The men in

  Kez’s life have a bad habit of ending up in

  the beautiful girl’s bed.

  “You don’t need to worry about that with

  me,” I say into her hair.

  She sighs. “I know. You’re not like that.”

  “No, I’m not. So let’s move on to the next

  thing.”

  She nods. Shakes herself free of

  whatever memories are haunting her. “Do

  you want to head out? I’ve got some

  equipment to get together, so I could meet

  you at your ship in an hour. We’d still have

  plenty of time to get to Zhonnys.”

  We’ll have plenty of time to get to the

  pickup, but we’re not splitting up. Not for an

  hour, not for five minutes. I turn her around

  in my arms. Tip her chin up so I can look into

  those big blues. “Remember how I said I

  was comin’ with you?”

  She nods. Her pupils dilate a little.

  That’s better.

  “I’m not lettin’ you outta my sight until

  this is done.” And Tyng is dead, but she

  didn’t respond well to that idea, and with

  Baby Tyng just down the hall, it wouldn’t be

  smart to broadcast it.

  She grins, her open, mischievous grin.

  “Really?”

  “Really. So if you need to pack, we’ll

  pack. Then we’ll head to my place. But

  we’re not splitting up.”

  “I like this plan.” She takes my hand and

  leads me back to her bedroom, swinging our

  joined hands.

  Such a little thing, insisting that we stay

  together. It’s the safe thing. The smart thing,

  even. But more than that, it’s made Kez

  happy. My kitten’s a complex woman, but

  her happiness is not complicated. Something

  to keep in mind, whatever comes.

  Chapter 16

  I’m finally getting to see the contents of

  Kez’s backpack-of-many-tricks – and the shit

  she has in there is amazing, including thirty

  meters of snake chain compressed into a coil

  the size of a dinner plate, a full chameleon

  suit and a pair of laze-sticks strung on

  monofilament, which I recognize as a

  weapon, but have no idea how to use – when

  the portal on Kez’s bedside table buzzes.

  The four rabbits, who are variously lounging

  on Kez’s bed, investigating the bags we’re

  packing to see if we’re hiding something

  edible, and head-butting my shins to demand

  attention, suddenly streak out the door.

  “Dinner bell?” I ask, watching the last

  pair of furry heels disappear down the

  hallway.

  “Front door,” she chuckles. “They love

  answering the door. It’ll be Chain. He knows

  where my room is.”

  She
’s right. Less than a minute later, a

  man strolls through the door, carrying Ronnie

  under one arm and followed by a flotilla of

  fur balls. He’s taller than Kez, but enough

  shorter than me that I can look down my nose

  at him. Dark-skinned, maybe late twenties.

  Kez may like bald men, but her ex has a

  serious head of hair. A chrome visor holds a

  mass of tight braids back from his face. They

  spiral down his back to his waist. Fucking

  girl. He shakes his head to flick that mass of

  braids over his shoulders, tucks Ronnie to

  the side and greets Kez, hugging her a

  moment longer and much tighter than

  necessary.

  Kez steps back quickly once he releases

  her. She glances at me, pale blue shades of

  uncertainty. I know I don’t have anything to

  worry about, but I’m still tempted to stake

  my claim. Make it obvious that she’s with me

  now.

  Guess I’m not immune to the jealousy

  bug, either.

  But that’s the loser play. I’ve got nothing

  to prove to Kez’s ex. She is with me now. I

  don’t need to broadcast it to make it true. So

  I stand back and let them finish their greeting.

  The man’s green eyes, startling in his

  dark face, flick to me. His neutral expression

  doesn’t change, but a pinpoint of anger

  expands in each of his pupils. “Who’s he?”

  “Chain, this is Snow. Snow’s a pilot.

  Snow, this is Chain. Chain’s a runner.”

  She’s called me by my real name for

  hours while we’ve been alone, but she uses

  my pseudonym like she’s never known me by

  any other name. She said she wouldn’t make

  a mistake and she hasn’t. I slant a smile at

  her as I hold my hand out to her ex.

  Chain looks like he’d rather break my

  arm than shake. He takes a long time about it,

  shifting the rabbit around needlessly first.

  When he finally shakes, he squeezes my hand

  like he’s trying to pulverize my bones.

  I contemplate showing him what a

  crushing grip really means, but remember

  that I have nothing to prove. I shake his hand

  firmly and let go. Kneel down and give the

  white rabbit head-butting my leg some

  attention while keeping my eyes on Chain.

  The light in his eyes goes from ugly to

  murderous. Guess he doesn’t like the subtext.

  “Whaddo you need a pilot for, Kez?

  Thought you were pure foot.”

  Kez shrugs. “I’ve got a run from Zhonnys

  to the Cloudlands today. No way I’m going

  to make it on foot.”

  Chain shifts Ronnie around again and the