Read Online Approaching Oblivion (Jezebel's Ladder Book 4) by Scott Rhine - Free Book Online

There’s a vent nearby so old ladies can cool off.”
    Mercy
cleared her throat. “Are my kids going to be able to look at this?”
    “Girl,
for centuries people are going to look at your drawing and say, ‘Damn, those
two are in love.’ The magnetism between those faces makes you believe. I can
shift it so that his wings cover most of your ‘naughty bits,’ as Lou would call
them.” He turned the point of view slightly by moving his prosthetic fingers
and thumb.
    “Lou
probably has other names for them,” Yuki muttered as she stepped into the barn.
The Japanese technician was wearing short-shorts, and her shirt had been
trimmed to display her navel. The ‘Mary Ann’ outfit had started a trend among
the women of the Hollow, whether to keep cool or maintain the attention of
their men. Even Rachael wore her yoga outfit with tight, black pants and a
look-at-me pink top. Johnny and Herk related the details of the contest so Lou
could still make crude, appreciative comments. Mercy called these frequent
drinking companions his seeing-eye dawgs.
    Yuki
stared at the immobile nurse. “O-kay. Four things. First, cute hats.”
    Mercy
replied, “Thanks. I can teach you how to make your own.”
    “Me,
too!” demanded the artist.
    “Second,
Sojiro only asked me to bring the airbrush with the gold and sepia paints for
the background, but I brought your entire paint case because I know you’ll
sneak in a splash of some other color.”
    “Oh,
gimme,” Sojiro said. “I will need some subtle blush for Mercy’s face glow.” He
began rummaging through the stock of colors.
    “Scary
how well I know him. Third, since nobody asked, I’m going to be ‘Winged
Victory,’ standing alone.”
    “Isn’t
she totally armless?” asked Mercy.
    “Yeah,
but I like the symbolism,” Yuki said, “And lastly, what’s with Yvette?”
    “She’s
processing,” said Mercy. “Sun bonnets?”
    Yvette
sat like a statue while the others wove clumsy, floppy hats. Yuki used her good
hand and one foot to replicate the technique. Sojiro added his own flourishes,
including a bundle of large, white feathers.
    “You
look like a pimp,” Yuki said. “I’m loving this fashion event, but I have work
to do, guys. Not all of us have pilot salaries to draw from. Until I can
volunteer for high-risk duty, I have to put in extra hours as a gopher. Toby
isn’t allowed to fetch things for himself.”
    At
the mention of the criminal, Sojiro excused himself from the room.
    Mercy
watched for signs of reaction in her friend Yvette, but she remained silent.
“What’s Toby doing now? How does he look?”
    “His
bone calcium is lower than anyone but Ole’s because he refuses to exercise.
He’s depressed because Yvette won’t open any of his emails,” Yuki confided. “I
think he writes an apology a day. In his spare time, he’s designing
improvements to his own medication.”
    “They
let him do that?”
    “The
meds we brought are a little old-fashioned: interlocking mirrors of the same
molecule. He wants to manufacture just the right half, claiming there’ll be
fewer side effects. Work calms him. The medicine fabricators aren’t used much,
but Pratibha makes him pay for every experiment—the stingy bitch.”
    “You’re
sticking up for him?”
    “No.
I’m saying power is going to the czar’s head. She’s already making noises about
not giving your baby an allotment because it’s not a crew member.”
    “What?”
Mercy dropped the hat she’d been weaving, and a row unraveled. “Why?”
    Yuki
shrugged. “Maybe she didn’t like that you donated your share to my sensor fund.
I’ll pay you back some day, I swear.”
    “How
did you know I did that? It was anonymous.”
    “You’re
the only one who’s been wearing the same damn shirt all month.”
    “My
other clothes are too tight. New ones wouldn’t help me now; I’d just outgrow
them. Pretty soon, I’m going to have to take off my underwear or it’ll get
permanently stretched out of