Read Online Division Zero: Thrall by Matthew S. Cox - Free Book Online
Authors: Matthew S. Cox
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“Mom, what’s wrong, you’re getting squeezy again. Not in front of Theo.”
Kirsten relaxed, letting Evan run ahead to the car. Dorian faded into view just outside it, and Evan immediately launched into a fit of pleas for help learning how to shoot. Apparently, his performance at the orb game annoyed him. She watched them for a moment, idly picking at the serpentine band of gold around her right wrist. Dorian became Konstantin in her mind, a father with a son.
Wearing a silly grin, she strode to the car and got in. Theodore hesitated.
With one hand on the door about to close it, she glanced up at him. “What’s wrong?”
“Ehh…” He gestured at the vehicle. “I got this thing about riding in the back seat of a police car.”
“The partition is down,” she said. “Get in. Besides, you can float right through it.”
Sector 3338 glowed in a mixture of red, green, and white light. It was still early, as far as the city was concerned. At a touch past eight, people filled the streets as they went among the various stores that still operated walk-in locations. An endless parade of glowing eyeliner, mechanical hair ornaments, and the latest upper-middle-class fashion trends went by.
Delivery bots swarmed about, a tangle of automated traffic management as dozens of merchants competed for airspace. Boxy ones stopped, waiting for others to pass before they pivoted and raced off. Some shot up vertical while others nosed through purpose-built hatches in the sides of buildings.
As she had hoped, the people who noticed her uniform gave her a comfortable distance. She kept a firm grip on Evan’s hand, walking ahead of Theo and Dorian, who discussed the current crisis at length.
Up ahead, the metal sidewalk glowed with emerald light. Holographic Chinese symbols filled the window of a corner property, saturating the area in their glow. If not for having just eaten, the scent in the air outside the place would have lured her in. She stopped a few steps from the door, waiting for Dorian and Theodore to catch up.
The owners of the Jade Crane went as far as possible to recreate the ambiance of China inside the building. Pale hardwood floors, bamboo plants, and large full-wall paintings of rolling green landscapes lent the space a foreign quality. She looked around, seeing no trace of ghosts other than the two she arrived with. However, on the dark brown stone of an electric waterfall fountain, a faint luminous patch caught her attention, as if a spoonful of glowing paint had splashed on it.
“This must’ve been one big smoke shop,” muttered Kirsten.
A busty, tall brunette in a low-cut gown distracted Theodore. “They expanded. This place is doing well.”
Kirsten felt a twinge of inadequacy compared to the woman, until her right arm reached out from under the table to grab a wine glass―metal from armpit to fingertip. Gleaming enamel white and covered with floral engravings, it was close in profile to the size and shape the limb should have been.
White Orchid arm, that’s over a million creds.
“Can I help you, officer?”
The man’s voice provided a welcome distraction from the sight of a cyber-prosthetic. Kirsten unconsciously rubbed her arm as she smiled at a man in a dark suit, Asian with some other things mixed in.
“I’m following up on a previous investigation here. There was a report of unusual activity about a year ago? Unexplained coughing.”
“Oh, yes.” He let an electronic menu slip back into a holding box. “I remember hearing about that. It had persisted up until a few days ago.”
“It’s stopped?”
“Yes, there was a disturbance the other night. We filed a report with the police, but they haven’t done much yet. We lost about sixteen thousand credits worth of fish.”
Kirsten wandered toward the stain on the fountain. “Cooler failed?”
“No, officer.” He pointed at an H-shaped aquarium along the top of a partition wall among tables. “They were exotics for display,
Kirsten relaxed, letting Evan run ahead to the car. Dorian faded into view just outside it, and Evan immediately launched into a fit of pleas for help learning how to shoot. Apparently, his performance at the orb game annoyed him. She watched them for a moment, idly picking at the serpentine band of gold around her right wrist. Dorian became Konstantin in her mind, a father with a son.
Wearing a silly grin, she strode to the car and got in. Theodore hesitated.
With one hand on the door about to close it, she glanced up at him. “What’s wrong?”
“Ehh…” He gestured at the vehicle. “I got this thing about riding in the back seat of a police car.”
“The partition is down,” she said. “Get in. Besides, you can float right through it.”
Sector 3338 glowed in a mixture of red, green, and white light. It was still early, as far as the city was concerned. At a touch past eight, people filled the streets as they went among the various stores that still operated walk-in locations. An endless parade of glowing eyeliner, mechanical hair ornaments, and the latest upper-middle-class fashion trends went by.
Delivery bots swarmed about, a tangle of automated traffic management as dozens of merchants competed for airspace. Boxy ones stopped, waiting for others to pass before they pivoted and raced off. Some shot up vertical while others nosed through purpose-built hatches in the sides of buildings.
As she had hoped, the people who noticed her uniform gave her a comfortable distance. She kept a firm grip on Evan’s hand, walking ahead of Theo and Dorian, who discussed the current crisis at length.
Up ahead, the metal sidewalk glowed with emerald light. Holographic Chinese symbols filled the window of a corner property, saturating the area in their glow. If not for having just eaten, the scent in the air outside the place would have lured her in. She stopped a few steps from the door, waiting for Dorian and Theodore to catch up.
The owners of the Jade Crane went as far as possible to recreate the ambiance of China inside the building. Pale hardwood floors, bamboo plants, and large full-wall paintings of rolling green landscapes lent the space a foreign quality. She looked around, seeing no trace of ghosts other than the two she arrived with. However, on the dark brown stone of an electric waterfall fountain, a faint luminous patch caught her attention, as if a spoonful of glowing paint had splashed on it.
“This must’ve been one big smoke shop,” muttered Kirsten.
A busty, tall brunette in a low-cut gown distracted Theodore. “They expanded. This place is doing well.”
Kirsten felt a twinge of inadequacy compared to the woman, until her right arm reached out from under the table to grab a wine glass―metal from armpit to fingertip. Gleaming enamel white and covered with floral engravings, it was close in profile to the size and shape the limb should have been.
White Orchid arm, that’s over a million creds.
“Can I help you, officer?”
The man’s voice provided a welcome distraction from the sight of a cyber-prosthetic. Kirsten unconsciously rubbed her arm as she smiled at a man in a dark suit, Asian with some other things mixed in.
“I’m following up on a previous investigation here. There was a report of unusual activity about a year ago? Unexplained coughing.”
“Oh, yes.” He let an electronic menu slip back into a holding box. “I remember hearing about that. It had persisted up until a few days ago.”
“It’s stopped?”
“Yes, there was a disturbance the other night. We filed a report with the police, but they haven’t done much yet. We lost about sixteen thousand credits worth of fish.”
Kirsten wandered toward the stain on the fountain. “Cooler failed?”
“No, officer.” He pointed at an H-shaped aquarium along the top of a partition wall among tables. “They were exotics for display,
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