Read Online gaian consortium 06 - zhore deception by Christine Pope - Free Book Online
Authors: Christine Pope
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but she didn’t dare glance up at him. Bad enough that he was there at all. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing the fear in her eyes.
Then she slowly lifted the mirror toward her face.
The eyes were the same, although their blue-green shade now seemed intensified a hundred-fold because of the night-black skin around them. Her lashes were as sooty and black as her hair. And that was her nose, and the high, wide cheekbones. Strangely, her mouth seemed the most different, although as she looked more closely, she realized its shape hadn’t been altered, only that it appeared so changed because it was more or less the same color as the rest of her skin, and she was used to wearing deep-toned lip stains that contrasted with her fair complexion.
So…it was her, that reflection, and yet it wasn’t. It was Trinity Knox, translated into Zhore.
“Well?” said Gabriel at last.
“It’s…different,” she managed. A silly response, but she really didn’t know what else to say. She wasn’t about to confess to relief that she could still see herself in there, if she looked closely enough.
“True.” He moved closer to the bed and took the mirror from her. “You’re beautiful, Trinity.”
She did slant a glance up at him then, sure he was teasing her in the cruelest way. And perhaps he was, but she couldn’t tell for sure. He looked serious, the ironic glint gone from his eyes. For once, he wasn’t even smiling in that smug way of his.
“I don’t know about that,” she replied. How shaky her voice sounded. She could only hope he’d attribute that tremor to her continued recovery from the surgery she’d undergone.
“I do.” He set the mirror down on the bedside table and turned back toward her. “So how do you feel today?”
“Better, I suppose. I don’t hurt as much. My head still aches, though.” Which was only the truth. She’d woken up with her temples pounding. Her thoughts had seemed to ring with alien syllables, sounds that she could only translate if she didn’t concentrate too hard.
In a way, it had reminded her of being twelve again and having her talent — or curse, depending on how you looked at it — descend on her. At first, she’d thought she was going crazy. The inside of her head had sounded as if someone had turned on every channel in their entertainment unit simultaneously. It was too much, and she’d missed almost three weeks of school, writhing in bed, hands pressed against her ears, until slowly she began to build up the barriers she needed to keep out other people’s thoughts. She’d had no one to assist her; it had all been trial and error, pushing at the voices in her head until they finally, mercifully left her alone.
Well, unless she wanted to hear them. She’d learned to focus on a particular person, if she needed to know what they were thinking. It wasn’t nearly as much fun or as interesting as she’d thought mind reading might be, once she understood what this particular gift of hers entailed. People’s thoughts tended to chase one another, round and round, and as for their opinions of those around them…well, they weren’t nearly as charitable or as complimentary as Trinity had hoped. She’d quickly learned to keep them all at bay. It was just easier that way.
She must have been frowning as those unpleasant recollections surfaced, because Gabriel leaned toward her solicitously and asked, “Should I call for the nurse? She can give you something for that.”
Trinity was sure they had all sorts of useful drugs on hand. Now that she’d come out safely on the other side of her surgery, however, she didn’t feel at all inclined to dull her senses any more than they already had been.
“No, it’s fine,” she replied, summoning a smile, although the flesh of her face felt strange as the skin on her cheeks stretched. Perhaps Zhore skin wasn’t as elastic as human skin. “I’m sure it’ll go away soon enough. My headaches generally do.”
He
Then she slowly lifted the mirror toward her face.
The eyes were the same, although their blue-green shade now seemed intensified a hundred-fold because of the night-black skin around them. Her lashes were as sooty and black as her hair. And that was her nose, and the high, wide cheekbones. Strangely, her mouth seemed the most different, although as she looked more closely, she realized its shape hadn’t been altered, only that it appeared so changed because it was more or less the same color as the rest of her skin, and she was used to wearing deep-toned lip stains that contrasted with her fair complexion.
So…it was her, that reflection, and yet it wasn’t. It was Trinity Knox, translated into Zhore.
“Well?” said Gabriel at last.
“It’s…different,” she managed. A silly response, but she really didn’t know what else to say. She wasn’t about to confess to relief that she could still see herself in there, if she looked closely enough.
“True.” He moved closer to the bed and took the mirror from her. “You’re beautiful, Trinity.”
She did slant a glance up at him then, sure he was teasing her in the cruelest way. And perhaps he was, but she couldn’t tell for sure. He looked serious, the ironic glint gone from his eyes. For once, he wasn’t even smiling in that smug way of his.
“I don’t know about that,” she replied. How shaky her voice sounded. She could only hope he’d attribute that tremor to her continued recovery from the surgery she’d undergone.
“I do.” He set the mirror down on the bedside table and turned back toward her. “So how do you feel today?”
“Better, I suppose. I don’t hurt as much. My head still aches, though.” Which was only the truth. She’d woken up with her temples pounding. Her thoughts had seemed to ring with alien syllables, sounds that she could only translate if she didn’t concentrate too hard.
In a way, it had reminded her of being twelve again and having her talent — or curse, depending on how you looked at it — descend on her. At first, she’d thought she was going crazy. The inside of her head had sounded as if someone had turned on every channel in their entertainment unit simultaneously. It was too much, and she’d missed almost three weeks of school, writhing in bed, hands pressed against her ears, until slowly she began to build up the barriers she needed to keep out other people’s thoughts. She’d had no one to assist her; it had all been trial and error, pushing at the voices in her head until they finally, mercifully left her alone.
Well, unless she wanted to hear them. She’d learned to focus on a particular person, if she needed to know what they were thinking. It wasn’t nearly as much fun or as interesting as she’d thought mind reading might be, once she understood what this particular gift of hers entailed. People’s thoughts tended to chase one another, round and round, and as for their opinions of those around them…well, they weren’t nearly as charitable or as complimentary as Trinity had hoped. She’d quickly learned to keep them all at bay. It was just easier that way.
She must have been frowning as those unpleasant recollections surfaced, because Gabriel leaned toward her solicitously and asked, “Should I call for the nurse? She can give you something for that.”
Trinity was sure they had all sorts of useful drugs on hand. Now that she’d come out safely on the other side of her surgery, however, she didn’t feel at all inclined to dull her senses any more than they already had been.
“No, it’s fine,” she replied, summoning a smile, although the flesh of her face felt strange as the skin on her cheeks stretched. Perhaps Zhore skin wasn’t as elastic as human skin. “I’m sure it’ll go away soon enough. My headaches generally do.”
He
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