Read Online Wintermoon Ice (2010) by Suzanne Francis - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Suzanne Francis
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to run wild when Grond air raids destroyed their homes and owners.
As Suvi put Chelah back on the floor she kept her eyes on Tom. "Where are you from?"
"Schippendorff." Tom changed the subject adroitly. "Don't you want to see your cycle?"
Suvi nodded and then noticed Calaan, who stood nearby, still gazing adoringly at her. "You may as well get started with the work I gave you this morning. Dietr can show you where the tools are."
"Yes, Ma'am." He gave her a wry salute.
"Don't worry about cleaning up this mess." Suvi looked to the others who clustered round the door. "I will take care of it later. Everyone get back to their details. Tell Goodman Grein I have some plumbing work for him in ablutions Six."
Tom watched in astonishment as they scurried to obey. Suvi led him through the office door, heading for the main shelter floor. "What is this place?"
As they followed the line of parachute tents that led to the main entrance, Suvi answered his question. "You don't know? It is Carina. Your friend Jack brought me here last night."
Tom scowled. "He isn't my friend."
Suvi hazarded another guess. "Boss then?"
"Naw. I am just a mechanic at the garage on Rikard Svaate. A guy in a fancy car came by last night with a damaged motapede. Got me out of bed, told me to fix it and then bring it to a warehouse by the docks. Said to ask for someone named Suvi. I have been up and down this road fifty times trying to find you." Something about his accent didn't sound quite right, and mechanic was an odd job for a Rose. Normally they were builders, or engineers.
Still his grin as he watched her ride the pede across the yard seemed genuine enough. "How do you get all those folks to follow orders like that?"
Suvi shrugged. "Everyone in Carina works, if they are able. It is one of the conditions of living here."
Tom walked back to the main door, and looked inside. "Would you show me around? I'd like to know a little more about the place."
Suvi had a lot of things to catch up on, and the mess in her room was an added chore. "I don't really have time, right now."
He frowned in disappointment. "Come on. It won't take long, and afterwards I will help you clean all the bricks and dust from your room."
Suvi wavered for a moment and then shrugged. "All right. I will hold you to that."
"No problem at all," said Tom Finn, with a smile. "I will be more than happy to help."
* * * *
Tom wandered the main floor. "Where did you get all these parachutes?"
"They are ex-air corps. Once the fabric wears out, they can no longer be used for jumps." She brushed her fingers against the thin cream-colored silk that made one of the family tents. "They insulate well, so each family may heat a small space and still be warm. This building is very old and draughty."
"That is a good idea. But doesn't the air corps have any use for them once they rip? Like undershirts or something?"
Suvi looked vague. "Maybe. But friends donated these parachutes to the shelter. And they provide a useful service to us."
"What about those boxes along the wall? Do you have people in there too?"
"They are old crates once used for shipping artillery pieces. And yes, they are home to couples or single people with no other family. We try to make sure everyone has a space, however small, to call their own." She gazed thoughtfully at the Harp on her arm. "You know that everyone who lives here must work together, no matter which Soli they belong to?"
Tom seemed surprised by this. "Is that true? It hardly seems possible. Usually folks stick to their own kind. I've noticed that."
He spoke like an outsider, Suvi decided, for all he had a Rose Soli on his own sleeve. "It was the only way to make this place work. We could not have separate facilities for everyone."
"And everyone just goes along with that, do they?"
Suvi shrugged, thinking of Goodwife Teggr and Calaan. "Sometimes there are disagreements, but I think most people understand that the old ways cannot continue; not during a
As Suvi put Chelah back on the floor she kept her eyes on Tom. "Where are you from?"
"Schippendorff." Tom changed the subject adroitly. "Don't you want to see your cycle?"
Suvi nodded and then noticed Calaan, who stood nearby, still gazing adoringly at her. "You may as well get started with the work I gave you this morning. Dietr can show you where the tools are."
"Yes, Ma'am." He gave her a wry salute.
"Don't worry about cleaning up this mess." Suvi looked to the others who clustered round the door. "I will take care of it later. Everyone get back to their details. Tell Goodman Grein I have some plumbing work for him in ablutions Six."
Tom watched in astonishment as they scurried to obey. Suvi led him through the office door, heading for the main shelter floor. "What is this place?"
As they followed the line of parachute tents that led to the main entrance, Suvi answered his question. "You don't know? It is Carina. Your friend Jack brought me here last night."
Tom scowled. "He isn't my friend."
Suvi hazarded another guess. "Boss then?"
"Naw. I am just a mechanic at the garage on Rikard Svaate. A guy in a fancy car came by last night with a damaged motapede. Got me out of bed, told me to fix it and then bring it to a warehouse by the docks. Said to ask for someone named Suvi. I have been up and down this road fifty times trying to find you." Something about his accent didn't sound quite right, and mechanic was an odd job for a Rose. Normally they were builders, or engineers.
Still his grin as he watched her ride the pede across the yard seemed genuine enough. "How do you get all those folks to follow orders like that?"
Suvi shrugged. "Everyone in Carina works, if they are able. It is one of the conditions of living here."
Tom walked back to the main door, and looked inside. "Would you show me around? I'd like to know a little more about the place."
Suvi had a lot of things to catch up on, and the mess in her room was an added chore. "I don't really have time, right now."
He frowned in disappointment. "Come on. It won't take long, and afterwards I will help you clean all the bricks and dust from your room."
Suvi wavered for a moment and then shrugged. "All right. I will hold you to that."
"No problem at all," said Tom Finn, with a smile. "I will be more than happy to help."
* * * *
Tom wandered the main floor. "Where did you get all these parachutes?"
"They are ex-air corps. Once the fabric wears out, they can no longer be used for jumps." She brushed her fingers against the thin cream-colored silk that made one of the family tents. "They insulate well, so each family may heat a small space and still be warm. This building is very old and draughty."
"That is a good idea. But doesn't the air corps have any use for them once they rip? Like undershirts or something?"
Suvi looked vague. "Maybe. But friends donated these parachutes to the shelter. And they provide a useful service to us."
"What about those boxes along the wall? Do you have people in there too?"
"They are old crates once used for shipping artillery pieces. And yes, they are home to couples or single people with no other family. We try to make sure everyone has a space, however small, to call their own." She gazed thoughtfully at the Harp on her arm. "You know that everyone who lives here must work together, no matter which Soli they belong to?"
Tom seemed surprised by this. "Is that true? It hardly seems possible. Usually folks stick to their own kind. I've noticed that."
He spoke like an outsider, Suvi decided, for all he had a Rose Soli on his own sleeve. "It was the only way to make this place work. We could not have separate facilities for everyone."
"And everyone just goes along with that, do they?"
Suvi shrugged, thinking of Goodwife Teggr and Calaan. "Sometimes there are disagreements, but I think most people understand that the old ways cannot continue; not during a
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