Allie's War Episodes 1-4(130)

“Does this offend you, Esteemed Bridge?”
I ignored his smile. “You know how to fight, then? Mulei?”
He smiled again, nodding once. “Yes.”
“Could you teach me?”
I glanced over my shoulder at the other seers in the courtyard. It hadn’t escaped my notice that a number of them stood closer to us than they had a few seconds earlier, that they continued to inch closer to listen to me and the brown-eyed seer talk. Feeling my jaw tighten a little, I looked back at the smoking seer, shifting my weight on my feet.
“...I need lessons,” I added.
Curiosity flared in his eyes, just visible beneath the amusement. “Why me?”
I sighed, then answered honestly. “You seem like you’d like to hit me. I figured I’d try harder.”
The male seer stared at me. Then he burst into a genuine laugh. He stood up, and while he wasn’t as tall as Revik, I stepped back in alarm.
His smile widened. “Yes,” he said. “I would like to hit you, Bridge. But I need to know if you are worth teaching, first.” He flipped the jacket off his muscular shoulders, exposing a worn gray shirt that stretched over his chest.#p#分页标题#e#
When he caught my stare, his smile grew into a grin.
“What do I get, if I put you down?” His eyes flickered down over my body again. He gestured towards it vaguely. “Will you let me take care of that thing of yours? The problem your Rook mate left you?”
I didn’t ask what he meant.
“No,” I said. Thinking, I added, “You’ve got two minutes. If I’m still standing, you’ll teach me. You’ll also stay the hell out of my head at night.”
I hesitated, then figured what the hell.
“...Everything else has to be negotiated separately. Clear?”
His eyes lit up at my words, but he only nodded, stubbing out the hiri with the toe of one threadbare yellow sneaker.
“Okay.” He stepped towards me, bouncing a bit on his heels. “I accept.”
“What’s your name?” I said, when he began to circle me.
“Maygar.” He glanced up from where he’d been looking at my body again. “I should tell you. I was assigned a new job today, Bridge.”
“And what was that, Maygar?”
He darted forward, moving so fast I didn’t see anything but a shadowed blur before my vision went red, then abruptly white. I reeled back, fighting to recover from a solid left cross to my right cheek. I ducked as he went for me again, then kicked out, catching him in the stomach hard enough to push him back with the ball of my foot.
He laughed, but gave me the ground.
When he got closer again, I looked for an opening...any opening.
“...I’m your new bodyguard,” he said, winking.
He darted forward again, even as it occurred to me that I’d just made a really big mistake.



“More tea?” Vash said, raising the dented pot.
I sat cross-legged on the floor beside him. My face hurt. My arms, hands and legs were bruised, too, and even my tailbone where it perched on a bamboo mat. Two seers had brought in a platter covered with tea, cream, honey and a plateful of small sandwiches, laying everything out on a dark red cloth spread between me and the ancient seer.
I fought the impulse to touch my face in places I could feel the flesh rising. I wanted ice, but hadn’t asked for that either.
Looking out at the rain falling lightly over the mountains, I glanced reluctantly at the seers sitting around us in a symmetrical ring.
Against the far wall sat Maygar and his friends. Amusement showed on more than one face. I felt their lights flicker around mine like curious moths, woven through with faint flavors of sexuality. When I caught Maygar’s gaze unintentionally, he winked at me, kissing the air before tapping his temple with a forefinger.
Tonight, he whispered in my mind.
Taking a mouthful of cucumber sandwich, I chewed, gripping a tea cup in my other hand. More than anything, I wished it held coffee.
Vash laughed, startling me.
“Of course! You are American now!”
He glanced at another seer, who rose at once and disappeared through a cloth-covered doorway.
“Is this Indian breakfast?” I said.
His lips twitched in humor. “Elevenses, perhaps.”
Fans rotated overhead with round, leaf-like blades, pushing cool, rain-smelling air through the room.
Vash patted my knee. “How do you like India, dear friend?”
“I like the cows.” I looked around at the smooth-faced seers, avoiding Maygar’s corner. “Am I a prisoner here?”
Vash swept his smile away. “Not at all.” His voice grew troubled. “Do you wish to leave?” Leaning closer, he asked in barely a whisper, “...Or perhaps you would like some ice?”