Beneath the Fallen City, Jamie A. Waters [ebook reader .TXT] 📗

At the sight of their group, the majority of the people fell silent and openly stared at Kayla and her companions. Kayla ignored the stares and strode into the room on Alec’s arm.

Edwin spotted them from across the room and approached. “Seara, you look wonderful as usual, my dear. Your daughter definitely takes after you.”

Without waiting for a response, Edwin snapped his fingers at someone. They immediately came over carrying a tray of tall, slender glasses. Edwin lifted two glasses and handed one to Seara and the other to Kayla.

Alec accepted a glass from the server and motioned for Veridian to take one too. Kayla studied the bubbling golden liquid. “What is this?”

“It’s called champagne. It’s a little sweet. You might enjoy it.”

Kayla sniffed the glass, decided it wasn’t too offensive, and took a cautious sip. The bubbles tickled her tongue and mouth, but it was a pleasant enough taste.

Alec’s mouth twitched in a hint of a smile. “Do you like it?”

She nodded and took another sip. “Yeah, I’ve never had anything like this. I like the bubbles.”

Seara turned to Edwin. “I need to speak with you privately.”

“I’m sure you do. In the meantime, Alec, why don’t you take Kayla and Veridian around and introduce them to a few people? There are two potential traders here. I’m sure Kayla and Veridian can give them some unique insight as to what to expect on the surface if they’re selected.”

Alec inclined his head and led Kayla and Veridian away, while Seara and Edwin disappeared into another room. Kayla turned to watch them go, wondering about the tension between them.

“The potential traders are Milo and Rand,” Alec explained, interrupting her thoughts. “They’ve both studied the pre-war history extensively, are technical experts, and the High Council believes either one would make a suitable trader. They’ve never been to the surface, though, so they’ll probably be interested in speaking with you both.”

“How do you decide who you’re going to send?”

“Becoming a trader is actually quite difficult. Usually, it requires extensive study, and we test them thoroughly on their knowledge. They also have to share similar ideologies to OmniLab’s High Council and Inner Circle.”

Kayla frowned. “Then how the hell did Ramiro get in? That guy was a couple sandwiches short of a picnic.”

Alec lowered his voice. “Occasionally, such as the case with Ramiro, bribes are accepted. Becoming a trader and fulfilling the terms of the contract boosts a family’s status considerably.”

Kayla’s eyes narrowed. “Did either of these two buy their way in?”

Alec shook his head. “No, they were selected on merit and achievements alone. An inquiry into selection status is occurring as a result of the petition against Ramiro. The High Council is being cautious with this next selection.”

Well, maybe they don’t have their heads completely up their asses. “I see. What about Carl? Why was he selected?”

Alec hesitated. “He was actually recruited, not selected. The removal of the previous trader was rather sudden. Carl’s been on the fast track for an assistant director position, and a few of our directors thought the experience would benefit him. He’s young for it, but based on his merits and achievements, we decided he would be a good fit. So far, he’s exceeded all expectations.”

Kayla nodded in agreement. “For a trader, he’s a pretty good guy.”

Alec brought them over to a tall man in his thirties. He had short, dark hair and wore slightly less ostentatious formal wear. He was considerably shorter than Alec and appeared to be far more of a tech room junkie than someone who could navigate the pits. His brown eyes were intelligent, and they widened considerably as he recognized them.

“Oh goodness! Mistress Kayla Rath’Varein, Master Alec Tal’Vayr, it’s truly an honor to meet you. My name is Milo Orwin.”

“Hi, Milo. Nice to meet you. But call me Kayla. I don’t get into the fancy names and crap.”

At Milo’s shocked expression, Alec added, “Kayla prefers to avoid formalities. It appears to be a trademark on the surface. And this is Veridian Levanthe.”

“This is so exciting,” Milo said with a bow, twisting his hands nervously. His words flew together in rapid succession. “I can’t express how honored I am. To meet both of you is truly a wondrous thing. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me.”

Holy shit. If this guy gets flustered this easily, the ruin rats are going to chew him up and spit him out.

Alec smiled at Milo and said with a trace of laughter in his voice, “Please be at ease, Milo. As you know, Kayla and Veridian recently arrived from the surface. The culture there is quite different than what you’re accustomed to here in the towers.”

“Yeah,” Kayla muttered. “We don’t dress up for dinner.”

Alec barely managed to keep a straight face. Milo looked at Kayla and Veridian eagerly. “Would it be okay if I asked you a few questions? I’d like to have some additional background. I’ve studied quite a bit about what life is like on the surface, but there’s so much more to learn.”

Veridian smiled at him. “Sure, I’d be happy to answer your questions.”

Kayla finished her glass of champagne. “Uh huh. V’s better with questions than I am.”

“In that case, why don’t we let Veridian and Milo talk?” Alec suggested, sweeping her empty glass from her hand. “I’ll get you another drink and introduce you to Rand.”

“All right.” Once they were out of earshot, she blew out a breath and shook her head. “You’re not really going to send that guy to the surface, are you? He won’t last a week.”

Alec chuckled and waved over a server. Taking another drink off the tray, he offered it to her and leaned close, his breath warm against her ear. “You are truly a gem, Kayla.”

“Hmm,” she murmured, ignoring the goose bumps his nearness caused, and took a large sip. Too much was happening that was outside her realm of experience. She was attracted to Alec, but he was like one of the relics she discovered when scavenging. He was nice to look at, but he belonged in the towers and not in her hands. She looked around the room for a distraction. “So where’s this other trader?”

“I’ll introduce you to him now,” Alec offered and pressed his hand against the small of her back. A shiver went through her at the contact, but she didn’t pull away.

He led her across the room and stopped in front of a tall man who didn’t look like he spent all his time in the tech room. His blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and he had an air of confidence about him.

“Master Tal’Vayr and Mistress Rath’Varein,” he acknowledged with a polite smile.

“Kayla,” she said firmly. “Just Kayla. You must be Rand?”

He bowed briefly. “Yes. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you. I understand you’re familiar with the district I’m hoping to oversee?”

Okay, this one has potential. A little formal, but he’ll get over that. Not bad to look at either.

“You could say that.”

Rand studied her for a moment, his curiosity evident. “Are there many surface camps in that area? Our data is sketchy since they seem to move around frequently.”

“Surface camps? I think you mean ruin rats.” She laughed at the polite description. “There are some. Ramiro wasn’t good at what he did so it was easy to scavenge under his nose. His prices sucked though. A lot of the camps scavenged in his district and then sold to Warig or Carl.”

If Rand was surprised at her candor, he hid it well. She got the impression he was filing away her observations for later. He gave a thoughtful nod and mused, “I’m surprised they wouldn’t feel some loyalty toward the trader in the district they scavenged from.”

Kayla smirked at him. “If you become a trader, you’re going to learn one thing real quick. Ruin rats don’t like traders or Omnis. You’re a necessary evil, and the less contact with you, the better.”

Alec looked at her in surprise. “All ruin rats feel this way?”

Kayla sipped her drink. “Pretty much. Sure, there are a few exceptions. But generally speaking? Oh yeah. Most traders tend to screw over ruin rats every chance they get. There’s no loyalty on either side. Don’t expect to be welcomed with open arms.”

“I see. It sounds like this will be more challenging than I anticipated.” Rand turned to Alec. “I look forward to meeting with the High Council and Inner Circle representatives when I present my final bid for the trader position.”

Alec inclined his head. Rand turned to Kayla and bowed low to her. “It was truly a pleasure to meet you. I hope I’ll be given the opportunity to try to repair the rift between the surface camps and the traders.”

Kayla looked at him in surprise. “You sound like Carl.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Trader Carl Grayson?”

When she nodded, he chuckled and admitted, “We know each other well. We studied together before he was recruited for his current position.”

She smiled, beginning to like the trader recruit even more. “It figures. He’s one of the only decent traders I’ve ever known. Sneaky bastard, but fair. Most ruin rats don’t like him simply because he’s a trader, but he’s respected.”

Rand nodded thoughtfully. “I’ll be interested in speaking with him when he comes to the meeting.”

A soft chime echoed throughout the room. Alec put his arm around her waist. “That’s our cue, dear.” He offered a polite nod to Rand and led her away.

“I take it you approve of him?” Alec asked her quietly as they stepped into the large banquet hall area.