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

>“Yeah, he’s better than the other idiot.” Kayla looked around at all the tables decorated with white tablecloths covered with strange dishes and flowers. “What the hell is this? It’s supposed to be dinner. You sit, you eat, and you’re done.”

He gave her an encouraging smile. “It’s not too bad. You might even enjoy yourself. I’ll show you to your seat and then go check on Veridian.”

Alec led her to a large table at the far end of the room. The table was situated near a strange glass wall that had water droplets falling in artistic patterns. Once she was seated in the chair he held out for her, he briefly rested his hands on her bare shoulders. His touch sent warm tingles over her skin. Leaning close to her ear, he whispered, “I’ll be right back.”

Kayla studied the table in front of her. There were several silver eating utensils and crystal glasses at every place setting. She picked up a fork, wondering how many credits it was worth. With a sigh, she replaced it and shook her head at the opulence.

Wow, I can’t believe people actually live like this.

She finished her champagne while watching people stroll into the room and find their seats. The moment she put the empty glass in front of her, a woman approached her. “Would you care for another glass of champagne, Mistress Rath’Varein? Or could I interest you in a glass of wine?”

Before Kayla could reply, Alec reappeared with Veridian. “Another glass of champagne for now. The wine tends to be more suitable with dinner.” The server nodded and quickly walked away.

Veridian leaned down to Kayla. “Hey, do you mind if I sit with Milo? He’s studied ancient pre-war societies, and he’s been telling me about them. We’ve been comparing them to the culture of ruin rats and traders.”

Kayla stared at him for a moment and then burst out laughing. She shooed him away and teased, “Go play with your new friend. It figures that a freaking Omni shares your obsession.”

He grinned at her and headed over to another table. Alec sat down next to her and casually rested his arm across the back of her chair. “Veridian enjoys studying history?”

Kayla nodded. “Yeah, he loves that kind of stuff. It isn’t very helpful in the ruins, but he’s into it.”

The server reappeared and placed another glass of champagne in front of her.

“Thanks.”

The woman looked startled at her appreciation. Her eyes darted between Kayla and Alec. She swallowed nervously and stammered, “You’re welcome, Mistress Rath’Varein.”

“I need a damn sign with my name on it,” Kayla muttered, annoyed with the whole title nonsense. Alec smiled in amusement. He leaned close to her, lifting one of the loose tendrils of hair around her face and rubbing it between his fingers. “You make the servers nervous. They aren’t used to us acknowledging them.”

“That’s weird,” she returned and sipped her drink. She leaned back in her chair, enjoying his attention. “Why wouldn’t you acknowledge them?”

Alec shrugged and continued to play with her hair. “In part, we’re different. We usually keep to ourselves, and they seem to prefer it that way.”

Kayla’s mother and Alec’s father appeared at the table. Edwin held out Seara’s chair for her while she took a seat. “Would you care for another glass of champagne, Seara?”

“No, thank you,” she said softly and turned to her daughter. “Did you have a chance to meet the potential traders, Kayla?”

“Yeah, Veridian’s talking shop with one of them right now.”

Seara smiled and placed her napkin in her lap. Kayla looked at the napkin and followed suit, earning a look of approval from Seara. “I’m glad he’s enjoying himself.”

Edwin took his seat, his gaze falling on Alec’s arm still resting on her chair. He nodded, looking pleased, and then said, “Ah, there’s Keith and Marcus. They decided to join us after all.”

Kayla sat up, pulling away from Alec. Even though she’d been comfortable, she wasn’t inclined to do anything to make Edwin happy. Something about him rubbed her the wrong way.

Two older men approached, and Edwin stood and shook hands with them. After making their introductions, they sat at the table.

“Kayla, you’re as lovely as your mother,” Keith said. “It’s our great fortune you survived all these years.”

Marcus nodded and added, “It’s nice to know the Rath’Varein line continues. We still mourn the loss of your father.”

Before she could think of an appropriate response, the servers appeared and began placing plates in front of them. Kayla stared at the food. It was unlike anything she’d seen before. The colors were vibrant, and the smells were incredible.

“What is this?” she whispered to Alec.

He smiled at her. “Grilled vegetables and pasta with a basil sauce.”

She watched him lift his fork and place it in his mouth. Curious, she picked up her fork and took a bite. Her eyes widened as she chewed her food.

“Holy shit! This is freaking unbelievable.”

Alec burst into laughter, and Seara’s hand flew to her mouth to suppress a laugh. Marcus and Keith exchanged amused glances, but Edwin frowned at her outburst.

“This is what you guys normally eat?”

Alec nodded. “I’m glad you like it. Our chefs are always coming up with new dishes.”

She took another bite and then a sip of the wine. Her senses were in overload.

“The flavors are amazing. I never thought food could taste like this. What did you do to it?”

“We grow our own vegetables here,” Seara explained. “We have extensive laboratories and greenhouses to grow our own food.”

“I’d love to see that.”

“I’d be happy to take you on a tour tomorrow,” Alec offered.

She nodded eagerly. Edwin leaned forward. “So, Kayla, what do you think of our potential traders?”

Kayla shrugged, still enraptured by the meal. “They both seem nice enough, but Rand is probably better suited for the job.”

“You were able to make a judgment like that without seeing their qualifications?”

Kayla looked up from her plate to find Edwin looking down his nose at her. He was the quintessential Omni—pompous and condescending.

“I don’t need to see their qualifications. It comes down to a matter of will, drive, and confidence. There won’t be a ruin rat in your entire territory that won’t take advantage of someone who has their head up their ass or jumps when you say boo.”

“You don’t think having knowledge or expertise is important when it comes to collecting artifacts?”

“Some, sure,” she agreed, “but do you think ruin rats have had any sort of formal training? From what I’ve seen, most traders don’t crawl through the ruins anyway. They run their camps and negotiate with the rest of us who do the actual work. That’s why Ramiro sucked. He didn’t give a shit about his crew, and he took advantage of the ruin rats whenever he could. He wasn’t exactly bright, though, so that didn’t happen often.”

“I see. You seem to have strong opinions on the matter,” Edwin observed.

Keith leaned forward, looking interested in the discussion. “She may have a point, Edwin. Ramiro’s profit margins were low, and he had trouble keeping people under contract. Tell me, Kayla, what are your thoughts of our current traders?”

“Warig is okay,” she admitted, taking a liking to the other council member. “He’s not as easy to take advantage of as Ramiro was. His prices are average, but he’s a little too cautious. His crew seems to respect him though. Most ruin rats prefer dealing with him rather than Ramiro simply because Ramiro was a jerk.”

“Warig’s profits have been stable but nothing spectacular,” Keith mused. “What about Henkel and Carl?”

Kayla took a sip of her wine and considered the question. She didn’t think he’d be interested in hearing Carl was as delicious as the pasta thing.

“Henkel’s an idiot. His crew thinks he’s an idiot too. Negotiating with him is a pain in the ass. He takes forever to figure out his numbers and what he wants to spend. His district is crowded with ruin rats since it’s so easy to scavenge under his nose. Carl’s about the only trader you’ve got that’s worth a damn. He runs a tight crew, and they respect him. He’s sneaky, devious, and it’s hard as hell to scavenge in his district without getting caught. He takes it in stride when you get away with it, though, and he’s fair. His prices are better, too, so more people come to him to trade.”

“Interesting. Carl’s profits have been substantially higher than the other traders,” Keith observed. He turned to Edwin. “Perhaps we’ve been approaching this the wrong way. It seems we may need to look at different qualifications in our traders.”

“Perhaps,” Edwin conceded.

The servers reappeared and removed their empty plates, replacing them with small bowls of colorful fruit.

Kayla looked at it in surprise. “What’s this?”

“It’s a fruit medley,” Alec informed her. “But just a moment. There’s something else I think you should try.”

He waved over one of the servers and whispered in her ear. She nodded and disappeared.

Kayla looked at him curiously, and he said, “Go ahead and try the fruit. It’s a light and refreshing dessert. But I suspect you may enjoy this other one a bit more.”

She took an experimental bite. “Wow, this is amazing. I’ve had fruit substitutes before, but this is completely different.”

A moment later, the server reappeared holding a small plate with a slice of a dark cake drizzled with some sort of red liquid. At Kayla’s questioning look, Alec took a small forkful and leaned over toward her.

She hesitated for a