Catastrophic Attraction - Eve Langlais Page 0,26
smile innocent and wicked all at once. “Titan helped me make it. It’s a zapper, so when Xarek pulls my braid again. Bzzzt!” She jiggled her arm.
Casey arched her brow at Titan. “Really?”
“Better than slicing off parts.”
“Less messy, too,” Charlie added.
Riella approached, cheek smudged with dark metal dust. “How are you liking the city?”
More than she expected. She kept it nonchalant and shrugged. “It’s all right.”
“Glad you came to get her because I wanted you to see the cool thing Riella made Charlie. Show her.”
The little girl held out her wrist, displaying a metal bracelet.
“Pretty?” Casey said it almost questioningly, and Riella smirked.
“Practical, too, but I’ll let Titan tell you while Charlie and I dip her buzzer in polymer to make it more durable.”
Once they stepped away, Titan murmured, “The bracelet has a tracker in it similar to the one Alfred had.”
“Alfred being who?” she asked.
“The robot. I forgot you haven’t met him yet. Alfred, say hi to Casey.”
“I’m not a trained pet who repeats things after you,” was the snooty reply.
“And that’s Alfred. Anyhow, the tracker in Charlie’s bracelet will emit a signal that can be picked up unless she’s too far or there’s some nasty interference.”
“Implying you think I’m going to lose Charlie.”
“Guarding against the possibility. She’s a good kid,” he said softly.
“Even if she weren’t, she’s a child, and I will protect her.” But in order to do that, she really should find out what the princess was capable of.
After a quick lunch, Casey brought Charlie to the rooftop of a tower. Not the one with the bedrooms but another that gave them an interesting view over the sprawling city and even a glimpse of the marsh. Green and purple, even some browns, a bit of yellow, it stretched for miles, or so it seemed. Hard to tell given the thin, creeping fog.
“Why are we up here?” the princess asked.
Rather than replying, she tossed a knife. Charlotte’s eyes widened, but she lifted her hand and caught it. By the hilt.
Casey released a breath she didn’t realize she’d held. For some reason, she’d had a feeling Charlotte knew her way around weapons. She’d just passed her first test by not flinching.
“I want to see how good your lessons have been.”
Apparently, they were quite excellent. Despite her age and size, the girl acquitted herself well, staying low, good at evading.
Only once the princess was panting did Casey call a break. She threw herself on the parapet floor and stared up at the blue sky, hinting of mauve. Cloudless and dust free.
Charlotte joined her. “This is fun. More fun than boring books and lessons.”
“Wait, you missed your lessons? You should have told me you had classes.”
“I don’t at the moment. I’m not in school anymore.”
“How come?” she asked. Because Roark seemed intent on education.
“Papa says I’m to take my lessons in the castle for the next bit.”
“Because of the attacks.” Understandable. The school would have required too many upgrades to make it safe for the princess.
Charlotte nodded. “It’s okay. I can already read, and I like doing this more.”
“Knowledge can be as strong as a blade.” Something she recalled hearing Benny say.
“Knowing about stuff doesn’t protect you if a bad person wants to hurt you.”
“True.”
The girl glanced over at her. “Who taught you to fight?”
“My brother. And what he didn’t teach experience did. Getting my ass handed to me in fights was a good way to learn.”
“Your parents?”
Casey shook her head. “Never knew them. I was Incubaii made.”
“You were born in a tank!” Charlie’s eyes widened.
“I was, and I spent my early years in a Creche.”
“What’s a Creche?”
“Where the Emerald Kingdom used to send its babies.”
“Who took care of you?”
“Strangers.” She didn’t remember that time. Too young. But she’d learned since then how the Creche were run, with hugging banned and strict rules. Was it any wonder she had a hard time letting people get close?
“My papa is the one who mostly takes care of me. He loves me, but he’s so worried they’ll take me away like they took her.”
That seemed rather specific. She glanced over at Charlotte. “Took who?”
“My mama,” Charlotte said softly. “She died when I was little. The bad people from the city on the ocean came and killed her. They would have killed me, too, but Papa saved me.”
The story wasn’t an uncommon one in the Wastelands. Only the tough survived. Still…
“I’m sorry about your mother.”
Charlotte shrugged. “I don’t remember her. I’ve only seen pictures. She had beautiful hair. Long and the same color as