Haven: Book Four of The Channel Riders

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men, making sure they were not being mistreated. Maria already headed off to the DF and Jasmine sailed into port on the Cherry

to lick her paw clean. Spin relaxed her suspicion of Thompson once she realized that he was a source of fresh fish. His spoiling her

her fears could be allayed so swiftly. Unfortun

. She frowned at the sight of the ships as they approached. The activity was more tha

before, but this seemed to be on a much larger scale. She frowned and pulled into the first available dock. It wasn't close to her n

used to as she only heard Benjamin and Thompson's voices since leaving port. There seemed to be a somewhat frantic undercurrent to the talk and Elena wondered wha

This particular port was less human centric than the one she traditionally used and most of the humans here spoke Russian

lly favored had a more direct route. Once the crowd thinned, Elena took a deep breath

Thompson asked when the three of th

ena asked, taki

hand. "Are you trying to confuse me by taking the long way home? Do yo

ught of her deliberately trying to confusing him. "My quarters don't connect directly t

t intentional

ly, " She

in added. "I'm not quite

Thompson ask

ver used this se

is area?" Thomps

with grandfather when he had

ile on Earth, the Guild respected the various rules and regulations that different countries set out. Once on the Doc

soon after. Language was the biggest barrier to cohesion and the reason that the DF was carved into sections and the reason all children raised on the DF were taught to speak at least three languages. Most of th

uch. "I have the feeling the same rules as before apply, " she told

n said nodding. "Do I hav

she was fine with the arrangement. Although she had the feeling he would be using it fa

. Her hair was wet and it looked as

"We just made it in.

ther tonight or tomorrow. She was picking up a shipment from the Jarca I think. She hasn't chosen a crew yet so her temp crew won

aintained a set of quarters that housed all of the pilots and crews who weren't considered Heads of House in their own rights, of

y a few associated houses that fell under his leadership shared the space. The quarters she was assigned when she became Head of her own House seemed cavernous when there was only her to occupy

would be the sons of other Houses or people who were Guild-raised, but no longer had a House of their own. All Pilots were women as they were the only ones born with the genetic predisposition to see the channels. At

own ships yet, but were serving as House contacts on the D

While she was still getting used to being in charge of such a thing, the arrangement in general was on

d. A man she vaguely recog

right hand man. He smiled, pleased that she recognized him. She imagined

his accent thick

id stepping to the side and gesturin

a message. My brother received your information and asks that you deal with the extra

e, " she

t Danvers, around seven if that will be acceptable."

er. The DF kept its own time so they

ack to Nicolas. "Seven will be fine.

bow of his head. "It has been a pleas

ed away. Elena shut the door and sighed heavily. "I really ho

. She tended to take her laundry home with her when she left, rather than leaving it behind. Elena picked up her bag from the flo

an all-purpose black dress in the back of the closet and pull it out. The neckline was a litt

en though he used his gift of pajamas to secretly give her a key to a safe deposit box, she still rece

was ready to go. She calculated the time it would take to walk to Danvers and smiled with approval. She could make it to Danvers without ar

ing into the living room. A low whistle sounded as she entered and thr

usiness meeting, " Thompson said reminding her of the dinner she had Benja

t her dress wondering if it was too date-like for the meeting and if she had time to

aid encouragingly. She s

may be put on the agenda sometime soon. I'd r

lena nearly swore, but held it in. She nodded at Benjamin, u

she called before step

arty and as their grandfather would very quickly name him as the heir to his seat, a designation party. As they were all happening close together,

and she needed to look the part. The only reason she managed to avoid such an affair when she had become H

She pushed the thought aside. If Mateo asked Kiera to marry him and she said yes, setting off that specif

lena tried to calm the nervous butterflies in her belly as she approached the door to Danvers. The door swung

by sight at Danvers, or subject to preferential treatment, but figured there was little she could do about it. Elena cau

waiting long, " Elena s

h the wait." He put a little heat in his gaze and Elena tried

the DF?" he asked once the waite

d he will be checking on them. While I'm sure they will pick up some information here and ther

the facts. "The Librarians are concentrating on building and are discussing archive space, not Guild pol

was just as delectable as Andre, but with the keen edge of danger around him

wart on the wrong Bara

Have his men not tried to in

ecifically keep them in sight at all times. They always move with a partner." Admittedly the buddy system was in place for all of the peop

exploration party. And one to who English is not a primary language. Most of Riko's people shipped out of Tokyo, but came from smaller coastal towns

the newly exposed insides. Elena took another sip of water. She figured there would be more communication between Riko's settlement and her o

ing with Smith go?" h

made sure to bring that up as near to the start as I could. He then managed to interrupt Thompson's questions about the planet repeatedly, so I was able

ill prove easy to create some sort of accident. With Thompson checking on them, he will spend time with you and your people, coming to trust you as he becomes more familiar. As

he wanted to receive. She didn't think any of her folks would kill Thompson's men and make it look like an accident, despite Mateo's bla

t mostly dealt with her shipyard. Elena expected her to be much more involved in the process, but suspected failing health might have been the cause, lending validity to the rumors. Regardless, Peter see

aid as the desert plates were cleared away and coffee was

ut the information as she sipped her coffee. The Theran held a large territory with a significant number of trade routes running

iness, " Elena said, keepin

hey were caught in the crossfire. Others managed to squeak through and some were turned back when they reached the contested area and couldn't get through."

cked in the eastern port as it was the first berth available. I didn't know how bad things were and didn't want to give him a full view

show no weakness' school of leadership and that expressing concern for the family publicly was a sign of weakness, but E

amage merely by being on the edges of the struggle. It is not something we are involved in and nothing

their own and the fact that we are in no way involved will mean that we don't re

in his voice. Shortly after, dinner wound to a close. Peter escorted her

olent ways in the recent past, I feel it advisable to make sure you arrive home safely, " Peter told her when

continued walking. They walked in silence for a time, the mercha

d him. "This is the first time all season I've managed to make

ness partners are Riko, Alexandro and myself which makes you quite appe

e the not yet Council comment. Peter smiled

na had no response to that and decided to keep her mouth shut as no comment that came to mind seemed appropriate. They left the market area and th

ng my cousin Andre in a social capacity,

to stall by opening her small ev

the speed of the gossip chain though." Elena told him. While not entirely true, her response wasn't entirely false. She was being kept more than busy

ho is family, Benjamin who is now of my House and therefore completely off limits and Thompson. Not a great list.' Elen

ife. While he was not as disturbing an addition as Smith, he was more frightening. "I see." They reached El

y not to get killed." He

na opened her door and retreated into her quarters, shutt