into kotaom : a novel by david faylin | [home]
Commander Ailleagan. HoD Awaits You.
Lorelei faced the gun so she could see up the barrel. “Tank man, you cannot sell what you do not possess.”
“Then Miss, I’d turn thief for a gem as rare as the likes of you.” And he laughed himself hoarser. “Derv, you see. Derv. For this here.” He tapped the turret.
“What’s your name,” Borrada said.
“Ailleagan. Colonel… Capt’, Commander Ailleagan.”
Borrada gestured to the emptiness left and right. “Well, Ailleagan, I hope you don’t rely on passing trade. Eyrecourt’s so long abandoned that its gatepillars have rotted.”
“I scared them away. They were terrified. They knew what I could do.”
“I doubt you could even curl a finger to trigger that rifle. You’re no mercenary. There’s no sign of the spoils in your face so white with desperation.”
Ailleagan spun his ring with avidity, amost dropping it from his atrophied finger. “I still have this,” he said.
[the above is an excerpt from Into Kotaom]
