Read Temper for Free Online

true.
    It happened the same night.
    Did he plan all this somehow?
    No, not even Davyd would roll the dice with people’s lives.
    A chill crawls down my spine, and I edge away from him. We’re not a team, just strangers whose goals occasionally align.
    “Well?” The question comes from Samuai.
    And I realize they’re all waiting for me to confirm Davyd’s alibi. “He was with me,” I admit.
    I fight the traitorous flush warming my throat. I don’t have to explain to these people what we were doing. I meet Samuai’s injured gaze across the table and try to tell him of my innocence with my eyes, but he angles his body toward Megs, and I don’t know what he’s thinking—something pretty common these days.
    “There was an argument about the truck.” The soft whisper comes from Kaih.
    She’s been so quiet, I’ve almost forgotten her presence on my other side. The light hits the white on her cheek, and I swear for a second the bird moves. She stirs, then straightens, and the affect is gone.
    “Tell us more,” Keane says. But he’s gentle. Where Davyd can’t help but irritate, Kaih tends to bring out the best in people.
    If she would only realize that fact she could achieve so much. Then again if she knew, it probably wouldn’t work. Her cheeks flush. I know she prefers being a dressmaker to being the center of attention.
    “I overheard people talking after … you know… Tesae …” She gulps. “And before you ask, I don’t know who it was. Darkness and mud made it impossible for me to recognize them. And my head was all over the place because of the tragedy.”
    “We get it. No names,” Davyd drawls.
    She glares at him. “They were out there because when the card game died down, there was an argument and a bet over who could lift the truck.”
    “No one could lift it,” Keane argues. “The thing has to weigh more than a ton.”
    Kaih shrugs. “I only know what I heard.”
    I flex the muscles in my arms. While I don’t think I could lift the battered old vehicle alone, with a few people to help, I can see why they’d attempt it. Keane’s skepticism isn’t mirrored on any of the Lifer or Fishie faces. He doesn’t realize what we all know. The anger brings with it a new strength. It’s what makes us so dangerous.
    Silence stretches, and I wait for someone to speak up and explain but no one does.
    “What are we going to do about it?” I ask.
    “That’s part of the reason I’ve gathered you all. We need to reinforce the message to get along. Peaceful cooperation is required if we want to unite against the real—”
    Davyd laughs. “You have to be kidding.”
    “You have a better idea?”
    “Talking is all well and good but it’s clear that the Company used the ship as their own little experiment. As well as being Q-resistant, we’ve been bred for strength, speed, and violence with a little fast healing thrown in. And they’re the alterations we know about. There could be more. Talking isn’t going to stop something like this from happening again.”
    “He’s right.” Lady speaks at last. She looks down her nose at each of us in turn. “It’s all terribly uncouth, and I refuse to be a slave to these base urges. Something simply must be done. Or …”
    We all look to Lady. She all but preens with the attention.
    “Or what?” Keane asks.
    “We Fishies leave,” she replies.
    There’s a stir as people straighten in their seats and lean toward her. I’m guessing it’s the exact kind of dramatic reaction she’s looking for.
    “Where would you go?” The question comes from Charley, ever practical.
    Lady waves. “I don’t know, but we cannot be expected to stay here under this constant threat unless we see there are steps being taken to rectify this lack of control.”
    “I seem to remember there were Fishies knee deep in mud,” Samuai argues. “I don’t think you can blame one group.”
    Lady smiles. “Actually, I can.” She waves her hand over the council as though