Read Online Going Under by Justina Robson - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Justina Robson
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stream. But her tracking systems were tenacious as only machines could be. A pleasing flicker of hunter/hunted shivered through her and her mouth spontaneously formed a small grim smile. When you were good at something, no matter what it was, there was a pleasure in doing it. She preferred airborne fights. Flying demons had wings and wings were a distinct liability.
By the time she had reduced her speed almost to a loiter and was waiting testily for the attack, wondering if she could legitimately take a first strike before making a positive identification of the demon as a bone fide duellist, she was beyond the range of all the airtrade lanes except the major circular bus route and its huge, ponderous balloons. These were so stately that as far as she was concerned they were virtually stationary objects and thus were useless as anything except temporary cover, though for that they were very useful indeed as it was a capital offence to damage a public transport vehicle or its passengers in a duel.
Thingamajig put his head out of her hair and said, "Another fight is it? Well let me tell you, Missy, you'll be paying for it with yet another devil for me to talk about if you're not careful-the one who sits up late at night in your older years making you curse your stupid youth and the joy you took in the death you dealt."
"Ah crap," Lila said. "I don't see any of you guys suffering from guilt."
"Yeah, but we was born our way and you was born yours and you don't have it in the blood. A yu-man..." he spoke as if he was talking about something unsavoury, "... a yu-man conscience is a terrible thing."
s is a d mow one, suyosin y suc~e a Mein y exists, Tath said icily.
Lila was brought up short. She never thought that Thingamajig's outbursts were ever related to himself. It was true, her conscience did nag her about the consequences of a demon lifestyle, particularly the death rates. But she had not asked any of them to fight her, and if it was her life or theirs, then she didn't feel any guilt over what she had to do. Well, she shouldn't ... but maybe she did feel it when her inner voice reminded her that staying in Demonia was optional, not required. You did, it kept whispering just as Thingamajig had promised, you chose. Then again, what was she supposed to do? Never come here again? A slow burn of anger at her position started up in her belly as she turned and stood on the jets to face her assailant.
"Now is not the moment," she said to the imp. "You can keep your cupboard full of skeletons to yourself."
The tiny demon shrugged and dug his claws into her shoulder armour, "I see you lying, you know. And I'm not the only one. The devils have a sense for lies that can reach beyond time itself and let me tell you there are at least three of them stalking you right now, close as your own skin," he said with a raspy primness. "But I'm your friend here. You stuck by me when She Who Shall Not Be Named wanted to fling me back into limbo-quite prematurely I must say, 'cos you is far from in the clear. But she don't care if you spend eternity in hell either way, that was only up to you, but you don't get that about us that we don't care for anyone else's business no matter what, never mind that isn't the point, point is I say this: did it ever occur to you that your conscience is wrong and that you're right not to give a damn about the demons and whatever other bozos you've killed? 'Cos trust me, they all were asking for it, just like this lot."
Her attacker was a large humanoid demon with black and blue hide, dancing carefully among the highly populated boats below. Her senses, some of them human but most of them robot, tracked it effortlessly. Scans revealed its weapons-claws, a poisoned knife, a garotting wire, some kind of boomerang, several grenades of various kinds, plus an intricate and interesting personal display of tentacles and stinging appendages. It had a mouthful of teeth like a crocodile and a huge set of wasp wings.
By the time she had reduced her speed almost to a loiter and was waiting testily for the attack, wondering if she could legitimately take a first strike before making a positive identification of the demon as a bone fide duellist, she was beyond the range of all the airtrade lanes except the major circular bus route and its huge, ponderous balloons. These were so stately that as far as she was concerned they were virtually stationary objects and thus were useless as anything except temporary cover, though for that they were very useful indeed as it was a capital offence to damage a public transport vehicle or its passengers in a duel.
Thingamajig put his head out of her hair and said, "Another fight is it? Well let me tell you, Missy, you'll be paying for it with yet another devil for me to talk about if you're not careful-the one who sits up late at night in your older years making you curse your stupid youth and the joy you took in the death you dealt."
"Ah crap," Lila said. "I don't see any of you guys suffering from guilt."
"Yeah, but we was born our way and you was born yours and you don't have it in the blood. A yu-man..." he spoke as if he was talking about something unsavoury, "... a yu-man conscience is a terrible thing."
s is a d mow one, suyosin y suc~e a Mein y exists, Tath said icily.
Lila was brought up short. She never thought that Thingamajig's outbursts were ever related to himself. It was true, her conscience did nag her about the consequences of a demon lifestyle, particularly the death rates. But she had not asked any of them to fight her, and if it was her life or theirs, then she didn't feel any guilt over what she had to do. Well, she shouldn't ... but maybe she did feel it when her inner voice reminded her that staying in Demonia was optional, not required. You did, it kept whispering just as Thingamajig had promised, you chose. Then again, what was she supposed to do? Never come here again? A slow burn of anger at her position started up in her belly as she turned and stood on the jets to face her assailant.
"Now is not the moment," she said to the imp. "You can keep your cupboard full of skeletons to yourself."
The tiny demon shrugged and dug his claws into her shoulder armour, "I see you lying, you know. And I'm not the only one. The devils have a sense for lies that can reach beyond time itself and let me tell you there are at least three of them stalking you right now, close as your own skin," he said with a raspy primness. "But I'm your friend here. You stuck by me when She Who Shall Not Be Named wanted to fling me back into limbo-quite prematurely I must say, 'cos you is far from in the clear. But she don't care if you spend eternity in hell either way, that was only up to you, but you don't get that about us that we don't care for anyone else's business no matter what, never mind that isn't the point, point is I say this: did it ever occur to you that your conscience is wrong and that you're right not to give a damn about the demons and whatever other bozos you've killed? 'Cos trust me, they all were asking for it, just like this lot."
Her attacker was a large humanoid demon with black and blue hide, dancing carefully among the highly populated boats below. Her senses, some of them human but most of them robot, tracked it effortlessly. Scans revealed its weapons-claws, a poisoned knife, a garotting wire, some kind of boomerang, several grenades of various kinds, plus an intricate and interesting personal display of tentacles and stinging appendages. It had a mouthful of teeth like a crocodile and a huge set of wasp wings.
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