Page 174 of Seven Oars
“What?” she quaked.
“You’re not touching him.” Two clawed fingers pointed at her nose. He was bodily blocking her access to Phex.
Xorris lifted Phex’s arm and let it fall in a boneless flop.
“It done liquefied the fucker,” he said with wonder.“I didn’t know that glitch box could do this.”
“Me neither,” Fincros admitted.
“That’s wild.” Xorris stepped back, suddenly wary of touching Phex again.
In two strides, Fincros reached Nud and grabbed fistfuls of his ratty shirt.Nud groaned and swayed. He was wrecked but not liquefied, which meant Tutti hadn’t done it.
Fincros shook him like a rattle toy.“What happened?”
“Tutti broke him,” Nud wheezed.
“I know that, moron.” Fincros shook him harder, which only made Nud seem less lucid, not more.“Why?”
“He tried to smash it. Broke off its flex-arm.”
Rosamma noticed the appendage lying beside Phex. It was a satisfying sight, however little purpose it might have achieved.
Nud found his footing.“You can’t set a damn course anymore! Tutti overrides the controls for no reason.”
“What course was he trying to set?” Fincros asked.
Nud hesitated.
“What course?”
“Away from the trading routes. We’re getting too close.”
Fincros smashed Nud’s already misshapen nose.“Who gave you an order to change the course?”
Nud teetered backwards but managed to stay on his feet.“It was his idea!”
“Then why did he rearrange your face, Nud?” Fincros asked sharply.
Nud gingerly touched his nose.“He thought I was fooling with him, not letting him change the course. Before he realized it was Tutti.”
Thilza laughed. Esseh said nothing.
Rosamma looked around.“Where’s Tutti?”
A whiff of sour smoke drifted in through the vents.
Fincros flexed the fist he’d just used on Nud.“Fuck.”
As he ran out with Thilza on his heels, Fincros brushed past Rosamma accidentally-on-purpose and whispered,“Don’t touch.”
Esseh followed them more slowly, shouldering away Eze and Gro.
“Hey, are you gonna, like, heal Nud?” Fawn looked at Rosamma.
“Nud?”
“Well, both of them,” Fawn said, impatient.
