Romani Armada Read Online Free Page B

village administrators, is there? There’s just you. Since you arrived at the agency you’ve written a book and learned Chinese, you’re running this joint and you’re keeping a dozen unhappy humans and one psi in line and contained, all while we’re living two centuries in the past. You did all that while dealing with vampires, who are a strange species to begin with.”
    “They’re not strange,” Mariana replied. “They just think differently.”
    “So I learned the hard way,” Deonne said. She pointed her hand at Mariana. “You already knew it. Smart, as I said. But you make it hard for people to appreciate your true value.”
    Mariana’s eyes narrowed. “Are you saying if I dressed like you people would think I was smarter?”
    Deonne shook her head. “You need to dress like you , but you need to dress like a smart woman, not like…like….” Deonne halted, abruptly aware of what she would have to say about Mariana in order to finish her thought. She couldn’t say it aloud. She wasn’t that cruel.
    “I see,” Mariana replied, putting the notebook back down slowly.
    “Do you?” Deonne replied softly. “This is a subject I happen to know about in a professional capacity. It’s my trade. You may not like hearing it, but it’s a sad fact of life that your appearance absolutely affects how people think about you and how they behave toward you.”
    Mariana’s lips were thin, flat lines as she stared down at her notebook.
    Deonne pressed on. She had to finish this now. “Do you truly understand that if you enhanced your appearance and made yourself look as intelligent as you really are, when you had complained to the village administrators about my neighbor they wouldn’t have brushed you off with a simple ‘we’ll get back to you.’?”
    Mariana whispered something.
    “What?” Deonne prompted.
    “I said, ‘that’s cheating,’” Mariana told her, her voice stronger. There were red glowing spots in both of her cheeks and her fine grey eyes were narrowed. She wasn’t upset. She was angry.
    Deonne swallowed. “It’s cheating to wear nice clothes?”
    “ Nice clothes?” Mariana seemed to choke. “You’re not talking about just nice clothes.”
    Deonne drew a breath to respond, but Mariana cut her off. “No, I think it’s time you listened to me, don’t you?”
    Deonne crossed her arms. Fair enough.
    Mariana’s forefinger brushed under across Deonne’s sleeve, lifting the fragile übersilk and letting it drift downward so the morning sun shining through the high window caught the emeralds and reds and gold threads running through it. “This isn’t enhancement . You use this, all of this—your hair, your jewelry, your scent, your make-up, everything that you have on your list of enhancements—you use them all as weapons and shields to ram through barriers on your way to getting what you want. You bewitch men and alienate women with your off-the-scale radiance.” Mariana’s mouth curled down. “If that’s what you are recommending I do in order to win respect for my intellect, then I’d rather stay looking stupid and old. People at least smile at me when I walk into a room.”
    Deonne licked her lips. It hurt more than she thought it would, even though she had heard all this before. “It’s not what I’m suggesting,” she said, struggling to keep her tone even. “You’re misinterpreting me. I think you’re doing it deliberately in order to slap me around and I probably deserve that much. But think on what I’ve said.” She turned for the door, reaching for it blindly.
    “It’s not like I’m twenty anymore, either,” Mariana said, with a sniff, behind her.
    Deonne gripped the door handle, breathing hard, absorbing the comment. Then she spun to face Mariana again, her back to the door, the handle digging into her back. “You think I’m trading on my youth, Mariana?” She smiled. “You think I’m lording it over you because I’ve got energy to spare and a