Page 48 of Guardian's Destiny

"Okay," I nodded, that made sense.

"The spaceport is that way," he pointed in the general direction of east. "If these tunnels go all the way through, we can find a way up closer to the spaceport, where the Ohrurs won't be able to pick up our heat signatures among the millions of others."

"If," I allowed, giving the walls a skeptical once-over, but they appeared sturdy enough despite their age.

"I'll program our progress into the comm; we won't get lost in these tunnels," he assured me.

"I didn't think we would." I supported him.

"At the spaceport, we hijack a ship and make our way to Darlam," Vraax added.

He was forgetting something, something important. He was supposed to take me to Astrionis once we had the Ohrurs in our possession. Or Pandrax. Just long enough so I could send a warning to Zapharos. It took a lot more strength than I thoughtit would, but I wasn't about to remind him; whatever happened next would tell me if I could trust the Space Guardian or not. By God, I hoped I could. I worried I had already given him too much power over my heart.

VRAAX

Moddekdum kept grumblingas I moved him forward through the tunnels. Paddekah walked a few steps behind him, watching him as if her life depended on it, while Sloane brought up the rear. Even with a few paces between us, I could feel her displeasure. But I had no idea what it was about. I didn't think it was because we were here or because I blew up the ship; both things had been equally necessary. No, it happened after she asked what was next. I wrecked my brain for what could have triggered her disapproval. I told her we would go to the spaceport, hijack a ship, and get to Darlam…

A tiny niggle in the back of my brain tried to catch my attention, but I ignored it. I would take her to Astrionis after we were done with Darlam, that was the deal. She couldn't possibly be mad about that, could she? No. She was a warrior. She understood the necessity of our mission. After all, I had given her my word.

I thought once we grew closer—and we had—she would give up on the idea of going to Astrionis. I mean, what could possibly be there for her? We were mated—even though we hadn't had sex—but we were bound together. That counted for something. Had to, even for her.

"… get away…" I caught part of Moddekdum's last words.

"What are you mumbling about?" I hissed.

"I said, you know that you'll never get away with this," Moddekdum repeated.

"We'll see." I wasn't in the mood for a discussion with the Ohrur; my mind was still on Sloane.Fine, I decided,if she really wants to, if this really means so much to her, I'll go with her to Astrionis, she deserves it after helping me.

There, that should appease her.

"The entire planet will be swarming with Space Guardians," Moddekdum continued.

"Oh," Sloane exclaimed behind us, stepping away. I stopped to watch her investigate an opening in the sidewall. Using her comm, which she had grabbed before leaving the ship, she lit up another tunnel on the other side. Curiosity got the better of me, and I pushed Moddekdum forward, not worried about Paddekah, who seemed to follow wherever he went.

"What is this place anyway?" I asked Moddekdum.

"A warning of what will happen if we don't stay united," he mumbled. For whatever reason, he added, "It's the old world. From before the disease killed so many of us."

"You mean before you started your little civil war, killing nearly fifty percent of your population," Sloane shot at him over her shoulder.

Moddekdum threw her a hateful glare. We weren't supposed to know about this.

"Possedion sings like a bird." Sloane faced him. "I wonder, will you too?"

"What is she talking about?" Moddekdum ignored her, asking me.

"Oh, that," I waved my hand in front of his to bring the message home, "she cut off one of Possedion's hands andpoisoned him. He told us everything there is to know, including the fact that we need three of your kind to get to Darlam."

Moddekdum opened his mouth to say something, closed it, and did it again. I suppressed my chuckle at finally seeing him speechless.

"She's a female," he hissed.

"Yeah, about that." Sloane narrowed her eyes at him. "What about us," she pointed at herself and Paddekah, "makes you think we're inferior somehow?"

"Because you are." Moddekdum still didn't look at her or Paddekah. It was as if after his short little scare, he had already dismissed her again. "Carrying and rearing children is all your kind is good for. You're nothing but a nuisance."

He glared at Paddekah, who shrank back into herself.

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