Page 49 of Guardian's Destiny

"There's something wrong with him." Sloane's hackles were raised, but her attention turned to an object in the middle of the tunnel that had caught her attention in the first place.

The object was pill-shaped, about double my height. It was long enough to transport several people. Come to think of it, that's what it looked like, some form of transport. I didn't think it flew, but… I checked around it and was sure it would have hovered over the ground at its prime, and it fit inside the tunnel perfectly.

"Oh." Sloane found a broken open entrance, and before I could warn her, she was already inside.

"Sloane, frygg." I cursed her. I knew she knew better. Hastily, and forgetting about the Ohrurs for the moment, I rushed after her.

Several dusty and in ill repair seats lined the inside, leaving a small path in between.

"It's like a train," Sloane said, running her fingers over the dust-crusted cushion of one of the benches.

It had only one exit. It was ideal to take a break for a while. We had been walking for a long time, and I didn't think we would make it to the spaceport anytime soon.

I leaned out and threw a glance at the two Ohrurs. Moddekdum sat leaning against the wall while Paddekah hovered close by, but she also looked exhausted.

"Come on in," I called.

Moddekdum didn't appear like he wanted to get up at first, but he must not have been very comfortable where he sat. He reached out a hand to his mate for her to help him up, and I ground my teeth watching her do just that.

The two entered the transport unit, where Sloane was still busy investigating every nook and cranny.

"It's dirty," Moddekdum complained. "I can't sit there."

Paddekah scurried forward, using the hem of her dress, which was already dirty from the fire, to clean the bench.

"You don't need to do that," I said, glaring at Moddekdum.

"Yes, she does. That's one of the few things she's good for." Moddekdum replied, making me want to punch him.

I didn't notice Sloane had joined us until she first gently pulled Paddekah to the side and then pushed—not so gently—Moddekdum down on the bench.

"There, stay!" She snarled at him.

Paddekah didn't say a word as she took a seat on another bench, wringing her hands.

I pulled the emergency pack I had grabbed on my way off the ship from my back and sorted through it, finding a few energy bars and small containers with liquid that would quench our thirst. I handed one of each to the Ohrurs and barely handed Sloane her share before I stopped Paddekah as she was about to empty her liquid pouch onto her skirt, most likely to clean Moddekdum's bench.

"No, that's yours to drink," I told her.

She looked petrified as she scooted back from me. I didn't like that I scared her, but I wasn't about to take the time to prove to her that I wasn't a threat. Like it or not, she was our hostage, but I wouldn't sit by while Moddekdum took advantage of her or mistreated her.

I sat down next to Sloane, and we ate our bars.

"Are you tired?" I asked her.

"Not really." The gleam in her eyes supported her statement. "This is really something else," she indicated the transporter. "This city must have been amazing."

Moddekdum scoffed. "It's nothing but a reminder of what happens when your species weakens."

"So you destroyed the old cities and built new ones?" Sloane asked.

For a moment, I thought I needed to get up and hit Moddekdum over the head to remind him that we were in charge here, but after a few breaths, he deigned to answer Sloane's question. "It wasn't done on purpose. It just happened, but once it did, yes, we left the ruins as reminders and turned them into forbidden grounds."

"Why did you build right next to them? Was that as a reminder, too?" Sloane kept peppering him with questions.

Moddekdum shrugged. "All this was once one big city; we just never fixed the destroyed parts."

Silence reigned after that. Moddekdum closed his eyes, and I noticed that Paddekah waited until he fell asleep before she closed her eyes as well.

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