Page 67 of Guardian's Destiny

If he was waiting for me to apologize, he would be in for a long wait.

As much as I strained for the slightest noise, I didn't hear Sloane approach. One moment, the gap in the wall was empty; the next, she slid in. I nearly pulled her into my arms, my relief was that strong, but her face was closed off, reminding me of her traitorous nature.

"Well?" Craygh asked.

"He's right." Sloane's eyes turned to me; they were cold, and nothing was left of how she used to look at me, sending another jab through my heart. Damn her. "I didn't see any patrols on thebackside of the hangars, and there is a dark path along the wall from here to them."

"Sounds too easy," I remarked.

She nodded. "Yes. There are several motion sensors along the way." She stared contemplatively at Moddekdum. "One wrong move, and they turn on."

"How did you figure this out without being caught?" Craygh asked the same question burning in my mind. I was so focused on Sloane, so happy to have her back, that once again I ignored Craygh's aura as it turned darker.

"With patience," she looked smug. "There are several small critters running around, setting the sensors off. I waited, but no guards appeared. They must be used to it."

"Probably darts, those damn things are everywhere," I wagered. "I bet those sensors are set to their bodies. They probably scan the area immediately, and whatever alarm the sensors send out was simultaneously voided by a threat assessment."

Sloane's head turned to Craygh as she looked at him thoughtfully. "That might pose a problem."

Why hadn't Craygh said anything? "You didn't know?"

"Things change in a year," he said defensively.

"You should have thought of that before," Sloane accused. "Had we listened to you, we'd all be prisoners now or dead."

"I would go with prisoners. They'd want to torture you," Moddekdum added gleefully.

"I apologize." Craygh didn't look apologetic. His aura was, without a doubt, darker now, and I wanted to slap myself for not having seen the warning signs sooner. Well, I had, but I had ignored it, and that was on me. Worse, I could have lost Sloane, and that thought made me want to kill the frygging Ohrur.

"What were you hoping to gain?" Sloane demanded, reminding me once again why, by the seven suns, I was so in love with her.

"You miserable little creature, you're nothing but a little traitor, aren't you?" Sloane stepped right in front of him; she was tall enough to look him straight in the eyes. Hers were narrowed and her expression one of malice. I had seen that look before, right before she took Possedion's hand off. She was magnificent.

I grabbed Craygh by the scruff of the neck and lifted him up. Something in his aura had changed. It wasn't evil, not quite, but it was there. Sloane had to crane her head now, but that couldn't be helped. Craygh squirmed under my hands, and I slammed his body straight into the next wall. Not hard enough to break bones, but hard enough to bring the message across.

"You wanted to buy yourself a new life with the other Ohrurs, didn't you?" I accused, kneeling to where his body had landed.

"Vraax, watch out!" Sloane screamed, and I had barely enough time to slide to the side. Craygh's blade only grazed my skin instead of embedding itself into my gut. With a snarl, I turned his wrist until he was forced to let go of the blade. I twisted his body and pulled one weapon after another from him.

"When did you come up with this plan?" Sloane wanted to know.

"When we got here, when he looked out at the spaceport," I guessed. I should have picked up on the change in him, but my mind had been too occupied with other things. With Sloane.

Moddekdum laughed hysterically behind us, but we ignored him. "You fool, they would have never taken you in."

"They would, too. I have valuable information," Craygh argued.

Moddekdum laughed only harder. "They would have given you a taste of our life and then locked you up."

Craygh shook. It was hard to tell if it was in fury, disappointment, or resentment. Or maybe he realized what he had thrown away for temptation.

"All my life, I've lived underground," he wailed.

"So you did, but you were so close to getting out," Sloane shook her head. "We were offering you a way out."

"You don't know Lord Hyugh," Craygh's anger rose to the surface. "It doesn't matter what you offer him. You could bring the entire Space Guardian force to him, and he would still never give up his power over our underground shelter. Never!"

Balefully, he stared from one of us to the other. "So yeah, I was going to betray you. I would have taken the life the other Ohrurs live."

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