Page 107 of Dark's Savior

By treasures, Ryziel knew she meant the star-map and the book of sketches Aly had picked up in Yurza's treasury, thankfully recovered from her unit before they left Lethe Maws. Treasures seemingly long lost to them. Though they had several other star-maps and drawings, the ones he and Aly found were of historical importance.

The Yurzans had left Lethe Maws after the death of their queen and the beginning of the drilling of the mines from Xolis. Feeling threatened, they knew they would have only three choices: Adapt, parish, or flee. They let their city fall and left for a world they had discovered through their telescopes and explored with ships. The planet, Elestyl as they called it, had a sun that was dimmer than others and could not harm them. And the nights were longer.

When Ryziel had landed their ship, the Yurzans had been worried at first, seeing the ship branded by Xolis. But as Nar spoke to the matriarch and heads of Elestyl, their defenses lowered, and they soon welcomed them, giving them everything they could need or want.

"Tell her we are forever grateful," Ryziel said.

The woman smiled and touched at her neck as a sign of respect. "Will you join us again tonight for dinner and talk?"

"Not tonight. My mate says she has a surprise for me. We will stay in our room."

The woman touched her neck again. "Very well. Good night to you."

"And to you."

She glided away, and as the sun touched the horizon, Ryziel too went inside.

"I'm telling you, Ryz," Nar said as Ryziel entered a large domed room with a computer console at its center. "These people surprise me every day. I was just doing some research on the history of their tech and, by god, they are way more efficient and knowledgeable than Xolis. It's too bad they are such a docile race, or they could probably make a formidable foe."

"I have no doubt of it," Ryziel said as he passed by Nar then stopped. "Anything from Xolis?"

"They still got people looking. A few ships even passed close by." Nar laughed. "The blocking system on this hunk of rock is insane. Might as well be a shadow in the darkness." The urk turned to face him. "It still might be some time, though, before they stop. We might be here for a while."

"I don't think any of us have a problem with that, do you?"

Nar shrugged. "Not really. At least here, I don't have to worry about the sun."

Ryziel smirked at him. "Me too."

"There's another thing. I was sifting through some of the Xolis networks to get a feel for any news that might be important. You should know Zyr has taken over First House, and there are rumors of rebellion from the other houses now that the princes are all gone and, well, no one likes Zyr. There is also talk of hunters, like Aly mentioned, going out of Xolis to look for humans. One of them is a nasty piece of work named Nezka."

Ryziel frowned, thinking he had heard that name before. "Sounds familiar."

"He's one of Vesra's."

Ryziel's eyes narrowed. He heard that name before too, a supposed crime lord who ruled over a city. Even Xolis enforcers stayed away, either too afraid to challenge him and his kin or paid well not to. "We should warn Xilya."

"I've sent word, but it will take time to get to her now that she's so far away. We can only hope this Nezka and others in his gang don't encounter any humans."

"We can only hope. But for now, we will have to stay hidden."

"You got it."

Ryziel left the urk to play at his computer. He strolled down one hallway, passing by a small room, where he saw Sarah playing with her son. She saw him and nodded with a smile and he did the same. He continued on till he came to a black steel door which opened to his touch. Inside his and Aly's bedroom, he found a half-eaten plate of food on the clear tabletop, their bed neatly made to one end and blankets and pillows flung around on the couches on the other end. On their private balcony, he saw Aly sitting alone, looking over what seemed to be a blank canvas. He stepped out to stand behind her, encircling his arms around her to nuzzle her neck and shoulder.

"Having a hard time with your painting?" Ryziel asked.

Aly turned her head to look up at him and smiled. "No." Her hand came up to touch his face, a hand partially fixed with metal, the joints bending and moving as seamlessly as if they were real. "It's finished, actually."

Ryziel looked at her then back at the canvas, with a confused frown. "Finished?"

Aly nodded then picked up a can of dustlite she must have found stashed somewhere on their ship.

"I don't follow."

Aly laughed then moaned, patting her now swollen belly. "Ah, every time I laugh, he kicks."

Ryziel placed a hand on her stomach, rubbing gently. "Is he making you hallucinate too?"

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