Page 46 of Silent Lucidity

“I-I don’t have one.”

The borian’s frown deepened. He lifted his finger off the wristguard, and the orb disappeared into the armor. After lowering his arms—one of his hands settling on the grip of his holstered blaster—he looked past her.

The peacekeeper’s eyes widened for an instant before his brows fell low. He made a soft sound—a grumble—and tilted his head to the side. “Come with me.”

Relief flooded her. “Oh, thank you.”

She moved closer to the peacekeeper’s side. When she glanced behind her, there was no sign of the assassins in the crowd. Had they gone? Had the mere presence of the Eternal Guard deterred them?

Abella walked alongside the borian, having to take almost two steps to account for every one of his long strides. She received a few curious glances from the people around them, but that was most likely because she was accompanying a peacekeeper—without her raised hood obscuring her human features, there would likely have been more stares. There always were.

“So there’s a human embassy in the city, right?” she asked.

The borian glanced down at her. “Is that what you are?”

Abella frowned. “You’ve never seen a human? Um, maybe you know us as terrans?”

“So…you’re a terran with no identification chip who was kidnapped and is being chased by assassins? Am I missing anything?”

“No… That’s it.” She flexed her fingers and wiped her sweaty palms on her pants. “You can take me to the terran embassy, right?”

“Don’t worry. We’ll get all this resolved for you.”

His avoidance of her questions opened a crack in Abella’s sense of relief, allowing a lick of unease to flow through. That crack split wider when he led her onto a quiet side street where the crowds she’d seen throughout most of the Undercity were absent.

“Is the embassy around here or is it on the surface?” she asked. “Isn’t there a more…public route?”

He didn’t look at her when he replied. “This is the way. I’ll get you where you need to go.”

Despite seeming to have seen the assassins when he looked up, the peacekeeper was making no effort to survey his surroundings; he was acting as though they were in no danger whatsoever.

Abella stopped when he turned into one of the dark, narrow alleys branching off the street.

The borian proceeded a few more steps before he halted and twisted to face her. “Come on.”

She shook her head. “I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but—”

“Helping,” the peacekeeper said firmly.

Abella took a step back. “I…think I’ll find someone else.”

A solid, strong hand clamped over her right shoulder. Abella’s heart leapt into her throat as she glanced back to see a female ilthurii standing behind her. The ilthurii’s reptilian snout protruded from beneath the hood of a black cloak identical to Abella’s. Three other black-garbed assassins stepped into her peripheral vision, one on the right and two on the left, all wearing combat armor like Tenthil had worn before they were run out of the safehouse.

“Whatever happens in your organization is your business,” the peacekeeper said, calling Abella’s attention back to him as he lifted his empty palms and walked out of the alley. “I didn’t see anything.”

Abella stared at the guard, dumbfounded. “You’rehelpingthem?”

“I’m helping myself,” he replied, turning his back to her. “You have no ID, you’re not my problem. Not going to die for you.”

Abella’s shock disintegrated in the heat of her anger. “Youasshole!” She jerked her shoulder forward, attempting to dislodge the ilthurii’s hold.

The assassin tightened her grip, claws pricking Abella’s flesh through her shirt, and dragged Abella’s shoulder back.

Wincing, Abella returned her attention to her assailants. Fear churned deep in the pit of her belly, but she wouldn’t let it win—she wouldn’t letthemwin. She wouldn’t give up without a fight.

Using the momentum of the ilthurii’s pull to speed her movement, Abella spun toward the assassin, dropped her hand, and drew her blaster. She fired the instant its barrel was pointed at the ilthurii.

The ilthurii’s slitted pupils expanded in shock, and she bared her pointed teeth. Her hand fell away from Abella’s shoulder. She stumbled a few steps to the side before her legs gave out and she collapsed. Smoke drifted from a glowing impact hole on her hip.

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