Page 80 of Stars in Umbra
Still, the form moved with disturbing precision.
‘Here,’ she pointed. ‘Study the gait. The way they pivot before the ridge. It’s almost like -.’
Mo leaned in, peered, and blinked. The air in the room seemed to snap taut.
Without warning, a bolt cleaved through his skull, like ice lancing through bone.
His limbs stiffened for a breathless instant, eyes going unfocused as his cognition skidded and shifted out of his control.
A hand not his own gripped the wheel of his mind.
His vision tunneled, and the sound of Rina’s voice muffled as if underwater.
He jolted as the unseen grip released.
His breath returned, and he snapped his eyes open to find Rina staring at him.
‘Hey, handsome, I lost you there for a second.’
He smiled, rubbing his face, falling back onto the pillows. ‘Sorry. Just tired. My brain checked out.’
She narrowed her eyes, studying him. ‘You okay?’
‘Never better,’ he rasped, kissing her shoulder. But please, baby, no shop talk. I can help you with your identification tomorrow,sawa?’
She took an inhale and then nodded.
‘Now come here.’
She set her commtab aside, snuggling back into his arms as he tucked her closer.
They kissed again, with languid passion, then curled around each other under the linen throws.
Mo buried his nose in her curls, her scent grounding him. Soon, her breathing slowed.
Sleep came. For her, it was a deep, quiet slumber.
For him, however, it did not last.
At 02:47 AM, Mo’s eyes opened.
Both orbs were blank, glassy.
He rose without a sound.
His bare feet padded across the polished floor, his body moving with eerie precision, unnatural stillness in his limbs, too mechanical for sleepwalking, too smooth for awareness.
He crossed to the side table.
Rina’s comm tab was still open.
He lifted it, then shifted it to the living area, out of her line of sight.
He sat at the dining table, fingers hovering, sliding the holo screen and keypad before descending.
They moved fast with rapid strokes across the keyboard.
The neural override hijacked his motor controls, guiding his hands with ghost-like fluency.
