Page 7

That’s a question that thankfully doesn’t need to be answered now.

My heart is still pounding. Part of me is astonished I’d got involved in this at all. I could have ignored that muffled gasp when I first heard it – I’d long since decided I was no longer looking for such trouble…

But the problem is, such trouble still reaches out to me, and I’m hardwired not to ignore it.

Still trembling, I glance back and forth. This section of Elnor is gloomy and shadow-filled, and I’ve learned to dread the shadows. In them lurks danger – the same kind of danger that I’d once actively sought out.

Danger like the man who’d assaulted us.

The woman I’d rescued approaches. I sense no danger from her – even as she reaches out to help me. The knife falls from my shaking hand as the young woman pulls me back to my unsteady feet.

My heart is still pounding. I’m ashamed at how heightened my reactions had been.

There was a time that I’d have rushed that man the moment I’d seen him. When I’d stumbled into this dark chamber, and found him pawing and clawing at this helpless woman, I’d have crossed the space between us and stabbed the rapist bastard without a thought; plunging my knife into the back of his neck before he’d even realized I was there.

But those times were over.

This time, when it had counted – I’d frozen.

Luck alone saved this woman, and me. Luck, and a very sharp knife.

The stranger bends down and picks up the knife, wiping the blood from the blade onto the cold, alloy walls.

Barely any cleaner, the woman hands me my weapon – hilt first.

“Here. You might need this sooner than you think.”

I accept the blade, and conceal it back on my belt.

My eyes meet hers. I see nothing to be afraid of in their light brown depths.

“Fuck,” the woman gasps, offering me her slender hand. “Let’s get out of here.”

I nod, and together we help each other out of the dark chamber. In seconds, we’ve escaped the bowels of Elnor and we’re back into the hallway of the dormitory second.

Back in the bright lights of civilization – or as close as you can get to it this deep out in space.

Instincts take over, and just as I would have done on a mission with Ling, I try to cover our tracks. I pull the panel I’d kicked in back into place – but it’s left hanging there, lopsided.

I bent it with the heel of my foot, and now that panel is the only thing that separates the bright, civilized world of the dormitory section from the primal darkness of Elnor’s engine and sub-system decks.

Now we’re back somewhere safe – or, at least, in the perception of safety – I turn to the woman.

“What happened?”

I have to force the words out of my mouth. My heart still hasn’t stopped pounding. It’s like it wants to rip itself right out of my chest.

The woman looks at me uncertainly, and swallows.

“Can we go somewhere more public first?”

More public?

I glance up and down the empty hallway. This might have been where that man attacked her. I remember how nervous that two monks had made me feel.

“Okay.”

We walk down the hallway together, both of us scanning behind and ahead with nervous eyes.