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Instead, she ran toward the settlement. The moon provided enough light for the journey. She didn’t need that illumination, however. She knew the route like she knew the parts of her mounted transport.
Drift’s tread was eerily silent. But Roshini was acutely aware of his presence behind her. He moved as though he expended no effort. That was…impressive.
The pathway she chose was empty. It was utilized mainly by the agri-lot tenders who traveled to the settlement to sell their produce. And those beings woke and slept with the sun.
Once she reached the first domicile, she slowed her speed and she kept to the shadows. She crisscrossed the pathways, frequenting the usual Humanoid Alliance haunts.
It didn’t take much searching before she found Invaders.
“Who’re we roughing up this shift?” Those words cut through the quiet.
The male’s voice was, unfortunately, familiar.
Roshini’s stomach roiled as she paused in the darkness.
The cyborg pressed against her side. That physical contact, for some never-to-be-explored reason, calmed her.
“Something young or female.” The second male’s menacing laugh raised the fine hairs on the back of her neck. “That’s my fuckin’ pick.”
“Aren’t we looking for a male?” the first male asked. “If too many females end up in the bottom of a pit, beings might get suspicious.” There was a pause. “Though I do like the way they squeal.”
“Yeah, I fuckin’ love that also.” The second male laughed again.
They were monsters. She edged toward the males. The sooner she pointed them out to the cyborg, the sooner she could get away from them.
The two males, the same ones she’d encountered after her visit with Cyra, were standing on the pathway before her. The big one had half of his garments around his knees and was pissing against the front door of a closed nourishment outlet.
She touched Drift’s arm. A spark of energy flowed from him to her. She ignored it and gestured to the males.
The cyborg nodded.
Great. Her end of the bargain had been set. She took a step backward.
Drift gripped her hand and held her in place.
Why the fuck was he stopping her? She looked at him and lifted her eyebrows. They had a deal.
The cyborg pointed with his free hand past the males.
Oh curses. A tiny humanoid-shaped shadow was cast along the pathway. She stiffened. A child was approaching the two males.
Someone young or female. That was who they were seeking to rough up, to eventually kill.
A child was someone young.
Roshini shook her head vigorously and tugged on her arm. She didn’t want to see what would soon happen. It would tear her calloused heart to pieces.
Then she would do something foolish. Like get herself killed or caught trying to prevent the death of that innocent.
But she couldn’t run away from the upcoming tragedy.
She was trapped. The cyborg wouldn’t let her go. His hold on her was unbreakably tight.
And she couldn’t look away. Her gaze was fixed on the scene before them.
The child ambled closer and closer. He was the image of innocence. His cheeks had the chubbiness of youth. His eyes were large and guileless.
He swung the container in his hands back and forth.
