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She hummed in acknowledgment and headed to the more-populated part of the small city. Grabbing the top ends of her body-length cloak, she snapped the clasp closed at the throat. The garment covered the one-piece battle suit she’d created from some alien material BoD uncovered for her. While she didn’t like the garish bright-red color, the protective properties in the fiber protected her from most sharp objects.
Hopefully it’d stop the laser spears the city guards used if they were ever pointed her way.
To keep from standing out, she used the black cloak to blend in better. Not that black was what the normal population on Azadi wore. Most of them were prone to wear bland colors in their day-to-day life.
She strolled down the walkway in the middle of the business part of the city, and jumped when BoD came zooming back and dissolved into the crossbow.
I think I found some viable specimens for you. His normally growly mental voice came out in a high-pitched rush.
Specimens? What does that mean? She answered him on their shared mental path. With a quick glance, she made sure BoD hadn’t attracted any unwanted attention. So far, so good.
Everyone averted their eyes and gave her a wide berth. As usual.
The duo duds are meeting with Princess Inanna and some men, who I believe are her sons.
She snickered. Duo Duds. That’s what he called Edinni and Damuzi, the co-regents who founded Azadi.
Maybe you could use one of them as leverage to convince your worthless friends to let you go to Akurn with them.
BoD, how many times have I asked you not to call my foster parents worthless?
Don’t care. Just because they’re thousands of years older than you doesn’t give them the right to continue treating you like a child.
She warmed whenever BoD defended her. They mean well, she insisted to her disembodied friend. Damn, why were all these people out today? Stupid walkway was packed.
A large male loomed in her path and blocked her.
She dodged him. Her suit wouldn’t protect her from a broken nose if she plowed into him. Disaster averted, she watched where she went, navigating through the crowded sidewalk.
I’m warning you. BoD insisted. It won’t be my fault if one of these days those putzes say something that irritates me and I lose my temper.
Jelena resisted rolling her eyes. It’s not like he cared if she did. One thing for sure, they’d never get anything done if she didn’t change the subject and talk about something besides how her foster parents irritated him. Okay, where did you see these people?
Where else? They’re at the Temple conference room. You know, the one with the domed glass ceiling? Have Shther trot up to the roof with that tiny fancy-dancy monitoring system Qhasheik gave you to spy on people. Bet you can put it on his snout.
Jelena’s pulse raced. Yeah, that would work. She turned and almost slammed into the same giant male she’d avoided before. “Oops, sorry,” she mumbled and tried to dodge him.
She wasn’t fast enough.
His meaty paw wrapped around her arm. His grating voice mumbled something about alien females causing trouble.
With a glare, she turned her hand into a block of ice and grabbed the hand holding her.
He tore his purple hand away with a hiss of pain, shaking and blowing on the forming blisters.
“Ha! No time for you today, buddy.” She sprinted away.
The man growled some threat, but Jelena didn’t bother to hear what he said. She was quicker than a normal Akurn-human hybrid and used that to her advantage. She was blocks away before the guy even thought about chasing her. Keeping her destination in sight, it didn’t take long to reach the mammoth main building of Azadi.
The domed conference center was behind the building, away from the main street. Its structure hugged the craggy wall of the cave the city was in. The best thing about the circular room was the reinforced glass it was housed in. Even better, the builders decorated the glass with thin steel bars in a lattice pattern.
Shther wouldn’t have any trouble scurrying to the top to point the miniature vid at the group below.
That way, she could see and hear what went on inside. All she had to do was put a contact lens on her left eye that synced with the monitoring system. Good thing this wasn’t the first time she’d used it. The way her hands shook, she’d be lucky to make the minuscule camera stick to the tip of Shther’s forehead. She whooshed a breath to steady herself. This is the first time she used this system for something so personal. Her entire existence rested on what she found out about the people inside.
“All set, honey.” With her forefinger, she petted his scaly snout. Nodding to the building, she indicated he go to the top of the conference room. “You know what to do.”
Shther’s apple-red body was a mere blur as his six legs scurried him out of sight.
