AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Before I could formulate any semblance of a plan, the pod slowed abruptly, sending me lurching sideways.
The doors slid open and I squinted against garish lights, eyes struggling to adjust.
Where the hell was I?
TAZHR
Ipaced back and forth across the polished perma-crete floor of the bakery, my nerves fraying more with each glance at the timepiece on the wall. Emma was two hours late for our planned meeting, and my mind conjured increasingly dreadful scenarios about what might be keeping her.
Did she decide to pursue a reckless lead on her own, thinking her clever little head immune to danger? The chaotic streets of the lower decks were hazardous enough in daylight, let alone after the curfew alarms sounded. And for a vulnerable human female, the threats lurking in every shadowed alleyway were far worse than a simple mugging.
If any filthy lowlife so much as looked at Emma the wrong way, I would tear their spine out through their throat. Assuming they even had a spine. But that did little to ease the sick tension coiling in my gut.
I should have insisted on escorting her here directly from Conii’s vile compound. Trusting her to evade trouble on her own was clearly a grave mistake. She was brave but foolhardy, prone to following her curiosity into peril. How could I have underestimated the risks?
“You’re wearing a hole in my floor with all that pacing, Taz,” Makar commented drily as he emerged from the kitchen carrying a tray of freshly baked sweet rolls. I halted my restless prowl across his shop to glower at the timepiece yet again. Still no sign of Emma.
“Here, have some pâtis,” Makar offered, setting the tray down on the counter next to me. “Might settle your nerves a bit.”
I shook my head curtly, the thought of food turning my stomach when Emma could be injured or worse. Noticing my grim expression, Makar sighed.
“Look, maybe she just got held up finishing her duties at the compound. Conii runs those poor servants ragged, from what you said. I’m sure Emma will turn up soon, safe and sound.” His tone aimed for reassurance, but I detected the hint of doubt beneath it. Makar was too perceptive not to notice the ominous tension thrumming through me.
We both remembered what happened the last time Emma was late.
“You’re probably right. Thank you for the hospitality as always, but I should begin searching the nearby streets, just in case.” I struggled to keep my voice even. Visions of Emma bound and bleeding, crying out for me, threatened to shatter what fragile calm remained.
Makar’s expression turned grave. “Of course. Be safe, Tazhr. Let me know immediately if I can assist the search.” His steadfast solidarity meant more than he knew. With a final nod, I stalked out of the bakery into the chaotic maze of streets and alleys outside.
I paused just beyond the doors, nostrils flaring as I drew in deep breaths of the pungent air, sorting through the jumble of scents for any trace of Emma’s sweet fragrance. But the medley of smells—machine oil, spices, refuse—revealed no clues to where she went. Cursing under my breath, I set off toward the seedier drinking establishments of the Under.
If Emma went anywhere on her own, it would likely have been to confront that sniveling coward Plarr again, thinking she could pressure more information from him. I should have forbidden her from venturing near that grubby hole where the cretin was hiding.
But Emma’s defiant glare whenever she thought I was being overprotective flashed through my mind. She never would have tolerated such restrictions, no matter that they were for her own good.
You damned stubborn fool, I snarled silently, even as a grudging smile tugged at my lips. Did any other being ever manage to frustrate and entrance me so completely as Emma Rochester?
Likely not. The woman was an eternal contradiction—both endearingly naive and surprisingly cunning, wavering between reckless daring and sheepish vulnerability. Certainly far too complex and contrary for me to grasp fully.
Yet despite barely comprehending what unfathomable forces drove Emma’s quicksilver moods, I knew with unwavering certainty that I would lay waste to entire star systems if that was what it took to keep her from harm.
The passages grew more crowded as I descended through levels, the press of bodies and cloying stench intensifying. I shouldered roughly through the throngs, scanning the mass of faces for the one I sought.
A flash of golden hair had my heart seizing for an instant before I registered the sharp talons and tentacles that definitely did not belong to Emma. Cursing my foolish hope, I continued toward the dingy bar where we found Plarr cowering.
The elderly Fanaith woman was perched on her usual stool inside, fiddling idly with an outdated percomm. Her drooping fleshy facial lobes quivered in recognition as I loomed over her. Clearly, my menacing bulk intimidated, but she made an effort not to cower. I had to admire that flicker of courage, despite her obvious unease.
“You were here several days ago with the human girl, yes?” Even her gravelly voice shook faintly, but she met my searing gaze. “The nice one who treated me kindly, not like most who come around here.”
Emma’s gentle compassion left an impression it seemed. I latched onto that, willing my tone to be less harsh. “Just so. She’s gone missing, and I’m trying to find where she was headed. Did she come here?”
The Fanaith hesitated, clearly reluctant to get involved in any trouble. But eventually she gave a slow nod. “Didn’t come here. But I saw her, just the same.”
My chest constricted, dread clawing up my throat. I leaned in intently. “Where did you see her?”
“About three blocks from here.” The Fanaith fidgeted nervously with her percomm. “Heard a rumor that my guest,” she glanced over to the hatch that had sheltered Plarr, “That he was gone. Not coming back. So I went looking. Instead, I found what looked like Enforcers hauling that human girl into a transport pod. Heard she was arrested for Plarr’s murder.”
My blood turned to ice in my veins. “Arrested for murder, here?” Nobody cared about a murder or two down in the Under. “Are you certain they were real Enforcers?” I demanded.
