Burned (Shadows of the Void Space Opera Serial Book 6) by J.J. Green

Author:J.J. Green
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, azw3
Publisher: InfiniteBook
Published: 2017-01-04T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

“What’s wrong, Jas?” asked Sayen as she saw the woman’s expression. They were on their way into the safe house, and she was holding a bundle of clothes they’d brought with them from Erielle’s place. She gazed in wonder as she saw Jas drop down and begin manhandling something Sayen couldn't see. Something she couldn’t see.

The clothes fell from her grasp, and for a moment she was frozen. Then she was at Jas’ side, and she too could feel the warm, soft, invisible body beneath her hands. “Erielle,” she gasped.

Jas had a handful of grass, and she was rubbing it on the prone figure. Bits and pieces of Erielle began to appear as she scrubbed off the invisibility spray. Her clothes, a part of an arm.

“Wait,” said Sayen. She had figured out how the underworld leader was lying. She pushed her onto her back and pressed an ear between her breasts. “Be quiet,” she hissed, as exclamations of realization came from Makey and Carl. The street had no traffic, but it still took several long seconds before Sayen heard a heartbeat. It was slow and faint, but it was there.

“Get the door open, Jas,” said Ozment.

Sayen found Erielle being pulled from her grasp as the large man scooped her up in his arms. She followed him into the dark house and the first room they saw. Inside was a dusty, old sofa. He laid Erielle down on it. Someone found the light switch. Someone else was asking for soap and water. All Sayen could do was hold Erielle’s invisible wrist and feel for the thready pulse. Then she heard the underworlder murmur.

“Wait, she’s saying something,” Sayen said to Jas, who was cleaning the spray from Erielle’s face. She leaned close. Only Erielle’s right cheekbone, ear, and eye were visible. Her skin was translucent and drawn tightly over her cheekbones. Her eye was sunken in its socket. Sayen bent down to her mouth.

Erielle was speaking so softly, she could barely make out what the woman was saying. “Oh-seven-three...four-seven...two...”

“Can you understand?” Jas asked.

Sayen nodded. “Wait a minute.” She listened some more, and Erielle repeated herself twice. “Okay, Erielle, I’ve got it now,” she said, but the woman didn’t seem to hear her because she continued to repeat the numbers.

“What’s she saying?” asked Ozment.

“I don’t know. It’s a set of ten numbers. Could it be a key lock? Or a code? Do underworlders use encryption codes?”

“Not that I’ve ever heard of,” said Ozment. “Ten numbers? What if it’s just a phone number?”

“A phone number? Of course. It might be just that. Could you call it for us?”

“I’ve got an interface in the cab of the truck. It’s untraceable. Come with me.”

Sayen followed the Martian to his vehicle and climbed inside. She spoke the number into the interface, and a call went through, but it was a long time before the callee picked up. A middle-aged man’s face wearing a suspicious expression appeared on the screen.

“Hello? Who is this?”

“Hi,” Sayen said, “you don’t know me, but please don’t hang up.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.