Refugee by Williams Sean

Author:Williams, Sean [Williams, Sean]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

“I’m sorry,” she said, appalled by her foolishness. “I’m not thinking straight at the moment.” Goure shrugged good-naturedly. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of,” he said sotto voce. “Come, follow me and I’ll take us to a place where we won’t have an audience. But try not to make it seem as though you are following me, okay? I’m a servant; you must order me to lead.” She nodded slowly. “I was lost, and you are taking me home.”

“Exactly.” He rearranged his body under the simple gray robes he wore so he was hunched forward, as though with age. “This way.” She followed him with head held high and her expression devoid of any of the emotions she’d felt just moments earlier. She pushed through the crowd at the end of the corridor, her cold stare daring anyone to obstruct her. It took all her control of the Force to placate the more curious, and the irony wasn’t lost on her that she couldn’t apply the same trick to herself. Behind the facade, her mind was still very much in turmoil.

Goure led her through the corridors and malls of Salis D’aar, past floating statues and elegant fountains. Plant life encroached heavily on the city, thriving in the thick air and fertile soils. Tree trunks snaked through carefully arranged holes in the pavement and walls, their vine-covered coils diverting the eye from security checkpoints, public comm stations, and information outlets. In some places, Salis D’aar seemed so heavily overgrown that it looked like the jungle was taking over, but ferrocrete was strong and resisted the tide of root and tendril with stubborn defiance. The city would last awhile yet; it was civilization’s strongest bastion in its battle against nature.

“Here,” Goure said, waving her ahead into a narrow corridor between two ornamental statues. She did as he told her without hesitation or question; he projected no sense of threat or danger. After looking up and down the corridor behind them, he followed. When inside, he flicked a switch; a small holoprojector flickered to life, covering the entrance with the illusion of solid wall.

“It won’t actually keep anyone out,” Goure said, walking ahead of her along the corridor, “but it’ll at least stop them from stumbling in on us.”

“Is security looking for me?” she asked.

“Oh, no. This is nothing to do with you.” His tail coiled and uncoiled restlessly. “We just prefer not to leave too many odd connections in our wake, that’s all.” The room at the end of the corridor was empty apart from two simple chairs and a low box. Bare stone walls and a single, naked light source leant it a forbidding air, but Tahiri didn’t feel threatened by the Ryn at her back. He radiated nothing but surety and reliability.

“Take a seat.” He fished around in the box and produced two scuffed metal cups and a bottle of water. Tahiri eased herself into the chair closest to the entrance, thankful to be resting her feet. She felt drained right to the very core of her being, as though she had been running for days.

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.