Page 42 of Reformation
When Claudia lifted her hand up again, the print remained, glowing green. A moment later, the floor retracted, opening up to the door of the stealth pod beneath it. The escape pod was covered in a substance that made it invisible to light, radar, and emitted no radiation of any kind to follow. After launch, it would continue on the original course essentially dead in the water, but Claudia had a protocol to follow for that too.
“Mom …”
“Mama, what—”
“We can’t—”
“We’re not taking any chances,” Claudia said. “If it’s a false alarm, then we’ll—” The security system suddenly started to blare. Claudia turned wide eyes toward the door, where Thérèse appeared a moment later.
“They’re using acid-laced micro-explosives, trying to melt through the wall around the door rather than blow it up,” she said grimly. “They want you alive. Get in the pod, now!” Renee clambered down into the little black pod, then reached up for Yvaine. Claudia handed her youngest over, then looked back to her friend.
“Come on, we can all leave together.”
Thérèse shook her head. “Someone has to cover the energy signature of your escape.”
“They’re not looking for that right now; they’re trying to break in! We have time, the pod will fit four!”
“If they’re good enough to get this far without being noticed, then they’ve already seen more than we can leave to chance.” She looked grim but determined. “Get in there and punch out immediately. Remember, don’t send out the signal until you’re at least twenty-four hours away from here.”
“No.” It didn’t make sense. Or rather, it did, but it didn’t seem like it could be real. Even with the scent of the acid at the door, the low thud of the micro-explosives digging deeper and deeper, Claudia couldn’t quite believe it. She couldn’t lose Thérèse. They had been friends almost as long as she and Miles had been married. “No, please—”
“Claudia,go!” Thérèse turned and vanished into the hall, and a moment later, the security alarm clamored, “Warning: Structural Damage Detected. Structural Damage Detected. Evacuation Required.”
They had to go. There was no choice. Claudia lowered herself into the pod, then shut the hatch. Vaguely, she was thankful her girls both seemed too shocked to speak—she didn’t think she was capable of comforting them right then. She repeated her instruction—Emergency Protocol Ninety-Nine—and the pod obeyed. A moment later, they fell through the bottom of the bungalow and out into space, heading away from the planet.
One long, slow breath after that, the bungalow exploded.
Chapter twenty-four
Ferran and Jason Kim
Ferran had long ago become accustomed to human-style parties. He was inevitably surrounded by curiosity seekers, some of them genuine in their interest but many of them looking for nothing more than a photo op or a chance to feel superior—or worse,entitled. Socializing was part of his work as an ambassador, though, and he bore it gracefully. Positioning himself as the center of attention allowed his husband to escape some of the more rigorous social niceties at these things, and Jason always made it up to him later.
Right now, Ferran was answering the same question for the fifth time that night and making a mental list of the many,manythings Jason would owe him later. “Yes, my quills do respond to my mood, and no, I would prefer that you not touch them, thank you.”
The woman facing him looked nonplussed, her bright golden hair floating around her head like thousands of tiny tentacles.“I thought that Perels liked touch! Your species has a reputation for being rather … open to that sort of thing.”
“Our youth certainly can be,” he replied calmly. “Especially when they’re on their post-adolescent tours, but I am part of an established relationship and save such liberties for my husband.”
If anything, the feel of her interest increased. Ferran resisted the urge to roll his eyes, a purely human reaction that he’d picked up over the years.
“Well, I’d be more than happy to include your husband in any touching that happens between you and me.” She winked. “Shall we go and find him?”
Jason, come and rescue me before I’m forced to be rude.
On my way.His mental voice seemed—worried.
Is everything all right?
We have to leave. I’ll explain when we’re alone.
If both of them had been Perel, Ferran could simply have looked a little deeper into his husband’s mind and divined whatever it was that had him so concerned. A psychic and empathic connection between spouses was the standard for their people, but no one had thought that Ferran and Jason would manage to develop the same thing. Jason was human, after all, and they weren’t notorious for their psychic abilities. They’d managed to build a strong connection anyway, but it wasn’t a typical one and didn’t behave like Ferran had first expected.
Jason walked up behind him a moment later. The woman brightened. “Speak of the devil, and he shall appear! Commander Kim, my name is—”
“You’ll have to forgive us,” Jason said, taking Ferran’s hand. “Something has come up that requires our immediate attention.” He turned away. Ferran went along gratefully even though his own worry was growing.
“Enjoy the party,” he called over his shoulder before they were out of the ballroom. They walked in silence to the docking bay, but their minds were active with each other.
