Page 17 of Shielded in the Shadows

With the speed and efficiency of a clothing shop attendant, Aama had the robe draped around me and fastened in moments. Once the hood was on over my head, she stepped back to adjust the drape until it met her approval.

“I would think you a servant,” she said, and her eyes widened. “Oh, no offense meant.”

“I took no offense,” I assured her. “Servants’ work is very honorable.”

She fluttered her hands and peered out the changing room door. “No one is nearby,” she whispered. “The other attendants are with clients and our workroom is empty now. Come, come.”

As she herded me to the rear door, I glimpsed Jarrix right above me, keeping close. I strongly disliked his presence, but I couldn’t do anything about it until I was away from this shop. There were only so many ways to incapacitate or kill a being in shadow form, all of them guaranteed to draw attention. I could use the stun field once Aama opened the door to the workroom, but I didn’t want to harm her.

My trainers back on Ganai would have beaten me into unconsciousness for caring about collateral damage. I could almost hear their shouts and feel their blows raining down on my body.

On another day, I might have been able to justify it. Using the stun field would rid me of Jarrix and Aama would only have been unconscious for a few hours, with no lasting effects. The stun field was one of the kinder weapons I carried.

And yet, I left the stun field inactive and followed Aama through the shop’s quiet workroom where Engaren clothiers turned the bolts of textiles stored in the adjoining rooms into merchandise to be sold out front. The lights were dim in the shop since it wasn’t in use, so I lost track of Jarrix’s shadow, but I felt him nearby.

The fact it wasn’t just the unsettling sensation of being watched anymore but a distinct presence made me even more uneasy.

Aama led me to the back of the workroom and a large door. “This leads to the service corridor,” she said, keeping her voice low. “If you follow it to the left and make two more left turns, you will arrive at a set of lifts. From there you can access the habitat rings and the promenade.”

I pointed at the circular hatch on the floor. “And this, honored Aama?”

She gasped and her hands fluttered near her face in embarrassment at the title I’d given her. “That is a maintenance shaft. It is seldom used since the new tunnels were completed. Very dark and dirty. Surely you would not want to go into it.”

“I am more afraid of the red male than I am of darkness or dirt,” I said. “I am desperate to evade him. I give you my oath that if I am discovered, I will not implicate you in any way.”

With a quiet warble of distress, Aama knelt and raised the hatch to reveal a dimly lit vertical passage with a decrepit personnel conveyor on one side, a ladder on the other, and service junctions and conduits running along its length.

“Where will you go?” Aama’s hands hadn’t stopped fluttering since she’d lifted the hatch.

“As far away as I can, and then I’ll try to find help I can trust.” I gave her a small bow of respect, which made her hands flutter faster. “I thank you. May good fortune ever find you.”

“And you as well, honored one. Please be safe!”

I climbed into the maintenance shaft and clung to the ladder, keeping my hands covered with my sleeves. It wasn’t pitch dark in here, which was a relief. I didn’t want to use a light source of my own unless I absolutely had to. The longer I could go unnoticed, the better.

As soon as I was well clear of the hatch, Aama warbled a few times in distress and then closed it.

I let out a breath.

According to the station schematics, this maintenance shaft terminated on Deck 20, where the station’s mid-level power generators were located. There was an access hatch on every deck, though, including Deck 14. And the one on that deck was only two hundred meters from where the Nivilus was docked. It was the closest access point to my ship other than the much more exposed personnel and cargo lifts.

That was all good news.

The bad news was that I couldn’t use any weapon in the shaft that would be capable of incapacitating Jarrix. Not with all these conduits and sensors around me. Even if I didn’t rupture something, the sensors would alert maintenance and security of my presence and I’d be in real trouble. I had to assume at least some of the more capable mercs would be monitoring all station comm channels for news of an intruder or other suspicious activity.

I freed my hands from my sleeves to get a better grip and started down the ladder. The rungs were spaced uncomfortably far apart, clearly designed for beings much larger than a human. I ended up gripping the sides of the ladder with my hands and boots and sliding the last few inches each time.

I wasn’t at all surprised when after I’d navigated ten rungs that way, a familiar male voice spoke from behind me. “Thank you for not using your stun field on me in the shop.”

The low rumble didn’t startle me, but it did stir something in my belly I forced myself to ignore.

“That had nothing to do with you,” I said icily. “I didn’t want to harm Aama.”

His chuckle made me want to deploy the stun field, and damn the consequences. “Be silent and let me focus, nuisance,” I snapped. “It’s a long drop.”

Obligingly, he went quiet.

I moved as quickly as I dared, which wasn’t terribly fast. Jarrix refrained from hovering nearby—whether to avoid distracting me or in case I changed my mind about the stun field, I had no idea. I sensed him somewhere below me, maybe keeping watch for anyone climbing up the shaft or trying to access any of the hatches.