Chapter 17 #2
Good catch. I’ll check Nareth. Keep looking.
Tess read the message three times.
“That’s it?”
“What did you expect?”
“I don’t know.” She frowned at the datapad. “Dismissal. Or orders.”
“He told us to keep looking.”
“That’s not an order.”
“It looked like one to me.”
Tess gave her a suspicious look, but some of the tension had gone out of her shoulders.
They went back to work. Once they knew what they were looking for, the endless columns of information began to feel less random.
They found another ship that had passed through Nareth, although its registration appeared legitimate.
Then another vessel that hadn’t stopped at the station but had made an unexplained course adjustment in the same region.
Neither proved anything, but a pattern was beginning to emerge. Late in the afternoon she found a notation she recognized.
“Wait. Look at this.”
Tess leaned over.
“What about it?”
“This location.” She tapped the translated coordinates. “It’s here on Hothrest, but it’s not Port Eyeja and offworld ships aren’t allowed to land anywhere else.”
“Where is it?”
She pulled up a map and located the coordinates north of the caves. Something about the location tweaked her memory and she frowned, trying to remember.
“If this is where I think it is,” she said slowly. “Rhaal found an illegal operation not far from there. Offworlders were trying to reproduce sothiti.”
“The healing drug?”
“Yes. Njkall and Rhaal led a team to destroy the lab, and then they buried the site under a rockslide.”
Tess’s attention sharpened.
“And one of these ships went there?”
“Not exactly.” She studied the record. “It changed course in that direction, but that doesn’t mean it landed. And there’s nothing there now except a bunch of rocks.”
“I think it means something.”
“Maybe.”
Tess sighed. “There’s that word again.”
“Because we don’t know.”
“If they’re traffickers, why would they care about some abandoned drug lab?” Tess asked, studying the map.
“I don’t know. It doesn’t make any sense to me.”
“Maybe the lab wasn’t abandoned.”
“Yasmin said it was destroyed and buried. The clan wanted to make sure nothing like that ever happened again.”
“Just because something is buried, it doesn’t mean it’s not still there.”
She looked at the coordinates again. Tess was right, but something about forcing the two things together bothered her.
“Or it could have nothing to do with what we’re looking for,” she said. “Hothrest has had smugglers and criminals coming through Port Eyeja for years. An illegal site might attract all kinds of people.”
“Still worth checking.”
“By Baralt.” Tess made a face, and she raised an eyebrow. “Or Njkall.”
“Even worse.”
She laughed, but she marked the record. Just in case.
By the time they finally stopped, her back ached from bending over the table and the crystal lights had dimmed towards evening. Cera appeared in the entrance, surveyed the chaos, and folded her arms.
“Are you planning to sleep among those papers?”
“No,” she said.
“Possibly,” Tess said at the same time.
Cera’s gaze moved between them.
“Food first. Criminal conspiracies later.”
“We don’t know it’s a conspiracy,” she said, and Tess gave her an accusing look. “She keeps saying things like that.”
“One of you has sense, then.”
Tess muttered something under her breath, but Cera ignored her. Polly gathered the most important records into a neat stack and rose, stretching the stiffness out of her shoulders. She was tired, but it was a good tired. They had accomplished something today.
Not Baralt. Not Njkall. But she and Tess. The knowledge gave her a small glow of satisfaction.
She was almost back to their quarters when she heard his voice ahead of her. She quickened her pace without thinking, then caught herself doing it. She shook her head but she didn’t slow down.
He was standing near the entrance to their quarters with two older Hothian males, listening while one of them spoke.
His expression was serious, his enormous arms folded across his chest, but he noticed her as soon as she emerged from the passage, and his face softened.
The change wasn’t enough for most people to notice but she did, and a corresponding warmth filled her chest.
She waited until the other males had finished speaking and moved away before approaching him.
“You look pleased with yourself,” he said.
“We found something.”
“Tell me about it,” he said as he put his arm around her and led her into their quarters.
She told him about the ships. About Nareth Station and the repeated authorization and Baralt’s message. And then she told him about the course change near the old lab site, and he frowned. “That site should still be buried.”
“I know. There’s no reason to think it isn’t, but it’s strange nonetheless.”
“I’ll send someone to make sure.”
“Tess thinks the ship might have set down there.”
“What do you think?”
The question pleased her more than it should have. Not what did Tess say, but what did she think?
“I think we don’t know enough yet. It might just be a coincidence. Or if they did know about it, it’s possible that they just wanted to confirm the destruction of the lab.”
He nodded. “Then keep looking.”
Exactly what Baralt had said, and she smiled.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
He regarded her suspiciously, then reached out and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, his fingers lingering on her skin.
“I have to leave early tomorrow.”
Her smile immediately faded.
“Clan business?”
“A grazing dispute between two of the northern clans. Neither leader is willing to concede the winter valley.”
“How long will you be gone?”
“Most of the day. Possibly longer if they remain determined to behave like stubborn cubs.”
“Are you going to tell them that?”
“I was considering it.”
She laughed, then realized he was watching her carefully.
“You could come,” he said. “If you want.”
A few months ago she would have heard only the invitation and the promise behind it. Come with me. Stay beside me. Stay where it’s safe. Stay where I can protect you.
Now she heard the other part. If you want.
She thought about it. A journey through the mountains with Njkall didn’t frighten her. The prospect of unfamiliar Hothians didn’t make her stomach twist. She might even enjoy seeing another part of Hothrest.
But Tess would be waiting for her. There were still hundreds of records to examine, and for the first time they had a real trail to follow.
“I think I’ll stay here.”
Something flickered across his face. Not disappointment exactly. Surprise, perhaps.
“All right.”
“Tess and I have work to do.”
“I gathered that.”
“We might find something else,” she said hopefully, and he smiled at her.
“I hope you do.”
She studied him. “You’re really all right with me staying here?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I don’t know.” She ran a teasing finger down his chest. “You like having me where you can see me.”
“Very much.”
The answer came without hesitation, and warmth filled her again.
“But you have something you want to do,” he continued. “So do I.”
It sounded so simple when he said it. Perhaps it was becoming simple. She stepped closer and put her arms around his waist.
“I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
“You will.”
“And you’ll be careful.”
One white brow rose.
“You’re telling me to be careful?”
“Yes.”
“I am the Clan Leader.”
“That doesn’t make you immune to falling off mountains.”
“I have managed not to so far.”
“Keep up the good work.”
His mouth twitched. Then he bent and kissed her, not the careful brush of lips he’d allowed only when she initiated it, but a real kiss. Warm and lingering and confident enough to send heat curling through her body.
She leaned into him, and for one tempting moment, the records seemed considerably less important. Then he lifted his head.
“Tomorrow night,” he said.
“Tomorrow night.”
He started to prepare for his journey. She remained where she was for another moment, thinking about the next day. She wasn’t afraid of being away from him tomorrow. She had Tess. She had work she wanted to do. She had an entire day that belonged to her, and she was looking forward to it.
But as she watched Njkall move across the room, broad and white-furred and familiar, another realization followed close behind. She was already looking forward to him coming home.