Ar'Tok - Alana Khan Page 0,24

announces as he leads off to our right.

I grab Ar’Tok’s wrist and halt mid-step, almost flattened by overwhelming emotions.

“What’s wrong,” Ar’Tok asks, his tone rough and deep with concern as he leans to get a better look at my face.

“The sun.” It’s so bright it hurts my eyes. Even with my lids closed it’s too bright.

“It’s okay. Just stand with me a moment,” his calm voice isn’t helping.

“And . . . what’s that smell?” I can’t place it. I’ve never smelled anything like it.

“Are you smelling the fuel of the nearby ship about to take off?”

“I don’t know. It’s . . .” I know all the males are waiting for me. Surely they’re wondering what’s wrong. Perhaps they doubt I’m equipped to handle this operation.

I breathe in and out, slowly, eyes still closed. “It’s odd. Slightly sweet.”

“Would you call it fresh?” he asks.

“Maybe.”

“You’ve never been on a planet before, right? Never seen the sun? Never smelled any air that wasn’t synthesized by an oxygenator?”

“No. None of that.”

“What you’re smelling is fresh air.”

Really? Now that he’s labeled it and I know what it is, it’s wonderful.

“The glare of the sun? You’ll get used to it. And how about the gravity? Do you feel heavier or lighter than you’re used to?”

“Yes, come to think of it, I feel light as a feather.”

“Your first step on a planet.” He reaches down, grabs a handful of dirt and pebbles, and pours them into my palm. “Welcome to Paragon.”

It’s totally ridiculous that I feel like crying, but I can’t control the emotions welling up inside me. I’ve been denied these simple pleasures—air, wind, gravity—because I’m not supposed to be off planet Earth in the first place. I’m an illegal.

I take a deep breath, square my shoulders, and pull Ar’Tok toward the others who are waiting at our hover. He must be watching closely as the males climb in because he manages to get that sweet ass and his long sword into the vehicle without looking like he’s never done it before.

The bright sun still hurts my eyes, but that doesn’t stop me from gawking at everything we pass on our way to the meet. The hover makes my tummy swirl, and although I’ve been in the Fool, which travels at the speed of light, it feels like I’ve never moved this fast before.

“Having fun?” Ar’Tok leans to whisper in my ear.

“Maybe.” I don’t think I’ll be having fun until after this meeting with Ergonn.

Our meet is in a grimy warehouse district. It’s a squat building with an open door big enough for our hover to slip through.

My heart is pounding and sweat is beading on my upper lip. I’m about to meet an underworld bigwig who’s expecting an older male, not a young human female. I’ve never been this terrified. Let’s face it, it was less than a week ago that I met a living being other than my mom or dad for the first time.

My gladiator contingent surrounds me as we exit the craft. I have to peer around Shadow, who’s in front of me, to see what we’re facing. Ergonn must be in the middle of his contingent of males—there are eight aliens of various races, shoulder to shoulder, guarding him.

When he finally steps forward, I see why he needs such a heavy defense—he’s maybe three-feet tall. I don’t recall seeing pictures of his race on the Intergalactic Database. He’s brown as a crima nut, and wizened, with wide blue eyes. If he wasn’t scowling and surrounded by a mountain of fighting flesh, I wouldn’t be intimidated at all.

“Which of you is O?” he wastes no time asking as he scrutinizes my gladiators.

I step forward. “Me.”

“What race are you? I’ve been dealing with you for twenty years. You don’t look old enough to be O.” His frown deepens.

“Let’s get down to business. I’m ready to do the download. It will take the better part of a week for my bots to invade nets all over the galaxy, then scrub the All-Link-Detectors the Feds use to scour for illegal activity. Do you have the Hardimon Supercomputer I said you’d need?”

He doesn’t move for a moment. I can’t even detect his chest rising or his eyes examining me.

“If your bots do not perform, if you do not succeed, I will kill you and everyone you hold dear.” He spears every one of the males with a piercing stare. “And I swear by Vorhee’s left nut, if you bring the Feds down upon our heads, I