Sentinel - Cyndi Friberg Page 0,8
of the wall of windows and motioned for her to precede him.
Clearly curious, she poked her head out. It was hard to see in the moonlight, but a balcony wrapped around the corner of the building, connecting his living room and the larger of his two bedrooms. He told the computer to turn off the interior lights as she stepped outside. Darkness enveloped her and she gasped. The waist-high barrier and the balcony itself were transparent, making it feel as if they floated in midair eighty-six stories above the ground.
“Oh, this is trippy,” she whispered. “Are you sure it’s safe?”
“Is ‘trippy’ good or bad?” He moved closer and placed his hand on the small of her back. “And it’s perfectly safe. I promise.”
They lapsed into silence for a moment as she soaked in their surroundings. Without the interior lights, they could see more of the city. Many of the windows in adjacent buildings were lit, but a short distance away there was nothing but velvety blackness.
“How much of the city is still in use?” Her voice was hushed and reverent as if she were in a house of worship, or a mausoleum. Sadly, Ghost City was far closer to the last.
“Not much,” he admitted. “Approximately fifty thousand people live here now.”
“And before the war?” She sounded hesitant as if she weren’t sure she wanted to know the answer.
“Over four million. Images of the before time remain in the data stream. If you’d like to see them, I’ll pull them up for you.”
“I would, as long as it doesn’t bother you.”
“It’s fine.” He shrugged. “The city’s prime was generations before I was born. This is all I have ever known.” He motioned toward the ruined city silhouetted in the darkness. Usually he found this location peaceful. Tonight, it felt old and tragic.
After a tense pause, she asked, “How long have you lived in Ghost City?”
“Nine years.” He said nothing more, but his mind raced, mixing memories with aspirations and flashes of fantasy. He wanted so much at that moment. It was hard to separate one desire from the next. He longed for companionship and affection, a long and happy future free of conflict and danger. And all those things seemed to start with or converge around the female at his side.
“The rest of your immediate family lives in Riverside,” she pointed out as the silence became awkward. “What brought you to the Ghost City?”
He finally faced her and leaned his hip against the barrier. He spent so much time alone, surrounded by computers and developing tech that he found social interaction awkward. There was no doubt that he wanted this female and not just physically. If he ever hoped to claim her, he needed to learn more about her and allow her to become better acquainted with him. But opening up to anyone was unnatural for him. “My abilities are unusual. The only institute qualified to train someone like me was here. By the time my training finished, Ghost City felt like home.” There were other reasons, strategic reasons, but he wasn’t ready to admit her to those areas of his life. Before she could fire off more questions, he asked about something that had bothered him ever since he learned about it. “Malik mentioned that you were brought here against your will. Is that true? I thought all of you volunteered for a program back on Earth that matched human females with alien males.”
She glanced at him, eyes wide and luminous in the dimness. Shadows hid her other features, and she looked away before he could read her expression. “We did, but the Outcasts are not the males we agreed to mate with. They are the same species, yet—”
“They are used to taking what they need rather than negotiating for it?”
Her shoulders lifted in a half-formed shrug, and tension sharpened her tone. “Their bad reputation was largely justified, but you must admit they have been remarkably well-behaved since they arrived on Sarronti Prime.”
“Many of my people consider them an invasion force.”
She turned her head and met his gaze. “Do you?” The challenge in her tone was undeniable.
“I did until I met Kage Razel. He is very different than I expected.” Then a bit begrudgingly, he added, “I do not think this rebellion would be possible without his support.”
“It would please him to hear you say that.”
His gaze narrowed as an unfamiliar rush of possessiveness surged through his being. What the hells was wrong with him? He was not a jealous