the trio, I located them at a small eatery near the DNB. It wasn't the best tasting food I'd ever had, but its proximity to the busy building kept it booming.
They were just exiting the eatery when we caught up with them. I pulled us to the side, out of the foot traffic so we could change into our solid forms. Grace disconnected from me and had no trouble with the transition.
“What was that?” she hissed, surprising me.
I stared at her hard, taking in the flaring nostrils and arms crossed over her chest. Guess I found her limit on what she can take silently. Odd line, though, considering her father.
I shrugged. “What was what?”
Her hands flapped wildly as her high-pitched explanation rushed out. “That. All of that.”
“Hey, Zella! We got you both something.” Kian bounded up to us, lifting the bags he had dangling from his fingers. “Had to guess for…”
He trailed off as he drew closer and took in Grace's flushed face. His steps halted, and he began to back away slowly.
“Nope. I'm not getting between this. Not doing it.” Kian's hair shifted, following the force of his head as he shook it roughly.
“Oh, stop being afraid of two females,” Trace added, pushing Kian forward.
Even Grace stopped staring at me as we both turned to scowl at Trace. Whatever he saw in our faces had him holding his hands up and veering towards the sidewalk without further comment.
“We'll meet you at the DNB. Just remember that we don't have much time before we're expected in Dalrin.” Axton whistled as he strolled towards the DNB, leaving us without a care.
“Assholes,” I muttered and turned back to Grace.
She was already looking at me. Well, not exactly at me. Her golden orbs focused on my shoulder.
I sighed and waved my arm. “Come on. I'll explain it while we walk. Axton's right. We really don't have much time.”
She jerked her chin down and hurried to my side. I steered us towards a side street, one far less busy than the main one we were on. I didn't clarify anything, choosing to allow her a bit to calm down, so she would actually listen. She must have grown used to the silence because when I began speaking, she jerked.
“This is Shadow. She's from Earth and returned with me after my initial visit. She's completely harmless, although the tapping can get annoying at times. Mostly, I don't even notice it anymore.”
“Okay, but what is she? And why haven't they put her through cleansing yet?” Grace asked, her tone much more level than before.
“Oh, she's an aye-aye. It's some type of lemur.” I shrugged, aware that didn't really contain any context for her but not knowing how else to explain Shadow. She just was. “She's decided that she wants to stay. At least for a while. When she tells me she's ready, I'll swing by and let her go. As for everyone else, no one has really mentioned her.”
We traveled a bit further with Grace chewing her lip, Shadow flicking her tail in my face, and me wondering why Master Akai hadn't bothered asking about her yet.
Grace must have decided on her next few questions because she suddenly blurted them out. “Who was the boy? Why were you going to the Soulless part of town? What was in the note? And who was the lady I saw in your memories?”
My skin grew hot, and my mind flashed visions of golden blood covering the ground. While I wanted to halt, seize her by her arms, and shake her-or worse-I kept floating along as if I wasn't contemplating her murder. I should have never taken her. What was I thinking? Stupid.
“Oh, that was Taris. He runs a few errands for me when I'm too busy. Gives him the means to earn some credits and lessens my load. And I went all the way there because it's much faster for me to go to him than wait for him to walk to me.”
She studied me a little too long, and my eyes began scanning for hidden alcoves where I could yank the smaller Angel to her death location. My insides flashed cold, and my monster woke up, waiting on the guaranteed meal. I liked her, but her life didn't mean more than an entire population.
Then she nodded and said, “That makes sense. Kind of like having an assistant like the other Masters use. I think it's nice that you picked someone who really needed it. What about the older