After pulling on her jacket, she managed to open the door of the flyer. With an anxious glance at T’saran, still unconscious, she crept to the edge of the roof. A bitter wind whistled around her ears. The alley below was shrouded in darkness but she was too consumed with worry about T’saran to relive that nightmare. The lights on the convenience store sign were still on which made it relatively early since it closed at eight. She peered into the darkness, trying to decide what to do. If she’d had the skills, she would have had no hesitation in stealing a car, but she knew absolutely nothing about car theft. Car… She leaned further over the edge.
Yes! Manny’s car was parked at the end of the alley in the illegal parking spot he used when he was in a hurry. What’s more, she knew that he kept a key hidden in the wheel well. Now all she had to do was get T’saran down to the car. Biting her lip, she climbed back into the ship and reluctantly tried to wake him.
For a long moment, she was afraid that he wouldn’t respond, but his eyes finally opened.
“My lady,” he whispered.
Her eyes filled with tears. “My monster.”
She kissed his hand and it tightened around hers.
“We made it to Earth, and I think I have a place where we can go, but you’re going to have to climb down from this roof. I can’t carry you.”
He started to nod, then thought better of it. Instead, he used the arms of the chair and managed to stand. Lauren hastily ducked under his arm and braced herself to help support his weight. Together they made it through the door and onto the roof, both of them panting. Leaning heavily against her side, he pulled a small control from his belt and aimed it at the ship.
“What’s that?”
“Self-destruct. Leave no trace.” He pushed the button then turned away.
He was destroying his last chance to return. More tears wanted to fall, but she didn’t have time for that now. When they reached the edge of the roof and looked down the fire escape, she could have cried again. It was only two stories, but how could he make it in his condition?
“I’ll go first,” she said. “I’ll brace you.”
“No. My weight could make you fall. I will go first.”
“But, T’saran, you’re hurt.”
“I know.” A gleam of humor lit his face for the first time. “But I will still go first.”
“Please be careful.”
“I will,” he promised, and lowered his leg over the ledge. She watched in an agony of apprehension until he was several steps below the roofline. As she turned to follow him, she gasped. The ship was gone. Nothing remained but a small heap of ashes, and even as she watched the wind blew some of them away.
No turning back now. She stepped off onto the ladder, her hands clinging to the cold metal. Her fingers were numb by the time she made it to the bottom, but she made it and T’saran was there waiting for her. He was leaning against the building, pale and shaking, but he was alive and upright. She slipped under his arm again, and they managed to make it to the car. It was a beat-up old Dodge, but she knew Manny took care of the engine.
She had to check three wheels before she found the key and she was beginning to panic when her fingers closed around the small magnetic box. When she opened the passenger door, T’saran half fell inside, collapsing onto the seat. She helped him lower the seat back and he smiled at her.
“I may sleep,” he warned.
“That’s fine. You need to recover your strength.”
He took her hand and showed her another device on his belt.
“Cloaking,” he said, then pressed the button and disappeared from view. If she hadn’t still been touching him, she would have panicked. Even so, it was remarkably eerie to see him vanish. Her hands shook as she closed the door. Hurrying around to the driver’s side, she breathed a prayer of relief that the gas tank was almost full.
“Hold on, my monster. We’re on our way.”
A warm invisible hand closed over hers.
By the time they reached Wilmington, eight hours later, she was so tired she could barely see. She had spent the whole trip hunched over the steering wheel, convinced that she would see a trail of police cars behind her at any moment. T’saran floated in and out of consciousness, frequently muttering in Yehrin. But he was still there, still alive, and when they finally pulled into the parking lot of the marina, he was coherent again.
At four o’clock in the morning, thankfully no one was around as she parked at the far end of the docks. T’saran made it out of the car under his own power and uncloaked.
“That’s her. Lady’s Pride.” She had only accompanied her father three times, but the graceful lines of the wooden sailing ship were etched in her memory. He had seemed… softer on those trips. Perhaps he had given her the ship in remembrance of those times.
“A fine craft,” T’saran said. “Can you sail her?”
“Probably not,” she admitted. “But there’s an engine to get us out on the water and there are manuals on board. We can learn together.”
“Together. I like the sound of that, my L’chka.”
She smiled and took his hand, then looked back at the car.
“What should we do about that? It’s a connection between me and the ship.”
He pulled
