{Enki}

“Now?”

Ross looked up hopefully as Tumu entered Karter’s room. Chris hopped to his feet; his eyes dragged down by dark circles. He refused to sleep. John, Eminent Lance, and Eminent Abresson took Jack on a tour of Enki. Mandatory leadership duties never ceased.

The thirteen-foot Tritan solemnly gripped Batman’s shoulder. “They finished with Caedes. Tameka took Pax home to rest. They’re ready for her.”

Chris spared a glance at Ross. “You good here alone?”

“I won’t be alone. Officer Tumu promised to stay with me.” Here’s hoping Ross remembered how to tell a lie. It’d been so long since she had to.

The Tritan’s eyes widened a little before Chris turned to him for confirmation. He cleared his throat and assured, “That’s right. I’ll watch over the human. You take care of our Valkyrie here.”

Voice gruff with emotion, Batman thanked the alien and followed the two Tritan technicians outside with Karter’s hovering gurney.

Please. Please let her be okay.

“You mind telling me what you want with me?” Tumu didn’t sound unhappy. But he sounded awfully suspicious.

Ross tossed her curly brown hair over her shoulder and took a deep breath before unloading, “Please take me to Reipon.”

So. Tritans could bark out in laughter. “You want me to smuggle you through an official conduit during a galactic crisis onto a planet that enslaves your kind? And I suppose you want to go alone?”

“Well, as it happens, everyone else is busy. You know? With the galactic crisis you mentioned.” At his incredulous huff, she pressed on, “I’m not contributing anything here, Officer Tumu. I’m in the way. But if I go, I can search for my sister.”

His lipless mouth frowned, and his forehead sorta furrowed. “When they find Kyle, your brother will wipe my memory clean if he finds out I helped you—”

“He can do that?”

“—And I’m not convinced you’ll find her before endangering yourself. You’ll be alone and unprotected. And I’m a stupid-crazy Tritan for considering it.”

She perked up at that. “Really?”

“It’s the best time to go. This disaster scenario means all eyes are on the Progeny, but you won’t be noticed if you slip away. Reipon is preparing to host a special gala for the Eminents. It’s never canceled, even with this emergency. Perseverance and all that.” Was he trying to roll those black voids he called eyes? “Security there is high. If you get into official trouble, any mention of my name will get you shipped straight back to Enki.”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Ross smiled up at him, optimistic—

“But. If a slaver catches you, that’s a different kind of trouble. There’s a possibility you’ll disappear. We may never find you. Whatever you do, stay away from anyone who mentions Razor.”

The guy mentioned in the anonymous Verse. In Xelan’s diaries. Any passage with him in it made her shiver. “Why?”

“He trades in the pain market. You avoid that like the plague. That said, I think I know someone who might consider helping you. Get your stuff. We’re leaving now.”

She reached out to stop him. “Wait, Officer Tumu—”

“Just Tumu.”

“—I don’t wanna sound ungrateful, but why are you helping me?” She retracted her hand and stared earnestly up at him.

“In truth, with your brother missing, we need another Story Taker until we find him. We won’t unlock that potential in you by hanging around here. And frankly, you distract the King Regent. He takes the role bequeathed to him by his sister very seriously. Everyday Bethany is missing, Jack thinks he’s failing you. He needs to worry about failing the world. Anything else you want me to be candid about?”

Ross absorbed his words into her marrow. “No. That’s quite enough. Thank you.”

“Anytime. Now grab your things.”

She did as he told her, only then realizing she brought nothing with her from Earth. Rootless. “What will you tell the others? To keep them from coming after me?”

“I’ll tell them the truth. But only after they’ve noticed you’re gone, which may buy you a few days.” Tumu led her out of the infirmary and down the hall.

Ross struggled to keep up with his impressive stride. His words twinged her heart. Useless. “Right. They won’t notice me missing for a few days. Shows how much I contribute to the group.”

Tumu stopped and whirled on her with one long finger in her face. “Listen here, Little Tree. The last week was the hardest these people have been hit in a long while. They wouldn’t notice if I went missing if it weren’t for my Enki connections. Give yourself a break. You’re the newest member. And frankly, with what happens to the big contributors, I’d be thankful for the tiny target status. Do you get me?”

Feeling overwhelmed with her gratitude—genuine progress—Ross squeezed the trunk of his leg. “Thank you.”

He blinked down at her before shrugging her off uncomfortably. “Well. Are you ready?”

They walked forever. Through a billion conduits, spanning several platforms in the middle of the ocean, and finally exited in a glass box so seamless she almost mistook it for thin air. They were at the heart of the Dyson’s Sphere with the star powering it closer than ever, but not so close to blind her.

Tumu graciously let her absorb the spectacle. Ross looked back up at him. “Is this the shrine for Reipon?”

“It is. I’ll chaperon you as far as Iuo—he owes me a favor—then you’re on your own. Take this.”

He handed her a strange disc, and she looked at him questioningly.

“It’s enough credits to sustain you for a month or two. It should keep you out of trouble.”

Her eyes bugged wide. “A month or two?”

The Gargantuan Tritan adjusted his orb and compressed a further six feet of his usual height. He stretched with a pained groan as he explained, “I hope you return in a few days at the most. I’m not looking forward to the backlash once Jack and Chris realize you’re gone. But just in case, those credits should buy you out of anything.”

Ross held out her hand. “I’ll repay you somehow.”

Tumu took it. “Yes. You will, Little Tree. Now let’s go.”