Ka’myla Ad’uar glanced at the shell chronobox on her dresser. As always running late, but this time there was good reason. In her opinion at least. Now whether Karawn would agree, that was a toss up. She ran her hand down one of her light-aqua head-tails and scrutinized her reflection in the shell-framed mirror on her dresser. Her complexion looked a bit dull this morning. She pinched her cheeks. A soft lavender hue popped up through her bluish-green skin. She smiled. Mhm, that should do it.

She hurried into the cozy main living area of her modest comparta and chided herself. Silly aquana, there’s no time to waste on petty primping. A pretty look wasn’t going to save her or anyone else on this rescue mission. She pursed her lips and looked at the ugly combat belt on the padded coral chair. Yes, the outcome was dependent all on survival and being prepared for the worst. It had nothing to do with fashion or beauty. She grabbed the cumbersome belt and buckled it around her waist. Then readjusted the dark-green sash under it. At least this silky sash provided a bit of flare to her drab tan fatigues.

Again she checked the time on the chronobox in the other room and groaned. Karawn was probably waiting for her already. She bit her lip. Well, better finish up with getting dressed. Her eyes darted down to her bonto cloth wrapped feet and then the dark brown boots by the padded coral chair. Just had those boots left to slip on, then that’s it. She plopped down into the chair, pulled on the combat boots and fastened them. Dressed and ready to go. Well almost.

Myla breathed in deep and closed her eyes. Her assignment to find these five lost Daejic pupils was not normal. Not for her, a consular Mystik. She excelled in diplomacy, not rescue missions. But there had to be a good reason for the Arch Advizar to assign her to this urgent mission with Karawn.

She opened her eyes and let out an irritated sigh. It wasn’t all that big of a deal. Right? Quite doable for her, even though out of the ordinary. Just go down into the Forbidden Catacombs under the Daejic Temple. Locate those lost pupils and bring them back. Alive. Not a problem. There’d been more complex diplomatic missions tackled by her than this one rescue mission. So why was her heart pounding a million kilovects an hour?

It was obvious, wasn’t it? She wrung her hands. It was those creepy catacombs that scared her. They were forbidden and for good reason. Not only were they a maze of twisting and turning tunnels, almost impossible to navigate, but also fraught with danger. Or so the Advizars and every Daejic Deka had claimed. The catacombs were full of hazards such as dead ends with fathomless shafts, sinkholes with strong undercurrents, passages with false floors, chambers with poisonous gases, drifts that led into endless loops, and of course nightmarish creatures.

The last hazard was by far the most terrifying for her, though. Rumor had it that terrible things lived down there within the darkness. Monstrosities that would like nothing more than to have her as a snack. She scrunched her face. But there was no other choice. It wasn’t like she could tell the Arch Advizar to go find someone else. Not at all. That would result in a harsh punishment. She shuddered. Things never went well for any Daejic who objected to an order from the Arch Advizar. Never.

With obvious resignation, she stood up. Then walked to the wall mirror in the hallway. Her eyes checked her overall appearance in the mirror’s reflection before they locked onto her own sapphire-blue eyes. Her heart sank. Suppose it’s time to go.

Myla activated the lock panel beside the entry door of her comparta. The beige metal door slid into the wall with a slow scrape, then stopped with a soft thud. She stepped through the open doorway into an airy and bright, partially open hallway. Across the way and along one side of the long hallway were square chrome columns that supported the eleven-ped ceiling. Her eyes peered between these shiny metal columns into the splendid atrium beyond. Karawn probably waited for her there within that grand, two-story atrium. It served as the shared common area within their Daejic comparta complex—a massive building that housed all of the Daejic, both Warriors and Mystiks. Each Daejic was assigned a separate comparta—private living quarters—for the required eight years of their servitude.

A sweet, spicy scent wafted over her. She breathed it in and smiled. The yellow nollonia flowers were in full bloom within the atrium. This shared area was one of the few nice amenities of the Daejic comparta complex. It always contained planters that brimmed full of delightful smelling tropical flowers and magnificent palms. Around these planters, contemporary light-blue sofas and chairs were arranged. From the skylights in the ceiling high above, natural light filtered in and reflected off the polished stone floor. Yes, this shared space gave their otherwise humble living arrangements a little bit of panache.

A familiar voice rang out from behind her. “It’s about time, Myla. I’ve been waiting here for twenty minutes. What took ya so long?”

Surprised, she flinched. Then spun around to face the aquan with the cool and confident masculine voice. Her cheeks blushed. It was a wonder that she hadn’t spotted him beforehand. There Commander Karawn Kross was dressed in his dark Ghost Warrior fatigues. Her tall and athletic companion leaned up against the wall by her door. A smug look painted upon his handsome bluish-green face.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Karawn.” She glanced down at her clothes and frowned. “These stupid fatigues! Took me forever to find them. They were buried in the back of my closet. You know, it’s not like the Arch Advizar gave me time to prepare. I just found out about this urgent mission this morning. And you know I don’t do combat on any of my Mystik missions. Never.”

“Yeah, I know. That’s why I’m here. You’ll be fine.” Karawn pushed himself off the wall and strolled over to her. His steel-gray eyes looked her up and down the entire time.

Again she glanced down at her own clothes. There had to be a reason why Karawn stared at her. Well, maybe something was out of place or missing. Or maybe the fatigues looked ridiculous on her. “Is something wrong? Did I forget something?”

“No.”

“Then what?”

“You look good in those fatigues. Much better than those dowdy consular robes and gowns. So much better.”

“Oh…well, thank you, I guess.” She blushed again. "You know, I can’t believe I even got into them. I think the last time I wore them was eight years ago. Did Malik ever tell you about that dreaded basic combat course I had to take?”

He smirked. “Yeah. You gave him a black eye.”

She giggled. “Oh yeah. That was an accident. He was helping me. I thought he was ready for me to practice the move. But I guess he wasn’t.”

“Guess not.”

From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of her derriere in the reflection of the chrome column. She twisted her upper torso to get a better look and frowned. “Hmm, bottoms are a bit too snug for my tastes and I—”

"Stop Myla. They look good. You can almost pass as a Warrior...almost.”

“Well, I don’t feel like one. You know, this isn’t a typical assignment for me. I’m use to diplomatic missions that require more verbal rather than physical finesse.” She gazed down at her delicate blue-green hands. They were flawless, so unlike Karawn’s callused masculine ones. “Just don’t know why the Arch Advizar even asked me to accompany you on this rescue mission.”

“Ya know, I wondered about that too. But His Eminence said I needed a pathfinder to accompany me. A pathfinder who can heal. You’re one of the few Daejic that can do both.”

Myla ran her hand along the loose end of her silky green sash, then looked away and sighed. “I suppose I am.”

“Okay.” Karawn cleared his throat. “Well time’s a wastin’. Let’s go and rescue some Daejic pupils."

“Fine. You lead the way, Commander."

Karawn mock saluted her, held his right fist to his heart, and did an about face. “Yes Princess—ahem, Deka Ad’uar, I mean.”

She covered her mouth and giggled. Karawn was in rare form today. To even bring up the princess title was unlike him. He should know that it made her uncomfortable. Her giddy amusement fell away. She glanced about. No one was around. Suppose it wasn’t that big of a deal, probably just Karawn’s way of lightening the mood.

With a heavy sigh, she stared off into the distance. Princess Ka’myla Ad’uar of Sentauros. Ugh! This royalty thing had been a painful burr in her side since she was twelve, when she arrived at the Daejic Academy on Padaeya. Humph! There was no perk to being a princess. If anything, the title only brought her animosity. Her bane to burden for thirteen long years. She bit her lip. Oh, and those bothersome Ornithians! They despised Aquosians in general, but held a special hatred for royals like her. But it was no surprise. For centuries, the Aquosian and Ornithian people warred with each other on their shared planet Sentauros. Her home planet. But since her Aquosian father, King Casseus Ad’uar was crowned, a truce had been agreed upon between the Aquosian and Ornithian people. And ever since then, the truce had held. Even though the occasional attack from extremist Ornithian groups still struck and caused terror within the Koral City on Sentauros, for the most part the war was over. Peace reigned, at least on the surface. But the lingering distrust between their races…well that would take much longer to mend, if ever.

Ahead of her, Karawn turned off from the hallway and cut a path through the grand atrium. Myla paused by a chrome column. Her eyes followed him as he headed toward the glass double doors of the comparta complex’s main entrance. Over the past month, Karawn had been off planet. On some top secret mission. Although for her to know that much was against Daejic GW protocol. But Karawn had told her in secret. Wanted her to know, just in case he didn’t come back. She frowned. His long absence was difficult as it was, but for him to just disappear without a word to her would’ve been too much. As it was, a month was way too long to be clueless about his wellbeing and whereabouts. It almost killed her. There’d been so many sleepless nights. Every waking moment spent on pins and needles, praying to Coraalon for his safe return. Then finally her prayers were answered. Late last night, Karawn came home to Padaeya, alive and well.

Yet, what was the Arch Advizar thinking? She shook her head. To throw Karawn straight into another mission without any shore leave. This wasn’t typical. But there must be some good reason in the Arch Advizar’s mind to select Karawn over other Ghost Warriors, or GWs as they were known by most.

Karawn had arrived at the glass double doors and was about to open them. He paused and looked about, then raised his hand and waved to her. “Hey Myla, ya coming?”

From the chrome column, she cut a path around the atrium’s contemporary furniture and planters, then over to him. “Sorry Karawn, I just was thinking.”

“About?”

“Oh nothing.”

Karawn nodded then activated the door pad. The glass doors slid apart. He gestured to the open door and winked at her. “Aquanas first.”

“Why, how nice of you, Commander Kross. Thank you.”

“My pleasure.”

Myla flashed him a smile, then walked ahead of him through the double doors onto an open terrace. The hot, humid air hit her like a wall. She plodded forward and glanced back at Karawn. “I see it’s just another hot and sticky day on Padaeya. Great.”

Karawn followed her across the sunny terrace. He squinted. “What did ya expect? We’re surrounded by a rain forest.”

“Oh, I know.” She stopped to wait for him by the covered boardwalk. “But it’s days like this, that I miss home. Sentauros.”

He smiled down at her and stepped forward.

Myla opened her mouth. “Look—”

Too late! A loud thump cut her off.

“Ja—” Karawn started to curse, but clamped his mouth shut.

She cringed. Once again, Karawn had ran into that low overhang.

He rubbed his forehead. “Stupid metal beam! Why do I always forget about it?”

She hid a smirk. “I guess the Engineers didn’t design these covered walkways with giants in mind.”

“Yeah right.” Karawn glanced at her sideways. Then grumbled, “Six-ped-four isn’t giant.”

His obvious lack of amusement dampened her spirits. “I’m sorry, Karawn. Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine. Thanks.”

“I can heal—”

“No Myla. It’s just a small bump. I’ll be fine.”

“I’m sorry.”

Karawn let out an exasperated sigh. Without any real warning, he stopped and turned to face her. His eyes darted about. Then he focused on her, grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “I’m sorry if I’m a little on edge, Myla. That last mission—well, I can’t talk about the details. But something isn’t right about it.”

Without saying anything more, he abruptly released her hand and continued forward on the covered boardwalk.

Myla hesitated. What was that about?

Her eyes trailed him and narrowed. There was no time to ponder the question. Karawn hadn’t stopped to wait for her. Yes, he was in rare form today. Goofy and crabby all rolled up into one Karawn. She arched one brow. This was going to be an interesting first mission together.

The distance between them had already increased ten or so ped. She trotted to catch up. For every one of his long strides, it took almost two of hers to keep up with him.

Karawn glanced down at her, but remained silent.

Ugh! Myla hid a frown. What was he not telling her?

Beads of perspiration formed on her forehead and chest. She pulled at her fitted shirt. It clung to her like a second skin. Well, at least the catacombs wouldn’t be humid and hot like this. Not at all. She shuddered. Just cold and dark. And terrifying.

As they strode along the boardwalk, other Daejic passed by them. Karawn nodded to a couple of young aquans, Aquosian males like Karawn, who passed by them in the opposite direction. She followed their line of sight as they passed. Ugh! One of them stared at her sweaty cleavage. Her face turned warm in an instant. Embarrassed, she crossed her arms over her chest, then grasped the long dangling end of the dark green sash around her waist and blotted the beads of perspiration from her chest.

“Myla, quit fidgeting. You’re just bringing attention to yourself. We should be inside the temple soon enough. It’ll be cooler in there.”

“Those aquans! They’re staring at my…you know. It’s so uncouth!”

“Oh Myla, what do you expect? Anyway, take it as a compliment. Would ya rather they didn’t notice ya at all?”

“Are you seriously okay with them staring?”

He huffed, then lowered his voice. “What do ya want me to do? Punch them?”

“I guess not. No.”

“So what’s the big deal? Now let’s keep moving.”

She rolled her eyes, but kept quiet. Karawn was right, as usual. It was nice to be noticed by the opposite sex, for the most part. Except when they were creepy obvious about it. But then what did she expect? Just a natural thing right? If aquans didn’t find aquanas attractive, then they wouldn’t have sex. And well, besides missing out on the feel good part of it, their people wouldn’t reproduce. They’d just die off. Guess they could go with some sort of artificial fertilization, but what was the fun in that?

They continued on along the covered boardwalk. In silence. She pursed her lips. The distance between her and Karawn felt as endless as this boardwalk. She tugged at her wet, sticky shirt again.

Karawn snorted, then looked down at her and shook his head. His nine long head-tails, all a mottled slate-blue and turquoise, jostled in succession.

She shot him a sheepish smile. Well Karawn was sweating too, but he wasn’t going nuts over it. Not like her. She flattened her lips. Right, that should be no surprise. He was a Ghost Warrior. Part of that elite group of special ops soldiers. They were trained to endure the harshest of climates and combat conditions.

Yet, she was only a simple consular Mystik. An ordinary one at that. Her tolerance wasn’t real great against any excessive physical strain. And this heat and humidity, combined with her snug attire, was a testament to that.

A sweet citrus scent wafted by her, carried along on a gentle breeze. She breathed in deep and gazed over the railing of the boardwalk. It was that time of the year when the cardall flowers were in full bloom. Their sweet aroma filled the air throughout the Daejic campus. And their saucer-sized blooms painted a sea of scarlet all along the boardwalk. This was one of the few features that made the city of Soaleste beautiful and vibrant. Every undeveloped space wasn’t just filled with drab stone, vezusteel and glass, like so many other civilized cities on other planets. Instead these unused spaces were often supersaturated with a carpet of colorful blooms and leaves. She tugged at her clingy shirt. If it wasn’t for the colorful lush flora, this place would be insufferable.

Something buzzed by her ear in a flash, so loud that Myla nearly jumped out of her skin. It was a loriel! The small blue and green bird was in a hurry to get its next hit of nectar. It hovered over a large scarlet bloom, then plunged in for a drink.

Yes, these cardall flowers were stunning. She smiled to herself. A bouquet would look amazing displayed in that green and copper swirled vase that her friend Malik gave her on her twenty-fifth birthday and said was crafted by a famous aquan artist.

She peered up at Karawn. Then bit her lip. This tension, his crustiness was so unnerving. Hmm. Maybe all they needed was a little alone time together—not mission related. She ran her hand along one of her head-tails. Aha! After they return tonight, why not surprise him with a romantic dinner for two? Yes, that would be the perfect way to celebrate Karawn’s safe return from his secret mission. And the perfect way to bring the romance back. Pick a bouquet of cardalls, open a bottle of fine brieberry wine, and make a special dinner for him. And then…

Her blood rushed to her face, she hid a small knowing smile. It’d been so long since they’d done that. Too long.

Far off in the distance, the lilting song, caws, and ear-piercing screeches of the Padaeyan forest wildlife sang out to her. A roar followed by a pitiful cry broke through the carefree song of the other forest creatures. Then a moment of dead silence hung about them from the rain forest canopy on the other side of the city wall. What was that? The loud feral roar sounded close. A bit too close. Despite the humid heat, she shivered. Just outside the fifty-ped high, ten-ped wide city wall of Soaleste was a dense rain forest packed full of vicious and fearsome wildlife. Aquosian eating wildlife.

Karawn placed his hand on her shoulder.

She flinched.

“Take it easy Myla. Sounded real close, but I’m certain that lehk’lai was still beyond the city wall. Besides, ya have me here to protect you, right?”

“I’m grateful for that Karawn. But honestly, I’m not thrilled about this mission.” Her eyes darted ahead, to the nearing end of the covered boardwalk, then back to Karawn. “Though, you’re the only one I’d want by my side.”

“I’ll always be by your side Myla. No matter what.”

She nodded and smiled to herself. The hidden intimate meaning of his words were not lost on her. Karawn was much more than her guardian too. Although she was also very lucky to always have him—one of a handful of elite Daejic Ghost Warriors—as a guardian to protect her from whatever unspeakable terrors prowled outside the prison-like city walls. Or down in those Forbidden Catacombs. She studied him from the corner of her eye. Karawn was a very attractive aquan. Tall, strong and athletic. She crinkled her nose. But not muscle bound. He was just right, in her opinion. And gosh did he look good in that combat uniform.

She caught herself blushing again. Oh for Coraalon’s sake! Her thoughts were as bad as those young aquans, who had stared at her chest earlier. Ugh. Karawn and his logic. Both sexes were equally bad about objectifying.

The covered boardwalk ended. Once again, the intense Padaeyan sun bore down on them. She shaded her eyes and slowed her pace alongside Karawn. They approached the crowded pentagon-shaped plaza that was the common connecting point of the Daejic campus. She grumbled, “Oh, why does the Daejic Commons have to be this packed right now?”

Karawn glanced at his chronoband. “Yeah well, it seems we hit the late morning rush.”

She nodded and glanced around as they passed various vendors, pupils, and all sorts of Daejic business traffic. “You know. I’m still amazed that the city of Soaleste, for being only around ten kilovects in diameter, has so many representatives of different races, cultures, social castes, ages, and genders intermingled in this one location. All getting along. And it’s the only city on Padaeya. Can you believe it?”

“Sure I can. It’s obvious if you think about it. The Daejic Szekta are consumers, we provide a source of income and livelihood for the non-Daejic here. That’s why so many non-Daejic flock to this remote planet.”

“Mhm, right.” She frowned at his rote explanation. Typical Karawn. Shouldn’t even bother to attempt conversation. He’d just explain her romantic notions away with his sensible logic. Ugh. Consumers and merchants. Right, had nothing to do with Daejic and non-Daejic, people of all races, ages, and genders all peacefully cooperating in one place. That’s what she was getting at. But whatever.

“Oh!” Myla cried out.

A teenage serp—Pyronian male—ran straight into her.

She stumbled backward. “Hey! What’s the hurry?”

Without a word, the serp brushed past her and disappeared into the crowd.

Karawn caught her by the arm and steadied her. “Are you okay?”

“I think so, but can you believe the nerve of these teenagers nowadays! He just ran into me, didn’t even have the decency to stop and apologize. Just ran off. Rrrr…so rude! Ya know, I’ve about had enough of this!”

Karawn gazed down at her and grinned. “My my, look at you now. So what was that you were just saying about all the races getting along?”

She bit her lip and looked away. It appears that he’d gotten her with that one.

“Hey, why don’t you just get behind me? I promise, I won’t let anyone knock you over.”

Myla dug her boots into the pavement and crossed her arms. “I—”

Another person shoved past her. This time the person almost knocked her over. She growled low in her throat. Typical! It seems that no one cared about running into a smaller female. But they wouldn’t dare run into Karawn. From his attire, it should be clear Karawn was a Ghost Warrior. And pretty much no one messed with these elite warriors. They knew better.

“What was that?” Karawn peered over at her with an amused glint in his steel-gray eyes.

“I’ll follow you.” She stepped behind him.

Karawn arched an eyebrow, but smartly said nothing more as he turned his attention to the path ahead. He strode forward through the crowd.

She followed along in his safe shadow. Guess this was the way to go after all. No one had come near her, and they now clipped along at a decent pace. She peeked around him. Sure enough, people saw the tall, imposing GW approach and cleared a path for him. She smirked. Reminded her of sandroaches in the shadow of a giant foot about to squash them.

It wasn’t long before they arrived at the base of the ancient stone ziggurat—the Daejic Temple. She gazed up the stone steps that led to the temple’s entrance and groaned. So many steps! There must be at least five hundred or so steep steps. How could she have forgotten? She furrowed her brow. Sure, it’s been a long time since she’d made this climb. The last time had to be before the title of Daejic Mystik was conferred upon her. Had it really been over seven years?

She glanced over at Karawn and gestured at the rosestone steps. “They say this climb is suppose to cleanse you. But look at me, I think I’m pretty cleansed as it is.”

Karawn chuckled. “Yeah, and just think, you’ll be that much more cleansed when ya reach the top. Come on Myla, it won’t be that bad.” Karawn glanced sideways at her and smirked. “I’ll race ya.”

“I don’t think so.” She shot him a dirty look and trudged up the temple steps.

He trotted up next to her and slowed down to match her pace, then grinned over at her. “Ah, where’s your sense of fun? On the mark…ready…set…go! Last one to the top is a rotten grawg!”

Karawn bolted past her. He zipped up the steps to the top and disappeared.

She shook her head. “Show off.”

Next Chapter: Chapter 3