Page 37 of Concluded
Tenrael chuckled.“I am a demon.”
After a few moments of speechless gaping, Dee shook his head rapidly.“I’m sorry, but did you say you’re?—”
“A demon.Yes.”
“But….I thought….Aren’t demons, uh, evil?”
Jesus.“Aren’t humans?”Achilles snapped.“Ashley Dunn, for instance—is she a demon?”
“No, but?—”
“Don’t be a bigot.Judge a person by what they do, not whether they have horns or fangs.”
Under other circumstances, Achilles might have been more patient with Dee.When Achilles had first joined the Bureau, he’d had many of those same biases; most new agents did, at least if they were human.But in Dee’s case, he’d experienced human malevolence with his own eyes, and had been personally helped by coyote shifters.He should know better.
And also Achilles was tired and aching and, if he was perfectly frank with himself, scared shitless by the future.Patience wasn’t currently on his agenda.
But napping was, so he closed his eyes and did his best to tune out the world.
* * *
Achilles startledawake when the SUV came to a halt.The sun was high overhead, so they had likely been on the road for only a few hours.Although they were still in the middle of the desert, this landscape was different.Flatter, although with some peaks and mesas in the distance, and devoid of tall plants.
Grimes had parked in a gravel lot flanked by a pair of odd-looking buildings made of rounded stones.The buildings were each the size of a large house but irregularly shaped, with small windows placed seemingly at random.There were also several dozen colorful banners affixed to each of the houses.The banners contained irregular patterns of squiggles.
“What is this place?”he asked apprehensively.
Grimes opened the driver’s door.“Refuge.”
Whatever that meant.
Achilles dutifully got out of the car and limped after Grimes and Tenrael, Dee trailing behind him.When they neared the building on the right, a section of stones slid to the side, revealing an opening that took them into a dark, narrow hallway.Tenrael’s wings brushed against the rock walls on both sides.If Achilles’ feet hadn’t been hurting so badly, he might have been slightly claustrophobic, but as it was, he mostly concentrated on forward momentum.
They took a sudden right and were in a large, sunlit room with tables and chairs in the center and a half-dozen simple beds along the walls.There was also a small kitchenette and an enormous television.
Oh, and an alien.
Achilles’ life was weird enough that the sight of the extraterrestrial made him sigh with relief.He’d met these people once before and knew they could be trusted.
A couple of decades ago, when humans first started encountering this species, they called them orcs.They did bear a certain resemblance to the Tolkien creatures and, due to a cultural misunderstanding, had eaten several humans.Eventually, however, in a mission involving Con Becker and Isaac Molina, the orcs’ true identities had been discovered: they were refugees from another planet who gained knowledge by consuming others.They’d simply been trying to assimilate to their new home.Luckily the Bureau was able to work with them to find less lethal ways of learning, and since then their presence had been benign.
“What the hell?”breathed Dee, who really ought to be getting used to this sort of thing by now.
Achilles shot him a glare.“I’ll explain later.But they’re friends, okay?”
Dee’s nod was uncertain, but he held his tongue.
Perhaps for the sake of her guests, this alien had chosen to wear human clothing: a pair of black capri leggings and a loose emerald-hued shirt.No shoes, however; she probably couldn’t, due to the large claws on her toes.Her smile revealed several rows of very sharp teeth.
“Welcome,” she said, clawed hands held upright with the palms facing her.That was her people’s first step when greeting someone, and Grimes, Tenrael, and Achilles mirrored her.As did Dee, albeit somewhat belatedly.She came forward for the next step, which involved exchanging a small cheek lick.Dee almost balked at that, but Achilles gave him a subtle poke and Dee went along with the program.When you thought about it, licking was only a small step away from cheek kissing, and lots of humans did that.
Formalities over, their hostess started a conversation with Tenrael in her language, which he apparently spoke well.That wasn’t a huge surprise—languages were one of his specialties—but it was interesting to see that his talents extended to non-Earth tongues as well.
While they chatted, Grimes led Achilles and Dee to a cluster of armchairs and loveseats near the kitchenette.Achilles was grateful to get off his feet, and even more thankful when Grimes brought him a glass of water.
Dee couldn’t hold back any longer.“Whoisthat?And where are we?”
“We have more pressing matters to discuss,” said Grimes.Then he relented slightly.“Our hosts are immigrants from a distant planet.Their home was destroyed, and they?—”
