Page 26 of Lunar Bound
Lunar glanced at Poppy, who was scanning the canyon.
"After nightfall," Poppy said.
"I'll tell them to expect you after dark," Dani said. "Be careful out there."
"You too." Poppy ended the call.
"I do not like this," Lunar stated. "I question Galaxy Alien Mail Order Brides' reliability given previous performance. We should act as if we will be on our own. Let's find a better location. We should assume Milano will continue their pursuit."
Chapter
Eight
Lunar moved through the desert like a living shadow, Poppy close behind him as they descended into a hidden ravine. It provided excellent cover. It was a natural trench that ran for nearly a mile through the red rock landscape.
"The ravine should keep us hidden until full dark," Poppy whispered as they reached the bottom of the steep slope. "Then I can approach the retreat from the western side to try to make contact with your friends. I’ll bring them to where you’re hiding if I can."
“Absolutely not.” Lunar extended his shadow senses. "I will not send you into danger."
"We need to hurry," Poppy urged, her face tight with concern. "They might need our help. We need a plan. I still think I should go alone."
"No," Lunar denied. "It is better if we stay together. I’m not sure they will remain at the retreat if it is unsafe. I will track their energy signatures.”
Lunar had better tracking abilities than Solar and Eclipse combined. He had to be in tune with his terrain when living in darkness.
They traveled swiftly, stepping carefully over loose rocks and around patches of desert vegetation. Lunar's shadow form flowed effortlessly over the obstacles, while Poppy maintained an impressive pace for a human.
A sudden vibration in the earth made Lunar freeze. He extended a tendril of shadow essence upward, sensing the approach of vehicles along the ridge.
"Down," he commanded, pulling Poppy into a depression beneath an overhanging ledge.
They pressed against the cool rock as powerful beams of light swept the ravine from above. The harsh white illumination razored through the shadows, searching methodically for any sign of movement.
Lunar drew Poppy closer, extending his shadow essence to envelop them both partially. Not enough for full shadow integration as he'd done in the underwater cave passage, but sufficient to blur their outlines against the natural shadows.
"Energy scanner," he whispered, feeling the distinctive pulse of Milano's detection technology.
Poppy's heartbeat accelerated against his chest, but her breathing remained controlled. His senses became distracted as he focused on her. His energy tried to flow into her like it had when they came together under the bioluminescence of their first cave. He very much wanted to transfer energy into her again.
A bright light drew his attention back into focus like a painful shock. The lights passed over their position once, then returned for a more focused sweep. Lunar condensed his shadow essence to its most compact form, suppressing his energy signature to the absolute minimum. The effort created a cold pressure in his core, like compressing a star into a black hole.
For an excruciating thirty seconds, the light remained fixed near their hiding place. Then, mercifully, it moved on, continuing its systematic search pattern along the ravine.
"We should keep moving," Lunar said as the vehicles receded. “They could come back around.”
"How is any of this even possible?" Poppy asked. "I had the impression your kind hadn't been here before, but they're hunting like they know you. Or do all aliens have a signature? How many kinds of aliens are there?”
He heard a thread of panic building in her tone and didn’t like it.
"Milano appears to possess advanced knowledge of extraterrestrial biology. This significantly increases the threat level," Lunar confirmed. “No, not all aliens are the same, and there are too many to count, so I cannot give you a number.
They resumed their journey through the ravine with increased caution. Lunar extended his senses to detect pursuit. The shadows deepened around them, bringing with them a renewal of his strength.
A distant explosion shattered the quiet, its concussive force traveling through the stone beneath their feet. Lunar extended his senses toward the source, analyzing the energy patterns.
"Solar and Eclipse are engaging defensive measures."
From their position, they witnessed flashes of light coming from the retreat. Solar's energy signature was unmistakable. The golden flares of his defensive measures against Milano's forces illuminated the sky in brief, violent bursts until they culminated in an explosion. Now chaos emerged around the area.
