Read Online Shadow Hunters by Christie Golden - Free Book Online Page B

clumps of what had once been a fertile planet was. Zerg “creep,” humans called it. Jake thought he might throw up.
    Why did you not tell me?
    It was not necessary.
Zamara seemed genuinely puzzled at his anger.
We were not coming here to behold my world’s beauty. We came here because we need to enter the underground chambers to recover the lost technology.
    But I didn’t understand this had happened…. I wasn’t prepared to see this!
    He realized that she would never understand why humans needed to be braced for something like this. It was yet another thing that reminded him just how alien Zamara was, even though they had grown to be fairly close. She was much more rational and logical than he, and doled out information on a “need to know” basis.
    I share your pain,
she said unexpectedly.
I was witness to much of this unfolding. That … I hope I do not have to share with you, but it might be necessary.
    Rosemary was looking at him with a hint of sympathy on her face. “Why didn’t she tell you?”
    “She didn’t think I needed to know,” he said, embarrassed at how bitter and angry he sounded.
    Rosemary shrugged. “Whatever. I don’t much like the idea of landing down there. I’ve heard a little bit about what happened, but not a lot. So are the zerg and the protoss all gone or what?”
    My people were evacuated through a warp gate to a safe place.
    Relieved, Jake sagged a little in his chair.
And the zerg?
    They obey their controller. They would have been recalled once their mission was accomplished. Aiur was attacked four years ago, there would be no reason for them to linger.
    “She says there are no zerg left, and the protoss all made it to safety,” Jake said to Rosemary.
    “Good. Sounds like we go in, find what you need, and get out. I like that. Then what?”
    Then what?
    We take the technology to other protoss.
    Where? And what is this crystal for, anyway? Why are you being so mysterious about this?
    You do not need to concern yourself with that right now.
    Zamara … this is really starting to get irritating. You know I trust you—and not just because I have no choice in the matter.
    Her mental voice softened, became kinder.
This I know, Jacob. All will be revealed as needed.
    Jake sighed. “We go find other protoss and they help her out. And that’s all she’s telling me now.”
    “Doesn’t tell you a lot, does she?”
    “Well, you don’t either.” He regretted snapping at her but damn it, his head hurt.
    Unexpectedly, Rosemary grinned. “Touché,” she said. They spent several minutes in silence looking out at the shattered world of Aiur as Rosemary brought the ship into the atmosphere and began to scout for a good place to set down. “So no zerg, noprotoss. Anything else we need to worry about?” She pointed at another screen readout that listed the chemical composition of the planet’s atmosphere. “Can we breathe that stuff, Prof? Looks like there’s still a lot of crap in the air from the fighting.”
    There is nothing in the air that would be harmful to you with short-term exposure. However, there could be residual radiation from the conflict. She should check for that. Any formerly inhabited area—
    “—could be dangerous,” Jake relayed as Zamara thought the information. “Unstable buildings and so on. We should be able to breathe just fine; we’re not going to be here long. Looks like the atmosphere is slightly heavier than on most terran settlements, but we should be okay. Oh, and she says there’s wildlife.”
    “Nothing a rifle won’t blast to smithereens, I hope?”
    Jake thought of the omhara, the giant predatory beast worshipped as a god by the early protoss. Huge, with three eyes and hooves and extremely sharp teeth. He thought of other creatures he had seen, from the small primate known as Little Hands to enormous, placid, burrowing creatures known as lombads, to the small and incredibly swift kal-taar, all glimpsed through the eyes of Temlaa, who was