Free The Mirage on the Brink of Oblivion (The Epic of Aravinda Book 3) by Andrew M. Crusoe Page A

gaze sank down to the cup he was holding. “We’re on our own.” He paused for a moment before looking back up to Yantrik. “So why stay here on Avani? Why not go looking for your daughter?”
    Yantrik slowed his breathing. “She could be anywhere. Without a lead, searching for her with my fighter is pointless. Anyway, she and Zahn make a good team, so I try not to worry. Hey, by the way, do you know anything about Ashraya’s encryption schemes?”
    Vivek furrowed his eyebrows. “No. Why?”
    “My ship detected several encrypted channels. They appear to be constant uplinks. Your people don’t seem that secretive, so I was surprised. Makes me wonder what they’re hiding.”
    “Well, there are lots of reasons to use encryption, Yantrik. Could be governing organizations that work with citizen data. Or it could be private sector communications. Could even be the observatory. Of course, without breaking the encryption, it’s impossible to know.”
    The old engineer grinned. “My thoughts exactly. Anyway, don’t worry about it.”
    Vivek’s eyes narrowed at him. “Are you doing what I think you’re doing? It’s a punishable offense. Let it go, Yan.”
    He shook his head and walked up to the door. “Sorry—can’t leave any stones unturned.”
    Vivek stood up to follow after him, but he closed the door before he could reach it. By the time he opened the door, Yantrik was gone.

CHAPTER11
     
    UNPREDICTABLE PAYOFF
     
     
    Far below the sunset suite, nestled within the wild architecture of Mirage City, was a community dome. Within this dome, dozens of people worked and played, and most were delighted to be so close to the Empress Monument, a landmark of great honor. The closer one lived to the monument, the more desirable their dome was.
    Years ago, Torin had fought long and hard to get this spot, a comfortable little place on the seventh floor of the structure. And since the domes grew smaller with each floor, Torin and Jyana’s shared space encompassed the entire seventh floor, a position which brought with it a significant level of prestige.
    That is why, when Jyana found herself standing on the dome’s roof just a few moments after saying farewell to Asha and Zahn, she took care to whisk away a rare visitor to the structure: the grey, translucent outline of a small shadow sprite.
    No doubt it was trying to find a way to get inside and feed off of their energy reserves.
    Jyana, still wearing a simple blue shirt and thin pants, furrowed her dark eyebrows. Studies had shown that the shadow sprites couldn’t linger in places of true joy, that the emotion itself repelled them.
    Then again, things had been less than joyful lately.
    She walked over to the center of the dome, where a reflective cap was located, and dropped down through it, finding herself in the omni-room where clusters of little multicolored spheres, precious thought-nuggets of stored information, drifted around toward the ceiling.
    Because it was the entire seventh level of the building, the room was expansive, containing areas for information processing, etheric regeneration, refined energy production, a recreation nook, and even a small area for meditation at the far end.
    Jyana glanced over to her right, finding Torin sitting in midair by the info processing area. She admired his short black hair and the way he so casually sipped an energy packet floating in the air beside him, half-full with a bright red liquid. Jyana watched as familiar pinpricks of light shot up from a nugget into his forehead, like droplets of white rain falling upward. She knew that look. He was sifting through the open nugget at great speed.
    She watched him in silence for a few moments, as his expression changed from moment to moment as he reviewed the information contained within. She wondered what he was learning. No doubt he was disappointed that she was late. The energy packet he was drinking hinted at his fatigue, and she knew how important it was to him for them to