Free The Lereni Trade by Melanie Nilles Page A

alertness again. Could she carry out any of the
ideas discussed?
    She had to. They depended on her. Her
friends depended on her. Torik deserved to be free. This was her
purpose for being there.
    When he turned to leave, she snatched
his sleeve. "Stay with me."
    "I was going to, after I find a
cushion for your head."
    Relieved, she released his sleeve and
closed her eyes.
    Sometime during a dreamy haze, she
felt her head lifted and settled onto something soft. Soon after, a
warmth settled over the hand before her and she drifted to
sleep.
     

Chapter 10
     
     
    Morning came too soon, or the time to
wake up did. Torik stared at the sleeping figure curled up on the
seat, so pink and pale in her hairlessness yet not cold without a
proper coating of hair. But she had been dressed warm for the cold
weather of her location and wore those warm clothes around the
ship.
    Krissa was far braver than what any of
them had expected. Even Korr and Theen had been surprised at her
altruism and drawn to it once they saw the truth that he had known
all along.
    What could motivate a being to give up
their life? Did the Onduun not value their own lives or was this
something Krissa had learned among the humans? Or was she
inadvertently using her power on them?
    It didn't fit with the rumors about
the Onduun. She was selfless in her sacrifice, but she seemed sad
and lacking of any spirit or the confidence of someone with a
purpose, except in giving up her life. Life was to be savored, to
be fought for and valued in its brief flicker in the
universe.
    He didn't understand, but he wished he
could make her see a different purpose.
    Perhaps he'd pitied her all along,
ashamed of using her to save their world when she'd been so
innocent and unaware of their real purpose. Deceit didn't sit well
with him. But in the short time he'd known her, he'd learned that
she was intelligent and thoughtful, and that was something he
valued. He couldn't betray a friend like this. There had to be a
way to save Krissa. As he'd told Karik, she wasn't an object; she
was a person. And she was braver than anyone he'd met in his
life.
    He stared in disbelief at the thing
they had been taught was an enemy. She slept peacefully, despite
the encroaching sacrifice. The Onduun weren't the enemy. She was a
friend, more of one than even Karik could contend, a friend and
ally of the Lereni. There had to be another way to free their
world.
    They needed the Inari, but they hadn't
been back to Leisil since the Tah'Na claimed it. The mediators
might object to trading a life, but they would object to the
conditions imposed by the Tah'Na and might know another way to free
their world, if they cared. More than that, he wanted to know why
the Tah'Na valued her so much.
    Would it hurt their world to turn her
over? Would this all be for nothing? Why hadn't the Tah'Na
retrieved her? Why demand a Lereni squad to do the work?
    The Tah'Na had proven to be deceptive
and greedy, using others for their own gain in whatever way they
could. To what ends did this serve? Certainly it couldn't be good
for Lereni.
    The possibilities gnawed at his mind
while he sat up watching her and waiting for the others. Sleep had
been difficult that period. He wondered about the others, who had
yet to emerge from their quarters. In two hours, they would
arrive.
    Two hours to contemplate how to save
the one being who most deserved to live in this whole ordeal. She
could teach Karik much, if he'd open his mind to listen.
    Two hours Torik might use to change
Karik's mind.
    His fingers brushed aside dark hair
from her bare cheek, hair that revealed nothing but fell in her
way. He'd had to rely on her facial expressions and body language,
but she was easier to read than the Tah'Na.
    Did the Onduun even have hair in their
natural state? Was that why it didn't move with her emotional
state? He'd never seen one, but the Tah'Na had warned of their
camouflage.
    He might not get the chance to learn.
All records had been purged