Beyond the Shadows Read Online Free PDF Page B

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    What sort of man kept vases and art pieces in secret compartments that no one would ever see? She glanced at the screen and noticed the text scrolling by at a very rapid pace. How did he keep up?
    Maybe he had neural enhancers implanted. She wouldn’t put it past him. There was no other way an Earthlen could process information that quickly. Certain members of the Azralen population could do it, ones with the catgaa gene. She wondered if there were any of the geniuses left. Only males in the Azralen population carried the full gene, and they had been persecuted by Grand Sister Firona almost a century ago. She wanted to cleanse the male population before they became plagued by mental illness . Yara had her own suspicions that Firona didn’t want the men of Azra to develop an advantage over the ruling women. The catgar, as they were called, had a memory that processed information, then stored it like a computer. They never forgot anything that they learned, and their memories never faded.
    Yara felt a chill tumble down her spine. What a horrible curse. If someone never forgot anything, then any pain they had ever known would still be as sharp as the day it was inflicted. How could a person survive like that?

3
    THIRTY-ONE HOURS. IT TOOK THIRTY-ONE HOURS TO MAKE HER WANT TO KILL him.
    “You have no idea what you’re talking about,” she snapped. “You’ve never even been to Azra.” She had never met anyone that had gotten so far under her skin, like a logic parasite. They’d been arguing about politics for at least three hours, and she’d had enough.
    She lingered in the archway to the control center, unwilling to enter that space but feeling like she had no other escape on the modest ship. If she retreated deeper into the living quarters, he’d probably let the conversation drop, but that would be a defeat, and she’d sooner fall to filth than let go of this one.
    “You know what they say about absolute power.” He shrugged as if none of this mattered to him, because it didn’t.
    “That it’s efficient?” she offered. She could feel the heat burning under her skin as she crossed her arms.
    He laughed at her.
    “The bottom line is the Grand Sister has done more to protect Azra than she’s ever done to harm it,” Yara stated, turning the conversation back on point.
    “How so?” His brow lowered, his expression subtle but lacking his earlier amusement.
    “For thirty years she’s defended our autonomy from the Union’s interference. How many other planets have you seen that have become like Union drones, all hopelessly tangled in treaties and bureaucracies. They can no longer trade without the Union, no longer defend themselves without the Union. They’re all puppets. They’re losing the strength of their culture. If the Union fails, so do they.”
    “And here you are, Commander.” He tucked his hands into the crooks of his arms, and kicked his feet back up on the console. The arrogant tilt of his head dared her to continue.
    “I serve in the Union forces for the good of my planet, to maintain our trade agreements. For as strong as Azra is, the Grand Sister is wise enough to know we shouldn’t be completely disconnected from our neighbors.” Tuz jumped into the copilot’s seat and started sharpening his claws on the arm rest. Yara didn’t bother to stop him. Cyrus just scowled, though he looked like he was tempted to kick the cat.
    “So you only isolate yourselves personally, not politically.”
    Yara’s head began to throb. “What is your point?”
    “I have to have a point?” He dropped his feet and leaned forward, resting his forearm on his knee.
    “I’m done.” Yara headed for the galley. She needed a drink. Too bad she couldn’t dig into that bottle he hid on the third shelf.
    “You admire her, don’t you?” Cyrus called after her.
    “Yes.” This conversation was over. She refused to give him any more than that.
    “Do you want to be like her?”
    Yara turned and