Exile to the Stars (The Alarai Chronicles) Read Online Free PDF Page B

window.
    “You
know what I think. Stay alert, huh?” With a wave, he accelerated into the
night.
    The
restaurant was located a short distance south of the Lake Washington Ship
Canal. On adding up the distance to his apartment, Jeff had to ruefully agree
with Carl that it was at least twenty blocks.
    “You
really are a dumb shit, Friedrick. What are you trying to prove?” Zipping his
windbreaker against the damp cold, Jeff set off at a brisk walk.
    He
gave alleyways a wide berth and stayed in deep shadow whenever possible.
However, some sections offered no cover and Jeff felt like a spotlight was on
him. Six or eight blocks along the way he began to relax. Only three cars had
passed, and he had not seen a single person. Even the police sirens were quiet.
As he walked, Jeff insensibly slipped back into brooding over the duel and
where in hell he was going in life.
    Some
minutes later a metallic clatter sent him behind shrubbery with a reflexive
lunge. A garbage can lid skidded out of an alley and ground to a halt. Two cats
streaked into view side by side, digging for all they were worth. Jeff began to
shiver but didn’t move.
    A
vicious gust whipped by and sent the lid rolling down the sidewalk, drawing his
attention. When Jeff looked back, two shadowy figures had materialized out of
the alley’s blackness. They jogged south, but a voice drifted back, “See you
soon, pilgrim.”
    Jeff
deserted the sidewalk and hurried from tree to bush to shrub. “You had to be
stupid one more time. Those bastards are really going to appreciate your need
for a walk while they’re beating your brains out.”
    The
night had taken its toll, and Jeff stopped to take a breather huddled in the
shadow of a battered kiosk. Two streetlights were all that remained to give
light, north or south. Two harsh pools of light that revealed nothing except
black puddles of water and the never-ending rain.
    “Okay
smart boy,” he muttered, “want to try the park? At least you’ll have cover.”
Jeff stared at the black expanse of Volunteer Park across the street. Trash
eddied around his feet while he weighed options and shivered.
    A
particularly cold blast of air made up his mind. Jeff darted across a Tenth
Avenue devoid of life. Vaulting a low fence he dodged into the trees and halted
while trying to recall the park’s layout. It had once been well manicured. With
time and reduced maintenance budgets it had degenerated into small areas of
grass and broken tables surrounded by clumps of trash-clotted fir scrub.
    Decided,
Jeff pushed deeper into the park ghosting from tree to tree. Somewhere near a
siren shrieked up the scale and began to warble. Jeff forced himself to remain
still as a police car raced by, lights pulsing. As the siren dopplered
downscale, Jeff felt like his last hope had disappeared north.
    Taking
a shaky breath he pushed branches out of the way and ran for the next tree.
Jeff had taken only a few steps when he tripped and fell on top of something
soft. Choking off a scream, he frantically rolled away to his knees.
    There
was a dark blur on the ground. It didn’t move. Reaching out, he touched smooth
skin that was cold as marble. Jeff tried to find a pulse in the carotid artery.
Nothing. He explored downward with a trembling hand: large breasts, wide hips,
pants hanging onto an ankle. When he pulled his hand away, it was covered with
something sticky and black.
    “Shit!
Oh shit!”
    Wiping
his hand on the grass, Jeff threw up with a convulsive heave. The moon found a
rift in the overcast and a cool beam of light revealed the waxen face of a
young woman. She had a terrified expression on her face, and sightless eyes
stared into the night sky. Jeff crouched off at a run dragging the saber case.
    He
skirted a dilapidated tower and weed-choked pond near the park’s southern
border before pausing. Breathing heavily, he attempted to sling the case but
the strap had broken. Clutching the case under his arm, Jeff raised his head
above