Chapter 2

Orin heard someone scream and touch his energy. It felt familiar—it was the same woman whose energy he'd touched earlier!

And he had felt every one of her injuries.

But the most painful part wasn't physical. It was her mental state. He was able to touch her thoughts, and he wished he hadn't. Swirling darkness. Despair. A wish for death, of release from her agony.

He dropped everything and followed the subtle trail of her energy.

He greeted the lowest-level crew members as he passed them in a hallway. Nothing looked even remotely familiar.

"Where are you headed?" the ship's Security Officer, Johnal, asked as she grabbed him by the elbow. It forced him to stop, and he ground his teeth to keep from growling at her. "You shouldn't be here. This area's restricted."

Restricted? He touched Johnal's thoughts, and they felt secretive. "Commander S'artha ordered me to check the integrity of the bulkheads in there." He nodded toward the hallway. "I won't be long, I promise."

Johnal's eyes narrowed. Her skepticism radiated from her like a fine mist. But she didn't stop him. "All right, but be quick."

"Of course," Orin replied, and continued his search.

He picked up the slave's energy trail again, subtle but undeniably hers. Her pain was imprinted on it, and his heart hurt for her.

He kept walking. He noticed that the farther he got, the fewer people there were. If this was a lesser-known area—or maybe it was a secret—it made sense that not many people walked its halls.

Everything from the wall to the lights to the floor was nondescript. It looked no different than any other section of the ship that he'd seen. But something niggled at him. This place had become what his people called an anchor—a place where such strong feelings had filled the space for so long that the residue remained. People like him could feel it. Some could even determine what had caused the feelings, but his abilities weren't that strong.

This anchor suggested pain and dark feelings. Death, maybe?

"Engineer Orin to Commander's quarters." The commander himself was summoning Orin, and it was at the worst possible time.

"On my way, Commander," he said.

But first, he needed to investigate this.

Heart quickening, he kept walking.

"Hello?" a man's voice said. Jacob!

"Jacob, hey, I was wondering?—"

"No good can come out of being here, Orin." Jacob stepped out of the shadows. He held an overfilled bag of trash in one hand. "You should go." He was scared, and Orin could feel it like a bird fluttering against his chest.

"The commander wanted me to check the integrity of the bulkheads," Orin said.

"There's nothing worth seeing here," Jacob said.

Orin was sure that was a lie. But getting him to admit that? Probably impossible. "Look, I'm not just here to be the new engineer. I'm here for other reasons. Noble reasons. And if I could just see what's going on, and maybe help…I'd be eternally grateful."

Jacob arched a brow. "So, you're the savior for the ones who can't save themselves? I see. What makes you think anyone here needs saving?"

"Just a strong feeling," Orin replied. He saw no point in lying. "I can feel a lot of pain here, and it worries me."

"What kind of pain?" Jacob had a knowing look to him, and his emotions were in line with someone caught doing something he shouldn't have.

"Brutal pain. Can you help?"

"I have no reason to tell you anything," Jacob said. "I like you. You seem like a good person. But the ship's secrets aren't mine to tell."

"Even if it means saving a life?" Orin asked, meeting Jacob's eyes. "Even if it means taking someone out of a horrible situation and giving him or her a new, better life? Even then?"

Jacob looked at the ground. "I don't know. I'm not supposed to say anything."

"A hint?"

"That way." Jacob pointed to what looked to be another hallway, almost concealed by the way this hallway was laid out. Orin was grateful. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got trash to take care of." He winked and was gone.

Orin felt hopeful for the first time since he set foot on this spaceship.

"I'm coming," he whispered. "Right after I see the commander."