The Dreaming: Dark Star (Book 5)

Underground Highway, Part 3

Imorah was holding up the two halves of her book. "What the hell happened to my book!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Liran gulped. Oops. He'd forgotten about that.

"What is going on?" Akim was standing now. The truck was stopped.

"What did you do to my book!" she screamed at Liran.

Liran stood up, forgetting about his wounded foot, and tried to speak, but she jumped in his face.

"Did your GIRLFRIEND do this to my book?"

Liran was shocekd. "My, my what?"

"How could you! How could you let her do this to my book!"

Liran wanted to explain, wanted to say he was sorry. Wanted to tell her that Dit'teh had been pointing a gun at him, and that he'd done everything he'd could, and he had actually salvaged it in the end. And most of all, he wanted to deny that Dit'the was his girlfriend. But he couldn't actually say anything because she did not stop screaming at him. 

"I can't believe it. I can't believe it. My book! You're animals—you're all animals!"

Liran looked down and nodded. It was true. She seemed to say that when she was angry, but it was true. Thir and Dit'teh hadn't even cared about the fact that it was a book, only about the value it might have. They hadn't even cared when they'd ripped it in half, only that whatever value it had had was now gone. He sighed.

"Don't you have anything to say?" she demanded.

"I'm sorry," he muttered.

"That's it! I can't believe it."

Akim was dumbstruck, and just stood there gaping. "What is all this about?"

"This... this... this animal has destroyed the only connection I have to my grandmother, the Elder Liorah."

"Wait, your grandmother is the Elder Liorah? You mean THE Elder Liorah?"

Imorah nodded, and spied Akim through narrowed eyes, like she was ready to jump on him if he said one wrong thing.

Liran sat back down, slumped in his chair. This was never going to be resolved. She'd hate him forever.

"How do you know my grandmother?" Imorah demanded.

"Your grandmother is the bain of every new cadet's life."

"Huh, what are you talking about? Why?"

"Well, all of us have to spend the first year of training 'Looking for Liorah.'"

"What do you mean?"

"That's what we do, every night. Our goal is to "Look for Liorah." He used air quotations. "We don't get out of cadet school until we catch a glimpse of her. She's the most elusive--."

Liran looked up at Akim, grimacing at what might come out of his mouth.

"She's elusive," Akim backtracked. "She's really difficult to find."

Liran nodded. That was a close call.

"Why on earth are you looking for her?" Imorah asked, clearly curious. "Have you ever found her?"

Liran exhaled with relief. Maybe if they got her onto another line of thinking, she'd simmer down.

"She has information that Sally requires. I don't know—they never actually explained why. They just said that if we found her, we should try to detain her and if we couldn't do that, then we should at least talk to her and gather intell."