Angel Of Solace by Selene Edwards

of people who knew what they were doing, but I definitely wasn’t one of them. I really have no idea what their cyber capabilities were.” Damien shrugged. “I’m better with people than machines.”
    “No one’s perfect,” Corin replied with a grin. “Anyway, I’ve been trying to put together a few sniffers to slow them down, but so far I haven’t had a lot of luck. Kronn’s just had us moving around a lot and changing our encryption protocols often enough to drive me insane.”
    Damien nodded idly, giving the compound another pass. The base was little more than a few interconnected houses in an out-of-the-way district, but they had done a decent job of making it livable. Revolutionaries, he imagined, didn’t have time for decorations or anything so frivolous, but the place was clean and comfortable enough. Most of the rooms had been turned into storage areas or stuffed with computers and electronic equipment like this one.
    Other Asurans passed by them frequently as they went about their daily activities, but few stopped to say anything. Most just smiled politely and kept going. One, however, was doing a not-so-subtle job of lurking nearby, tossing them furtive glances in between attempts to look busy. 
    “She’ll introduce herself eventually,” Corin said without even looking. “I’d prepare you for it, but I don’t think it’s possible.”
    Damien cocked an eyebrow. “How does that work?”
    Corin lowered his eyes and set one of his tools down on a nearby bench. “Look, I’ll be honest with you. Sara’s been talking about bringing you over for two months, ever since we got word from our contact in Louvette that you were trying to escape. I probably don’t have to tell you how atypical that is.”
    “You mean focusing on a specific person like that? I assume there are hundreds of Demons trying to get away all the time.”
    “More like thousands,” Corin said. “We can’t possibly help them all. Even moving one person can be a huge expense and place a lot of other people in danger, especially if they are already owned by someone else.”
    Damien’s lips thinned as he nodded in understanding. “So there are going to be some annoyed people here who don’t think I’m worth it.”
    “Not many, but some, yeah. Sara seems to think you’re exactly what we need, and I have no idea why. None of us do—well, except Kronn.”
    Damien didn’t reply, and his eyes continued to follow the lurking woman. Corin might have been testing him to see if he’d just blurt out what Kronn had told him, or he might have just been fishing for answers himself. Either way, the best option seemed to be staying quiet.
    “Shyrah’s never trusted Sara, either,” Corin went on. “And you can’t really blame her. Have you ever imagined a real fallen Angel? I thought it was impossible.”
    “So did I,” Damien admitted. “So since Sariel wanted me here, Shyrah doesn’t.”
    “Guilt by association.” Corin shrugged. “For what it’s worth, I like Sara. A lot. She’s done so much for us it’s hard to describe. We have some Demons around here who can do some pretty extraordinary things, but nothing like what she can pull off. A dozen of us probably owe her their lives at least. Including me.”
    “But not Shyrah.”
    “I don’t know about that,” he said. “Not that she would admit it, regardless.”
    “Well, I might as well just get this over with, then.”
    Corin grunted. “Gotta like spirit. If you’re still alive later, why don’t you have dinner with the rest of us? Nothing fancy, but I can introduce you to the others and show you around a bit. I’ll even skim over the boring tech details if you want to stare vacantly and nod now and then.”
    Damien laughed. “I’d like that.” He shook Corin’s hand again, and the other man grabbed his tools and walked away. Damien took a deep breath and gave it another minute before heading over.
    When he made it across the hall, she was on her back