Ouroboros 2: Before by Odette C. Bell Page A

night. There is an inn nearby,’ he began.
    ‘ What time will the gates open again?’ Nida asked, her tone wavering slightly, the effect of the entity only partially present now.
    ‘ Not until morning. You will have to keep yourselves amused until then,’ the man said with something that looked suspiciously like a leer.
    Carson didn’t need the guy to paint a picture to understand what he meant by ‘amused’.
    ‘ Tell me, stranger, how does a simple man, such as yourself, take a Bride of the Sun?’
    Carson didn’t like the question and he didn’t like the look the man gave Nida.
    Suddenly shooting the guy was on the cards again, and Carson let his hand rest by the large leather pouch that held his gun.
    ‘ Thank you for all your assistance and advice,’ Carson managed through clenched teeth, ‘but we must be going. We have a long walk ahead of us tonight.’ With Nida’s hand still covering his own, he led her forward.
    ‘ Don’t be so hasty. As I told you, I know of an inn nearby. And trust me, you will be a popular man if you bring a Bride of the Sun,’ the man smirked.
    Carson really, really didn’t like that smirk, but he hated the fact he had no idea what the man meant even more.
    ‘ It’s a tempting offer, but we are well rested, and we do have a very long walk ahead of us. We have an appointment in the city early in the morning, and we want to reach there with plenty of time to spare,’ Carson said diplomatically.
    ‘ Friend,’ the man brought his arms up wide, suddenly showing just how powerfully built he was, ‘I cannot let you walk away from this offer.’
    Again the man shot Nida what could only be classed as a disgusting look.
    ‘ Oh, fuck it,’ Carson suddenly announced as he pulled his gun from his pocket in a smooth move and shot the man right in the chest.
    The guy crumpled to his knees.
    Nida yelped, her hand falling from Carson’s. ‘What did you do?’
    ‘ I shot him,’ Carson announced as he walked slowly up to the body, pulling his scanner from his holster as he did. ‘He’s down and out, and will remain that way for several hours. And, considering the shock that blast will give his central nervous system, he probably won’t remember a thing. Now, let’s get the hell out of here,’ Carson said as he nodded along the path.
    Then he realized something odd. Something terribly, terribly odd. He wasn’t speaking in the Standard Galactic Dialect anymore. He was speaking in the language of the Vex.
    He brought a hand up and passed it over his mouth, then clutched at his throat. ‘What’s happening to me?’ he asked in Vexian.
    He passed his hand in front of his mouth several more times, and when Nida didn’t give him an answer, he came up with his own, ‘the entity . . . it did something to the device, transferred some kind of energy into it. And now I can speak perfect Vexian. Jesus Christ, that shouldn’t be possible.’
    ‘ I’m tired,’ Nida suddenly announced, ‘and so is the entity. Whatever it just did, it took a lot of energy,’ she said, still speaking in the language of the Vex.
    Though he was completely shocked, he nodded at her. ‘We should go, before that guy wakes up.’
    Nida shot the unconscious Vex an uncomfortable look.
    ‘ It’s fine,’ he promised, distracting her by walking in front of her, ‘but we really should go before he wakes up. Like I said, if we’re lucky, the blast will have wiped his memory, but considering what has been happening to us lately, I wouldn’t count on luck.’
    Thankfully he managed to distract her from the Vex, and she nodded.
    Then she did something strange. She walked up to him, hooked her arm over his, and lay her head heavily against his shoulder.
    Before he could ask her what the heck she was doing, he realized she was, as she had said, tired. Her legs appeared wobbly, and her steps were even more uncoordinated than usual.
    ‘ Every time the entity uses its power . . . I feel . . .’ she closed