Hellhole Inferno Read Online Free Page A

looked across to the adjacent valley, which held a strikingly different settlement—and this one concerned her in an entirely different way. The rapidly constructed, fenced-in camp held thousands of Constellation military prisoners taken from the Diadem’s retaliation force led by Escobar Hallholme. All those starving soldiers had surrendered after months of being stranded in space, and the General didn’t know what to do with them.
    Sophie had to ensure their safety, and provide them with food and shelter until the conflict was resolved—even though they were responsible for the deaths of Devon and Antonia. The camp was supposed to be just a temporary situation, but even so, she found it emotionally difficult to be fair to the prisoners. This made her try harder to do the right thing, the legal and moral thing, to treat them as respected prisoners of war.
    She didn’t want those responsibilities, didn’t like the corner she’d been backed into, but Adolphus had asked her. She had given him her word, and he was counting on her.…
    Her moment of solitude was brief. Sophie saw a man climbing the trail toward her, recognized him by his long blond hair as the veteran Peter Herald, who helped her run Slickwater Springs. Though he was now a shadow-Xayan, combined with an alien presence named Arnex, he had proved to be invaluable at the lodge and camp. He moved up the steep, difficult trail at a brisk and easy trot.
    An officer in Adolphus’s first rebellion, Herald had been injured, his lungs scarred—and he had been one of the first humans to enter the slickwater, hoping to be healed. The effect on him had been dramatic, erasing all signs of his debilitating injury. Ever since becoming a shadow-Xayan, Peter Herald had moved with new vigor and grace, although no number of years could erase his ingrained military bearing.
    Reaching the top of the ridge, Herald greeted her in a strong voice that was much different from his former raspy, pain-wracked whisper. A faint, otherworldly shimmer spun in his eyes, and he was barely even panting. “I watched you struggle up the slope, Sophie Vence. You’re overburdened with responsibilities. I promise you will have far more energy to complete your duties if you immerse yourself in the slickwater. You’ll be amazed at how good you feel … if you allow yourself.”
    She turned away, wishing he would stop pressuring her. “No thank you, as I’ve told you many times before. You, and all shadow-Xayans, promised you would not coerce me.”
    Herald seemed more disappointed for her sake than for himself. “I will continue to use gentle persuasion. The benefits are obvious, and I am hoping to make you reconsider.”
    Emotions welled up inside of her, and she lashed out at him. “The slickwater already took my only son from me! I don’t want to be like you, or like any of the shadow-Xayans.” She started to say something more, then stopped herself. Many people shared the blame for the loss of Devon and his girlfriend Antonia Anqui … not just the slickwater.
    Herald appeared startled by her vehemence. “I am aware of your pain, but a Xayan presence would comfort and strengthen you.”
    In a clipped voice, she cut him off. “I’m a stubborn woman. It’s my own choice. Encix promised that no one would be forced.” She frowned. “With Slickwater Springs, I’ve gone to great effort to recruit converts for you. That should be more than enough.”
    â€œAnd it is. You will not be forced.” Herald bowed, then slipped back down the trail, leaving her alone again as he called over his shoulder: “But I can still hope.”
    *   *   *
    By the time Sophie made her way back to the resort complex, the sky was darkening with angry clouds; there had been no rain for weeks, just meteorological bluster, but even with satellite reports Hellhole’s weather was