Cyrill pulled out what passed for a hoodie in her world and gave it to me to wear. It was yet another stinky whiff of how different and yet how much the same things were no matter what part of the universe you came from. It hung down to my knees and I nearly swam in the thing, but at least it made walking across town a little easier. My face hidden under the deep hood, hands buried in the pockets, and an alien at my side, kept all the curious stares away. We’d circled off toward what I imagined was the outskirts of town when I noticed there was no one around. All the locals had vanished. There was no telling if we were just in a rougher part of town or if it had been vacated for better accommodations. Regardless, the lack of ears made me think I could open my mouth and ask a couple of questions. “How’d you come to know Baalth?” She glanced over at me. “Why do you ask?” “No reason, really.” Actually, I was kind of curious to know if he was hitting it, but no point in being blunt.
