Read Upon the Threshold for Free Online

he is there for a darker purpose than to merely annoy you by entering your space, will your people assist you quickly enough to prevent harm from coming to you?”
    “I don’t know. I can’t ask you to do that for me though. Thank you,” she said quietly. “For offering to help me. I do appreciate it. However, I will deal with this alone. I should be fine.”
    He stared down at her for a long, long time. So long, she felt the sudden urge to fidget. Not all that strange considering she was pretty sure he didn’t blink even once during their little staring contest. Which she lost. A couple of times.
    Nodding, he finally blinked and stepped back a little. “If it comes to it, aim for the nose, the throat, or the groin with all the force you can manage. It’s better to inflict a pain that will subside than to be harmed in a way from which there is no recovery. And, should you change your mind or require sanctuary, you know where we are. Safe journey, Elisabeth Washington.” That said, he turned on his heel and with long strides moved back into his camp.
    Eli watched Kraven walking away and felt her heart beating a little faster. She found his giving her instruction on how to harm the man who had entered her rooms oddly endearing. She liked it. A great deal. Shaking her head, she moved from the camp and the man who intrigued her far more than she had ever thought that he would.

Chapter Four
    “You think something’s going on,” Lukkis said, stepping up next to Kraven once he was in the shadows again.
    Nodding, Kraven turned to look at Lukkis. “The male entered her space in a manner that declared he had something to hide. His movements all made in a way to avoid detection should anyone be watching. That we saw him was pure luck. There were none of the humans’ security in the area, though he was careful enough to check prior.”
    Rocking back on his heels, Lukkis grunted. “That sounds like the male has plans that are not going to agree with the human female, at all. Do you want us to get closer?”
    “No. She declined assistance, and per our arrangement, we have to allow them to attend to their own issues. Unless this poses a threat to our people, let the humans handle it.”
    That did not sit well with Kraven and he knew it wouldn’t with Lukkis either. But it was their own laws that prevented them from doing anything without her request. “I’ll put a few extra males on this side. Just in case they are required.”
    A swift jerk of his head to let Lukkis know that he agreed with the assessment, and Kraven spun to walk to the ship. He should have been heading to his sleeping quarters in the camp, but Lukkis knew he was going to the bridge of the ship to keep watch via their sensors. While not a one of the Droushanian people trusted these humans, they wouldn’t allow any of them to come to any harm either. From outside forces or from within their own ranks.
    * * * *
    Elisabeth barely nodded at the guards who were at the gate of their settlement. Her intention was to get to her home, nothing more than that. Stomping to her sleeping quarters, she took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and swiped her wrist to the keypad so that she could enter. What she saw shook her.
    She stumbled back slightly at the sight of the utter and complete destruction to her rooms. Her bedding was ripped to shreds, the walls covered in paint or something similar, had her putting her hand to her throat.
    She grabbed a pair of scissors that were lying on the stand just inside of the door and walked farther into the room. Holding her breath, she pulled the curtain that covered where she hung her clothes and stepped back in shock. Everything there had been shredded as well.
    Seeing no one in the room, she chewed her lower lip. “Shit.” She muttered the old Earth term. She couldn’t tell her dad she knew who had done this because he would ask how, and that was something she wasn’t willing to give up. Too many of their people would