Torran handed me a helmet designed for long hair and showed me how to put it on and remove it. Once it was on, the face shield slid closed and the night vision kicked in. I looked around the workshop now that I could see far better. The kidnappers’ transport was in an area by itself. I could see where Kee and Anja had crawled around under it, removing the shielding to get to the data stores.

Torran put on his own helmet, then held the lev cycle’s hatch and gestured for me to climb in. Inside, a padded seat was meant to be ridden astride. At the front, manual controls were more prominent than the embedded control panel. If I had to guess, this vehicle was very quick and very fun to fly.

And we were going to be tightly pressed together.

“This is the best option?” I asked, my voice muffled by the helmet. When the comm didn’t automatically pick it up, I frowned. I tapped on the side of the transport. I could hear that fine, so the helmet was piping in outside sounds, but it wasn’t transmitting.

“How do I turn on the comm?” I pointed at my mouth in case he couldn’t hear me.

Torran leaned in. “These are untraceable helmets and don’t have comms built in,” he said, his voice barely audible. “Communicating will be easier if I can speak to you telepathically. Will you allow it?”

I froze. The memory of our last interaction was still fresh in my mind. I had not handled myself well. I swallowed down my fear. “Will you be able to read my thoughts?”

“No, I will keep the touch very light. If you want to say something, tap me or make a noise, and I will listen more carefully. If we are separated, you will need to mentally shout to get my attention.”

Alarm slithered through me. “Are we going to be separated?”

“No. But it’s something you should know, just in case.”

“This is such a bad idea,” I muttered. Louder, I said, “Fine. I agree. Don’t break my trust.”

I felt the lightest brush of coolness against my mind, then Torran’s voice whispered directly into my head. “You have my word: your thoughts are your own.”

Goose bumps rose on my arms, and I shook off the strange feeling.

I tapped Torran, so he would listen, and the coolness came back a little stronger. “Are you sure this is the best vehicle?” I asked again. I asked the question aloud because I wasn’t quite comfortable with mental-only communication.

It seemingly worked, because Torran said, “This is the one that won’t be tracked.”