“I’m fine,” Nan retorted. She showed no signs of trauma from the kidnapping attempt; Affie wasn’t sure she could be equally cool under those circumstances. “Besides…Hague can’t climb. One of us should be here. So it’s got to be me.”

“You take good care of him,” Reath said.

Nan smiled. “He returns the favor.”

Enough Flirtation Theater. Affie refocused her attention on the tunnels that led to the lower rings.

Unlike all the other tunnels, these showed signs of damage from their long years of disuse. While the outer structure remained intact, vines and roots from the arboretum had grown down through them, turning what had been clear passageways into thick, thorny mazes deep in shadow. It wasn’t anything Affie couldn’t have explored on her own; she’d have preferred it that way, in case more of the smugglers’ code was written down there. However, the twisty tunnels were ominous enough that she could see the upside of having company along for the trip.

Dez took the lead, lowering himself through the tunnel. Its gravity was on the fritz, which meant the pull was coming from the rings below. Luckily the craggy roots served as a makeshift ladder. Affie gripped on tightly as she lowered herself down.

For a few seconds, she was surrounded by both tree roots and a vast field of stars—a contrast that delighted her in its strangeness. No time to linger and enjoy it, though: the Mizi above her was in a hurry to descend, so much so that he was cutting away vines to clear his path even farther.

She heard the beeps and whines of a droid. Glancing upward, she saw an 8-T scooting along, its treads gripping the outer wall of the tunnel. Huh, she thought, those things are thorough.

A snap echoed through the tunnel, and Reath made a sound of discomfort. Peering down, Affie could see that his foot had gone straight through a slender root. No big deal.

Or so Affie thought, until the 8-T whirred past her toward Reath, then hit him with an electric shock.

“Ow!” Reath shook his hand as though it stung. “What the—”

The Mizi yelped in pain. Affie looked up to see another 8-T extending pincers toward the Mizi, snapping at his fingers. Farther up the tunnel, at least three more 8-Ts were descending toward them.

She could hardly believe it, but there was no other explanation. “We’re being attacked!”

Chapter Nine

“What are they doing?” Affie yelped, trying to swat back one of the 8-Ts. It didn’t matter; another two were swarming in to take its place. “I thought these droids were gardeners!”

Reath readjusted his grip on the roots and steadied his balance. “They are. But…I guess that means they attack threats to the garden.”