ICICLES PRICKED CARIAD’S spine as she approached the room that held the Guardians. Though it had been many weeks since she’d taken her leave of Strongquist, her recollection of the moment was vivid. She’d felt as though she were in a bizarre haunted house, the upright figures of the androids motionless as mannequins but indistinguishable from human beings. She wouldn’t have been surprised if they’d all come alive and turned to attack her.
She paused outside the door. Things might be different this time, she told herself. The Guardians had deactivated only a short while after their true nature had been revealed. At that point she hadn’t had much time to get used to the idea that they weren’t human. Now that she’d had time to process the fact, perhaps they wouldn’t seem so creepy.
Cariad t
