Viola Grace

A large part of her still melted whenever she saw him, but with his council related absences, she had started to guard herself against his comings and goings. Miranda's trial had been weighing on his mind, his previous relationship with Randi colouring his new arrangement with Abby. It was a confusing situation, but as she drifted through her house and went to watch the goings on around her car, her heart warmed to see Xander directing the gnomes on how to change the oil and check the coolant.

The distinct tingle of magic that she felt whenever she saw the Safety Warlock ran though her. "So, how is the car, will she make the trip?"

"Why do you call it a she?"

"Because her name is Bluebell." Abby walked up to stroke the fender and the hatch of her battered station wagon. The magic jumped into the car.

Xander looked at her accusingly. "Was that necessary?"

"If we want her to take us down south, yes."

"Well, the gnomes wouldn't fit in my car unless we put them in the trunk and I don't think that is an option, is it?"

"Wow. You are a smart fella." He stood and wiped his hands on a rag as he approached her. He swept her into an embrace as he leaned her back against Bluebell.

Physically, his interest in her had no relation to her being the Nexus, but emotionally, he was distant. She shrugged and pressed herself against him from chest to knees. "Is that a wrench in your pocket or are you happy to see me?"

"Harby has the wrench."

The kiss he laid on her was enough to heat her blood, it was also enough to start spontaneous repairs of Bluebell's leprous hide. The car was going to be able to fly if he didn't stop doing that thing with his hands around her waist. Being with him gave her the feeling of being delicate and dainty. Dainty was something she had never before achieved.

"How is it that the gnomes know more about your car than I do?"

"They read the Haynes Manual. I found it under my bed a few days ago. Since Harby still had my keys, it wasn't too much of an issue for me. I wasn't worried about them taking it apart since I obviously couldn't drive it."

He leaned back and scowled. "The keys that I used to get into the car so we could open the hood?"

"Yup. Those keys. Harby ate them the day of the car bomb." Her grin was evil and she knew it. "I haven't seen them since."

He groaned. "Can I give them to you now?" He reached into his pocket and pulled the keys out. He jerked his hand back as Angel immediately darted from underneath the car to snatch them. Small scratches marred his skin as he brought his hand to his chest.

"Apparently the little buggers don't trust me not to blow up." He scuttled away with the keys clutched to his chest but the gargoyle didn't eat them, for which she was thankful.

"They are protective of you, almost to a ridiculous degree, but I do warn you that the summit is going to be a somewhat challenging environment for them. You may want to try and confine them to your room for some of the larger events."

"Well, as the current Nexus, where I go, my creatures go." His distraction was making her insular and weird. She wanted something familiar with her at all times. "I am practicing that phrase because I get the feeling that I am going to need it."

He laughed.

For just a moment she saw the man that she had fallen head over heels for. The man who had been subdued since she mentioned that her power was evolving. She didn't know what was going through his head, but before too long, she was going to get tired of this dance, even if a dance was what had drawn them together to begin with. A sharp peck on his lips and she squirmed free. "I have to check on Seesee and the little ones. Who knows what they are going to consider evening wear?"

He barked out a short laugh.

She smiled as she went back inside. It was safer to be out of his vicinity, her home was already opening the door before she touched it. The extra energy was bleeding off into her house and it liked it. Number thirteen Oak Point Way was getting a life of its own.

“Abby. Abby, close the mirror.” The voice seemed so far away and she was trapped in the cupboard.

A sharp jolt to her hand and the viewer snapped shut. Abby blinked in astonishment at what she had seen, felt and heard. “Holy crap.” He leaned over her and took the viewer from her hand. Contact was minimal, but she still managed to keep her power to herself.

“I am surprised that it took you that powerfully.”

He still kept his hands free of her as she wobbled to her feet and that act of separation made her grit her teeth. “I had to jump start the mechanism, it may be a little stronger now until you work the charge off it.” She settled back in on the sofa and took another slug of the lemonade. “Who knew that a seal could be that angry?”

He was putting the viewer back and turned to her in shock. “A seal?”

“Yeah. It was a seal’s soul trapped in that painting. A small magus sealed it in there after he found the seal almost dead on the beach. He then had a clown painted on the treated sealskin. He wanted people to be as scared of clowns as he was.” She relaxed back and let the images she had seen wash over her. It was a small child’s frustration and humiliation that drove him to create that painting. That he had control of enough magic to do it was just another tool for his plan.

“Seriously? A child did that?”

“Yeah, in the late sixties or so.”

“Do you know who it was?”

“No. But with the upped charge, you should be able to investigate. And the reason he attacked Laura was that she smelled a bit like a piece of herring. What seal could resist?” She kept her eyes closed as she heard him pick up the viewer and move to the painting again.

A few short moments later he closed the tool with a snap. “Sonofabitch. It was so simple and yet I couldn’t see it.”

“I am betting that it happens a lot with older mechanisms that rely on magic. But back to the reason I am on your couch. I need to know about what I am.” She didn’t have any room to put her feet up on his coffee table so she kicked off her shoes and curled her feet up on the couch.

“You are a Nexus.”

“Yeah, but why did the council put all of you here?” This question had been bugging her. “And who the heck is on the council anyway?”

“The council is a group of elected officials from the differing magical races that have survived to modern day.” He answered the second question first and crossed his own legs in the lotus position on the other couch.

Oh, he is limber. This has possibilities.

“The last few times a Nexus has been found, it has been drained dry by whoever found it and has died shortly after. We didn’t want that to happen to you.”

“We? Who is we?”

“Your new neighbours here on Oak Point Way. Each of us volunteered to be here as a type of an honour guard. If you can learn to control your dispensation of magic, you will live a long and healthy life.”

“And if I don’t?”

“You will sputter and burn out like a candle and there will be nothing we can do to help you. You carry the seeds of your own survival or destruction within you.”

Abby took a deep sip of her lemonade. “Wow, that is a heavy conversation killer. Okay. The next question is, why is the energy signature on my gnomes changing color?”

“Really? So quickly?”

“Uh, yeah. So. what is doing it?”

“As living things take on your energy, they convert it for their own use. The more they live, the faster they change. The tree for example will metabolize the energy that you gave it and your magic will be irretrievable from that point on.”

“Okay. So as long as it is still my energy, I can pull it back?”

“That is the theory. I don’t know of any cases where the Nexus was able to do it extensively though. That is why you need the training that I am offering you.”

She sighed heavily. “What exactly would this training entail?”

“Every morning when your energy is at its peak you will come over and I will give you exercises to enhance your control over your energies.“ Xander rose and moved to a side cabinet, the drawer that he opened yielded a seven-foot strand of pearls. “These pearls are a good outlet for your extra energy. You can fill them up one at a time and use them to relieve the overflow to prevent accidents like the one that struck Laura.”

Abby wrapped the pearls around her hand and hefted them. They were not light. “I am supposed to haul these things around with me?”

“Well, they will give you a place to put your extra energy. It’s your choice.” He crossed his arms and scowled.

How could she not find that sexy? Her power ramped up again and she filled three pearls in a few seconds.

Then three more as he stated, “I want to see you first thing in the morning, every morning until we get this under control.”

She would like to see him first thing in the morning, after they had spent the night tangling the sheets. Five more pearls. “Fine. I will be over here first thing in the morning tomorrow.”

“Excellent. I look forward to working this out with you. I will be here to help you out as long as it takes.” He took her hand in his and looked deeply into her eyes.

Ten more pearls. Oh, to hell with it. She jumped forward and locked her lips with his. It was just as fantastic as the first time, but this time she had him at a disadvantage and he took a moment to react. He reacted with passion and she was halfway through the necklace before she was able to break the contact. “Wow. Okay. We can’t do that again. Or we can’t do that again today. But I would definitely like to do that again. But not when we are working on extending my expiration date.”

His grin was devilish. “Done. The instant that you are firmly in control of the power, we have a date.”

She extended her hand and he shook it. “We have a deal. What is your official job title by the way?”

He was escorting her out and he gently pinched her backside as he gave her a light shove out the door. “I am the Safety Warlock. Do you feel safe?”

“I wouldn’t choose anywhere else. If you run into her, ask Pilot about it in more detail. As the first Guardsman, she might have an insight that I lack.”

Tricia made a face at the monitor and laughed outright as the image of a hand with the middle finger extended came up on the screen. “Charming, Aggie.”

“I do try. We are coming up on Morganti. Star Breaker is en route to escort the shuttle in. The staff from the base has already made contact and will be loading you into their shuttle. This is where I wish you good luck. Once your bubble is unhooked, I won’t be able to speak to you.”

“I know. It has been wonderful to have you to talk to though. Those stiffs at the Citadel didn’t even want me to have a book in here.”

“I have passed your appreciation to the captain. I had several packs of cards made for crew members and he parted with his personal set.”

Tricia swept the cards into a pile and tapped them square. “Would he like them back?”

“You know you are under contagion protocols. Anything in that room that isn’t you is up for scorching.”

She grumbled silently. Her talent had been refined and honed by the Citadel to the point where she could simply touch, speak to or be in the same room with someone and they would go from irritated to placid in an instant. Her very voice was considered toxic and even Aggie had to use an audio filter so as not to be touched by her talent.

Talent or curse, Tricia couldn’t make up her mind. She was on the fence as to what the classification for her condition was.

“The Morganti crew is here. Good luck, Tricia.”

“Thanks for the sympathetic ear, Aggie. I hope to see you soon.”

A laugh came through the speakers as the door to the hold opened to display four friendly faced base staff. “See me or hear me?”

“Whatever. It was nice to have another human to talk to.”

“Same here—” Her voice cut off as the staffers disconnected the leads to the walls of Tricia’s bubble.

Thick layers of clear plexi were sealed and without the air coming in through the umbilical, she had less than an hour. It was a good thing that the crew that moved her was efficient.

They trundled her out of the bay in which her bubbled had been installed and into a shuttle bay where a large transport vehicle was waiting.

Something was wrong. There was no Sector Guard logo on the side of the ship. Frantically, Tricia ran to the com and tried to connect, but there was no answer.

Her escort noted her frenzy and moved quickly, their eyes keeping a look out for any members of the ship’s crew. Tricia’s heart sank when a staff member from the Deckar came around the corner and one of her escorts blasted him.

She was being kidnapped and she couldn’t get out of the damned cage!

…looking up at the sky, Henrietta Barrows knew that she had to leave the Earth. The tiny sliver of sky was so small, she could barely make out a single star. The moment that she made up her mind, she signed the paperwork and prepared for her journey. For better or worse, she was going to Gaia.” Teyha smiled. “And that is all for today.”

The two-dozen children groaned. They were seated in a semicircle around her chair with their faces turned up, eager to catch every detail of their ancestors’ voyage.

Teyha closed the book. “Same time next week, and we will find out how Henrietta fared on the journey here.”

The teachers thanked her and herded the children out of the Archive of Gaia. The plan had been to introduce a bit of Gaian colonist history into the classroom, but Teyha found that the children became part of the story if they were surrounded by it.

She tidied up the Hall of the Colony, smiling at the shift in shadows near the doorway. When she was finished, she turned her head, “Was there something you wanted?”

The shadows parted and Daphne Leoraki came bustling up. “Teyha. Am I glad to see you.”

Teyha had gone to school with Daphne and came forward to speak to her as the shadows continued to shift. The children had probably run right past them, but they stood out like bright candles to Teyha’s senses.

“Nice to see you too, Daphne. Who are your friends?”

Daphne smiled. “Shadow Folk. They need you to take them to the Temple of Shadows. Does that ring a bell?”

Teyha blinked and laughed. “Yeah, I know the spot.”

She walked out of the hall and shooed her guests out in front of her, putting them in the light of the atrium. They were either male or the Shadow Folk had some enormous women. Each man was over a head taller than she was and wreathed in ever-shifting shadow. It was easy to see where they earned their name.

“What do you want there?”

The shadows shifted and one said, “You do not need to know.”

She crossed her arms and scowled up at where she imagined his face was. “I do need to know. I take folks into the forests and hills so that they stay safe. Once we hit the foothills near the temple, no electronics work. We will be in a silent zone and unable to call for help by standard means. It is not a place for sightseeing.”

His head shifted, and he looked at his friend before directing the shadows back to her. “It is a religious pilgrimage. We have not been able to walk to the temple on Naccru due to our placement on the mother ship of the Nine. It is important to us, and you will be paid well.”

Teyha listened to what he wasn’t saying. The tone of his voice was urgent and not with religious fervour. There was no greed or manipulation aside from the obvious. He was lying to her.

“Fine. I am guessing that this is an urgent pilgrimage?”

“Yes.” He paused and said, “Please.”

His friend spoke, “Please.”

Teyha looked to Daphne. “Introductions?”

Daphne smiled, with relief on her face. “Ekinar Rossing, Representative of the Shadow Folk of the Nine.”

The shadow that had spoken to her bowed low.

“Nosku Sheval, biologist on the mother ship.”

The other man bowed as well but said, “Can we leave now?”

His urgency was palpable, and more than that, he was worried.

Teyha nodded. “I need to stop for a change of clothing and supplies. Do you have rations that are suited to your biology?”

Daphne nodded, “I will get them.”

“Do you have a transport to the foothills?” She started calculating the supplies she would need for the one day in and one day out journey, with some extra for unforeseen circumstances.

“We do.” Ekinar replied.

“Good. Meet me in the field nearest the embassy in one hour. I will be waiting. You will need food, water and boots. It is a two-day round trip.”

She turned and left the men staring at her with Daphne snickering between them and trying to get them moving.

Teyha checked in at the office and informed the facility manager that she would be out on a guiding tour for a few days.

Reesha smiled and nodded. “Take pictures. That area is amazing.”

“Can I use the manual cam? I am going into the foothills.” Teyha raised her eyebrows.

Reesha sighed. “Take good care of it, or you will have to make another one.”

Teyha crossed the room and opened the safe, getting the camera bag and several spare rolls of film. Since she was heading into an ancient settlement, there was no reason not to use the opportunity to take more images of the Temple of Shadows and the glyphs and markings that it contained.

The first time that she had gone to the temple area, it had been curiosity, and she had been rushed. Now, she had another chance, and she wanted to go in prepared.

With the bag over her shoulder, she waved cheerfully to Reesha and headed out to her small apartment.

As Teyha entered, she began to shed her clothing on the way to her bedroom. The wardrobe that held her expedition gear was code locked, but a few well-placed digits and it opened to her touch. Humming to herself, she tugged on her wilderness suit, stomped into her hiking boots and wrapped her wrists.

Her hair was swiftly wrapped up in a tight braid that restrained the fine tendrils from floating loose.

Whistling softly, she strapped on her knives, checked her compact bow and bolt supply, grabbed two weeks’ worth of compressed rations, placing them and water packs in her backpack on top of the flare gun and flares. She could only carry enough water for two days, but she knew where the streams were in the area, and tests had proved them potable.

Her first trip into the foothills had been to discover why the area repelled technology. Between the mineral samples that she had obtained, the water samples, and the first-hand viewing of an ancient city of the Nine, it had been a surprising and bittersweet success.

Teyha’s exploration had been her attempt at grieving. Her parents had been a geologist and a historian respectively, and looking for proof of the previous occupation of Gaia by the Nine had been her way of honouring their memory. They had died in a landslide in the foothills six months before the Tokkel attacks, and when the planet had been at risk, Teyha had found other things to occupy her time.

A pang of sorrow hit Livin. It had been nice to think that she would not be alone as she aged, that there would be a friend nearby. She could see the match as the couple danced, it was obvious that they shared a soul.

She continued in her quiet corner and watched the women circling the newcomer. The sleeper. He was beginning to look frustrated by the attentions and his gaze was darting around until it alighted on her. A slow smile crossed his features and he moved out of the clutch of women to make his way to her.

Councilwoman Ratha intercepted him and he stopped for a moment to speak to her. He jerked his head toward her and when the Councilwoman turned to look, a blush flared over Livin's features. She was not used to being subjected to this kind of scrutiny. Ratha had the nerve to try and hold him back as he continued along his predetermined path. He shook her off and stopped immediately in front of Livin.

He extended his hand for a greeting and she looked at it for a long moment before she took it. "Livin Hael. I…" she was unable to continue as her emergency pager went off. With her right hand engaged, her left fished her pager out of her bodice. The message chilled her. "I am sorry, I have to leave." She tried to free her hand, but he was having none of it.

"You cannot leave, the doors are bolted until midnight. Where do you need to go? I will take you." He flexed his wings and scooped her into his arms without another word. She clutched his neck as he bent his knees and launched skyward from a standing position. Holy hells. She had heard of a standing launch, but most males couldn't manage it. It took tremendous strength.

"I need to get to Cleath forest. There is a wildfire that I need to attend to." She pressed her lips against his ear to speak and closed her eyes at the shudder that went through both of them at the contact.

"We will be there within the hour. Trust me?" His voice was in her ear and she shuddered at the heat that caressed her.

"I don't know you, but I trust you." They were the last words that she spoke in a normal tone as he hurled her upward and let her go.

She was falling, the ground was getting closer and closer and a scream was frozen in her chest. She summoned what air she could to slow her fall, but was terrified that it would not be enough.

I would never let you fall.

She could swear that she heard a voice, but when her body was caught in midair by a taloned fist, she shook with the ramifications. He really was a sleeper. He could shift.

A deep bronze head turned to fix her with one swirling gold eye. I am and I can. I dreamed of you.

She had dreamed of him, too, but thought that it had been residue of her history class. He carefully placed her on his neck and she clutched at him desperately, closing her eyes against the rising wind and hiding herself from the fear that his sentence had engendered in her.

Working in the medical facility of the Citadel was fulfilling and the knowledge she gained about a vast array of species was interesting and added to the other areas of study that she had taken on.

Regular mail from her brother kept her informed of his activities and he had indeed headed into the job of Alliance bodyguard.

“Healer Gralial, you have a visitor.”

Gray finished setting the bone of the patient and let her assistants complete the sedation. It was an altered Selna under her hands and she had learned early on, to her surprise, that she could not heal genetically altered beings. She reset them back to their birth specifications.

After cleaning her hands, she exited the medical centre and walked to the visitor’s garden. Her brother stood with a negotiator at his side.

Her improved analytical senses could see that it was not the same negotiator that had removed her from the enclave.

“Garoz, welcome to the Citadel.”

He stepped forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead in the manner he had taken on once he had given up on her response to a kiss on her cheek. “Thank you for seeing us. I see you have been busy.”

He nodded to her robes and she looked down to note that she was stained with blood from the patient in medical. “An accident. She fell out of a tree.”

“I see. Well, this is Negotiator Barks. She has a proposal for you.”

With Garoz’s arm around her, she looked at the negotiator. “Yes?”

“With the agreement of the Citadel, you are being offered a position as a member of the Sector Guard. You will receive training on Station 13 and then move on to a permanent post at another base.” The featureless mask nodded encouragingly.

“Certainly. Do we leave now or shall I pack?”

The featureless creature in the armour held a posture of surprise. “I had heard about it…yes, you may pack and we will be on our way the moment you are ready.”

Gray nodded and went to get her clothing. She removed the set of robes she was wearing and sent them down the laundry chute. With fresh robes and a small satchel, she was ready for her next assignment. Perhaps there would be more to learn in the Sector Guard.

Kalorda was the only thing that she could think of when she looked at that magnificent beast in her recordings. The fur, the fangs and the intelligence in those huge silver eyes.

If he was a shifter trapped in his feline body, it would explain the tiny electrodes that were visible on her scans. Someone had locked him into his shifted shape and sold him to a certain death on Endin.

She set her alarm and prepared her hunt garb for the morning. She also packed a med kit and as much higher-tech healing units as she could fit in it. Rations, maps and water locations are all readied and she quickly let herself sleep for a precious two hours.

She woke easily, years of training in action. She dressed, booted and geared herself up, creeping along the walls and slipping due east.

Ashlin ran through the woods and let her true nature show. Her nails lengthened to claws, her teeth sharpened, ears grew more pointed and nose grew wider to increase sensitivity. She tore at the back of her trousers to remove the basting stitch her mother put in place every time Ashlin hunted.

Her tail was long and helped her balance on the long jumps across brooks, her eyes let her see in the dark and the claws braced her on every curve. She twitched her whiskers in anticipation of the incoming male. If the beast was smart, he would follow her.

A bubbling laugh escaped from behind her teeth as she ripped through the pre-dawn forest. In a sense, the folk of Endin were soon to be hunting her.

Running full out in the dark was dangerous, but with her senses turned up to the maximum, she was miles away from the city by dawn. She paused in the reddish light to drink her fill at one of the many streams, then settled back against a rock with her senses wide. Every tiny motion in the woods would register in her ears, her whiskers catching every vibration.

Two hours later, she jolted awake. Something was approaching rapidly and it was moving at a speed far beyond that of an Endin.

Flat paws were thudding against the loam of the forest floor and she waited quietly, hiding in the shadows until the beast ran past her, stopped and returned to her.

Halfway to the garden of new arrivals, she heard a gong. Veera paused. There was no service scheduled for today.

The gong rang again marked with a sharp chime and a third gong.

“Someone is calling.” Veera turned and headed for the dock on the far side of the island.

Three of the sisters passed her and nodded, their hands hidden by their robes as they bustled past her, going to hide in the chapel. It was standard for the sisters not on duty to hide when they were not needed for a ceremony. Veera had tried to ask them about it, but she only got the vague answer in hand signals that it was a tradition.

She moved quickly but decorously across the paths until she could see the dock and her visitor.

The sister on duty walked past her, heading for the chapel. Veera reached out and touched the minds of the people just beyond her line of sight. Her feet picked up speed as she ran to greet her sister and brother. The other mind that was with them was harder to spot, but if he was with her siblings, she didn’t see a problem with him.

She could always flay his mind with hers at a later time.

“Teesha, Reynal!” She ran forward, and her siblings embraced her.

They laughed and hugged together as Veera ran through all of their current thoughts and events in their lives. She smiled and caressed Teesha’s cheek. “I am glad to see you.”

Reynal tapped her nose with a finger. “You have learned to be politic, dearest Veera.”

She inclined her head. “The sisters have been good for me. I needed this silence. Come with me to the Garden of Tears and tell me why you are here.”

Teesha nodded and turned to look behind her. A shadow detached itself from the wall and took a few steps forward.

Veera swallowed heavily. Something about him spoke volumes without saying anything. His mind was completely silent as he approached her.

“Veera Halig, I am pleased to meet you.” He extended his hand, and she took it, jolting as a wave of heat rolled up her arm and rippled across her body.

“I…” She frowned and looked to her siblings.

Teesha was amazed, but Reynal took point. “Veera, this is Stanik Arlinik. He is going to be your link.”

She shook her head, dazed by the hormonal surge the light touch on her hand caused. He released her fingers, and she stepped back. She gestured for them to follow her. “I believe we need to discuss things.”

Teesha and Reynal Halig followed her, but Stanik stayed at her side.

She led the way to the Garden of Tears and gestured for them to take seats on the benches arranged in conversational settings.

She primly smoothed her pink gown around her legs and perched next to Teesha. “Not that I don’t appreciate you taking time out of your performing schedule, but why are you here?”

Teesha smiled. “When you were first afflicted, we didn’t know what to do. Mom and Dad looked into every remedy or treatment that they could find.”

Veera wrinkled her nose. “I remember.”

“Well, when I was off world performing, I ran into a Wyoran who told me about members of their populations born with open minds, like yours. They get what is called a link. It is a person who can offer them mental stability until they can match their self-control with their talent. Similar to the braces Reynal had to wear on his teeth until they straightened.”

Veera laughed. “So this is a Wyoran thing?”

Teesha rubbed her nose. “Well, yes and no. Farellens don’t match well with Wyorans. Our minds are too dissimilar. As the family travelled, we went looking for a species that had someone with a mental signature that matched yours and was willing to devote possible years out of their life to helping you master your talent.”

All of them turned to stare at Stanik, and he sat casually as if sitting and sunning himself was all he had planned for the day.

Veera cleared her throat. “Please tell me that the volunteer is Mr. Arlinik’s little sister.”