CHAPTER 10
I opened my eyes to the sound of hundreds of dragon birds screeching in alarm. They darted into the air, swooped in synchronous patterns, and then finally settled on convenient perches, peering at me in puzzlement while they chattered frantically at one another. For as far as I could see, a tropical jungle stretched the landscape, with adobe buildings snuggled between towering trees.
Panic closed my throat as several extremely large, stunningly beautiful men paused in what they were doing and headed in my direction. Holy Zin, were those spears they were carrying?
“Echo?”
The voice came from behind me, and I spun. “Kiera?”
I went weak-kneed with relief when I recognized the other woman. She was standing beside an older female who held Teeah, bouncing the child on her hip.
A perplexed expression flitted across Kiera’s face as she stared at me. “Yes, we just got back. Max didn’t tell me Lillith was here. That’s not like him.”
“She’s not here,” I whispered.
Her mouth turned down in a frown. “I don’t understand. If she’s not here, how did you get…” She trailed off, her eyes going wide as she stared at me. “Great Goddess, with the sun behind you like that, I can almost see right through you. What’s going on here?”
The men had reached our location, but she waved them back as I tried to answer her.
“My psi ability.”
Her gaze sharpened. “You’ve figured out what it is? Does Dr. Daniels know?”
Dr. Daniels’s name was still on her lips when his image flashed through my mind. A rush of vertigo swamped my senses and abruptly I was standing on a white crushed-shell garden path beside a pink bench. Flowers native to Centaurius bloomed in controlled abandon from bushes that drank the strong early-morning light.
An involuntary whimper escaped, alerting the man a few meters away of my presence. He whirled abruptly, his eyes widening when he saw me.
“Agent Adams?” Dr. Daniels looked around wildly. “How did you get by my home security? Why aren’t you on Madrea, doing your job?”
As soon as he mentioned Madrea, I thought of Marcus. Before I could blink, the vertigo hit me again. Peri’s hysterical screaming turned to angry scolding as she hovered in front of me, and I could hear Marcus’s voice as he bent over my body.
“Ignore the damn demands! Agent Smith and Dr. Daniels will just have to get in line. We’ve got an emergency here.”
There was a slight pause during which, I assumed, Lillith was answering him. “Of course I’m trying to wake her up! She’s not responding. How are her vital signs?”
Another pause. “Well, that’s good, at least. Peri, will you please shut up?”
The dragon bird cut off in mid-scold and cooed at me. The change in tone caught Marcus’s attention and he turned his head to see what was going on. With a shocked gasp, he stumbled back two steps and tripped over the small table, landing on his rear end with a thud.
“Echo?” His gaze whipped from me to my body and then back again as he scrambled to his feet. “I must say, even though we had an idea of what was happening, it’s a bit unsettling to see you twice in the same room. Can you get back in your body now?”
“I don’t know how! Every time I think of someone, I’m there with them. How do I stop?” The fear built until I didn’t know how I could contain it.
Marcus’s head tilted before he answered. “Lillith says you need to calm down. Your heart rate is increasing dramatically.”
Calm down? Calm down? How in Zin was I supposed to calm down when my spirit was all the way across the room and I didn’t have any idea how to merge it with my corporeal body? I needed help. I needed—Reynard!
The unreasonable certainty that he was the only one who could save me washed through my mind as the vertigo spun me again. I expected to appear in his room at the castle, but to my surprise, I landed in a room four times the size of Marcus’s house. The only usual furniture was a table with two chairs set near the front of the room. Every square inch of the wall space was taken up by row after row of actual paper books, and more shelves spanned the room with narrow aisles between them. There had to be thousands of books here.
For a split second, I simply gaped at the display, temporarily shocked out of my panic. When Reynard had talked about the king’s brother getting black-market copies, I’d been picturing electronic books. Paper versions hadn’t been made in centuries, except for rare special orders that cost enough to pay off my indenture. Even the sheets for scribbling notes were made of reusable electronic paper that could be cleared with one swipe of a hand. How was the king reimbursing the black marketeers for all these?
My mind was still whirling when I ripped my gaze from the obscene wealth of paper and looked toward Reynard. He was at the table, bent over a book, head cradled in his hands. A sunstone lamp burned in front of him, casting its light over his face as well as the pages he perused so intently. It was a thick tome, and I leaned closer to see the title at the top. Genetically Engineered Persons: From Creation to Adulthood.
Well, his foray into all things GEP would just have to wait. I was in trouble here. The fear returned with a vengeance and my voice quivered.
“Reynard?”
He jumped and lurched to his feet, one hand automatically going to his knife before he saw me and halted the action. “Echo? How did you get in here?” His gaze sharpened as he stared at me. “What’s wrong?”
I raised a hand in supplication. “Help me. Please. I can’t stop. I don’t know how to get back in my body.”
With no hesitation, he stepped toward me. “Where are you?”
“Marcus’s house.”
And by simply speaking the words, that’s where I was again. Both Marcus and Peri were expectantly watching the spot where I’d been last time, but now I was behind them.
“Back here.” I waved to get their attention. They both turned to see me better. “Please don’t mention any names.”
Marcus was frowning intently. “Lillith wants to know if you see any white filmy cords attaching you to your body.”
“No, there’s nothing connecting me.”
“So, it’s not any form of astral projection,” he mused. “But there has to be a way for you to get—”
The pounding hooves of a horse going full speed sounded outside, punctuated by the noise of a sliding stop. Marcus’s words were cut off by the sound of raised voices that drifted in through the windows. Abruptly, the door flew open and Reynard charged into the house, shaking Bim off before slamming it shut again. He must have had the horse waiting right outside the library to get here so fast.
Without pausing he went straight to my body, knelt and tugged the chain around my neck to bring the Imadei into view.
Marcus yelled as the commander reached for the stone, and I braced myself for the pain of his touch.
It never happened.
As Reynard’s hand gently enfolded the stone, a feeling of warmth and bliss washed over me, and my eyes drifted closed. I could literally feel the power of his will as he pulled my spirit back into my body. In spite of my relief, the analytical, obsessive part of me watched how he did it with a sense of awe. And by now I was so connected to the stone that I knew I could duplicate his actions all on my own, mentally, without the physical contact.
When I opened my eyes again it was to see the commander leaning over me, still cradling the Imadei in his palm, a light sheen of sweat coating his forehead. With one hand I reached out and cradled his cheek for a moment.
“Thank you,” I whispered as Peri cooed from the back of my chair. “You may have saved my life.”
Our gazes met and held until Marcus cleared his throat. “I’d better go calm Bim down. I’ll be right back.”
We both ignored him, concentrating too deeply on each other as the door closed to hear anything else. “How did you know what to do?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I can’t explain what happened. It just seemed like the right thing. How do you feel?”
I did a mental rundown. My heart was still pounding from the aftereffects of terror, but the headache was gone as if it had never existed. All in all, I felt better than I had in days.
“Amazingly good,” I told him. “I’m not even tired.”
“You said you weren’t like the Smith woman that way.” There was a question in his eyes now, and I sighed.
“I’m not an empath, Reynard. No one seems to know exactly what I am. And I didn’t want to admit I had any psi ability at all, because that would mean there was no chance of getting my old job back. But it doesn’t look like I have a choice in the matter now.” I rubbed my forehead, despair and confusion roiling inside me, and then pushed it all away. My old life was over. I had to accept that once and for all.
“Either I learn how to use this talent or it will kill me,” I continued. “Fortunately, after watching how you did it, I think I can get back to my body next time.”
“Excellent,” Lillith commented in my ear. “We need to do some experiments.”
Damn, I’d forgotten about her. “Can’t it wait until tomorrow? It’s been a long day.” And I really needed time to sort out everything that had happened.
“You just said you weren’t tired and Dr. Daniels has gone back to Alien Affairs headquarters to confer with the psi testers and run probabilities. He’s very excited that you’ve narrowed in on your ability and wants to know its exact limits.”
So much for some personal alone time. I grimaced and sat up straighter as Marcus came back in. Reynard immediately stood and moved two paces away. At my side, Peri ruffled her feathers and then settled watchfully. “What does Dr. Daniels want me to do now?”
“He wants you to try and visit someone you’ve never met before. Maybe someone you’ve only seen an image of.”
“Is he thinking this is some form of distance viewing?” Marcus asked.
“No, they have some theories, but at this point they need more information to either prove or disprove them.”
After thinking for a second, I nodded. “Okay, I’ll try to ‘visit’ the king.”
Reynard arched a brow. “You’ve seen him?”
“Yes, in a vid.” I didn’t tell him that I’d barely noticed the man because I was too busy drooling over him.
I took a minute to think about what, exactly, had happened the first time. It wasn’t easy to analyze because I’d been dizzy and confused. We had been talking about Pelga, but my mind had been thinking about Kiera, how I wouldn’t be in this fix if not for her. And suddenly her image had formed very strongly in my head, followed by a pushing feeling. I took a deep breath. “Okay, here goes.”
Eyes closed, I took a deep breath and brought the king’s image into my mind. Once it was firm, I put myself into the picture, saw myself standing next to him, and then pushed.
Nothing happened.
Closing my hand around the Imadei, I tried again, this time straining with all the strength I had in me and drawing on the crystal for more.
Still nothing. Finally, I opened my eyes and shook my head. “It’s not working. I can feel it not working. It’s like there’s some vital piece missing with the king that I had with Dr. Daniels and Kiera and Marcus.”
“Dr. Daniels says that’s excellent. Now try Jancen.”
Because I was paying more attention this time, I felt something that I can only compare to rapidly flipping pages, followed by an infinitesimal click as though something had locked into place.
Abruptly, I was standing in a darkened space. Jancen was in front of me, stretched out on a narrow cot, snoring gently. Scattered rustlings from here and there told me we weren’t alone in the tent. Others were sleeping nearby. Smiling at the old man, I pictured myself sliding back into my body the way I’d don a comfortable robe. With no notable transition, I was back.
Marcus was looking at me, waiting patiently, and Reynard had moved back to my side, ready to intervene if necessary. Peri didn’t seem the least bit concerned. “It worked.”
Quickly, I told them what had happened, and knew Lillith was relaying my words to Dr. Daniels. There was a moment of silence before she responded.
“Dr. Daniels says he thinks they have enough information now to come up with a reasonable explanation for what you do and how you do it. He says to get some rest while they run it through the computer and he’ll talk to you in the morning.”
“Well,” Marcus stretched and glanced meaningfully at the commander, “guess I’ll head off to bed.”
“Just a second.” I stood and waved a hand at the table where there were enough chairs for the three of us. “Let’s all sit down. There’s something else I want to know.”
In my ear, Lillith sighed, and I figured she knew what was coming and hadn’t wanted to talk about it. When we were seated, with Peri perched on the back of the empty chair, I cleared my throat.
“Here’s the thing. When Reynard touched the Imadei, it should have hurt, badly from the information we have. But it didn’t. Not only was he able to touch it, he used it to help get me back in my body. Since the Imadei is attuned to my brain and no one else’s, how did he do it?”
The commander looked vaguely surprised as he turned to Marcus for an answer. When Lillith spoke, Marcus repeated her answer aloud so I was hearing it in stereo.
“Because his brain is operating on the exact same electrical wave pattern as yours, Echo. It shouldn’t be possible. Even identical twins have different electrical brain-wave patterns.”
“Then how…?”
“It’s an anomaly I can’t explain. But it did make me curious about the rest of the Madreans. After I scanned the commander the first time and realized he was different from other Naturals, I checked a large sampling of the other people on this planet. And I found something very amazing. The Madreans have evolved into the equivalent of normal GEPs, and from their brains’ electrical impulses, some exhibit the beginnings of rudimentary psi ability.”
I’d be hard put to say who was more surprised, me or Marcus. We both sat there with our mouths open, while the commander looked more puzzled than ever, and Peri chuckled deep in her throat as though laughing at a private joke only she had heard. I finally got my mouth closed enough to ask one of the zillion questions darting through my mind.
“Why wasn’t this information included in the data Dr. Daniels gave me?”
“Because the Federation didn’t know until I told them. Remember, they were only here for half a cycle and the Madreans are very wary of scientific equipment. I’m sure the Federation would have realized it sooner or later, but for the short time they were on Madrea, the scientists simply chalked the Madreans’ good health and lack of disease up to their natural style of living. It was only because of the commander that I did a more in-depth study of their physiology and discovered the direction their evolution has taken. Of course, I’d really love to do a DNA study now, but that will have to wait.”
Reynard was frowning now. “Is this ship saying I’m like you and the Smith woman?”
“Not exactly.” I touched his hand. “She’s saying something in your environment has caused you Madreans to evolve faster than the average humans. You’re stronger, smarter, and healthier than Naturals.”
I paused to gather my thoughts. “Lillith, does the commander have a psi ability?”
“Yes, I believe he does. I’ve analyzed every interaction you’ve had with him, and one hundred percent of the time he knows when you’re lying. That’s statistically impossible without the aide of an ability. The only times he’s missed are when you add truth to the mix, or lie by omission. And even then I can tell from his heart rate and blood pressure that he’s suspicious, as if he senses he’s not getting the entire story.”
Marcus studied the commander. “Have you always been able to tell when someone is lying?”
Reynard’s frown had eased. Now he just looked thoughtful. “It’s more that I know what’s right from what’s wrong. Like in combat, I know what the right action will be to counter any attack as soon as my foe begins to move. The same way I knew what was needed to bring Echo back to her body. When someone lies, the words feel wrong. I’ve always just accepted the results without thinking too much about the why, the same way I accept breathing or eating. It’s part of who I am.”
I couldn’t restrain a snort. “No wonder you didn’t believe a word I said that first night in the castle.”
He grinned at me, that single dimple flashing. “No, but I did find the telling very amusing. It was like watching a play.”
“Oh, thanks a bunch. So happy I could entertain you. Why didn’t you call me on it right then and there?”
“Because you made me curious. I’d never met anyone like you before, a beautiful woman who fought the way you obviously could. You moved so fast I had no time to come up with the correct countermove. That had never happened to me before. I wanted to know more, so I waited and watched.”
“And I obliged you by going into overdrive.”
“Yes, you did. It was amazing to behold, as if you simply vanished for a fraction of a second. At that point, I’d already decided you were from the Federation. Seeing how you reacted to the thrown knife made me realize you were like the Smith woman, and the situation must be dire indeed for Alien Affairs to not only violate the ban, but send someone of your caliber to Madrea.”
“Which brings us back to the Daughter Stone,” Marcus said. “And who has it. Any ideas?”
“It’s not the king.” His eyes turned chill and his chin formed a tight, stubborn line with the answer. “As you said, I would know if it were.”
“How?” I asked him. “Have you mentioned a stolen Orpheus crystal to him and gauged his reaction? Have you told him six girls have been kidnapped and brought here, and that four of them have died so far?”
“No, but I have no need to ask him these things. I grew up with him, spend part of every day in his company, hear his judgments and see his dealings with our people. I know him better than anyone else alive, as if we were brothers. He’s an honorable man down to his soul, one who would have no part in the killing of children.”
“Even good men can be tricked, Reynard. Honorable men can do the wrong thing for all the right reasons, but they’ll still be wrong. The king knows the ships bringing the girls are landing. He even orders people to stay inside on the nights they arrive.”
His fists clenched on the table and he looked down. “Politaus breaks his own rules and allows the ships out of a sense of guilt. As the firstborn son, his older brother, Braxus, should be king. Only his twisted body and constant pain prevent him from taking the throne. And the king never forgets that he rules at his brother’s expense. He’d do almost anything to bring some bit of peace to Braxus, even allow the delivery of contraband books. Braxus has so little to live for, this seems like a small thing in comparison.”
His hand rose, then banged down on the table, causing me to jump with surprise. “But not even for Braxus would Politaus allow the deaths of innocent children.”
I nodded. “Okay, for now we’ll take your word that the king’s not involved. But someone in the castle knows what’s going on and is actively participating. If it’s not Politaus, the next likely candidate is Braxus. How do you feel about him?”
His face became expressionless as he answered. “He is the king’s brother.”
“And you’re loyal to the king, so you won’t say anything bad about his family.”
“He doesn’t need to,” Marcus said. “I can tell you. Braxus is a bitter, hateful man. He never misses an opportunity to remind Politaus that he rules only because of Braxus’s infirmity and pain. I believe his mind is as misshapen as his body—maybe more so.”
I drummed my fingers on the table while I thought. “I’m inclined to believe he’s in this up to his twisted little ears, but what reason would he have to steal the Daughter Stone?”
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, it hit me. “Oh, Zin. He’s read Kiera Smith’s journal, how she fixed the Buri females so they could have children and how she healed Thor’s blaster wound. Now he thinks the Sumantti can make him whole again, and he doesn’t care how many children he kills to do it.”
“Could it make him whole?” Reynard asked.
In my agitation, I leaped to my feet and paced the length of the room. On the table, Peri marched from one end to the other, mimicking my actions. “I don’t know. In both cases where Kiera used it to heal, it was one specific thing that needed fixing. From everything I’ve heard, Braxus’s condition is congenital. If it were fixable, the Federation scientists who were here five cycles ago would have offered to cure him, but they couldn’t fix the Buri, either. It took Kiera with the Limantti, or Mother Stone, to accomplish that feat, so maybe if she tried, it would work.”
I raised my hands in a helpless gesture. “But there’s another aspect of this that Braxus couldn’t know. The Daughter Stone is too immature to be as rational as the Limantti. And right now, she’s very, very angry. If she gets the chance, she’s more likely to kill him than cure him, even with a Shushanna in control. No matter how powerful those girls’ psi abilities might be, they aren’t Shushannas. And the Sumantti may not stop with her immediate surroundings. So, even though she’s not as powerful as the Mother Stone, she’s plenty strong enough to wipe out this solar system and maybe a few more for good measure.”
“Will you be able to stop her, with the Imadei’s aide?” Reynard asked.
I touched the crystal, a grim knot forming in my chest. “That’s the theory. Or at least, that I’ll be able to act as her Shushanna without going through the preparation ceremony.”
“You will succeed,” Reynard told me. “I don’t doubt it for a second.”
His gaze was so warm that heat suffused my body in response. This time it was Marcus who cleared his throat.
“Well, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be off to bed.” He stood and waited for Reynard to do the same. “Commander.”
“I’ll walk him out the back way,” I told Marcus. “We don’t want to upset Bim again.”
“Don’t be long.” He gave me a meaningful look.
I nodded, and then waited until he was closed inside his room. “This way, Commander,” I gestured toward the back door, calculating just how much time I had. Not as much as I’d like, but enough to make some progress on the personal front, maybe.
Peri watched with a great deal of interest, but stayed where she was on the table as the night closed around me and the commander.
It was clear out, stars visible in the black sky, although they seemed to be in the wrong place to someone used to seeing them from Alpha Centauri. The air was warm enough to stave off chill, but not hot enough to make you sweat, and heavy with the scent of flowers.
After a slight pause to insure no one was around, I turned to face the commander. He was staring down at me, that intense look still in his eyes.
“Will I see you tomorrow—”
I cut his words off by the simple expedient of going up on my tiptoes, wrapping my arms around him and sealing his lips with mine. For a split second his body went taut with shock, but then he scooped me off my feet and dived right in.
The desire that had simmered since I’d first seen him burst into full heat and shot through my body with a force that left me shaken as he deepened the kiss. No one had ever affected me this way before and I had a horrible feeling no one ever would again. If there really was such a thing as a soul mate, I’d met mine in Reynard du’Marr.
And if the way he shook was any indication, he felt the same about me.
When we finally drew apart it took me three tries before I could speak. “There’s something we need to get straight, Commander.”
He let me slide down the length of his body until my feet touched the ground, but kept his arms around me. “What would that be?”
“Books are fine if you want to learn about GEPs in general, but if you want to know about me in particular, then I’m the one you should ask. And I’m going to save you the trouble. I’m not a Madrean woman. The fact that I don’t charge for sex has no bearing on who or what I am. If I needed to charge for sex to earn credits for my own support, I’d do it without a qualm and it wouldn’t make me less a person than what I am now.”
My hand curled into a fist and I thumped him gently on the chest. “As I told you earlier, when I have sex with someone it’s because I want to. That means I take responsibility for my own actions and I’m not expecting a marriage proposal to make me an honest woman afterwards. I am an honest woman, and the only one who can change that is me. Sharing myself with someone I care about doesn’t have a thing to do with my honesty.”
I wrinkled my nose at him. “Are you afraid yet?”
His lips twitched. “Terrified.”
“Good. You should be. Because there’s something else I have to tell you. When I want something badly, I go after it and I don’t stop until it’s mine. And I want you.”
Before he could answer, a loud thud sounded from Marcus’s room. I couldn’t decide whether to sigh or roll my eyes at his none-too-subtle reminder.
“However,” I continued with a grimace, “it seems now isn’t the time or place. Marcus has to live and work here on Madrea and I don’t want to jeopardize his reputation as my guardian.”
Reluctantly, I freed myself from Reynard’s embrace and stepped back. “But be warned, Commander. I plan on having my way with you first chance we get.”
Slowly, he lifted his hand to run a finger gently down my cheek. “I’ll be looking forward to it.” With the same deliberation, he kissed me again and then leaned down, his lips brushing my ear. “You won’t have to fight for me, Echo. I surrender.”
And then he was gone, swallowed by the darkness, leaving me with a confusing mix of longing and elation. I almost danced my way into the house, deliberately making enough noise to let Marcus know I was back. When I was sure he’d gotten the message, I followed Peri to my room. The dragon bird was positively oozing smug satisfaction as she settled on the bed’s headboard. She’d had the same reaction when Reynard had used the Imadei to pull me back into my body, as though she’d known exactly what he was going to do, and why he was doing it.
It made me wonder. If she picked up my emotions, and Reynard’s brain operated on the same frequency as mine, she might be picking up on his feelings, too. At this point, nothing would surprise me. She’d been enthusiastic about him from the beginning. Lucky for me, I was fine with that, but it would be nice to know for sure.
I stripped, folded my clothes and climbed into bed, but sleep was the furthest thing from my mind. It had been a hell of a day, and I needed a few minutes to go over it, let the events soak in. Especially the part where I had to admit I was endowed with psi ability, thereby ending any hope, however futile, of getting my old job back.
And of course, it had been futile. Part of me had known it from the beginning.
That didn’t change the fact that I wasn’t created to be an agent or that I had no desire to be one, so the question now became, What could I do about it?
Easy, I decided after a few moments of ruminating. If I couldn’t have my old office job back, then I’d find a niche for myself in the upper echelon of Alien Affairs. And if I were going to aim for an office job, might as well go for broke. A smile crossed my lips. Dr. Daniels’s job would do very nicely. Very nicely, indeed.