by Viola Grace
Trained in every martial art her parents could find, she is ready to represent her people in a war raging before she was born.
Remi is the first human-Rrassic hybrid, and she leaves the creche to return to Imrahl with her nearest four siblings. All of them have been trained to fight, spy, and make themselves useful to the war effort.
Hiding her existence from the unmated humans hadn’t occurred to her, and she is soon without a proper place and in a holding pattern. A job as a bodyguard is a great distraction.
Kromir is the Mrek-Rrassic who has been sent to examine the exotic new human-Saya. His bodyguard is one of the new species and therefore out of his grasp until he finds out that she isn’t, and she isn’t.
She leads him to the creche, and he sees the army that is rising around them, her brothers and sisters, and as she calls them, her cousins. He needs to report back to the council, but he needs proof. Remi is an excellent specimen, so he takes her along... for science.
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Inheriting War
Copyright © 2019 Viola Grace
ISBN: 978-1-4874-2477-0
Cover art by Angela Waters
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
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Inheriting War
Brace for Humanity Book 6
By
Viola Grace
Other Books in This Series
Untrained Fascination
Heart of the Hunted
Overseer’s Chain
Resisting Desire
Companion’s Dilemma
Chapter One
Remi struck out and used the stun sticks she was wielding to disable her opponent. The huge gelatin-like Voboth simulation buckled and dissolved before disappearing.
Remi deactivated and stowed her sticks in the sheaths strapped to her thighs. When that was done, she leaned over with her hands on her knees and breathed heavily.
“Well done, Remi. You have trained beyond my wildest dreams.”
She straightened and turned to face her father. “Thank you, Dad. It means a lot.”
Remi left the mat with her brothers and sisters fighting hard in the background. Her parents had managed their twenty children, and each and every one of them was surging toward adulthood twice as fast as the other canister-born.
Arix gave her a hug, and he walked with her out of the training centre. “Your mother has a big meal planned.”
Remi smiled. “Of course, she does. Five of her little ones are leaving tomorrow.”
“We have been waiting for this day and yet hoped it wouldn’t come.”
“It is the sole reason for my existence, and I am very grateful that it was you two who were my parents.”
“And we are grateful that you were the first to arrive. If Tomos had been the first, I think we might have stopped at one.”
Remi chuckled and elbowed her father lightly. Her brother Tomos was younger than she was by four months, and then, the triplets had arrived. Tomos was at the edge of his Nool phase into a Luthin, and Ari, Arrow, and Arel were about a year away from their transformations into Zjin, Regiz, and Luthin.
Communication with the Rrassic council had determined that the boys should get back to Imrahl before they finished their transformations. It would be easier to see the details of their changes as no human-Rrassic had ever been a Nool before.
The boys could pass for actual Rrassic, but Remi was in a bit of a conundrum. She was taller than her mother by a head, had been in combat training since she could walk, and was an excellent hunter and tracker. Her status as the first hybrid was the only thing that made her desirable.
“Would it be horrible to say that I wished I could stay?”
Her father chuckled. “No. I also wish you to remain, but it isn’t ideal. You can help so many people, Remi, simply by being yourself.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I know. I just wonder about the place for the female hybrids. There is no place in Rrassic society for women who can fight like we can.”
“You will make a place. I know you, Remi. You have the heart of a fighter and the soul of a dancer. You will find a path that your sisters and cousins can tread, and you will burn it into our society.”
She laughed. “Is that all?”
“And then, you will bake cookies.” He winked at her, and she giggled. They nudged themselves back and forth on the walkway to the building on the beach that the hybrids called home.
“I do like making cookies.”
“I am aware of it. If I didn’t have lessons with the littles every day, I would weigh ten pounds more.”
She looked at her father, his gold-green skin and his kind eyes. “You don’t look a day older than you did when I was decanted.”
He smiled. “You remember?”
“I do. I was named while Aunt Niiva was holding me, and later, Aunt Sarah held me and told me that I would do great things.”
“Did she say anything else?”
“She said I was clever.” The imprint from her thoughts had been bright.
“We wrote to her a few years ago, and she has returned a note that she has a place for you.”
“Does she know I am grown?”
He nodded. “They know that you are coming back as adults. In Imrahl time, we will join you in a week or ten days.”
“I know I have been trained to calculate time, but it is still peculiar.”
“As long as you know you will never arrive before you left, all will be fine.” He chuckled. “It will be years before we see you again, but I want you to be well, be happy, and be strong.”
“I will try.” She wanted to say more, but her mother came out and gave her a huge hug, urging her into the house that overlooked the beach and the enormous ocean where she had swum for the first time.
All the memories that she had would have to comfort her when she was on her own. One day on Imrahl was four years in the creche. The luck of the Rrassic researchers to find just such a dimensional pocket was her curse.
“Did you enjoy your combat practice?” Bree smiled and led her into the kitchen.
“I did, but then, I always do. Are you going to be all right without me here?”
“I knew from the moment that I met your father that our children would be something special, and I also knew that I wasn’t going to have a human life with you. So, now, we are all more than we were destined to be, and we are going to have new lives when we get back to Imrahl in fifteen years when all of our little ones are grown.”
Remi smiled when her father entered the kitchen and got to work. They moved together, shifting, chopping, and flipping the ingredients around in a dance they had done since she was five while her body developed at twice the normal rate.
&nbs
p; Her mother’s gift had been to impart rapid development to all of her children. The other children in the creche were developing normally. The three children from the Lianne-Sorrok line were her nearest cousins, and they would be leaving one Imrahl day after she and her brothers did.
The youngest cousin had arrived eight years earlier, and the sober little girl was just as charming today as she had been the day she was decanted. Alia Sarah-Lekorh was currently at her history lesson. Alia was the only one who never asked about her parents, she said it was because she could still feel them.
Smiling and humming, Remi realized that if anyone could keep in touch with their child, it would be Sarah and her mate.
In her lessons, Remi had learned that the Saya should not even have been able to have children. The altered human clones had characteristics that none of the Rrassic had anticipated.
It was rather fun to be a hybrid of a species that they were breeding as cannon fodder to protect the pure Rrassic. They had no idea what they had created.
Remi went to set the table, but her brothers were already in and moving around with practiced ease. Everybody did the same chores, and it was only when you exhibited a talent for cooking that you got to spend time in the kitchen with mum.
Today was the last day she would see them until her mom and dad went back to Imrahl and more caretakers and canisters were brought to the creche.
The older children were all in their Nool state, and everyone was waiting for the day where they could leave to meet their parents. Part of Remi’s job was to arrange dwellings for all of the hybrids as they left their world for the more fixed planet of Imrahl. They had been bred for war, and they were ready for it. It was one hell of an inheritance.
Remi stood on the launch with her brothers and kept her eyes forward, to the portal. Her family encompassed nearly all types of birth that were possible for the hybrids. There was an individual female, individual male, and multiples. The only type that they didn’t have were identical twins, but there were only three examples of that, and they were all in primary development and physically less than twelve years old. They had been a later shipment to the creche.
She watched the platform rise to the portal and kept her head high. They would spend three heartbeats in between to step down the speed of their lives into that of Imrahl. Those three heartbeats were going to feel like forever.
Remi looked at her brothers, and they were all pretending to be impassive, but tiny ticks around their bodies gave them away. One had a corner of his mouth curling upward, another made a fist, Tomos’ eyes were narrowed, and Arrow’s body was nearly humming in place from tension.
She inhaled deeply as they entered the portal, and she stepped forward, finding the platform inside the edge. When she started to walk, she counted her heartbeats. One. Everything was dark around her; it felt like the world was spinning wildly and she had no way to feel what or who was next to her. Two. Slashes of light made their way through the maelstrom and began to dance along her skin. Three. The whine of sound twisted and went from a high pitch into a low hum as she continued to walk. Four. She stepped out of the portal and walked onto the receiving deck, keeping moving because her brothers were going to walk out after her.
She listened for the footfalls, the light ahead of her keeping her eyes from focusing. She counted as all of her brothers stepped forward, and when they were through, she walked up to the Dorbin-Rrassic that was standing and staring.
“Overseer Iktabi, we are the first children of Bree-Arix, hybrids of human-Rrassic at your service.”
The overseer’s companion covered her mouth and tears came to her eyes. “I just saw you last week, Remi.”
Remi grinned. “I am aware of it, Isabella. You wore silver and blue to my decanting.”
She was a head taller than the human woman, and Isabella was staring. “You can look at my features all you like once medical has worked my brothers and me over.”
Overseer Iktabi smiled, and he extended his hand. “Remi, welcome home.”
Remi clasped his forearm as she had been trained to by her live instructors and the simulations. His eyes widened, and a slow smile spread. “You are all trained?”
“We are all trained.”
She made the introductions, and Isabella was surprised. “All of you are adults. It has only been a week.”
Tomos raised his brows and smiled. “If you say so, Aunt.”
Isabella blinked. “Aunt?”
Remi filled in. “Mother said that we should give honorifics to the mated women who have had children growing in the creche. Aunt and Uncle were the terms that were eventually decided on.”
“How will you decide on who qualifies?”
Remi smiled slowly. “We will know. None of the unmated ladies will hear it from us. The honorific will only be used with those who know who we are and what we are. I know that I do not appear to be a standard-issue human, so we will have to play it by ear when it comes to me.”
Isabella smiled. “You sound like your mother.”
“Good. I have had to listen to her for quite a while.” Remi chuckled. “So, shall we get to medical for a full scan of what we have become?”
Iktabi was speaking to her brothers with a slight smile on his face. He nodded slightly, and Isabella beamed. “Right. Off we go.”
Remi nodded to her brothers, and they straightened, following her out of the port behind the overseer and his mate, and out into the streets of the one city of Imrahl.
They had heard about this place since they could speak, and now, they were finally here. Ready to serve the Rrassic empire.
Chapter Two
Disarming herself was to be understood, but the gathered crowd of everyone with any kind of medical degree was a little off-putting. Remi stepped into the scanner, and it was calibrated for her height and weight. Her brothers stood by with their hands behind their backs, feet slightly apart. They were ready if anyone got grabby.
The scanners ran up and down, light invaded her to the cellular level, and finally, the machine let her free.
She stepped free, and one of the medics prepared an injection. She paused when he gave her the stabilization jab that she needed after moving through the portal.
She stood aside with her other siblings while Tomos went in for his scans. He was on the cusp of finishing his transformation to Luthin, and their father was very proud of him.
Her aunt Sarah glided up next to her, wearing the hood of the Saya. “It is good to see you again, Remi.”
“It is nice to be back. I can hardly wait until Mother and Father return with the others.”
“It will be soon by our measurement of time. Lianne and Sorrok are preparing to go with Niiva and Argo. Niiva might not be up for parentage, but she is an excellent physical trainer.”
“Argo is very attentive. He will be a good role model for the children.”
Remi felt the whisper in her thoughts. A curl of energies that were not her own was seeking information. Remi opened her mind to Sarah and let her look.
“Oh. I am sorry.” Sarah blushed.
“I felt you in my mind on my birthday as well. It felt the same then.”
“You did?”
“I did. My brothers would have, too. We share a way of thinking.”
“I cannot believe how many children your parents have had.”
Remi smiled. “Alia is growing up very well. She will be here in ten days.”
Sarah smiled. “Is she really?”
“Yes. Her third eye hasn’t opened yet, but we are confident that it will.”
Remi brought up her memory of Alia Sarah-Lekorh, and she showed her to her mother. Alia was doing math and laughing, the third eye still firmly closed.
Sarah swayed, and Remi caught her.
The human-Saya smiled weakly. “She looks like her father.”
Lekorh came toward them and took possession of his mate. “She does look like me. I don’t know whether to be pleased or appalled. Her communications are n
ever that specific about her appearance.”
Remi blinked. “You communicate with her?”
Sarah smiled slightly. “In flashes. She likes help with math. Lekorh gets the problems in a burst, and he sends back most of the answer but leaves out a vital bit.”
Remi was amazed. “How does that work?”
Lekorh chuckled. “Speed of thought. I don’t know if I am helping her in the moment or if she is getting the answers months later, but we both enjoy the contact.”
Remi smiled. “She never said a thing.”
Sarah grinned. “He wasn’t sure what was going on at first. He thought I was asking him if I could stay up later.”
They were having an interesting moment while Remi’s brothers continued to cycle through their checks and injections.
When Arrow was done with his checks, she turned and looked back to the medics. “So, are we cleared to enter the city?”
Iktabi nodded. “Your brothers will be taken to the Nool quarters and oriented for their new positions.”
Remi noted a lack of inclusion. “What about me?”
“You are going to be installed at the VIP building until the representative from the Rrassic council arrives.”
The murmur that went through the med centre was unmistakable.
Remi nodded. “Of course. Just a moment.” She went and hugged each of her brothers, and then, she reset her weapons.
Being separated from her siblings was part of the deal. She had been born to prove the effectiveness of the human genome mixing with that of the Rrassic, so she was the ambassador for her family’s genetics.
She looked at Tomos, and he nodded then gave her a wink. “Take care of yourself, Remi. We are going to be scoping out the humans who have yet to make a decision.”
She put her hand over her face and groaned. “This is going to come back to bite our mother in the ass.”