by Viola Grace
Khivon exhaled in relief. He had no idea what the problem was with the Kozue and Resicor, but he was about to find out why his new partner had a grudge against him before they even met.
As she pressed her thumb to the pad, he smiled, and he felt an un-warrior like sense of relief. She was stuck with him until the Dorali conquered their viruses and after that, as long as he could manage it.
* * * *
She felt distinctly like an animal slated for branding as she looked up to see Khivon staring at her. He wanted to put his mark on her, and her becoming an official member of the Citadel was the first step.
Ikari cleared her throat. “I will explain that portion of Resicor history. It is recent, so I am surprised that it is not on record in the Alliance somewhere.”
“The Kozue do not share much, and the Resicor only recently began communication.” He shrugged and turned to face her full on. “Proceed.”
She looked around and took a seat on the only other lab stool in the place. This was a medical centre, and Khivon had been working with a scanner of some sort when she had arrived. “Are you a physician?”
“Yes and a seer. It is not a popular combination among the Kozue. Now, tell me your story.”
She straightened, “Right, well at some point in the past, no one quite knows when, physical talents ran amok and destroyed lives and property. This caused folk to fear physical talents from the moment that they appeared. This century, our government contacted a passing Kozue ship and explained the problem.”
Ikari ran a hand through her damp hair. “We don’t have a death penalty, you see, so the government rounded up all physical talents and corralled them, then hired the Kozue to kill all those in the cordoned-off areas.”
Khivon’s eyes widened in shock. “Do you know the name of the ship?”
Ikari shook her head. “No. We only have the images of the Kozue slaughtering the physical talents in a frantic press of screaming and blood.”
He was frowning, and he took the data pad from her. “How did they manage to overpower the talents?”
Ikari shrugged, “Suppressors occur in the population. They are considered a psychic talent and are given positions in the government, as do all other psychics if their talent does not have a physical aspect. Anyway, I was raised to fear the return of the Kozue. It is something that the parents of physical talents teach their children from the first sign of power.”
“There is no record of this event in the first seven of the Kozue enclaves that I have searched. I will find out who perpetrated this, and there will be repercussions.”
She blinked, “But it happened decades ago. How can anything be done about it now, and why would you?”
He looked up in surprise. “Because it has affected the way my species is perceived by an entire planet. We also do not strike at those who are unarmed. There is no glory in that type of warfare.”
She twisted her lips in a half smile. “I thought your family despised your blood.”
He chuckled, “They do, but they respect my mind and my sense of honour and duty. I will send a message and see if anyone knows of an enclave near Resicor in the last century. You are not on a common trade route, so it is unlikely that it is a settled enclave.”
“So, murderers were just passing through.”
He cocked his head. “I do not doubt your retelling, but something about this does not sit well with me.”
She shrugged. “I have seen the vid reels in school. They were most graphic.”
“Well, that would explain your hesitance around me.”
Ikari was surprised. “I have not been hesitant.”
“You have not, I have been told that I am very attractive, and yet, you have not mentioned it once.” His lips were twitching with amusement.
She sighed, “You are lovely, and you know it.” Absently, she brought the flower to her lips and stroked her skin with the soft petals.
Khivon’s hands clenched into fists, and his gaze was fixed on her mouth.
Blushing, she pulled flower away and set it on the table. “I forgot to thank you for the flower.”
His skin was tight across his cheekbones, and his eyes glowed like molten gold. “You just did.”
“Um, if that is everything for today, I will return to my room and see you in the morning. What time do I need to wake up?”
He cleared his throat. “The lights in your room mimic the light outside once you are no longer walking around, so wake when it suits you. There is no hurry. We have not yet gotten an order for the new batch of anti-virals.”
She nodded and got to her feet, her hand automatically picked up the flower. “Is that how this works, they order it and I deliver it?”
“Basically. There are drop depots at the edge of each city, and you will have a directional indicator that will help you find the correct spot.”
She had a dozen more questions in her mind, but he was right, tomorrow would be soon enough. For now, she just wanted to get away from the heat in his eyes and the lure of his body.
There was nothing in her life that had prepared her for the impact of that particular Kozue on her senses. Flying to a city full of disease was going to be a welcome relief for her hormones.
Chapter Eight
Ikari stumbled into the kitchen and stared at the sight of Khivon standing wearing nothing but a pair of tight-fitting trousers and his gorgeous skin.
“Good morning, Ikari. Breakfast will be ready momentarily. Have a seat.” His voice was a husky rumble, and she blinked in enjoyment before she took to the chair.
When he turned, she winced. “How did you get those scars?”
“In battle. The Kozue might take on other species when hired to, but they prefer to fight their own.” He shrugged and the gesture flexed the muscles under his skin, highlighting the scars that crisscrossed his chest.
“Your own people did that to you?”
“Didn’t your own people think that they were binding and restricting you at the same time?”
“Well, you have me there, but they weren’t trying to kill me.”
“No, they were simply trying to make sure that you lived a long life alone and unloved.”
“That just killed my appetite.” She frowned down at the plate and then burst out laughing. The food had been arranged to replicate a face with a silly grin.
“Or perhaps not?”
She snorted and removed the nose, biting into it with savagery. “Perhaps not. That was then, and this is now. Now, I am not bound in a restrictor suit, I have a limitless sky over me and the ability to fly in it.”
“And a charming meal companion.”
Ikari giggled. “Yes, that too. What was that flower that you left for me yesterday?”
“It was a Terran rose, or as close as the botanists at Citadel base Morganti have been able to replicate. The scent is supposed to be stronger, I think, but they have the texture right.”
She continued to eat the cheerful face in front of her. “How did it get here?”
“It was in a special pack meant for me. There is little here to please a woman such as yourself, so Relay had a care package added to our supplies.”
“Who is Relay?”
“The commander of Sector Guard Base Morganti. Morganti prepared the anti-virals and sent them off in the packs to Teklan. From there, they were put on another shuttle, and you joined them in their journey. Relay included a few extras to aid in our interpersonal conduct.”
“So, the Sector Guard has multiple bases?” She was trying not to blush at the hint that he was attempting some sort of courtship.
“Yes. Udell is the battle base, Teklan the investigative branch, Morganti is the natural-disaster branch and equipment development and Station 13 is a research facility. Station 13 came up with the basic treatment that stopped the progress of the diseases here on Dorali, but the anti-virals have to be administered by the physicians to subdue the effects of the initial viruses.”
She could tell he was tr
ying to keep it simple for her, and as a woman who had dealt with inoculating cattle, she knew that there was a lot that he was leaving out. The damage done by a virus would be permanent. The damage could be halted but regeneration was highly unlikely.
When she finished her meal, she picked up her dishes and his, taking them and washing them swiftly before drying and putting them away.
“We will have to do something about your suit. It doesn’t say Citadel.” He was staring at her, and she blushed at the view he had of her backside as she put away the pans and bowls from meal prep.
“What would say Citadel?”
“You need robes of some kind.”
She closed her eyes and sent the image in her mind to the front of her mask. Ikari felt a shift in the texture and something was soon brushing against her calves. “Better?”
He was standing next to her in an instant. The heat from his skin caressed hers as his hand skimmed over the translucent robe at her shoulder. “Perfect. It suits you very well.”
She trembled in place as his hand came close to but never quite touched her skin.
“Um. Thank you?”
“You are welcome. Now, give me a moment to get dressed, and we will answer the first request for the medication.”
“There has been a request?”
“Yes, they saw the landing pods last night. The city of Cavidian awaits your delivery.” He stepped back, and she shivered at the lack of body heat. “You are an early riser.”
She laughed. “I am a farm girl. If I see the dawn, I am already late for work.”
The robes fluttered loosely, and just to see what it would look like, she set them aflutter with a blast of air. They flipped and twisted gracefully before dropping around her again.
It took Khivon two minutes to return, his braids swinging with every step. When his robes brushed hers, the self-control that she had gained swung rapidly toward hormonal overload.
She hadn’t felt this girly since she was a teen, but something about Khivon set all of her nerves on edge with pleasurable twitters.
“I have prepared the shots for nine thousand. It is enough to go over the population of Cavidian twice over.” He held out a bracelet. “This wrist unit is designed to direct you to the correct city and the airlock that will contain the medical staff waiting for the delivery.”
She put the small cuff on her wrist and locked it in place. “How do I read it?”
“It should grow brighter as you approach your destination. I have never used it myself.” He grinned and shrugged. “Here is the pack. It is designed so you can wear it on your back.”
She quickly raised her hands and wove her hair into a thick braid. “I don’t want it tangled in the straps.”
She shifted into the pack and settled the fairly intense weight on her shoulders. Ikari raised her wrist and the faint glow began. “I suppose it is time to earn my keep.”
Khivon gestured to the stairs. “It is indeed.”
Finding her way out of the small outpost involved several flights of stairs and finally finding her way into the open air.
Thick mist covered the ground, and it stirred sluggishly as she called the air to lift her and her burden.
Ikari made a slow circle of the island before the indicator glowed definitively toward her target. The city of Cavidian was one of seven that she could see, but it was her only target today.
The air of Dorali was thicker than she was used to, but it came easily when she called, held her up and propelled her with alacrity.
The city was moving. There was no doubt that it was shifting position with the change in air currents around it.
She matched Cavidian in speed and direction before circling it to find the entryway. A small shelf was waiting for her. It was just wide enough to land on, so she did.
Figures were moving on the other side of a quarantine screen, and she waved at them before removing her pack and sliding it into a spiral portal that was just the right size.
A button on her side blinked, so she pressed it, and the conveyor belt beneath the portal took the pack all the way through the screens and into the medical facility of Cavidian.
There was nothing else for her to do, so stretching her arms wide, Ikari fell from the city and into the column of wind that carried her out for a wild flight.
The robes flickered and twisted around her as she circled the cities one by one. She could see people inside the cities as they pointed at her and waved.
She waved back and flew on until she had reached each flying city near the Citadel outpost.
One of the seven cities was completely quiet. It floated empty in the collection of cities, and it drew her attention like none of the populated cities had. She lowered herself to just above the dome and peered inside.
Death had taken the city and there was not one person moving within it. Bodies lay in the streets and when tears sparkled off the field of the dome, she changed her direction and returned to the outpost.
Her normally cheerful outlook had just taken a shock to the system, and right now, she needed something a little more distracting than her own thoughts. She knew just the gentleman to provide that distraction.
Chapter Nine
Her tears were still on her cheeks when she walked into Khivon’s lab.
“What is it, Ikari? What’s wrong?”
She walked straight into his arms and did what she wanted to do since the moment she first saw him. She pressed her head against his chest and hugged him.
The moment that his arms came around her and held her, she let out the agony of seeing a dead city. “I found a dead city.”
He paused. “You did?”
She mumbled against his chest. “Yes. I got as close as I could, and they were all dead. No motion, no one breathing. Nothing.”
He sighed, “You can feel them breathing?”
“Of course. They move air, I feel it.” She smiled and sighed as his hands moved slowly over her back. The robes that she pressed against were soft and warm, scented with pure Khivon.
“You are truly an elemental, aren’t you?” He chuckled softly.
“Apparently. Calling the air was always my skill. The day my sister died, I called the air, and it carried me to high ground. She fell, she fell so very far.” Tears seeped out and onto his robe.
“You blame yourself.”
“I was older. I should have watched out for her. I didn’t know that it had rained the day before, and no one had told me about the landslides. It seemed a great place to fly kites.”
“You were a child. Children should never have to worry about the safety of the ground beneath their feet.”
His hands rubbed her back in comfort, and she hiccupped. “I felt the air leave her body for the last time. I tried to put it back in, but it wouldn’t stay. She was broken, and there was nothing left to hold the air. Cassisi died in my arms, and my aunt and uncle found us at the base of the cliff.”
“Where were your parents?”
“They were on the farm. My aunt and uncle wanted to try having kids over before they had children of their own.”
“No one was watching you?”
“No. We were alone and entertaining ourselves.” She looked up at him. “Why?”
“Because, if someone isn’t watching small children under the age of self-sufficiency, then they are to blame for anything that befalls them. Your parents put their trust in your relatives, and they let them down.”
She gave him a watery smile. “They never did have children of their own after that, but there was no one to blame. The ground would have given way regardless.”
He gave her a strong squeeze. “And there you have it. No one was to blame. Not you, not your aunt and uncle and not your sister. You did what you could on instinct, but without practice, there is no way to gain complete mastery of a talent.”
She started to ease out of his embrace.
“Where do you think you are going?”
“Um, I came in for a hug, and
you gave me that, so now I will leave you to your work.”
He shook his head and lowered his lips to hers for a kiss that shocked her with its sweetness.
She had not expected him to taste like honey and Khivon. As he leaned back, she followed him, going up on her toes until she had no choice but to hover so that he could not move out of her reach. Face to face, she looped her arms around his neck and returned the kiss that he had given to her. Sweetness and warmth flowed from her lips to his, and when she drew back, he wrapped a hand around her braid and kept her head even with his.
His voice was a husky whisper. “Once we start this, Ikari, there is no going back.”
She met his seething gold gaze with her own. “I can’t go back regardless. I may as well start something new now.”
His kiss went from sweet to fierce in an instant.
Her hands tangled in his braids and held him close while she wrapped her legs around his waist for balance.
He started to trail kisses down her neck when an insistent chirp came to their attention. He groaned and pulled away. “I am sorry. Another city requires your assistance.”
She pushed away and floated to the floor, her feet settling on the cool stone. Suddenly shy, she wrapped her arms around herself. “Of course.”
Khivon lifted her chin with his fingers. “This is not over, Ikari. We are merely in a holding pattern until you are back with me. Now, please, smile.”
She smiled weakly, the intensity in his eyes was still focussed completely on her and that was far more gratifying than it should have been.
“Which city is next?”
“Gorvial.” He turned, and with a few keystrokes, a three-dimensional representation was hovering in front of them. “The seven great cities circled the outpost in hopes that the Citadel could reach out for assistance. Which city was dead?”
She bit her lip and pointed at an elegant structure with spires that climbed almost to the top of its enclosure. “That one.”