by Viola Grace
“You might want to release the administrator, Erinii. You don’t want to hold him during launch and we need to be going right now.” His voice rose on the last two words and the ship shuddered under their feet.
She lurched and he wrapped her in his arms, holding her tight as the ship lifted off the surface and made for the sky.
“You have a pilot?”
“Sort of. Let’s get you into a seat and then we can discuss whatever you wish.”
He helped her walk along the rocking deck and fight the heavy pressure of gravity.
She fell into the seat with a groan and buckled the harness with her mind. He sat next to her and wrapped his hands around the controls, pulling them out of the atmosphere and dodging the weapon’s fire that was coming from the surface.
“They seem to object to your departure, Erinii.”
She yawned. “They don’t want me, but they don’t want anyone else to have me. It is a story written in the ages.”
He chuckled. “You still don’t believe that this is real, do you?”
She blinked and grinned. “If this was real, you would not be nearly as pretty as you are.”
The laugh that he barked out made her smile. It was a good hallucination to have. His neck was corded with muscle, his robes teased as to what would be underneath and his hair begged to be touched.
Absently, she touched her hair and scowled at the matted red mass that was knotted into a wad on her head. It was at that moment that a trickle of hope went through her. If her hair was this messed up, she might have touched reality. All of her fantasies had held elaborate coifs that were held in place with tiaras or veils.
The knots that she was wearing must have made her look as insane as she had been only one week ago.
She watched the mountains that surrounded the city of her birth grow smaller and smaller as they entered the cloud layer. The Citadel representative was quite the pilot. He pulled them out of the territory of Bassinor and into free and open space.
The moment that they were free of Bassinor space, an escort of larger, sleeker ships surrounded them. Without any words being spoken, another ship moved over them and metallic clangs indicated contact.
A silvery sheet covered the view screens and monitors. “What is going on?”
“The Sector Guard is hiding us from any pursuit and taking us to Citadel Morganti, so you can get some training for that agile mind of yours.”
He lowered the power settings on the ship and turned to face her. “We are stable now. You can unbuckle and walk around.”
She fumbled with the harness and slowly got to her feet, the magnetic, artificial gravity felt odd under her feet, but she managed to get up and move toward the galley where her host was waiting for her.
“Do you mind if I run a cursory scan? It will give us a baseline as to how saturated you are with sedatives.”
She shrugged. “Sure. When you are done, can you find me a hairbrush? I think it has been a while.”
He grinned. “I believe that can be arranged. By the way, we have never been introduced. I am the kinetic instructor at Citadel Morganti. My name is Dravi Nemilin.”
“You already know I am Erinii Zakkata. I was a clerk and now am an escaped prisoner.” She followed him to the fold-out scanner unit and stood with her back to the machine. The clasp of a restraining halo was unmistakable.
His absent smile was all that kept her from ripping the object off her head. The machine chirped as it completed each of a battery of tests and when it was done, she was free.
She jumped as far away from the machine as the narrow confines would allow. “I don’t like that.”
Dravi cocked his head to one side, a slither of dark hair moved over his shoulder and down across his chest. “Is there any particular reason?”
Memories of being tied down, drugged and examined flooded over her. Despite her government’s disdain for talents and psychics, they were intensely curious about how it worked. With her public exposure of her talent, it gave them free reign to abuse her as a lawbreaker.
Her voice was soft as she said, “I don’t like being confined.”
He nodded and smiled gently with understanding. “I will get you that hairbrush.”
The flutter of his robes as he walked into the lav was soothing. The slight, hypnotic sway of fabric as he glided soundlessly through the ship set the possibility in her mind that she was back in the facility and none of this was real.
He brought back three brushes and a comb, handing them to her with another smile. “This should help you to make sense of that mess.”
She blinked. Reality slapped her in the face as his wry expression sent a thrill through her. No one ever called her on her ratty appearance in her hallucinations.
“Thank you.”
There was a seat in the galley-medical-sleeping quarters. She perched on the edge of the seat and divided the snarl of her hair into sections. It took some doing, but with her arms aching and two hours passed, the crimson curtain of her hair surrounded her.
She sighed and wiped the tears from her eyes and cheeks. She sniffled and walked into the lav to wash her face and hands. Her reflection shocked her. Her normally green eyes were surrounded by pink from her tears, her skin was chalkier than normal and the dark circles around her eyes stood out like bruises.
Her lips were pinched and pale as if the stresses of her life were written on her face. With the hallucinations, she should have looked well rested, but she supposed her subconscious had been fighting for its freedom for quite a while. She just wished she knew for certain if this was real or the product of her imagination.
Chapter Four
The shuttle that they were in shuddered.
“What was that?” Erinii had spent the better part of the six-hour trip in complete silence.
Dravi looked at her in surprise. “I thought you were asleep. We are entering the Morganti atmosphere. They will be dropping us off at the Citadel and you will be able to get a proper detoxing in the medical centre and from there, your training will begin.”
“What training?”
“How to use your abilities to your greatest advantage. The planet has allowed us a training ground for this purpose and I have no doubt that after you have recovered from your confinement, you will be up to the challenges.”
“To what purpose?” She really couldn’t see any use for her skills that didn’t involve destruction.
“Our Citadel outpost works with the Sector Guard. We go in where they can’t and do what no one asks of us. It is a far cry from the old ways of doing things. Now, we have a purpose beyond serving the politicians of the Alliance. We can make a difference.”
Erinii ran her hand through her hair and idly started to braid a lock. “Isn’t that a little hackneyed? Make a difference?”
He sighed and looked at her. “If I had not chosen to make a difference, you would not be here. If your caretaker had not chosen to make a difference, you would still be in a medicated stupor on Bassinor.”
She blushed. “Ah, you are correct. Please pardon my slip. I am not used to thinking of myself as useful in any way.”
Dravi’s lips twisted in rueful acceptance. “Please pardon my comment. I forget that we don’t know much about your planet or its customs.”
Erinii was going to say something else, but their shuttle landed with a gentle thump.
The silvery covering surrounding them dissolved and she was staring at a smooth, wide tower surrounded by buildings still in construction.
“Welcome to the Citadel, Erinii Zakkata, your new home.” Dravi released his harness and got to his feet.
Erinii used her mind to flick her harness loose and followed him to the back of the shuttle. Dravi grabbed the storage chip from the scanner as he passed, tucking it into the depths of his robes.
The day was bright, Erinii held her hand up to her eyes as she struggled to adapt to the far more hostile light that bathed Morganti. She followed her rescuer slowly. Her slippered fee
t were not up for any speed over the rougher terrain of the construction zone.
“The building will be completed within the year.”
Erinii looked around her as she walked. She knew that she would never be able to find her way around until she spent some time learning this particular fantasy. A few figures in Citadel robes waved at Dravi as they made their way to the huge tower that the organization was named after.
The medical centre was waiting for her and when the physicians swarmed her, panic set in.
Memories of the crowd pushing in on her, kicking and striking her until she went down and stayed down ran through her thoughts.
She pushed out with her mind to create a bubble of unoccupied space and though her power flickered wildly, she held them at bay until Dravi pressed his pale hand against the wall she had erected.
“Erinii, you have a lot of toxins in your system that have to be purged as quickly as possible. Healer Brenak will attend you and the others will stand back. Is that acceptable?”
She blinked rapidly, fatigue overwhelming her limbs. “Just the one?”
Dravi smiled helpfully. “Just the one.”
She shook and lowered her protective covering.
A female extended her hand and the others faded back to watch the procedure. “Please come with me, Ms. Zakkata.”
Erinii took her hand and let the healer lead her deeper into the facility and to an exam bed.
“Instructor Nemilin, can you give me the readout from the ship?”
Dravi reached into his robes and removed the small data chip. The healer took it and Dravi helped Erinii onto the exam table.
She sat quietly with her legs dangling over the edge and her head spinning. Now that she had used her talent, she was becoming aware that the power had drained her completely. She was barely conscious as the healer returned to her side.
“Lay back, Zakkata. When you wake up, everything will be clear.” The woman smoothed her hands over Erinii’s forehead and smiled, but there was a worried crease between her brows.
Dravi’s quiet nod was what let Erinii dissolve into unconsciousness. Hopefully, her dreams would change when she came out of this one. This dream was far from fun, though the change in venue was refreshing.
The Instructor was at her side when she woke. “Huh, I thought that the backdrop would have changed, as well as the characters. Don’t get me wrong, I am glad you are not a squid face, but this is getting old.”
Dravi gave her a tense smile. “Glad to have you back with us. They did quite a number on you with the toxins.”
“Well, they needed to keep me alive to hold me up as a threat to the population. Frankly, I have already done my civic duty. I united the population and the government with fear and panic.” She was always grumpy when she first woke, but usually, she had a few seconds of lucidity before the gasses took her to parts unknown. It was more of a tease than anything, letting her see herself before she was lost to the madness.
She sat up and a healer scuttled toward her. “Ms. Zakkata, you need to rest. Your heart stopped twice during the extraction and it took all of us to get you breathing again.”
Aches and pains that Erinii didn’t recall earning were suddenly clear. “So, it stopped twice. That would explain a lot.”
She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and flushed bright pink. She was naked and facing Instructor Nemilin. He politely closed his eyes, but she had been lying nude on a bed and he had been sitting next to her for an undisclosed period of time.
“Healer, can I get something to wear?”
The healer looked at her and blushed. “Of course. I am so sorry. We just removed your clothing to have the gas residue analyzed. Your body broke down the enzymes into an addictive toxin and it started to put you through withdrawal when you landed. It was ingenious really, the perfect way of keeping you insane and dependant.”
Erinii pulled two hanks of hair forward to cover her breasts. “Clothing, please?”
The healer scuttled to a storage bin and returned to hand a folded article over. “Sorry, Ms. Zakkata.”
Erinii opened the scarlet wrap and slid her arms into the sleeves, closing the front before she hopped to her feet and tied the sash with the wrap, decently covering her to her knees.
The floor was pleasantly cool under her feet and she wriggled her toes at the sensation.
It was something that she had not felt in years, the facility demanded that shoes be worn at all times. Even the showers were designed to accommodate the footwear.
Instructor Nemilin came up beside her. “You have an intake interview scheduled. Will you go you as you are?”
She looked down and wiggled her toes, again happy with the minute freedom she had gained. “Sure. Let’s go.”
Chapter Five
Having tea with a Dhemon was a new experience and did nothing to firm her opinion of her reality.
Facility Coordinator Turnari had shiny horns that flashed as he inclined his head. His features were tired, but his smile was kind. “So, Erinii Zakkata, what do you want to do with your life?”
She paused with her cup just in front of her lips. “I thought you were going to tell me that.”
Dravi chuckled silently, his shoulders moving with amusement. He kept his mouth shut and she suspected that it was an unusual thing for him.
Turnari grinned. “With your power level, you have a number of options available.”
“What power level?”
Turnari blinked, surprise evident on his face.
Dravi spoke, “The Bassinor are hostile toward talents, Turnari. They don’t allow training or conversations in regard to using talents.”
“Right. I had forgotten about that.” He rubbed at his chin and leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “When a person has a talent, it radiates out of their mind at a variety of frequencies and each person has their own level of ability to control those frequencies. Those are what we refer to as power levels.
“You have what is called catastrophic telekinesis.”
The term he used made her choke on her tea. “Catastrophic?”
“It is a reference used for a telekinetic who can move more than one hundred times their own body weight.”
She blinked and put her cup down. “I don’t think I can do that.”
He nodded to Dravi and her pale companion went to the desk and opened a projector, dimming the lights.
Dravi spoke. “This is what Davio sent to us and what earned you our intervention.”
The images flickered and Erinii was confronted with the security footage of her initial exposure to the public. She held her breath as the small woman in the display sprinted down the street, light posts, mailboxes and cars sliding in to block the approach of the military visible on the bottom of the recording.
Erinii ran her hands through her hair, feeling the small ridges and lumps of scars. She knew what was coming next but couldn’t look away.
She got to her siblings and warned them, arguing with them for a moment before the first warning shot rang out. Her blazing red hair swung wide as she whirled to confront the incoming soldiers. It was so surreal to watch her arm rise and the guns rise with them.
Watching the next portion of the images showed the crowd of protestors turning on her, feet flying toward her body in an endless round of kicks. Her siblings were pushed back, held and the crowd surged to attack them as well, the madness of the riot taking over.
Erinii’s eyes widened as she saw the bleeding and broken body reach out to throw the rioters away from her siblings. She didn’t remember getting to her feet and ploughing a path for her family to run to safety. She held three thousand writhing bodies back with the power of her mind and when the military brought an aircraft weapon into position, she held up a wall of energy until the gun was empty.
There were those around her who were wounded by the flying shards of metal and when the gun stopped firing, she dropped to the ground, one of hundreds of injured and dying. A troupe of sold
iers lifted her from the ground, stepping over the protestors and marching away with her.
Erinii sat back, wiping tears from her face. “I didn’t know about that.”
Turnari smiled. “You have highly protective instincts. It was a definite draw for our intervention.”
“So, if I had simply attacked the army, I would still be at the facility?” She twisted her lips.
“Yes. You would have been a danger and your sentence would have been earned.” Turnari raised his hand, “However, that was not the case, your siblings got away and they were able to work behind the scenes to get you off the catalyst and from there, you were capable of communicating with Dravi.”
“What will happen to Davio? I mean, they will know that he helped me.”
Dravi grinned. “Will they? I have wiped the memories of everyone at the facility. They will never know you were there.”
She blinked in surprise. “You did what?”
Turnari poured her another cup of tea. “Dravi Nemilin is a Minder. He has been trained to rummage around in the thoughts of others to remove and help them cope with trauma. He pinpointed thoughts of you and he removed them. Your stepbrother took care of the paperwork before he left and he should now be safely on his way to meet with his family. They were extracted last year before we began working toward your release.”
She blew on her new cup of tea to cool it. “This has been in the works for a year?”
Turnari grimaced and sat back. “Since you were technically arrested for an illegal offense on your world, it was necessary to try and gain your freedom through political channels. When it became obvious that they would not part with you willingly, we had to circumvent your regulations and we are very good at circumventing.”
A grin on a Dhemon was frightening at the best of times, but when there was grimness in his eyes, it was even creepier.
Erinii heard the clattering of her teacup on its saucer and she quickly put it down on the table before her shaking hands dropped it. “No one remembers me?”