“All right. My grandpa used to say that knowledge is power. And the more knowledge we have … it’s the only way to understand what we fear, right?”
“It’s one way.” He stood up and looked at her critically. “Are you sleeping on campus?”
Tamara nodded. “I’ve been sleeping at home the past couple of nights, but all my stuff’s moved into my room.”
“Then let’s get you to it. I don’t think you’ve got much energy left tonight.” Greg turned away. “Merran’s got a car for the group of us to use to get back to campus. Did you want to join us?”
It sounded better than walking home, or driving back to her parents’ house tonight. She found herself completely exhausted. “What about my car?”
“Merran can make arrangements to have it delivered back to campus if you leave the keys,” Greg told her.
Deciding to trust them and nodding wearily, she let him help her up. She dug her car keys out of a pocket, pulled the car key off the key ring and handed it to Greg. He placed it on the desk. She didn’t see him leave a note or anything, but she was tired enough to be fading in and out. I might have missed it, she thought, as he led her down a set of back stairs that completely avoided all the other people downstairs. He pushed open the door—she didn’t look too hard at whether or not he actually touched the door before opening it—and guided her out toward a long limo that was waiting in a back parking lot. She’d never seen this side of the embassy before. Unlike the ornate front, it was somewhat disappointingly utilitarian, not unlike any warehouse or office in the downtown area. Greg guided her to the car door, pulling it open for her.
As she bent over to climb in, she was startled to notice the other students already in the car. Alarin and Justern sat on the bench seat across from her, Justern resting his head on the seat, his eyes closed. Alarin gave her a sleepy smile but didn’t say anything. He moved his legs out of the way so she could climb in. Mellis was curled up on the far side of the bench seat, her head leaning against the window. Tamara climbed in and settled beside Mellis. Greg got in beside her.
“How long was I out?” she asked, glancing over at Greg.
“A little while, but not really that long. It’s not all that late. We’re just not used to this diurnal cycle yet and none of us have the stamina we typically would at home. Our bodies feel like it’s the middle of the night.”
“To say nothing of the fact we just landed on this planet this morning. It’s been a very long day,” Alarin added, lifting his head.
The limo pulled out of the parking lot slowly, turning into the narrow alleyway at the back of the building more smoothly than Tamara would have expected for a long vehicle like this. The car managed to navigate the back alley, although doing so was a little nervewracking to her. She tried to frame her thoughts to talk, but she couldn’t seem to focus long enough to think about any questions, and it didn’t seem all that important anyway. By the time she thought up something to say, the moment had passed, so she said nothing. The other people in the back of the car did not seem disposed to talk much either. Breathing through his mouth, Justern snored slightly, seemingly in a deep sleep. The atmosphere in the car seemed relaxed, so she finally just let herself relax and drift.
Not long after, the car pulled up to the back of Tamara’s dorm. Mellis stirred, uncurling herself from the position at the window. Tamara frowned as she tried to remember her contact with these four people earlier today. Had she ever told them where her room was? She decided it didn’t matter, since they obviously knew. Mellis leaned closer to her. “Do you need help getting to your room?”
Tamara concentrated intently to attempt to speak a simple sentence. “I’ll be fine.” The words came out clear enough, but she wasn’t sure of her ability to navigate four floors, since the limo had pulled in on the basement level.
Greg leaned over. The whisper of clothing against the leather seats seemed exceptionally loud in the quiet interior of the limo. “I’d suggest taking Mellis up on her offer. You just had an intense experience. She can help you get upstairs.”
“A migraine?” Tamara wasn’t tracking very well, but she didn’t think a migraine would have this kind of effect.
“Just go to bed, Tamara. You’ll feel fine in the morning.” Greg patted the cushioned seat beside her. “Mel, why don’t you help her get to her room?”
Mellis nodded and leaned over to pop open the door. Tamara protested, even though she felt like she had just been run over by a truck. Twice. Maybe even by a train. “No, I’m fine. I don’t want to be a pain—” She hadn’t felt this bad since she accidently ended up with a hangover once in high school. She tried not to glance at Alarin or Justern, but neither of the young men seemed to be paying any attention to her at all. Both had their heads back against the headrest with their eyes closed.
Mellis touched her shoulder. “It’s no trouble, Tamara. You can show me around campus tomorrow. Sound fair?”
Abruptly, Tamara capitulated. “All right. Thank you.” She climbed out of the car, trying not to trip over Alarin’s legs. He opened one eye, gave her a sleepy smile, and pulled his legs up as she braced herself against the edges of the door. Mellis met her at the door—how had she gotten out so fast?—and was ready to help her up to her room by the time Tamara had pried herself out of the car. The limo zipped away as soon as they were free. Tamara fumbled a bit with her key but managed to get it out and get the basement door to the dorm unlocked.
Mellis held the door as Tamara made her way inside. “I live on the third floor,” she told Mellis. “Just the thought of it is giving me a headache.”
Mellis smiled. “That’s what I’m here for. Lead on when you’re ready.”
The trek up the four levels of staircases was agonizing. Tamara clung to the rail and with Mellis’s help managed to get her feet to carry her upstairs. God was she tired!
They entered the little lounge area around which five rooms were clustered. Tamara went to the easternmost facing room and stuck her key into the lock. She was only vaguely aware of Mellis helping her into the room as her stamina started to fade. She fell into bed and was out in moments, not even bothering to undress.
Her sleep was not dreamless, though. The wind howled through her dreams again, a tantalizing siren call. Music wove under it, a formless melody shot through with a throbbing beat. She stood again at the edge of a windswept, sandy plain that stretched to eternity in front of her. “Where am I?” she shouted.
“Come. Come home.” The words were whispered in her ear, a breath of wind under the wild scream, infinitely seductive and achingly beautiful. “Join us, Tamara.”
“Who are you?”
“We are you, Tamara.” It was the voice of the ambassador again. His dark hair whipped around his face as he stepped out of thin air and closer to her. Again, his long fingers reached out to touch her.
She ducked aside, avoiding the touch, suddenly afraid. “Who am I? What is happening to me?”
“You are we.” The figure in front of her changed, flowing hair turning a ruddy color. Green eyes bored into her. “Come to us, Tamara.”
“What’s happening to me?” Tamara screamed at him, her voice coming out high-pitched and strained. She flew at him, suddenly flapping wings in his face, ripping at him with talons and beak, sobbing her heart out as she did. “Who are you?” The figure dissolved under her and she collapsed on the ground. Human once more, she wept, her body wracked by sobs.
The scream of the wind increased, filling her ears. Under the scream was a pulsating melody that continued to call and pull at her. T-amara, Ta-mara, Tam-ara. Open to us, Tamara, open. You will never be alone. Let it out, Tamara. You know you want to.
“No!” she screamed. How could she? What kind of freak was she? How could she have done it? “It’s my fault, Mom.” Another voice, cold and hateful. “He’s dead, he’s dead! See what kind of freak your bastard is? How could you?”
She awoke abruptly, soaked in sweat. Sunlight poured in the eastern wind
ows. Disoriented and confused, she looked around. She was in her room on campus, her car was at … the embassy, and Mellis … she searched the room. Much to her relief, she was alone. Tamara lifted her hands to her cheeks. The crying had been so real she expected to have tear streaks on her cheeks, but they were dry. She got out of bed and made her way to the mirror. Other than heavy dark circles under her eyes, there was little sign of her night. “It’s happening again.” She whispered to the mirror. “Oh God!” Tears welled up in her eyes. “God, please no.”
A voice came to her out of her thoughts. “They are simply very natural results of using certain parts of the brain.”
“I’m not a freak?” She whispered the words to the mirror.
“I healed you.” No answer, just Greg’s voice.
“What am I?” she asked the mirror. “A freak? A monster? Or am I just a human with psi, like Greg said was possible?”
There was no response. Tamara looked in the mirror for a while longer, then turned away in sudden hatred for the image reflecting back at her. Could she reach out with her mind? She imagined herself calling but getting no response. Tamara pulled her hair back from her face and fastened it up in a hairclip. Where were the Azellians living on campus? She wracked her brain, trying to remember if she’d heard someone mention what dorm they were in.
She picked up her cell phone, slipping her Bluetooth device over an ear, and dialed the campus information number.
“Name?” the mechanical computer voice asked.
“Gregerin Tenricth.” She decided to see if he was in the computer system yet. He probably wasn’t, given the antiquated computer system. She had just entered them in the computer yesterday.
“Name unknown. Please restate your request.”
Tamara tapped her front teeth as her mind raced through other options. “Uh, the Azellian Embassy.”
“Dialing.”
“Azellian Embassy, Kitari Derrole speaking. How may I direct your call?”
Tamara fought with herself for a moment, then said abruptly, “Uh, is Ambassador Corina in?” She could feel the blush crawl up her cheeks, but she ignored the heat of them.
“Just a moment. Let me forward you to his office.”
“Ambassador Corina’s office, Janille speaking. How may I help you?”
“Is the ambassador in?” Her resolve slipping away, she held on to the edge of the desk with white-knuckled tension. What was she doing, calling the ambassador of all people? He was far too busy to have anything to do with her.
“May I ask who is calling?”
“Uh, Tamara Carrington.”
“Just a moment. Let me see if he’s available, Ms. Carrington.” Silence from the phone. They didn’t even have muzak to listen to while she waited. Suddenly feeling slightly hysterical, Tamara’s finger hovered over the “cancel call” button. Her urgency was fading with the remnants of her dream. After all, she would see Greg again, and she didn’t need to bother the ambassador with anything.
“Tamara?” The ambassador’s voice made her jump. Flushing, she lifted her finger from the cancel button. “I’m sorry about the wait. I was on another call. Did you need something?”
“I—I’m sorry. I—I shouldn’t have bothered you.” Tamara stammered, flushing violently. “It really isn’t important. I’m really sorry.” She hit the cancel button and dropped her phone onto the desk. What had she done? Shaking, she sank to the bed.
At the Azellian embassy, Merran stared at the buzzing phone. “Damn it. She had a psi episode last night and is calling me this morning? Something’s up.” Greg! He reached out and called Greg on his intimate level, calling Janille at the same time with his voice.
Janille stuck her head around the corner of the open door. “Yes, Ambassador?”
“Can you get Tamara Carrington’s phone number right away?”
Mer? What’s up? Greg mumbled sleepily on Merran’s intimate level.
Tamara just tried to call me. I don’t know why, but following last night …
“Right away, sir.” Janille closed the door behind her firmly, giving him the privacy of his office.
I’m on my way. Greg responded assuredly.
The phone on his desk beeped at Merran. He touched the intercom button. “Yes, Janille?”
“I have Tamara Carrington’s number and am calling her, Ambassador.”
“Thank you,” Merran replied and waited. An image of Tamara’s face flashed across his mind—hair a bit cowlicky, like she had just woken up, blue eyes confused and somewhat panicky. Although she hadn’t called in on a video phone, he still had a very strong image of what she’d looked like this morning, borne on the heels of his empathic talent. He closed his eyes to control his wandering thoughts—and sudden emotions.
In Tamara’s room back on campus, her cell phone trilled once, then twice. Tamara stared at it. Number unknown. Who was calling her? She hesitated, then answered the phone on the third ring. “H—hello?”
“I can’t imagine you would call for no reason, Tamara. What did you need?”
Tamara flushed. Heat burned from her cheeks. “I—I was just looking for Greg’s number and couldn’t find it on campus. I wasn’t sure if you might have it. I’m sorry, it really wasn’t important enough to bother you.”
“It’s not a bother, Tamara. I mean that. The embassy and I are open for your questions or concerns at any time. A very large part of my job is to be there for those that need help. Even if that help is to get a hold of one of my fellow Azellians.”
Tamara’s blush deepened. “Ambassador—”
“Call me Merran, Tamara. We don’t stand on ceremony here at the embassy and I’m not all that much older than you are. How are you feeling this morning?”
She blinked at him, taken off guard by the question. “Fine, I guess.” Frantic! She thought back to the night before. Did I even see him last night? She vaguely remembered him wearing a robe—she flushed heavily. Did he read me last night? Can he even now? Onetwothreefourfive! Onetwothreefourfive! “Better than last night. I was, uh, a bit overwhelmed by it all.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” Merran used the connection over the phone and tentatively reached out, only to be slammed into a thick barrier. The contact was a bit startling, as yesterday she had been erratically open. He could read nothing from her at all. It bothered him for a reason he didn’t really want to investigate. “Did the experience make you unwilling to come back to the embassy?”
“Oh, no. Uh, not at all.” It didn’t sound sincere, although she was too heavily shielded to read. “When is your next get together?”
Merran clicked on the calendar on his computer. “I’m planning on having the next one when the students are back on campus. In three weeks. Three Fridays from now, actually, at seven again. Do you know any students who might be interested in coming?”
“Oh yes, I know quite a few. I’ll ask if they’re interested once they get back to campus. It will be early in the term, so they probably won’t have that much studying to do.”
“Good.” Merran smiled. The phone beeped at him as Janille mentally warned him that the Director of the Earth Liaison Office was on the line for his scheduled phone meeting. “I’m sorry, Tamara, I have to take this call. I’m glad you reached out to me … even if you did hang up on me,” Merran added with a hint of teasing in his voice. “I do hope you’ll contact me in the future if there is anything I might help you with.”
“I will. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Tamara. I’ll see you in a few weeks if I don’t see you before then.” With that, he ended their call and picked up the other line.
Chapter Three
MERRAN HUNG UP before Tamara remembered he hadn’t given her what she’d asked for.
“Damn,” she muttered. There was no way she was going to call him back, though. She’d just have to wait until she could meet up with the Azellian students again, whenever that would be. She’d very likely see Greg around campus. She could wait until then. Tur
ning away from the phone, she went to the closet and got dressed into some clean underwear, bra, shorts, and a shirt.
She brushed her hair down and refastened it in the hairclip. At least the shock of calling the embassy this morning jolted me out of my nightmare, she thought to herself as she studied her face in the mirror. A sudden knock at her door jerked Tamara out of her thoughts, making her jump. Who knew she was on campus? Which of her friends was even back this early in the semester? The continuing students wouldn’t be returning for at least two weeks. Walking around the bed to get to the door, she peeked through the door’s peephole. There stood Greg.
She pulled the door open. “How … what … what are you doing here?”
Greg grinned at her. “Your guardian angel called me.”
“My what?”
“Merran. He called me and said you called him this morning but didn’t tell him why. Can I come in?”
“Yeah—yes, of course.” There was something wrong with the logic of his statement, but she wasn’t exactly sure what it was. “I—uh, was just looking for your number …” she trailed off. “He called me back and still didn’t give it to me. I did tell him what I wanted, but he didn’t tell you?”
“He probably hadn’t called you back yet when he spoke to me. As for a phone number, he didn’t give it to you because I don’t have a phone yet. I’m going to sign up today. So what did you need?”
“Wait a minute. This isn’t making any sense at all. You don’t have a phone or a phone number?”
“Not yet.”
“But you said he called you. How?”
Greg’s amber eyes glinted mischievously. He walked calmly over to her desk chair and sat down, resting his forearms against his thighs as he leaned forward. He wore standard human clothing today—a pair of jeans and a t-shirt that clung to his muscular chest. Tamara blinked. He looked normal, but there was something about his air that wasn’t like the usual twenty-something human. He gave her a broad smile, and she suddenly wondered if he was reading her mind. “Using those abilities you don’t think exist.”
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