“I think it’s clear that speed isn’t one of your talents,” Zander said. “You need to stop banging your head against that particular barrier, for now at least, and focus on and manipulation instead.”
“I guess,” she said as they entered the elevator.
“How are the weights and targets working out?” Zain asked.
“Good to a point,” she admitted. “I can use the telekinesis to hit what I’m aiming at, but I’m not strong enough to throw the knives very far. I can lift two hundred pounds now, but no more than that, and I can’t do anything with them. So, new walls, I suppose.”
She fell silent as they left the elevator, following Zander as he led the way into the cafeteria and back to the same table they’d used before. Zain pulled a chair out for her and she sat, thanking him softly. It wasn’t until they were all seated that she noticed they all seemed a little tense.
“What’s going on with you three?”
Zander smiled. “Nothing bad,” he assured her. “We received a message from Jasan today. They’ve received a message from the expedition saying they’ve arrived on Kinah, and the situation there is as you said it would be.”
“Did they send the coordinates for the final Door?”
“They did,” Zach replied.
“That’s such a relief,” she said, something relaxing inside of her that she hadn’t known was tense until that moment.
“You’re more relieved than I expected given that you already knew this would happen,” Zain observed.
She looked at him, frowning slightly, then her eyes widened. “Oh, crumpet jam,” she muttered.
“I see it came back from the cleaners,” Iffon remarked.
“Be nice or I’ll use it to glue your feathers together,” she retorted, glancing down at her arm. “You hungry?”
“I am,” he replied, sliding along her arm so that she could see him. “We’re in the cafeteria. Have you ordered yet?”
“No, we just got here.”
“Mind if I join you?”
Bean looked at the Falcorans who were watching her with undisguised curiosity. “Do you mind if Iffon joins us for dinner?”
“Not in the least,” Zander replied.
“Thanks,” she said happily. “Come on out, Iffon.”
While Iffon unmelded from Bean’s forearm their waiter arrived. Bean glanced up at him when she sensed him staring at Iffon, trying to place his face. After a few moments she remembered him, though she’d never spoken to him. And she didn’t much care for the way he was looking at her.
“What is that?” he exclaimed, pointing at Iffon with undisguised horror.
“Right now, he’s a cockatoo,” she said coolly.
“No, I mean what is it and why is it coming out of your arm? That’s so disgusting!” His face paled and he took a step back when Zander, Zach, and Zain began growling angrily, their eyes fixed unblinkingly on him.
Rich approached the table quickly, his expression stern. “Aaron, I’ll take this table. Go to the kitchen and wait there for me, please.”
“Yes Sir,” the waiter said before hurrying away.
“I apologize,” Rich said. “He’s still in training.” Then he smiled. “Hello Bean, Iffon, Commanders. What can I get for you to drink this evening?” Rich frowned when he realized that the Commanders were all staring worriedly at Bean, who had a strange, unfocused expression on her face.
Suddenly she blinked, then her eyes widened. “That young waiter is about to do something very foolish and extremely dangerous.” Before she finished speaking Iffon leapt up from the table, his size increasing in an instant so that he was big enough to cover Bean’s back when he spread his wings behind her. They all heard the unmistakable sound of a laser weapon at almost the same moment.
Zach and Zander used Air to reach Aaron’s side before he could shoot more than twice. Zach ripped the weapon away from him, then threw him against the wall. He slid to the floor, unconscious but not seriously harmed.
Zain watched from beside Bean and Iffon, relaxing only a little when the shooter was subdued. “Are you all right, Iffon?” he asked, his eyes racing over the large raptor’s body. The next instant Bean was beside him, her hands running over an area of slightly singed feathers on one wing, tears already streaming down her cheeks.
“I’m fine, Bean,” Iffon said. “Just another moment and I’ll be fully healed.”
Zain saw that Iffon had been struck twice, once on the wing, and again on the side of his neck. Exactly where Bean’s head had been. “You saved Bean’s life, Iffon,” he said as Zander and Zach approached. “There are no words to express how grateful I am.”
Iffon looked at him, then down at the wound before understanding hit. “I’m only glad Bean warned me in time, otherwise I wouldn’t have moved soon enough.”
“Hush, Iffon,” Bean said. “Save your energy for healing, please.”
“Yes, Lady BreeAnna,” he said with a definite smirk in his voice.
“How’s the waiter?” Bean asked with obvious concern.
“You care how he is when he nearly killed you?” Zach asked curiously.
“It’s not his fault,” Bean said in a low voice. “Chaos got him.”
“I see,” Zander said. They watched as Iffon, fully healed now, returned to his previous size and shape before flying up to Bean’s shoulder. Then he bent and rubbed his head against her jaw.
“Are you all right?” he asked her.
“I’m fine, thanks to you,” she replied, stroking his feathers. “I bet you’re hungrier than ever now.”
“Yes, I am, but if you’d prefer to eat elsewhere, we can get food to go.”
“No, I don’t think that’s necessary.” She looked up at the Falcorans. “Unless you guys would rather go somewhere else?”
“No, here is fine,” Zander said. “I need to go speak with Kyrus. What do you think, Bean? Will the boy be all right, or should we put him in hibernation?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “Iffon?”
“I’m afraid he has something wrong in his mind,” Iffon said. “Chaos just took advantage of it, and will do so again.”
“Hibernation it is, then,” Zander said. He smiled gently at the worried expression on Bean’s face. “This is for the best, Bean. For him, and the rest of us. When we get home, they’ll be able to help him.”
“I know, and I understand.” She took a deep breath and moved to sit back down again, spotting Rich standing nearby with a shocked and frightened expression on his face. She sat down, waited for Zain to take his chair, then looked at Rich.
“Are you all right, Rich?”
“I’m horrified, and so sorry,” he said shakily.
“It’s all right, Rich. And it wasn’t your fault.”
“I know but, you could have been killed, Bean.”
“If you’d like to take some time off, Rich, that’s fine,” Zain said, watching the man worriedly.
Rich visibly pulled himself together. “No, no, I’m fine, Commander, though I thank you for the thought. Shaky, but fine. I’ve been in battle before so it’s not completely unfamiliar to me.”
“All right,” Zain said. “If you change your mind, then just ask someone to cover for you and go.”
“Thank you,” Rich said, clearly pleased at the offer. “Would you like to order some drinks or would you prefer to wait?”
Zain ordered for himself, Zach, and Zander, and Bean ordered for herself and Iffon. “I’ll be right back,” Rich said. He hesitated a moment, then approached Bean, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. “I’m so glad you weren’t hurt, Bean.” She reached up and patted his hand gently.
“As for you, Iffon,” he said, looking down at the big white Cockatoo, “thank you more than I can ever say.”
“It is always my honor to protect Bean as well as I can, Rich, but I do appreciate your care and concern.”
Rich nodded, then hurried away. A couple of minutes later Zach and Zander returned and took their seats.
/>
“Everything all right?” Bean asked when Rich was gone.
“Yes,” Zander replied. “As well as can be after seeing you nearly get killed, anyway. It doesn’t help much that Iffon was injured, either.”
“All is well now, though, which is what matters,” Bean said firmly. “Now, where were we before that happened?”
“I was about to ask you what you said just before you began speaking with Iffon,” Zain said. “Before he unmelded.”
Bean blushed. “Crumpet jam.”
“That’s what I thought you said, but you said it like you were swearing.”
“Using real swear words in front of a classroom of nine year olds is frowned upon by most school boards,” she said primly, barely managing to hold back her own smile.
“Why were you…well…swearing?” Zach asked.
“Because I forgot to tell you guys about the messages. Or the messenger. Messengers. Whichever.”
“I presume you raised their security level and filled them in on all the gruesome details,” Iffon said, watching as Bean removed his dishes from a pocket and set them on a napkin she spread on the corner of the table beside her.
“I did, but there were no gruesome details as you well know.” Rich arrived with their drinks, they ordered dinner, and Bean filled Iffon’s water dish for him.
“If you like we can put up a security shield,” Zander said.
“I’ve talked your ears off today already,” she said. “If you’d rather not hear more, I’ll understand. We can discuss it another time.”
“No, now is good,” Zander said. He focused a moment, drawing power from Zach and Zain. “Security shield in place.”
“Thanks,” she said. “This is kind of hard to explain because I don’t know a lot about it.” She proceeded to tell them about Zaza, and their shared ability to receive messages from some unknown entity.
“That’s how you knew what happened, or was about to happen to Kinah,” Zach said.
“Yes, that’s right. It’s how I knew about preparing this ship, and even how to deal with the nano-bots yesterday. It’s also why I need the updates. I don’t understand it, but they’re connected to me somehow, or able to read me, or something because the more information I have on a subject, the better able they are to foresee things. I never know when I’ll get a message, but so far everything I’ve been told has been right. Including the message I just got before that waiter came out shooting.”
“That’s how you knew what was about to happen?” Zach asked in surprise.
“Yes, good thing, too.”
She leaned back when Rich arrived with their dinners. She filled Iffon’s food dish, then started eating her own meal.
“I doubted it at first, the messengers, I mean.” She shook her head. “No, I tried to doubt it. I tried to convince myself it wasn’t real because I didn’t want it to be. Right after that I was thoroughly convinced that doubting was not an acceptable option.”
“Why? What happened?” Zander asked.
She told them about seeing and feeling what happened to her sister. “I thought it was punishment for doubting, but Zaza insisted that it wasn’t. Now I think they were just trying to convince me they were real.”
“Are you sure about that?” Zach asked. “Because I’m not sure an entity, or entities, that punish you for doubting is a good thing.”
“I’ve thought about it a lot and while I can’t be positive, I do believe it. Mainly because I felt how much the Katres love Ria. I actually felt it. It was…indescribable.” She blinked rapidly to banish the tears that stung the backs of her eyes and sipped her drink. “Anyway, I don’t think they would’ve let me feel that if they were trying to punish me. Whoever the messages come from, I’m certain that they’re intended to help. Not hurt.”
“Do you have any sense of who or what the messengers are?” Zain asked.
“Sort of,” she said. “I get an image in my mind when I think of them, though I’m not sure if it’s just my imagination trying to put a face to the voices, or if it’s real.”
“I did not know this,” Iffon said. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I don’t know if it’s my imagination trying to put a face to the voices, or if it’s real,” she repeated sardonically.
“I think I liked it better when you were little Miss Meek and Mild,” he said huffily.
“You should’ve thought of that before encouraging me not to be Miss Meek and Mild.”
“No doubt,” Iffon said. “So, are you going to share with the rest of the class?”
“Careful Iffon,” she warned lightly. “I may start requiring you to raise your hand before speaking.”
“I don’t have hands.”
“Precisely.”
“Ah, you’re in fine form this evening, Bean.”
“Thanks, Iffon,” she said, smiling smugly. She looked up, a little startled to see all three men watching her.
“Sorry for staring,” Zach said. “Listening to you two is just so entertaining.”
“That’s all right, I don’t mind.”
“What’s the image you see when you think of them?” Zander asked a few minutes later.
“Three tall, willowy humanoid figures with really long, slender necks and fingers,” she said. “They have pale blue skin with a greenish cast to it, no hair, and they all wear dark robes that cover them from their necks to the floor. I never get a sense of their sex. I don’t know if that’s because they're androgynous, or if it’s a deliberate effort to avoid the distinction.”
“An-what-ious?” Iffon asked while digging his beak into his food. One of the benefits of not needing one’s mouth to speak, Bean supposed.
“Androgynous,” she said. “Displaying traits of both sexes such that it’s not possible to determine by sight alone which one is dominant. If one is.”
“Are you serious?” Iffon asked, so surprised that he turned away from his dinner long enough to look at her. “How is such a thing possible?”
“There are many beings, sentient and non-sentient alike, that blend the two sexes into one.”
“That seems so…impossible to me.”
“Well, some of those beings find it impossible to comprehend that we have two separate sexes.”
“Huh,” he said, then returned to eating.
“What else?” Zain asked.
“They always appear calm and peaceful. But I sometimes get an underlying sense of urgency. Not impatience exactly, but more like a worry or concern that I won’t follow directions or believe what I’m told, and that something bad will happen as a result.”
“Blue skin and no hair makes me thing of Doftles,” Zander said.
Iffon and Bean both stilled, then looked up to stare at him for a long moment. Then they slowly turned their heads to stare at each other. Bean tilted her head slightly as her eyes became unfocused once again. Iffon continued to watch her intently, his food actually forgotten for the moment.
“I think it’s more than possible, Iffon,” Bean said a short time later.
“That’s…disturbing.”
“Yes, and no,” she said slowly. “And yet, yes, again.”
Iffon nodded in apparent understanding of the odd statement, then returned to eating. Bean picked her fork up and, after a very long time, took a bite of her dinner.
“We need to keep track of this,” Zach said.
“Yes, you’re right,” Zain agreed. “Hand terminal?”
“I think that would be best. That way we can update and share more easily.”
“What are you talking about?” Bean asked, confused.
“Keeping track of the different expressions and mannerisms the two of you display and what they mean,” Zander said. “Assuming we eventually figure out what they mean.”
“I’m so sorry,” Bean said, blushing with embarrassment. “We’re so used to communicating that way, and it’s been just the two of us for nearly my whole life, but that was rude. I promise it wasn’t intentional
.”
“Relax, Bean,” Zach said, smiling. “We’re just teasing. We’re not the least bit offended.”
“I’m glad,” she said, relaxing.
“We are curious though,” Zander added.
“Curious?” she asked blankly. Then, “Oh yeah, sorry. When you said the blue skin reminded you of Doftles, we realized you were right. We then realized that there are a few bits of information that, when applied to that idea, make a certain kind of sense.”
“But you said it was tall and willowy. We’ve never seen a living Doftle in person but we did see the mission vids from the Leaper. Tall and willowy are not words I’d use to describe them.”
“That’s true,” Bean said, then paused to look around.
“Don’t worry, we’re keeping an eye on anyone who gets close and the privacy shield is still up and working,” Zander said.
Bean nodded. “Don’t forget that all of what I’m about to say comes second hand from the Dracon Princes. Not that I doubt any of it, because I don’t. Just saying.”
“We understand,” Zach said. She smiled, enjoying how easily and naturally it was to do so.
“From the information Vari received from Rodnil, she learned that they don’t reproduce sexually. She didn’t know how they do reproduce at that time, which was about a year ago, so if there’s an update, I don’t have it. Their androgynous appearance seems to fit with that.
“Another thing she learned is that the Doftles at the top of their hierarchy are different from the Doftles we’re familiar with in ways she couldn’t understand. They’re also psychic, which the Doftles in the Thousand Worlds are not. That might explain their interest in Klanaren females and their psychic abilities. Maybe they’re trying to find a way to make themselves psychic.”
“That makes sense,” Zach said. “Do you think the messengers are from the top of the Doftle hierarchy?”
“I think it’s possible,” she said. “I’m not sure how probable it is, though.”
“Why not?” Zach asked.
“Well, why would they send messages to me or Zaza? If it is them, how did they even choose us? Why did they choose us? I know next to nothing about Jotunn, and Zaza came from the farthest end of the Thousand Worlds to find me because of her dreams.
Bean's Heart (Hearts of ICARUS Book 7) Page 33