HeartStorm (HeartFast Series Book 3)

by Mooney, Linda

  “He said to see my dying mother,” Star reminded him.

  “Yes, until you discovered your mother wasn’t where he said she’d be.”

  Star lowered her face. After all these years why did that possibility bother her? “Then it’s likely my mother is already dead.” She crossed her arms over her chest as Hunter patted her shoulder in sympathy.

  “Very likely,” Vosstien acknowledged. “The real issue is this. Why, after all this time, would your father come looking for you?”

  “Where did you find him?” Hunter interrupted.

  “On a cruiser in the For Tall Igoro system. The copilot reported strange events happening, like food and drink disappearing, and the sound of a baby crying, when no one on board had an infant.”

  A smile lifted one corner of Hunter’s mouth. “So Callie gave him away. That’s sweet to hear.”

  Vosstien bobbed his head. “The SPF pulled over the cruiser for a minor violation, and that’s how they caged him.”

  Star gave him a confused look. “Caged him?”

  “I sent word to the fleet captains on Abernath about the abduction, and had them spread the word to all Stellar Police stations in that quadrant. The Mittgard station had had previous run-ins with M’golifians, and they relayed the information back as to how to contain the race. Specifically, they proposed laying a trap for him. It’s called a Brotean Field. Supposed to send a current through an M’golif, which prevents them from vibrating. While the SPF was busy issuing a citation to the pilot, the cruise attendants set the trap in the aft kitchen area, hoping DiMackerlyn was too engaged in watching the drama on the bridge. It wasn’t long after the SPF left that he tried to snatch something else from the galley, and—boom!—they snagged both him and the baby.”

  “I’ll let Commander know about the Brotean Field. See if he can come up with a larger version of it to hold the man until he can be turned over to a justice tribunal,” Hunter noted.

  “But, as I said before, just because we have the man in custody doesn’t mean this is over,” Vosstien reminded them. “I know this is all conjecture on my part, but I have a serious hunch about this. I don’t believe this guy was acting on his own. I mean…” Hunter’s father looked at Star. “He had to have made a deal with that gypsy guy. I doubt he simply decided one day to sell his only child…you’re an only child, right?”

  “Yes.”

  Vall rubbed his chin. A brief moment of inner pain flashed across his face. “Son of a heartless clagit. His only child. Damn.” He shook his head, then resumed. “As I was saying, someone must have convinced him to sell his daughter. Probably paid him a goodly sum of creds, along with gods know what.” His eyes slid to her again. “Makes me wonder how your mother reacted when she found you missing. Or if she was in on the deal all along.”

  Cold shock went through her. Never, in all the years she spent with the faire, did she ever consider her mother may have been as equally guilty as her father. “I always assumed she never knew,” Star confessed, her face pale. “I had dreams about her searching for me. Believing my father’s lies that I’d run away…or been kidnapped…or something.”

  “Are you implying DiMackerlyn found out Star was alive and well, and came back to kidnap her again? To sell her again?”

  “I don’t know anything other than what appears blatantly clear to me, and that’s the fact that he came for you, Star. And when he discovered you were too well guarded, and Hunter was out of the question, he took the one last thing in this universe that meant anything to you. Callie.”

  “But she’s a baby! As far as we can tell, she doesn’t have any powers. When he sold me, I was already showing my abilities. What could Callie have that would make her valuable?”

  It was Deceiver who took a shaky breath. “You,” he told her. “She has you. You’re still the target, one way or another. Whoever is behind this is after you. The baby was collateral.”

  “But why me?” she cried out, more angry than afraid.

  “When we find the guy who’s the brains behind all this, maybe we’ll finally discover the answer to that question,” Vosstien remarked.

  Hunter made an exasperated sound and paced the narrow aisle as he dragged his fingers through his hair. Stopping in front of his father, he perched his hands on his hips. “What makes you believe DiMackerlyn didn’t plan all this by himself? Maybe he found out by accident about her through some vid news, and deduced she was his long lost daughter. Gods know there’s a frakking news item about the Guardians showing practically every ten seconds on the interstellar bands. Maybe, after he found out, he put out feelers for other potential buyers before he came after her.”

  “Stop and think, Hunter,” Deceiver interceded. “The faire blew up. I went back and checked the old vids myself. Everyone was presumed dead. What would make DiMackerlyn believe his daughter had survived?”

  “And why come looking for her after all these years?” Vall added.

  Their reasoning was sound. Their logic nearly impeccable, Star forced herself to admit.

  “Where was the cruiser headed?” she asked softly.

  “To the Torribitan Gambit. From there…” Vosstien shook his head. “Who knows? M’golif is hundreds of parsecs from that system, so he obviously wasn’t taking Callie home with him.”

  “We need to find out where DiMackerlyn was headed. And if he planned to meet someone, who.” Hunter ran a hand over his face. “We’ll find out. I promise. And I’ll make him pay for his crimes.”

  “Don’t kill him, Udo,” his father cautioned.

  “Don’t worry.” Hunter gave his father a caustic smile.

  Star could sense her husband already making plans. She knew how deep he could sink into his power, nearly to the point of absolute evil, although he never allowed his abilities to consume him.

  Yet at the thought of the horrors he would create for her father, a shiver went through her. Not because of what she envisioned DiMackerlyn would face, but because, deep down, she realized she would enjoy seeing the man suffer.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Secret

  “It’s bigger than Two but smaller than Three. Did you notice that, Ana?”

  Seeker giggled as she and her sister walked arm-in-arm down the corridor leading from the landing bay. “I noticed how comfy the seats were. Really plush. And they’re set in pairs. Bet you and Wooly could have some nice little conversations while on your way to a mission,” she teased. “And they recliiiiine!” Her remark earned her a playful slap on the shoulder.

  “Get your mind out of the bedroom,” Sender ordered, but the blush in her cheeks was too evident. “And while you’re at it, get your mind out of mine.”

  “Ah, now, you know I don’t delve without permission.” Seeker added with a wink, “Not unless the vibes you’re putting off are too strong to ignore. And let me tell you, Cosy, you’ve been putting out some pretty fierce psy storms ever since you and Wooly got back.” She narrowed her eyes at her twin. “Been having a few off-the-grid chats while he’s away?”

  Sender gasped. Coming to an abrupt halt, she disengaged her arm from her sister’s and stepped away. “No fair, Ana! That’s wrong, and you know it!”

  Seeker held up her hands. “Hey, I’m not the one who’s been walking around in a daze. You’ve had that swoomy-eyed expression on your face ever since your return, and I’m not the only one who’s noticed it.”

  Sender blinked. “Swoomy-eyed? Where the heavens did that one come from? That’s as stupid a description as I’ve ever heard.” A tiny smile quirked the corners of her mouth. “But I guess it fits. So who else, you said?”

  “You mean, besides Animator and Deceiver? Probably everybody. They’re the only people who’ve commented about it, though.” She glanced down the hallway and spotted the small directional plaque on the wall. “Hey, I’m thirsty. Let’s go grab a cold one from the dining hall before we call it a night. You with me?”

  “No.” Sender waved her off. “I think I’ll take a final
stroll in the courtyard. Maybe have one of those off-the-grid chats you insinuated I’ve been having.”

  By the silly grin on her sister’s face, Seeker knew better. “All right. By the way, not that you would know anything, but how’s the mission going?”

  “Very well. In fact, they’re on their way home right now…not that I would know anything for certain,” Sender laughed. “I’ll see you later.”

  Seeker nodded and watched until Sender turned the corner down at the opposite end of the hallway. The almost imperceptible sound of an outer door opening and closing announced Sender’s exit onto the plaza. Shrugging to herself, she continued toward the dining hall.

  This late in the evening, she didn’t expect to see anyone in the large room where the Guardians took their meals. Every apartment was fitted with its own small kitchen, in the event its occupant didn’t want to eat with the others. Sometimes in the middle of the night, she and Sender would scurry down to the hall, clad only in their comfy old gowns they slept in, and load their arms with as much snack food as they could carry back with them to their room.

  Tonight, however, she was tired and thirsty, and ready to hit the shower, followed by a hopefully uninterrupted night of sleep and no midnight requisitions. Her taste buds were set for something cold and tart, but she knew Sender had drunk the last of the flashed marmas juice.

  Other than the main lights, which always remained on in the food prep area, the rest of the hall was dark. Quickly, she strode over to the refrigerant and opened the main panel. The glassy exterior slid to the side, reflecting the overhead light. For a split second it revealed a figure hunched over a table at the far end of the room.

  Seeker felt a moment of alarm, when she remembered the base was on lockdown. The person hiding in the shadows had to be a fellow Guardian, but the question was who.

  “Hello? Who’s back there?” Closing the panel, she advanced toward the lone figure. It wasn’t until she was nearly on the person that she recognized the slender woman hunched over a mug. “Destiny?”

  It didn’t take a mind reading session for Seeker to realize the woman was alone for a reason. The psychic rarely interacted with the other Guardians. And when it came to missions, it was she who informed Deceiver when and if she would accompany a group on a mission, not the other way around.

  Seeker took a seat across from the woman and opened her bottle of juice. The first few swallows went down wet and delightful.

  “Do you often sit here alone? In the dark?” Well, no one could call her subtle. Especially her sister. But it was her nature.

  To her surprise, Destiny’s tone was faintly humorous when she softly replied. “Sometimes.” To add to her surprise, the woman continued. “You’ve been inside the new ship.”

  Seeker smiled. “Yes! And it’s beautiful! Very state-of-the-art. The hull has sensors in it, so that when you touch the wall from the inside, you can control how big you want your port window to be. Oh, and it holds two more seats than Transport Two does. Deceiver hasn’t officially named it yet, but the rest of us are already calling it Transport Four. Have you seen it?”

  Destiny slowly shook her head and took another sip from her mug. Setting the cup on the table, she laced her fingers around it as if to warm her hands. “No. Don’t need to. I already knew it was coming.”

  That last bit of news surprised her, which it shouldn’t have. After all, Destiny could see things and predict things no one ever imagined would occur.

  Yet, in the back of her mind, a thought niggled like an angry worm. Had Destiny foreseen the kidnapping? And if she had, why didn’t she tell anyone about it before DiMackerlyn got his hands on the baby?

  “Destiny, I—”

  “I know what you’re going to ask me, and I’m not going to answer you.”

  “The same way you refused to answer Hunter and Star?”

  The woman turned silver eyes at her. “What happens will happen. I’ve told you before, some things are meant to be, and I have no control over those events. No one does.”

  A sense of profound sadness came to Seeker. It was like an invisible barrier the woman erected between herself and the others. Seeker detected years of being alone. Of forced solitude. Even when Destiny had become a Guardian, she kept mostly to herself. Although everyone respected her wish for privacy, they believed she wasn’t being fully cooperative, Seeker included. There was something about Destiny’s lack or refusal to co-mingle with them that irked them. A few, like Blender, suggested that maybe it was due to her abilities that she was unable to forge friendships, or even casual acquaintances.

  Whatever the reason, Destiny was left on her own, but she was accepted without prejudice whenever the need arose. In most cases.

  Seeker stared at the mug in the woman’s hands. It was rare to sit at the same table together. Rarer still to be holding a conversation. The situation, though, did not discourage Seeker.

  “Destiny, we’re your friends.” The remark came from out of nowhere, surprising even herself.

  Destiny gave her a cautious eye. “What do you need, Seeker?”

  “I don’t need anything. You do.”

  The woman lifted an eyebrow. “I don’t need—”

  “Yes, you do,” Seeker hastened to tell her. “You need us, but you shut us away. Why? Is it because of your abilities? Or are you afraid of us?”

  “I’m not afraid of you,” Destiny finally said after a long pause.

  “Then why are you so stand-offish? Why won’t you let some of us in and be friends? There’s been lots of time when Sender and I thought about asking you to go into the city with us, to go shopping, or to see a holo vid at the open air theater.” She leaned in closer, dropping her voice to a whisper. “Or just to sit and chat during a meal.”

  The woman moved away slightly, putting distance between herself and Seeker. Seeker immediately pointed it out.

  “See? That’s what you do, and for the life of me, I can’t understand why. If you’re so dead set against any of us getting closer to you, why did you apply for membership anyway? Why petition to become one of us, when you never intended to actually join us? At least, not in body?”

  Destiny kept her head bowed. “It’s difficult to explain.”

  “What’s difficult?” Seeker challenged.

  “The rest, they’re angry at me. They want to lay part of the responsibility for the kidnapping on my shoulders. And I don’t blame them. But there are things I can’t reveal.”

  “For fear of changing the future,” Seeker finished for her. “Yes, we know that, but we’re not asking you to divulge your secrets. We’re just asking for you to be…I don’t know…more accepting of us. More willing to be one of us. Yes, we’re Guardians, but we’re also human. We do manage to have lives outside of the job, although it’s rare and infrequent.” She bent over the table until less than a foot separated them. “If we’re going to risk our lives for each other, we need to be able to trust one another. We need to be willing to share our hopes and dreams, as well as our fears, our little idiosyncrasies, and all those little things that make us unique and special.”

  She watched as Destiny appeared to digest her words. After another minute, the woman rose from her seat.

  “I’ll consider what you said,” she quietly said, and started to go around the table, when her foot caught the bottom of Seeker’s chair. She threw out her arms to keep from falling onto the floor, when Seeker grabbed her arm to prevent her from hurting herself. The cup landed on the hard ground and shattered, throwing shards across the room.

  A blackish-purple heart beat in her head and sent thick tendrils outward, filling her nostrils and ears with an acrid stench. A slick, almost oily film covered her eyes. Before Seeker could react, scenes flashed inside her head with vicious intensity.

  Blood.

  Screams.

  The baby. Crying.

  Pain.

  DiMackerlyn’s angry, twisted face.

  Excruciating pain.

  Blood.

>   A stranger’s face. Wide pink eyes.

  A baby wailing.

  Warm blood.

  Pain-infused blackness.

  Unending blackness.

  And in the end, absolute silence.

  Seeker jerked her hand away, but she had seen. She finally understood, and she could not shake the horrific images. Her heart squeezed in agony for the woman. As tears flowed down her cheeks, she tried to focus on the slight woman now standing beside her. A woman who wore the most angelic expression on her face. Her silver eyes were soft, as was the smile tenderly gracing her face.

  “Now you know, and you cannot tell,” Destiny whispered. “Whatever happens, what will happen, neither you nor I can stop. It is…destiny. And it’s my future. Your future. Our future.”

  “But…but…”

  “No, Ana. What you saw is foretold. It is an event whose outcome cannot be altered. You must accept it, as I have learned to accept.”

  Seeker tried to breathe, but her chest hitched with the effort. The images continued to float in her mind like ghosts. “I…can’t…”

  “Yes, you can. You must.” Incredibly, the psychic placed her fingers under Seeker’s chin and lifted her face to make direct eye contact. “Listen and learn, Ana. You cannot say a word about what you saw. You cannot reveal anything. Not even the slightest hint.”

  “Bu-but you said it would happen anyway.”

  Destiny nodded. “It will. But if you say anything prior to it happening, there could be worse consequences. Much worse. Trust me. Believe me. I’ve made that mistake too many times in the past, and I’ve suffered for it.”

  Taking a deep breath, Destiny removed her hand and turned to leave. Seeker watched her slowly walk away, until the woman paused in the doorway and turned around one last time to address her.

  “You are now burdened with keeping my secret. You cannot tell anyone, not even your sister, until…afterwards.”