by Viola Grace
“I will give it every opportunity. I enjoy the peace and the jam is coming along very well.”
Lieta chuckled. “Your baby will be fine here as well, Venila. Don’t think we didn’t notice.”
It was Venila’s own talent that had shown Lieta the truth of it the day they met. Carrying the woman to the abbey, the last few feet to safety, had shown her more than she wanted to know about anatomy and what could be done in the name of love if the soul was black.
She settled into the seat on the shuttle and followed their instructions for the harness. She was to address the two men as specialists and they would address her as the same.
The feeling of being separated from the world she had rested on all her life was strange but exciting. She shivered and watched the world fall away beneath them as they took off on their predetermined path.
They were taking her to where she could do the most good and she had to take their word for it, that it was the best thing for her to be doing right now. She could feel the moment the artificial gravity took hold. It had a strange, unyielding feeling, like walking on rocks instead of grass, only in every cell of her body.
“We have left the reach of your world. I am guessing that you will need some training for a more modern environment.” Specialist Ukiss smiled, his kind brown eyes at odds with the slight horns protruding from his scalp.
She unclasped the harness and rose to her feet. “Please. We have a few items at the abbey, but I would like to see them in action. Do you know where you are taking me?”
“I will show you how we work the kitchen and the lav, and then, you will get your briefing. You can ask anything you wish along the way.”
“Excellent. Please, show me anything you deem essential to my mission and blending in.”
She got the briefing on how to use the lav, and she was talked through making herself a cup of tea. The dispenser was interesting. The idea of selecting an image and having it removed and heated for consumption was amusing. The monks rose before dawn to bake the bread for the abbey, this would get all of them to their meditations with Mother and Father on time.
She smiled and sat with her cup. “Right. Tell me about where I am going and what I am doing.”
Ukiss nodded and got to his feet, snagging a flat object that resembled a modern version of an old data pad that they had at the abbey. Mother and Father kept it charged and monks could use it for study or entertainment. Lieta relaxed because it was familiar technology.
“The world of Darhil has been under a sort of siege for the last decade. A god walks amongst them and they tremble at his approach.” Ukiss brought up images of her target.
A handsome man wearing nothing but a flowing skirt fastened with a tight sash stood on a marble dais and raised his arms to the sky. Lightning flashed and streamed from the sky, pooling and crackling around his hands before he thrust his fists toward a mountain and it crumbled under the explosive power.
“He has enslaved twenty percent of the population along racial divides and he is attempting to breed every female he comes across.” He gave her a serious look. “That is not why you are here.”
“I am aware. Fortunately, that is not a weakness that I have. I can and will resist him.”
“If you can mimic talents, that might stop the lightning, but if this is a pheromone, you might be in for trouble. We won’t be able to help you. You are going in alone. All strangers are kept at the spaceport and all new females are carried to the palace for selection.”
Lieta nodded. “Is my clothing appropriate?”
“If they want you in something else, they will give it to you. Can your talent be detected?”
She cocked her head. “Could you or Specialist Heirak detect it?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“Nor has even the most curious of detector talents. I simply am what I am.”
Ukiss nodded. “Good.”
There was a silence and he finally looked at her directly with those kind brown eyes. “What are you?”
“Shall I tell you what I know?”
“If you would not mind. I confess to deep curiosity.”
Lieta leaned back and sipped at her tea. “I remember a terrible scream and my mother’s eyes staring at me before a man with black eyes took her away. I cried and cried, it seemed like days, but my mother came back and held me, running toward the abbey in the rain. My mother was the right shape, but her eyes were black and they burned with stars. She put me down, stroked my cheek and screamed as the man pulled her away once again. The scream brought a monk and he brought me to Sister Esrai. The rest of my life has been the abbey.”
“Who was your mother? How old were you?”
“From what Sister Esrai told me, I was a few hours old. Apparently, I was set up a little differently even then.”
She finished her tea and went for a second cup. Getting knowledge of the forbidden machines made her smile.
Ukiss was staring at her. “You really think you can do this?”
Lieta took the tablet and brought up the man who was controlling the world. “I can break him.”
“Good. This isn’t going to be pleasant. Feel free to kick and scream when they take you.”
“How long until we get there?”
“Seven hours.”
“Do you mind if I sleep? It has been a long day.” She got to her feet. “Oh, how are you going to explain having me on your ship?”
“Easy, you ran away from an arranged marriage and we are taking you home.” He shrugged. “We look scary enough to manage it and our ship is going to start having trouble in six hours. The last hour will be made with oxygen masks on.”
She smiled and headed for the bunks that had been pointed out on her tour. “I can’t wait.”
Chapter Three
It went off like clockwork. They began to suffer atmospheric trouble and sent out a distress call. Darhil requested the inhabitant manifest, and the moment that they received it, they were invited down.
Lieta sat in her seat and waited for the knock on the door. They had been told to wait for the customs and immigration officers to enter the ship.
Specialist Heirak gave her a nod, and he waited until the knock sounded before he hit the button to open the hatch.
Lieta felt nervous for the first time in a long while. The immigration officer touched her shoulder and smiled. “Please come with us, miss. We need to run you through decontamination.”
She was unbuckled and helped to her feet. They gently shepherded her out of the ship and she looked back. “Why aren’t they coming to?”
“The men are processed at a different facility. They will be taken out after you have been secured.” The officer chuckled. “There are only so many of us, so we have to engage the protocol in shifts.”
It sounded reasonable, so she didn’t struggle. She didn’t struggle when she was put into a version of the shower, but she yelped when her clothing dissolved under the liquid. She slapped at the walls in panic. “Let me out!”
She sobbed and pounded the plates of the wall with increasing strength as the liquid continued to flow over her. There was nowhere to hide.
She screamed and smashed her way through the plexi, falling in a naked, panting heap on top of the shards.
Hands helped her up and she fought them.
“Easy, miss. Easy. The gel must have detected a contaminant in your clothing. You are fine, miss. We will get you dressed.”
She felt something cool on her arm, and she looked down to see something shaped like a stubby cylinder with a trigger attached. She felt a swelling of darkness and realized that the shot was supposed to make her sleep. Lieta crumpled and let them lift her off the plexi and carry her away.
She let her body take on the rhythms of sleep. All those years of meditating were finally paying off.
They carried her carefully and placed her on a cool, flat surface. To her surprise, they stepped away from her.
The fingers pulled away from her, and she heard him say. “Prepare her and bring her into the palace. This is what I have been looking for.”
Hands went into action and she was lifted, bathed carefully and dressed. The touch of the hands grew more tentative, and she fluttered her eyes as if she was waking.
She shivered and sat up. “What happened?”
She looked down her body. “What am I wearing?”
The women that surrounded her smiled shyly. Their nut-brown skin was as nearly naked as she was.
“It is a Darhil traditional costume. It fits anyone, so we thought it would make it easier for you.”
Lieta got to her feet and was unsurprised to find them bare. The jewellery was an odd touch though. Bangles at her wrists and ankles jingled when she moved. That was going to get very annoying very quickly.
When she caught a look at herself in the mirror, she froze. “Oh hell no.”
The skirt was long, gauzy and was nearly transparent in a deep shade of green. A collar of beads that hung forward and back in black, green and gold covered her breasts.
Her hair had been brushed to a smooth, silky wave and a headband had a large precious stone on the centre of it. Decorations were looped over her ears and hung to her shoulders.
She had never looked like this in her life, and she realized that that was the point. It was a disorientation tactic that would put her in a vulnerable position.
Lieta made up her mind in that moment that the entire world of Darhil could see her naked if it would help her do what she had to do.
Her attendants smiled at her and steered her out of the building where they had dressed her and onto a flat platform that rose in the air to cruise toward the palace. It was easy to spot the palace; it was the only advanced building visible.
She had no idea how much time had passed since they landed, but she was preparing for battle. Whatever she was here for, she was about to do it. She wasn’t letting him get her into bed. She wasn’t that kind of alien.
Lieta looked around and she noticed a gathering crowd. Apparently, they had been notified that she was coming.
The platform landed and the women with her knelt as they faced their god.
The women hissed, “Kneel.”
Lieta stepped forward. “I will not kneel.”
The crowd murmured as she broke protocol.
The god narrowed his gaze. “Kneel.”
She felt the air buffet her, pressing on her shoulders, forcing her down.
Lieta floated up against his pressure, and she raised her hands. “I will not kneel.”
The sky darkened and the wind stirred the air as moisture churned.
“I am a god, and you will kneel to me!” Lightning cracked around his hands, and he thrust them forward, firing at her.
She was done. She moved toward him and caught the energy, turning it back on him as she skimmed across the divide between them. With a snap, she encased him and the lightning in a force field and cut off his air.
She watched him suffocate and turned toward the attendants who were looking on in horror. “Yes?”
“Are you a god?”
She winced. She drew on the sonic talent so her voice boomed over the crowd. “No. I am a woman of power and I have come to reclaim this man. He is no more a god than I am and his will has twisted your society. I order you to tear this palace apart, to free the slaves and to resume your lives with his presence here as the measure of an evil being who came to rule you. Make him a creature of myth and legend and live in your reality.”
Lieta wrapped the body in bands of power and felt the pulse inside. He was still alive.
The flight was short. She managed to find the shuttle again, and with the god in her grip, she simply glared at the guards who stared at her. “He is going home.”
Once inside the ship, she dropped her cargo on the floor. “Do you have anything to tie him with?”
The guard watching the two specialists jumped and his jaw dropped as he looked from the god on the floor to the woman who was standing with her foot on his chest. She sighed and sent a light zap of electricity through him, causing him to stiffen and crumple.
Heirak got up from his seat and lifted the guard, taking him outside the ship. When he returned, he opened a cupboard, removed a column of something shiny and wrapped it around the head and neck of the deity on the ground. The man under her foot shuddered.
“What was that?”
Lieta brushed her hands along her thighs and watched as Heirak heaved the deity onto the medical bed before wrapping him tightly to it with that substance.
“It is called null film. It was designed to transport talents to prison stations.”
“Where are we taking him?”
“Janial station. He has been tried in absentia for enslaving a primitive race. We have social repair specialists in the population already. They will assess the damage and determine the sentence. His guilt is not in debate.”
She smiled. “And then you take me home.”
He gave her a look that spoke volumes. “Correct. We will take you home.”
Lieta folded out the jump seat in medical. “I will stay here for the flight. If he wakes, I don’t want him panicking and hurting himself.”
Specialist Heirak gave her an odd look and then nodded. He headed for the control deck, and minutes later, they were lifting off.
She swayed as they parted from the atmosphere. The man on the bed moaned and twitched. Lieta stood up the moment they were stable and she crooned to sooth him.
It took an hour, but he opened his eyes and fought his restraints. The null film flexed but didn’t break. “Where am I?”
“You are on a ship and heading for prison, my friend.” She couldn’t help but feel something when he was near her.
“What happened?”
“I pulled rank on god.” She smiled. “You ran into someone you couldn’t control or intimidate. Now, you are going to spend time in confinement.”
He scowled. “So, you have power as well? I thought I was the only one.”
“Where I come from, you would have had your ass handed to you the moment you tried to pull any of that holy crap. If what I read is correct, you will meet a few other talents in the prison.”
He groaned and she could feel him trying to exert his energy.
“That isn’t wise. What is your name, by the way?”
“Muraz of the Kianhar. I would bow, but it seems I am bound.”
“Oh, and you will remain so, Muraz.” She turned away.
“Wait. I have never seen a woman like you.”
“As far as I know, there isn’t one. When I was made, someone killed the mould.” She was shocked. She never just blurted that out. She backed away and sat down.
He tried to look at her but his head was restrained. “Come back where I can see you.” His voice had turned low and husky.
“No. I am fine here. I have had a trying day.”
To her surprise, he chuckled. “You and me both.”
She paused and then giggles broke free before they turned into wild laughter. It really had been a trying day.
Chapter Four
It felt surreal to return home with her ridiculous costume in her bag where a regular boring gown used to be.
She felt a surge of relief when she walked through the rear entrance of the abbey.
When she stepped out of the tunnels and into the square, everyone froze for a moment before they surged around her, hugging her and congratulating her on her successful return.
Specialist Valuu stepped up and shook her hand. “Curator, your skills have given me very big shoes to fill.”
“Since everyone seems hale and hearty, I am guessing that you did just fine. Your partners are waiting in the shuttle, but they are tucked into their din
ner so there is no hurry.”
Valuu grinned. “Speaking of which, you must be hungry. Venila has been working on her cooking, so this could be an interesting evening.”
“I think this is my biggest challenge so far. Shall we?”
The community gathered around her and she sat in the dining hall, in the place she always occupied. The stew was a little…unusually seasoned, but she could eat it.
Sister Esrai smiled. “Mother and Father wish to see you as soon as you eat.”
Valuu shook her head. “No matter how politely I asked, I was never allowed to meet them.”
Lieta patted her hand. “They pick the time, the place and what they will tell you. If I go on another assignment and you return to fill in, they will evaluate whether you are ready to meet them. Eventually, you will meet them.”
“Can you at least tell me about them?”
Lieta smiled, “They simply are what they are. When you see them, you will know what I am talking about.”
“I look forward to it.”
Lieta chuckled. “It shows what you know.”
She took off her shoes and paced down the pathway to the stone seat. Her skin wooded over and Mother and Father appeared.
“Hello, Mother and Father.”
“Lieta, our dearest one. How was your adventure?” The rough bark of their hands held hers.
“I was responsible for knocking a civilization back to the bronze age, and I met a man I couldn’t look away from and made sure he was locked away. It was a pretty good adventure, but there are some regrets.”
“Like what?”
“I finally met a man that I actually could see myself with and he was an ego maniac who enslaved a people.”
“Is that all?”
Shock was a polite word for what was running through Lieta’s mind. “All?”
“Enslaving a people is easy. You could have done it yourself. What was he doing with his power?”