by Regine Abel
“That makes two of us,” I answered absentmindedly, floored to realize we’d been at this for over an hour. Turning to Ayana who also looked unsteady on her feet, I extended a hand towards her. “You’re done for the day, young lady. I will escort you back to your quarters. You will see Dr. Lashan for a check-up before you go back to your regular classes.”
She took my hand and nodded, her other hand still rubbing her left temple. Under the heavy scrutiny of close to fifty pairs of eyes, I led her straight to the private bubble tube, normally off limits to non-Xians, and selected the Aspirants Residence. By the time the bubble stopped, Ayana looked completely wiped out. I lifted her in my arms and carried her. She mumbled a token protest before snuggling into me.
While she felt amazing in my arms, it wasn’t lustful thoughts that made me tighten my hold around her. My protective instincts were firing on all cylinders. My woman got hurt under my watch, because of my own actions. I ignored the inquisitive looks of the staff as I marched up to her personal quarters. Like most of the Xian Warriors, I had full access to every room in the HQ buildings and was therefore able to open her door with no problem.
I went straight to her bedroom and carefully laid her down on the bed before taking off her shoes. She immediately fell into a deep slumber. While it had darkened due to her current state of exhaustion, her aura’s colors didn’t give me cause for concern beyond her urgent need to rest. Feeling physically drained, I lay down next to her, on top of the blankets, in spite of my wish for greater proximity.
Normally, only remaining in Myriam’s vessel for an extended period of time before she could transfer my consciousness into a new body caused this kind of physical weakness while I adjusted with my new Shell. My current body felt like an ill-fitting outfit when it had been just perfect for the past five months. We would need to be more cautious when exploring Ayana’s power, but I couldn’t deny the curiosity bubbling inside me. Extending my senses, I brushed against her consciousness to check for any damage. Once reassured, I closed my eyes and focused on reacquainting my soul with my body.
* * *
“I’ve never seen this phenomenon before,” Raven said, leaning against the backrest of the padded, black leather chair in my office. “While you were resting, I performed a search through the Soulcatcher Aspirants files since the beginning of the program. I didn’t find a single hit of something even remotely similar until I ran a similar search, but this time among Operators.”
I perked up at the tone of his voice, and leaned forward on the three-seat couch I sat on, across from him.
“Over sixty-eight confirmed hits, with an extra twenty-six that mentioned something that could be the same type of spark.”
“So there are more like her,” I said, my excitement rising further. She wasn’t an anomaly—which could have played against her—but the catalyst that had finally allowed us to discover a dormant talent.
“More than you realize,” Raven said, running his hand through the shoulder length waves of his hair, untied for once. “All the confirmed hits are black or brown females.”
My eyes widened. “All?”
He nodded.
“I don’t want to jump to conclusions too quickly, but the evidence certainly points to them having a unique power the others don’t. Which by extension could mean—”
“That the Asians could possess a third unknown power if we can find their own spark,” I completed for him.
“Again,” Raven cautioned me, “these are pure speculations at the moment.”
“Of course,” I conceded, refilling Raven’s glass sitting on the glass coffee table between us. He loved Lenusian Cider and I’d just received a fresh batch. “But why now? Why hasn’t anyone investigated this before?”
“Because she’s the first brown-skinned Aspirant to go through the Soulcatcher training at the Vanguard HQ. All the others who made it to the Vanguard were sent directly to the Operators program, as Ayana would have been if not for her insane power.”
“We’ll need to retest them,” I said. “And then we’ll want to take another look at the Asians as well.”
“I’ve already got the ball rolling for all current black and brown-skinned Operators,” Raven said. “However, I strongly recommend we find out more about what it actually does and how it affects Ayana before we push things further or even involve the Asians.”
A sensible approach that I didn’t challenge.
“I will take over her psychic training,” I said, knowing he wouldn’t be pleased.
The expected outraged outburst didn’t come. Raven leaned forward, picked up his full glass, swirled the yellowish-green liquid around, and then took a slow sip. While nowhere near as swift to lose his temper as Chaos, Raven wasn’t known to be this careful, calculated, and deliberate in his responses to adversity. I was. This display of control unnerved me.
“You’re laying claim, then?” he asked at last, although it came out more as a statement.
“Yes.”
“She’s only been here a day. You don’t even know her.”
“I may not know her, yet, but my soul does.”
Raven waved a dismissive hand. “She has a beautiful aura. Many of us are drawn to her.”
“Drawn, but not ensnared,” I countered. “She is my soulmate.”
He narrowed his eyes at me.
“A bold statement. I and a few others could make the same boast.”
“Doubtful,” I said, lifting my chin with a hefty dose of smugness. “Others also tried to hijack her test from Hares. I only made it through because she chose me.”
“They always choose you,” Raven said with a certain amount of bitterness that gave me pause. It was subtle, but there nonetheless. “You are the famous Legion, the face of the Vanguard. They have hundreds of fan clubs dedicated to you.”
As much as I hated to admit it, it did give me an unfair advantage. Despite that, Ayana didn’t strike me as a star-struck fan girl. The connection between us was real.
“You will challenge me, then?” I asked, not looking forward to that prospect.
Call me arrogant, but I didn’t fear losing. There was absolutely no doubt in my mind that she would be my bonded-mate. However, the heavy burden of my duties could do without fending off would-be rivals.
He took another sip, choosing his words before answering. “First, answer me this; why do you wish to take over her training?”
“She’s closed off. I’ve never seen a soul so tightly sealed. Ayana will inevitably form a strong bond with whomever breaches her. He, in turn, will fall even more so for her. I have pretty good self-control, yet I only wanted to lose myself in the feel of her, even with the walls she has erected. Imagine what it will be once they come down.”
“So you are protecting your investment,” Raven said, his voice clipped.
“Truth be told, yes, but that’s only one part.”
He raised an inquisitive eyebrow.
“She’s the first we’re exploring this new power with. While no real harm came to either of us—aside from getting wiped out—I can’t risk her trainer getting distracted by personal feelings. Even with our vigilance, she got hurt today.”
“Fair enough, but I am a professional,” he countered. “Do you doubt my ability to stay focused?”
I smirked at the barely veiled challenge.
“I don’t. But in your case, I refer back to part one.”
He snorted, shook his head, and then rose from his chair. My gaze followed him as he crossed the distance to the large window overlooking the plaza which connected the various official buildings of the Vanguard HQ to the Vanguard Residence. Like most of the unmated Warriors, I had settled for private quarters here rather than in the residential areas on the outskirts of the city. Raven peered outside at the people going about their business, their numbers increased by the recent arrival of a few Coalition dignitaries and members of the press.
“None of your arguments have swayed me,” he said, still looking ou
t the window. “I wish you had asked yesterday, or even this morning.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because I would have challenged you, then.”
My eyebrows shot up. “But not now?” I asked cautiously.
“I saw her aura this morning, when you arrived. I felt her emotional response to your presence. All of us will fail; she has already chosen.”
CHAPTER 4
Ayana
Dr. Lashan turned out to be a lovely sixty-plus lady who happened to look barely a day over thirty. She reminded me of a Viking with a single braid of her long blonde hair falling on either side of a pretty face that leaned toward the longish side. The doctor—Victoria as she insisted I call her—didn’t have that sour expression people with very thin lips sometimes had, but rather gave the impression she was pinching her lips to hold in an irrepressible urge to laugh. Her eyes, the same light blue aqua as the clear water of a tropical beach, sparkled with mischief.
I instantly liked her.
Finding out that she was Raven’s mother blew me away. Like Legion, her mate, Doom, had been incubated from the original embryos of the successful Xian Warriors experiment. The Warriors, bioengineered specifically for the purpose of eradicating the Kryptids, had been named after the human doctor Liang Xi. Seventy years ago, with their research hitting one dead-end after another, the Coalition had made first contact with the brilliant Chinese geneticist whose revolutionary research could provide their missing link. He naturally agreed to assist. His overnight disappearance remained an unsolved mystery for nearly forty years until the Kryptids attacked Earth. Within five years of his abduction, Dr. Xi had solved the multiple problems that had brought the project close to termination, in large part by introducing human DNA to the mix.
Although I knew that Legion’s age hovered somewhere between fifty-eight and sixty-five, more than double my measly twenty-five, it still boggled my mind. He barely looked thirty and would preserve this appearance for another hundred years at which point he would start going through the regular process of aging. With an expected lifespan of two-hundred years, Xian Warriors had the ability to extend the life of their mate who would follow a life cycle similar to theirs. If the warrior died early during battle, his rejuvenating cells would slowly drain from his mate’s system and, after five years, she would return to a normal human aging process.
“Everything looks fine,” Victoria said, gesturing for me to hop off the examination table. Turning on her heels, she strolled over to the desk, her flowy, colorful skirt swishing beneath her white, medical jacket. “Don’t allow that fiend to overtax you. When he sets his mind to something, Legion can be relentless. Pigheaded would work, too, but I’ll go with single-minded.”
Despite the harshness of her words, her tone and the affectionate look in her eyes spoke volumes for her gentle feelings towards the Warriors’ leader.
“I won’t,” I said, taking a seat in the patient’s chair across from her.
It had to be the most unusual medical clinic I had ever set foot in. The gleaming white floors, walls, and furniture had been expected; the colorful cubic paintings and art pieces, not so much. Even the white furniture was decorated with abstract patterns, be it the edge of the desk’s top, the arms of the chairs, or the base of the examination table. Sick patients no doubt welcomed the playful distraction it offered.
“Please wear this on your temple during your ESP training sessions,” Victoria said, proffering a tiny, round object shaped like a white pill. “Just press it against your temple, and it will stick. Press it again for three seconds to remove it. It will track your exertion level and warn you when you are on the verge of hurting yourself. No more pain for you,” she said, her face and voice taking a serious edge as she waved a stern finger at me. “Until we understand what that spark is about, I want you to be careful.”
“Yes, Victoria,” I said, feeling properly chastised.
“Good girl! Off you go, then!” she said, winking at me.
Located within the Training Center, this larger medical facility provided every service modern medicine had to offer. A smaller one was also in operation at the Aspirants Residence. Located in the second flame-shaped tower of the Residence, it provided basic services found in local clinics on Earth. The floors above it offered everything a girl could want to pamper herself, from a gym—including pool and sauna—day spa with all the services to make you feel relaxed and rejuvenated, and beauty salon, while the top floor had a dance club and movie theater.
But it was the last tower that had me giddy with anticipation; the shopping mall. The ground floor contained the grocery store. Everything else above it sold clothes, beauty products, accessories, shoes, sports and training gear, and furniture. The best part? It didn’t cost a dime. Nothing. Zilch. The Coalition of Planets paid for everything in the Vanguard program. Despite receiving very generous salaries, the psychic staff had zero expenses at the Vanguard HQ and significantly reduced prices at the Coalition HQ and peripheral outposts.
Before my arrival on Khepri, I’d been dreading how difficult it would be to meet some of my needs.
Growing up in Montreal had utterly spoiled me. I always considered my home city as a mini-U.N. The cultural diversity existed not only in the population but in its commerce and accessible goods. As a woman of Haitian origin, I’d never had problems finding exotic produce near home. I could always find the meats or spices I needed to make the traditional recipes my mother had taught me. Having been blessed with the ability to live abroad through various exchange programs, it soon struck me that the farther north you went in Europe, the harder it became to find those things I’d always taken for granted.
The worst had been my six-month stay in Belgrade. While the people proved to be the most welcoming I’d met in all my travels, their city didn’t contain a single black hair salon. I’d actually considered flying to Germany or France just to get a perm! If it had been this hard on Earth, what were the odds of me finding any such things on Khepri with me being the only black woman to have ever qualified for the Vanguard training?
Well, Khepri once more delivered while I ate a piece of humble pie. Even though a lot of Earth produce was imported here, agricultural and industrial towns had developed on the outskirts of the city. Thoroughly vetted humans and aliens operated those businesses, providing for the basic daily needs of the Vanguard HQ staff. Among them, plenty of black folks, making me not that special after all. Still, the black aesthetician offered to come once a week to the Aspirants Residence’s spa to take care of the needs of yours truly.
Shereen didn’t understand what the big fuss was about as she watched me squeal with delight. It took me a while to explain that contrary to her, I didn’t get a perm to curl my hair, but to relax it so it would be straight. Our hair had different textures that required completely different products and treatments. We tended to have dryer skin which demanded extra care. And, while I wasn’t big on makeup, for the occasional times I did want to primp up, a white salon wouldn’t have the right color palette for my complexion, and I’d end up looking like a clown.
Over the next two weeks, Shereen and I made it a point to visit every single venue of the Residence’s mall after our classes.
As she had expected, my bubbly friend didn’t qualify as a Soulcatcher. Until they figured out the functionality of my anomaly, the plan was for me to join the Operators with her. The Warriors assigned to me would be determined at the end of the process but Legion had strongly hinted his intention to keep me.
Legion confused me. He’d taken over Raven’s duties as my psychic trainer, leaving me both excited and terrified at the prospect of spending so much private—intimate—time with him. In light of our flirtatious banter on our first couple of encounters, I had thought he might take advantage now that we had a daily hour together, intertwined in each other’s minds. But he had kept things almost insultingly neutral. While the Warriors proved a flirty bunch, I’d quickly come to distinguish playfulness from genuine
interest. I could have sworn Legion fell into the genuine interest category, especially after that initial gift and the possessive way he behaved whenever another Warrior ogled me with too much intensity. Why so distant and professional then when he had me all to himself?
Walking out of the Operators training class with Shereen, my head swam from getting bombarded by so many psychic messages. While the directed messages helped expand extra-sensory perceptions and our accuracy in interpreting them, it left us wide open for the next couple of hours and subject to endless randoms. Randoms were the unsolicited conversations that popped into our minds like a crossed-wired phone call that you suddenly land in the middle of while trying to call a different person. As long as we remained still and quiet, the two people engaged in mind-speak wouldn’t notice our presence. Although I had no secrets to hide, I very much liked my privacy and thus kept my mind-speak to a minimum. Lucky for them, the Warriors were shielded against their conversations being eavesdropped on in this manner.
While they annoyed me to no end, Shereen relished them.
“I swear, those randoms are the best soap operas ever,” Shereen said as we walked towards the exit of the Training Center. “From what I’ve gathered, I’m only channeling local people, but sheesh! Who could have imagined one of the Operators deliberately failed her Soulcatcher test so that she could be with her lesbian girlfriend, only for her girlfriend to ditch her for a Xian Warrior?”
I frowned at her. “You shouldn’t be eavesdropping.”
“I’m not!” she exclaimed with false innocence. “They keep broadcasting their drama to me. Those two have a thing for me. That’s like the fifth time they’ve awakened me in the middle of the night with a screaming match. It’s like they want me to hear all the sordid details.”
I rolled my eyes, and she snickered, unremorseful.
As we neared the tall glass doors leading outside, my steps faltered. A group of dignitaries surrounded by reporters had congregated at the entrance. I’d done a good job avoiding them for the past two weeks since my arrival on Khepri and wanted to keep it that way.