by Viola Grace
“I don’t think so. Your nipples are hard as diamond and your lips are still blue.”
“It could be a natural blue.”
He laughed. “You remind me of someone I used to know. She had an answer for everything.”
“Do you keep in touch?”
He sighed and held her close. “No. She is a friend that I am better for knowing, but she has to remain in the past. What species are you?”
She blinked at the sudden shift. “Terran. Second wave. We were hauled off the earth and put to work.”
“You are joking.” There was an appalled amusement in his face.
“No. Terran, born and bred, then taken from home and shoved in a can and sent to the imperium.” Lexi smiled.
He spread his fingers across her back. “Did you mind the travel?”
“No, I loved it. I love being in new places and living a new life, even if I was in the armour.” Her body was starting to shiver violently against him.
“Hold onto me. This is going to get worse before it gets better.” His wings closed around her, making a cocoon of warm air highlighted by his own body heat.
Through gritted teeth, she muttered, “The story of my life.”
Chapter Two
The waves of hypothermia came and went, leaving her exhausted and limp. Winger slipped away from her and left her in the hands of the regular medical personnel.
She was wrapped in a medical gown, hooked up to IVs and tucked into a bed with a heating unit under it. She wanted to look at the species that was working on her with such care, but her lids were far too heavy.
* * * *
“What are they going to do with her?” Winger sat at the table with the rest of the Whiccin Guardians.
Strike said, “She will be debriefed and returned to the imperium. Now that she is no longer a Negotiator, she is a dangerous asset to leave running around. They will probably assign her to a Nyal noble for safekeeping.”
Winger tensed. “That isn’t right. She hasn’t done anything to deserve that.”
Patches raised one blue brow. “You have just met her. How do you know?”
“She’s a Terran. One of my first and best friends was a Terran. They are a highly empathic species, and she will not survive long if she gets into a Nyal household.”
Strike leaned back, Pulse was amused and Patches was looking at Winger with a smile of understanding.
Patches grinned, showing his white pointed teeth. “I believe a case could be made to keep her on Whiccin, Strike. She is an intelligence asset after all, and she has implants that would help Theory with pinpointing species and plans of attack.”
Winger blinked at Patches and felt gratitude. The healer had an empathy for those around him, and Winger was a welter of confused emotions.
Strike tapped his fingers on the table. “I will send a query to the imperium. I will ask if we can keep her, but…Winger, she is your responsibility. You need to keep track of her, get her training and we will see about setting her up as a dispatcher.”
Winger exhaled in relief.
“On a trial basis, Winger.” Strike narrowed his eyes, his serpentine gaze serious.
“Understood. If she isn’t capable as a dispatcher, I am sure we will be able to work something else out.”
Theory snorted. “I am sure you will. She will trade one owner for another.”
Winger stiffened and turned to the other Guardian. “I am not an owner. I have been a slave, and it is not something that I would inflict on anyone. She is as free as the imperium regulations will let her be as an information asset.”
Theory met his gaze for a moment and then dropped his own, nodding. “I had forgotten, Winger. Apologies.”
Patches snorted. “For a tactician, you don’t have much tact, Theory.”
Theory’s ears folded back and he snarled a little.
Winger rolled his eyes and ignored the healer and the tactician. They were always at odds, but there was no reason for it beyond their temperaments.
Strike nodded. “Winger, I will file a request to add her to our support roster.”
“I didn’t know we had one.” Winger raised his brows.
Strike grimaced and headed to the com centre. “We do now.”
Winger grinned and went to make his own call to the imperial palace. The Imperial Consort had a lot of pull, and she might just give Lexi the chance she needed. Since they were from the same planet, it might be the ticket to getting Lexi a stable position.
Something about Lexi’s fatalistic acceptance of whatever happened next made Winger want to prod her into fighting. He needed her to fight for herself. In those hours in the shuttle with her holding his hand and unable to feel him, her survival had become very important to him.
He flexed his wings and started entering the imperial codes reserved for the Guardians. Now, it was a waiting game until the call was returned.
* * * *
Lexi flexed her hands and looked out the window of the medical centre. She was waiting for someone to come and debrief her, but no one had shown up yet. Maybe today was the day.
“You shouldn’t be out of bed, Madam Under.” Her health attendant, Minya, was persistent as she brought in a meal tray.
“I can’t stay there any longer, Minya. I should have been debriefed the moment I was awake.”
Minya nodded and arranged covers of the food to one side. “They were here, but as the physicians stated that you were not well enough for visitors, Guardian Winger has kept them at bay.”
That brought her around. “He’s here?”
“Yes, madam. He has been guarding the lobby and signing autographs for the last three days.”
Lexi ran her hand along her skull, noting the light fuzz that was growing in. “I need to get out of here. If I have to be interrogated, so be it.”
She heard his wings before she saw his face.
“That will not be necessary, Lexi. May I introduce the Nyal Imperial Consort, Hydrangea Graham Renix.”
A woman entered, and she smiled at Lexi. “You were correct, Winger. She is one of mine. Hello, Alexia Under.”
They had met before, but now, there was no armour in between. Lexi bowed. “Consort, I am honoured by your visit.”
“Do not stand on formality. Call me Hydra, and I will address you as Lexi, all right?”
“Thank you, Hydra. I am not up to much formality today.” She gestured to her wrapped robe.
“Have a seat, Lexi. I have a recorder on, so I am going to be the person to debrief you.”
Minya was staring with her eyes wide open.
Winger gently removed Minya from the patient room and closed the door.
The small table with two chairs suddenly became the interrogation room, but someone that cheerful had never queried Lexi.
“All right, Lexi. Tell me how you came to be here.” Hydra put her hand on the table, palm up.
Lexi sat and slid her right hand into Hydra’s left. “I was standing in the courthouse on Akari station, waiting for my ride. It was full exposure and the sun was bright. I heard a noise behind me, and I turned, but pain ripped through me and everything went black.”
Hydra’s voice was soothing, and it came through the memory of the pain. “Continue. What happened when you woke up?”
“There was more pain but not enough to make me pass out. They had connected some kind of electrodes to the joints of my suit, and whatever they were using cut through the insulation. I felt the burn, I screamed, and then, the voice came and told me that it would all end if I signed the treaty. I declined his kind offer, and then, there was more pain.”
Hydra’s hand was strong and her voice was calm. “How long were you there?”
“My suit told me it was a week. Then, there was the pulse, the sound of thunder and everything went dark. I tried to move in my suit, but it is heavy and it took some doing.”
“You walked in an inactive suit?”
“I felt my way along. The cell wasn’t that big and the door was open. I moved one foot and then the other until I heard a strange flapping noise and felt the press of air on the suit.”
“What was it?”
“I will have to guess that it was Winger. I do know that he held my hand during the flight to Whiccin and helped me through my hypothermia after Patches healed me.”
Hydra cocked her head, and Lexi looked at her fully for the first time.
She was wearing enough jewellery to buy an entire star system. Her headpiece had a gemstone as large as one of her irises and the precise colour of her eyes. Her gown was elaborate, fitted and showed as much in silhouette as it concealed in opacity.
It was her footwear that made Lexi feel at ease. Suede boots in the same deep green as her gown were visible. Any woman who wore boots with an evening gown had a sense of humour.
“What do you want to do now, Lexi?”
Lexi blinked. “I am a security risk. I thought I would be dumped in the secure wing of Janial and left to rot.”
Hydra laughed. “Let’s consider that plan B. I am here to offer you the opportunity to be in the custody of the Guardians of Whiccin. You can file for whatever body modifications you like. The facility that you are in is equipped to offer you the standard modifications of strength or increased intelligence. If you have any psychic potential, they can stimulate it.”
“Have you had any work done?”
The Imperial Consort laughed. If she was First Wave Volunteer, then she had to be forty or fifty, but she didn’t look a day above thirty. The smile made her look younger still.
“No. My husband is not a fan of the idea. He thinks I am far too intuitive as it is.” Hydra winked.
Lexi sat back and rubbed the implants in her skull. “I think I will go for the psychic testing if it won’t interfere with my implants.”
“You want to keep them?”
Lexi smiled and leaned back. “I have jacked into histories of races I haven’t even dreamed of. Wars, romances, life, death, the history of the imperium has run through my mind, and I don’t want to cut myself off from it.”
“Addicted to the data stream?”
“Something like that.”
“I will file it in your orders. Any strength enhancements?”
“No. I like being all girly. I wouldn’t mind some tweaking of my reflexes though. A fast smack is better than no smack at all.”
Hydra laughed. “True. Winger, do you have any concerns?”
Lexi scowled. “Why are you asking him?”
Snickering evilly, the Imperial Consort grinned, “Because he is your keeper. Winger has agreed to monitor your progress and report to the Guardian offices at regular intervals. If plan B ever needs to be enacted, he will be the first to know.”
“Imperial Consort, I accept the responsibility for the health and wellbeing of Alexia Under. She will be given an administrative post at the Whiccin Guardian base, and her progress will be monitored closely after any alterations that she selects.”
Hydra stood and pulled Lexi with her. The next moment, Lexi was engulfed in a hug, and she had to fight the panic that the contact caused.
Hydra quickly released her. “Sorry. I forget that you are just out of the suit. You just look so confused.”
“That doesn’t even begin to cover it.”
Lexi was a little shaken, but Winger was at her side in an instant. He wrapped his wings around her and held her back against his body. She calmed immediately.
Hydra looked at them and smiled slightly. “I can see you are in good hands. I will leave the orders with the front desk that you are entitled to any changes you request.”
Lexi breathed in the scent of Winger’s feathers and relaxed against him. “Thank you for your assistance. Another interrogator might have caused me an emotional episode.”
Hydra nodded and inclined her head formally. “I understand completely. I will be in touch, Lexi.”
The Nyal Imperial Consort swirled her skirts, waved a cheery goodbye and left the room.
Lexi slumped back against Winger and looked up at him. “Well, that was fun.”
“I believe that she has what she needed. She will get the security footage and use a Reader to fill in the blanks.” He smiled. “Can I let you go now?”
Blinking rapidly, she stepped away from him, brushing past his surprisingly soft feathers as she moved toward the table again.
Minya entered with a medical team, and they stood there waiting.
She looked at the amused Winger and stepped into the custody of the staff. It was time to see what her mind was made of.
Chapter Three
When she had first entered the armour, her body had rebelled and agony had been her companion for weeks. The alterations that the Whiccin physicians had made to her body doubled that pain and made it last longer than she dreamed she could stand. It was only hours of accelerated transformation, but it was more than she could cope with.
“Easy, Lexi. Breathe through it. You are almost finished.” Winger was at her side; he was always at her side.
She shuddered and flailed out with her hand. He gripped it and held on while her body twisted.
Finally, it stopped. The pain ceased, the agony receded and all she could feel was the damp of sweat drying on her skin and his warm grip around her fingers. She blinked rapidly and inhaled deeply. “Well, that sucked.”
He laughed low and deep. “I am relieved to hear you say that.”
She smiled at him and then turned her head to see the nervous medical staff. “Are you folks all right?”
They nodded and quickly ran scans.
Dr. Huurala cleared his throat. “The implant has been accepted. Your body is adjusting to it. The increase of your psychic frequency has worked, but the nature of your talent is unknown. You will have to find out what you are capable of by using your new skills. The Guardians are best suited to help you with that.”
Winger didn’t wait. He scooped her up and carried her out of the medical centre wrapped in the sheet from her bed.
He bent his knees and launched them into the air; the heavy beats of his wings were a rhythm that she could feel in her soul.
The wind stung her eyes, so she turned her face against his chest. He was wearing a battle suit; the heavy armour was buried inside a smooth fabric with a white and black pattern that complimented his hair and wings.
She inhaled his scent and smiled at the warmth and comfort that ran through her as her brain responded to the signals he was putting out. Lexi had to face it, she associated Winger with safety, and to date, she had seen nothing to wreck her little connection.
He flew them over a city and then a body of water. He settled on an outcropping and carried her into a skimmer. “I apologize for the exposed flight. We are about to go stealthy for the final leg of the journey.”
She swallowed a few times. “It is fine. I am guessing that the Guardians need a bit of privacy.”
“It is hard to come by, but the Whiccins are fairly sedentary. It is only when they do enhancements on someone who is on the criminal-element side that we are called in to interfere.”
“Does that happen a lot?”
Lexi watched as they lifted off and Winger’s hands moved swiftly over the controls. He had a graceful competence that she admired. “I have never been able to fly a skimmer. I keep getting distracted.”
He laughed. “It takes some getting used to. I was raised to use my own wings as soon as they could hold my weight. That didn’t last long.”
“What happened?”
“I did something that caused a friend a great deal of pain. One of my wings was broken, and I had to serve a prison term.”
Lexi was surprised, but she could sense his remorse. “How are you flying now?”
A wave of slow happiness went through him. “My friend forgave me, and she healed me.”
“Oh. It was a she.”
He sighed. “It is not a pleasant story.”
“May I hear it?”
He looked at her and made a decision. “When young male Enjels mature, their bodies undergo stresses that cause fluctuations in body temperature. We need sleep companions to keep us from going hypothermic.
“I had run away from home and ended up enslaved and sold to a large blob of gelatine, working with large animals known as Tovah. Miranda was another slave, and she was assigned as my sleep companion during my wing growth.”
“My guardian, Osias, came to retrieve me and bring me home. I refused to go without Miranda, so he bought her, too. They had an instant connection, and I was jealous.”
Lexi’s heart sank. “Oh.”
“Not the way you think. She was my companion, and I fixated on her. That is what made the next thing so horrifying.”
She felt queasy, and it wasn’t coming from her. She looked over at him and tried to guess what he was thinking, but all she was getting was nausea and remorse.
“My growth period ended without warning, and my mating cycle kicked in. I forced myself on her and damaged her severely. Osias found us and broke my wing. I welcomed the pain and spent the rest of the time in the brig. I was sentenced on Jela and spent five years in prison and twelve in the temple learning to control myself and teach others how to do the same.”
“You said she healed you.”
“She is an empathic healer. She has five children now. I get letters from her and her family every few months.”
She got a wave of pleased relaxation from him.
“I think I am developing empathy.”
He blinked. “So soon?”
“Well, they didn’t give me a timeline.” She wrinkled her nose.
“So, how disgusted are you?”
She cocked her head. “For something you did two decades ago? For something that the victim forgave you for? I know about Enjel physiology. I understand about the developmental rut. You aren’t the first to have savaged your companion, you won’t be the last.”
He blinked again. “That is eminently practical.”