Chrystal Bones (Finding Home Book 1)

by Billie Jo Hanlin

  Maybe it was because of her early years playing around with the same type of technology, but she was picking up on things much faster than she had expected to. She was going to spend the day in the engine room with Jos. She was really looking forward to getting her hands dirty.

  As soon as Blue entered the room she felt the vibration and heard a high pitched scream. She covered her ears with her hands. “What is that noise?" she asked. Jos looked around and heard nothing unusual.

  "I do not know what you are talking about. Everything is running normal."

  “You really don’t hear that high pitch scream?” she asked walking over to a complicated arrangement of equipment.

  Her hand reached out to the chrystal placed in the middle. It was a soft glowing pink and she would swear it was in pain. Before she could touch it Jos grabbed her hand, "Don't touch. The shield around it will send a shock through your system,” he said.

  "But it's hurt. You have to let me touch it." She didn't know why she was so certain that she needed to hold it but she was. Jos gave her a long considering look before shutting off the shield. As soon as it was down Blue cupped the chrystal in her hands, "What does it do?"

  "It's the chrystal that powers our environmental systems,” he said. She sent a trickle of her energy through her hands to the chrystal and it lit up for a couple of seconds. When it settled down the air smelled crisper and there was a little less noise and vibration. She had the whimsical thought that it was happy now. But that was ridiculous wasn't it?

  Jos was busy checking his instruments. He shook his head at what he was seeing. "What did you do?" he asked her.

  “I don't know?" she answered truthfully.

  "Whatever it was, it is now working two hundred percent better than it was." With a thoughtful glance at her, he walked over to a hidden panel, opened it and removed a dull jagged grey chrystal the size of a basketball. The call from the chrystal was so strong it was all Blue could do not to snatch it out of his hands. Something of what she was feeling must have shown on her face because Jos hurried to her and placed it in her hands.

  She almost dropped it. The pain rippling off the chrystal was crippling. She went to her knees under the weight and without thinking she pushed waves of her energy into the chrystal. Before long both she and the chrystal were engulfed in a soft blue light. Jos spoke into his com unit. "Jayden and Idris you need to come to the engine room right away,” Never taking his eyes off of Blue.

  Jayden and Idris walked in to see Blue sitting on the floor holding a large ice blue chrystal in her hands. "Where did you get the ice?” Jayden asked. "I thought we didn't have anymore that size."

  "We don't. That is the one damaged in the attack. The one we all thought was dead or almost dead,” Jos said.

  “How?" Idris asked.

  "I don't know. She just held it." Blue showed no signs of knowing that they were there.

  Jayden went to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Blue, come on sweetheart answer me."

  Blue slowly looked at him through dazed eyes, "What, What happened?"

  "I was hoping you could answer that,” he said taking the chrystal from her and handing it to Idris.

  "I don't really know what happened. I just needed to hold it. Something was wrong with it. I fixed it. I don't know how but I did." She knew she was rambling but couldn’t stop the words from coming. She tried to stand only to stumble unsteadily. Jayden put a hand under her elbow to help steady her. "I'm tired,” she said. Then she collapsed.

  He caught her before she could fall to the floor. Cradling her in his arms he told Idris, "Have Dro meet me in medical. You stay here and find out what happen to that chrystal. I will let you know if it is something serious.”

  Dro ran the scanner over Blue and after looking at the readings told Jayden. "She is in a deep sleep. There is nothing wrong with her but exhaustion. She will be fine when she wakes up.” Jayden let out a breath of relief. He had only known her for a week and already she was vital to him.

  The door slid open and Leo sauntered in. He went to Blue, sniffed her then sat down next to the bed. Jos had fixed it so he could roam the ship at will and he had spent the week exploring every nook and cranny along with Blue.

  The big cat had a weird sense of humor and one of his favorite pastimes was what Blue called stalking. He would follow one of them around and sneaking up behind them would let out a loud roar. Startling whoever had been his prey. His favorite target was Sparks.

  Sparks was now looking around every corner and under consoles and still the tiger managed to get him every time. Jayden fully expected him to be a nervous wreck by the time the voyage ended. "What happened?" Dro asked Jayden.

  "That's what I am about to find out,” with one last look at Blue he left the room.

  Jayden found Jos and Idris running tests on the big chrystal. Idris said without looking up, "This Ice was severely damaged and was headed for the graveyard. Now it is better than when it had just been cut out of the ground." He looked at Jayden with excitement. "She can really do it. She can bring dead chrystals back to life. Not only that but she can make them more powerful than any chrystal I have worked with in my life."

  "So, your legend is true,” Jayden said thoughtfully. "She basically collapsed after fixing one chrystal what is going to happen to her when she tries to fix a planet?"

  “It will probably kill her,” Dro stated from the doorway.

  Chrystal Bones Billie Jo Hanlin

  Chapter 15

  "What do you mean, kill her?" Jayden asked in alarm.

  "I ran a few more scans after you left,” Dro told him. "The results were strange. Her statistics do not match that of a Shillidonion. Her brain shows so much activity that the scanners cannot keep up with what is happening. And her blood is like nothing I have ever seen."

  "But you think she is dying,” Idris said.

  "I do not know Idris. I should not have said that. But I have never in all my five hundred and sixty seven years seen anything like this. It is as if her body is burning itself out."

  Idris walked out of the room and straight to medical. He found his sister sleeping peacefully. No sign that anything was wrong. Did he doom her to death if he brought her home? Was he willing to trade her life for his planet’s? He did not know the answers but he was very much afraid that he would do just that. One life, no matter how precious to him, weighed against a whole planet full of lives. He reached out to hold one of her hands in his.

  Such small delicate hands to hold the life of so many in them. He knew without asking that she would be willing to sacrifice her life if needed. He had enjoyed getting to know this adult version of his sister. She was a remarkable woman for someone so young. Though she rarely smiled and he had never heard her laugh; she had a wicked sense of humor. He really did believed she was behind Leo's stalking all of them. No matter that she claimed it was just his nature.

  One thing that had not changed from child to woman was she was still one of the smartest persons he knew. She had only been onboard for a week and already she was proficient on the computers and had gone beyond basic piloting skills in the simulator. Give her another month and he bet she would be almost as good as Jayden and himself.

  The only thing that really bothered him was she never touched anyone and made sure to stay out of anyone’s reach unless it was unavoidable. Even a casual brush of hands was avoided. Except for that kiss she had shared with Jayden. He still was not sure how he felt about that. His best friend and his sister, together. He did not see how that could happen.

  As if thinking of him made him appear Idris felt Jayden come to stand next to him. He said nothing and they both just looked down at the sleeping woman. After a few minutes of silence Idris asked, "Am I taking her home to die?”

  "We won't let that happen,” Jayden said like that was all that needed to be said to make it so. He probably thought it was. They were all pretty arrogant. They had to be to do what they did. But Jayden did always seem to be right so Idris
would cling to that. He placed a soft kiss to her forehead and left the room.

  Jayden stayed for another few minutes then he too left, but not before saying to Leo, "You watch out for her."

  Blue woke feeling like she had run a marathon with a fifty pound pack on her back. Her head was pounding and her skin felt hot and itchy. What had happened? Looking around she saw she was in the medical room and could not remember how she had gotten here. The almost silent swish of the door opening sounded like a gunshot to her aching head. She looked up to see Dro coming towards her.

  "How are you feeling?"

  She winced in pain, his voice echoing in her mind. The effort to speak aloud was beyond her at the moment so she answered him mentally.

  "I'm fine,” she said automatically. She had learned early to show no weakness. It didn’t matter if the men on this ship turned out to be friends or not.

  "You are not fine young miss. You were asleep for several hours but go ahead and pretend you are if it makes you feel better,” he said running a scanner over her. "I can give you something for the headache if you want."

  "It will go away on its own in a few minutes." She was already feeling better and hopped off the table.

  "I would like to run some tests on you, if you don't mind,” Dro said.

  Her voice was abrupt and cold when she said, “No."

  He did not take offense at her tone. He had been the one to find the records of what had been done to her so he understood. "The tests I want to do are noninvasive. Something is going on and I am worried that it may be too much for your body to handle." Blue couldn't help the small part that wanted to let him run his tests. He genuinely was worried about her.

  "Don't fret so much. My body has been through a lot and it always recovers pretty fast." She patted his hand and left with Leo on her heels.

  In the corridor heading to her quarters she saw Jayden striding towards her. He blocked her way forcing her to stop. It was the first time they had been alone all week. His purple eyes pinned her in place. He was a man that commanded attention and wore the authority he had like a comfortable cloak. She wondered if his hair softened his strong face any when it wasn't tied back. No, she decided, nothing would soften that chiseled face when he smiled at her. It wasn't a friendly smile. More like a predator to prey smile. If he thought she was the prey he was in for a surprise.

  "I see you decided to wake up,” he said.

  "It wasn't exactly a voluntary nap but yes, I'm awake."

  "What happened to cause you to pass out like that?”

  Blue thought about it before saying, "It took too much of my energy to heal the chrystal. I didn't know what I was doing so I wasn't prepared for it." She shrugged her shoulders. "I'll do better next time."

  "There won't be a next time. Dro thinks it could kill you,” Jayden said.

  "Don't be silly, as you can see I am fine. At least it didn't try to become one with me,” she said a little sarcastically referring to the big chrystal.

  She started to walk around him. He blocked and used his body to pin her against the wall. When she tried to push him away he took her arms and held them above her head. "I want you,” he said boldly. Shocked, Blue shook her head. She was flustered and his body pressing into hers was sending electricity singing through her veins.

  "Too bad people don't always get what they want,” she managed to say through gritted teeth.

  "But princess, I always do. And I will this time too because you want me as much as I want you. You are just too scared to admit it."

  "I will never submit to you."

  "I don't want your submission, I want your active participation,” he said in a silky seductively low voice that sent shivers to join with all the other unfamiliar feelings coursing through her.

  He lowered his lips to hers slowly and without hesitation she brought her knee up between his legs, hard. He let go of her with a gasp of pain and surprise. She hurried past him. "You cannot run far princess, the ship is not that big.”

  "Stop calling me princess,” she yelled back lifting a hand and giving him the finger. Not that he would understand, but the childish gesture made her feel better. "Traitor, why did you let him do that,” she said to Leo. "Anyone else and you would have had them for lunch. But no, you don't seem to have a problem with him manhandling me. Why is that? Next time I swear I'm going to use my knife on him. Arrogant slug,” Blue ranted to Leo all the way to their room.

  Jayden watched her stalk off. She got to him like no other woman ever had. When he was in the same room he had trouble concentrating on anything but taking her in his arms and kissing her until they were both senseless. His dreams were filled with her and all the things he wanted to do to her luscious body to please them both. He was getting to her too. He knew he was. When he entered a room she made an excuse to leave and if she could not, she pretended to ignore him while sneaking glances at him. He knew this because he was always watching her.

  When Dro told him she was awake he had rushed out of engineering eager to see for himself. She had looked tired and disheveled but he felt such relief at seeing her on her feet. It had stopped his heart when she collapsed in his arms.

  He was not sure what he wanted from her, but… Yes, there was a big but in the equation. He played with women he did not keep them and there was the but. She was Idris's sister and he could not play with her if he wanted to keep that friendship. He had to decide if he wanted to keep her or not, or at least if he wanted to try.

  He had not had a lot of luck with serious relationships with women. Starting with his mother. She had been a stone cold bitch only interested in the money and position that came with being married to his father. After giving him two children she refused to share his bed and proceeded to make all of their lives miserable until she had died when he was twelve.

  He had fallen hard for a woman the exact opposite, he thought, when he was young. She had acted so sweet and shy, refusing to sleep with him until they were bonded. His younger self had believed every lie that fell from her lips. Until he had come home a day early to find her in bed with another man. When he had called off the bonding ceremony she showed her true personality.

  Since then he made sure to let every woman he played with know that it was just uncomplicated fun. He had a strong feeling that nothing with Blue would be uncomplicated.

  The next day he was in engineering along with Jos and Idris. They had made the decision to shut down and install the Ice Chrystal in the engine. They were relatively safe in this area and Idris was confident that they would have no trouble making up the time they would lose by stopping. In fact he predicted they would have at least fifty percent more power for both speed and weapons.

  That fact was what had convinced Jayden to allow them to shut down the engines. It made him nervous to be sitting here with no power or weapons. They were a target with no defenses at the moment and he felt like his naked ass was hanging out for anyone to take a shot at.

  Sparks and Vihan were in the control room monitoring the sensors and he was here watching the process. Blue was also watching closely. Idris was explaining the procedure to her. The Trilleion was his design and Jayden saw the pleasure he took in showing her off to his sister.

  Jos removed the smaller ice and Idris set the new one in place then started making the many adjustments and connections needed. It was a long tedious process but Blue never lost interest and before long both Jos and Idris were giving her instructions to help. Her smaller delicate hands were useful for some of the smaller connections needed.

  Jayden stayed out of their way, watching from where he leaned against the wall. He made frequent trips to the control room to check the sensors himself. He trusted his men but he was not good at doing nothing. Everyone had a job right now but him. He was relieved when he heard Jos say, "Okay, last one done. Let’s power this baby up." He entered a series of numbers and symbols and the column holding the chrystal lit up with bright bands of power running up and down the column in a continuo
us movement.

  Idris kept looking at his display and the information coming through. "Everything is good to go,” he said.

  Jayden spoke into the com, "Sparks, we are ready down here. I am on my way up now.”

  Sparks put the ship through a series of maneuvers testing the engines before exclaiming, "This is great! I love this ship."

  "How long before we can go to hyper?" Jayden asked him.

  "Anytime you want,” was the reply.

  "Lay in a course to Shillidon then and let’s get going. We have an informant to meet and a traitor to find.”

  They were on their way to finish what they had started and Jayden was ready. This little side trip had cost them two weeks of time but they came away with a big prize. Now he would locate the informant and find out who was selling their secrets to the Ragillians.

  "Where's Blue?" Jayden asked Idris. It was rare to come into the control room and not see her at one of the stations since she had come aboard. "Down in the rec room kicking Vihan's ass."

  “You are joking.”

  "Probably, but she wanted some exercise and Vihan offered to teach her some fighting techniques."

  Vihan was one of the few men who could fight Jayden to a draw. He was a brute force kind of fighter and Jayden could not imagine him as a teacher. This he had to see.

  Blue had worked up a sweat sparing with Vihan. He was good. If he got his hands on her she was toast. She wore gloves to avoid being distracted by his thoughts when she made contact. Which was not as often as she wanted. But he did sport a few bruises to go with the ones he had given her. It had taken awhile to convince him to stop treating her like a fragile piece of glass but once she did, he came at her fast and hard. She still wasn't convinced he was using all his strength but that was ok. He would learn the hard way.

  He came at her, she ducked, twirled and jammed an elbow in his back before falling back a step. She barely avoided his huge hand to the side of her head, but not the kick he followed it up with to her stomach. She felt the breath being knocked out of her as she fell back. She let herself go loose as she hit the floor and kept going in a smooth roll to land back on her feet. She swept her left leg out to connect with his knee and brought the heel of her hand to his solar plexus.