Diplomatic Crisis (The Empress' Spy Book 2)

by S. E. Weir

  “I’m sorry, Phina. I’ve been really worried about you, but I should have been here to help you instead of having my head up my ass and leaving you to deal with it on your own. You’ve done a remarkable job of dealing with everything.”

  After hesitating, she nodded. She didn’t want to stay at odds with him. It felt weird and wrong. “Apology accepted. I appreciate the understanding. I’m sorry I was so harsh too, but I was afraid you had given up on training me.”

  Giving her a somber nod in acknowledgment, Link put his hands on her shoulders. “I gathered that from what you said in the bar. Don’t worry, kid. You’re stuck with me from now on.” He gave her a ghost of a grin, then gently squeezed her shoulders before letting go. “You’d have to be three times as big an asshole as I’ve been to make me even consider it.”

  She smiled, her heart lightening. Then a thought caused her to frown. She almost didn’t mention it but figured she might as well ask. He was the one with the spy contacts, after all. “There was a guy in the bar who seemed too interested in our conversation, and you didn’t have the shield activated that kept it private.”

  Link’s gaze sharpened. “And you didn’t recognize him?”

  She shook her head, and he called, “Meredith. Would you show us who was in the bar when Phina walked out?”

  Phina added, “He was human, two tables away from Link.”

  Link glanced at her, his eyes full of speculation as they walked over to the screen by the door. Meredith had displayed the exact view they needed. Phina gestured at a man who was partially turned away. “This one.”

  Frowning, Link leaned forward. “That looks like… Meredith, would you rewind or fast-forward to when he shows his face?”

  “Of course.”

  The picture changed to show a full view. “Huh,” Link said thoughtfully. “That’s my second, Jack Kaiser. I asked him to meet with me yesterday, but I didn’t realize he was still here. Meredith, is he still on the station?”

  Phina relaxed. She had been afraid he was an enemy of some kind. Her interest was sparked since Link had been the only one in Spy Corps she was aware of. She wondered how many other spies she had run into and not known it.

  “No, Jack Kaiser left the station an hour ago, heading back to the base.”

  He frowned, then nodded. “I’ll check with him later to see what was going on with the delay. Thanks, Meredith.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Link turned to Phina, then glanced at the equipment behind them and couldn’t suppress a grin. “Your moves were awesome, by the way. I can’t wait to see what else you can do. What have you tried? You’ve definitely bumped up a level, considering the parkour skills I saw!”

  And just like that, the rift between them began to heal over, filling Phina with relief.

  Chapter Eleven

  QBBS Meredith Reynolds, Diplomatic Institute

  Phina dragged herself to class the next morning, fully expecting to have a miserable day. She felt fine physically as long as she ate enough, but mentally and emotionally, she was wearier than she could ever remember being. Even after she had started a boot camp for herself when she was twelve to get up that vertical shaft when she was looking for info on her parents. That had been intense and draining every day until she got stronger. This was worse. It went bone-deep.

  She hadn’t been looking forward to classes lately, so it didn’t surprise her to feel like she needed to endure the day. Knowing that lives were on the line waiting for her to translate the language made going to classes far lower in priority. Her priority, anyway. Phina was still annoyed that Anna Elizabeth had insisted she attend instead of devoting all her time to the translation.

  Just walking through the miasma of minds and intentions in the space station caused her to feel overwhelmed, and she had no idea what to do to change it. Trying to shut her mind hadn’t worked since she had woken up that morning. If something didn’t change soon, she would be in danger of a complete meltdown. There was only so much a mind could take.

  As she drew closer to the Institute, she felt a buzz of energy that seemed familiar. Her mind picked up several people who were startled when she entered the door of the Institute, but they weren’t thinking about her. She moved forward and looked into Anna Elizabeth’s Office, then realized why the energy felt familiar.

  “Braeden!”

  The students standing outside the door stepped aside as Braeden turned his tall, gangly alien body toward her with a smile of greeting and a mental reach as she stepped toward him.

  Phina!

  His smile turned to concern since her brain felt overloaded and her vision swam with blackness. He moved forward in alarm as she swayed, then her eyes closed and she lost consciousness.

  Phina heard murmurs of sound she couldn’t understand while her body lay sprawled on the floor, though her head was raised on some sort of hard pillow. Since the thought of opening her eyes seemed like too much, she decided she would just stay where she was. Perhaps if she stayed still long enough, the people talking would give up and go away. The sounds quieted, then stopped.

  Ah. So much better.

  Phina?

  Go away. Phina’s not available right now. You can leave a message, and I’ll get back to you never. She kept her eyes closed and willed herself to be in her comfortable bed.

  Quiet chuckles came from beside her. She thought she recognized the person’s voice, but she couldn’t be certain.

  “Braeden, are you sure she’s awake and ok?” a woman whispered from the other side of her. She knew she should recognize that voice, but she didn’t.

  “Yes, she’s definitely awake. She is just having a difficult time focusing her mind at the moment. It’s wide open.”

  “But she’s all right?” This voice came from above and behind her head. Her pillow was behind her head. Was her pillow talking?

  “Her mind is strong. I’m certain she will be okay, but for now, we need to give her a moment to collect herself and remember who we are and where she is.” That was the first voice, the one that laughed at her. Wait, the second voice had called him “Braeden.”

  “I wasn’t laughing at you, little sister. Your mind just has an amusing way of working. And yes, I am Braeden. You need to focus now and bring your thoughts together. ”

  “She doesn’t remember who we are?” Uh-oh. That voice sounded frazzled and concerned. Why was it wrong for that voice to be frazzled? Her voice should be calm and collected, poised and elegant.

  “She’s starting to remember now, but no. Something happened to boost her mental awareness tenfold with little warning. She was in danger of overloading, and unfortunately, my mental presence tipped her over the edge. It’s akin to having a heavy rock fall on your head. You are disoriented for a time.”

  That voice. No, that voice shouldn’t be out loud. It should be in her head.

  “That’s right, little sister, but you can’t handle speaking mind to mind at the moment, so I use my speech verbally.” This Braeden had a gravelly voice like he didn’t use it very often. He was her brother? She didn’t think she had a brother.

  “Yes, little one. You are an only child. But when we became close, I began calling you little sister, at least in my own mind, since we are like family now.”

  Oh, that’s all right then. She just thought she wouldn’t be so out of it as to forget she had a brother. Brothers and sisters should be important. Phina frowned. Braeden said she was an only child, but that didn’t sound right. Didn’t she have a sibling? Sister. Alina.

  Pictures flashed in her head of an adorable blond toddler holding out a toy to share with a smile on her face. It changed to a young girl commiserating with her by getting ice cream for them both. A preteen holding Phina when her heart broke after her parents died. A gorgeous willowy blond teen giving her a smirk as they plotted another adventure. Alina. Sister of the heart if not in blood.

  “That’s it, Phina. You can do it.”

  Braeden. Snapshots of a tall,
tan hairless alien with an elongated head flew through her mind. Sitting on the floor in a plain and simple building, on a spaceship, fighting in the street at night, walking the hallways with her as they talked, fighting in a fancy building, bending over her in concern when she was injured. Apparently she had healed since then; she didn’t feel pain in her body.

  “Yes, that’s me. You’re remembering.”

  Phina wanted to try talking, but her throat felt dry. A moment later, someone held a bottle to her mouth so she could drink. When she’d had enough, she closed her mouth and turned her face away.

  “Thank you.” Her throat felt raspy. Did something happen to her throat?

  “That’s what happens when you scream for a while, little sister.”

  Her eyes popped open. She winced when the light hit them and squinted to try to see anyway. “Scream?”

  Figures that were blurred came into focus. To her right, she saw the green-eyed alien who’d featured in her head. His elongated fingers were holding her hand. Braeden. He squeezed her hand in encouragement and nodded. He hadn’t spoken into her mind yet.

  She vaguely remembered he’d told someone he was speaking out loud because to speak telepathically would hurt her. Yet, as her memories of him came back, she recalled speculating that the Gleeks’ telepathy was essential to their sense of self. She knew one of the reasons he had come was because she was on the station. If she wasn’t able to speak to him telepathically, would he have issues of his own that she couldn’t help him with because she was now broken in some way? She stared at him, stricken and feeling helpless.

  “Shh, shh. I will be fine. I can wait for you to heal.” He switched the hand that had been holding hers and used the free one to gently soothe her by stroking her arm. This was out of character for a Gleek, so he must be doing it for her because he knew she needed comfort. “Of course for you, little sister. We are both healers who have become protectors. It is a bond we share.”

  Healer. Protector. She didn’t feel like a healer. Wouldn’t healers know how to save people when they were hurt? They had Pod-docs to heal physical injuries. But protector? She thought about the times she had come to Alina’s defense growing up when someone made fun of her, saying she was flighty or too stupid to understand. That had bothered the two girls since Alina had always been wicked smart. It just wasn’t always transferable to tests. Yes, “protector” felt right.

  “There is more than one kind of healer, but we will speak of this later. We will make some time between us for training, and we can discuss, among other things, how to handle these new abilities of yours.”

  Phina was filled with relief. Yes! She had been going out of her mind with concern about what was happening to her—feeling like she was going crazy with no one to help her.

  Braeden tilted his head as if to say something else but seemed to think better of it. Perhaps he would tell her later. When he nodded, she knew he could hear her thoughts. Okay, then. He gestured with his head to Phina’s left, and she turned her gaze over to the elegant older woman next to her.

  Her mind worked through images again. “Are you my…boss?”

  The woman’s smile wobbled. “Close enough.”

  Phina squinted as she thought. “Anna. Dean of the Diplomatic Institute.”

  The woman sagged in relief. “Yes. Anna Elizabeth. Thank God your memory is coming back.”

  She felt movement beneath her head and froze. “Why is my pillow moving?”

  Laughter sounded behind her head, which caused more movement and vibration. Phina tilted her head back and stilled.

  “Jace?”

  An upside-down grin greeted her. “At your service, new girl.”

  “Why is my head on your lap?”

  “We thought it would be better than the floor.”

  Phina pursed her lips, then reached up to pat his knee. “I’m not so sure about that. Your leg is hard and bony. Maybe you should get some meat on those bones before you volunteer to be a pillow.”

  Leaving him half-spluttering and half-laughing, she carefully sat up. So far, so good. Realizing something, she turned to Braeden with wide eyes.

  “I don’t feel anyone’s mind anymore. Is it gone?”

  He shook his head. “I am connecting to you to provide a mental shield. It is a process we use with our newly reawakened brothers before they regain control for themselves.”

  Phina didn’t know whether she was relieved or disappointed to know she still had her abilities. She licked her lips, which had turned dry all of a sudden.

  “How long will it last?”

  “It depends on how much stronger your ability is than mine. With how much it’s increased since I last saw you, I would determine that the timeframe won’t be very long. I’m hoping it will be long enough to teach you what you need to do to shield yourself.”

  She nodded, having expected something of the sort. “When can we do it?”

  “After the class I am to teach soon?” Braeden looked at Phina and Anna.

  They both nodded.

  “You will need to stay close to me until you are able to initiate your own shielding.”

  “What?”

  “The type of shielding I am doing is only meant for training purposes and won’t last very long. It is harder to hold it at a distance. The closer you are to me, the easier it will be to maintain the shield.”

  Nodding, Phina carefully stood up, and the rest followed her. She felt good now, though a little shaky. She tugged on her jacket to smooth it over her shirt, then touched the knife sheaths on her thighs, automatically checking them and making sure the straps were in place. Her hand rose and checked to make sure her tablet still lay in her pocket. Relieved and feeling more like herself, she turned toward the door just as it opened.

  A nondescript man in his fifth decade of life walked into the room. He looked fit for his age, as if he didn’t like to stop moving. His chestnut-brown hair and eyes matched, and those eyes sparked with energy and intelligence. His clothing was neat with not a wrinkle in sight, which for some reason caused her to think affectionately that he must have gotten a good night's sleep for once. Upon seeing her, he looked relieved and moved quickly to grasp her shoulders.

  “Phina! You’re okay!” He turned to Anna. “I got your message and expected the worst. What happened?”

  Braeden answered. “Her brain is overloaded, so her memories are scattered at the moment. Perhaps her mind will even have difficulty processing for a time. It’s similar to your concussions.”

  Before the man could respond, Phina crinkled her nose in confusion. “Why do I have several different names in my head for you? Was one not enough?”

  Alarm warred with amusement on his face, though it was so subtle she might have missed it if she hadn’t been staring at him. “Ah, the name you call me has to do more with how irritated you are with me at the moment.” He also squeezed her shoulders before dropping his hands, which she gathered was a warning to be careful of what she said. Too bad her brain-mouth filter wasn’t working at the moment.

  “Is that why I’m remembering going on a date with you? Because I was irritated with you?”

  Looking uncomfortable, the man rubbed his neck. “That was for work, my dear.”

  The moniker served to bring back more memories, causing her to mouth the name. “Link?” He nodded, looking both relieved and concerned. Link, Greyson Wells, Stan the Man, and Ian James...all personas of one person. Her mentor. A voice broke in before she had a chance to say more.

  “If irritation is all it takes to go on a date, I would say we are overdue for one.”

  As Link stiffened next to her, Phina turned to meet Jace’s brown eyes, which were slightly slanted due to his mixed heritage. His grin and dancing eyes invited her to…do something. She didn’t remember seeing this expression on his face before. Still, it cheered her up and amused her, which she suspected was the real point.

  “Nice try.” She patted his shoulder. “I don’t remember having that kind
of relationship with you, but thank you, Jace. You’re a good friend.”

  His eyes widened as he groaned. “Friend-zoned.” He mimed stabbing himself in the heart and twisting the knife. “Wait, you acknowledged that we’re friends. Yes!” He did a fist-pump.

  Phina laughed as she turned to leave, sensing he wasn’t serious about being upset and was trying to cheer her up. Class, then learn to shield her mind. Feeling relieved, she increased her pace. She really couldn’t wait.

  Star System within the Empire, Planet Lyriem

  She-Who-Mourns gathered together the few leaders and healers they had left. It was time to speak seriously.

  “What supplies and provisions do we have left? She-Who-Waits, you are in charge of food distribution. How does it look?”

  The female blinked her large eyes as her sonorous tubes waved in distress. “Looks are not good, She-Who-Mourns. At full rations, we have only a few days. Continuing with half-rations might take us over a sen day. One meal a day for everyone would stretch us perhaps to two sen days. After that, we’ll have nothing.”

  She-Who-Mourns turned to the male next to her. “And the gathering of new food? How goes that endeavor, He-Who-Moves?”

  Standing as still as a statue, the male spoke briefly. “There is little to find and little to be had. We may still find some to contribute, but since we’ve already been over this ground many times, the chances are small. We should move to find more food.”

  He-Who-Listens interjected, “We cannot move now. On half-rations, we might have managed it for those still strong, but there are too many who have weakened. On one meal each day, we will never make it to another location.”

  Murmurs of agreement followed his words. She-Who-Mourns turned to the last person in the group. “He-Who-Acts, how is the water?”

  The male’s eyes turned from watching his niece on the pallet on the floor in the other room. “At our current rate of water consumption, it will be gone in three sen days.”