by Mikayla Lane
Lanie shrugged at Dar’s questioning look and dug into the bag of food. Pulling out a cheeseburger and french fries, Lanie was stunned, nearly speechless, and held them up for Dar to see.
The giant blushed. “Our LAW ships have extensive replicator menus, and I figured you’d like what Cin usually gets.”
Lanie had a big bite of burger in her mouth and nodded her head in appreciation of Dar’s thoughtfulness until she finished chewing.
“Thank you,” Lanie managed to say before her next bite.
She’d figured out rather quickly that her nanites, AI, weapons, and armor systems required a lot of energy. Any prolonged battle left Lanie starving, and she couldn’t understand how Cin could have enough for a twenty-minute commune with his nanite friends.
The dancing nanites in the air suddenly crashed back into Cin’s palms, and he turned to smile at Lanie and Dar before snatching the second bag of food. Cin ate so quickly that Lanie handed him the rest of her fries and the cookies she’d been hoping to savor.
When he was done, Cin’s eyes flashed at them for a moment before he stood. “This is going to take more than food.”
Dar and Lanie scrambled after him when Cin walked over to one of the Letranian ships in the docking bay. When Cin placed a palm against the craft and raised the other, Dar threw out an arm to stop Lanie from going any closer.
She was getting ready to move around Dar’s arm when the Letranian ship erupted in an electrical storm that covered the craft and ran up Cin’s arm. Crying out in fear, Lanie was going to run to him when Cindrac turned his eyes to her. It stopped Lanie in her tracks.
Cin’s usually white eyes snapped and sparked with power, and Lanie realized he was harnessing the ship's power as energy to create the trackers for the sacred relics. It wasn’t frightening so much as awe-inspiring to see Cin control that kind of power.
A part of Lanie was jealous of his abilities and wanted to learn how to do it, and another part of her wondered if she was capable of honoring that kind of responsibility. They were sobering questions for herself that Lanie knew she’d have to face soon.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Two Weeks Later
Lanie walked into the kitchen and grabbed a cup of coffee before meeting Cin out on the back deck. The sun was coming up, and like every morning since the first day she’d met Cindrac, she would greet the new day by his side.
“Good morning,” Cin smiled at Lanie when she came outside, drew her into his arms, and kissed the top of her head.
“To you as well.” Lanie saluted him with her coffee cup and grinned back.
“Look what Dar sent last night after you went to bed.” Cin waved a hand, and a 3D image hovered in the air in front of them.
It was a report from a universal news agency regarding an outbreak of total skin discoloration in individuals from a dozen different worlds. The afflicted had suddenly turned a hideous bright pink color and were desperate for a cure.
A LAW medical team was assembled to investigate the problem, and they were asking anyone who was afflicted to contact them immediately.
Lanie laughed when the report ended. “I bet Dar can find them a lot easier now.”
“Dar made sure that it would be considered a potential medical hazard to get as many to come forward as possible before they drop the hammer on them all.” Cin was hoping it would lead further down the line to the Consortium players as well.
Lanie moved out of Cin’s arms and headed into the house. “I’m going to grab a shower before we go to training.”
“I’ll get breakfast ready,” Cin suggested as she left.
Cin moved into the kitchen as the water turned on in the other room. Once again, he considered stripping off and walking in the shower with her, but he held back, unsure of himself. He had no doubts about how Lanie felt about them becoming intimate. She’d made no bones about it over the last few weeks.
The problem was that Cin wasn’t sure what would happen during intimacy. For all he knew, his nanites and AI would see it as an opportunity to overrun Lanie and use her to control him. It was implausible, but irrational things had begun running through his mind when Cin realized he was in love with her.
Cin knew it was fear of the unknown that was bothering him the most. It was one thing to live a future by yourself when you were the only one you had to worry about it affecting. Everything had changed with Lanie’s arrival.
Now, Cin had a formal alliance with the elves and elementals, was actively working with LAW through Dar, and he’d been on half a dozen missions with the Dominion. More than Cin had done with the sect in decades.
Cin knew that the reason things were so chaotic right now was that the energy had shifted throughout the universe. Evil was being defeated all over, and those who fed on it were desperately flailing to get the balance back in their favor or more equal.
He was also well aware of the threat against the lives of those Cin loved by the Consortium. The price on each of their heads was outrageous and included lifetime protection from the raiders as well. It was a generous offer, and Cin was expecting someone to turn them in, so he kept a closer eye on his friends, Lanie, and himself.
Cin put Lanie’s plate at her spot at the breakfast bar when she came out of her bedroom dressed for training in nanite created clothes. She looked like the fierce warrior she was quickly becoming, and Cin smiled at how happy Lanie appeared to be the last few weeks.
“So, do we have any missions today, or are we just training?” Lanie sat down and took a sip of her coffee.
Cin sat across from her and shook his head. “Just training today.”
Cin saw Lanie’s face seem to fall, and he laughed. “Enjoy the break while you can. I’m sure we’ll be fighting somewhere soon enough.”
“You have a point,” Lanie had to agree with him.
In the last two weeks, they’d been in half a dozen battles against Consortium raiders and had captured four LAW officers hunting the iberaria on their homeworld.
Cin had installed nanite sensors around the planet that recorded all visitors. The systems had alerted on two separate occasions, intrusions by a pair of LAW craft. Once the officers had landed and Cin had proof they were illegally hunting, he’d created a portal, and he and Lanie arrested them.
“It’s kind of crazy,” Lanie said with a snort. “I spend more time eating than sleeping these days, but I don’t miss it. Between the forums, traitors to humanity, and other issues here on Earth and what we do in the universe, I’m not exhausted, and I should be. You don’t sleep at all, do you?”
Cin shook his head. “Rarely. Once I figured out how to use other forms of energy to fuel my body, I pretty much stopped sleeping. The only reason I even eat is that I enjoy cooking and the taste of the food after decades of colored paste.”
Cin expected Lanie to ask how to use alternative means of powering her body and was surprised when she didn’t. It was a handy ability to have, and he wondered if she was afraid of harming herself.
“It doesn’t hurt and is something you should probably know,” Cin stated off-handedly, hoping Lanie would bite.
Lanie toyed with her eggs. “Yeah, maybe down the road.”
“OK, spill it,” Cin sat back and took a sip of coffee. “What bothers you about learning how to power yourself differently? You may need it in battle one day.”
Lanie put down her fork and looked up at Cin. “I don’t think I’m responsible enough or even stable enough for that kind of power. I don’t want to become the kind of person who will turn into a raving lunatic that you have to put down. I’d rather wait on learning any of that.”
“Oh, honey.” Cin felt terrible. “You shouldn’t think that way! Besides, the bombs and trackers you can create, make you more dangerous than being able to fuel your body with energy.”
“Really?” Lanie was surprised.
“Yeah,” Cin said with a chuckle and refilled their coffee cups. “Without energy, you can’t do anything anyway. But Lanie, you do
n’t have to worry about what happened to Loquan happening to you. None of the mental markers that she had are in your brain. I’ve checked. You’re as mentally fit as I am.”
Lanie snorted. “That’s the scariest thing I’ve heard in a while.”
Cin pointed his finger at Lanie and gave her a small snap of energy in the shoulder, then turned to put the coffee pot back. The moment he turned around, Lanie zapped him in the butt cheek. He spun around and quirked a brow at her, but Lanie was looking down at her breakfast.
They finished breakfast and headed into the forest of their backyard to train. As he did every morning, Bob followed and climbed up on a large boulder to watch what was proving to be a very entertaining activity for the cat and humans.
Before Lanie was ready, Cin attacked from behind and got blocked by her nanites. He was preparing to give Lanie a warning about always being alert when he felt a slight scratching at his abdomen and looked down to see a blade poking him.
Cin barely noted the knife before Lanie attacked with a series of dizzying moves that had Cin on the defensive for several minutes before regaining the upper hand. The rest of the afternoon played out in the same fashion until both warriors were tired and happy with how Lanie progressed in her training.
Lanie was thrilled with herself and skipped most of the way back to the cabin, keeping up a steady stream of talk about the training and the mock battle they’d fought. Cin was only half-listening and nodding at all the appropriate moments while the rest of his mind studied human relationships before the elite banned them.
The thought crossed Cin’s mind to ask Dar, Adamo, or even Niama about what his next course of action should be regarding his relationship with Lanie, but he felt as if it should be something personal between the two of them. Not because he was embarrassed to ask, but because he and Lanie weren’t from their worlds, and the cultures were vastly different.
Lanie turned to smile at him from the deck step. “When can we train with the elves again?”
“When Adamo’s pride is no longer stinging from the last time.” Cin laughed at the memory of how chapped the elven prince had been after being trounced within minutes during their last training session together.
“Niama thought it was hilarious,” Lanie countered as she strode across the deck.
Cin snorted. “Niama has a strange sense of humor.”
“You be nice to her,” Lanie warned. “Hitting the shower, I’ll see you in a minute.”
Cin watched her head into her room and allowed his nanites to fully clean his body and change his clothes while his mind ran through centuries of Earth relationship customs. He knew exactly how he’d proceed by the time Lanie came out of the bedroom dressed in her fuzzy pajama bottoms and a long-sleeved shirt.
Tapping him on the ass as she passed, Lanie headed into the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee before rummaging through the refrigerator. She was surprised to see nothing was made or on the counter to cook. Usually, Cin was starving as much as she was after training, and she wondered what had him so distracted.
“Hey, how about some leftovers tonight?” Lanie suggested as she looked in the fridge. “We have a ton of half portions in here and can make a mini smorgasbord for dinner.”
“Yeah, that sounds good,” Cin agreed, while his mind was making either his biggest mistake or greatest happiness in his pocket.
Moving into the kitchen, Cin helped Lanie to warm everything up and enjoyed eating the various samples in one meal. They’d just finished, and Lanie was teasing him about training tomorrow when Cin’s creation was completed, and he looked at her intently.
“I want to take you somewhere,” Cin blurted out. “Will you go with me?”
“Of course.” Lanie looked down at her fluffy pajamas. “Am I dressed all right?”
Cin smiled. “You’re perfect.”
Quickly creating the portal in the air, Cin held his hand out to Lanie and stepped through the shimmering disc when she took it. He smiled when he heard Lanie’s gasp by his side.
“Where is this?” Lanie breathed out.
Her entire being vibrated with the energy of the beautiful place, and Lanie couldn’t stop looking at everything around her. The twin suns shining brightly in the sky, the lush and deep greens of the thick leaves and grass beneath her feet.
Flowers exploded with color all around them, in shades Lanie had never seen before in her life, and the air was heavy with their tantalizing scents. Strange, brightly colored insects flitted among the delicate and abundant petals.
In front of them was the most beautiful waterfall Lanie had ever seen in her life. The crystal clear water spilled into a large pool surrounded, and strange pterodactyl-like feathered birds flew around the top ledge where the water came down.
The place was stunning and surreal, but at the same time, it was strangely familiar, and Lanie found herself drawn to the waterfall. She was almost there and out of the canopy of trees when Lanie saw the other three planets in the sky.
Looking more closely at the sky, Lanie saw a faint trace of a golden halo and spun around in a circle so she could see everything.
Firm, sturdy earth and grass went on for miles around, and Lanie was stunned at the amazing transformation that had occurred within the few short weeks since she’d been there last. It was impossible, and she looked at Cin.
“This can’t be the same place. There’s no way all those chunks of landmasses became a planet in two weeks.” Lanie couldn’t take her eyes off the incredible landscape.
“Time works much differently in the vastness of the universe.” Cin took Lanie’s hand and led her to the waterfall pool. “This place won’t even be discovered by Earth for another two hundred and twelve years. Once found, it will be near death, and the civilization that called it home will have already found another world to call their own. One that began much like this one.”
“I don’t think my head can wrap itself around all that,” Lanie admitted, kneeling at the edge of the pool. “I can’t fathom watching it begin and still be alive to watch it all disappear. It’s so sad and strangely feels like losing a friend.”
“It’s life.” Cin sat on the ground beside Lanie. “As much as we fight for freedom and our God-given rights as sentient beings, it’s easy to forget the basics. Like enjoying the things that are important to us while we can. Just like the beginning and end of this world, everything can be gone within a blink of an eye, or at the whim of time.”
“That’s beautiful,” Lanie whispered, running her hand through the water. “And heartbreaking at the same time.”
“It shouldn’t be,” Cin countered with a gentle smile. “Life continues whether in this one or the next. But we get to choose how we live the life we’ve been given. We can focus on the end, or the beauty of the beginning and the story that plays out for us every day, and write our own happy ending.”
Lanie looked up at Cin in surprise when he reached into his pocket and pulled out a golden ring that sparkled with dozens of diamonds around it.
“My life truly began the day you entered it, and I’ve fallen in love with you. I’d be honored and grateful if you’d consider spending the rest of your life exploring the stars with me.” Cin’s hand trembled as he held the ring out to Lanie, terrified that she’d run away.
Lanie burst into tears, and Cin’s heart sank until she reached up to cup his cheek and looked at him with watery eyes.
“I love you too, and I’d be the one honored,” Lanie managed to say before launching herself into his arms.
Cin blinked back his tears as he held Lanie tightly in his embrace until she calmed down. When Lanie finally moved back a little bit, Cin handed her the ring he’d made for her. He smiled at the tears that popped into her eyes when she held out her finger and let him slide it on.
“It’s so beautiful, Cin. Thank you.” Lanie struggled no to cry again.
Suddenly, Lanie felt a rush of nanites flowing up her finger, and she looked at Cin in surprise before her mind felt l
ike it completely cleared, then expanded. Knowledge flowed through her head like water, and Lanie was having a hard time with the images playing out in her mind and reality in front of her eyes.
“Easy,” Cin whispered and gently held her in his arms. “Don’t fight it. Let it all come to you.”
Lanie had no idea how long they sat there, wrapped in each other’s arms before she was able to think again. The first thing that hit her was that Cin had just given her almost as much knowledge and power as he had.
The ability to create portals ran through her mind and the laws and complexities of time, though she was grateful that Cin hadn’t given her the ability to travel through time or change it.
“Why?” Lanie moved away from Cin and asked.
“Because we need to be equal in this war for our future, but you also don’t need the weight of responsibility that comes with time travel and the ability to change it,” Cin replied honestly.
“Thank you.” Lanie wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled at him. “For everything, but mostly for loving me.”
“Thank you for giving me a chance and trusting me,” Cin replied and pulled Lanie in for another hug so they could get their emotions under control.
A few minutes later, Lanie pulled away from Cin and stood. She looked around at the incredible and unique beauty of the world around her and shook her head at the absurdity of it all.
Two months ago, Lanie was running for her life and getting close to giving up on everything. She had no idea of the breadth and scope of the reality she was missing that was right before her eyes.
Lanie now understood why the elite was continually throwing out distracting propaganda. If people knew that something like this world and all the others were theirs to enjoy and explore, they’d defeat the elite in a single day.
“They’ll never do alien disclosure, will they? They don’t want anyone to know that this belongs to all sentient beings.” It sickened Lanie that people still weren’t demanding the truth.
“No,” Cindrac admitted. “The elite and their minions even try to convince people it’s the government's Project Bluebeam technology in one timeline.”