Astral

by Viola Grace

  When the door was locked to their entry, he blasted it into cinders before passing through.

  Four young men sat around a table and one became physically sick when he saw Arci.

  “Avatar, it was not my idea. I only mixed the knockout gas. That is all.” The man grovelled and one of his companions struck him with a fist.

  “You can play with these boys, or you can come and get me. It is your choice.” Dina tried to get Arci to focus on the task at hand.

  He asked the young men, “Why did you take her?”

  The leader stood up and jerked his chin in the air. “You tax us to death and you want to know why we took her?”

  Arci tilted his head. “I do not tax those in my star system. I never have. I am a star, I need nothing.”

  The boys looked confused. “The prefect says that you are demanding tithes that cripple the population. We have starvation and you merely give us the weather to provide you with more.”

  “Bring my bride to me, or I will incinerate you where you stand and we will never get to the bottom of this.” The reverberation of his voice was intense.

  Two of the lads scrambled into a hatch in the floor and Dina rejoined her body, because she really wanted to know what was going to happen next.

  The moment that hands lifted her out of the goo, she breathed in and said, “Put me down and get above. I am not going to be seen like this.”

  The young men stared at her as she began to glow and then scrambled up the ladder that led out of the hatch.

  She flashed her power over and over until the goo was gone from her body and her clothing. Dry and relatively happy with her appearance, she smiled at the touch of Arci’s mind.

  Are you going to join us?

  “On my way.” She levitated up and out of the cellar, moving directly to Zakkar and enjoying his embrace.

  Dina breathed deeply before she remembered that she didn’t need to breathe. The feel of Zakkar was enough. “I am sorry that I breathed in that gas. I forgot I don’t need to breathe anymore.”

  He ran his hands through her hair and kissed her deeply, unconcerned with the would-be terrorists in the room with them.

  “I was worried. You are not quite complete yet and they were able to play on your vulnerability.”

  The men blinked at them and she leaned against her mate. “So, your prefect is bleeding the people dry and blaming Arci? That is not very nice.”

  The leader paled. “How do you know that?”

  “I was here. Don’t think that because you have my body, you also have my mind.” She released Zakkar and scowled at her kidnappers. “That was really low by the way. Why didn’t you just talk to me?”

  The leader looked harassed. “We were assured that you would not be cooperative.”

  Laughter was not polite, but she couldn’t resist. “Who told you that? I have been talking to everyone and I have to say that your people can really hold their liquor.”

  The leader looked horribly embarrassed. “The prefect warned everyone that you were delighted with your elevated status and would have no interest in our plight, that you were in search of the profit to be made from our people.”

  She laughed. “I have a very nice nest egg from my service to the Alliance. I have enough money to live on for the rest of a normal Terran lifespan. As an avatar, I don’t need money, I don’t even need atmosphere and if I had remembered that your gas wouldn’t have worked…”

  Zakkar was behind her, Arci at the forefront and both were unhappy with what had happened to her.

  “I am a mediator by trade, so tell me what your grievances are and what the prefect has said about the avatar and we will get this sorted. Do you have any access to election laws of your people? I need some light reading.”

  She could feel amusement coming from her mate and her star. To the astonishment of the young men, they took seats at the table and as the tale unfolded, they came up with a plan to find the accounts that the prefect was withholding.

  The golden-green goof was not going to know what mediated him.

  Chapter Ten

  The people of the city were gathered in the square. Many were the worse for wear, but they all appeared when the prefect called an emergency meeting.

  “People of Shakin, the avatar of Arci has left us after his bride was kidnapped last night. As a penalty, he is claiming ninety-five percent of all harvests this season. We will engage in this penance, because it is the right thing to do for the star who gave us a home.” Dorf made his announcement to the hung-over population.

  From above, Dina and Zakkar descended, landing in front of the prefect, much to his shock.

  Dina said sweetly. “It is so thoughtful of you to try and give me recompense for the assault and confinement.”

  Her voice echoed through the square, no audio system was required, Arci was at work.

  Dorf was sweating. “Avatars, I thought you had left.”

  Zakkar grinned. “We know. We also know that you have been collecting taxes on our behalf, but funnily enough, we have never demanded taxes or tithes.”

  A wave of shock went through the crowd.

  Dina asked the terrified man, “So, how long has this been going on?”

  “Centuries, Arci. Over four hundred years.” Dorf looked like he would faint, so Dina grabbed him by his shirt and hung on so that he didn’t topple over.

  Zakkar’s eyes closed and Arci showed Dina his thoughts. Five hundred years ago, the final generation of Valoi were born. Zakkar had spent every moment he could with his people, but it was no use. They simply lived for thought and died at the age of one hundred fifty. Zakkar had been home for the death of every one of the last generation, an obligation that he had taken on with Arci’s cooperation.

  Zakkar had been grieving and the leaders of Caros had taken advantage of the absent avatar.

  “It seems to me that as compensation, the accumulated accounts should be distributed evenly across the entire population, all of the participating prefects will have all assets seized and they will be banished from all civilized societies.”

  Dorf spluttered. “You can’t do that. I have a wife and family.”

  Dina lifted him easily, holding him high and levitating so that the gathered folk could see him. She turned him so that he faced those staring at them. “They have families, Dorf. They needed every bit of earnings that they could manage and you and your ilk took it from them, promising them Arci’s retribution if they did not hand over everything. That is obscene, Dorf. Rest assured that there will be a full audit and from this moment on, no transfer of funds or data will leave Caros.”

  With him dangling twenty feet above the podium, he was choking and babbling.

  “I could kill you right now, you know. It wouldn’t even take a second. One moment you would be here and the next you would be nothing but ash. Do you like that thought?”

  He shook his head violently.

  “Then why did you think it would be a motivator for your people to work? Fear leads to resentment and now that they know who is behind this mess, I think you will have quite a hard time in convincing them to do anything.

  “Now, as my gift to you, I am offering you the chance to do good in this life. Leave the city, take your family, or leave them to live without you. It is up to them to choose their path.”

  Dorf passed out. Apparently, a fear of heights trumped a fear of being immolated.

  Sighing, Dina landed next to the podium and she dropped Dorf to the stage. Zakkar held out his arm and she went to him. “Did you manage to contact the Sector Guard?”

  He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I did. They are dispatching Frost and Finder to do the audit as well as a few others to round up all the prefects. It seems that we will have to hold an election.”

  She laughed. “We will give them whatever they need. They have been abused in Arci’s name for too long.”

  He agreed and together, they fielded questions from the rapidly sobering Carosians. It took hours to
answer everything and there were three attempts to drag Dorf off and beat him to death, but in the end, everyone looked forward to earning off the fruits of their labours and a new planting season began.

  Finder was a charming woman and a Terran to boot. Dina had a lovely time just listening to the peculiar turn of phrase that was native to her people before she stepped forward for introductions. “Hello, Finder. I am Dina, second avatar of Arci.”

  Finder smiled and extended her hand. “Pleased to meet you.”

  Zakkar and Frost were deep in conversation, so Dina steered Finder toward the workstation that they had organized for her at city hall.

  Finder asked the question before Dina had the urge to explain. “How long have you been an avatar?”

  “About a month and a half, but it beats waiting for the Alliance to choose a man for me.”

  Finder stared at her, shock in her features. “You’re from Earth!”

  “I am. Or was. I am not sure what the term is.” She looked down at her white skin with onyx sparkles and shrugged.

  Finder touched her arm. “It’s hard but really warm. Did it hurt?”

  Dina chuckled. “Not really. I went for a nap and when I woke up, the power was firmly seated. The rest happened within a week or so.”

  Finder sighed. “Things have a tendency to do that kind of thing out here. They either go full speed or they crawl along. There never seems to be anything in between.”

  Dina looked across the room to their men. “So, you got one of the dragons?”

  Finder grinned. “I did.”

  “How is he?”

  “He’s great. Charming, protective, but he lets me do my own thing and waits for me to ask for backup. How is the star?”

  “It is a peculiar situation. We have two bodies in our relationship but three minds. It gets a little weird sometimes.” Dina ran a hand through her hair.

  Finder snickered. “Well, enough of the pleasantries. What do you need me to do?”

  Dina sat down and outlined the situation—the prefects, the tithes and the impoverished populace. “We need to find as much of that money as we can to get it back here and to the people it was taken from.”

  Finder began to work at the terminal. “City-wide or global?”

  “Global. I am thinking that they transferred some of it off world to keep it hidden.”

  “Good thought. Okay, let me do my thing. I will have Frost find you when I have something.”

  Dina let the pro do her job and paused next to Zakkar. “I am going out to help the farmers in the fields. Finder has the audit in hand.”

  He nodded and she levitated to leave the hall via the window.

  The farmers were a little appalled at her presence until she started hauling some of the old manual ploughs through the dirt.

  Her changed body didn’t sweat, her food was burned rather than digested and she never really got hungry anyway. Hauling the ploughs merely took time and she was able to reach areas that the wide blades of the machines could not.

  When a break for lunch was called, she sat with the ladies and a child crawled up to sit on her lap. The mother rushed forward to pull the child away, but Dina sat and crooned a lullaby to the child until she passed out in her arms.

  “I came from a fairly large family. No baby can resist my voice.” She smiled and forked up some of the salad that the ladies had served to her.

  “Will you and the avatar have children?” The questioner was a teen, but it was still a good question.

  “I have no idea. The star has changed the way my body works, so I am not sure that I can have children. From stories I have heard, an ex-stellar avatar has had a child, but she didn’t have the radiation of the star running through her constantly anymore.” She chuckled. “We have a lot of time to work it out no matter what happens.”

  The women sighed at the romantic notion and some sent angry glances toward the men’s table.

  Dina had to ask. “Why do you sit separately from the men? I thought this was an equal society.”

  Lorrar, the headwoman at this farm, smiled. “In case you hadn’t noticed, my dear avatar, they smell.”

  She giggled quietly so as not to wake the toddler in her lap, but it was incredibly funny. “I hadn’t noticed. I only breathe to speak now and my nasal cavity isn’t rigged for detailed discrimination.”

  Lorrar seemed appalled. “How do you taste anything?”

  Dina bit her lip and confessed. “I don’t. I just eat because people keep shoving food at me. I don’t need it. It is a conditioned behaviour.”

  Questions started flying at her, some about her skin, some about her eyes and far too many about her sex life.

  She propped her chin on her hand while keeping the little one safe and secure. “We don’t have one away from home.”

  Lorrar was shocked. “What?”

  The baby fussed and Dina handed it back to her mother. “We don’t have sex on inhabited worlds. There is a lot of radiation generated and we don’t want to hurt anyone.”

  Before she could expound on it, a dragon flew overhead. “Please excuse me, ladies. I have to go hunting for a few missing items.”

  “Come back whenever you like, Avatar Dina. You will always have a place at my table whether you eat or not.” Lorrar lunged forward and hugged her before backing up. “We appreciate what you are trying to do.”

  Dina felt like crying happy tears as she flew away from the settlement, but all she got was a lump in her throat. A flash of internal energy and her salad was gone. Despite losing her lunch, she felt better than she had in a very long time.

  Chapter Eleven

  “I have it. I have retrieved the last five years’ worth of taxed profits that were not needed to run the cities or towns. Everyone is going to get quite the refund this year.” Finder sat back with her hands behind her head and her feet up on the desk.

  Dina laughed. “Excellent. Now, we just have to figure out how to disburse it.”

  “Everyone here from children to seniors is registered and has a credit account. Even the babies will get their share.”

  There was a look in Finder’s eyes that told Dina the final issue was ready to go, if not in process already. “When did you send it?”

  “It should hit their accounts by dawn.” Finder was unapologetic.

  “Good. Zakkar has been working with the election organization, so we should be able to go home soon.” Dina realized at that moment that she really enjoyed the quiet and private time she had shared with Zakkar and Arci. She wanted it back again.

  “Frost said that you live on the first world next to the sun?”

  “We do. Dakri. Arci likes to have us as close as possible. One big family, of sorts.” She shrugged.

  “Isn’t it kind of barren?”

  “Plenty of space to fly and learn how to use everything that has been installed.” She sighed and they waited for Frost and Zakkar to rejoin them, talking about the places that they had been on earth and the Terrans that they had met in the Alliance.

  She felt Zakkar before she saw him and when both men flew into the window, she rose up to hug her mate. “When can we go home?”

  “Soon. The election will start in three days. The population has been given a series of relay boxes that will allow them to send messages to our com unit at home. I have promised that we will come as quickly as we can.”

  He slowly lowered them to the floor. “The financials are taken care of?”

  “Everything that was still liquidated was retrieved, transferred and distributed throughout the population an hour ago.”

  He nodded. “Good. That is one thing off our list. Once we get new prefects in place, we can go home.”

  She leaned against his chest. “I look forward to it.”

  The flight home five days later was a relief. Dina zigzagged, flew loops and propelled herself in a straight line, the moment they left the jump ship. By the time they reached their world, she was giddy with relief.

  Zakkar kept
hold of her hand while they dropped into their front yard. They entered their home and the moment that the door closed, he pressed her up against the wall, pressing frantic kisses down her neck and across her chin.

  She unbuckled her cloak and reached behind her to unfasten her gown. Dina wrapped her arms around Zakkar’s neck and as she unbuckled his own cloak, her dress slithered off her body to pool on the floor.

  He groaned and rubbed against her, easing his hands between them to open his suit and he jerked it to his hips with hurried movements.

  As his cock sprang free, she wrapped her legs around his waist, letting the undulating head of his shaft work its way into her with short, deliberate movements. Zakkar gripped her hips and heat blazed from his palms. He moved one hand between them and pressed the crackling energy to her clit, sending spears of sensation through her and bringing her panting to high-pitched whining.

  His harsh groans mingled with her desperate pleas and finally they were together, their bodies crackling with power as they surged and he stroked her channel from every angle.

  While they started up against the wall, they ended up hovering several feet away from any structure. Dina was happy to use her personal trick and there was no more laudable goal than using it to bring her and her mate to pleasure without risk of banging into the furniture.

  Each thrust rocked inside her, sent zings of pleasure to her limbs and she came with his finger still pulsing energy through her clit.

  He followed her with a harsh cry and she knew that he had been holding back for her sake. Her body shook with each latent tremor and she was completely absorbed with the signals her body was sending out. Sated yet energised, she waited for Zakkar to raise his head from her shoulder.

  The moment he looked into her eyes, she lowered them to the floor, but she still had her legs around his waist, so he took her weight.

  “I really missed that.” She nuzzled at the column of his neck.