Vera blinked and nodded.
“Untie your sleeves.”
The little woman complied, releasing the laces on her arms and pushing up her sleeves. “This was the best one.” She pointed to a single large black bruise the size of his fist on her left arm where the skin was split. Bannor winced, that had to smart. The girl treated it the way he might a cat scratch though. She indicated three smaller bruises. “These good too.”
Senalloy picked up Vera’s other arm, examining the handful of bruises. “Damn, I really have to train more. Magic is making me fat and slow. Here, give me that other arm back,” She took Vera’s left arm in her hands, and pressed glowing fingertips to the wound. The injury, along with the other damage on her arm vanished after only a moment. Vera allowed her to heal the other arm as well.
“The impressive thing is she’s got almost no enhancements,” Sarai said. “It’s all training. Damn.” She drew a breath. “So, I am right. Someone with less power can compete at the level of an elder.”
Senalloy folded her arms and gave Sarai a sidelong look.
“Yes, with less power but with training ten times as intense.” Corim said, still observing from the bench. “Now, I teach fighting and frankly all the discourse and demonstration are fascinating to me. I could watch all day. However, if you want to match a Kriar in the short term using the shaladen, you are going about it the wrong way.”
“And the right way would be?” Sarai prompted with hands on hips.
“Simply put, you have to reverse your approach. Raw speed and power can’t make you rise to their level. Instead, you have to bring them down to yours.”
“And I would do that how?” Sarai demanded.
“Yes, mister sage, how does she do that?” Senalloy said with an arched eyebrow.
Corim sniffed. He rose from the bench with a languid grace that showed he was physically as formidable as he was smart. He touched the thick band on his wrist. “Sarai, you and I, we both have these shaladens. Stop thinking of yours as a weapon. It’s far more than that, it’s a tool—an equalizer if you will—because we can’t all be eternals. How much of an equalizer depends on how clearly you think.” He pulled the band off his arm and the malleable weapon became a gleaming silver ball. He turned and faced Senalloy with one fist on his waist. “Now, in a straight up fight, even with the shaladen, Senalloy would kick my arse.”
The Baronian put hands on hips. “You know I would.”
“Her ex-master, Rakaar, the thief who stole the genemar proved that. I lost my arm in that fight and came within hairs of dying. I only lived because Senalloy was there to save me.”
The silver-haired woman bit her tongue expressively. “Nice of you to recognize that.”
Corim grinned and began tossing the ball up and down. “Now, say I wanted to teach her a lesson?” He glanced at Sarai and tilted his head. “I could make this into a sword, and end up getting schooled in several new definitions for the word pain or—” He oriented and threw the ball at Senalloy.
Startled, the Baronian tried to dodge, but the ball turned in mid-air and hit her with a loud splat. Instantly, tendrils sprung out from the shaladen winding around the big woman.
“Hey! Hey!” she let out. She struggled, energy and magic crackled and blazed around her body as she instinctively tried to resist the powerful item. With a snap, all of her magic went black. “Ow! Corim…” She growled. The powerful elder twisted and writhed, as the silver tendrils constricted her movements down to the barest twitch. “Grrr…”
He walked over and stood in front of her with folded arms.
“Let—go…” the Baronian rasped.
He stood on tip-toe and leaned forward until his nose was almost touching hers. “Now, who got schooled, hmmm?” He reached up and gave her nose a tap. He looked over his shoulder to Sarai. “I think I can handle her now—don’t you?” The third princess nodded with wide violet eyes.
“Corim, let me go or I really will school your arse.”
“I trust my point is made.” He took hold of the Baronian’s shoulder. The shaladen flowed around his fingers and down his arm, reforming into a thick metal band around his wrist.
Senalloy rubbed her arms and frowned at him.
He sniffed, looking away from her. “Ever notice how people who tease aren’t very good at taking it when they get teased back?”
Senalloy’s jaw worked, and she mastered herself. She took a deep breath, and her violet eyes gleamed. She gave his shoulder a shove. “Cor, if you’re going to tie me up, the least you can do is give me a kiss.”
The man flushed. “I did not tie you up.”
“It sure felt—” She stopped as the dueling room doors opened and a tall green body swayed in.
The elder stopped in the entry and looked around. In the days since the encounter with Vratague, Gaea had done nothing but grow stronger. Her magic was becoming more and more abundant as she learned to make enchantments function. She was already attractive, and the layers of energy that surrounded her highlighted it. The green mother dressed provocatively, obviously enjoying the stares she caused. Today she was in a gold silk weskit that barely covered her ample top and a pair of purplish almost see-through pantaloons.
“Hello everyone,” Gaea greeted, brushing at the shining expanse of her dark hair which hung down over her shoulders like a cloak.
She saw Vera and her grin grew larger. “Su’Ko Tai, little niece, I had wondered when I would see you!”
Vera centered on Gaea, dark eyes going wide. She threw herself onto her knees, head hitting the mats so hard between her hands that Bannor thought she would knock herself out. She started mumbling something in another language over and over.
Gaea pushed out her lip and leaned toward Wren. “Now there’s a girl who respects her mother.”
The goddess sashayed in, brushing a hand against Wren’s cheek as she passed, rubbing Daena’s shoulder, and trailing her fingers across Bannor’s chest before kneeling in front of Vera.
“Su’Ko,” Gaea said putting a hand on Vera’s back. “Such displays are not necessary.”
“Please,” Vera said in a whimpering tone.
“Please?” Gaea repeated. “What is the matter little niece?”
“Not call me—Su’Ko,” Vera said with obvious effort, face still buried in the mat.
Gaea raised her gaze to Wren. Dark jewel-like eyes narrowed. “I thought you got her through all of that.”
Wren grimaced. “Sort of, we made things better. Some bridges we simply couldn’t mend. We had to break more than a few just to get heard…”
“Ah,” Gaea said. She turned back to Vera, took her shoulders and lifted the little woman like she might a baby. The G’Yakki warrior’s face was a mask of terror.
Gaea hugged the little woman. Being fairly tall, it was almost like she was cradling a toddler to her bosom. “My little pillar of strength. I owe you so much for being there when my daughter so badly needed it.”
Vera hung lax as though her limbs had turned to putty. After a few moments, she wrapped herself around Gaea.
“Ah, that’s better,” Gaea murmured, stroking Vera’s back. The goddess’ eyes widened and she coughed. “Urk! My—she—she has quite—quite a—grip.”
“I think she likes you,” Senalloy remarked.
Wren tilted her head. “Need help?”
Gaea looked down. She let go and swung around. With Vera being so small, the little woman’s slight weight wasn’t even enough to force Gaea to shift her balance. The green mother shrugged and bounced, but with her arms and legs locked around Gaea’s middle and neck, the little G’Yakki woman wasn’t going anywhere.
A look of concern started to pull down the lines of Gaea’s face. “Oh dear, she appears to have become attached.”
“Oh, that’s not good,” Sarai let out dashing over. “Here,” she reached out and took Vera’s shoulders. “Ow!” She yelped, snatching her fingers back and shaking her hands. “She’s hot!”
“Damn,�
� Daena said. “Get her off or she’ll burst into flames!”
Wren came forward, trying to pull the G’Yakki away. Having immortal flesh, the heat didn’t bother her, but Vera was locked in place. “Gaea, she’s going to burn herself up!”
“I know, I know,” Gaea said, pushing at the little woman. “She is beastly strong and I don’t want to hurt the dear. She just wants some solace.” She put a hand against Vera’s head. “She is such a determined little thing. Even mind-touches just slide off. Ah, I know,” she sat down, pushed Vera’s head back and kissed her on the lips.
The little woman’s eyes snapped open, and she startled away from Gaea. Her eyes fluttered and she fell back and lay still, chest slowly rising and falling.
“There,” Gaea soothed, stroking Vera’s hair. “You’ll feel better in little bit.”
“That was mean,” Wren growled, fists on hips.
“Mean?” Gaea said turning from Vera, and putting a finger to her lower lip. “It worked. Besides, Ziedra loves it when I kiss her.”
“Ziedra is about as straight as a horse shoe.”
“You and your social morays,” Gaea chided. “You know Vera has quite a thing for you.”
Wren’s mouth dropped open like she’d been kicked in the stomach. “Mother, that’s not funny.”
“Did I say it like I was teasing you?”
“B-b-but…”
“Ziedra is sweet on you too, you don’t go all butter lips over that.”
“Zee is fay!”
“Excuse me?” Janai snapped.
“It’s an expression,” Wren snapped over her shoulder. She stared at Vera’s sleeping form. “No way.”
Gaea shook her head. “Could anyone else get her in here to trade hits with Senalloy?”
“Well, no,” Wren said. “She—I—ahhh!” She pulled her hair. “I do not need another unrequited tension situation!”
“You have to admit Wren, the ladies do love you,” Senalloy teased.
Wren snarled at her, making the elder back up a step, hands held out in a placating gesture.
Gaea shrugged. “You’ve always been rather dumb when it comes to romantic things.”
“I am not dumb!” Wren snapped. “It always the wrong time or the wrong sex, damn it!”
“At least it isn’t because of how you smell,” Sarai said with a grin.
“It’s not funny,” Wren moaned looking down at Vera. “Vera is the last person in the world I would want to hurt. She’s had it so rough, her whole family died, then her husband, and she got cast out—it was no fun.”
“She was married?” Janai asked.
“Yes,” Wren said. “He didn’t treat her very nice but she loved him anyway.” She sat down by Vera and ran a hand through her hair. “I hope you’re okay. That would be a lot of Mother for anybody.”
“She’ll be fine,” Gaea said, turning to them and flipping back her dark hair. “Well, now that the incident is over, I wanted to get with you on some things. Sarai’s decoy plan is nearly ready to go—” She turned to Sarai. “That was a good idea daughter-to-be.”
Sarai nodded.
“Janai, your inspired idea that we make our own genemar is also proceeding,” she said. “I simply wish it were progressing more rapidly. It really is our best chance if we can’t locate the Daergon genemar.”
“Are you still confident it can destroy the other genemar?” Corim asked.
Gaea clicked her teeth. “The signature Koass pulled out of his timescan is a bit sketchy. I won’t know if it’s accurate enough to use for targeting until we have our own genemar working.” She looked around. “I know—not good news. I do have something that should make you happier.”
The goddess gestured and a heavy silver necklace with black teardrop shaped stone appeared in her hand. “I was able to finish the sacrifice defense that we discussed at dinner.”
She rose and walked to Bannor and put it over his head. “This will stop one attack from the genemar. You’ll know it, because the gem will shatter.”
Bannor touched Gaea’s hand. “Thank you, Mother.”
“You’re quite welcome my son,” she said, caressing his cheek with a warm hand. The feel of her fingers against his naked skin made his whole body tingle.
Senalloy stepped over and leaned down to look at the device hanging around his neck. She lifted it in her hand and turned the jewel over in her fingers. After a moment, she turned back to Gaea. “The shield problem ended up too complex?”
“Yes, there simply isn’t enough time,” Gaea answered. “The Daergons won’t wait that long. I’m surprised they’ve held off until now. I’ve been worried the whole time they would hit Bannor or Daena again before I finished this.”
She gestured and another necklace identical to the first appeared. She approached Daena and put it over her head.
“Thank you, Mother,” Daena said, giving Gaea a hug.
One thing was certain, the green goddess adored attention and especially physical contact. At times, the aura around her became so strong it was like being drunk. It felt good and it was nearly impossible to focus.
The green mother hugged Daena back and kissed her forehead.
She summoned a third necklace and put it on Wren.
“Mother Gaea,” Corim asked. “What about the Shael Dal? What were you and Koass able to determine about the genemar affecting us?”
Gaea let out a breath. “You are certainly not immune like we hoped. You will be able to survive a few hits because of the strength of the eternals, but even one hit will mean serious injury.” She touched the black jewel hanging around Wren’s neck, and looked back at him. “I shared my design with eternal Czar and he’s working on devices like these for the Shael Dal.”
“Damn,” Bannor said. “We have to get that thing away from them.”
“Matradomma,” Sarai said. “Were you able to help Mother with Uncle Bertrand?”
Gaea shook her head. “I think it’s pretty much hopeless. I’ve tried everything I could think of. We even got Drakka’Tah in to look at him. Vratague scrambled him up so good he’s lucky to remember his name. He certainly doesn’t remember when he started helping them, and whether Vratague had accomplices.”
“When I spoke with Marna they still hadn’t had any success with Vratague,” Senalloy said.
“No,” Gaea confirmed. “It’s standard procedure for Kriar cover operatives to store their memories out of body the same way their mecha do. Her mind cannot be read, and the knowledge itself is encrypted. Quasar and Eclipse have made a few attempts to find her memory repository, but it’s fairly certain that even if they could get to it is likely the data would be destroyed before they could get anything useful.”
“Quasar,” Wren muttered, shaking her head. “Dad and Mom are still hacked at her. She can make all the fancy excuses she wants, and Marna can apologize for her until she’s blue. They can barely stand to be in the same room with her.”
“Aren’t you mad at her, Lady Wren?” Corim asked.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Wren answered with a shrug. “It does seem a little petty to get worked up over it. What did Quasar call it? We weren’t kidnapped—we were—”
“Locationally inconvenienced,” Janai filled in.
“Your father just about lost it,” Daena said, shaking her head. “I’ve never seen your dad get angry. He hardly ever even raises his voice.”
“That reminds me,” Gaea said. “Wren, where has Azir gotten off too? I have seen little of him.”
“My brother thinks about a total of six things,” Wren said, holding up a hand and ticking them off on her fingers. “Girls—food—girls—fighting—sleeping. Oh yes, did I mention—girls?”
Gaea raised an eyebrow and smiled. “So, the ascendant body hasn’t hurt his libido, is that what you’re saying?”
Wren rolled her eyes. “Mother, I understand about sewing a few oats. He’s trying to plant a whole field! It’s silly.”
“Child, he’d never force a girl.”
“That’s not the problem. Couldn’t he at least not be so obvious about it? Those winged hussies have made him insufferable.”
“I don’t know Wren, he had a pretty big ego to begin with,” Janai remarked with a grin. “He’s had the ladies tittering since he got here.”
“It never stops,” Wren said. “I fear for the female gender, I swear.”
“He can’t be making time with that many girls unless he’s doing something right,” Senalloy laughed, pushing a hand through her hair. “Especially with telepathy and the teams so close to one another, if he was the least bit uncouth he’d never see another lady.”
She sniffed. “Those damn over-sexed harpies are the worst. They’re all too old for him.”
“He’ll settle down,” Gaea said. “Wren, give your brother his due. He’s handsome, intelligent, brave—not surprising the girls hang off him.”
“You forgot ‘incorrigible’ and ‘randy beyond reason’,” Wren grumbled. She turned on him. “Bannor, were you like that when you were his age?”
He leaned back from her intensity. “Wren, I am his age. I’ve had like three girlfriends my entire life, and Sarai is number three.”
Wren waved a hand. “I’m sorry. You just seem so much more mature than he is.”
She turned to Corim and narrowed her eyes. “You have all kinds of girlfriends too…”
The burly man folded his arms and frowned. “I do not. Matayans practice monogamy exclusively.”
“He just likes to lead all the young women on,” Senalloy said sliding over and running her fingers through Corim’s hair again.
The big man sighed and his shoulders rounded down like someone had put a castle on his back.
Senalloy tilted her head. “Isn’t he cute when he gets all flustered?”
Gaea looked around. “So what was all the fuss? Was Sarai still trying to find a way to fell giants with her shaladen?”
His wife-to-be rolled her eyes. “I guess. I just feel like I could have done more. I think Corim convinced me to stop trying to use the brute force approach.”
Reality's Plaything 5: The Infinity Annihilator Page 14