Transcender Trilogy Complete Box Set

by Vicky Savage

  I pat my face dry and dab on some lip gloss. Then I quickly wipe it off. Lip gloss is not appropriate for this discussion. I trudge down the hall to Asher’s apartment and knock softly on his door.

  “Ash?” I say, leaning in close.

  After a moment, I hear footsteps. The door opens a crack.

  “Jade? What are you doing here?” His hair is tousled and his eyelids are heavy like he fell asleep in front of the TV.

  “I need to talk to you about something.”

  “This isn’t the best time for me. Can it wait until morning?”

  “Nope, sorry buddy, it can’t.” I push past him into the apartment, picking up the faintest whiff of perfume on the way. I freeze at the entrance to the living room when I see Nila sitting on Asher’s couch in a short yellow sundress. Her long legs and bare feet are tucked beneath her, and her loose hair billows around her shoulders like volcanic smoke.

  I raise my hands to my face. “Oh shit. I am so sorry, Ash. I didn’t know you had company.”

  “Hey Jaden,” Nila says, bending down to retrieve her sandals. “Sounds like you two have some things to discuss.”

  “Nila, this is so embarrassing. Stay. Please. I can talk to Ash later.”

  “Don’t worry about it, girl. I was just leaving anyway.” Her long sensuous fingers trail across Asher’s shoulder as she passes. He follows her to the door, and they exchange whispered goodnights.

  “So,” he says to me, closing the door. “That wasn’t awkward or anything.”

  “Oh man, Ash. I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry doesn’t quite seem to cover it.”

  He picks up a tray with a half empty bottle of wine and two glasses and glumly carries it to the kitchen. “You want some wine while we talk about this urgent matter that just can’t wait?”

  “No. You go ahead, though.”

  He pours a little wine into a glass, and we sit at his kitchen table. “What’s up? Are you all right?”

  “Yeah. I’m fine. It’s just that Narowyn spoke with me tonight about sending us on an exploration together.”

  “Yep, she mentioned it to me earlier. You got a problem with it?”

  “You know what? Right now I feel like such a dumbass, I don’t even know how to say it.”

  “Just say it. It’s me remember? You’ve said plenty of dumbass things to me.”

  That makes me smile. “Okay, but promise you won’t laugh.”

  “Scouts honor.” He holds up three-fingers.

  “Well, we’d be going away together for a few days, posing as husband and wife, and I didn’t really know what your current feelings were toward me, so …”

  He grins, but doesn’t laugh. “So you were worried that I might still be carrying a torch for you and that would be … umm, maybe even more awkward than tonight?”

  “Well, nothing could top that, but yeah.”

  He nods still smiling. “Okay, I get it. So, you want me to tell you that I have absolutely no designs on you and you’re safe pretending to be my wife.”

  “Uh, I don’t think you need to tell me that after tonight. I saw that love-sick puppy look on your face.”

  He throws back his head and plunges both hands into his hair. “Ah, Nila, Nila, Nila.”

  “Boy’s got it bad, huh?”

  “God, Jade. I’ve never felt this way before. The woman’s about to drive me mad. She’s all I think about. I can’t sleep at night. I have to stop myself from calling her twenty times a day. She’s like love heroin or something. I can’t get enough of her.”

  His mournful green eyes delve into mine. “Do you have the vaguest idea what I’m talking about?”

  “Oh, yeah.” I nod slowly. “Nothing else like it on this earth … or any other, for that matter.”

  “This is how you felt about Ryder?”

  “Yep.”

  “Shit. No wonder you wouldn’t give me the time of day. I guess that explains a lot of things.”

  “Like why I married him?”

  “Like why you married him.”

  “So how long has this been going on between you two?”

  He takes a slug of wine. “We’ve known each other for a few years, but I guess I never really saw her until that night at the pub in Oxford. We stayed up and talked all night after we got back to the flat. I guess she must have cast a spell on me or something. God, I never thought I’d be dating a cop.” He slaps a palm to his forehead.

  “Uh, she’s really not your average cop, Ash. She’s more like an intergalactic law enforcement ninja.”

  He barks a laugh. “She’s a ninja all right, in every way. But sometimes I feel like a complete Neanderthal around her.”

  “Ha! You’re not a Neanderthal. You’re Mr. Suave. Anyway, are you sure you want to go away on exploration right now?”

  “Yeah. I think we should go. It’ll be invaluable experience for you, and it’ll do me good to get away for a few days to try to recoup some of my old machismo. Besides, I think she’s a little jealous of you.”

  “I hate to break it to you, Ash, but you don’t need any more machismo. Nila likes you the way you are, and while I highly doubt that she’s jealous of me, a little distance might do you some good. You know, give her some time to miss you.”

  He grins. “Does that mean we’re going to Twin Moons?”

  “We’re going to Twin Moons,” I say, getting to my feet. “I’ll let Narowyn know in the morning. Why don’t you call Nila and see if she wants to pop back over here?” I waggle my eyebrows.

  “You don’t think I should play hard to get? Let her wonder about what we’re doing?”

  “Life is short, my friend.” I head for the door. “Don’t ever forget that.”

  FORTY-THREE

  “Jaden, good morning,” Narowyn says when she finds me sitting in her office. “You’re here very early.” She lays some files on her desk and comes around to join me in the armchairs.

  “I didn’t get much sleep last night,” I say. “I don’t like to leave things hanging, so I wanted to get this out of the way early.”

  “I assume that means you’ve reached a decision?”

  “Yes, I have. I’d like to go to Twin Moons with Asher. I spoke with him about it, and he agrees it would be a good first experience for me.”

  “Excellent. We’ll get you two set up immediately. Can you leave tomorrow?”

  “I don’t see why not.” So much for my quiet little routine. “What do I need to do to prepare?”

  “I’ll have Gil put together some information for you on Twin Moons. It’s not terribly different from your home earth, with a few notable exceptions. Also, you’ll need to be fitted for a uniform. That is done over in the police barracks. If you go this morning, it should be ready for you by tomorrow.”

  “I thought we were supposed to be aid workers. Won’t the uniforms kind of stick out?”

  “You’ll be given appropriate local clothing when you reach Twin Moons. Transcenders always travel in their uniforms when on official business. It’s in the back of the handbook.”

  “Oh, sorry.”

  “It’s quite all right. It takes time to learn the rules and regulations. In any event, that’s all you need to do today. We’ll have everything else ready for you and Asher in the morning. You’ll be briefed at that time. Do try to get a good night’s sleep, though.”

  “I’m sure I’ll sleep better tonight.”

  I go directly from Narowyn’s office to the Transcender police barracks to get fitted for my uniform. Turns out, sunny Jeffrey from the armory is also responsible for the uniforms. He has me try on a couple of different sizes and makes some notes on alterations. He promises the uniform will be waiting for me in the morning, as will a utility belt equipped with a holster for my sidearm and a pouch for a penlight and emergency meds.

  Gil finds me when I land back at the Chateau. “I have a packet of information for you on Twin Moons,” he says, passing me a slim file. “Narowyn tells me you’re going tomorrow.”

&
nbsp; “Yeah. My first exploration.” I flip through the file, not much here.

  “Such a pity what happened,” he says. “Please do bring back photos. I can use them in class.”

  “We plan to bring back lots of useful information, Gil. I have one question for you, though. How can this earth have two moons when the rest have only one?”

  “Well I assume you’re familiar with the Giant Impact Hypothesis?”

  I twist up my mouth. “No, can’t say that I am.”

  “Briefly, it states that the moon was formed out of the debris left over from a collision billions of years ago between the earth and a body approximately the size of Mars.”

  “No kidding? I’d never heard that.”

  “The majority of scientists who subscribe to the hypothesis believe that every earth had more than one moon at some point, but the sun’s gravity caused these multiple moons to move in unstable orbits. Eventually they all collided with each other forming themselves into one big moon.”

  “So what happened on Twin Moons?”

  “The theory is that the debris from the giant collision formed two moons of a similar large size—twins, if you will—which had concordant orbits. Consequently, they never had occasion to collide. You’ll see from the information I gave you that this anomaly causes some tidal differences, and of course the nights are certainly brighter, but other than that, Earth 17L2 is not that different.”

  “Good to know. Thanks for the tutorial and the file.”

  “My pleasure.” He smiles cordially, but he’s still not quite as humanlike as Ralston.

  I spend the afternoon reading over the materials in Gil’s file and reviewing the Transcender Handbook. Even though I just cleaned my pistol, I do it again for good measure. After that, I call Luci to let her know our secret work sessions are on hold until my return. She says she has plenty of research to do in the meantime.

  Finally, I make all the arrangements to have Ralston and Gil take care of Callie while I’m gone. As I’m gathering up dog food and treats to take down to their apartment, a soft but adamant tapping at my front door causes me to stop what I’m doing and see what’s going on. I open the door to a flushed-looking Eve.

  “Jade,” she whispers. “There’s someone downstairs to see you.”

  “Okay, but why are you whispering?”

  “I don’t know if you’re going to want to see him. It’s that Ryder Blackthorn guy.”

  I grip Eve’s arm and yank her inside. “What does he want?”

  “He didn’t say. I put him in the front drawing room and told him I’d see if you were at home. What shall I tell him?”

  I shake out my hands and bounce on the balls of my feet. “I don’t know. Just say I’m not here, and you don’t know when I’ll be back.”

  She scrunches her pert little nose. “Umm. Maybe you should just talk to him for a minute, Jade. He looks really hot. I mean, not just normal hot, but like melt your nail polish kind of hot.”

  “I know what he looks like,” I say irritably. “Okay, tell him I’ll be right down.”

  She claps her hands and grins. “Oh, goody. Can I listen at the door?”

  “Go!”

  I sprint to the bathroom and check myself in the mirror—hair still looks good. I could use a little mascara and some blush, but I don’t want him to think I got all dolled up for him. I still haven’t forgiven him for being such a massive jerk at Eleanor’s. I pinch my cheeks, apply a coat of nude lipstick, and head downstairs.

  As I enter the drawing room, he unfolds his lanky frame from the chair. Holy sweet mother. A hot chill jags through my body at the sight of him. Eve was right about the nail polish thing.

  “Hello Mr. Blackthorn,” I say, working to keep my voice even. “What can I do for you?”

  He tucks his hands in his pockets. “I just stopped by to apologize for my terrible behavior the other day.” He looks away for a moment and then returns his eyes to mine. “It’s no excuse, but I was in shock seeing you at Eleanor’s. It didn’t take long for me to realize that you must have been as blown away as I was. Anyway, I’m sorry for being such an ass, and I hope you’ll forgive me.”

  Nice speech. “Don’t worry about it,” I say. “It wasn’t pleasant for either of us, but I’m over it now. So let’s just forget it ever happened. Thank you for coming by.”

  He doesn’t make a move to leave. “I wonder if you’ll let me buy you a cup of coffee to make up in some small way for my rudeness.”

  My chest throbs at the thought of having coffee with him. “Sorry, but I’m in the middle of packing for an exploration. I really don’t have time.”

  “Then can we sit here for a minute? I have something I’d like to say to you. I promise to make it quick.”

  “All right. Have a seat.” I gesture toward the chair, and I take the one opposite his.

  He reseats himself and leans toward me, elbows resting on his knees. “I … by way of explanation, I did know about you before that day. My mother-in-law told me you lived in Arumel City, and I’d heard some of the news accounts about your lawsuit against IUGA. But nothing could have prepared me for the impact of seeing you again.”

  “Again?” I squint at him.

  “No. Not again …I mean of seeing you.”

  “Listen, Blackthorn, you don’t have to explain. I know exactly how you felt. And just for the record, I didn’t know you existed. I specifically didn’t want to know. So I’m guessing I was probably the more shocked of the two of us.” My words come out kind of snarky, but I’m not sure of the proper etiquette for speaking to your dead husband’s body double.

  He combs a long fingered hand through his hair. “I’m sorry Miss Beckett, I’m handling this all wrong. I know you’re not her.”

  “And you’re not him,” I snap. The huge chasm in my heart aches, and I wish he hadn’t come.

  “No, I’m not.” He lowers his eyes and stares at his hands a moment. When he looks up again his face is cloudy, and my heart involuntarily squeezes.

  “No one can ever replace the loved ones we lost,” he says. “I just thought … well, I hoped that one day we might be friends.”

  Friends? Could I ever be in the same room with this man without attraction and repulsion dancing a tango inside me?

  I shake my head. “Nope. Not a good idea. This whole thing is way too confusing for me, and to tell the truth, it hurts just looking at you.”

  He closes his eyes, and softly as a prayer he says, “Please. I ask you not to make up your mind so quickly. I get why you think it sounds a little sadistic. That’s what I thought at first. To me, your moving to Arumel was a total disaster. I dreaded running into you. I even considered leaving town—moving away to make sure it wouldn’t happen. But incredibly, now that it has, I feel different.”

  “Different, how?”

  He dips his head and looks up at me through his coal black lashes. “Honestly, I can’t stop thinking about you. I find myself wanting to see you again.”

  Gulp. My insides quiver at his words.

  “What about you?” he asks. “Have you thought of me at all?”

  Oh lord, how am I supposed to answer that? Only every day since I saw you. I remind myself that it’s probably only the perpetual contract at work here.

  “Of course, I have. It’s not easy putting something like that out of your mind. I was devastated seeing you that way.”

  “I know, but that’s what I wanted to tell you. The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced we’re looking at this all wrong.”

  “I don’t understand. Wrong in what way?”

  “What if this isn’t some kind of cruel cosmic joke? What if this is just how it’s supposed to be?” He tilts his head, and his eyes sparkle maddeningly. “What if there’s a way to transform something that seems intolerable into something good?”

  A mini-explosion goes off in my stomach. I’m not sure if it’s a burst of springtime butterflies or an eruption of slimy black worms.

  “What d
oes that even mean?” I drag my eyes away from his.

  “All I mean is, wouldn’t we be happier and more at peace if we were friends instead of two people anxiously trying to avoid each other?”

  I study the rug for a second. “Look, Blackthorn, I’m not sure what you want from me. I hope this isn’t some kind of sick psycho-attachment thing like you think I might be your lost wife, and you just want to pick up where you left off.”

  He shakes his head. “No. It’s not like that at all. The thing is, we live in the same city and we’re liable to run into each other from time to time. We have a lot in common just from the fact that we’ve both lost spouses recently. In the end, we may not find each other interesting at all. But, honestly, I’m just asking for a chance to get to know you.”