by Liz Craven
Lia gestured towards the pipes with the piece in her hand, a N’yotan firebird in full flight. “With those.” A wry smile touched her lips. “Tmesis is nothing but sand and heat, and that’s all you need to create glass.”
Talon watched her movements smooth out, noting that talking about her art calmed her anger. He filed that piece of information away. The more he knew about what she held important, the better.
Talon grabbed the other blanket from her pallet and knelt beside her to help her “pack” her work. “How do you get the sand hot enough to melt?”
“The exhaust system from the mining equipment gets hot enough to melt the sand around the vents. I gather the molten material on the end of a pipe and work with that.”
“What about the colors?” Caden persisted.
“I roll the gather in ore, and use the exhaust’s heat to melt them together.”
“Gather?”
“The molten glass I ‘gather’ on the end of the pipe.”
“Clever,” Talon mused, holding up an abstract piece that swirled with vibrant colors.
The genuine smile she shot him both surprised him and left him absurdly pleased—and not only because she had all her teeth.
Talon handed the blanket he had used to pad several fragile pieces to Caden. He rose and extended his hands, indicating Lia should pass the bundle she held to him. She hesitated briefly, but passed it to him.
She picked up the change of clothes from her pallet and surveyed the room. “That’s everything,” she stated quietly.
He reached out to the pipes in the corner. “Don’t you want these? We can have better tools made for you, but it would probably help to have the originals to gage size and weight.”
The look on her face was beyond astonishment. It was shock. “You mean to work with when we return to N’yota?”
“Of course,” Talon felt he was missing something important but for the life of him had no idea what that might be. “Do you want to take them?”
Lia nodded, her gaze flicking over the room, and Talon tucked the rods under an arm. She turned and met him with an expression he could only define as “resolved”.
“I’m finished here,” she announced. “But I have one more stop to make.”
Chapter Three
The shuttle door lowered with a hiss, revealing a sterile docking bay. Accustomed to the sweltering heat of Tmesis, the moderate temperature of the bay raised chills on Lia’s skin. She wanted to wrap her arms around herself to hold in heat, but the ship’s lighter gravity made her clumsy, and she grabbed the rail for support as she descended the ramp.
At the base of the ramp, Lia released the rail and stumbled. Talon caught her elbow in a gentle grip. Her pride demanded she walk across the bay on her own, but she admitted to herself she would fall on her face if she tried. Letting Talon support her was the lesser of the two evils.
She found herself strangely resentful of his solicitous manner. He had not objected when she demanded to see Lynaya before leaving, and after an initial scan of the area, had even stepped back to allow her privacy during the conversation. Her eyes misted as she recalled her last meeting with the wise woman.
Lynaya had initially refused to take her credits, relenting only when Lia insisted the funds be used to purchase more medical supplies. The pieces of glasswork had been easier for the elderly woman to accept. She appeared touched Lia wanted her to have the objects she had created. Despite the sentimental attachment, Lia knew Lynaya wouldn’t hesitate to barter them for needed supplies if the opportunity arose. Lia hoped the opportunity would arise.
She blinked the moisture back and forced her mind to deal with the situation at hand. She would mourn the loss of her friends and freedom later.
Talon halted abruptly, and Lia found herself teetering. Much to her relief, she steadied herself before falling on her face or being caught by Talon.
Caden and Thane, who had been walking ahead of them, stopped after triggering a beam of brilliant blue light. The two paused as the light washed over them, leaving the faint scent of ozone in the air.
“Decontamination,” Talon explained in a low voice. “The beam is faster and more effective than the showers were.”
Decontamination showers had been standard practice aboard ships when Lia had left N’yota. Individuals boarding a ship stood in a three meter square room while various decontamination treatments were administered. The process took upwards of fifteen minutes.
The beam method appeared significantly faster. Caden and Thane had simply paused beneath the beam, which bathed them in blue light for mere seconds. The light turned off and the two moved forward, exiting the docking bay.
Talon led her forward, indicating where she was to stand. He waited until she gained her balance before releasing her arm and stepping into place next to her. Lia heard the faint hum when the scan began. Her skin tingled beneath the beam, and the docking bay appeared to turn a bright, shimmering blue. The beam turned off with an audible click, and Talon retook her elbow before she could move. He guided her through a door that whished open almost silently, leaving Vardin behind to endure the scan.
Lia found herself entering in a small reception room, clearly designed for greeting guests and dignitaries.
A large man in the red dress uniform of a League captain stepped before her. He saluted her and bowed. He moved with the elegance of a man who was accustomed to such formalities. “Damaia, I am Captain Artrane of the Wrath of Aegir. Welcome aboard.”
His voice held more pride when he identified his ship than when he identified himself. Lia decided she liked him.
“Thank you,” she replied.
She caught a movement out of the corner of her eye and turned in time to see someone rush into the room.
The tall, slender woman moved with the grace of a dancer. Her hair was the silver of moonbeams, fashioned in an intricate style. Wide-set gray eyes fringed with silver lashes, high cheekbones and full pink lips created a sensual allure most women only dreamed of projecting. Her elegantly simple copper dress flowed around her ankles. Fina, goddess of beauty and light, must have reached down and touched this woman with her blessed hand.
The vision flashed Lia a beautiful smile, right before she launched herself into Talon’s arms. An unfamiliar and unpleasant sensation burned through Lia when Talon released her elbow to hold the newcomer. The golden enchantress was her complete antithesis. Even wrapped in silk rather than rags, Lia could never hope to compete with such a siren.
The melodic laugh the woman let loose rubbed across Lia’s skin like broken glass. Seeing her in Talon’s arms, Lia felt the urge to wrench the two apart, preferably while ripping that perfectly arranged, silver-blonde hair out by the roots.
“I can’t believe you found her!” The woman actually sounded delighted.
To Lia’s surprise, the vision pushed herself free from Talon and flung her arms around Lia.
“Welcome home, Damaia,” she breathed.
The woman hadn’t considered the effect of differing gravity on her target, and her action cost Lia her precarious balance. Locked in an embrace, the two women slammed into the floor.
Lia landed with a squawk, and the wound in her side screamed with pain. The beautiful woman collapsed on top of her with a feminine gasp of dismay.
Prophetess, the woman even fell gracefully.
Fortunately, the fiasco spared Lia from responding to the heartfelt welcome. In the back of her mind, she realized this was the first hug she’d ever received. Naturally, it was a disaster.
“Ilexa,” Talon growled in warning. He took each woman by an arm and hauled them unceremoniously to their feet.
Ilexa gave another tinkling laugh. “Please forgive me. My excitement carried me away. I didn’t mean to tackle you.”
“May I present my sister, Ilexa.” Talon released his sister, but not Lia.
Belatedly noting the woman had the same eyes as Talon, Lia felt foolish. Still uncomfortably insecure, she nodded at her siste
r-in-law. “I am pleased to meet you.”
Great. Back in League territory less than five minutes and already lying.
Undeterred by either the spectacle she’d created or the stiffness of Lia’s greeting, Ilexa pulled free of her brother and hooked her elbow through Lia’s arm. The one Talon wasn’t holding.
She ignored the large, growling man on the other side of Lia, an impressive feat. “Damaia, allow me to escort you to your quarters.”
Talon shook his head. “I’m taking her to sickbay for a health scan and we will need to debrief.”
“Shame on you, Talon,” Ilexa interjected. “This is how you welcome your lost bride? With a debriefing and a scan? Your chivalry knows no bounds.”
Talon bristled. “The Damaia’s health and security take precedence over ‘chivalry’.”
The argument reminded Lia of her former life on N’yota. Others making her decisions with no regard for her wants or needs. For a brief moment, she felt as powerless as the child she had been. Deliberately, she forced that feeling aside.
“The Damaia is a person capable of making her own decisions,” she snapped.
Talon and Ilexa appeared startled. Lia wondered if it was because of her obvious rancor or because she interrupted their argument.
Ilexa tossed her brother a withering look. “I apologize, Damaia. I had no right to speak for you.”
Talon glared at both Ilexa and Lia. “As I said, the Damaia’s health and security are our priorities.”
Lia drew herself up. “I’ve been through decontamination.”
He gave her a dismissive frown. “You will have your health checked. Your well-being is critical to the future of N’yota.”
Talon could not have picked an argument better designed to raise her hackles. “I am not a child needing such decisions made for me, and I will not submit to a health scan.”
She knew she sounded petulant, but didn’t care.
“You need a scan—” Talon began.
Ilexa dug her elbow into his side, effectively cutting him off. “My brother will have to learn women are to be treated differently than soldiers. Please allow me to show you to your quarters. No doubt you would like to freshen up and relax—away from this chest-beating male.”
Lia managed to keep her lips from twitching. For the first time in her life, someone was more interested in what she wanted than what was “best for the Damaia”. “Please call me Lia.”
“I suppose I should object to addressing you with such familiarity, but we are sisters.” With a cultivated sniff, Ilexa stuck her nose in the air and breezed past Talon, pulling Lia along with her.
Sisters? Prophetess help her, in the space of two hours she had gone from being all alone to having a husband and a sister. What the hell was she supposed to do with either of them?
—
The doors to the lift parted silently, and Ilexa gestured for Lia to precede her into the hallway. Taking careful steps, Lia sank to her ankles in carpet far thicker than she had seen elsewhere on the ship. Having followed her new sister-in-law through a sterile maze of corridors and lifts, Lia recognized the unusualness of the ornately appointed hall before her.
She took in the elaborate furniture strategically positioned along the passage. Paintings in rich-hued, wooden frames hung on the walls. The muted lighting provided a cozier feel than the rest of the harshly lit ship. Clearly, this area was designed to give its occupants a feeling of importance.
Lia felt suffocated. A wave of homesickness for the simple shanty in the mining colony washed over her.
Ilexa paused at the farthest door from the lift. “These are your quarters,” she explained. “Place your hand on the blue panel. The computer will do a quick scan to admit you. It won’t admit anyone other than you without your permission.”
Lia raised her hand to the panel. It was cold to the touch, and she felt a prickling sensation when scanned. Like the lift, the doors slid open silently. If the computer did admit anyone without her permission she would never hear them coming.
The quarters were actually a large suite. Lia crossed the threshold into a well-appointed sitting area. Through an open door she glimpsed the bedroom and part of the lav on the far side of it.
She could fit her shanty three times over in the sitting area alone.
Lia sank gratefully onto a reclining chaise in the sitting area. The double shift, cave-in and emotional upheaval of the day left her spent.
Ilexa glided into the dining area of the suite and opened a small door hidden in the paneling. “This is the refrigeration unit. Would you care for something to drink? There’s water, juice, wine, and sweet drinks.”
“Water would be great,” Lia replied.
Ilexa pulled two clear bottles from the unit and joined Lia on the chaise. “Just so you know, anything you say outside of quarters on the ship can be monitored. Normally, I’d think anyone worried others would take time to eavesdrop on them was crazy, but given the security measures in place…” She gave a graceful shrug. “If you want to have a private conversation, make sure you are in someone’s quarters.”
Lia accepted the bottle of water offered, marveling at the clearness of the liquid. She had grown accustomed to Tmesis where the precious commodity was always tinged brown. “Thank you, Ilexa.”
“Please, call me Lex. All my family does.” She gave an impish grin. “They only call me ‘Ilexa’ if I’ve managed to annoy them.”
Filled with questions, but uncomfortable voicing them, Lia latched on to the opening Ilexa had given her. “Tell me about your family.”
“I’m the youngest of six. I have five older brothers. My father died during the wars, but my mother is still alive and ruling us all with an iron fist.”
“I’m sorry about your father.”
“Thanks, but he died when I was five. I barely remember him.” Ilexa smiled wistfully, appearing lost in her memories, before returning to the topic. “Talon’s the oldest of my brothers and became the head of the family when my father died. He was thirteen. It’s made him a little domineering.”
“I noticed,” Lia muttered, prompting a laugh from Ilexa.
“I can give you plenty of advice on dealing with him. My four other brothers are just as overbearing as Talon. I’ve had a lot of practice.”
“Thank you,” Lia replied. “I may take you up on your offer.”
“He blamed himself for your disappearance,” Ilexa told her, turning serious.
That startled Lia. “Why? He was only twenty and attending the Academy at the time.”
“You’re family, Lia. More importantly, you are his wife. Family is the most important thing to Talon. He believes if he had taken a more active role in your security, you would never have been lost.”
Lia felt awkward. She didn’t want to discuss the subject of her disappearance. “I had the best security the League had to offer.”
“True, but Talon still blames himself. He has been obsessed with finding you. Even when the rest of the government believed the search futile, Talon insisted it continue. He has been driven to bring you home.”
“He’s been driven to bring the Damaia home,” Lia pointed out.
“You are the Damaia.”
“Yes,” she replied sadly. “I am.”
Ilexa studied Lia’s face for a moment, then rose. “I should let you freshen up. The captain and his senior officers decided to have a welcome dinner for you. I would have suggested they wait and let you settle in, but they arranged it before I found out. I left some clothes on the bed for you. If you need anything, I’m across the hall and Talon is next door.”
Lia groaned at the announcement of a formal dinner. “Thank you for the clothes, Lex.”
“No worries. Talon tells me I have enough clothes for five women. Speaking of Talon, he will probably show up half an hour early to talk with you before escorting you to dinner. If I know Big Brother—and I do—that gives you about an hour and a half to get ready and rest. If you need me for anything you can
pop across the hall or use the communications panel to contact me.”
Ilexa took the bottle from Lia’s hand and sauntered out with a little wave.
—
Talon stepped off the lift, furious at Ilexa’s interference. His meeting with the captain had done nothing to cool his temper. Now he had to attend a formal mess rather than review the Damaia’s life.
“Ilexa,” he began in a warning tone when he saw her waiting for him in the corridor.
“Talon, we need to talk,” Ilexa responded, without her usual playfulness.
“Is the Damaia—?”
“Lia’s as fine as can be expected,” she reassured him.
Talon hesitated, staring at the Damaia’s door. He had been looking for her for over a decade, turning away when he was so close to having his questions answered went against every fiber of his being. “Lex—”
“It’s important.” Ilexa’s voice was soft.
“Fine,” he said. “But make it fast.”
He opened the door to his assigned quarters and followed his sister in. The doors had barely closed before he snapped, “What’s wrong?”
“You need to give her a little time to herself,” she said.
“Time to herself?” Talon couldn’t believe Ilexa. “I’ll give her plenty of time to dress for dinner. You did find something for her to wear, didn’t you?”
“That’s not what I mean,” she replied. “And yes, I’ve loaned her some clothes.”
“Lex, I don’t have time for this.”
“I promised her you wouldn’t be over for at least an hour and a half.”
“That will only give me half an hour to get answers before the formal dinner the captain arranged.”
Ilexa brushed past him and settled in a chair beside the portal. “Talon, I’m here to give you my professional opinion.”
Alarmed, Talon sat on the couch across from her. Ilexa never joked or wasted time when it came to her healing gift. “Is she sick?”
“No, she’s not ill,” Lex reassured him. “It’s not physical.”
Talon frowned. It wasn’t like his sister to beat around the bush. “What are you saying, Lex? My patience is wearing thin.”