Heartbeat of Silence Read online

  An open mind is a terrible thing to waste, so armour it up and send it to the Citadel with a fanged shape-shifter watching her every move.

  Veera’s mind broke wide open during a tragedy. A telepathic call for help sent her into a coma where every mind around her was open to hers.

  A stint on an island where no one spoke or thought a harsh word was just what she needed, but when she was offered a chance to live a life out in the open, she agreed to everything that the shape-shifter asked. Life was something that she needed to find.

  Stanik trained to be Veera’s link for eighteen months. When he finally met her, her physical presence sent his senses reeling. The reality was much better than the images her family had sent him to entice him into agreeing to share his mind with hers.

  He gives her stability, and she gives him attitude, a challenge and someone to protect. It is a fairly even swap.

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  Heartbeat of Silence

  Copyright © 2013 Viola Grace

  ISBN: 978-1-77111-473-8

  Cover art by Martine Jardin

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

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  Heartbeat of Silence

  Tales of the Citadel book 18

  By

  Viola Grace

  Chapter One

  Veera Halig kept to herself and worked at her job in the silence of the tombs. Her family had had to petition nine levels of government to get her assigned to the island of the honoured dead, and it probably saved her life.

  Veera passed one of the sisters, the guardians of the island. The woman inclined her head and walked on, her mind a blessed blank. It was one of her favourite things about the island. The Sisters of Silence prided themselves on keeping calm minds while they worked to honour and maintain the graves of fallen warriors.

  It made it easy for someone like Veera to cease attaching to the minds of others when everyone around her kept their thoughts calm and minds blank.

  Veera swept out the Crypt of Ashes with attention to detail. It was the least she could do for the room and board she had been enjoying for the last eighteen months. She had taken on each duty that the sisters had given her with a grateful heart.

  Her mind was finally calm. Sure, she could feel the minds of the continent three hundred miles away, but they were a murmur in the background compared to the roar that they had been.

  As she finished the floor of the crypt, she looked out and watched the birds flirt with the fish down on the beach. It really was a beautiful place if you could forget the grief and tragedy that had caused it to be occupied by the bodies of the fallen. If you were a soldier of Farellen and you died in battle, you came to the island, whether your family could visit you or not.

  The sisters were here to act as family and caretakers for the dead. They prayed, chanted and spoke to the dead, all in complete silence. The actions of caretaking were their voices.

  It had been a bit eerie for the first few weeks being the only person on the island authorized to make a noise but after a while the sisters accepted her listening to her sister’s music and her dancing in the Courtyard of Repose. She was so overjoyed at the stress lifted from her mind that she had to express it somehow.

  Veera tidied up and moved on to her next task, that of greeting the newest arrivals and consoling them in their loss of life. Speaking to stone monuments was not something she would normally do, but it came naturally after she saw one young woman buried, her family weeping as they were taken back to the continent.

  Since she could not console the family, she spoke to the woman as she was lowered into the ground for her first five years on the island. After nature had taken its course, she would be moved from her place in the ground and her bones would be stored in the crypt with only a small plaque to mark her place. It was not the kind of life Veera wanted for herself.

  Halfway to the garden of new arrivals, she heard a gong. Veera paused. There was no service scheduled for today.

  The gong rang again marked with a sharp chime and a third gong.

  “Someone is calling.” Veera turned and headed for the dock on the far side of the island.

  Three of the sisters passed her and nodded, their hands hidden by their robes as they bustled past her, going to hide in the chapel. It was standard for the sisters not on duty to hide when they were not needed for a ceremony. Veera had tried to ask them about it, but she only got the vague answer in hand signals that it was a tradition.

  She moved quickly but decorously across the paths until she could see the dock and her visitor.

  The sister on duty walked past her, heading for the chapel. Veera reached out and touched the minds of the people just beyond her line of sight. Her feet picked up speed as she ran to greet her sister and brother. The other mind that was with them was harder to spot, but if he was with her siblings, she didn’t see a problem with him.

  She could always flay his mind with hers at a later time.

  “Teesha, Reynal!” She ran forward, and her siblings embraced her.

  They laughed and hugged together as Veera ran through all of their current thoughts and events in their lives. She smiled and caressed Teesha’s cheek. “I am glad to see you.”

  Reynal tapped her nose with a finger. “You have learned to be politic, dearest Veera.”

  She inclined her head. “The sisters have been good for me. I needed this silence. Come with me to the Garden of Tears and tell me why you are here.”

  Teesha nodded and turned to look behind her. A shadow detached itself from the wall and took a few steps forward.

  Veera swallowed heavily. Something about him spoke volumes without saying anything. His mind was completely silent as he approached her.

  “Veera Halig, I am pleased to meet you.” He extended his hand, and she took it, jolting as a wave of heat rolled up her arm and rippled across her body.

  “I…” She frowned and looked to her siblings.

  Teesha was amazed, but Reynal took point. “Veera, this is Stanik Arlinik. He is going to be your link.”

  She shook her head, dazed by the hormonal surge the light touch on her hand caused. He released her fingers, and she stepped back. She gestured for them to follow her. “I believe we need to discuss things.”

  Teesha and Reynal Halig followed her, but Stanik stayed at her side.

  She led the way to the Garden of Tears and gestured for them to take seats on the benches arranged in conversational settings.

  She primly smoothed her pink gown around her legs and perched next to Teesha. “Not that I don’t appreciate you taking time out of your performing schedule, but why are you here?”

  Teesha smiled. “When you were first afflicted, we didn’t know what to do. Mom and Dad looked into every remedy or treatment that they could find.”
r />   Veera wrinkled her nose. “I remember.”

  “Well, when I was off world performing, I ran into a Wyoran who told me about members of their populations born with open minds, like yours. They get what is called a link. It is a person who can offer them mental stability until they can match their self-control with their talent. Similar to the braces Reynal had to wear on his teeth until they straightened.”

  Veera laughed. “So this is a Wyoran thing?”

  Teesha rubbed her nose. “Well, yes and no. Farellens don’t match well with Wyorans. Our minds are too dissimilar. As the family travelled, we went looking for a species that had someone with a mental signature that matched yours and was willing to devote possible years out of their life to helping you master your talent.”

  All of them turned to stare at Stanik, and he sat casually as if sitting and sunning himself was all he had planned for the day.

  Veera cleared her throat. “Please tell me that the volunteer is Mr. Arlinik’s little sister.”

  Stanik sat straight up and grinned, showing a great deal of fang for a normal-sized jaw. “I don’t have a little sister.”

  She shivered and looked to Teesha.

  “Veera, two years ago, he volunteered, and he has been on Wyora taking link training ever since. He just graduated, and now, he is a fully qualified link.” Teesha cleared her throat. “Your link.”

  He grinned at her obvious discomfort. “That is right, Veera. I am all yours.”

  She sent her mind to his, and it slid away. Her eyes widened as she struck at him again.

  “Keep it up, Veera. I can do this all day. However, I believe that your siblings have places they need to be. If you want to continue to mentally assault me, we should do it on the way. I have another world for you to enjoy as you get a grip on your mind, an entire planet with only a few dozen people.”

  That was tempting.

  “Let me get my things.” She got to her feet, and Stanik stood next to her. When she took a few steps, he followed her. “I promise to come back. I am not going to run.”

  He smiled. “I have begun the process to sync my mind to yours. Proximity helps. I will be where you are for the next few weeks.”

  She closed her eyes for a moment as she walked to her quarters. The images that swam behind her lids made her shake when she thought about how close she wanted him to get.

  Proximity was going to be sheer torture.

  Chapter Two

  The sisters ran when they saw the stranger walking the halls.

  “Are they always this timid?”

  Veera gave him a look. “No. They cannot fraternize with any visitors outside of a funeral or they risk being kicked off the island of the honoured dead.”

  “Why would they mind being forced to leave?”

  “They want to be close to their loved ones, and the life of silence is the price for it. Most of the sisters here are widows and sisters of the honoured dead. They want to be close to the ones that they loved and are willing to pay the price.”

  He paused and his lips tightened. “I apologize.”

  “It doesn’t matter to me, but you need to know why they are here. It is the reason they swear to silence of mouth and mind. It has been very pleasant here for me. They rarely open their minds to me and it is something I deeply appreciate.”

  She opened her quarters and retrieved her hairbrush and toothbrush. Everything else she owned was packed in her trunk. “The trunk is everything.”

  He lifted the box with a grunt. “What is in here?”

  Veera smiled. “My life.”

  “Then, I will care for it as if it were my own.” He inclined his head, and she led the way through the halls to the administration office.

  She flicked her fingers at the head sister. I am being called away. Thank you for sheltering me during my time of need.

  The head of the order reached out with her smoke grey robes flaring and wrapping around Veera. When she finished her hug, she stepped back. It was lovely to have you with us. We enjoyed the sounds of your singing and laughter. We wish you joy wherever you go.

  Thank you. She bowed low over the head sister’s hands.

  “We can go now.” She smiled at Stanik while still trying to dig into his mind once again.

  He chuckled, and the sound rippled through her senses. She shivered and returned them to the Garden of Tears.

  Teesha laughed at the box Stanik was carrying but led the way to the launch that had brought them to the island.

  Reynal steered the boat around the island and into deeper ocean.

  “Where are we going?” Veera was curious as she held onto the side of the bouncing craft for balance. Water sprayed into her face, and she spluttered, moving to sit in the centre of the craft next to Stanik.

  He helped stabilize her, and he pointed. “We moored the shuttle just out of viewing range. Our presence here is not really authorized.”

  She stared at him for a moment and then laughed. “So I have been kidnapped?”

  “You have been invited to leave Farellen.” Reynal laughed.

  Veera turned to stare at her brother. “Rey, what is going on?”

  Teesha lifted her head from the com unit and jerked her head at their brother. “Tell her.”

  Reynal sighed and turned the ship in a direct line for the small silvery blip on the horizon. “Farellen is a locked world now. It went through a year ago. We were trying to bribe someone in the government to get access to you last month, but they denied us. Sneaking in and grabbing you was the only way.”

  Veera cocked her head. “Why bother?”

  Stanik smiled. “I have engaged in training to assist you in gaining control over your mind and your life. It would be a shame to waste your life on the island of the dead.”

  She ran through the mind of her siblings. She used a cool and delicate touch on them, reading the despair they felt as they were told she was out of their reach. It was both gratifying and terrifying to have such a loving family. They would do anything for her, including risking their own freedom to come and sweep her off to the stars.

  Veera watched as the shuttle came into full view. It was a bubble of silver on the rippling ocean. She read the pilot and navigator. Two males with a fair share of tension were urging them to hurry. She opened her mental net wide and found the fliers and the boats heading toward their location.

  “Reynal, if you can increase our speed, it would probably be a good thing.” She looked up with eyes gone blind as she read the rage, the pain and the hostility of the approaching troops.

  The pain gave her pause until she delved further and found that six of the approaching twenty-four were fans of the great Teesha Halig. Arresting their hero was not something they were looking forward to. “We have company.” The first of the ships was becoming visible on the skyline.

  Stanik got to his feet and stood between Veera and danger. She didn’t think he even knew it was his reflex, but it made her smile.

  “Veera, can you slow them down?” Teesha was nervous, and it was a rare thing to see.

  She shook her head. “No, not without dropping them out of the sky. I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

  Her mental net kept expanding. She shook as the voices of the mainland came at her thoughts. All those months at the island and the moment that she was gone, her talent surged out of her control again.

  She hissed and pressed a hand to her forehead. The boat was slowing, but the world was already fading around her while her mind lit up with the millions of minds on Farellen.

  She heard voices and felt hands lifting her as a calm mind inserted itself into hers. She clung to that island of calm in her thoughts and shivered in relief as the voices of Farellen grew distant and faded out.

  She exhaled with a rattling sound and opened her eyes. She was on a table in a tiny medical bay with Stanik watching her with a worried gaze.

  “I am fine now. Don’t look so worried.” She sat up and wrinkled her nose at the ache in her brain.
>
  “You are in pain.” He reached out and cupped the back of her skull with one hand.

  She licked her lips nervously. The contact was unexpected. “The pain will come and go as we pass population centres. When do you start acting as my link?”

  He scowled. “We need a bit of privacy and shielded quarters. We will link on Balen where you can adjust to the new arrangement.”

  She chuckled. “Won’t you have to do some adjusting?”

  He massaged her skull and the back of her neck lightly. “I have been trained for this, though you are far less insane than someone with your talent and handicap should be.”

  She laughed outright. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”

  Chapter Three

  The tour ship that met them meant that Teesha and Reynal had to resume their progress while Veera continued on in the shuttle with Stanik hovering next to her like a hen guarding its chick.

  Veera watched the festively decked-out ship as it slowly faded into space. Five hundred people were on that ship, and they were all looking forward to their next port of call. It took a lot of manpower to launch a Halig show, and when that ship docked on a new world, it would bring a lot of power and energy to the performance. It always did.

  Veera smiled as well wishes were sent to her from the entire crew on the ship. She missed the performances, the public enthusiasm and the adoration. She had once danced while her sister sang and her brother performed on the drums.

  When her mind broke open, she had to stop performing. The thoughts of the people in the audience were distracting to say the least. As her mental net expanded, she was unable to function even to the point of maintaining her own body.

  She vaguely remembered years of life support and the agony of thoughts not her own ripping through her mind. While travelling in space, the effect was muted, but when she first landed on Farellen, she had been completely helpless for weeks.