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  “She is average height for her species.”

  He smiled slightly and held her hand. “I can feel her mind pushing free. I need to be alone with her right now.”

  Spot sat up and looked at him with his crystal eyes.

  “Fine. Alone with them. I am about to open her mind and seal it so it can begin healing.”

  “You think it can heal?”

  “Your little friend here has already begun the process, but she has been wide open so long that it would take a century or more for her to heal that way.” Benliar looked at them with one of his eyebrows raised. “Privacy?”

  Veera took Stanik’s hand, and she hauled him out of the room past the first level of shielding.

  “You are sure that she will be all right?”

  She remembered the calm compassion in the waves of power that had pressed in on her. “I am sure. He has never been called on for something like this. It is a new experience for him, and he is out of his element. When they are back on Roden, he will be fine.”

  He put his arms around her and soothed her when he knew she didn’t believe her own words completely.

  * * * *

  Benliar carefully lifted the woman into his arms and sat on the bed with her across his lap. Her companion hopped off while he moved her and jumped back on to her lap when she was settled against him.

  “I am not going to hurt her.”

  The huge crystal eyes glared at him, and it chirped defensively, puffing up.

  Benliar blinked as he realized that he had a competitor for the attention of the woman in the coma. The smile on his face was not something he felt frequently. He looked at Wimsah and stroked her cheek lightly. Her mouth parted, and he took the invitation, ignoring the irritated squeaking.

  His mouth pressed the cool curve of her lips, and he exhaled power into her. His mind caught hers as it woke and gathered in the edges until her mind was awake.

  She blinked slowly as she came too and then her hands pushed at his shoulders. Her eyes went from a hot violet to the same rainbow that he wore. The energy of Roden continued to flow for a moment, and when he let her push him away, her mind held together.

  She licked her lips, and he focused intently on the small gesture. It took a few tries but she whispered, “How?”

  “Do you remember a woman telling you that she had found a match for your mind?”

  She nodded slightly, her silver hair moved on his arm in a silky stroke.

  “I am that match, and we must return to my home as soon as we are able. All your training will take place on Roden.”

  “Training? I can’t feel anything right now. I am cured!” She smiled and it turned her solemn expression into brightest daylight.

  “You are not cured. You are controlled by me. I will not always be able to reel you in, so you must learn to do it for yourself. That must be done on my world as I cannot commute to and from Balen.”

  “I am on another world?”

  He smiled and got to his feet, carrying her through the halls with her Yaluthu on her chest.

  When they reached the light, she smiled and turned her face toward the sun. It was an image that he would carry in his mind.

  “Saru appreciates the worship.”

  The headmistress of the Balen Citadel was smiling and her beast and her mate were staring at them.

  “I am sure he does. She is awake and I am returning to my ship and then my world. All paperwork will be filed from Roden.”

  “Fine, we will fly you back, and I will make a call for your ship to be loaded with rations for Wimsah and the Yaluthu as well as a round of enzyme shots for her.”

  “Will that be done before we arrive?”

  “It will. Our loading crew is very effective and most have advanced speed. They will get it done.”

  * * * *

  Wimsah looked around and smiled, stroking Spot out of reflex. The man who had woken her held her. “This is an actual new world and you are actual aliens.”

  Veera turned and smiled.

  “I know you. You came to visit.” It was all she could come up with by being cradled in the arms of a man she was afraid to look at.

  “I did. You are waking up well. Much better than anticipated. Have you been able to keep track of what is going on around you?”

  “Of course. That is the annoying part of the open mind.” She smiled slightly. “How is it that I can understand you?”

  Veera made a face. “We pried open your lids and gave you the flash download that works so well on your species.”

  That explained the bright light she remembered. She looked around her language library and found shelves full of information that hadn’t been there before.

  The man she was sitting on was quiet, so Wimsah pointed a thumb at him and said, “Why isn’t he talking?”

  Veera covered her mouth as she laughed. “He is focusing on keeping you from blowing wide open on the surface of Balen. Your mind is still spread wide.”

  “It feels fine. It feels normal.” Wimsah tested the borders of her thoughts and felt them give slightly. She pulled back immediately. “Maybe not normal.”

  “Your normal is an open mind that covers a continent. After the rising of Resicor, it now covers a world. We don’t want you covering Balen when you take off. It was hard enough to get you off Resicor. Three of us pushed your mind together and held it while we took off. We nearly lost you twice.”

  “It was so quiet, so dark for a moment.”

  “The jumps through space. We nearly lost you, because when we shifted between locations in space, your mind flared out. You sought the darkness.” Veera’s tone was solemn.

  “What about here?”

  “You were content here. Spot started pulling you together. He has worked hard to heal you.”

  “What happens now?”

  Her carrier finally spoke, “I take you home and you work on pulling your mind in. Once you have control of it, I will release my hold and you will be able to use your talent or not, as you will.”

  She slowly looked up at him, and his rainbow gaze was firmly fixed on hers. “Well, then. When do we get there and are there clothes?”

  His sand-coloured skin brightened, and he smiled. “Only if you promise to behave.”

  She took a deep breath at the amusement in his expression and responded honestly. “I promise nothing.”

  Chapter Three

  Wimsah spent half the travel time feeding Spot and the other half staring out at the stars.

  Benliar was quiet during the flight, but he gave her a data screen, which contained information on Roden and its people.

  He was the perfect representative of his people, from the rainbow eyes that were found in half the population to the rich red-brown hair and sand-coloured skin. All members of Roden were intelligent, which led to their greatest export being their own people.

  “What?” She muttered it in the silence.

  She went back and read it again.

  “What are you confused by?”

  “Your people are your greatest export?”

  He smiled slightly. “They are. The people of Roden are in demand as negotiators, translators, court recorders and consuls. As we all carry Roden within us, we are incorruptible. Our world keeps us centred and it desires nothing so we desire nothing. If that ever shifts, we are recalled home and a new emissary is sent.”

  “You have done time off world?”

  “I have. I was a negotiator and personal assistant to the Duke of Jer-ikalo. I was on a five-year contract before I came home and assumed the mantle of Avatar.”

  “How were you chosen for that?”

  He smiled briefly. “One hundred candidates were voted for by their hometowns, and out of those representatives, Roden took his Avatar.”

  “What happened to the old Avatar?”

  “He has passed on and his children and grandchildren work in their local governments.”

 
“How long have you been the Avatar?”

  “Fifty years.”

  “Oh.”

  “Aging is suspended while I am Avatar. I have another four hundred and fifty years to go.” He smiled.

  “I see. That is considerably longer than my lifespan.”

  His lips quirked. “It is longer than most species’ lifespans, but it gives a certain amount of stability to a government if the consulting head has the foresight to see the future and the hindsight to know the past. Having lived in the past is even better.”

  “Why did the previous Avatar only live a few years after he retired?”

  “He was older when he was initially selected. When he was released, Roden gave him as much life as he could, but when he had run out the clock, that was it. We had a memorial for him and his children were there. His wife survived him and asked for him to be buried at the cemetery in his birth city. She will join him there when she passes.”

  “Oh, so you have to plan that far ahead?” She tried to continue reading, but her mind was locked into her inevitable death.

  “No, of course not, but you can choose.” He shrugged.

  Spot made a strange cooing noise and started snuffling in her lap.

  She moved carefully and paged down the document she was reading.

  Benliar asked, “Is he snoring?”

  “No. He is wheezing gently, possibly snuffling a little.”

  “Can you sleep through that?”

  She gave him a droll look. “With enough sedation, I can sleep through anything. Right now, I am not tired at all.”

  “Were you aware the whole time you were asleep?”

  “I was. I could feel the world turning under me, the thousands of talents who were panicked and living in fear of discovery on Resicor, and I felt their relief when Trala set them free. Then, their fear turned to fear for their families. That was eased as well.”

  “It was quite the manoeuver to set part of a population free with all that outside influence.”

  “She had been working on it for centuries.”

  He looked at her sideways. “How do you know that?”

  “My mind was open when she came up. I learned a lot of things that I shouldn’t know. A lot that I wish I didn’t.”

  “What was your original talent?”

  Wimsah sighed. “I can project any psychic talent through any suitable vessel.”

  “Can you give me an example?”

  “If I saw someone drowning, I could use the nearest person on the beach, give them telekinesis and lift the drowning person out of the ocean. The talent would not remain in them and I would replace the burned-out energy of the body I snagged.”

  “Were they questioned by the authorities?”

  “They were but were always turned loose. If anyone had been detained, I would have turned myself in a lot sooner than I did.”

  “Is that what happened?”

  “Yes, I used a series of folk to help out at a bridge collapse. Several were holding the bridge up from a distance, and the others were controlling the crowds into evacuation. With so many people involved, I accidentally selected a talent who already had their own issues. They were collected and taken to an assessment centre, so I went in and broke them out while turning myself in. They simply forgot all about her.”

  “You deleted her files?”

  “I had one of the techs do it, and when they held me, I had someone in the main archives do the same.”

  He blinked. “You are a puppet master.”

  “What?”

  “You are a puppet master. I have never met one. As far as I know, your kind are only theoretical.”

  She scratched her head. “I don’t feel like a theory.”

  Benliar sighed, “I suppose not.”

  “What is a puppet master?”

  “It is said that with enough power, you can enslave a world. You already have the power, so what do you plan to do with it?”

  “I plan to take up baking and learn to sew. I want to master the physical skills that I don’t currently have. I want to go to school and continue my education. I want to have a life.” She fought a tear. “I want to have what I couldn’t at home.”

  He put his hand on her shoulder and rubbed her back. “We will work it out when we land. It won’t be long now.”

  A ping got his attention, and he smiled. “In fact, we are home.”

  She held Spot carefully and watched as a tiny speck in the distance grew rapidly as they approached. Benliar moved with practiced gestures as he checked their speed and made corrections to their trajectory.

  They aimed for a space station, but before they reached it, they turned toward the planet itself.

  “Wimsah, welcome to Roden.”

  The green and blue jewel grew larger in the screen. She whispered, “Hello, Roden.”

  She swore that she felt something in the ground below respond to her sentiment.

  “My ship is the only one that is allowed to pass directly to the surface. Everyone else uses magnetically propelled shuttles to get from here to the station.” Benliar settled his ship on a tarmac.

  “Because you are the Avatar and the assumption is that you are in control of anything onboard your craft.”

  “Pretty much. The global council opens in two days, and I am just relieved that we made it back in time.”

  That explained his hurry. She kept the packs with rations for herself and Spot over her shoulder as she followed him out of the ship.

  “As the first one of your species to land on Roden, I would ask that you agree to a full medical workup.”

  Wimsah shrugged. “Why not?”

  He sighed in relief. “The primary tenant of Roden is pursuit of knowledge. The medical department jumps on the chance to develop their scanners.”

  “As long as they don’t really jump on me, things will be fine.”

  Benliar smiled and took her packs. “No, that will not be necessary or allowed. You are to be treated with the utmost respect.”

  “Wonderful. Where are you putting me?”

  To her surprise, he wrapped his arms around her and he simply lifted off the surface. “You will be coming with me, Wimsah.”

  She squeaked and Spot wiggled to a point where he could see what was going on but remain snugly between their bodies.

  Wimsah pressed her face against his shoulder and tried not to look. The tunic and loose trousers that she was wearing were no barrier to the cut of the wind that sliced through them.

  She held perfectly still as he flew with her for twenty minutes before he settled on the ground.

  “You can open your eyes now, Wimsah. We are at the home of the Avatar.”

  She blinked and shivered as she stepped away from him. “G-g-good.”

  He stared at her and touched her cheek. The heat of his palm made her flinch.

  “Why didn’t you mention you were cold?”

  She shivered and glared at him. “I was busy not screaming.”

  To her surprise, Benliar leaned in and tugged on her chin to open her mouth. He pressed his mouth over hers and heat flowed into her from that kiss.

  Shivering with cold took a back seat to shivering with something else. He lifted his head from hers and smiled hopefully. “Better?”

  She pulled Spot up in front of her chest. “Yes.”

  His expression was bright but his eyes glowed. “This way. I ordered a few changes of clothing for you before I left. Let’s see if they followed my orders.”

  He put his arm around her and turned her to the huge glass and stone building where he made his home.

  Benliar’s home opened its doors as they approached, and she looked around quickly as she tried to take it all in.

  Two metal towers rolled toward them. They spoke in harmony. “Avatar, welcome home.”

  “Thank you. Did the clothing arrive?”

  “It did, Avatar. Her quarters have been readied. Plea
se identify the creature she is holding.”

  He made a face. “Ah, right. That is Spot, a Yaluthu. He is a healing bond pet that Wimsah is attached to. Treat him with the utmost respect.”

  “Acknowledged. Dinner will be prepared and ready in two hours.”

  “Excellent. Take all food preferences into account, please.”

  “Acknowledged.” They turned and whirred away into what appeared to be a kitchen area.

  Benliar smiled. “This way. Living quarters are upstairs. Yours are across the hall from mine.”

  “What were those things?”

  “Ah, they are household servants. They were designed three Avatars ago and have been here since.”

  “They are robots?” Technology on Resicor was only scratching the surface of that sort of tech.

  “Of course. Most of the manual labour is done by bots for jobs that are too tedious or too dangerous for Roden.”

  They climbed up the stairs, and he continued the press of his hand on her back. She was getting used to the contact.

  “These are your quarters. They are normally reserved as the Avatar’s study, but it is easy enough for me to move my study down the hall.”

  “Why not move me down the hall?”

  “Your talent has not been stabilized. If you need assistance, I need to be close. You will be the most dangerous while you sleep. Your mind is stronger there.”

  She stepped into the room designed in shades of cream and all colours of the rainbow melded into their fabrics. Wimsah looked around and Spot squirmed to get down. She put him down on the floor and he immediately went exploring.

  Wimsah ran her hands over her arms. “Where is the wardrobe?”

  “Through those doors. You can walk in and select something warmer. I had not counted on it being so much colder than Resicor.”

  “I haven’t been active for a few seasons. My biology is probably a little scrambled.”

  She went looking for clothing, and she came up with underwear, a long-sleeved dress in soft grey and some knee-high boots. She was finally a little warmer. A shawl completed her insulation.

  She opened the door and Spot was at her feet, chirping to be picked up.