Viola Grace Read online

  “Was something installed there?” She paused. The language that she was speaking wasn’t what she was used to. It was almost like talking with Jell-O in her mouth.

  The medics looked at her and then each other. One smiled and said, “Try again.”

  She took a deep breath and looked for another language. She repeated herself. Nope. Finally, she got back to her original speech and said, “What the fuck is in my forehead?”

  They jolted as she said it and then laughed.

  “The Malthu monks accumulate their knowledge, and then, they upload it to storage crystals so they don’t go insane. The process is similar to discharging a static charge.”

  She frowned. “I don’t get to keep it?”

  “Not all of it. You will still have the imprint of it in your mind. A lightly erased page.” He grinned. “That is what our information packets have stated.”

  “So, you don’t actually know?”

  “No. You are the first alteration of this kind to have been attempted with a Terran. We are surprised you are sane.”

  Libby looked at her large hands, and she felt like she had fallen into wonderland. “I don’t think I am.”

  “Ah, the avatar said you would be surprised by having your height increased by nearly fifty percent, but she said to tell you that, To stand eye to eye with gods and ancient warriors, you can’t always wear heels.”

  Libby nodded. “Right. Good point. Well, she is a smart... Wait, did she say it, or did Gaia say it?”

  The medic thought for a moment and said, “Gaia was speaking at the time.”

  “Okay. That is something completely different.” Libby logged the phrase in her memory and waited until the medics were done working her over.

  They brought her to a shower that operated by light and sound. They activated the shower, and she screamed. Her skin felt burned, her ears were pounding, and she slammed at the controls until things stopped. She was breathing heavily, and her skin was still tingling with the sensation that she had passed through a bonfire a little bit too slowly. It looked fine. There was no sign of damage.

  “What. The. Hell. Was. That?” She gasped and looked out at the medics.

  One of them checked her file and started scrambling an apology. The Malthu monks had enhanced senses. This included sight and touch. They were designed to take in input, and the physical senses counted.

  She didn’t smack their heads together, but the urge was there. Libby chuckled silently. It was the first time that she had had that particular urge. “For the other ladies, please, look into any species specifics for what you fuse them to. It is rather important.”

  They apologized several times and helped her into her new uniform. She had a simple band to reduce the bounce of her revitalized breasts, a gauzy wrap around her hips and groin, and then a robe wrapped first to the left and then to the right to cover her completely. She smiled and wiggled a little. It felt like she was wrapped in a cloud.

  She lifted the hem. “What kind of shoes?”

  “Sandals.”

  She grimaced and took the pair of lace-up sandals, sitting down and pulling them into place.

  Once her feet were encased, she was handed a set of gloves.

  “These will keep you from getting overloaded while you are just moving things around normally. Well, that is the idea. The Malthu are difficult to get information from for those who keep archives.”

  She flexed her fingers into the gloves and smiled. “These I can work with.”

  “Most who have to wear gloves find them awkward.”

  She chuckled. “I had to wear them outdoors for the first twenty years of my life and to formal events for decades after. Gloves and I are old friends.”

  The other avatar entered the space and nodded when he nearly met her gaze. “Minerva will be pleased. She was worried about the hair. She was unsure of getting the shade right.”

  “I like it. The shiny skin is a little odd, but I will get used to it. The rest of me has the same proportions, just over larger landscape.”

  He smiled and said, “Shall I convey anything else to my dearest wife?”

  “Yeah, if you are going to give folks a permanent waxing job, make sure they don’t have embarrassing tattoos under there.” She winked.

  He let out a snort and nodded. “I am sure she will be suitably apologetic. Are you ready for your departure?”

  “No, but I am going to do it anyway. That credo has gotten me to interesting places in life.”

  “Lovely. Please, come with me, Elizabeth.”

  She walked with him and scowled at the floor. It was considerably further away than she was used to.

  He led her to the departure area, where an egg was waiting for her. He showed her all of the emergency hatches to blow if she slid open the visor and saw an environment that she couldn’t remain in. There were air filters that would feed her breathable air with the press of a button, and she could stay in the pod for sixteen hours for a pickup if needed. The interior coms were set to the monastery’s frequency.

  She went through all of the emergency buttons and the contact button. “Got it.”

  “I wish you the best, and as long as you remember that the Mathlu monks don’t want you there, you will be able to deal with your situation.”

  She looked at him. “Why don’t they want me there, and if they don’t, who the hell invited me?”

  He chucked. “The avatar of the Mathlu wanted you there. The ancients are a little broody, and they need new stimulation. As you take from them, they will give to you.”

  “I am jumper cables.”

  He grinned. “I know what those are. No, you are more like fireworks, there to brighten things up, but the monks like things to run smoothly.”

  “This could have been mentioned earlier.” She huffed as he settled her in the shock-absorbing seat and helped her strap in.

  “No, it couldn’t have. This way, you are going in without convincing yourself that it won’t be that bad. It will be. We have rejected their coordinates and are going to be setting you down within a day’s walk of the monastery. Just listen for the chanting. The emergency pack is at your feet.”

  She chuckled. “Yes, mother hen. I get it.”

  “You are calling me a bird?”

  “If the feathers match.”

  He grinned and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Good luck, little chick.”

  He had exhaled some form of power into her head, and she gripped the arms of her chair as the restraints held her fast. The top of the egg came down. She heard it locking into place, and there was a countdown in Malthu. By the time she put the numbers together, it had gotten to one, and she was falling away from the ship.

  She was dropping to a world where only one person wanted her to be. This wasn’t going to be rough at all.

  She felt the grin spreading across her lips as the display showed her approaching the surface. She was going to get to maraud a little, after all.

  Chapter Three

  Mathla was pacing in the monastery. “Where is she? Zanicon has told me that she was dropped over an hour ago.”

  The monks got nervous. The prior asked, “Zanicon, Your Eminence?”

  “The avatar who was in the ship that dropped her. If she isn’t found, he will arrive on the surface to find her, and that is not something you want. If she isn’t alive, he will wipe this monastery off the surface.” She smiled and knew it wasn’t a good smile. “And Luon and I will let him. Are we clear?”

  The novice near the door sidled out, and a moment later, he returned. “Your Eminence, we have gotten a signal.”

  Mathla looked at the smug faces around her. “Well, where is it?”

  He looked nervously at the elders in the chamber. “The plains of Yelfon.”

  She chuckled. “I will send a message and ask Yelfon to bring her in. Even he wouldn’t leave someone to die out there.”

  The elders of the monastery did
not look like they were sure about that.

  * * * *

  Libby hit the com unit but didn’t get a response for an hour. She slid the view screen open and found that she was in a safe zone, so she waited. When the large animals that looked like scaly buffalo wandered over and began to rock the pod with their noses, she watched the cameras around the pod displaying lots of huge wet noses, but it is the nearby crevice that she was worried about. As it became apparent that they are nudging her deliberately, she decides to not become a casualty. She grabbed the emergency pack, strapped it on, verified that she had undone all of her landing restraints, and she punched the emergency release.

  A series of bangs ensued, and the pod popped open. She darted up and out, moving past the scattered herd and heading for the nearest rockpile. Sprinting with longer legs would have been easier in proper footwear. The sandals were unpleasant and not as protective as she would like. When she managed to climb about ten feet up on the pile of rocks, she looked and saw the creatures nudging the pod over the crevice.

  She exhaled until she saw that the beasts were snuffling at the trail she had run. They were slowly but surely following her.

  She groaned and got moving. She had been on farms before, and no matter how placid a cow looked, it could still break your foot with a slight shift in weight. No sense getting stomped on.

  Libby kept going up and down the ride of rocks until she had to stop for breath. The beasts were more than half a kilometre away right now, but they were still trailing after her. She sipped some water, capped it, and put it back in her pack.

  She heard a tapping noise on the rocks above her, and she looked up warily, afraid of a giant bird that wanted her shoes or something.

  She looked, and there was a shadowed figure standing there who held out a hand, beckoning to her. Well, he wasn’t a lizard beast.

  She reached out and gripped his hand. It was definitely him. Even alien guys had a certain musk under the distant suns. He pulled her up, and she slammed into him. She was lighter than he thought, she guessed.

  “You are the new novice?” He looked down at her body.

  “I am. I suppose. I really have no idea. I am just here to learn.”

  “The avatar has asked me to bring you safely to the monastery.” He looked past her. “I was almost too late.”

  She looked back, and the herd of creatures was surprisingly fast. “They dumped my pod into the crevice.”

  “And yet, you grabbed your pack. Well done.” He shifted her to one side, picked up a large sphere, and he lobbed it toward the beasts, and it rolled to the centre of the fifty huge creatures. “Wait for it.”

  One of the beasts nosed it, and a pfaff sounded as pink mist spread out of the area around the sphere.

  “What was that?”

  He chuckled. “It is a mushroom. They like it, but they are also mildly allergic. It messes with their senses, and we will be able to walk on the plain in a few minutes.”

  “What would they do to me if they caught up to me?” She was curious.

  “They might start grooming you. Their tongues are barbed, so you wouldn’t last long if they really liked you. They might also go nudge you off the edge of the crevice. Who knows?”

  She frowned.

  “Kidding. They would slobber over you and possibly stomp you in their enthusiasm. The crevice instinct is only for round objects. They try and keep loose rocks off their plain so they can run. They have been known to push rocks for kilometres to dump them into that crevice. It is amazing that it has not filled up yet.”

  She nodded and looked at him. He was wearing a cloak and hood. She couldn’t make anything out in the shadows. “Well, thanks for coming to guide me.”

  “I have not gotten a call from Maltha in years. This was an interesting surprise.”

  The beasts were now milling around and rubbing against each other.

  Libby snickered and glanced up at the shadowed man. “Which way is the monastery?”

  He gestured with his hand. “A day’s walk that way. More if we have to dodge the glefu again.”

  She nodded. “Okay. I guess we get walking.”

  He chuckled. “If we get near my home, we can get something to ride.”

  “Oh, you live this way?”

  “My holdings are here. I have other holdings elsewhere, but as per the agreement with Maltha-Luon, I cycle through them every few decades.”

  He walked with her and steadied her until they were far enough away from the beasts to get down to the plain. They moved a little faster, and she took some water while walking, offering the bottle to him.

  He smiled. “You are offering me supplies?”

  “I am, as a way to thank you for your hospitality.”

  He sipped at the water and then returned it to her. “I have not offered you hospitality. That would be different.”

  “Oh.” She stowed the water and kept walking. “I suppose there are a lot of customs that I need to absorb.”

  “Not really. The monks are fairly bland when they ask for our memories. Sometimes I offer the memory of putting on a saddle or something. They take what I give and are happy for it.”

  “You make it sound like memories are currency.”

  He chuckled. “Oh, you don’t know. How adorable. They are. The memories of ancients are sold to museums, archives, and libraries across the sectors.”

  “Huh. I thought that memories were just lessons. Windows to the past, seen but not touched.” She smiled. “For my species, I had quite the collection. Short but eventful.”

  He chuckled. “I am sure you did.”

  She had been patronized all her life, and she knew it when she heard it. Still, he was hopefully leading her to where she needed to be. She only had his word for it, after all.

  As they walked, she sighed. That wasn’t fair. He had shown up exactly where she had dropped, with the means to drive off the glefus, so she had to assume he had been asked to rescue her.

  “Why the sigh?”

  Libby smiled. “I was wondering if you were a villain or hero. The jury is still out.”

  The suns were blazing toward her, so she groped back and found the hood on her robe, flipping it up.

  He looked at her and chuckled. “Getting a little burned?”

  “No. I don’t think I burn, but I do get hot. Good thing that this robe is pretty ventilated.” She smiled.

  “What about all the layers that the monks wear?”

  She paused. “What layers?”

  He chuckled. “Oh, dear. Someone is using you to prod the prior.”

  “Huh. That is a new one.” She smiled. “I was warned that I was only wanted here by one being and that being is the avatar.”

  He nodded. “That is entirely possible. Would you like to stop and rest? The sun is going down, and you probably need to eat.”

  She looked around the exposed plain. “Where?”

  He turned her, and a tent, carpets, table, and chairs were set up with two beds at the back of the tent area.

  “Where did that come from?”

  He grinned. “There are bonuses to being ancient. It is a bit of telekinesis and a touch of matter manipulation.”

  “Which is telekinesis.”

  He chuckled. “You are quick. Yes, it is. Please, have a seat. We can have a meal and then rest until after midnight. It is easier to travel in the dawn here rather than the night.”

  “I have no idea what the supplies taste like, but you are welcome to all that I have.”

  He paused and shook his head slightly. “Thank you, but I can last out here for weeks without food.”

  She nodded and pulled out the rations and set them out, trying to figure out what was what.

  She found one that looked promising and pressed the heating patch. The spork that was stuck to the side of it was cute, and she waited until the pack slowly opened, spilling the scents of chicken curry and rice into the night.

&n
bsp; His eyes glowed white-hot within the hood. “What is that?”

  “Apparently, curried chicken and rice, according to the ration pack. This is the utensil. Would you like to try some?”

  His face was in shadow, and she sighed. “I can’t tell if that is a yes or a no.”

  He tilted his hood back, and she cocked her head, seeing her fifth alien or third species. She had no idea what he was, but he was an iridescent blue with silver markings moving under his skin, similar to Imbolt’s. His eyes were silver and molten white-hot. Instead of static irises, his swirled slowly without a pupil.

  His hair was pulled back tightly, and his ears were pointed with a few jagged edges. There were small gold rings trailing down the outside of each ear.

  His nose was a straight slope, and his lips were firmly and pleasantly curved.

  He was looking at the food longingly.

  She wordlessly handed him the spork and the curry. She dug in the pack and pulled out a beef noodle pack, picked off the spork, and activating the heating tab. She smiled. “If you want to try this one, too, you are welcome.”

  He smiled. “You are not frightened?”

  “No. I have seen some pretty scary things in my life, but so far, you aren’t one of them.”

  She pulled the pack toward her as it opened with fragrant steam. She dug in with her spoon and blew on the noodles and shredded beef.

  He inclined his head. “Thank you.”

  He tried the curry, smiled, and kept eating.

  She chuckled and enjoyed her meal. For emergency rations, they were pretty good.

  “I haven’t had anything this pleasantly spicy in some time.” He was bemused as he finished in a few minutes.

  She was two-thirds of the way through her food, and she caught him looking curiously. Libby took her last few bites and pushed her food away. “I couldn’t eat another bite. Would you like to try it? Sadly, this isn’t spicy.”

  He reached for it. “Thank you. This is entertaining.”

  She smiled. “If you think rations is entertaining, your life must be really dull.”

  He looked around. “What do you think it is like here?”