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  The prefect looked pale and kept darting his gaze to the field. "What? Oh, no. She was tired the first time, but didn't faint."

  Hardcore looked down at the female who was legally his wife, a citizen of the Alliance and a free woman. Her lips were chalky and her skin was grey. "What is in that field? It sucked the life out of her."

  "It's classified. Bring her back to her room. She will be better after some rest." The hopeful tone was not lost on Garoz.

  Porvin was a patriarchy. The husband had full say in his wife's activities and if Garoz put his foot down, Sylvain wouldn't have a chance to say yes or no.

  If he guessed correctly about Tenario, the prefect wasn't sure that Garoz knew the rules. When Sylvain woke, they were going to have a talk. If her life was in danger from using her talent, she was going to go into retirement in less than a day.

  He carried her through the town, answered the villager's questions about the health of their green queen and in that moment, he understood why Sylvain did this year after year. The looks on the faces of these people showed genuine concern for the woman, not the talent.

  When he walked up the steps to her room, he checked her pulse. It was slow but steady. "Bring more water. As much as you can. She needs it to bond properly to your planet, or did no one tell you?"

  Tenario swallowed. "She mentioned it, but I thought she was being difficult."

  Garoz snarled, kicked the door closed behind him and he took her to the bed. The maids must have tidied up the moment that they left, the pillows were fluffed and the blankets were neat.

  He carefully laid her down on her stomach and started to massage her wings. They were stronger than they first appeared. He could see metallic strands in the veining of the huge panels.

  As he rubbed and stroked the wings, they swivelled in their ball joints and he slowly folded them against her back.

  He grinned as he worked the wings into a column down her back. He had heard of Vorwings before, but had never seen one. The dot on the inside of her ankle had sparked a memory in him from a species he had learned of in Kozue legend.

  Vorwings always bred true, but they never mixed with their own kind. The small mark just under her calf was the hidden spur that ancient Vorwings used during mating flights. The female would latch onto the male in midair and that is where mating would take place. When their frivolous attitudes blocked them from entry in the Alliance, they were turned into a slave species.

  Without constant exposure to their own kind, they died out. Less than a dozen had been reported in the last nine years and he had fallen head over heels with her before he had seen more than her picture.

  The woman under his hands was one of a dying race and he was here to make sure that she would not be the last of her line.

  He grinned. His sister would be the hardest thing for her to adjust to in the life that he had planned. Since Gralial had lost her soul, she could no longer enjoy life, but she would be able to be a good friend to Sylvain when they would meet. First, he had to convince his Vorwing to leave the carnival, then he would arrange her introduction to his family.

  Station 13 needed a plant specialist and her talent fit the bill.

  * * * *

  Someone was rubbing her wings carefully and with strength. She tried to mutter into the pillow, but he quickly rolled her to her side the moment she flicked one of her wings.

  "Get up, Syl. Time to get you some water."

  He left her while she pushed to a sitting position. "You folded my wings. No one ever knows how to fold my wings."

  "I am a Kozue warrior trained in battlefield medical treatment and my sister is also a very powerful healer. She taught me a few things." His grin warmed her and the water he held was ambrosia to her dry throat.

  "I can see that. Why are you and your sister talents? Don't the Kozue forbid that kind of thing?"

  "Throwback genes, I suppose. Gralial and I were never given a chance to investigate it. And lately, I have been too busy."

  "Rescuing damsels is a hobby of yours?" Her lips twitched.

  "One that I will retire."

  There was a subtext there that she almost missed, but she muttered, "Thank goodness for that."

  He grinned and stroked her hair away from her face while she slugged down the water. "How long is your hair anyway?"

  "Past my knees. We haven't been able to find a substance to cut it. It seems to be similar in construction to my wings." She flicked them slightly and smiled at how neatly they were folded. He had not tried to force them at all.

  "What caused you to faint?"

  She gulped and coughed in surprise. "Tenario didn't tell you he was growing Askuke? It is why he needed me to start with."

  Her words shocked him, she could tell. He knelt in front of her and took her hands in his. "Be very sure of this. He has planted Askuke hybrids?"

  "He has."

  "Then you are not safe here." He stood. "Damn, I thought we had more time."

  The glint of the metal bands inside his wealth of dark hair caught her attention for a moment. He transformed from a charmingly confident male to one of deadly intent as she watched.

  "Finish drinking that other carafe and prepare to join me. We are getting out of here." He paced restlessly, stalking back and forth like an animal.

  "And where will we go? The carnival is under guard." She gathered her vids and satchel in a quick sweep. She bolted the water down and burped delicately. "What now?"

  He ignored the door and moved to the window, opening it with a jerk. The pins that held it shot out around the room as he shoved it open. "Now, we get out of here and hide in the hills."

  "You have to be nuts. You can't possibly survive the drop, let alone the armed guards."

  "Don't worry about me. I am invincible, or at least relatively indestructible. Now, hop into my arms and prepare to fly." His hand was held in invitation.

  "I have to confess something."

  "Yes?"

  "I can fly. A little. Indoors."

  His smile was encouraging, "Then best to try it outside to see what you can do when you have the wind in your hair and up your skirt."

  She froze. "I don't have any underwear. This could be ugly."

  "It depends on your point of view, now come along, dusk is here. It is the best time for escapes."

  Sylvain moved to take his hand. "I never realised there was a scheduled time for this. If you drop me, I will never forgive you. Which way are we going?"

  "North, we are heading north, as far away from the carnival as we can. We don't want them getting into trouble over our escape."

  Garoz positioned her in front of him, holding her with an arm around her waist, her wings tight against his body. He whispered, "Now, go," and with little ceremony, he threw her out the window.

  Chapter Six

  Nine hundred curses ran through her mind as he flung her out the window and the thirty-foot drop began. Her wings snapped into flight position and wind filled them for the first time in her life. She soared up and away from the house of the prefect. Sylvain saw Garoz drop from the window after her and land on the ground in what should have been a crippling jump. He ran northward through an echoing call to alert the guards and Syl did what she could. She flew north as fast as her wings would carry her.

  Her confined fluttering had gained her some stamina, but she was exhausted only ten minutes after she heard the last shot fired. She glided in along the tree line until she spotted an opening and then she let herself drop in a controlled spiral to the ground.

  She snapped her wings shut to keep them from tangling in the saplings and headed into the woods as deep as she could. Sylvain didn't have the skills to survive in the forest, but her eyes did know what they were doing at night. Working in the fading light, she pulled her contacts out and put them into their case. She was thankful she was able to hang on to her satchel.

  She touched a vine and stroked the leaves gently. Syl breathed in the freshness of the greenery and the rich scent of
dirt. Her sandals crushed moss and grass under her feet as she carefully made her way into the thick of the trees. If they were looking for her, they would have to look very hard. She was going to blend in with the trees as much as she could.

  In a flash of inspiration, she touched a nearby ivy and wrapped it around her arm. A slow burst of energy later and it wound itself around her body, concealing her pale skin in a flurry of green leaves.

  She leaned against a huge oak and closed her eyes, listening to the forest through her talent. She waited for a sign from Garoz.

  The living plants of Porvin gave her their energy and helped her in her hunt. Through the green expanse of the forest and to the grasses beyond, her mind searched for a trace of her warrior.

  A vibration through the grasses gave her his direction and he was making a beeline straight for her. She kept still and quiet until she saw him and then sprinted up to him and punched him in the shoulder. "You threw me out a third-story window."

  He chuckled, pushed the ivy from her face and kissed her softly. "And you flew."

  She blinked at him, her eyes widened in shock. "I did, didn't I?"

  "You did. But now we need a place to hide. Can you find one for us, as well as slow our pursuit?" His words were low and urgent.

  "I can try. This isn't the sort of thing that I have done before." She anchored herself to the tree again and sought a safe place. While she let the forest lead her to a cave surrounded by trees, she grew a waist high hedge in the forest in a staggered pattern of moss vines and saplings.

  With their path hidden behind them, she took him by the hand to lead him to the hiding place the trees had given them. "It is this way."

  "Lead me. My night sight isn't as good as yours is."

  She chose paths that smoothed out as the forest did her bidding, it took them the better part of an hour, but they were in the cave and hidden from sight, the trees growing and casually twisting to block the entrance.

  "This is a good place to hide. Is there a way to make light?" He was near her in the darkness.

  Sylvain stroked the smooth side of the cavern and found moss. Convincing it to take on the glow of its cousins was not difficult and soon they were standing in a muted glow.

  "There is water this way. The moss grows right to the bank and then there is a pool beyond."

  There was a surprised note in his tone. "You learned of all this from the plants?"

  "The plants of this world and I have learned each other very well. It knows I wish it only the best and it wishes the same for me."

  "I meant the moss and water." He brushed the ivy from her shoulder.

  "Ah, the moss grows in the damp and reaches through the rock to the surface. It sees the light and joins the forest. Once it touches the forest, the knowledge it holds is passed to all." She sat next to the water and leaned down to drink, sipping gently from her hand.

  * * * *

  Garoz looked upon his chosen female and he marvelled. Dressed in light gauze and the twined ivy, she was a creature of the natural world and he was blessed to be in her presence.

  "You look lovely in those leaves."

  She looked down and he thought he saw a blush in her cheeks. "I had forgotten I was wearing them."

  "They suit you."

  He sat across from her and sipped at the water, the cool trickle down his throat relaxed him. "We can last here over a day, but we will need food. I don't suppose your satchel has any?"

  "No, but I can have something brought to us, nuts and berries if needed."

  She had surprised him again.

  "What about other calls of nature?" He was challenging her knowledge and he wasn't sure why.

  "You can either slip outside and to the left or there is a smaller cave off the pool's edge if the weather is bad."

  He nodded and sat back, watching her dabbling in the water with delight. The leaves wrapped her, showing tiny flecks of skin and covering everything else.

  Her moves took on a pensive manner and he knew she was going to start asking the questions that he had been waiting for.

  * * * *

  "Who are you, really? You are not a carnival performer, you don't hold yourself correctly." Sylvain kept her gaze on the pool, watching him in its reflection.

  "My name is Garoz, but I am also known as Hardcore of the Sector Guard Base Station 13." He pressed his hand to his chest and bowed.

  His words shocked her. "The Sector Guard? Here? Why?"

  "Your carnival put out a distress call through some back channels and I was in the area." He leaned back against the wall of the cavern and smiled. "When I saw your carnival poster, I recognized your species and then I had to meet you."

  "Why the ruse of a marriage?" She kept her gaze down and away.

  "Because the Porvin are patriarchal. As a husband, I would have full access to you and have final say in what the prefect tried to get you to do. He would have to file for a dispensation to take you from me and we didn't give him enough time for that."

  "I see. It was well thought out then."

  "I thought so, Eckobar agreed and we provided Tenario with all of the proper documents if he should go looking." His smile was crooked and he met her gaze in the pool.

  Startled, she looked into his warm gold gaze and smiled shyly. "That seems like a lot of fuss for a carnival performer."

  "You are not a simple carnival performer and you know it. The talent endemic to your race is the kind of power that many dream of and others plot to control. I have an offer for you." His words were casual, but he took her hand in his own, rubbing his thumb across her knuckles.

  "I am listening." She gave the ivy the command to remove itself from her body and allowed it to wrap into a dense band on her left wrist.

  "Nice. Can you recall them?"

  She looked down at her wrist. "I suppose so. I haven't thought about it."

  "You should. If you are going to be a member of the Sector Guard, you are going to need all of your talents under your control." He raised her hand to his lips and their gazes stayed locked as his kiss sent her spinning into a world of confusion with a hint of lust.

  It took her a few seconds to process what he had said before his distraction. "What?"

  Chapter Seven

  "A guardsman? Me? I don't think so." She wanted to pull her hand from his, but she was so stunned, she couldn't.

  "Why not? Your skills are far more adaptable than you could imagine. Consider being dispatched to help those who need you most, not those who have gotten too lazy to do their own irrigation and fertilization." Garoz's face was earnest.

  "I can't."

  "Why not?"

  She pulled her hand away and hugged herself. "I am not a free woman. I was born in the mines and was bought by the carnival when I was about ten or so."

  "Freedom can be achieved. Eckobar and I have discussed the possibility. If you return to the carnival, you will be more of a liability than an asset. While your existence has propelled them through the stars, they were a successful carnival before you arrived and will be when you leave." His words were not unkind, but they were direct.

  "I have never thought of my life outside the carnival. What would I do?" Her voice took on a plaintive tone and she winced.

  "You would come with me, become a member of the Sector Guard and learn what you are truly capable of when you are engaged in missions that test your cognitive and survival abilities. You would have an armoured uniform for protection and a partner to watch your back."

  Sylvain wrapped her arms around her knees and placed her head on them, watching him. "A partner?"

  Garoz blushed. There was no other word for it. "That would be me. To be frank, it has all been arranged. All that is needed is your signature and you would need to select a Guard name."

  Syl didn't reply. She simply sat in thought. Garoz left her for a moment, walking to the front of the cave, presumably to attend to nature.

  Life without the carnival was inconceivable. She wanted to see them
, to hear them and to be with them on every world she travelled to. Tears fought to the surface. This incident on Porvin was only the last in a long line of attempts to capture her person. The difference here was that they didn't try it by stealth, Tenario had a plan and he had enacted it the moment that she landed.

  How many worlds were out there waiting for her to step out of the carnival and put her family at risk?

  She sniffled as she remembered the event that had spurred the use of pods for her landing on each new world. It had been five years ago on a far off world…

  Eckobar was setting up the main stage and Shorvah was fitting a costume for the new triad act. Three beings in one body was quite the draw for audiences.

  Sylvain tiptoed out of the camp toward the marketplace, her eyes focussed on the hair combs and jewellery.

  The shopkeeper was surprised to see her, but helped her make a selection and enjoyed the bartering process.

  Triumphant, Syl walked back toward the carnival, which was still stretching and groaning as it settled into its operating status.

  Three men rushed at her, knocking her down, lifting her and her scream was cut off in seconds. They hauled her into the forest and chained her to a tree, thinking to ransom her to the carnival or their government.

  She had talked to the grass and trees, setting off a growing surge that sent sprouts through the links of the chain. The moment the chain snapped, she ran to the carnival. She found all of her people in an uproar, Eckobar was throttling one of her kidnappers and Shorvah's fangs were out, gleaming with venom.

  She announced that she was safe and her people enveloped her in a crowd of bodies that did not match any species precisely.

  The government apologized to the carnival and offered reparation, but Eckobar packed them up and had them lift off in their assorted shuttles to join their orbital ship high above.

  It was the last time that Sylvain had been allowed to walk alone, the last time that she hadn't had to wait until they were set up and ready to act as bodyguards before she arrived. They sacrificed their time to keep her safe. She could not repay them by putting them in more and more danger.