Twisting Souls Read online

  “Well, I did wonder what your type was. I didn’t think it would be that scary.”

  Aymin shushed her, and the Citadel specialists arrived to usher them onto their shuttle. She was just as glad to get off the platform; the Guardsman was still glancing back at her. She could feel it.

  The Guardsmen were in their base when the Citadel ship landed. The feel of the gravity of Balen under their feet was peculiar.

  Simmry bounced a little. “I feel so light.”

  The other Backers bounded around a little as they left the shuttle and were herded onto an open skimmer.

  A crowd was waiting for them when they landed across the chasm that separated the Citadel and Sector Guard.

  Aymin recoiled when the crowd pressed forward. A woman with long hair and a raptor on her shoulder came forward. “You must be, Aymin.”

  “I am.”

  “I am Veera. I am in charge around here. Would you like to get away from the crowd?”

  Aymin exhaled. “Yes, please.”

  She was led through the crowd while enthusiastic men and women took the other Backers into the huge tower.

  The moment they were inside, she breathed a little easier.

  Small, fluffy creatures charged them and milled around her feet as she walked.

  “Oh. Sorry. This is Fixit; he’s the progenitor of most of these little ones. They are called Yaluthu. They are a species of creatures burdened with a lot of empathy. They bond with the mentally injured or broken. Sometimes, just folks that need help with control.”

  Aymin looked at the raptor that was giving her a serious look. “Pleased to meet you, Fixit.”

  The bird fluffed his feathers out and lifted his head.

  The little ones made a path for Aymin to walk. They looked at her longingly but didn’t follow.

  The pressure of those little minds had been tremendous. They were sentient beings. All of them. Yes, they were childlike minds, but they were young. Fixit was all nobility and calm.

  “He has been with me every moment that my mate was not.”

  “Mate? You mean husband?”

  “Yes. With the clash of cultures, the legal bonding is more important than the traditional. Mate covers all permutations and combinations.” Veera smiled.

  “I see. Why did you separate me from the group? Simmry has had her talent awakened as well.”

  They rode up in a lift, and when they exited it, Veera answered, “You wake early. You eased them into their new situation. You are a born leader, and if you can understand what we offer to them, you will explain it better than a stranger would.”

  “Right.”

  They walked past a man who lifted his hand. Fixit screeched and flew over to land on his fist.

  Veera made the introductions. “Aymin of the Backers, this is Stanik, my mate. Stanik, this is the soul twister.”

  Aymin waved politely before asking, “Soul twister?”

  “It is how one of the other Backers described your method of waking them in that lab.”

  Veera took a seat on a couch, and Aymin took the seat across from her. “Tuara?”

  Veera laughed. “Yes. How did you know?”

  “She has a charming turn of phrase.” Aymin grimaced.

  Stanik came back in with a tea tray and set it on the low table between them. Fixit jumped off his shoulder and onto a perch in the corner.

  The days on board the ships had taught her that tea was an equalizer. Every race and species that had a ready source of water made tea out of whatever they had. The herbs were medicine, dietary or social, but they all drank their brews.

  Veera lifted a tall cover on the tray and hefted a bottle. “Here, I have heard you would appreciate this more than the tea.”

  Aymin grinned and took the bottle. “The Citadel staffers gossip?”

  “Oh yeah. It is a cider that we brew on site. One of the first on Balen. You can give us a frank assessment.”

  The bottle was corked with a flip top. She opened the top, and the bright pop made her smile. Her delight must have gotten through to Veera. She apologized. “Sorry. I am still leaking psychic energy everywhere.”

  “It is no problem. You are not expected to have a grip on it. Hell, you haven’t even gotten to use it properly yet.”

  Aymin inhaled the scent of the cider before she sipped. “Oh, that’s lovely.” She gave Veera a sober look. “Now, tell me what you really wanted to know.”

  “I need to look into your mind to find out where you came from. We have done some scans, as you know, but we can’t come up with a location for your development. We know you are from a slightly heavier world and that you had limited exposure to light, but you adapt to it easily. I need to see your world through your eyes, and so, I have gotten you here to ask your permission.”

  “Sure. Go ahead.” Aymin sipped at the cider again and cocked her head. “Do you need to touch me?”

  “No. This will be fine. Relax and open your mind. Let me guide you through your memories, and I will try to be delicate with the invasion.”

  “I know what discomfort is. If you reach that level, I will let you know.”

  She settled back, sipped at her cider and let the cool whisper of Veera’s mind slip into hers.

  Aymin sipped at the cider until it was almost gone while Veera searched for every possible hint of a clue as to where the Backers had come from.

  I might be able to find something for you, but we have to go way back.

  Veera’s mind paused. Lead on.

  Here we go.

  Aymin took her back to a family day out, well the last family day out. It was the pull festival, and it happened without warning. The family went out away from the town and all sources of light, turned off their lamps and watched light being sucked into a dark vortex in the sky.

  Holy... That explains a lot.

  Are you done?

  I am.

  Aymin opened her eyes and finished her tepid cider. “Did that give you what you needed?”

  “It did. I am going to have to record it before it fades. Do you mind?”

  “Go ahead. I will just work on those sandwiches.”

  Veera smiled and darted toward the large desk, pulling up documents and muttering frantically into a recorder.

  The sandwiches were the same dense bread that the Backers had been served on both ships. The meat was heavy and dark, and probably not meat at all.

  She ate and poured herself a cup of tea. It was pretty good while cold. She just hated hot beverages. She was hot enough.

  When Veera finished her notes, she came back and slumped on the couch. “Well, that was unexpected.”

  “The pull day?”

  “Yes. You were on a planet near a black hole.” Veera reached for her tea. “I think. I sent the information to the Imperium vessel that took our guys in.”

  “How did you know to come for us?”

  “Visions. The seers have been coming alive with visions for the last few months. They were able to direct us to the space station, but they couldn’t tell us why or where you had come from.”

  “What is the DNA overlaying ours?” Aymin asked it bluntly. Now was definitely the time.

  “A species called the Vorwing. They are dark, evil and nearly extinct. Based on what I saw in your mind, one of them was trying to change that.”

  “So, he was trying to breed us? Why?”

  “Every one of you is tremendously powerful. That is why we wanted to get you here to Balen. You and your companions can get a grip on that power without putting others at risk.”

  “Is that what the Citadel is for?”

  “It is to protect and educate talents, no matter their species. History has shown us that folks are not always kind to those around them who are different, and the powerful are not always considerate of those who do not have their skills. This way, we can balance the power.”

  “That is a pretty big order.”

  “We have an entire planet to do it with.” Veera smiled. “Bale
n has been very supportive.”

  Aymin looked left and right. “Can it hear us?”

  Veera chuckled. “Yes and no. You will meet Zenina-Balen soon enough. She is the Avatar. She speaks for the world beneath our feet.”

  “That seems... unlikely.”

  “Many worlds have minds. Not all, but many. If they have a sentient species that can communicate with others, they look for a representative who can withstand their energy and place part of themselves into that being. If the Avatar doesn’t explode, they begin to represent the world.”

  “Explode?”

  “Apparently, it happens if the world rushes the taking of their Avatar.” Veera shrugged. “It isn’t a problem here. Zenina Sin Ar was born to be an Avatar.”

  “Oh, that’s good, I suppose.”

  “It is very good.” Veera cocked her head. “Was there any such being on your world?”

  “No. We had a council. Elders and elected politicians. Nothing that carried far beyond three generations.”

  “What kind of records did you have? Histories? Libraries?”

  “We had historical records, but they only went back two centuries. Our history is unknown before that.”

  Veera nodded. “Okay. We will start with getting the others at full capacity and determining the nature of their talents. Have yours changed?”

  “Oh, yeah. I used to hear and see the dead. Now... this is something different.” Aymin looked around and sighed as she looked at Fixit. “Things are definitely different.”

  Fixit flapped his wings and bobbed his head in agreement.

  There was no arguing with that.

  Chapter Five

  It took five weeks to get the rest of the Backers free of the restraints inside their heads. Aymin spent every minute with them in medical while they went through the agony of the healing.

  Simmry was getting tutorials from her Combat Specialist, so she wasn’t around as much as Aymin would have wished. It was nice to see her getting on with life, but her timing lacked delicacy. The only other members of their species on this world needed help, and she was off whispering and giggling.

  “Tuara is on her last treatment.” Medic Deimal smiled. “It’s a little funny that this is my first assignment and I just happen to have the talent needed for the job.”

  Aymin nodded. “It is a delightful coincidence, but I am glad you are here. I am guessing that pain healers aren’t common.”

  Deimal shook his head. “We are not, but being allowed to use our talent is even more rare. Most do not associate pain with healing.”

  She patted his arm, feeling the scales and ridges beneath his uniform. “Most have not been in our situation.”

  He nodded. “True. She is sedated; are you going to get into position?”

  “Yup. Give me a moment and you can start.” Aymin settled on the floor under the treatment bed. Tuara was out cold, and it was for the best. She didn’t need to be awake for this.

  Aymin took her hands and watched her face. If Tuara felt more than a dull pain, Aymin would pull her out of her body until the healing was over.

  “I am beginning the treatment.”

  “I am braced for it.”

  She exhaled as the prickles of pain ran through Tuara and up Aymin’s arms. It was a fraction of the pain that Deimal was inflicting, but it still gave Aymin flashbacks from her own treatments. It was like she had been healed twelve times over.

  She meditated and kept Tuara’s memories free from the pain until it was finally, blessedly, over.

  Deimal pulled his hands away and reached for his water bottle. “That was intense, but she is good to snap through.”

  Aymin released Tuara’s hands and massaged her own. “Good. I am delighted that that is over.”

  Deimal helped her to her feet. “You have an amazing tolerance for pain.”

  “Thank you. It is quite a compliment.”

  “It was also kind of you to suggest testing the healing while the Backers were sedated.”

  “There was no reason they couldn’t be. I had to get up and get home after a treatment, but they don’t have to go anywhere. They can have a leisurely recovery and no homework.”

  Deimal laughed. “Excellently done, Backer Aymin. I look forward to seeing you again for a visit that does not require healing.”

  “I would like that. My training isn’t as physical as some, so it would be nice just to come in with a light bruise and get some ointment.”

  She dusted her clothing off and nodded sharply. “She is set for testing when she wakes.”

  “She will have her monitors on so we get a good look at her talent.”

  “I will leave her in your hands then. The trainers are probably on their way.”

  “Why don’t you want to be here when she comes out of it?”

  Aymin shrugged. “Breaking through is personal. It is something that we all need to do on our own or with the help of trained professionals. It is better, trust me.”

  “Why?”

  “Because her talent is going to roar free and seek something familiar. I don’t want to be that thing.”

  “Ah. Right. Well, I am glad I asked. It had been bothering me.”

  She patted him on the shoulder and left the med centre. It was time for her vocal class.

  The crowd of Yaluthu was something she had gotten used to. The bouncing balls of fluff with flapping wings escorted her from the med centre, across the main floor and out to the escarpment where her instructor and her class were waiting.

  Learning to sing in different languages was fun. There was no other way to describe it. She growled, she barked and yowled, all to a rhythm that she found familiar.

  The chasm echoed the sounds back at them, and a display told them if they were in pitch.

  Each of them had a different signal colour, and if they hit the right sound, it lit up. Aymin managed it ninety percent of the time. The alien sounds felt right.

  She had just finished a wild wave of sound when the instructor called a break.

  Laughing, she and the others went to get some water while Choral Specialist Cahree retreated to greet a newcomer nearer the Citadel.

  “Aymin, your presence is requested.” Cahree called out. Her robes snapped in the breeze and her voice echoed into the chasm.

  Aymin could hear her voice as if she was next to her.

  She finished her water and headed over to where Cahree was meeting with the member of the Sector Guard.

  “Yes, Instructor?”

  “This is Berron Jex. His operational name is Wraith, and he needs your assistance. He has obtained authorization from Veera.”

  Aymin smiled. “Very well. What do you need?”

  She looked into the face of the man who had captured her attention weeks earlier. He was still striking to her gaze, and her stomach flipped as she met his eyes.

  His smile was slow. “Aymin, I need you.”

  She crossed her arms across her chest and stood in a battle-ready position. “What do you need, precisely?”

  “Your talent, of course. There is a haunted mining colony on Selloki 5. I can see them but not interact with them. I believe you would be able to get a little further.”

  She cocked her head. “You want me to talk to the dead?”

  “I need you to listen.”

  She nodded. “I can definitely do that.”

  “Excellent. The quartermaster of the Citadel has your clothing. When you collect your kit, we will depart.”

  She blinked. “Right now?”

  “Right now.”

  She looked back to her instructor, and Cahree waved her on. “Right. Now it shall be.”

  They walked back to the Citadel proper, and she headed to the quartermaster’s office.

  The go-bag was waiting for her. The quartermaster smiled and patted her hand. “Here you go. All the necessities for a long shuttle trip and four changes of radiation-resistant suits, as well as robes for you. You are all ready.”

  She grabbed the
bag and nodded. “Thank you. I appreciate your attention to detail.”

  The quartermaster smiled and twisted with a pleased expression. “It is nice to be appreciated.”

  “Never doubt it.” Aymin slipped the strap over her shoulder and turned to the Guardsman next to her. “Ready when you are.”

  “Don’t you need to say farewell to your friends?” Wraith’s deep tones ran through her.

  She followed the direction he was looking and saw a cluster of Backers. “Oh, no. We aren’t friends. We are the same species and that is pretty much where it ends.”

  She looked down at the Yaluthu running toward her. “I do have to say goodbye to the fluffies. Give me a moment, please.”

  She knelt down, and the Yaluthu gathered around her. Without speaking, she conveyed that she was leaving and would return. One by one, they hopped up to her and nuzzled her knees. When it was done, she got to her feet.

  “Ready.”

  Wraith smiled. “This way, please.”

  She followed him out of the Citadel and to the skimmer parked in the courtyard. “We are going back to the base?”

  “That is where they prefer us to land the shuttles.”

  “I see.”

  Wraith chuckled. “We don’t like to disrupt the Citadel.”

  “Right. Makes sense.”

  She settled on a rear seat, and he lifted off as soon as he was in the pilot position.

  “Have you learned to fly yet?” He asked it casually.

  “Nope. They are leery about letting us know how to get around on our own.”

  “Us?”

  “The Backers. They still haven’t found out where we come from, so Backers is our designation. Just like home.”

  “Well, I will be your partner and your pilot on this assignment. Please call me, Jex.”

  “Your designation is Wraith.”

  They were over the chasm, and he chuckled. “True, but we are going to be in close quarters. Common names are easier while we are alone.”

  “Hmm. Now, I think I need a second name.”

  “Your single name is just fine, unless you have a world to call your own.”