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  Exhausted and quite grubby, she walked up to the door of the small farm, and she knocked. Vehicles were in the drive, but they were farm vehicles.

  The man who came toward her was in his mid-fifties, and he had the easy gait and straight shoulders of someone who kept in shape.

  “Hello, I am looking for Rekonu.”

  The man caught a whiff of her, and he nodded as he frowned. “You found him.”

  She stepped back and smiled. “Are you familiar with Leythana?”

  He stepped forward, grabbed her by the neck, and lifted her. “What did you do to her?”

  She gasped out the emergency word. “Algathon.”

  He dropped her, and open expression of wonder came over him. “What?”

  “Algathon. She said that if you tried to hurt me, I was to say that word.”

  “She doesn’t remember me.”

  “Minos’s effect has worn off. She remembers everything.”

  Her sobbing in the night had been the clue that she was reminded of the things Minos had used her for, over decades.

  “Is Minos here?”

  Rekonu shook his head. “I got a call from law enforcement. They had your description and said you kidnapped her.”

  “Did they send you proof?”

  He frowned. “No, but they sounded sure.”

  “Of course, they did. What is Minos’s talent?”

  Rekonu blinked. “I don’t remember.”

  “Yeah. He’s been here.”

  Rekonu shook his head. “He hasn’t been.”

  “What do you want to do now?”

  “I want to call Leythana’s home and see if she is there.”

  She sighed. “She isn’t home. You know she isn’t home. She is in hiding.”

  “How do I know that?”

  “Algathon.”

  He blinked and refocused. “Right. Why was I going to call her home?”

  “To alert Minos. He is looking for her and possibly trying to injure her. He certainly wants to kill me.”

  Rekonu nodded. “Right. How can I help?”

  “I need a computer for an hour. When I am done, I will tell you the next step.”

  He nodded. “This way. My unit is in the kitchen.”

  She followed him, braced for any interference, but his computer was actually in the kitchen. She pulled up a chair and began to work on the files she needed.

  She filed the warrants, including one against herself and Leythana. When they were filed, and she had the filing numbers, she turned to where Rekonu was stirring a pot of soup. “I need you to do something for me now.”

  He looked up and smiled slightly. “Something to help Leythana?”

  “Indeed. I need you to call peacekeepers. They need to come and arrest me.”

  “Why? Can’t we just go and get Leythana?”

  “No. I need to be arrested. It is important.”

  “Oh, very well. I will call the peacekeepers.” He went to his com unit and made the call.

  She could see the bug on his unit from her vantage point, and she quickly sent off another warrant for the next part of the plan.

  Ten minutes and one bowl of really good soup later and there was a knock at the door.

  Rekonu answered, and he said, “Minos?”

  “You didn’t see me, idiot.”

  Minos came striding in, and he looked at her with contempt. “Where is she?”

  “Who?”

  “Leythana, my wife. Where is she?”

  Duulahar looked at her genetic contributor. “Why, she is safe. Safe and happy. You know, I think she is getting better. Her memory is nearly recovered.”

  She put her hand in her pocket and made a fist. Her other hand gripped her teacup.

  “It doesn’t matter if she is regaining her memory. I will wipe it all before I kill her after she has killed you.” Minos stepped toward her.

  This was the best opportunity. She took the handful of gravel from her pocket and made a hole that emerged in front of his face. She pinched his nose with her thumb and forefinger. When he gasped, she shoved the gravel in and used her other hand to dump in the tea. She clamped his mouth shut and pinched his nose again. When she was sure he had swallowed, she pulled her hands back and closed the holes.

  Rekonu came in. “What the hell is he doing here?”

  Minos looked at him. “Forget me, you idiot.”

  Rekonu probably didn’t need to punch him, but he obviously wanted to. Minos was struck and went flying through the house and the glass door to the garden.

  Rekonu looked at her, and he frowned. “You are familiar.”

  “Algathon.”

  “Ah, Leythana sent you. Right. Sorry. I have forgotten for some reason. Why is Minos here?”

  “Oh, he had a plan, and it went wrong. He is stuck with ingested resonance gravel. He isn’t going to be able to use his gift until they pass, and we should be just on time with this.”

  “Resonance gravel? That was one of Leythana’s favourite challenges. I fell for it twice.”

  “Well, he wasn’t expecting it. I think I should get him before the peacekeepers arrive.”

  “Peacekeepers?”

  “Yes, I asked you to call them. I believe they are pulling up.”

  She got on the floor and put her hands on the back of her head.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Saving my life. I am guessing that Minos got to them first.”

  The next few minutes went by in a blur as they put her hands in restraints and went to retrieve Minos. He was still passed out, and Rekonu was taking responsibility, stating that Minos had illegally entered his home and assaulted his guest.

  Duulahar remained still, guns were still aimed at her head.

  Minos began shouting, “Shoot her!”

  The officers looked at each other and back at him. “Why? She is subdued and isn’t fighting.”

  “Shoot the bitch, that’s an order!” Minos was frothing at the mouth.

  Duulahar kept her head down. “He doesn’t want me to lead you to where he buried Leythana.”

  The gasp of shock that went through the room nearly sucked all the air out. Rekonu met her gaze, and she winked.

  He frowned in confusion but was less worried.

  “The only way to get there is with a flier, well, if you want to get her before the animals get to her.”

  The peacekeepers called for a flier, and Minos was nearly foaming at the mouth. “What did you do to me?”

  “Nothing more than a supplement that will wear off in a day or so.”

  He growled at her. “Bitch.”

  “Daughter. You should address me as daughter, especially as you killed my mother so publicly.”

  The peacekeepers stared at her.

  “File one zero six two six six three. The public record of the murder of my mother. Minos killed her, using Leythana, and then, he hypnotized the gathered crowd using the equipment and speaker system. The video automatically backed up before he could alter the record.”

  One of the peacekeepers pulled out his tablet, and he murmured, “What was that number again?”

  “One zero six two six six three.”

  The audio kicked in, and the peacekeepers watched the video while Minos crept toward the door.

  Rekonu grabbed him and held him.

  The horror on the faces of the peacekeepers insured that they would be keeping Minos with them.

  She relaxed her shoulders but kept still. “There are three warrants out for his arrest for that crime and others.”

  It took a few minutes, but Rekonu took control of the situation, and they all got onto the aircraft while Duulahar pointed in the direction they needed to go.

  Minos was kept gagged. No one wanted to hear what he had to say.

  It took them two hours to fly to the place it had taken her two days to ride out of.

  The aircraft lowered itself into the
clearing that she had made in the gorse. She whistled sharply as she walked with a peacekeeper holding her arm.

  Leythana came out slowly. “Oh, good, you are all here.”

  Minos struggled and fought to get his mouth free.

  “I am Leythana Neemi, reinstated hero of Remorad.” She smiled and bowed slightly, her nightgown and robe rather grubby but still elegant.

  Rekonu stepped forward. “Leytha.”

  She smiled at him. “Later, Rekonu. I have to attend to business.”

  She lifted her chin. “Peacekeepers. Please, verify that I am authorized as a hero on Remorad.”

  The peacekeeper on Duulahar’s left checked his com unit, and he verified, “You are.”

  “Excellent. Please bring Minos over here.” Leythana smiled brightly.

  The peacekeeper hauled Minos forward, and he stumbled, kneeling in front of her.

  Duulahar smiled. That was the best position for what was going to happen next.

  Leythana pulled the gag from Minos’s mouth. She smiled and slapped his cheek lightly. “Right. For the count of murder of Amiline Masko, how do you plead?”

  “Who? Beloved, what are you talking about?”

  “Oh, Minos, you have done enough talking. For the use of another gifted’s powers as your own, how do you plead?”

  “I don’t understand what you are doing?”

  “For the attempted murder of the infant, Duulahar, how do you plead?”

  He looked up at Leythana. “She put you up to this. She’s always been jealous of our connection, my love.”

  Leythana nodded. “As you refuse to plead, I find you guilty of the crimes as they have been described. Guilty of murder, guilty of usurping a gifted, and guilty of attempting to murder your own child.”

  Minos began to try and get to his own feet, he struggled with his hands bound.

  Leythana began to glow, and she held her hands out in front of her. “The sentence is death of a dangerous offender.”

  The cutting energy that Leythana was known for punched holes in Minos; she shaped the beams and continued to burn him until there was nothing left.

  She slumped, and Duulahar darted forward to catch her. She put her body under her mother’s and took the weight. The peacekeepers came and helped to lift her up.

  Leythana straightened and smiled. “Is he gone?”

  “He is, Mom.”

  “Thank the stars, and thank you, baby. I know there is a lot of paperwork to file, but I would really like to go home now.”

  Leythana nodded. “Duulahar can release my horse, and she will find her way home. We can all reconvene at my home, and I can begin to rebuild my life.”

  Duulahar looked at the peacekeepers, and she raised her brows. “May I?”

  “I will go with you.” The peacekeeper walked with her, and when there actually was a single horse, saddled and waiting, the peacekeeper exhaled in relief.

  “What did you think there would be?”

  “I was not sure. This has been a day for surprises. I have never seen anyone energy pulsed into dust before.”

  Duulahar didn’t defend Leythana’s actions. She had been part and parcel of figuring out the method of revenge. Taking his power before they took his life had been the only way to carry it out. The psychic attacks that he carried out weren’t physical, but they were devastating. They were going to work on an audit of all activities surrounding Minos. There were going to be a lot of victims in his wake.

  With the horse on its way home, they returned to the aircraft and lifted off, flying to the farm in under an hour.

  Leythana stepped out of the craft and looked back with a smile. “Come on, Duulahar. It is time to get back to our lives.”

  Duulahar lifted her hands in cuffs. “I can’t. I have still been charged with kidnapping you and taking advantage of a senior with dementia. Oh, and killing you. I am also charged with killing you. I looked up the warrants at Rekonu’s.”

  The peacekeeper looked to Leythana and smiled. “We could leave her in your custody, hero.”

  “I would take care to make sure that she didn’t abscond.” Leythana looked at Duulahar, and she smiled. “Daughter, you are grounded until further notice.”

  Rekonu chuckled. “I will watch over them both.”

  The peacekeepers uncuffed her, and Duulahar walked up and hugged her mom tight. When she looked up, she smiled. “You really need a shower.”

  “You, too.”

  They laughed. The peacekeepers spoke to Rekonu about coming back for interviews, but this moment was something Duulahar had been waiting for for a decade. No matter how smelly things were, she wasn’t letting go.

  Chapter Five

  Despite depositions with the peacekeepers and the Team Program, Duulahar and Leythana were having fun.

  Leythana was amazed at so many things about the property. “When did we get chickens?”

  “Eight years ago. It reduced the number of trips he had to make into town, so he agreed to the chickens. He didn’t have to take care of them, so it was easy for him.”

  She threw the feed down, and the fluffy, round darlings began tumbling over each other to get to the food.

  “They are adorable. I always wanted to get a fluffy-footed breed. How did you know?”

  “The figurines you kept in the box in your room. They were a variety of animals that I thought might help you. You did like the chickens, but you loved the horses.”

  Leythana hugged her again, and Duulahar smiled.

  “Let me feed them.” Leythana threw the grain, and the chickens went tumbling after. She laughed and did it again.

  Near the barn, Domak nodded and continued working with the horses. He had kept everything going while they were gone, knowing that if they were both missing, they would need the farm running when they got back.

  It had been just over a week since the whole thing started, but Duulahar felt years older. Leythana, on the other hand, had gone back to the woman that Duulahar remembered when she was a child. She had energy, enthusiasm, and a boundless desire to start living her life again.

  Once Leythana had returned the feed bucket to the shed, she walked up to Duulahar and asked, “So, what do you want to do with the rest of your life?”

  The question hung in the air as Rekonu drove up and got out of his vehicle, smiling and waving as he exited his transport.

  Leythana walked over and hugged him before tilting her head up for a kiss. Rekonu had been her true love until Minos had arrived. He had not only stolen Leythana, but he had deprived Rekonu of the memory of the woman he loved.

  She wiped tears from her eyes as she watched them, and then, she turned away to go and prepare some lunch. Rekonu had asked if he could move closer, and Leythana had invited him to move in. There were plenty of spare rooms, and they could get to know each other again.

  Lunch was a weirdly focused affair, and Duulahar had never imagined it would be about her.

  “So, you are already a lawyer, but what do you want to do? I always dreamed that you would be a hero, but Minos insisted that you weren’t gifted.” She smiled. “We know that was a lie.”

  “He was good at lies. It makes me wonder if I have any of that running through me.” She crunched into her sandwich.

  Rekonu shook his head. “The pigment of his hair seems to be all you have inherited.”

  Leythana looked at her and paused. “Working out the legal scenario was detailed and was the kind of thing Minos would do in the early days on the team when he still cared. Of course, I was shocked to find out he had you charged with my murder.”

  “I did that.”

  “What?”

  “I issued that warrant so that they wouldn’t just try to send me off with a warning. There had to be a capital crime involved for me to be carried with them to the cavern.”

  Leythana blinked. “See? I would not have thought of that. You are exceedingly clever. Just like when you said you had t
o reinstate me as a hero representing our world so I could have legal power of judge, jury, and executioner of a dangerous being.”

  She chuckled. “I must admit, after you got ill, I used to dream about you accidentally killing him during an episode.”

  “Did I have them a lot?”

  Duulahar smiled. “I am very good at small hole repair in the house. I can even re-lay wiring if necessary.”

  “I am sorry.”

  “Don’t be. I always imagined that it was part of your subconscious trying to fight free.”

  “It might have been. Oh. I have a question.” Leythana got up and walked out of the room, leaving Rekonu and Duulahar in silence.

  “Why was this by my bed?” Leythana held up the storybook of the origin of the cluster.

  “Oh, I would read that to you when you were restless. You enjoyed hearing about the origin of the colonies and the portals.”

  “You read this to me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Every night?”

  “Sometimes during the day, but at least once daily.”

  Leythana put the book down and came around to hug her. “I thought I couldn’t love you any more than I already do.”

  Rekonu was smiling, and his eyes were shining. “You kept it.”

  “I did.” She smoothed her hand over the embossed cover of the book, and her hand came to rest next to the author name. Algathon.

  They were all smiling with fat tears cruising down their cheeks until Duulahar got up and got dessert. Strawberries and thickened cream were always a good way to end a meal.

  It was one very emotional lunch.

  She was reading the news vids and watching the reporting on the exposure of Minos’s criminal activity, and the betrayal of one of her worlds’ greatest heroes was striking folks hard.

  “Have you thought about it?” Leythana came and leaned against the support for the large swing.

  “About what?”

  “About what you want to do. I think you could make an amazing hero. Strike that. I know you are an amazing hero. You saved me, after all.”

  She looked at her mother. “I saved both of us.”

  “So, you have saved two people, gotten a murderer and rapist off the streets, and that is a damned good start.”