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  He released her when a ball of flame rose to the edge of the cliff. “I have brought her to you, Ancients.”

  An echoey voice spoke. “Have her stand at the edge, and we will assess her.”

  Orvar took her by her arms and placed her at the edge of the cliff once again.

  The ball spoke again, “Step back, priest.”

  He had a confused expression, but he did as the ball asked.

  Alone with no one near her, Lillibeth looked into the writhing flames. Understanding came to her in a low whisper. There had been a race that evolved without bodies and travelled the stars only to find that they began to miss living.

  They returned home to Ikanni to find the dark elves of Admar moving in. They offered power in exchange for the chance to live again through the experiences of another, and in that moment, a deal was struck.

  Lilli nodded as she felt the deep loneliness of the ball of fire. She asked them, Do not make me less than I was, do not make me vulnerable to Orvar and those like him. I wish to be what I was born to be once again.

  “What is that, daughter?”

  She inhaled and told them what was in her heart. “I want to be in command.”

  Fire rushed at her, and a dozen flames flickered before one centred over her chest and slowly merged with her sternum.

  She fell back, and Orvar caught her with a pleased light in his eye. She whispered. “Take me back to Orriko. Now.”

  His face went blank, and he transported her back to the office.

  Fire was moving from her chest to her fingers and toes. She had no means of standing, but Orvar dropped her and disappeared in an instant.

  Orriko lifted her in his arms and pressed a kiss to her lips. “What happened?”

  “A Heshi took up residence, and I think Orvar will be scarce around here for a while.”

  Orriko looked at her suspiciously. “Why?”

  “Because I outrank him.” She smiled and let darkness take her as the Heshi within her settled and got comfortable.

  Chapter Eight

  “Do you know what Heshi it is?” Orriko was helping her to sit up in her bed. It seems that he had watched her all night.

  “No, but they gave me what I wished for.”

  “What was that?”

  “Someone who would keep me from being in Orvar’s power. He wanted to bed me, and he uses the power of his Heshi to seduce and bewitch women with mates. Convinces them it’s an honour.”

  Orriko frowned. “What did he do to you?”

  “Just kissed me. It was all he had time for before the Heshi showed up.”

  “You were gone for two hours.”

  “That must have been my conversation with the ball of flame. That reminds me. Why didn’t you come and get me?”

  “I have never seen the Heshi pit. Only the priests have. They bring the infants there, and when they emerge, the child is bonded. No adult who is not a priest enters the pit.” He looked wracked by guilt.

  She took his hand. “It all came out all right. I came out able to give him orders, and he ran for it. So that’s a good thing.”

  Orriko paused. “You gave him an order and he obeyed?”

  “Yes.”

  “What was the order?”

  “To bring me back to you, now. And we transported.”

  Orriko smiled, but it was a tense smile. “I need to check something with the historian. Remain here, please.”

  She nodded. “As long as I can watch my monitors. I am learning the ways of your people.”

  His grin told her that he knew what she was learning. “Fine, but don’t go blind. Staring into that much black on black skin can be hard on the retinas.”

  Lilli had no chance for rebuttal. He was gone.

  She frowned. “I really want to learn how to do that.”

  She no sooner said the words than she was standing in the bathroom, precisely where she wanted to be. She attended to her needs and transported into the bedroom. She chuckled happily and slipped into her uniform. She was not going to be teleporting in a sarong. It just didn’t feel right.

  On the monitors, she took in where Orriko was located and decided that she needed some air. She grabbed her sketchbook and charcoal and teleported to the high tower where she was completely alone and could draw the images of Orriko that she saw in her mind.

  She worked on trying to capture the heat in his gaze, but it was eluding her. Someone down below was shouting.

  Lilli looked toward the hubbub, and her gaze collided with Orriko’s as well as several of his warriors. She twisted her lips with regret and returned to her room.

  Bael Lerock was in her room a second after she was. “Who showed you how to do that?”

  She cocked her head as she put her sketchbook away. “You mean the transport?”

  “Yes. It takes months to master it, even with a powerful Heshi within.”

  “I suppose I was just paying attention. I can’t explain it any other way.” She shrugged.

  He came up to her and lifted her chin on his knuckles. “Well, I suppose there is no reason to keep you confined then.”

  She chuckled. “It would really be best if you didn’t. I am eager to learn all I can about the Heshi and your branch of the Admaryn. It seems that you left before the planet was subject to the Alliance’s dictate.”

  He placed a gentle kiss on her lips. “What do you want to learn about first?”

  Lilli leaned into his greeting, acknowledging it for what it was. “The Heshi have their own hierarchy. How does that translate to the Admaryn?”

  He looped his arms around her waist. “As Ikanni, we can distinguish ourselves aside from our riders. My Heshi was a warrior of dexterity but no rank. He helped me to gain the skills that I needed, but there was no talent aside from his drive to serve his people. It was enough to make me the heir apparent and now Bael of our people.”

  She frowned. “What does my Heshi make me?”

  “What is she?”

  “What?” She was confused.

  “She is inside you, what does she feel like?” He stroked her spine slowly.

  Breathing slowly, Lillibeth leaned her forehead against his chest and looked inside herself. The slowly twisting flame within her was amused by her curiosity, but it gave her what she asked for. “She was a leader. A guardian of the Heshi. She always brought up the rear when the Heshi moved from star to star.”

  He nodded. “It explains why Orvar ran from you then. His Heshi was linked as a priest but all raw power and no impulse control. If a disembodied being can be a predator, Orvar is housing one.”

  “Why did the Heshi give him something like that?” She frowned, her senses reeling with the scent of his skin at this close range. She inhaled deeply and smiled.

  “The accumulated Heshi match their offering to the Admaryn before them. The two souls have to match or the conflict will drive one or both insane.” His hands were still stroking her spine slowly.

  She sighed. “That doesn’t sound like fun.”

  “I have seen it. It is a horror beyond what you can imagine to have every movement, every decision questioned.”

  She started to laugh. “It sounds like marriage.”

  He gave her a squeeze. “Amusing. It is truly horrifying to see someone who is in conflict with their Heshi.”

  Lilli sighed and traced her fingers over Orriko’s chest. “I am sorry to make light of it. It sounds like a conflict I would never wish on anyone.”

  “Conflict is a good word for it. How are you feeling?” He resumed his semi-massage.

  “Fine, but I do feel rather confined. Is there anything I can get the base to do for your people?”

  He rubbed his chin on her hair. “No. Tonight is my father’s ceremony. We release his Heshi into the beyond.”

  “Wait, the Heshi die? I thought they were eternal.” She leaned back in his embrace and looked up into his face.

  “No, they chose to bond with us so that they have a means to live and die in a normal sp
an. They may have evolved into energy, but they want desperately to simply reach whatever after world they have waiting.”

  She nodded, and the core of energy inside her agreed with Orriko. “Are there any records left by the Heshi?”

  He shook his head. “Not that we have been able to find and we have looked.”

  Lilli sighed and wrapped her arms around him to hug him. “Is there anything I can to for the ceremony?”

  He kissed her ear. “Yes.”

  She looked up and suspicion began to overtake her. The next moment, they were out in the gate yard, and he was walking with her to one of the many small houses that now made the base a village.

  A woman with a child on her hip greeted Orriko warmly. “Bael Lerock, what a nice surprise.”

  He inclined his head. “Healer Thora, this is the carrier of Alvar Lerock. Her name is Lillibeth Hislar.”

  The healer smiled. “I am delighted to meet you. Bael, am I correct in asking that you want to know if his soul is on board?”

  Orriko inclined his head. “Please.”

  The healer handed the child over to Orriko and nodded to Lilli. “May I touch you?”

  Lilli scowled. “If you must. I don’t see how it would be possible, I have been chemically restricted by the Alliance.”

  Thora touched her cheek and took her hand.

  Lilli felt a cool energy touching her skin, like the aftereffect of rubbing alcohol but under her skin, not on top of it.

  She shivered and blinked into the red eyes of the healer, which now swirled with icy blue.

  A moment later, the woman ceased her contact. “Alvar will continue in one form or another. She is not Ikanni, so there will be alterations to any child she bears.”

  Orriko absently juggled the child on his hip. The small one had huge red eyes and a fluff of snow-white hair on its head. “Are you sure?”

  “As sure as I can be with my calling being what it is. There is more inside her than the Heshi she has taken on. Is that enough?”

  Orriko gave her a peck on the cheek. “Thank you, Thora.”

  “Any time, Bael Lerock. It was a pleasure to meet you, Bael Hislar.” Thora bowed and took Lilli’s hand, pressing it to her forehead.

  “It was nice to meet you as well, Healer Thora.” Lilli shrugged at Orriko.

  Thora stood. “You will grow into her as she grows through you. You are meant to be a leader. It is in your blood.”

  Thora took her baby back and inclined her head to Orriko before she turned and walked away.

  Lilli looked up at Orriko. “What was that about?”

  He took her in his arms, and they returned to her quarters where a black leather bundle awaited her. “Get dressed and find out.”

  Chapter Nine

  He had to help her, the convoluted mechanism for lacing the breast band was a little beyond her, as she had never seen that kind of construction before.

  “Stand still and face the mirror. Watch.” Orriko tugged on a few straps, and her breasts suddenly went from flattened to supported and on display.

  The crisscrossing of leather straps barely covered her nipples, but it was more circumspect than a lot of outfits she had worn when she was first barhopping as a young adult.

  Lilli shifted until the bust band felt comfortable and the straps around her neck and shoulders were body temperature. The skirt looked to be easier to put on. “Why is this clothing so complicated?”

  “It is showing respect to the dead. We are not in clothing that can be easily discarded and therefore giving respect to the one who has lost his body and life.”

  “So, this is to keep folks from getting naked at the ceremony?” She tugged her boots away and shimmied her bodysuit off her hips and legs. The skirt was two long panels of leather and more intricate lacework covered the closure at her hips.

  She almost had it in place when Orriko ceased his own preparations and straightened the weave with a few sharp tugs. The waist of the skirt flattened against her skin, and her pale flesh was peeping out through the strategic holes over her hips and just under her navel.

  Orriko brought her a hairbrush. “Now, I need your help. I need a braid bound with strands of your hair.”

  “Tradition is tradition and I will never pass up a chance to play with your hair.” She sat him down at the edge of the bed and untied the ponytail that he wore on a daily basis. She used the brush and stroked it through his hair, starting at the bottom and working her way up.

  The feeling of the slippery white silken strands made her smile. It was like combing snow, something that she had not seen since she had left the Earth. When she first told Alvar of her fascination, he had laughed and given her free rein to play with his hair. Later, she learned that it was a gesture of complete trust and not something he had done before.

  Orriko closed his eyes as she ran the brush over his scalp, and his breath shifted and deepened.

  “Um, is this turning you on?” She whispered and followed it with a throaty chortle.

  “Yes. My scalp is surprisingly attuned to your touch. You seem to be enjoying yourself.”

  She laughed. “It reminds me of snow on the mountains. I miss being cold.”

  She pressed a kiss to the crown of his head as she separated his locks into strands.

  “I will see what I can do to bring you the cold weather that you wish for.”

  She smiled sadly as she braided his hair into three braids, tying each with strands of her own hair. When she had three long braids, she wound them together into one last rope.

  He turned his head and pulled the braid over his shoulder. “Very neatly done.”

  “Thank you.” She went to her desk and removed an elastic. She bound her hair up in a ponytail on the top of her head, letting the hair cascade down her back. She swished it a few times. The tickling at the base of her spine made her smile.

  “How is that?”

  She turned to face him and pressed her lips together. She looked him over and stifled an admiring leer. His sleeveless leather tunic was engraved with silver glyphs and icons, his trousers had matching patterns marching down the outside of each leg and his boots were glossy.

  His own gaze was going over her from head to toe. “We seem to be a study in contrasts.”

  “Apparently. When does the ceremony start?”

  Deep in the centre of the base, she heard a low, rumbling gong. He gave her a slow sad smile. “It is time to lay him to rest.”

  She took his arm and he wrapped the other around her, taking them to the hall outside medical where a line of Ikanni waited to show their final respects.

  Taking Orriko’s arm, she walked into the medical bay where Alvar’s death had sent her own life into uproar.

  Alvar had been washed, was in formal leathers and was wrapped in a dark leather cloak. His braid was loose, and his hair was draped down his body, over the edge of the cloak.

  Orvar was at his brother’s side. He shifted nervously when they entered, but he straightened in formality as they stood next to Alvar Lerock.

  Orvar inclined his head politely. “Can you allow everyone here to hear the ceremony?”

  Orriko stiffened, but Lilli held his arm and gave it a squeeze. “I can.”

  The Heshi within her was far more comfortable than her halo. She used her implants to send a signal, broadcasting through the speakers in the base. The microphone was above the physician’s desk, and it had an excellent reach within the room. The entire base would hear what was said in the chamber.

  Orvar began speaking of Alvar’s early years, but to Lillibeth’s surprise, he had not been there for most of it.

  Alvar Lerock had been Bael of his people from birth. His Heshi had provided him with wisdom as well as power, and he had led his people to greatness. Orvar continued to speak about his brother, but there was an obvious distance in his speech.

  When Orvar concluded his speech, another Ikanni stepped forward. The male spent a few minutes describing the skill of Alvar at dealing with
the other clans on the surface before the speaker gave the floor to the next clan member.

  Lillibeth held Orriko’s arm and felt the muscles clench as he listened to the descriptions of his father.

  When the last of those who would speak faded back, Lillibeth stepped forward. “I am not sure whether this is appropriate or not, but I would like to share what I knew of Bael Alvar Lerock.”

  She glanced between Orriko and Orvar, and both men shrugged.

  “I met Alvar when he came to the base after we had been allowed to set this base here. In the time that the base was operational, we intercepted ninety-seven Raider communications leading to the survival of over forty million souls. Because of the advanced warning, the Alliance, via the Sector Guard, was able to get the personnel into position so that the defense was in the right place at the right time.

  “Alvar always smiled when I told him that our presence was doing good, and he told me that change was not always welcome, but it did have the effect of forcing evolution. He taught me to play viikan, though I can’t keep my concentration that long. He told me I needed patience and I told him that he would outlive me and he could keep his comments to himself. He merely smiled.

  “The moment when he told me he was dying, I felt like I had been struck with a hammer. In him, I was losing the only true friend I had on Ikanni. He had helped me gather plants for the greenhouse, and this year, I planned to introduce him to my favourite holiday. Now, that is gone, and I will carry the memory of him within me, that piece of his soul. I am better for having known him and poorer for his departure from the walking world.”

  She stepped back and didn’t dash away the tears streaming down her cheeks.

  Orvar dragged in a shaking breath and finally spoke. “As priest of the Heshi, I confirm that their ambassador to Alvar has dissipated in the walking world. It has earned its freedom and is on its way to the next life. We now have the body of Alvar left behind, his greater soul has gone on to the next world and the piece of him left behind has found hope for a new life in another generation.”

  Orriko and four other men stepped forward, lifting him and placing him down in the hole prepared for him.