Astral Read online

  “What is the style of gown I am wearing?” She could hear him moving behind her and was unsurprised when his words were whispered near her shoulder.

  “It is a Valoi formal gown.”

  “Hmm. I like it, but I don’t know if it suits me.” She turned to face him and ran her fingers along her neckline and smiled at him.

  The glow in his eyes intensified and he followed her fingers to the buckle of her cloak. With a light flick of his fingers, the buckle that fastened her half cloak opened and a gentle caress of his fingertips slid the fabric off her shoulder. “I think it suits you very well.”

  She kept her gaze locked with his as his fingers found the clasps that she had struggled with and soon, she was standing in a bodysuit and a puddle of red, glossy fabric.

  “It suits the floor, too.” Zakkar’s tone was earnest and amused at the same time.

  She held her breath when he parted her suit and opened the seal in the centre. The nude fabric skimmed down her shoulders and when he knelt in front of her to peel the suit over her hips, she swayed as his hands touched her skin.

  Whatever Arci had done to her system had made her very sensitive to Zakkar’s touch. Sparks were spontaneously arcing across her skin and a bone-deep shimmy was starting in her belly.

  “Step out, Dina.”

  Swallowing to clear her suddenly dry mouth, she took a step toward him and ended up with his face pressed between her breasts. The kiss that he laid onto her skin was a butterfly touch, but it sent energy sizzling along her limbs.

  Dina looped her arms around his head and threaded her fingers through the midnight blue of his hair. She tugged his head back and pressed her lips to his forehead. The same energy that flowed into her when he touched her crept across his skin when she touched him. She blinked as she started to realize the new facet to her power. She couldn’t just fly and didn’t need to breathe in space, she could give Zakkar the same pleasure that he gave to her.

  This was going to be far more fun than she thought.

  Smiling with her newfound power, she feathered kisses over his brows and down his nose. She rubbed her lips lightly against his, not a kiss, but simple contact. When he angled his jaw upward to firm the kiss and his tongue came out to play, her knees buckled and it was his arms around her thighs that kept her upright.

  She felt Arci with them as they explored and caressed each other. The sun streaming in through the windows was wrapping around them and as Zakkar rose to his feet to strip off the bodysuit that he was wearing, Dina felt her arousal ratcheted upward by several degrees.

  Zakkar’s muscles were not Terran standard, but Dina wouldn’t have them any other way. His cock was a hard rod of flesh that had a peculiar wave to it. As she reached out to grip him, the flesh moved in her hand without Zakkar moving a muscle.

  With her hand on his cock, she backed toward the bed until her legs were pressed against it.

  His eyes were heavy lidded. His lips full and the stars under his skin were moving in a hypnotic pattern.

  When she leaned forward to press kisses across his chest, she heard him growl and smiled against his stellar skin.

  He lifted her and placed her on her back on the bed. With a groan, he rubbed his body against hers from jaw to ankle, the sensations that Arci had intensified bringing them both to the edge in moments.

  Zakkar rose up on his elbows, used his thighs to part hers and lodged his cock against her slick opening. It moved, shifted and slid into her while he remained perfectly still over her, a look of concentration in his eyes.

  The slow thrusts of his twisting shaft into her had her holding her breath with every slide and shimmy. When he was fully seated, he leaned down to kiss her while his cock undulated within in a heady rhythm. She tried to lift her hips to his, but his position firmly pinned her to the sheets.

  Zakkar glowed, black energy coming off his skin in long tendrils, while Dina felt the same outward surge from her own form. When the power bound together, she gasped and came. His internal thrusts mixed with her sensitivity and Arci’s power to create a maelstrom of sensation that spun her into a writhing release that blasted energy throughout the room.

  Zakkar shouted and she felt the rapid churn within her as her channel milked him in short, sharp spasms. He groaned and slumped boneless on her body. His energy was still tangled with hers and her skin had paled several shades in Arci’s light.

  He sighed and rolled to one side, bringing her with him and stroking his hand down her spine.

  She watched the dark stars that had begun moving under her skin with fascination. “Did you know that this would happen?”

  He chuckled and ran his fingers along the silky skin of her back. “I have not known what would happen next since the moment I first saw your file. I am learning as I go.”

  She sighed and watched the stars shooting under his skin. “Do you think that Arci knew?”

  I did not know. I suspected. You were born to be a stellar avatar, Dina. We are lucky to have you.

  They both blinked and Dina knew that Zakkar had heard the voice as clearly as she had. In that moment, it became clear that Zakkar had not been the only one in search of a companion. Arci was only too happy to see her and his energy flared around them as they lay in his warming beams.

  “I have never considered being part of a threesome before, but I suppose that there is a first time for everything.” Dina cuddled against Zakkar, her leg over his hip and their bodies still joined.

  He smiled and she felt the movement begin inside her again. “There does indeed have to be a first time, now…how do you feel about the second?”

  She laughed and rolled him to his back, circling her hips against him as he stroked her belly and breasts. She rode him until they both arched in release, his release triggering hers this time. With a sigh, she leaned down and draped herself over his chest, the dark stars on her body taking on the feel of constellations and star systems. She could feel the localized points of power on her skin and smiled.

  If her mother could only see her now.

  Chapter Eight

  Flying lessons were much more pleasurable when Dina wasn’t wearing anything but her hair. The white-blonde strands were now completely white and her eyes were metallic blue with red streaks. The red grew more prevalent the closer that Arci was to her.

  She was enjoying some high-speed flight when a shadow crossed her path and she screamed in reflex. The Valoi had enjoyed a more hunt-and-seek method of winning their mates and every time Zakkar saw her ahead of him, it tripped his switches.

  She paused with her hair floating around her, her body in a zero-gravitational posture, moving slightly with the rotation of the planet but otherwise completely still.

  It was a little petty of her, but if she stopped running, he stopped chasing.

  He swooped in close, naked and aroused which was his normal condition around her now. “We need to make an appearance on one of the planets in this system. They are having a festival and Arci’s avatars need to be there.”

  She exhaled. “I knew this was coming, but I am a little nervous about it, oh, and none of my bodysuits match anymore.”

  Her skin had gone from pale pink to ivory with dark stars, the opposite of Zakkar’s midnight skin.

  “Then wear the gowns over your skin. It is tough enough now to provide you with the protection and containment you needed.” He wrapped an arm around her waist and tried to tug her along.

  They stayed still and she gave him a cheeky grin. “I have been experimenting with holding my place in the universe. It seems I have been successful.”

  He seemed shocked. “What are you doing, precisely?”

  “I am gravitationally linked to the world beneath me at five hundred metres from the surface. I will continue to remain here until I release myself. It is a neat trick.”

  “How did you get the idea for this?” He flew around her on all sides as if he could see the strings holding her.

  She blushed, instead of pigmen
t, her stars moved faster. “I was lying with you inside me and wished that I could stay in that place forever and it got me thinking.”

  He came up behind her and pressed kisses to her neck. It was his favourite place to lick and nibble as it was accessible if they were standing, flying or lying together. “It sounds like a wonderful idea.”

  She laughed and arched her head to one side. “I thought so at the time. Now, where do we have to be?”

  He stopped his sweet caresses and sighed. “We have to head to the third planet in the system. Caros. It has an intelligent population and is fairly civilized.”

  She released her grip on the planet and started to drift back toward the house.

  He laughed and gripped her around the waist, flying her home and rubbing against her at the same time.

  They dropped to the ground at the front door and entered their home. Despite their ability to enter and leave from any room or balcony in the house, for the sake of energy and atmospheric conservation, they used the front door at all times.

  “You will want to wear the black gown. The red is a Caros declaration of war and the blue is the colour of mourning.”

  She laughed. “What about the white?”

  “It makes you look too pale.” He gave her his opinion as he stepped into a bodysuit and then fastened a one-armed cloak over his right shoulder.

  She laughed and picked out the black outfit, sliding it on over her newly improved skin. Dina had to admit that it was striking. The neck ribbon made her hair glow and caused her neck to look slender.

  She closed the gown and then put on the half cloak, buckling it into place without looking. It was second nature at this point. She didn’t have anything else to wear when she wanted to run around the house and sitting naked on all her furniture just skeeved her out.

  Home was where Zakkar was now. She had her com unit and had been in contact with an astonished Refoal. Her change in physical appearance had been surprisingly easy for her to adapt to. Her features were the same. She could just see an entire universe on her body at any given time.

  When Zakkar was feeling exploratory, he followed the shooting stars under her skin to all number of locations. Arci didn’t explain why they were marked in this way, but it had some significance to the star. All that Dina knew was that the star was enjoying having a matched set of avatars to play with.

  Once the armband was in place and her hair had been straightened with the wave of her hand, she was ready to travel.

  Arci gave them their flight trajectory and standing on the front porch, they both bent their legs before pushing upward. They could not gain proper speed until they managed to exit the atmosphere, but once they were out in space, Zakkar propelled them to the planet Caros.

  Light surrounded them in a bright, glowing shield. Arci’s energy turned them into a shooting star that burned through the darkness of space with Caros as their destination.

  When Dina first saw the planet that they were heading for, purple was the thought that sprang to mind. The planet was a cacophony of black and purple, but the people were a pale gold with green highlights.

  As Zakkar and Dina dropped into the capitol city in a shower of light, the crowds cheered and Dina had to admit that the folk were much larger than they had appeared from space. An easy seven feet tall, the folk of Caros were friendly and welcoming to the new avatar.

  “Welcome to Caros, bride of Arci.” The prefect of the capitol bowed low.

  She was going to correct the prefect, but then she realized that it was true. “Bride of Arci and Zakkar. Courting me was a group effort.”

  Zakkar grinned as the prefect blinked in shock.

  The man smiled cautiously. “May we know your name, Avatar?”

  “Dina. Dina Markowitz of Terra. Second avatar of Arci.” She inclined her head. Etiquette forbade her from bowing to anyone in Arci’s system. “May I ask your name?”

  “Dorf, Prefect of Shakin, planet of Caros.”

  “I am pleased to meet you, Dorf.”

  He coloured and she winced as the gold tone of his skin turned a peculiar green. “Come, we have places of honour for you to watch the parade.”

  Dina raised her eyebrows at the word parade, but she took the hand that Zakkar held out to her and followed where he led her.

  The festival celebrates planting season. They have a parade and a festival to prepare themselves for the arduous work ahead and they invite my avatars in an effort to keep me interested in their world and sponsoring a good harvest.

  Dina could see how folk would be interested in staying on the good side of the local star. She took her place next to Zakkar and sat leaning forward somewhat to get a good view of the parade.

  Back on earth, she had loved parades, the fun, the street food and the excitement. This event was no different. If the parade was about to kick off the festivities, the folk around here were just as eager to see it as she was.

  The temptation to explore was incredible. She held Zakkar’s hand and leaned on his shoulder, separating her astral form from her body and taking it behind the scenes.

  Dina, where are you going?

  I am just taking a little walk to see the people of this world.

  I will tell Zakkar.

  She laughed and watched the floats being assembled and hauled through the streets. A few people turned to look in her direction, but since she wasn’t set to be visible, they must have been reading her energy signature.

  Dina walked through the displays and built her anticipation before she returned to her body.

  “So, Dina, does it look entertaining?”

  She looked up at Zakkar’s amused features. “It does. It reminds me of home, sort of. More amphibians are represented though.”

  He laughed. “I am sure you will get used to it.”

  She smiled. “I hope so, or I will be spending long nights alone at home while you go out as the dignitary for Arci.”

  “I have faith in your ability to adapt.”

  She was going to give him a sharp retort, but the blast of a horn and the ringing of bells got their attention.

  The crowd in front of them parted as the parade began and the first of the schoolchildren came by playing instruments and marching proudly past the box where Dina and Zakkar sat with the prefect and his wife.

  As they sat, hand in hand, she smiled at the children and waved to them as they waved to her. She did the same for anyone on the floats that were being driven or pulled past them. Grains and fruit were heavily represented, as were schools and dance studios.

  Dina laughed, clapped and cheered right along with the crowd.

  The moment that the last float was past, the prefect got to his feet and smiled. “Now we celebrate, for tomorrow, we plough.”

  Chapter Nine

  Watching the people of Caros engage in drinking contests was fun, but judging the trivia contests afterward was hilarious.

  Zakkar had too much dignity, but Dina had no such restrictions. She flew to the podium in the town square and read the questions for the drunken trivia contest. By the time she was finished, she was laughing so hard that Zakkar had to retrieve her to save her from joining the slap fight that had started when she had asked a mixed group of men and women who the best-looking avatar was.

  “That was a sneaky question.” He caught her in his arms and flew her away from the mixed-gender melee.

  “It was on the card, I swear. Besides, we both know that you are much prettier than I am.”

  He snorted and they returned to the prefect’s table. There were a lot less shenanigans here and it made for easier conversation.

  After an hour of discussing the details of tilling the soil on a semi-annual basis, Dina got up and wandered off.

  The people of Caros were friendly and most of the adults out for the evening were completely plastered. Dina walked through the people who were under the care of her star and enjoyed the smiles and gentle comments she was getting.

  Her first appearance as an av
atar seemed to be a complete success. She was confident of her triumph right until she rounded a corner and the gas bomb exploded at her feet.

  * * * *

  Zakkar sat up straight as something went wrong.

  Arci’s voice in his head was clear. Dina has been taken from my sight. She is alive but not awake.

  Zakkar turned to Dorf. “Was there anyone who objected to the avatars’ presence here?”

  Dorf paled. “A few folk considered it superstitious to invite you.”

  “Who are they?”

  “A small group. I am sure they won’t do anything.”

  He closed his eyes and searched for his mate. “They already have.”

  With his senses extended, he swept for Dina, but with so many people in so small an area, it was going to take him a while to pinpoint her. He hoped that she had that much time.

  * * * *

  Dina had a hangover and she was imbedded in some sort of gel. There were men looking in on her and she had one thought, they were wrecking her gown.

  She struggled in the gel, but it held her fast and all attempts to use Arci’s energy caused a nasty fizzle in her system.

  Since breathing was not necessary, she simply sent herself out of her body and went looking for Zakkar. He would be able to get her out of this mess.

  He was worried and his energy was wreathing around him in a hostile halo. Dorf was barking commands to someone nearby while Zakkar concentrated.

  She stood in front of him. “Arci, I am here. I am just a little powerless at the moment.”

  Red poured into Zakkar’s eyes and she was staring at the gaze of her star in no time. “Where are you, Dina?”

  “Underground and in a thick gel.”

  “Can you lead me there?”

  “Come on.” She tried to take his hand out of reflex, but she passed through him, only a hint of the tingle she normally felt ran into her.

  She followed her connection to her body, chatting and whistling on the psychic plane so that she could keep Arci following her.

  It was a strange thing and a few people walked right through her in their rush to get out of Arci’s way. Apparently, glowing red eyes were not considered a good thing on this world. She glanced back at him a few times and the blank determination on his features was enough to keep leading him to the place where she was being held.