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  When she watched them, Kali saw the dark energy coiling in the vicinity of the disasters, but she still didn’t know what it meant.

  The last Terran, aside from Kali herself, was Orphia. Her partner was a bit of a surprise. Kali had never seen a Hirn before. Xeric was one of that ancient race, and he had been delighted to take Orphia on as partner. Her own background held genes of his race, and it made them an excellent match.

  They were ideal matches in every way for couples who were put on assignments that were extended over time. They had to wait for almost every mission that the Orb sent them on, but they had each other.

  Sighing happily, Kali pulled her gaze from the mirror and smiled vaguely at Odin.

  He cleared his throat and inclined his head. “Kaliana, Host of the Orb, you have visitors.”

  She sat up and watched the four couples that she had just been researching file into the room. “Oh, hello.”

  The women grinned at her.

  Orphia asked, “Terran?”

  Kali got to her feet. “Yup. Please have a seat. The Orb wishes to speak to you.”

  They looked at each other in surprise, but all took a seat on the furniture.

  The Orb of Time pushed forward, Kali saw the change in her skin tone from creamy to stellar.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my home. With the addition of my new host, Kaliana, we finally have enough personnel to form a cohesive unit.”

  Aura raised a brow. “New host?”

  “As you can tell by the surface of my body, I am enough of the Orb of Time to speak out loud and to work on correcting a mistake that I made over twenty thousand years ago.”

  Idara leaned against Harken and asked, “How do we fit in?”

  The Orb straightened Kali’s shoulders. “We must begin at the beginning. If everyone will look to the mirror, I will show you my folly.”

  The screen swirled dark, and it brightened to show the small star that they associated with the Orb.

  “I kept this tiny bit of myself away from the new universe, but there was no reason for me to wake until I had someone to share it with.

  “I had been unable to save any of the species of my time, so I sought out other races that had a similar feel. Out of a hundred races, I selected four species that were particularly attractive to me, and I picked out members that I thought were suitable. From that moment, I waited.”

  Images of the four races poured across the screen, and everyone was riveted.

  “Twenty thousand years ago, I pulled the first Nameless from that universe into Home and poured my energy into them. This was my mistake.

  “It only took twelve of my creatures to skip through time and cause havoc.”

  Sky frowned. “What happened?”

  “With the energy of their universe and the Orb of Time still coursing through their veins, they began to breed.”

  The crowd in the room gasped in shock. It was the prime reason for the Nameless being chosen at the moment of death. With their biology ended and their ties to the previous universe severed, they could absorb the power of the Orb and not blend the two powers.

  “The children born of these unions were powerful, far more so than I had ever intended. They fought wars, wrought great evil and had more children of their own, all carrying the seeds of a long-passed universe within them.

  “Watching my power used for ill and Home used to hide lovers from their spouses frustrated me, and so, I seeded the worlds and a variety of races with my energy, waiting for them to show whether their psyches would be able to adapt to it. The power of Home was made inhospitable to creatures that were not carrying my power to reduce the amount of strangers on this world. In the meantime, the Firsts were still rampaging, but then, something surprising happened.”

  The gathered Nameless leaned forward at attention, riveted by the tale.

  “The original Firsts were disappearing, some dying in peculiar circumstances, but the marks of their power were dissipating rapidly. It was then that I knew my plan had paid off, and I needed only wait until the first of the Hooded Ones came to me.

  “I watched carefully, taking the first of my new people the moment that his life burned out and the energy of his universe left him. With only my power remaining in his body, he was a beacon to me, and I brought him Home. Healing him was difficult, but I put a piece of my consciousness inside him and accelerated his body until he was fit once again.”

  In her own skull, Kali could feel the sorrow of the Orb. The sorrow was twofold, for separating men and women from their previous lives and then sending them out to kill his first Avatars.

  “I collected five of the Hooded Ones, each wearing the uniform that kept them from being easily identified by their eyes. They were taken the moment after death, reanimated and healed, then sent out into the past to stamp out the First as expediently as possible. New timelines were ripped with each death, bringing more light and life to this new universe.

  “I relaxed as things began to right themselves, but when the first of my Hooded Ones was killed in action, I decided to continue collecting those who had been seeded and who were in a state to be brought back. I began to bring the city to life, one building at a time, but as the population grew, I needed more and more supporting staff to help keep the Nameless fed and clothed. Acquisitions grew out of a young woman who had no interest in flitting through time for the sake of others, and instead, she began to fill orders for those who needed costumes for their assignments. I gave her the power of forethought in regards to the clothing and location, and she is still working in Acquisitions to this day.

  “Teams began to spring up, factions who had certain wishes for the conduct of the Nameless, as they began to call themselves. They gave up their surnames, clan names and family names the day that I entered them and gave them what I could in compensation. I increased their strength, speed, stamina and intuition as well as gave them the ability to see their own future and past as far as they wished to look.

  “Those who saw their deaths tended to accept it calmly, but in an effort to give them an outlet, the Council of Seven was set in place. They have the power to discipline the Nameless as well as council them.”

  The Orb shivered, “I will retreat now and leave the questions to my host, Kaliana.”

  Without any additional warning, Kali’s skin changed from stellar black to pale cream, and she was staring at the ring of faces whose attention was suddenly firmly on her. She cleared her throat. “Tea anyone?”

  Chapter Eight

  Odin set out the tea trays and made sure that everyone was settled.

  “So, any questions?” Kali sipped at her tea and tried to look calm.

  “Why Terrans?” It was Sky who spoke first, and she smiled brilliantly at Kali.

  Kali thought of the answer and snickered. “We look close enough to most of the bipedal races that we can pass through the populations easily. We also work well in teams and are sexually compatible with a variety of races. The Orb was watching the Sector Guard futures and decided that going into our timeline was a good idea.”

  Harken kissed the back of Idara’s hand. “I have thought that it was a reward for good behaviour.”

  Idara elbowed her partner, “What have you ever done that entailed good behaviour?”

  Kali snickered. “Well, ladies, you are in the presence of four of the original Hooded Ones.”

  To watch the four ladies open mouthed and staring at their partners was funny. “Tavik is the newest of the males in this room, and his destiny is firmly entwined with Sky’s. She never would have managed to acclimate without you. No offense, gentlemen, but some women need a man who has not measured his life in centuries.”

  Xeric snickered. “And sometimes the extra time is what we have needed to mature to a point where we welcome someone new in our lives.”

  His horns flashed in the light, and Kali asked him a question that had been in her thoughts since she saw his rack. “How do you get a cowl over that?”


  Orphia snickered, “I know, right? Do you know how off putting it is to have a guy with a bigger rack than you?”

  The rest of the women burst into laughter while the men looked confused.

  Xeric squinted and his horns slowly receded into his skull.

  Orphia grinned, “The Hirn are multi-shifters. He can change into almost any living thing, but it is disturbing when he mimics me.”

  Kali made a face and there was more laughter. “So, how did you folks get here today? Did the Orb send a message?”

  Aura smiled, “No, it sent a staircase. The invitation was implied, and so, we came. I have to say, that was a lot more information than I anticipated, but it leaves me with one question.”

  Kali sipped her tea, waiting.

  “What are we and why are we separated from the rest of the Nameless?”

  Kali took a seat next to Odin and smiled, “We are something new. I know that in your travels you have come across the term Sentinels.”

  Idara nodded, as did Aura. “We have.”

  “You are sitting with them. The Firsts left behind generations of children who used the energy of the Orb to gain position and power. Those descendants must be drained of the power of the Orb. They will not be easy to find. They are under guard on thousands of worlds, and so, you now have your work cut out for you.

  “You have already seen some of their power at work—deaths, darkness and unnecessary pain where it did not need to be. They thrive on the darkness and pain of others, the unnatural combination of power in their blood drives them mad.”

  Aura nodded, “What are the four species?”

  Odin spoke, “That is somewhat easier. Three of them killed each other, fighting for power. Only the Vorwings remain. They have surrounded themselves with toadies, powers, psychics and isolated themselves in the far reaches of space.”

  Kali pressed her hand to her forehead. “There is a Vorwing in the Sector Guard, but the Orb wants to leave her be.”

  Odin scowled, “Why special treatment for one?”

  “Because she was rejected and enslaved by her own kind, giving her an appreciation for what power can actually do in the right hands. Before the power of the Orb, the Vorwings were gentle-nature gods. They bonded to planets and brought prosperity where they walked. She moves in those traditions.”

  Sky asked, “What do we do if we make it up to one of those holding the power?”

  Kali shifted self-consciously. “That is why I am here. My minds are linked to all of yours. I can hear the other Nameless, but I have a direct line to all of you. You contact me if you need help, backup or a power drain that will capture the power of the Orb.”

  Idara tilted her head, “Is that your talent?”

  Kali blushed, “My talent is to keep an open mind like many of the Terran Volunteers. In my case, I have a section of my mind that I keep blank at all times. That is why the Orb can inhabit me so completely. It simply moves into the open apartment in my mind.”

  The rest of the women smiled while the men sat back and ate. It turned from a briefing for the new Sentinels of Time into a tea party with a comparison of homes and cities back on Earth.

  Chuckling, Kali picked up the tea tray and carried it back to the kitchen for a return to Acquisitions.

  “Well, that went better than I thought.” She smiled at Odin while he was staring at her, leaning in the doorway.

  “Really? What did you anticipate?”

  “I have no idea, perhaps that they would storm out or the Orb would choose one of them instead of me.”

  He laughed and walked toward her, wrapping his arms around her from behind. “The Orb chose you, get over it.”

  She was enjoying the caress, and she leaned into him for a moment before a strange sensation rippled through her.

  “There is something here.”

  Odin was away from her in an instant. He dissipated into gas and turned translucent in seconds.

  She followed her instincts and walked into the room where the meeting had just been held. There was someone there. To her amazement it seemed that her living room had been taken over by a giant fairy.

  The man turned to her, his wings flitting in agitation. “So, the Orb finally chose a host.”

  “I do not know you.” She tried to give Odin the hint without speaking to him. She knew all the Nameless, support staff and council members now. They were all part of her thoughts.

  “No, of course not. I am the remainder of an age before the Orb had your kind killed before it would take them on.” He paced around the room, examining the fixtures. “I never thought to see this day.”

  “What day?”

  “The day when the Orb would finally move against us.” He gave her a look, and his eyes were a strange marbleisation of black and white. “It seems a shame that you are destined to die the same day you take up your post.”

  He moved fast, wrapping his hands around her throat. “If you are waiting for your guard, he is busy in the other room.”

  Kali gripped his hands with hers, and she pulled at the power in him that matched her own. She hauled away until his eyes were no longer supernaturally combined but rather a medium gold.

  He started to shake in shock and released her as he staggered back. “What did you do?”

  Kali moved toward the doorway cautiously.

  “I took back the power of the Orb of Time. You are resuming your actual age, and oh yes, your body is no longer tolerated here at Home. Goodbye.” She turned as his shaking became more violent, taking the corner as he exploded on the molecular level.

  There were three men attacking Odin, and each only had a fraction of the power of the one she had just dispatched. Odin was becoming physical and gaseous in turn, and she knew that his attackers had something to do with it.

  “Gentlemen, back away.”

  They ignored her, so she extended her hand and called to the power of the Orb within them.

  Odin wrapped around them swiftly, and they disappeared in a burst of light. He returned immediately and faced her with concern. “Are you all right?”

  She nodded and ran into his arms. “Are you?”

  “I am fine. I wanted to return them to their universe before they exploded.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “I didn’t think of that. There is a bit of a mess in the living room.”

  He chortled and ran his hands up and down her spine. “I will summon Acquisitions. They will take care of it.”

  “They do housekeeping too?”

  “They do everything.”

  She sighed and rested against him. “Why do you think that they would come here if they could see their future?”

  What you see is not always what is shaped. They could not tell how you would react or that I had already given you the clues to destroy them. Four down, twenty thousand three hundred ninety-four to go.

  “I think that the future that we see is not always the one that we get, but we can hope that things turn out for the best.” His huge hands were stroking her spine slowly.

  She sighed and cuddled against him. “Can we go for a walk?”

  “Of course, any particular destination?”

  “Just out to where I can see the stars and think.”

  He straightened, took her hand and led her out the door that appeared when they walked toward the wall.

  “How does it do that?”

  “It does that only for you.”

  She sighed heavily as they walked up an arching path, aimlessly moving between buildings.

  “How did they get into our home, Odin?” Her words were quiet, but the Orb wasn’t offering an answer within her thoughts.

  “I would guess that they saw that moment in their future and simply transported themselves there. It is how most of the Nameless find new recruits. We see them, and then, we retrieve them.”

  Kali rubbed at her forehead with her free hand. “This is way too complicated.”

  Chapter Nine

  The thing that struck Kali was th
at to her sight, the stars never moved. The nebulas hung in place and the swirl of galaxies remained in place like pinwheels in ice.

  She shook off the melancholy that the sight gave her and looked at the expanse of Home from the tallest walkway. “This is a quiet place.”

  “About one thousand inhabitants on any given day. Sometimes more, sometimes less.” His thumb caressed her hand absently.

  “Does anyone ever travel out there?” She pointed away from the city to the plains and mountains in the distance.

  “We only travel to places the Orb has shown to us unless we walk there. Those distances are unattainable for most of the folk. Those who try are suddenly called by the Orb.” He stared in the same direction, and she saw the longing in his eyes.

  “Do you want to go exploring?”

  “Can we? In all of my time with the Orb, I have never managed to get there.”

  Kali turned her thoughts inward and found the image of the mountain range she was seeking. The Orb was not happy about it, but it gave her what she wanted.

  “This way. Hold tight.” She surrounded them with power, and they flared for a moment before settling on a plateau within the mountain range.

  Odin turned and looked around him. “I did wonder.”

  Graves, headstones, markers, trees, every possible memoriam to the dead were spread out before them. A wall of statues guarded the edge of the graveyard and watched over the departed.

  “The graveyard of the Nameless. I thought we just died where we fell.” Kali was surprised, and within her, the Orb was silent.

  Odin put a hand around her waist and transported to the graveyard. Each marker had a date of birth, a date of death and the time in service to the Orb.

  She walked the path that looked like it had never been used.

  Odin saw something he recognized and followed it.

  A flicker of movement caught her attention. She casually followed the motion until she was standing within three feet of the woman who was moving the earth with her hands.