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  “Why not?”

  “Because after we left the survivor, he vented the atmosphere into open space. There is no atmosphere to poison me and that suits me just fine. I don’t need equipment. I can simply not absorb anything while we are there.”

  He looked so hopeful that it hurt her to say, “No, you are not coming with me. I am the captain, and what I say goes.”

  Utolian frowned and his brows crept together.

  Avina scowled. It looked like she had a fight on her hands.

  She wanted to yell but that would be a waste of oxygen. For some reason, she was walking back onto the station with Utolian at her side.

  Avina wanted to rail, wanted to punch him, but instead, she sent her senses out in a wave. This time, there was no walking through the station, no looking for clues.

  Yartu was being sneaky. He had laid traps in the entry hall, but it was easy to disarm them; they were using her energy, after all.

  She didn’t want to speak to Utolian, so she placed her hand on his arm. His energy rippled through her, so she jerked her hand away. He really was a walking aura in a physical body. It was the most surprising development so far.

  Avina knelt and coaxed her energy into parting from that of Yartu. Once her power was separate, she pulled his into her with a snap and sent it out to eliminate the bits of herself that were waiting for her to set off the trap.

  She heard his bellow of shock when his traps were destroyed. She only had to wait, and he would come after her.

  The bellow was on the astral plane, and she could feel the heavy thuds of his feet through the hollow station.

  Avina shifted her stance to a fencer’s footing. It could be disorienting, being in the physical and the aural world at the same time, but as Yartu appeared, she was very focused on his every move.

  She needed to make contact with him to take back what he had stolen, but as he grew larger, Utolian stepped between them.

  To her shock, he moved with the grace of a bullfighter, grabbing the Grafthian as he ran past and pulling him up short, just a few inches from Avina.

  She wasn’t stupid; she grabbed at the aura with hands and senses, pried her own power away from him and embedded it in the walls of the station. It was simple enough to shatter him in the next moment, leaving Utolian holding nothing.

  Avina shrugged, dusted her hands off and told her separated energy that it would be a good idea to do a scrubbing of the station, aura-wise. She couldn’t control her lost power, but she could coax it along. It was fairly agreeable to suggestion and another Aura Speaker would be able to coalesce it into a living ghost. It wasn’t the first ghost that Avina had left behind somewhere, and she doubted it would be the last. When the station was occupied again, her ghost would fade.

  Utolian paced out with her, back into her ship and through the airlocks. In the second airlock, he asked, “Why are there two?”

  “Because, if an aura piggybacks me in here, the second round of locks will notice it. It checks my brainwaves for invaders.”

  “Why is it letting me in?” He was genuinely curious.

  “Because, my mind isn’t registering panic, fear or uncertainty.” She smiled as the cycle chirped its completion.

  Including her unconscious time, they had only been at the station for four days. It was a pretty good turn around. Time to file her reports, and then, Teklan waited. Explaining Utolian was going to be one heck of a report.

  Chapter Six

  The first day of travel with someone else in the ship made her jump at every turn. It was a stroke of genius to teach him how to fly. Once he had checked out on monitoring the autopilot, it was just a matter of scheduling her sleep around his frolicking.

  His conversation was lightly flirtatious and that made her a little uneasy. Utolian could have surrendered his body already if he wanted to, so why was he still in it?

  His attentions were enough to make her very uneasy. The problem was they felt too right. Each brush of his hand on hers made her want to turn her hand over to hold his for a moment. When they slid next to each other at the dispensing station, the bump of hip and elbow turned into early foreplay. Avina had no idea what was happening to her, but she wanted it to stop.

  Her life was boring and her best friends were disembodied. She wanted to keep it that way. Change wasn’t something she was prepared to deal with.

  The only time they had to be together was when they reached a jump site. He was interested in the technique, but she couldn’t really explain it. It was an instinct by now.

  She managed to keep them apart until they were on their way to Teklan. There was no way to avoid him when she had to take him through administration and medical.

  “So, I am guessing that you are uncomfortable with this new situation.” They were in Teklan space on their final approach when he confronted her.

  “It is unusual for me to have another body in my space.”

  “How long have you been out on your own?”

  “Four years. I finished my training in the Citadel and they ejected me on one assignment after another. After a while, it just became simpler for me to fly my own shuttle.”

  He nodded, but there was an amused twist to his face.

  She communicated with ground control and booked in with Sector Guard medical. Reset was going to go over her with a fine-tooth comb, and Avina could only guess at what she was going to do with Utolian.

  The ship rocked, twisted and shook slightly as she brought it down. The Citadel outpost was coming along nicely. She could see the windows of her quarters as she lowered the ship to the surface of the only home she could still claim.

  “This is exciting. I have not set foot on a world that was not my own since I destroyed my last body.”

  Avina snorted. “That sounds very wrong.”

  “Nevertheless, it is what happened.”

  She brought them in for a landing in the appropriate zone and settled back with a slow breath. “That always makes me nervous.”

  “What does?”

  “Landing.” She released her harness and got to her feet.

  She shrugged into her Citadel robes that marked her as an Aura Speaker and headed to the back of the ship where she and Utolian had to wait for the landing crews to verify that they weren’t contaminated on the exterior.

  Avina wrinkled her nose when she heard the ticking against the hull. “Damn. We have to walk the tunnel. I hate the tunnel.”

  “What is the tunnel?”

  “We have to go to decontamination before we get to medical. Decontamination is not my favourite process.”

  “Why not?”

  The door thudded as they opened it from the exterior.

  “You will see.”

  The heavy, clear material formed a tube that led to an open chamber. Reset was standing with a smile on her face. “Welcome back, Avina.”

  “Glad to be home. Where do you want me?”

  “You on the right, your companion on the left. Remove it all, we have clothing waiting.”

  It was not the most pleasant of procedures, but the members of Teklan-base medical made it as easy as possible. Avina removed her clothing and put it in the bag that was held out, then she stepped into the shower that would remove all traces of the station’s dubious chemistry from her.

  She didn’t want to think about what was going on in the other side of the decontamination area. She could hear conversation and the occasional deep laugh.

  Once she was scrubbed clean, Reset handed her a thigh-length wrap and sat her down at a station with a breather. “Your companion explained that you had some respiratory difficulties on the station. Exhale and inhale. I am checking you for spores.”

  Avina complied. Reset could heal any injury that Avina had, but it pulled on her personal energy. If she could be healed with standard medication and treatments, Avina would sit for her treatments with good cheer.

  Reset checked the readouts and nodded. “Spores. Your companion was correct. Don’t worry, we
can flush them.”

  “Oh, good. Do you know where they started their life cycle?”

  Reset was prepping a hypo spray. “Not yet, but I will. I have the samples and they look like something I saw once when I was younger.”

  The spray jetted into Avina’s shoulder.

  “Let me know. I have to confess to my curiosity. Wait, am I contagious?”

  “Two days in quarantine should see you cleared.”

  Avina grimaced. “Wonderful.”

  “Mist will be here in a moment to enclose you for the trip to medical.”

  There was nothing left to say, so Avina simply waited for Reset’s mate to come in in a tumbling fog and surround her, lifting her off the chair and carrying her into the station.

  She could see through the Guardsman carrying her but kept her mouth shut. If she was spewing spores, she wanted to keep as many as she could to herself.

  Mist carried her down the halls and into medical, depositing her on the bed in the quarantine area before he drifted away. The doors slid shut and the air pressurized. She was in for the long haul.

  * * * *

  Utolian felt Avina leaving the area. “Where is she going?”

  The medical assistant smiled at him. “If she is being carried, she is on her way to quarantine. It means you were correct and she did have a spore in her body.”

  “Am I clear?”

  “You are exceptional. Reset is going to have a field day with these tests.”

  Utolian stood. “Am I free to go then?”

  A Dhemon appeared at the edge of the decontamination area. He knocked and gestured with his hand.

  “That is General Brodin. He is the base commander; I believe he wants to speak with you.”

  Utolian didn’t comment. He verified that his robe was tied, and he exited the synthetic tent to meet with the man who was giving him a curious look.

  “Welcome to Teklan, Your Majesty.” General Brodin was smiling slightly.

  “Call me Utolian, please. I am no longer a ruler, merely a man.”

  “Utolian then. You had some very peculiar requests during your communication, but I believe that I have been able to accommodate you. If you will come with me?”

  Utolian inclined his head. Avina’s medical needs had been pressing, and he had required the assistance of the team at Teklan to keep her alive. Reset had been most helpful, but she had also patched him through to the base commander, and Brodin had allowed him to ask for a few ancient accounts to be revived. After all, he couldn’t go courting if he was without funds.

  It was unlikely that all of his investments were still existing, but if a few were still viable, he would be able to begin his physical life with a leg up.

  “I have to say, I have never seen one of your kind out this far.” General Brodin led him into a large office and gestured for him to have a seat.

  “We prefer to spin around the energy of the stars. I sought out a world and a place to put down roots of a sort.”

  “I well understand that urge.” The Dhemon sat back and smiled, his horns bright against his scarlet skin. “May I have Relay join this conversation?”

  “Of course.”

  The general moved his hands over a keypad hidden in his desk. A woman’s face appeared, a metal headpiece framed her face.

  “Ah, welcome to Teklan, Utolian. I am Relay, we spoke a few days ago.”

  “I am pleased to meet you, Relay.”

  The woman beamed. “Thank you. Now, as for your accounts, I have located three that are still viable and in your name, the rest were claimed by your world over a matter of centuries after your death.”

  “Is it enough to begin a life over?”

  Relay chuckled. “You could say that. The business manager that you engaged continued to reinvest until you now own three habitable worlds and several mining consortiums.”

  Relief trickled through Utolian. “Thank goodness. I did what I could, but I was never happy with being unable to check up on them. Aura’s aren’t supposed to have financial holdings.”

  The general and the hologram laughed.

  Brodin said, “I can see how that would be difficult. Regardless, you are well to do and your accounts have been activated. Relay is very good at that sort of thing.”

  Relay inclined her head at the compliment. “I have already created an accessible account for you; Might will give you a payment chip. There are not many shopping opportunities on Teklan, but if you would comply with the qualification process, you may be able to travel on Sector Guard business.”

  Utolian sat back and steepled his fingers together. “Avina works for the Citadel, I believe.”

  Brodin raised his brows. “Is that a concern?”

  “It is to me. I regained physicality for her and that is not something I engaged in lightly.”

  Relay pursed her lips. “I will contact the Citadel immediately. They may not be willing to part with her. Aura Speakers are not that thick on the ground.”

  “If the Sector Guard wishes to count me amongst its number, Avina will be my partner.”

  General Brodin sighed and inclined his head. “Relay will do her best.”

  “Her best is better than most people’s, I imagine.”

  “You have no idea.”

  With that, the base commander produced a small credit chip and showed Utolian how to use it. “Would you like to visit with Avina? She will be in quarantine for two days. She isn’t the most patient patient.”

  “You have known her long?” Utolian stifled the hostility that rose in him at the thought of another male being close to his Avina.

  “Two years. She has always been an asset to this base.”

  Utolian got to his feet. “Then, I hope that Relay’s negotiations are successful. I am sure that the Citadel would jump at the chance to have an aura in a living body on their roster.”

  Brodin frowned. “I will show you to medical.”

  “No need. I can find Avina with my eyes closed and my body in pieces.” He smiled tightly and left the office.

  Chapter Seven

  Avina desperately wanted a rubber ball to bounce. She hated being confined.

  She had been stuck in the quarantine area for half an hour, and she was already fidgety.

  Her agitation eased suddenly.

  “What the hell?” Avina looked up and Utolian was standing on the other side of the plexi.

  “You seem a little frustrated, Avina.”

  She made a face. “Just a little. I am going to go bonkers before I get out of here.”

  “Bonkers is bad?”

  “Very bad. How was your meeting with Brodin?”

  “Educational. Would you like company?”

  “You can’t come in here. Quarantine, remember?”

  He pulled over a chair and his body glowed brightly. As she watched, his aura stood and walked through the plexi.

  Utolian grinned. See, no problem.

  Sneaky, but what are we going to talk about for the next two days?

  Tell me about yourself. How did you come to join the Citadel?

  Avina blinked. It is a long story.

  We have time.

  He had a point, so she began at the beginning. She spoke out loud, because it was a story she often told herself in the dark of space.

  “When I was a child, I saw my first ghost. Now, you have to know that my people do not have auras, or at least, I have never met one. A ghost is as close as I could get, and I saw my first one when I was five.

  “I was walking through an area that had been used by early settlers, and I saw a woman flitting through the trees. She came over and spoke to me; she was very kind. Her name was Hannah, and she got very sick one day. She played with me and helped me get back home in time for dinner.” Avina smiled at the memory.

  “I played with her for days before my mother asked me who I was talking to. When I explained about Hannah, my mother told me not to talk to her anymore, so I didn’t.” She sighed. “My next ghost was thir
teen years later. I was sitting out on my porch late at night, and I saw a nightlife I had never imagined. Down the street, I saw ghosts flicking from street to street, walking, talking and interacting as if they were still alive.”

  Utolian grinned. Your talent kicked in.

  “It did indeed. When the Alliance asked for volunteers, I signed up and they tested me with aural objects.” Avina snorted. “My acceptance came in ten days. I am guessing that it took that long to convince the Citadel that the tiny backwater of earth could produce an Aura Speaker.”

  He laughed. Probably accurate.

  “From what I learned after basic training, it was definitely accurate. To say that they were shocked when I was good at it was an understatement. When it became apparent that I could also manipulate the auras, they were flabbergasted. Sorry, Terran word. It means really, really shocked.”

  I see. So, have you taken lovers since you have joined the Citadel?

  She blushed. “Uh, no. There have been those who were interested but none that I have taken up on their offers.”

  Good. I do not know how I would have reacted if you had said yes. I have a rather possessive streak where you are concerned.

  Avina cleared her throat. “You do?”

  I do. I would not have regained my living form for anyone else. I have been waiting for a woman with your energy pattern for my entire life. I looked forward to each and every summoning. Your mind called to mine in the most amazing ways.

  She laughed. “A man after my mind. That is a switch.”

  I strive for originality.

  Avina settled back and started to fill him in on the goings on of the Alliance. It was a pleasant way to pass the time, and if she chose, she didn’t even have to open her mouth.

  Reset came in every four hours for a breathing sample and another shot. “Fast recovery. We are delighted to hear it.”

  “We?”

  “The base at large. General Brodin is fussing and ordering you to be kept comfortable at all costs.” Reset winked.

  Utolian was laughing silently.

  What did you do?

  They want me to join the Sector Guard. I said I would not do it without you, so they are attempting to wheedle you from the Citadel. I am guessing that the negotiation is heated.