Askance Read online

She sat at the low table as Maksuan provided her with breakfast. “I think you should do it. Start small. A planting house on the edge of the residence and then expand it. Hey, take over the room I was in during the selection. That room got amazing light exposure.”

  He grinned. “Niiko insisted that you were to get that room. Your mind needed the space he said and who am I to gainsay my Planet.”

  She laughed. She argued with Niiko every time he spoke in her head. Sure, he could take her over whenever he wished, but she and Maksuan both knew that she was there to cater to the female population. In recent years, they had been denied certain freedoms and it was time to right the problem.

  As she ate her breakfast of eggs and flatbread with a cup of tea at the ready, she understood why he had brought her here. This place was where Niiko had tapped his first Avatar and their faces were now in place on the wall next to Maksuan’s solo promotion as well as his grandmother’s face forever immortalized in stone and in the genetic line that she left behind. It was a strong legacy and one he should be proud of.

  If her family had been half as supportive, she might still be back on Earth, sharing holidays with them rather than somewhere across the galaxies eating eggs on an alien world.

  Chapter Ten

  Silari sighed happily. She was running her hands over the scars on Maksuan’s back and enjoying occasionally reaching around to flick his nipples in a teasing manner. Every time she did so, his cock twitched.

  As hobbies went, teasing your lover in the shower should always make the top five. It was simply that important.

  Her slick hands worked around to his cock and the tight balls just under the shaft. He was a clean freak and so she was taking care to get his shower just right.

  “You delight in teasing me.” His harsh growl made her grin.

  “I really do.” She pressed her breasts to his back and slid herself over the marks on his spine.

  It was a meeting of equals now. Their bodies were matched by damage and survival and as Niiko joined them each time they had sex, their responses were now keyed together by power.

  She laughed as she ran her nails lightly down his chest and he arched against her. He spun in place and lifted her, slick and kicking, into his arms.

  “Enough teasing. Since you are feeling better, we had better take a soak before we consider getting back to our residence.” He simply walked with her to the edge of the pool and jumped in.

  She spluttered as he continued to hold her, her jaw just above the water.

  When he moved back to have a seat on the ledge, she shifted to straddle him, slipping the head of his cock into her and beginning the glow of power in them both.

  Silari moved down as he thrust upward and she rode him in a slow, deep rhythm while the water around them started to bubble and churn.

  Like the body in her dreams, her scars lit from within and Maksuan’s did the same. When she looked into his eyes, Niiko was there and in the reflection of her own features shown there, she could see the Planet burning in her own eyes.

  Power began to spike and twist inside her. New nerve endings, new patterns of pleasure glowed within her and showed on her skin.

  She started to move faster when Maksuan rubbed her clit with two fingers and she froze in place the moment that her orgasm struck, the energy of Niiko flowing between them at all connected points and magnified by the water. He gripped her hips and groaned as his body spilled inside her. How long they were locked together, she didn’t know, but when she came back to herself, she was cradled against Maksuan’s chest and smiling into his shoulder.

  “How much more time do we have?”

  “Two days. We can do whatever you wish.” He stroked his hands down her slick back in a tireless motion.

  She looked up at him with a timid smile. “I have an idea, but you might not like it.”

  His gaze was curious. “Tell me.”

  With him still inside her, she outlined her request and though a fine tension ran through his body, he agreed to take her where she wanted to go.

  A less formal robe was waiting for her on the bed. “How does he do that?”

  “The ways of our Planet are his own. I only know that, somehow, he manages to make beds, cook food and fetch clothing when we are in his heart.”

  Silari slipped into the blue robe and wrapped the sash around her until she was supported and snug on all sides. “How do I look?”

  He was back in his normal white shirt with flowing black trousers. “You look lovely, as always.”

  For some reason, when Maksuan said it in that husky voice of his, she believed it.

  The sandals that were next to the bed came up to mid-calf when she had finished the laces and buckles. She wished that there were a greater leather-to-exposed-skin ratio, but they were typical Yeruan footwear, so she was going to keep her opinion to herself.

  “Thank you. You look stunning yourself. Are you sure that you are willing to do this?”

  “If you ask it of me and it is possible, I will do it. I know you would not ask lightly.” He pressed a kiss to her cheek before he started to bind up his hair.

  “Why are you doing that?”

  He smiled. “When visiting relatives, it is advisable to not give them anything to pick on, or so has been my experience. This is a pre-emptive move on my part. You are an alien, they will expect nothing of you.”

  She looked down. “Is something wrong with my method of dress?”

  He gave her a once over. “The robe is two inches too short. Your hair is too short for a proper Yeruan woman, but then you are the Avatar. You are exceptional in every way.”

  Her robe twitched and she looked down. It was growing. “What the hell?”

  Maksuan raised a brow. “You are wearing a robe made of Niiko. My grandmother mentioned it once. She had been bathing and a group of hunters stumbled upon her. Niiko wove her a robe of water and energy.”

  There was something in his tone. “Your grandfather was in that group, wasn’t he?”

  Maksuan laughed. “Yes. He had thrown his outer garment around her, not knowing who she was. When she politely handed it back a few minutes later and she was wearing a gown embossed with his family crest, he knew destiny when he ran into it.”

  “That is a wonderful story. What was his name?”

  “Wexuan. Wexuan Nikan, head of the Nikan clan.”

  Silari wasn’t sure if he knew it, but his chest puffed out when he spoke of his family. There was pride involved and she was glad for him.

  “Shall we see if they are amenable to a visit?”

  He finished wrapping his hair into a tight queue and smiled at her. “I suppose that now is the only time we have.”

  As they walked out of their private retreat, there was not a doubt in her mind that Niiko was with them the whole way, waiting to see if they needed him for support. He would be waiting in the wings in case his power was needed to get the Nikan family under control.

  The skimmer ride started out fun and he pointed out all the mountain ranges, lakes and towns on their way. They kept to the unoccupied paths, but farmers waved as they passed and occasionally, Maksuan stopped the skimmer to introduce her to the people who were working the farm.

  As they moved further away from the Avatar residence and the heart of Niiko, the agrarian practices became more involved.

  It was amazing to see the change in the landscape from the towns and cities to the farms and outlying areas.

  “Has the planet always been separated like this?”

  Maksuan grinned, “Every evolving planet has come up on a basis of solid farming. Once you can feed your people, the arts and sciences can flourish.”

  “Sound reasoning.” She placed her hand on his wrist and asked, “How much farther to your family’s holdings?”

  “You are able to see the edge of the greenhouses just over that rise.”

  He slowed the throttle as they got closer.

  “How long has it been since you visited your relatives?”


  “Twelve years. My grandnieces and nephews are busy and our paths rarely cross.” There was a tense twist to his lips as he spoke.

  “Breathe in. If this doesn’t work out, you won’t have to go back to visit, but if it does work out, you will have a new extension to your life. Having relatives who care is a good thing and I hope that that is what we are walking into.”

  Acres of greenhouses began to appear as they approached.

  “Maksuan, what does your family do precisely?”

  “We develop species of plants for alien worlds and a variety of new colony planets. They try to design a plant that will thrive in but not overwhelm the local ecosystem. It is a difficult prospect and each greenhouse row represents a different atmospheric balance.”

  She was staring at the endless march of glass and gasses with awe when he aimed the skimmer for a large house in the centre surrounded by smaller domiciles.

  With a deliberate sigh, he set the ship down and turned off the engines. It was now or never and never was no longer an option.

  Chapter Eleven

  “It was Ukani who convinced Wexuan to start this branch of farming. The Nikan plants are now thriving on over fifty worlds.” His grandniece Seehai was the current matriarch of the family and she was giving Silari the family-business history as they sipped tea on the porch.

  Maksuan was with his oldest surviving nephew and touring some of the newest greenhouses. He had been surprised at their warm welcome, but he was willing to see how far the polite company was willing to go.

  Silari didn’t know what he was waiting for, but if he were braced for something, she would back him up.

  “So, the Nikan family has done well from its association with the Avatar.” She held the cup between her fingertips and lifted it to her lips.

  “It has. We simply wish that he would pop by more often.” Seehai sighed. “My grandson Wexor was to blame for that. He got drunk and insulted the memory of Ukani. Maksuan took offense, but he had to hold Niiko back. The Planet rocked and rolled under our feet and we lost three acres of greenhouses.”

  “So, it wasn’t Maksuan that caused the problem, it was Niiko.”

  Seehai inclined her head. “Technically, it was Wexor. Ukani had been the beloved of Niiko for a very long time. Her handling of matters for the Planet was one of the great sacrifices that she made.”

  Silari poured tea for the older woman. “What was said?”

  “Wexor said that Ukani had never loved Wexuan. That she had married him to satisfy Niiko.”

  Silari blinked in surprise. “Whoa. That is a little over the top. Planets do not choose their Avatars lightly, they select their representatives with care after deliberate investigation.”

  “It hurt Ukani to leave Niiko, but she loved Wexuan and did not want to watch him slowly die while she lived on, so she begged for her freedom and he granted it.”

  “You have no idea. Niiko loves and attaches to each one of his Avatars. When he is actively in my mind, I can feel his grief for all of those who have gone before me. It is why he wanted me to join with Maksuan. He wants to feel the joy of love for himself from both sides. It is a feeling that he has been lacking. He has been incomplete.”

  “So when Ukani left him?”

  “His soul ached and he took the first mind offered to him. Parkalo was good but not a precise match. Eighty years later, he was eager to take Maksuan on as Avatar, even if it meant losing Ukani completely.”

  “What do you mean completely?”

  “No Avatar ever loses their touch with the Planet, we do not merely host him, he becomes us and we him. You cannot undo what he does to us simply by withdrawing the power. The pathways are burned in our mind, the rivers of power simply dry up, but the riverbed remains. Does that make sense?”

  Seehai nodded and sipped at her tea, one of her granddaughters walking out to bring them a try of food. “Thank you, Dreena.”

  “You are welcome, Grandmother.” Dreena knelt nearby and waited in case they needed anything else.

  “What you have said has explained many mysteries in the family. No one could ask Ukani, it was obvious that the grief was still fresh, though it was pushed aside when she began to have her family.”

  “Do you have pictures of her?” The image in her mind that Niiko provided did not tell her how Ukani’s family felt about her.

  “Of course. Would you like to see the family gallery?”

  Seehai put her cup down silently and when Silari agreed, they both got to their feet.

  Silari silently thanked the deportment lessons that she had received in basic training. Without those lessons, she would never have been able to get back on her feet without using her hands.

  At the side of the elder, they walked through the house until they reached the inner atrium.

  “The gallery of ancestors lines the walls. I will show you the image of Ukani and her family.” Seehai took her directly to the heart of the building where a sombre woman with Maksuan’s dark eyes looked out at her.

  In the painting, Ukani was wearing the family-crested robe and matching sash. In the next image, she stood next to a man with Maksuan’s serious brow and gold-black hair.

  “That is Wexuan.” Silari smiled. “He looks so serious.”

  “He is. Was. He had to fight his clan to take Ukani as his bride. Her family was long dead and she came to him with only the dowry that Niiko provided.”

  “That was unusual?”

  “For a warrior and defender of the clan, the next clan leader in fact, it was very unusual. He wanted her and he would have her and Niiko wanted it to happen, so it happened. But outside their union, many of the family were not pleased with their connection. It was well known to both of them that they stood against the community.” Seehai had the attitude of a woman who had informed her children and grandchildren of this fact.

  After she stared into the eyes of the woman who had given her life for Maksuan’s, Silari walked down the row to see the gathering of Ukani’s children.

  “Wow, she may not have been what the family wanted, but she was a good breeder.” Silari pressed her hand to her lips when it slipped out. There were fourteen children in the picture with Ukani and Wexuan. She had a light in her eyes that had been absent in the first picture.

  “Having a family completed her.” Silari smiled.

  “It did. So did the community accepting her at last. She had one child every twenty-four months for twenty-eight years, forty-three grandchildren in her lifetime and twenty-six after she passed. She and Wexuan had seventy-five years together and her last five years were lived for her grandchildren.”

  Images of the children and their families lined the wall and Silari paced until she saw the one she was interested in. Maksuan, his siblings and his parents were staring out at her with the same serious eyes.

  “They all look like her.”

  Seehai smiled. “Yes, except for his mother, Maki. She had bright blue eyes that only made it to one of her children. My father, Hako Nikan. His blue eyes popped up randomly in my children and grandchildren. It was said that Maki had blood from the stars in her veins and that is why she took to the son of Ukani.”

  Maksuan was in a solitary picture, his eyes burning with the light of Niiko. It was the face that had greeted her when she had first arrived. He was wary and bruised, but a survivor and she supposed that that was what the family was all about, surviving after and during the touch of the Planet itself.

  “He did not think he would be welcome here, you know.” Silari’s voice was quiet.

  “I suspected as much. Wexor is long gone, off to the city and from there to the stars. He repented his disrespect, but it cost him his place within our family. We are here in the service of the Planet and nothing we can do will change it. The only option is to move to a lifeless world and that is something that we would not do.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Niiko gives us life, a purpose and through our work, we have touched thousands of liv
es and if the Planet is willing, we will touch millions more before our line dies out.”

  Silari felt a peculiar sensation and then her hand was on Seehai’s shoulder. “Do not worry, daughter. Your line will stretch into infinity the way you breed. I will continue to give you prosperity for what you have given to me.”

  Silari was amazed as she watched the woman next to her look up at her face with hope.

  “Thank you for your blessings, Niiko. Our family has been blessed with your choice of our bloodline as your Avatars.”

  The green light coming out of Silari’s face was visible on the cast of Seehai’s cheeks. “It is you who have blessed me. Ukani was the best Avatar I have had and I miss her daily. Maksuan feels the separation between love and family most keenly and I wish for you to make an effort to connect with him. Silari will temper my reaction to any disrespect given both intentionally and accidentally. She is good that way. She is good in many ways.”

  “She seems like a sensible woman. You chose well.” Seehai bowed.

  “It was your great uncle who did the choosing. I merely gave my authorization when I realised that she was a suitable match for me. The rest was all him and though his courtship was stunted at first, he managed to find the point of commonality that won her heart.”

  She blinked. “Shy, timid, Maksuan did the courtship?”

  “He did.” Niiko slid her sleeve back and showed the scars. “There is a point of commonality with all men and women, he was simply smart enough to find it.”

  Seehai recoiled slightly at the marks. “Are you telling me that this woman is marked from head to toe like that?”

  Niiko frowned and inside her own head, Silari winced. “She survived weeks of torture in the line of duty and came out of it sane and alive with a good heart.”

  Seehai must have seen the anger in Niiko’s face, because she immediately bowed low. “Please excuse me. I was not thinking.”

  Silari fought her way to control of her own face again. “Do not worry about it. I am not a fan of them either.”

  Seehai looked nervous. “I was not trying to be insulting. Where did the Planet go?”