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  “Well, as I told you, my species was young when it came to space faring.” He sighed and squeezed her hand. “We were not young when it came to Avatars and the planets who needed them. I woke here and felt a pressure in my mind. I rejected it. I was not going to be used.”

  He swallowed. “It continued to press on my thoughts. It was not hostile, but I did not want any part of it. I jumped from the tower and tried to end my life. Yes, my portrait hangs in that tower.”

  She didn’t make a sound, though her heart ached for the desperation in his voice.

  “I woke again in the tank and was assigned as catcher. On my first mission, I felt the pull toward the rift and instead of answering it, I jumped out of the ship high enough to kill me, or so I thought. I woke in the tank again.”

  “Over and over I killed myself and woke in the tank, restored and with a mind full of alien whispers. Finally, I became the restorer. It seemed content with that. Three hundred years as the restorer and I have enjoyed most of it.” He chuckled. “I have really enjoyed the last few weeks, and I believe that the dark star has been waiting for this moment.”

  “They knew we would suit?”

  “If they are an even match in power, mass and energy, then their Avatars would reflect those same characteristics. That would be us, I suppose. Now, I will need a trip to the rift so the dark star can touch me and I can once again touch you.”

  Harmony smiled. “It seems a lot of effort just to get laid.”

  “It is not that and you know it. Now, as there is no other restorer, I will need you to take my body here and drop me into a tank once I have been struck.”

  I have an answer for that. We can carry him. You can use my energy to fly to the rift and back. Take him to the rift, throw him free of your body and let him be struck by the dark star. Catch him and bring him back to the surface for treatment. He might not even need it.

  Harmony whispered internally, Don’t you know how this is going to work? I mean, you knew you would burn me, did you not?

  I did, and I regret it, but you are now ever so strong and capable of withstanding anything. You might even be able to fly free of the rift one day. I do so miss open space.

  Harmony shook her head to clear it. “I have to go outside and check something. Am I still classified as a catcher?”

  “I don’t see why not. You were injured, not dead.”

  “Good. Do I have any clothing here?”

  He chuckled. “I will fetch you one of my tunics.”

  When she was wearing the dark scarlet tunic, she smiled. “She says I can fly, but I am going to try to go from the ground up and not the roof down.”

  He blinked. “Flying? No one mentioned we would be able to fly.”

  She saw a bit of boyish enthusiasm in him as they walked out to the path next to the river. The star gave her instructions, and in a moment, the tunic flared and ruffled at the hem, and the next moment, she was in the air, climbing at a rate that should have made her dizzy but instead filled her with riotous glee.

  Directions were difficult, speed was amazing, and she didn’t need to breathe as she thought she would. The star was right. She was now capable of withstanding anything.

  She swirled through the sky and finally returned to stand next to Nero, though she did land ass first on the ground.

  He grinned. “I would help you up, but there is heat coming off you in waves.”

  She grinned back. “You have got to try that. Can you wear something to disperse the heat of my grip?”

  “There is a metal harness in the retriever building. I can use that.” He waited until she was on her feet. “This way.”

  She pattered along with him, finally gliding a few inches from the ground. With the rift so close, it was too easy to pull and use the power.

  He looked at her and did a double take. “You are flying even now?”

  “I don’t have shoes on.”

  “Fair enough, I suppose. This is going to be news.” He smiled and opened the door to the retriever building. The interior was a museum of sorts. All the different techniques used over the centuries to get the fallen out of their ships were displayed on the walls. Some of them were a little barbaric, but it wasn’t like they were hauling living and breathing beings.

  Four of the retrievers were sitting in the common room, and they sat up when they saw Nero. “Restorer, what can we do for you?”

  Harmony recognized the man as Steklin. One of her early courters.

  “The catcher and I require the Masden harness, immediately.”

  They looked past him to where she was hovering above the floor in his tunic and bare feet. They jerked in surprise when they realised what they were seeing.

  She put her hands on her hips. “Come on, Steklin. Point it out and I will get it myself.”

  His hand shook as he pointed to a metal structure mounted on the wall. It was designed to close around the torso but had grips extending from the shoulders for ease of handling. It would be harsh for a fallen but would work fine for Nero.

  She grinned and flew up to examine how it was fastened to the wall. She freed it with a jerk that sent bits of rock tumbling. “Oops. Sorry. I don’t know my own strength yet.”

  Nero laughed.

  She carefully descended, extending the harness to him. “Here you go.”

  He took it with his shoulders shaking. The retrievers were staring at Harmony as if she had grown another head.

  Nero explained. “She is the Avatar for half the rift. Her body has undergone alteration.”

  Steklin nodded. “That appears to be an understatement, Restorer.”

  Nero was calmly opening the harness and putting himself inside it.

  When it was firm, the men asked him, “What are you doing, Nero?”

  “Oh, didn’t I mention? I am the other half. Come on, Harmony. I have a date with a dark star.”

  She waved farewell and flew off like a giant brown-skinned pixie. Keeping her hips lowered so that they couldn’t see up her tunic took up all of her concentration. Even giant pixies needed underwear.

  Chapter Eight

  Carrying a grown man took some doing. Hoisting him into the air was easy. Flying with a burden and a sense of decorum was a dichotomy that she found annoying. Once she was high enough, she said to hell with decorum and simply poured on the speed.

  Even though she was expecting it, it was surprising when he went limp. She had to act fast. She had no idea how long his species could be without air and felt like an idiot for not asking.

  She hauled him upward until the blades of light caressed her and darkness reached for him.

  “You want him? Take him!” she used all of her might and threw Nero into the clutches of the dark star.

  She watched him soar away from her and a ball of dark energy form and approach him rapidly. His body jerked violently when the power struck him, and suddenly, he was hurtling back toward her.

  “Shit.”

  She flew toward him, matched his pose and then flew backward, letting his body strike hers and slowing it at a measured pace. His body was alive with energy, but his eyes were closed.

  Harmony wrapped him in her arms, ignoring the harness. She held him tight and flew them right into the restoration centre. Zipping through the halls, she concentrated on picking the right tank for him. The tank that she had so recently occupied.

  With quick motions, she removed the harness, stripped off his clothing and carefully lifted him, easing him into the oxygenated liquid that would allow him to heal.

  With nothing left to do, she sat and watched.

  His body was not burned as hers had been. It took thirty-six hours, but eventually, he thrashed and his brilliant eyes opened. He surged out of the tank with grace, carefully making his way down the steps.

  She blinked at him. “How do you feel?”

  His voice was not his own when he spoke. “Amazing. I understand the fascination with taking an Avatar. I can speak, think and move just like the fallen do
. It is wonderful.”

  “Hello, dark star.” She sat at Nero’s desk and watched the stranger in his body walk around and pick things up.

  “Greetings, avatar of the light. Are you enjoying your new status?” Nero’s mouth showed his amusement.

  “The flying is entertaining, but you know why he gave in to you at last.”

  “Of course. He wants you. I have no objection; in fact, I am relieved with just a touch of curiosity. His memories of your time together are quite heated. It is a wonder you didn’t set the bedding on fire without benefit of the touch of a star.” He chuckled.

  “When are you going to let Nero come out again?”

  “When I have finished learning this physical world.” He beckoned her. “Come here and kiss me.”

  “What?”

  “My price for returning him to control. I wish for you to kiss me.”

  It was weird. It was a very familiar body but not a familiar mind. “Are you serious?”

  “Do you want him back?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then, kiss me.” He held his hand out to her, his naked body gleaming in the light. “I want to know what it feels like first hand.”

  She slipped her hand in his and the heat almost made her moan. It must have been the changes in her because that would have been enough energy to blister her before. He leaned his head toward hers, and she brushed her lips against his. She teased him with tiny strokes of skin against skin, finally licking and parting his lips with her tongue.

  He cupped the back of her head with his hand, and his mouth came down on hers with savage familiarity. She held onto his hair as they ravaged each other, and when they finally parted, they were both panting.

  She grinned into Nero’s eyes. “Glad to have you back.”

  “He is still in here, watching.”

  “She is watching as well, but she wants to experience the physical world and is content to let me lead. He seems a little pushier.”

  Nero grimaced. “He is. Now, teach me to fly.”

  She laughed. “Fine. Go put some pants on.”

  He looked down and his cheeks darkened. “I felt so warm, I didn’t realise.”

  “Are you in a hurry to fly?”

  “Why?”

  She removed the tunic and trousers she had retrieved from her quarters. “I thought you might want to give some attention to physical experiences.”

  Harmony pressed him back against an exam bed, and he obligingly sat down, reclining when she prodded him. Her fingers glowed, and she traced his body in heat and delicate patterns.

  When her fingers circled his cock with heat, he groaned and arched back, his head and heels propelled him into an arc. She released his shaft and climbed astride him. Harmony eased him inside her and smiled. It had only been a short time, but she had missed this.

  Nero sat up and arranged her so that her legs were wrapped around him and his hand was in the centre of her spine, pressing her against him. “Ah, Harmony. I have missed you.”

  His free hand cupped her buttock and rocked her against him. He kissed her, and she revelled in the delightfully unhurried lovemaking. The star was watching avidly in the background, and Harmony got the idea that she was almost taking notes.

  His hands began to roam, and she kept the rocking rhythm that stirred him inside her more than thrusted.

  The heat of his touch was torture. Pleasure rippled through her as he cupped her breasts, abraded her nipples and stroked the soft skin underneath.

  She didn’t know if they moved together for hours, minutes or days before the tension building in her peaked and she bit softly at his shoulder. She laughed softly as he bit savagely into her skin; her move spurred his release. She had learned that trick on their third day together, and when it stopped working, she would stop using it.

  He released her shoulder with a soft kiss. “I have missed you.”

  “Well, you need miss me no longer. If I were any closer to you, I would be internal…and you actually are.” She chuckled and kissed his jaw, stroking his hair and flicking the rings in his ears.

  “You know, amongst the Kell, if we were wedded, you would wear some of my rings.”

  She narrowed her eyes. Those rings were all designed to go through cartilage. “How many?”

  “One for the engagement. One for the wedding.” He stroked her ears. “I think they would be very fetching.”

  “I would have to find a piercer in the commercial sector and with only one catch under my belt, I am not sure that I have enough credit for it.”

  He laughed. “I have the largest medical centre on the planet. I think I can manage a piercing.”

  It was too late to back out. She could see that he had made up his mind. Sighing, she sat up and let him slip from her before she tried dismounting. She had forgotten to get off him once, and he had been less than impressed when she wrenched his sensitive flesh to the side.

  She followed his direction and sat in his chair while he prepared instruments and sterilized two of the eighteen rings he wore in his ears.

  He sterilized her skin, marked her carefully, and created the first minute hole to slip the ring through. She jerked when the needle pierced her flesh but held still when the ring went in.

  He carefully made sure that the piercings were even before he made the second circular incision. When the next ring was in place and fastened, her inner star rose and sealed the wounds.

  She reached up and tugged at them, amazed at the lack of pain.

  Nero winced. “Doesn’t that hurt?”

  “Nope. She healed it. Now, do you want to get dressed and go flying?”

  He grinned. “Are you still up for it?”

  “Oh. I am. It is you that might find it awkward. Go and get some pants.”

  Chapter Nine

  Harmony was right. He was a little ungainly, but he picked it up quickly. In only a few minutes, they were playing tag in the sky like unruly children or wild pixies.

  Harmony felt her star speak, but it wasn’t to her, it was to the darkness inside Nero, and it was not an audible conversation.

  How are you finding your Avatar?

  He is strong and very attached to yours. This might work, bright one.

  They will have much to do if we are to build this world up, dark one.

  They are suited to it. We simply need to tell them what we actually want. If your Avatar can increase the population by assisting us in raising the survivor rate, we might just have a chance to wake the world once again.

  Does it want to hear from us? It was not pleased to be forced to join us in the first place.

  You were not pleased to be joined to me, light one. I cannot blame the planet for not wanting to be baked in our glow. It can’t even rotate with our gravitational soup holding it in place.

  I think it is still awake. After all, there is a gravitational pull that holds the fallen in place and the ship and the food service are inexplicable to all of the living down there. They think it is our influence, but it isn’t. Nor is the ability to capture souls. That is a definite sign that the planet is awake. We just need to tease it into conversation, dark one.

  That is a tricky proposition. Another Avatar would be alone on the world. How would we even know what the planet wants?

  Harmony was holding Nero’s hand over one of the great rivers that glowed constantly. A wave of energy burst up, and they were swamped in a column of water.

  Harmony thought back to her star. You could simply ask it. Send a message through rock and wait for a response. Planets can be sluggish.

  Thank you, Harmony. Do you think I need a name?

  It would make things easier. My people categorize everything.

  What would you suggest?

  Harah?

  Harah. I like that. It is the same forward and backward. It appeals to me.

  I am glad, Harah. If you wish to change it, just keep me posted.

  There was silence for a moment, and Nero blinked and nodded. “His name
is Nirin. The same forward and backward. Somehow, that makes a difference.”

  Harmony laughed and soared upward into the perpetual daylight.

  Since flight was now an option, she remained at the restoration centre and waited around in her uniform all day. She helped Nero with filing and viability testing for ancient samples of tissue and waited for a ship to fall.

  The moment that she got the call, she flew to the hangar. Rhennal got into the ship, and she preceded him to the falling craft.

  Harah had briefed her on what to do, and she had to do it, no matter how painful the experience. Viable DNA was the goal, so she had to stop the burn and end the suffering of the fallen.

  She flew up to the ship and used Harah’s senses to feel the occupants of the ship and the level of destruction that had ensued. With sharp blasts of energy, Harmony killed the two survivors who still clung to life and immediately pulled all of the star’s power away from the bodies. They stopped burning instantly.

  Rhennal caught the ship and transported it down to the retrievers. Harmony flew off to a hilltop and wailed like an infant.

  What is the matter? You have created two viable samples.

  They are not samples, Harah! They had lives, hopes, dreams, perhaps loved ones and I snuffed them out.

  They would have been dead within minutes and far more damaged. This was the kinder option, Harmony.

  It doesn’t make me feel better. I am destined to kill now. Over and over, every time a ship comes through with a crew thrashing in agony at being torn apart by gravity and radiation, I have to kill the survivors. I know why. I can feel why. It still hurts my soul, Harah.

  I feel it, Harmony. Remain here as long as you wish. I will be here if you wish to talk.

  Harmony wrapped her arms around her knees and looked out at the city. It was silent. The people in it were moving about their daily tasks and trying to get on to the next day, but the next day was just like the day before.

  Waking the planet would give them day and night. It would make time mean something again even if the population did not age. She leaned back and sighed. It was something that the stars would handle; it was not up to her.