Rain of Tears Read online

  “No, because the moment they figured out it was a two-way street, you would never have a moment of peace.”

  She laughed. “I have had enough peace. I am looking forward to a little disturbance of that peace.”

  Mala waved her hands. “Don’t say that too loud. It tends to be answered.”

  Giggling, Reyan sat across from her host and shared a pot of tea while Mala replaced the calories that she had burned during the customization, and they waited for Carella to finish whatever she was doing and return to collect Reyan.

  When the sunlight went red, Mala asked, “Did you just want to take a standing skimmer?”

  “Will that upset Carella?”

  “No. She will be a bit embarrassed, but she will get over it. It will give her an excuse to take a flight over to the Citadel to speak with you and apologize if she wishes to.” Mala shrugged and led the way to her more mechanical offerings.

  “This is my newest standing unit. I am designing it so that you can fit enough for all shuttle members on one trip with a few spares that can be carried. Rescue missions are taking up a lot of our work, so this comes up frequently.”

  Reyan took a look at the small base with the forward controls. “Have you considered making it a back bracer with the controls on the arms? It would aid stability.”

  “Well, this one is a prototype, so give me a minute to make those adjustments.” Fixer pressed her hands to the unit, and the metal sleeked and extended. “I went with the forward controls for a larger-sized passenger, but for a custom unit, there is nothing wrong with the back-bracing method.”

  The alterations kept Reyan’s attention until she saw Mala flapping her hand at the door.

  Reyan turned just in time to see the black sparkle of Carella’s suit disappear.

  “Am I an experiment? A crash dummy?”

  Mala smiled as she finished. “No, but you are one of the only people I have met who is willing to consider flying on this. It is perfectly stable, but I need a test pilot, and my husband won’t let me do it myself.”

  Reyan stepped into place with her original clothing bundled into a small pack on her back. The skimmer powered up with a light touch, and the controls were intuitive. “Well, Mala. Thank you for an interesting afternoon. Tomorrow, I will send you a breakdown of any changes that should be made.”

  “Have a good flight, and you are most welcome for the afternoon. I thought your kind were a myth or at least an exaggeration.” Mala winked and waved her off.

  With her body as relaxed as it could be, Reyan moved the controls slightly, and she shot out of the hangar workshop and across the tarmac.

  An evil grin struck her as she shot over the edge of a drop-off and remained at a steady height. Forward motion was steady, her body provided most of the directional changes, and when she leaned back, the unit climbed.

  She kept the wind from messing up her hair or getting bugs in her teeth, but the rest of her body felt the tugging and pressure. The suit was insulating but not to the point of numbness.

  She flew herself across the span between the two facilities and settled the new skimmer in the front entryway of the Citadel, powering it off and flipping it over one shoulder.

  She waved down a passing woman in robes. “Where can I find the director’s office?”

  Bemused, the woman took in the bodysuit and the gadget and smiled. “End of the hall, to the lift, fifth floor.”

  “Thank you.” Whistling the symphony, Reyan went to meet her new boss.

  Chapter Ten

  Turnari was polite, charming and completely in awe of Reyan. She sighed.

  “Master Turnari, I am delighted to be here, will be only too happy to lecture on weather control and extended lifespans. As long as I have a base to call mine and someone to drive me or a shuttle of my own, I am happy. Now, where do I sleep?”

  She used the euphemism, because she didn’t want him to think she was available night and day. She recognized his curiosity, he was just trying to come up with good questions.

  Turnari got to his feet and escorted her and her new toy down the lift and onto the third floor. “The masters’ quarters are down this way. Specialist Hobbs said that you and he were partners, is that correct?”

  “It is. We are a good match on many fronts. I feel more in sync with the current world when I am with him. Why?”

  “I just didn’t want to put you in a room with him if you are not up to sharing space.”

  She chuckled. “We have been sharing an office and two cots for the last few months. Anything different is good.”

  The administrator grinned. “In that case, we are here.”

  She palmed the lock, and the door slid open. “Already programmed to me. Nice.”

  “The Ichadrans have a unique bio signature. Technically, your sisters could open this as well. I will meet with you and Specialist Hobbs tomorrow. There is a com cuff in your quarters at your desk. Have a good evening.”

  He left her, and she stepped into her quarters, letting the door close behind her. She set the portable skimmer to one side and walked in silently. Her beloved farmer was on the bed, fast asleep. She wrapped him in fog and walked into the bathing room, smiling at the amenities on offer. The new suit peeled off easily, and Mala had promised more replacements in the next few days.

  Once she was naked, she took down her hair, letting the long lavender braid uncoil until it hit her buttocks. Her fingers undid the braid, and she stepped into the shower for a good scrubbing.

  The slick feel of the soap made her smile, and the scent of fruits and flowers that clung to her hair after two washings made her feel pretty. Bathing was a sensory experience for her instead of a hygienic necessity, but she enjoyed it far more than a good meal or a glass of wine.

  With her body clean and her hair giving her memories of lazy summers, she stepped onto the drying vents and blasted herself clean with concentrated bursts of air.

  Brushing out her hair was the most complicated part of the whole procedure. The lavender waves were soft, and in theory, they had been designed to look dramatic while the wind was whipping her skin. She never let the wind get that close, to hell with drama.

  When she was clean, her suit was hanging in the refresher and she had her nerves together, she went out into the bedroom and crawled into bed next to Unrik.

  He turned and faced her, his dark eyes intense. “I was beginning to think you were moving into the Guard Base.”

  She caressed his jaw as he leaned in to kiss her. “They offered, but I told them I had something to do back at the Citadel.”

  He laughed and kissed his way down her body. “I am not sure that being called a thing is flattering, but I am not in a mood to argue.”

  Reyan wanted to laugh, but as his mouth worked at her skin, all humour fled. She focussed on his mouth, his hands and, when he moved over her, his body. She didn’t really appreciate keeping him at full height once he slid into her, and after that, she made a mental note to let him shrink just a little.

  The first coming together was fast, hard and took the edge off.

  He laughed softly and caressed her hip. “Did you have dinner?”

  “No. Fixer ate it all.”

  He snickered and got to his feet, walking over to the dispensing unit next to the desk. After keying in his selections, he looked around. “What is that?”

  “It’s a personal portable skimmer. Mala let me test it out.” She watched him lift it and admired the play of muscles in his back.

  “It’s light.”

  “That is the idea. It would get you where you needed to go and is light enough that you can carry a spare for extraction assignments.” She stretched and tucked her hair up in a loose knot held only by friction.

  “I don’t think we will get many of those.”

  She chuckled. “You never know when a good fog bank will be desirable.”

  To prove her point, she created a fog bank in the bedroom as she slipped silently out of the bed. She stroked his th
igh and felt him jump. Reyan wrapped her arms around him and pressed a kiss to the back of his shoulders. He shivered and shuddered in her grasp, and she had fun with his inability to see where she was going to touch next.

  She played with him, touching, retreating and then touching again until the dispenser chirped and told her that the food was ready. Having worked up an appetite, she waved the fog away, and it proved to be a tactical error.

  Unrik growled and lifted her where she stood, bringing her down until she surrounded him. He pressed her to the wall and rocked into her until they both shuddered in release.

  Note to self—Teasing will lead to sudden movement. Do it often.

  Dinner had now become dessert.

  They came together all night, sometimes she initiated, sometimes he did, but they always ended up together.

  Sitting in the dining room the next morning, they drew a fair share of attention. She was wearing her black, gold and scarlet master’s robe over the bodysuit, and she smiled brightly and spoke softly to anyone who came up to introduce themselves even though her food was stone cold by the time she made it through.

  Her wrist cuff chirped.

  Unrik smiled slowly.

  She pressed a button and tried not to watch Unrik as he watched her. Their joining was still new, and his obsession with her would soon wane. She hoped. He was very intense.

  “Hello?”

  “This is Turnari, I wanted to speak to you about a situation that has arisen.”

  “Specialist Hobbs and I are on our way to your office.” She disconnected the call and scowled at her lover. “Stop looking at me in that tone of voice.”

  He laughed and helped clear the table before he offered her his arm to escort her up to the administrator’s office.

  They sat side-by-side and faced Turnari as he rubbed the back of his neck. “We hate sending people out before they have settled in, but there is a bit of a disaster brewing on a world being bio-formed.”

  Reyan perked up. “What kind of disaster?”

  He rubbed his forehead. “They only say that the weather won’t fix if that makes any sense.”

  She scowled and looked to Unrik. “Not good. Their machines weren’t able to work out a weather pattern before they burned out. Now, the weather shifts and won’t settle on seasons, so nothing can be started regarding planting or completion of surfacing.”

  Turnari sighed. “Thank goodness you know what it means. Will you two go?”

  Unrik nodded. “Of course. I will enjoy seeing you in action again.”

  She read between the lines, and she wanted to smack him. He had just seen her in action two hours ago.

  “When do we leave?”

  Turnari smiled. “The shuttle is on the tarmac. Novice Treani is your assigned pilot. She is very good, her talent is navigation. You won’t get lost.”

  Unrik got to his feet and held his hand out for Reyan. She took it and smiled, “You will send us information on the details of the situation?”

  “Of course. They are waiting on the shuttle. See you when you get back.”

  With the bright wave, Turnari dismissed them, so Reyan and Unrik headed to the tarmac for their first day as Citadel Morganti representatives.

  Chapter Eleven

  Ka-8 was a lovely world where nothing was happening. The air was heavy and nothing was moving.

  “This is really going to hurt.” Reyan stood with her hands on her hips, her lips twisted with concentration.

  Unrik scowled. “Will you be able to manage it?”

  “Of course. I am just going to be useless for a few days afterward. I only have to get one large mass of air moving, and the rest will simply happen, but to do that, I need a large chunk of water.”

  The researchers blinked nervously.

  Novice Treani pointed to the nearest water source. “Does it matter if it is freshwater?”

  “No. Since there is no indigenous life, it won’t matter if there is some concentration for a limited time.” She smiled. “Can you get me there?”

  The researchers had handed the entire enterprise over to Reyan, and she was doing her job.

  Treani smiled. “Of course. To the shuttle!”

  Reyan paused, “Specialist Hobbs, did you want to continue to discuss the flora? There won’t be anything for you to see unless I am successful.”

  He came up to her and kissed her. “Good luck. Contact me in a few hours no matter what.”

  “Yes, Specialist.” She saluted and winked.

  Walking with Treani was humbling. Novice Treani was a Selna, and if the Citadel hadn’t claimed her, she would have been sold as a pleasure slave. Being able to act as an active pilot and navigator was her dream come true, and her enthusiasm touched Reyan deeply. It had been so long since she had been truly grateful for anything that she took extra care with Treani. She didn’t want to damage that bright light in any way.

  “How are you going to do it, Master Rain?” Treani refused outright to call Reyan by her name.

  “Get me to that water source, and I will show you.” Explaining it was difficult, but once Treani saw it, she would understand.

  They settled in the shuttle, and Treani lifted off, moving them across the skyline with deliberate focus. She knew where she was going.

  As the shuttle lowered to the ground next to the open lake, Reyan whispered, “Perhaps a little further from the lake. I can do this from up to a kilometre away.”

  Treani didn’t question her, she simply repositioned the ship so that it was higher up and away from direct contact with the water.

  Reyan left the shuttle and stepped toward the lake. Being practical, she knelt and closed her eyes as she felt the lack of anything around her.

  Her first step was to pull the water up and out of the lake, forming a fog bank that spread until Reyan couldn’t see the shuttle, and Treani was next to her, gasping with shock.

  The stillness of the air was the problem. Reyan extended her arms, pressed them palm-to-palm in front of her and stabbed upward at the sky. She punched through the layers of atmosphere into the stratosphere, and the fog sucked upward with her will pushing it.

  Treani whispered, “You made a cloud.”

  Reyan laughed softly. “I made one. Now, I have to make a few more. The fog is coming back, so if you need to get into the shuttle, you are welcome to go now.”

  As she spoke, she was pulling more water from the lake.

  “No, I will stay with you. This is amazing. You are starting a world.”

  Reyan smiled. “I am starting a weather system. The moment we can get some rain coming down, we can leave.”

  She repeated the fog-to-cloud pattern five more times. When the sky above her was heavy with the contents of the lake, she used the water and called a light rain.

  Treani blinked. “Did you feel that?”

  “What did you feel?” Reyan was dizzy.

  “Wind, I felt a cool wind. It’s raining over there!” Treani clapped her hands.

  “Oh good. The rain will fall, the earth will cool, the water will evaporate, it will rise again and it will fall again and the wind will blow. Cold water in warm will create motion and thermodynamics make the worlds go around.” It was the short version and didn’t include all variables, but hot air moving against cold was the basis for all weather shifts.

  Reyan tried to get to her feet, and Treani helped her, boosting her off the ground and supporting her into the shuttle with surprising strength.

  Reyan was nodding in her harness as Treani took them back to the start-up base.

  Reyan heard her talking via the com, and when Unrik came, lifted her out of the shuttle, bringing her into the base, she nodded off.

  Sitting up was difficult, because she was under a tarp. “What the hell?” She heard someone shout from the other side of the wrapping.

  Unrik ripped the tarp away from her, and he crushed her against his chest. “I thought I lost you.”

  “Why?” She squirmed against him, but he wasn�
�t letting go.

  “You stopped breathing for two days.” His voice broke. “I thought you were dead.”

  She pushed him back, and when he looked at her forlornly, she slapped him across the face.

  He blinked and reared back. “What was that for?”

  “You were crushing me. Plus, you forgot how we met. It is insulting for any woman.” She stroked his cheek to take the sting out of her words.

  “What do you mean?”

  “The day we met, they tried to drown me as a sacrifice to the Rain. Do you remember that?”

  “Yes, but you didn’t die.”

  “No, because I don’t need to breathe. I get my fuel from the elements, the very air around me. I was tired after starting the weather. Very tired. I have to remember to breathe, and I don’t really need sleep, as you know. If I am tired enough to sleep, I may not breathe for a while. Got it?”

  He nodded and a tear snaked down his cheek. “I will try to remember it.”

  Treani came in and shrieked, running up and flinging her arms around Reyan’s waist. Her words were in garbled Selna, but Reyan recognized thanks to a deity when she heard one. She was designed to be one, after all.

  “It’s all right, Treani, I am fine. That goes for you too, Unrik.” She stroked his hair. “I have done this dozens of times before, and I always revive. I suppose we should have covered this in the briefing, but there wasn’t really time.”

  Unrik moved to her other side, and he kissed her softly. It was a lovely moment, but Reyan really wanted to know. “So, how is the weather doing?”

  He pried Treani off her and lifted her in his arms. She didn’t mind. Her legs were still set to optional.

  After they walked down the hall, they emerged in a huge rotunda with a transparent dome ceiling. The water coursing down onto the dome was answer enough. She smiled and the bio-forming team applauded.

  With a sigh, she leaned back in Unrik’s arms and spoke to Treani. “All right. Let’s get going. I want to sleep in my own bed, eventually.”

  The return to the Citadel Morganti was done with a barrage of questions coming from both of her companions. Reyan sat in Unrik’s arms and answered everything she could before she nodded off.