Molten Page 5

Drovin came in with his head averted. “We need to return to the city to help the repair effort. If you could wrap up your activity and get dressed, we leave in ten minutes and Wren has food waiting for you.”

  The door closed a moment later.

  Nanette wrinkled her nose. “I am guessing that it is time to go to work. How are we going to work the commute?”

  She slid away from him and rolled off the bed. He lunged for her, but she was out of his reach and scorching away the sweat and stains of sex and blood.

  “You can do that?”

  Nanette laughed at his amazement. “Of course. Taking showers takes too long. Since I rarely sweat, I use a wave of fire from foot to scalp. It makes your hair all flippy.”

  He got to his feet next to her and he tried to mimic her. It nearly worked; he set the flooring on fire.

  She absorbed the flame and stood with him, palm to palm. “A light ring of fire that starts at your toes and simply rises up your body. Let the fire do the work, and let it touch you. I promise you won’t burn.”

  Fire ringed his feet but he held it.

  “Fire wants to rise, so let it.”

  It moved upward, picking up speed until it passed the crown of his head with a whoosh, sending his gleaming hair in all directions.

  She grinned and then scowled. “I still don’t have anything to wear.”

  As if answering her need, the door opened a crack and a suit came flying in, tossed by an unseen hand. It continued all the way to land on Nanette’s head. She let go of Rand’s hands and peeled the suit away from her face.

  He chuckled and turned to go to the wardrobe, getting his own clothing and leaving her to hers.

  The suit she tugged on was red, orange, white and blue. It was not the most soothing of combinations, but in the ombre blend, it seemed to work.

  “It is a very striking suit. Wren must have been working all night on it.”

  Nanette ran her hands down the suit and felt a pang of guilt. “I don’t want her to have lost sleep over it.”

  “Don’t worry. She doesn’t sleep much. It is something that Toyo both loves and is irritated by. He wakes up and she is gone. He has the same ability to stay awake, but he doesn’t use it, he likes his nap time too much.” Rand sealed his suit and returned to her side.

  “Come on, Wren makes an amazing breakfast and she doesn’t even use her hands.”

  They made their way through the halls of the base and finally spilled out into the kitchen, dining area and common space.

  Beryl and Drovin were sitting at the table with Loesh. Wren and Toyo were in the kitchen, and there was room for Rand and Nanette at the table next to the others. They settled in and congratulations ensued.

  Wren and Toyo took their seats and the food floated in to settle for a fortifying meal. It was the most important meal of the day, after all.

  Chapter Eight

  Nanette’s little repair squad came flocking to her the moment that she was out of the shuttle.

  “Hello, ladies. Do you have more sites for me to work on today?”

  They nodded, and Meena complimented her on her new clothing. “It is very pretty.”

  “Thank you, do you want the boots back? I like them very much and would be honoured if I could keep them.”

  Meena beamed. “I would like that as well. We have found several sites, but we kept away from them, like you instructed.”

  Loffa grinned. “We made a map.”

  “Then, everybody get some water and let’s get to work. This city can’t repair itself.” Nanette nodded and hoisted the pack that Wren had given her.

  Her band of W’lyn girls began to lead her on a journey through the city that involved bent gates, broken retaining walls and roads that had cracked and she could melt into a flatter surface.

  Each repair was checked off the map with a notation as to what was done and how much time had been spent. When the sun was high in the sky, they found a fountain to wash up in and had a picnic on one of the open lawns of a park.

  Meena ate her sandwich and smiled. “You and Guardian Rand fit now.”

  Loffa laughed, “You said that yesterday.”

  Nanette felt her skin pink, and she knew that Meena knew what she was talking about. It wasn’t fit in the destiny sense; it was a reference to the physical joining.

  Nanette simply said, “It was true then, it was true now.”

  Meena smiled smugly and Loffa was satisfied.

  Nanette exhaled in relief and finished her meal, looking idly at the map. There were half a dozen more sites on this map and probably a few in between. Her fire was still bright, but it was using the bioelectric energy that it was generating from the union with Rand. She took a sip of water and wondered how well her lover was coping.

  * * * *

  “I have no idea how she deals with this.” Rand grumbled as he sent crackles of power laced with fire across the fractured building, taking out the foundation with a few well-placed strikes.

  Drovin was standing at a safe distance, and Toyo and Loesh were off working on their own demolition.

  Drovin laughed. “We all come to our powers in time. You are just learning to start over with fire, so give yourself a little leeway. At least you can aim again. Those first few were a little dangerous.”

  Rand flexed his hands. “Taking down buildings has never been my favourite pastime.”

  “Have you decided on taking some time off to be with your family?” Drovin gave him a considering look.

  “With the new mating to Nanette, I am not sure that I want to be off base.”

  “You could stay here, with your family.”

  Rand laughed ruefully, “The mansion was crushed.”

  “The caverns weren’t. They sheltered your people once, why not now?”

  “How do you think Nanette would react to living in a cavern for a while?”

  Drovin shrugged. “She and her gathering of repair seekers are right there. Ask her.”

  Rand turned and saw his mate with her gaggle of worshippers.

  He nodded to the cleanup crew, and they moved in to scrape away the rubble now that the site was inert.

  Nanette smiled at him and gave him a shy wave as she and her group approached.

  Energy crackled around him, and he could feel his suit heat as he stared at his mate. She boiled his blood just by walking toward him. This was both dangerous and exhilarating.

  He sauntered up to her and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her lithe body against him, fanning his flames. He leaned in and whispered, “Would you care to meet my family and spend some time living in the caverns?”

  “Oh, that sounds delightful. Where can I hide before that comes to pass?”

  He grinned and squeezed her tight. “No hiding. You need to meet my parents, my sister and my brother-in-law.”

  She squirmed in his arms. “Again, where can I hide? I am not good with families.”

  “Not even your own?”

  She laughed, and it was not a good laugh. “I don’t have a family.”

  He pushed her back to arm’s length. “What?”

  “It is a long story and not appropriate for this audience. Get me some alcohol and privacy and I might tell you one day.”

  “Deal. Now, seriously, would you mind staying with me for a week, here in the prefect?”

  “Can I? I mean I am contracted to do repairs.”

  He waved one arm around them. “I think there are plenty of repairs for you to engage in.”

  “Is your family going to be upset?”

  “The will get over it if they are.” He hugged her again. “Ready to go meet them?”

  The little girl at his side cleared her throat. “There is one last repair to manage. She has to reseal an area of the aqueduct. After that, she is done for the day and you may take her to meet the prefect.”

  Nanette grinned up at him. “You heard my booking agent. I have one more job to do and th
en we can go play.”

  He let her go, and she and her little troupe moved on into the aqueduct.

  * * * *

  Getting spare rocks to create a new seal on the broken chunk of aqueduct was easy. Making her way back to the spot where Rand was working to rupture a large rock into smaller ones took far more effort.

  “Ladies, I thank you once again for your service to your people and send you home with grateful appreciation.”

  The girls each shook her hand, and then, they ran off to tell their families about their adventures.

  Rand smiled, “You seem to have devoted followers.”

  “They were just after me for the snacks Wren packed. Those were darned good cookies.”

  He laughed and extended his hand to her. “Come now, Nanette, and meet your doom.”

  She made a face but let him drag her off into the direction of the tent city in the central park.

  Cots with a central pathway of tables to feed volunteers and those who had been displaced lined the interior of the tent. There weren’t as many as Nanette had feared, and it seemed that the four folk who sat at a central table were some of the worst hit.

  Four faces turned to smile at them as they approached, and all four suddenly became wary when they noticed the grip that Rand had on her hand.

  He squeezed her hand and pulled her up next to him, putting his arm around her. “Nanette, I would like to introduce my family. These are my parents, Minskia and Roshon, my sister, Reeska, and her husband, Norwilin. Everyone, this is my mate, Nanette.”

  His parents rose to their feet and came toward them.

  Roshon looked her over. “Are you sure she is old enough, son? She seems a little short.”

  The comment startled Nanette into laughing, and Minskia grinned while Reeska giggled. The men stood and smiled as their ladies snickered.

  “She is a mature female well out of puberty by her species standards.”

  “Hey! You are making it sound like I am ancient.” She smacked him with the back of her hand, sparking energy between them.

  That one exchange made Minskia nod in satisfaction. “And she sounds like a mate. So, we will ignore the height issue and move along. Nanette, would you join us for tea?”

  She looked around the strangers who were smiling at her in welcome. “I think tea is a good place to start.”

  Reeska walked up to her and hugged her. “Then that is where we are going to start.”

  Chapter Nine

  Revisiting the tunnel she had made was a little uncomfortable. It seemed strange to be leading a trail of crouching W’lyn back into their own caverns, but she did it.

  Walking the path she had melted was surreal. She reached out and trailed her fingers along the black stone, and her eyes nearly closed at the sensual smoothness of the surface.

  When they finally cleared the tunnel and passed through the shattered rock seal, Nanette gasped at the carved walls and the well-developed city that she saw spread out below her.

  “Why would your people have left this to live outside?” She whispered it as Rand and his family surrounded her.

  “The Vimpyr’s left their city when their children joined with the Admaryn and could tolerate the light. Shelters were built to cover walkways in the city outside and the prefecture was outlined on the map as the first expanding blended outpost on W’lyn.” Rand put his arm around her as she stood on the overlook above the city.

  “A rich heritage.”

  “Yes, what is your heritage? I know nothing about your life before W’lyn.”

  She paused, looked around to see how close his family was, and she whispered, “I would rather not speak of it.”

  “I have seen the scars.”

  “I know you have, and until now, you didn’t mention them. It was a relief.” She ran her hands through her hair.

  “I need to know what shaped you. It has become more than curiosity for me now. I have a need to know. There is a barrier inside you that stops your emotions from penetrating. Living on the surface of your soul is not the way to start a new life. You have to let things sink in and hold on, good and bad.”

  “Fine, I will tell you but we need privacy.”

  He nodded and disappeared down the hill to speak with his parents. They agreed to whatever he was saying, and he returned to her. “This way.”

  They took a different path down, heading through the city and into the deeper caverns beyond.

  “This is the pathway to the communal baths. The private path is where we will find the peace and quiet you want.”

  “It isn’t what I want; it will just be easier to show you while I tell you. It will keep me grounded.” Nanette made an effort to keep her voice matter of fact.

  Rand looked back at her and nodded. “Do you need stone or water?”

  “Both will do, just stay away from the steam. It can be dangerous.”

  He took hold of her hand and squeezed it for a moment. “We are nearly there.”

  He was right. Three minutes later, they turned through a carved archway and the sound of a water cascade reached her ears. It was a good thing to hear that sound. It would give her a background to focus on if her voice failed her.

  A huge pool steamed gently, and Nanette focussed on the glowing stones that illuminated this underworld as bright as daylight.

  They settled on smooth stones, side by side, and she told her story while warming the water until steam billowed and she formed the figures to illustrate her tale.

  “My mother was a kept woman, a hidden mistress who had a daughter. Me. We lived together until I was eight when I ran into a girl who looked just like me. We had the same hair, the same eyes, but where I was wearing clothing that was well worn, she was in a pretty dress and holding the hand of my father. I was a little distressed to say the least. It was like looking into a warped mirror.”

  The silhouettes of the two girls and their father got into a fight, and the young girl in the dress was cradled in her father’s arms while the other was left in the dirt.

  “My father dismissed my mother as his mistress, and she left town, leaving me behind. I had only been tolerated as a means to financial security, and now that I had ruined things for her, she discarded me. I entered the foster system, and for a while, things were fine until my mother filed paperwork with my father’s name on it and he was forced to pay attention to me via sending me to a private school.”

  Images of her, small and alone, hunched and crying flickered in the mist.

  Rand reached out and held her hand, squeezing her fingers.

  She swallowed and continued. “When I was eleven, my talent began to emerge, and I held it in at school, running into the hills to pour the fire into stone. It was fine until I was seventeen and started dating. My first boyfriend tried to take things too far too fast, so I used my fire on him. He suffered minor burns and I ran away.”

  They watched the struggle and the female shadow running into the darkness.

  “The next day, after class, his friends jumped me and knocked me out. When I woke, there were etchings carved into my skin. They marked me with fire, so I burned down the school.”

  The flames danced in the darkness and the small figure walked away.

  “I returned to the foster system and finished my schooling, gaining my certificate in welding and taking it on as my job. I went from place to place, working and gaining skill, crafting incredible pieces that should have been far beyond my skills or experience. I knew something would come and I waited.”

  Nanette smiled as she watched her silhouette shaping statues, small bridges and gates that made the masters weep. Finally, her shape stood in front of a Volunteer Centre and went inside.

  “I applied to become a Volunteer and disclosed my talent for heat. I gave my notice at work and here I am.”

  She showed him her basic training, the melting of stone and finally her trip through the stars.

  “And now I am here, wi
th you.”

  She sighed and leaned against Rand’s shoulder. “It has been a helluva ride.”

  His hands were opening and closing in spasms. “They…”

  “Yes. I know. I was there.”

  “How can you be so calm?”

  She sighed and took his hand. “This will sound bad, but I was never wanted. I have never been wanted until I began to use my talent to create, to repair and to enhance. That is how I have made my way in the world, literally, with my talent alone.”

  He sighed and pressed his forehead to her shoulder. “This will take some time to process.”

  “I know. Take your time. I will let things in once I am sure they won’t hurt me. You have already opened a tiny crack in my soul. Trust will grow over time and it will heal the broken parts.”

  He lifted his head and smiled. “I thought love was the healer?”

  “Not for me. You can catch me when I fall, but you have to let me stand first. I will do things that are dark, dangerous and stupid. We are bound now, and I know that you do dangerous stuff on a daily basis.”

  Rand shrugged. “You are not wrong. I don’t know if I can stand the idea of you on active duty though.”

  “I won’t be on active duty, but I will be working alone, quite frequently. I was contracted to come here and fix what was broken by those who attacked and defended and that is what I shall do.”

  “This isn’t up for negotiation, I am guessing that.” He pressed his forehead to hers.

  “How do you feel about that?” she whispered it as she angled her lips to touch his.

  “I will get used to it. I trust you.” He smiled and kissed her.

  She chuckled and cooled the pool to a warm but inviting temperature.

  “You will have to teach me to do that.” He nuzzled her cheek, and his hands worked at her suit, opening it to the damp air that swirled in a caress along her skin.

  She peeled his suit open from the shoulder and pried it down his arms. They had to take turns as removing the suit effectively bound them.

  Nanette gasped when she pressed her breasts to Rand’s chest. Energy and heat ran through them both, sending their hands skating over skin as the moisture in the air increased their need for warmth and exaggerated the sparks that flew between them.