Touching Water Read online

  The hot air that dried her drove her dizziness a little further. Lydra was too tired to eat; she simply drank another litre of water and crawled into bed.

  Thanks to her cousin, she knew how hard being a hero was on your body, but he had underplayed the aches and pains she knew were going to flare up later.

  Her meal in her room was interrupted by a knock at her door. No one ever knocked.

  She got up and answered it, blinking up at Kloran-Vidiaro in surprise. “Oh, hello.”

  He smiled and inclined his head. “I am glad to see that you are doing well today and glad to see so much of you.”

  She looked down and slammed the door shut on his laughter.

  Stalking to her closet, she grabbed a long shirt and pulled it over her head, yanking it into position.

  She opened the door again and glared at him. “What do you want?”

  “I have many answers to that, but would you like to accompany me into the city for a meal?”

  Lydra cocked her head. “I will need to check with Merker.”

  “He has authorized me to introduce you to local culture.”

  “Oh. Well, can I get dressed first?”

  “If I said no... what would your response be?” His shoulders were shaking with amusement.

  “I would say something impolite.”

  “Then, please get dressed in something casual.”

  She nodded and asked, “I don’t suppose you will forget about when I opened the door.”

  “Not for a thousand years.” He bowed low.

  Sighing and sure that her face was close to flash point, she picked out a long tunic and trousers, as well as some sturdy sandals that laced up her legs.

  She belted the tunic in place and smoothed the lines of it down to her knees, checking the appearance in the mirror while she settled her payband on her wrist. The braids in her hair were keeping it under modest control. It would have to be good enough. She still hadn’t had time to go shopping.

  Lydra returned to the door and opened it once again. “Okay. I am ready.”

  He smiled. “You look lovely.”

  “Um, thank you. I haven’t had a chance to match my new colouring yet, so I have to make do.”

  She wanted to kick herself the moment the words were out of her mouth.

  He inclined his head. “I understand. I still don’t know if I am a summer or a winter.”

  She laughed and covered her mouth with her hand.

  He offered her his hand. “If you would come with me?”

  She nodded, and he lifted her in his arms. The sensation was completely different when she wasn’t wearing her armoured suit. The grip of his fingers was warm where he held her around her ribs and under her thighs.

  He didn’t jump, he levitated them up and carried her away from the base and across the countryside toward the large city of Jumal.

  The wind against her face was nice. Lydra watched the approaching city and took in the expanse of suburban, as well as urban, areas.

  He flew to a sparsely occupied area in the centre of the city and offered her his arm.

  “Oh. All right.” She gingerly slid her hand into the crook of his elbow.

  “So, how are you enjoying your time on Vidiaro?”

  “I am having an interesting time. I think I will enjoy it here.”

  “Good. The Citadel has been in touch now that you have evolved a talent. I told them that we had a previous claim to you.”

  She blinked. “They want me? Why?”

  “Your combination of talents isn’t on record anywhere. Folk can do water or electricity but not both.”

  “Ah. Well, the electricity was probably due to the accelerator. He jammed it to full power in order to wake my talent.”

  He nodded. “Tell me about it. I have experience with unpleasant physicians.”

  She sighed and told him the story from beginning to end.

  He took her to a small diner and ordered for her at her insistence. She didn’t know what the foods were and what was a dessert or main course.

  They were sitting with a pot of tea and two cups when she finally got to the end.

  “So, I woke up under water, but I couldn’t move. The machine still held me tight. Everything was dark and cold, but I could breathe. I knew I wasn’t getting out of there without help.”

  He remained silent, listening earnestly.

  “My cousin came in and found me. He touched my face, and I opened my eyes. At that moment, he ripped the restraints away and flew me to the Citadel for medical treatment. No one guessed at the nanites in my skin, including me.”

  He inclined his head. “I am glad I could be of use.”

  “As am I. I wouldn’t have known what was locked under the surface, and I might even have blown free eventually. That would have been messy.”

  Kloran nodded. “You are right. The nanites would have degraded over time, and a raw surge could have caused an electrocution or even a drowning.”

  She grimaced and sat back, her cup held in her hands. “So, what about you? What brought you to Vidiaro?”

  “A ship.”

  “Ha. Ha.”

  He raised his brows. “Are you serious?”

  “I am. What is your story?”

  “It goes back to an ancient war.”

  She shrugged and leaned forward. “Go ahead; I don’t have anywhere to be.”

  “There was a race called the Admar. They attempted to wipe out a developing world because they were genetically compatible and they feared dilution of their bloodlines, or so they said.”

  His gaze grew distant. “They were banished from their own world and forced into the stars.”

  He turned his cup in his fingers. “Many worlds sent ships to enforce the decision of the Alliance. Some of the Admaryn fought back, and I was on one of those ships.”

  “What was your world?”

  “I was a Wyoran. The damage done to me in the fight was so extensive that they thought I would die. Fortunately, the Avari had sent a small medical ship, and they used nanites to put me back together, but as there was a lot of necessary tissue missing, they had to use metal to fill in the gaps.”

  She wanted to pat his hand, but he was still in the past.

  “I wandered from world to world until I ended up on Vidiaro. The old Avatar, Minuth, liked to have dinner parties with aliens in order to learn about what the other worlds were up to. The moment that Minuth-Vidiaro saw me, relief filled him, or rather them.”

  “They made you an offer.”

  “They did. I would no longer feel the strangeness of my body; Vidiaro would integrate me completely and allow me as much alone time as possible. When he did need to speak, he would warn me.”

  “That is unusual.”

  “It is. He only needs to speak when it comes down to matters like yesterday.”

  “So, that is why you had to fly off.”

  “Indeed. He needed to speak with the researchers about their sloppy gas containment and their lax fire suppression systems.” He shrugged. “As I stated, he only allows folk to live there on the agreement that they take the earthquakes into account.”

  “Right.”

  The meal came, and the nervous server ran through the foods so quickly that Lydra was left puzzled.

  Kloran pointed to each dish and explained its content and its history.

  Lydra watched as he took a portion, and she mimicked him, plate by plate.

  They fell silent while they ate. Lydra noted that some flavours were familiar and others were bitter. She pushed those foods to the side.

  “So, when you became Avatar, what happened to the old one?”

  “He lived with his lover for two decades, and they passed away together.”

  Lydra hadn’t been expecting that. It was sweet.

  She finished her meal and washed it down with more tea. It had been a little more awkward than she had imagined, but she had gott
en through it.

  Kloran looked amused. “You have the expression of someone who just passed a trial and was found not guilty.”

  “I was dreading going out for a public meal on this world. I am delighted to have survived it.”

  He laughed. “You have been sticking to rations?”

  “Yeah, all the custom stuff from the Citadel. They sent me with a two-year supply.”

  He smirked. “So, do you have any questions for me?”

  “Yes, what is the percentage of the population that has an active talent?”

  “It is estimated at five percent. Why?”

  “Oh, I ran into one, and I work with three of them, so it is a logical question. I also heard of the Minder in the city, so I guessed that there were more talents here than simply the Guardians.”

  He nodded, “Right. You wouldn’t know.”

  “What?”

  “Two thousand years ago, there were a series of meteor strikes that began a new branch of evolution in the population. It activated talents that had never been seen before. It was what made the population incompatible with Vidiaro.”

  “Contamination?”

  “Yes, it is in the water, the soil, there is no continent untouched. The entire population changed over five generations into the beings that are walking the streets today. Vidiaro was not pleased.”

  “I imagine not.”

  He paid the bill and looked back at her. “Would you care for a tour of the city?”

  She hesitated but said, “Sure?”

  He grinned, and the moment they cleared the restaurant, she was in his arms again and he was flying along, showing her the sites from the best vantage point in the city.

  Chapter Eight

  A few checks of her reflection had confirmed that her new skin didn’t blush. It was a handy thing to know as Kloran was obsessed with introducing her to every mayor, prefect and governor in his path.

  Guardian Yrick was now featuring on news screens around town, but instead of her rescues, all the clips were showing her in Kloran’s arms.

  “So, I am not going to be treated seriously. Wonderful.” She muttered it after seeing another news report about the striking alien cozying up to the Avatar. She wanted to strike something, all right.

  “Why would you say that?” Kloran was finally taking her home after showing her off all day.

  “Every news report is wondering if I have you in my thrall.”

  “Well, you do.”

  She snorted. “Not funny. How am I supposed to be a Guardian when they all think of me as the Avatar’s girlfriend?”

  He held her a little tighter as they flew over the landscape. “Perhaps you can simply be the Guardian that you want to be and force them to change their perspective?”

  “I can do that as long as you don’t sweep me away in your arms again.”

  “I can hold you by the ankle and fly you around, but landing is a bitch.”

  She glared at him while smothering a giggle at the mental image.

  “If you wish folk to ignore you, I will instruct them that you are first and foremost a Guardian. If you hadn’t been working for the safety of my world, I never would have given you a second thought.”

  “That is a little harsh. Why not?”

  “Because your path and mine would not have crossed. Because you were at the Guardian base, I looked into you, and when I met you, I looked closer. If you had not been here, I would never have met you.”

  The logic hurt her brain, but he was right. If she wasn’t who she was, she wouldn’t have met him and certainly wouldn’t have kissed him.

  He had given her something she couldn’t give herself, a chance to be all that her genetics had promised. Without his insight, she might never have deactivated the nanites, and as they had discussed, the results would not have been good.

  The rest of the flight was done in silence.

  He set her down in the landing area of the base, and she looked up at him. “Thank you for taking me out today. It was informative.”

  He inclined his head. “My pleasure. Call me if you need any further education.”

  She swallowed. He bent his head and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. “I will wait for your call.”

  Lydra wanted to grab him, pull him toward her and kiss him, but she was in a whirl of confusion. “I will; thank you.”

  He nodded and lifted off as silently as he had landed.

  The hairs on the back of her neck tingled, and she turned to see three grinning Guardians standing outside the main door.

  Merker asked, “How was the date?”

  She wrinkled her nose. “It was less date and more information session. Please excuse me, I need to put my uniform on and get to work.”

  The grins faded as she frowned at them, and she stalked away to her quarters to change.

  It appeared to be a conspiracy of men that was kicking into gear, and she wasn’t a fan.

  It took her three days and four missions before her mind stopped fighting the attraction she felt to Kloran. She let her indecision subside, and she came to the conclusion that she had probably met her match. If he was still interested, she would like to start something.

  The hardest part of the process was getting the contact information from Merker. Lydra was dreading his expression.

  With a deep sigh, she left her lab with Sorrow running more tests on evidence for another round of break-ins at historical museums.

  The scans that the Guardians had taken were being compared with the manifests for the displays. Lydra had a suspicion now that she understood the engine that drove evolution on Vidiaro.

  She entered the common spaces of the base and found Merker in the gym. The team leader was in virtual combat with a solid hologram.

  “Merker, I need to speak with you.”

  He nodded and landed one more blow before he turned off the projector. “Go ahead, Lydra.”

  “I am having Sorrow run the comparisons, but I think that the spate of break-ins is involving the meteor samples from the evolution catalysts.”

  He tensed. “Do you have proof?”

  “Not yet. The comparisons will be done in a few minutes. The museums are not very cooperative.”

  “Right. Well, tell me as soon as you know.”

  “Okay.” She turned and then turned back.

  He was a little surprised. “Yes?”

  “Can I have Kloran-Vidiaro’s contact information?”

  “I can let him know about the meteors.”

  “No, it isn’t that.”

  A slow smile spread across Merker’s lips. “Thank goodness.”

  “What?”

  “He has been driving me nuts, calling every few hours to ask if you have asked about him. Thank you for giving him a chance.”

  She heated. “It isn’t him. I hate the news reports of me as an alien seductress.”

  “That will change, hell, it already is. The missions we have gone on and the folk you rescued at the earthquake are coming to your defense. You might be romantically leaning toward the Avatar, but you are also a power to be reckoned with.”

  She smiled and cleared her throat. “Right. So, the contact information?”

  “Go to the lab. It is in a file labelled Read This.” He chuckled and returned to the sparring ring. “By the way, you need to work on your combat training. You might not be able to simply zap your way out of trouble in all situations.”

  She laughed and nodded, heading for the lab and that file. When she arrived, she noted that he had sent it before her first lunch date with Kloran. She was about to make the call when Sorrow appeared.

  “There are two kilos of the meteor missing in total across all of the reported sites.”

  “Damn. Thank you, Sorrow. Can you put a call through to the Avatar? Here is his information.” She connected the file.

  Sorrow’s elegant figure flickered and then morphed into Kloran seated at a desk.r />
  “Hello, Lydra. How may I help you?”

  She sighed. “I had meant to ask you to take me out again, but instead, I have another question. How much damage could two kilos of the meteor do in a single collection?”

  He stiffened. “Please tell me that this is rhetorical.”

  “I wish. It is the target substance at the museums.”

  “Damn. Right. I will call Merker.”

  “Can you wait a minute? I told him I would tell him first.” She grimaced in guilt.

  “One minute. Starting now.” He disappeared.

  Lydra wasted no time and let her team leader know about the mineral.

  Everything kicked into high gear. Sorrow was set to use satellite information to find all mineral deposits of two kilos or more within an industrial or inhabited setting.

  One hour and seventeen minutes later and the Guardians were geared up and in the air.

  Lydra flexed her hands nervously in the covered skimmer. The mineral was a mutagen, and if someone had been collecting it in large-enough quantities, it could have a devastating effect on the population.

  She looked at the view screen, and Kloran-Vidiaro was matching them. They were going in with the strongest talents and powers on the planet. This was going to be a short battle.

  The moment they landed, they were ready for action. Rombar looked to their leader, and he nodded. In a flash, he was gone. He returned in a few heartbeats.

  “There are twenty of them down there. A lot of equipment and canisters. I think they were planning a gas attack.”

  She shivered, but there was no need to speak. They had had their briefing before they left, and they knew what they needed to do.

  Rombar had a set of blades, and he walked with the others until they were near the huge cavern where it was all taking place. When Merker nodded, Rombar ran.

  Sounds of pain and panic reached them, but then, Rombar was struck, and he went spinning into a stack of canisters.

  Merker rushed forward and dazzled them with light; Umbor flew in and attacked from above.

  Kloran-Vidiaro was watching the canisters. “They are the danger. Keep them intact, Lydra.”

  She nodded and ran forward, firing balls of energy at anyone who got in her way. She wasn’t interested in simply stunning, these were charged to kill.