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  By the time her ride came to get her, she was Romos’s honorary big sister.

  She drove home from the peacekeeper outpost, and she walked into the house where Leythana and Rekonu were waiting for her with dinner on the table.

  “Is everything okay?” She was immediately worried.

  Leythana came up and hugged her. “Everything is fine. Rekonu has a question he would like to ask you.”

  Rekonu came up to them, and he said, “I made dinner to put you in a good mood, but if you are panicked, I will just ask. Can I marry your mother?”

  She looked from Leythana’s happy blush to Rekonu’s nervous flush. “Of course!”

  Leythana laughed and squeezed her again. Rekonu picked them both up and hugged them, twirling them around.

  “We are going to be one very distinctive family.” Duulahar laughed. “I think I am going to do something about my hair for the wedding.”

  Leythana murmured, “Don’t you dare.”

  “Relax, Mom. I am just going to change the ends to gold, to reflect you.” She flicked her mother’s hair.

  Rekonu nodded. “That is a good idea. It will push the mother-daughter resemblance.”

  They sat down and had their first official family-to-be meal. Rekonu was a really good cook.

  She told them about her day, and Rekonu nodded. “You may have overstepped, but I think you gave him solid advice. The tutors were definitely a nice touch.”

  She cleared her throat. “I was tutored as a teen. It was to make sure that I wouldn’t be classified as special needs, and it allowed me to remain at home.”

  Leythana blinked. “You did?”

  “Yes. It was nice. I looked forward to the tutors. They were kind and interested in learning. I didn’t quite clue into the fact that when I finished my standardized testing, they would all leave. That is when I began my advanced studies. If I was on record and learning, I was left alone. Education was my refuge.”

  Leythana cleared her throat. “That reminds me. We have to go and register you properly. Your birth is on record, but it was never officially recorded.”

  “What?”

  “You are simply listed as the baby of Amiline Masko. There is no record of your location or your origin. The world now knows you, but they don’t know you. I want them to. So, tomorrow, I would like to go into the medical lab and the hall of records, and I would like to record you as being my daughter by marriage.”

  Duulahar leaned back in her chair, and Rekonu got up to clear the dishes. When he returned, he brought dessert.

  “I never thought about that. So, who did everyone think I was?”

  “They thought you were our child. I had retired, and we didn’t appear much in public prior to that, so it was assumed that you were the reason for my retirement. Folks drew the associations that they wanted to see. Things that made the murder of Amiline understandable. A crazed woman attacking my fiancé while I was pregnant, it all made sense to the gossiping public. It was written off as a dangerous hormonal surge, and no one at the event remembered it. Minos could get into a brain far more easily if they were filled with fear and horror.”

  Duulahar nodded. “Okay. We will get me registered as a bouncing baby girl.”

  Leythana grinned. “Good. I need you official when you sign as my witness at the wedding.”

  The cake with fresh berries was placed in front of her. “Right. Of course. I would not want to be anywhere else.”

  She took a bite, and Rekonu added, “We are doing a nice wedding, but it will be in two weeks before Leythana starts to show.”

  Duulahar choked, swallowed, got up, and hugged them both before she could clear her mouth and said, “I am going to be a big sister!”

  They laughed, and dessert was had by all.

  The clerk behind the desk at the registry office stared. “I don’t understand.”

  Duulahar sighed and said. “I need to register my birth so that I can get proper identification and authorization to use the world-to-world portals.”

  “How can your birth not be registered? Everyone is registered at the hospital.”

  “I wasn’t in a hospital. I was cut out of my dead mother and then raised by the man who killed her. My mother’s name was Amiline Masko. My father’s name was Minos. Yes, that Minos.”

  The clerk shook her head. “You can’t be. I just gave that designation to another woman.”

  “What?” Leythana stepped up.

  “The child born to Amiline Masko has been designated as Leith Masko. She was in last week to register.”

  Duulahar grinned. “Well, here is my genetic test registering me to the two aforementioned persons.”

  “Test? You took a test?”

  “Of course. You can’t just take my word for it and set up my identity. Here are my records with the local schools and the peacekeepers.” She placed more files on the counter. “Here are seven affidavits from folk who will confirm that I was raised by Minos and Leythana, and here is one from my adoptive mother’s physician indicating that she has never born a child.”

  Leythana said in a sickly sweet voice, “I think we need to speak to your supervisor.”

  They ended up talking to the commissioner of records before Duulahar was given the status of her own name.

  She smiled tightly and nodded. “Now, I would like the address of Leith Masko.”

  Leythana smiled and patted her on the shoulder. “That’s my girl.”

  The commissioner was confused. “What?”

  “Your clerk gave the identity of the baby in the video to a woman who calls herself Leith Masko. I don’t know what she wants with my identity, but it can’t be good.”

  Five minutes later, she had the address and the identity had been suspended.

  She kissed Leythana’s cheek and whispered, “I have somewhere I want to be.”

  “Go kick ass, my little one.”

  “Yes, Mom.”

  As she left the office, Duulahar heard the commissioner asking Leythana for an autograph.

  The small suburb of Polol City was quiet and cheerful. She pulled up in front of the house and parked.

  She was wearing a knee-length tunic with woven leggings and knee-high boots. With her head high, she hiked up the walk and knocked on the door.

  An older man with pale lavender and silver hair opened the door. “Can I help you?”

  She looked at him and kept her shock from showing. “I am looking for Leith Masko.”

  She had never seen someone with features that resembled hers before. She held her surprise inside and tried not to let it show.

  He was staring at her, and he shouted over his shoulder. “Leith! There is someone at the door for you.”

  A woman with dark purple hair came into the hallway with a smile. “Is it another reporter?”

  Duulahar smiled and nodded. “Yes. I would like to hear about your experiences and how you survived to find your family.”

  The woman smiled. “Come on in. If I had known that folks would be so interested, I would have searched for my family years ago.”

  Duulahar asked, “Mr. Masko? Yemino Masko?”

  He nodded slowly. “Do I know you, miss?”

  “No. We have never met before.” She followed Leith to the rear of the house where the woman prepared tea for her.

  “So, where would you like me to start?” Leith was eager and leaned forward.

  Duulahar pulled her com unit out and set it to record. “Begin at the beginning. What happened to you after the incident where your mother lost her life?”

  Leith pulled a tapestry of hidden societies raising gifted babies, her rejection when it was found that she wasn’t gifted, and her life on the streets until she could find her true family. The Maskos.

  “My daughter left an inheritance for the baby so that she could have a solid start in life.” Mr. Masko spoke from the doorway.

  “Ah, that makes sense.” Duulahar nodded.
“So, I just have one more question for you, Leith?”

  “Go ahead.”

  “Since it is impossible for the child of two gifted folk to not have a gift, what are you going to do on the day that the actual child surfaces?”

  Mr. Masko straightened. “What?”

  “Leith is a fraud. Even her hair isn’t natural. I can see the roots growing from here, and they are not purple. She does not look like Minos or his family. She does not look like Amiline or her family. She does not look like a combination of either. The secret societies are horseshit. The only thing she might have said that was true was that she might have lived on the street.”

  Leith spluttered. “Get out of my house!”

  “It is Mr. Masko’s house. Not yours.”

  He looked at Duulahar and asked, “How do you know about the baby?”

  “I grew up with the murderers of your daughter, raised with love by the woman who was used as a weapon. I was there when Minos was executed for the murder. I made sure that he couldn’t twist anything to his advantage.”

  She stood up. “I have mourned for a mother that I never met. I have lived with the consequences wrought by the man who fathered me.”

  She looked at Mr. Masko. “I am so very sorry for the pain that she has caused you.”

  “Are you... how do I know who you are?”

  Leith was staring at her with hate, and then, she started crying.

  “I am Duulahar Masko Neemi. I was raised by Minos and Leythana. He simply took me and stopped folks from asking about the baby. I was raised by them, I was educated by them, and I am a lawyer now, so stop sobbing.” She turned to look at Leith.

  “Your identification is suspended. You will need a DNA test to prove that you are Leith Masko. I do happen to have one that says my parents are Minos and Amiline, adopted by Leythana. I have school records and confirmations from witnesses that I have lived in the area and Minos is my father. He was a self-indulgent bastard, so he would not take in a child that wasn’t his. He tried to kill me twice, but Leythana defended me. She wanted children, and he refused to honour his commitment to her.”

  She was speaking to Mr. Masko. He needed to know that she hadn’t been free to seek him out.

  He whispered. “What changed?”

  “Minos wanted to kill Leythana and frame me for it. We took steps, and now, her mind has recovered from his tampering. It is nice to have her back, and now that she is safe, I can begin looking into my own history. It wasn’t possible until now. She was in danger.”

  He blinked and sighed. “And you would never leave someone in danger. How do I know you are gifted?”

  She opened a portal and picked up her cup of tea from the table, bringing it to her through the hole. “How about this?”

  He gasped, and Leith stood up and jumped back.

  “That was Amiline’s talent. She couldn’t hold it long, but she could make small holes in space and roll things through.” He looked to Leith. “Get your things and get out. It makes me sick how close I was to put through the bequest.”

  Duulahar nodded. “Give it to her or give it to a children’s charity. I did not come here for that; I came to establish my identity. I wear my mother’s name in mine, and I wear it proudly. Leythana always wanted me to know that Amiline was a part of me. I just had no idea about her gift.”

  Leith blinked. “You would have the funds go to me?”

  “I don’t need them. I have family support even though I came by the family in a peculiar way. I could not ask for better. For half my life, I have been cared for. The rest was caring for someone and learning to survive. I know how to do both.”

  She used a hole to pick up her com, and she put it in her pocket. “I will be on my way. I will be in touch with you, Mr. Masko, once you confirm who I am. I am not in a hurry, and I am not going to disappear into the ether. I will be around when you are ready. My contact will just be to give you my contact information.”

  She reached out and shook her grandfather’s hand. “It was nice to see you. The peacekeepers have all my information if you want to go through them.”

  She kept herself calm as she left, and it wasn’t until she was behind the controls that she sobbed and covered her face.

  A soft knock at the window made her turn her head. Mr. Masko was there, and he had a folded towel in his hand. She rolled down the window. He handed her the towel. “Amiline always held it in until she couldn’t. You look so much like her.”

  “Where is Leith?” She mopped at her eyes.

  “Probably stealing the silver. I don’t care. If you won’t take action against her, I won’t. I knew it was you the moment I saw you. She tries too hard to fit who she thinks my granddaughter would be.”

  She sniffled and nodded. “It is kind of obvious.”

  “How did you find out about her? The press hasn’t printed anything yet.”

  “Oh, I went to make myself legal. I think my mom is working to wedge me into a hero team. The peacekeepers were talking about a new team starting up. Mom is trying to get me into the mix.”

  He inhaled and exhaled. “She killed my daughter, but you call her Mom?”

  She got out of the car, and she took his hands. “Do you have a gift?”

  “Certainly. It is similar to Amiline’s and yours.”

  She looked around, grabbed his wrist, and used the Cohal pressure point that triggered the talent. The hole opened up, and air whooshed through, and then, she let it close.

  “That is how Amiline died. Leythana was under Minos’s control for over a year before that moment. He was forcing her into retirement so he could do what he liked on assignments. She was more popular, and it hurt his ego. So, Amiline yelled at him, Minos grabbed Leythana’s arm and used her as a weapon. She used the same bursts of talent to get me out of my mother. It wasn’t pretty, but I am alive. She fought for me for the next fourteen years, and then, I took care of her when Minos began crushing her mind.”

  He blinked and looked at his wrist. “How did you do that?”

  “Practice. There is a reason that the technique is only taught to those on the hero track or high military. Generally folk who have proven themselves.”

  He gave her a surprised look. “How do you know how to do that?”

  “I have a very over-qualified stable hand.” She smiled.

  They stood, and she told him about her childhood and what went on, life with Minos and fun with Leythana. He nodded, and they migrated back to the house where they talked for hours. She learned about her mother, how she liked to laugh, and her running into Minos at a multiple-car accident in the city centre. She had never been the same after that, and when she had become visibly pregnant, she had remembered what had happened. Amiline was the type to get mad and stay mad, but she knew Minos was dangerous. She tried to confront him in public, and it had ended her life.

  They laughed, they cried, and when she opened his terminal, she pulled her baby photos and all of her childhood memories onto his unit so that he could look at them whenever he liked.

  She had a grandfather. She might never introduce him to her mother, but she had another connection to who she was born to be.

  Chapter Eight

  Duulahar was in the barn when her mother and another figure walked up to her.

  “Hey, Duula. I have someone I want you to meet.”

  She turned her head and kept brushing the horse. It was leaning into her, and she didn’t want to lose her focus. “Anyone you want to introduce me to is fine.”

  “This is someone you need to meet. Duulahar, this is Investigator Jianik. She is putting together a candidate collection for Team Eight. She would like you to be one of them.”

  Duulahar wrinkled her nose. “And then I can tell everyone that my mom got me the job.”

  Jianik chuckled. “No, I have been on the lookout for interesting talents that would combine into a good team. Your skill set of opening space portals that can transfer obje
cts is amazing. It could be very useful on missions.”

  “For what? Grabbing my keys?”

  “Duula!” Leythana was worried, and it showed in her voice.

  “Hero, perhaps your daughter and I should discuss this privately. We will come and talk to you after I explain the nature of the team.”

  Duulahar was grinning. It took balls to dismiss Leythana. When her mom was gone, she brushed her way to the edge of the horse nearest the door and stepped out, closing the gate to the stall.

  “Okay. Now, tell me why no one but me will do.” She smiled at the woman, and there was a surprised grin offered in return.

  “Well, it is true. I have several other team members selected, but you have quite a bit going for you aside from the gift that you can use so effectively.”

  “Other members? So, I am guessing that you have some kind of seer or psychic, a heavy hitter, possibly two, some defensive talents, and where would I fit in?”

  “You are not a projectile talent, but you can reach anything in your field of vision. You can pull in water, fresh and salt. You have used your knowledge to bring air from a rain forest to use as an oxygen supplement.”

  “Where are you getting all of this?”

  “The badge that you wore as an observer for the peacekeepers had a vid camera in it. Your actions and your wide vocabulary of curse words is all caught on camera.”

  The woman smiled. “That is the kind of critical thinking that I believe the team needs. There is also the matter of the law and your having more than a passing familiarity with it. If you focus your studies and work on the laws of all thirty worlds, you are guaranteed a space on Team Eight, if mine is the team that is chosen.”

  There was a picnic table outside the barn, and Duulahar walked over to it, gesturing for Jianik to follow. “Who else is on this team?”

  “There is a woman who sacrificed her life for a friend, a seer who was born to be a hero, another woman who can deliver babies and lift a car, a woman who survived months of torture and came out sane and powerful, and a woman who experienced terrible loss and made herself into a power to be reckoned with.”