HeartbeatofSilence Read online

  Her creature waddled over, and she lifted him to her shoulder. “I am sorry that he snapped at you, Healer.”

  Canevor smiled, his green skin crinkling and his third eye winking pleasantly at her. “I do not worry. Your friend is merely preparing to alter to its next incarnation. The first step is leaving its fluff behind. In a few weeks, you are going to have quite the predator on your hands.”

  Fixit stretched proudly and flapped his stubby wings.

  Zenina-Balen walked in and looked around with a cheerful smile. She came over to Veera and Stanik. “I am glad to see you are settling in, Veera, Stanik. May we speak in the garden?”

  They walked out the glass-paneled doors and into the open air.

  When they were halfway through the garden, Zenina-Balen paused. “I have a proposal for you.”

  Veera cocked her head and Stanik put his arm around her waist. “Please, tell me what you would like me to do.”

  “Stay here. Be the headmaster and coordinator of Citadel Balen. I know it usually goes to a more senior person in the Citadel, but you are uniquely qualified to keep tabs on everyone in the facility, their strengths and failings. Stanik can be your receptionist.” Zenina-Balen winked.

  “So, you are serious about this?” Stanik scowled. “What about time to visit family?”

  “Standard three weeks off and whatever emergency time you need.” Zenina-Balen reached out and took Veera’s hand. “You are not suited to field work. Some of us aren’t. I have to stay near Balen or the planet becomes distressed, and the sun freaks right out.”

  Stanik chuckled. “I have heard.”

  Zenina-Balen’s pale cheeks pinked. “He can be very vocal.”

  Veera blinked. “I am still confused. You want me to be headmaster of a Citadel? What do I have to do?”

  Zenina-Balen caressed her mind with the lightest of touches.

  Veera fell back into Stanik’s arms at the impact of being touched by a planet. “Ow.”

  Zenina-Balen winced. “Sorry. It was the lightest touch I can give. On the plus side, you now know all there is to know about running a Citadel and the inner workings of Balen.”

  Veera rubbed at her forehead. “You are right. It’s all in here. I am guessing that I now have to accept.”

  Zenina-Balen grinned. “I could remove the knowledge, but you wouldn’t like that.”

  Fixit chirped angrily at the Avatar.

  The mind of the planet looked out through amused eyes. “I see you have more than one guardian. It will be a good thing when you are called on to lead assemblies and negotiate for the best rates for your students.”

  Veera was uneasy until she found the knowledge she needed in her mind. “You are very thorough.”

  “You have no idea. As we speak, I am having your possessions moved to new, larger quarters. Your robes are waiting in those quarters, as are some suits that Fixer put together for you. Additional supplies and staff will be flowing in for this week, and after that, regular shipments will be sent on a semi-monthly basis. Call on me if you need anything. You know how to get in touch.” Zenina-Balen lifted off and flew away.

  Fixit flapped his stubby wings but was unable to follow.

  “Easy, little fella, you will have your chance. I am sure of it.” Veera looked up at Stanik. “Are you up for this?”

  “I have the woman I want and a world to roam as I please.” He kissed her softly. “I am up for anything.”

  She turned in his arms and leaned up for a more riotous kiss than she had managed in a week. Stanik bent her back, and she heard a squawk, but when he lifted her again, he held her tight against him. “I have never made love to a headmaster before.”

  She chuckled. “I have never taken advantage of a receptionist. I look forward to the experience.”

  He laughed and walked into the building. “Not too far forward. I give it five minutes.”

  She laughed and held tight as they passed the students, instructors and the support staff helping to organize everyone. He followed the scent of their possessions to their new chambers, and once inside, it was a race to the finish.

  A low tapping on the door brought her out of her afterglow. She tugged the sheet from Stanik and walked to the door.

  Fixit marched through, irritated and huffy.

  “Oh, honey, I didn’t know you couldn’t manage stairs.”

  He gave her a baleful look and hopped into her trunk to make his nest in her costumes and weapons.

  “I suppose that showed me.” She stroked his head, and he gave up his grump to rub up against her hand.

  It was amazing that both men in her life so easily forgave her for thoughtless behaviour. Her luck had taken a sudden swing in the upward direction.

  Veera returned to the new bed where Stanik was wearing nothing but a smile and a heated gaze. “So, one week of abstinence and you go off like a rocket?” She knelt on the side of the bed and walked her fingers up his thigh.

  “I believe that we were both on that rocket, but now, I am in the mood for something a little slower with plenty of time for instruction.” He pulled her across his chest. “You are the new headmaster, teach me something.”

  She laughed and nuzzled at his neck. “The life cycle of a Jaro bee is only thirty minutes long.”

  “What?”

  “You wanted me to teach you something, so now, it’s your turn.”

  She squealed as he rolled her to her back, and their mutual education continued into the night.

  Chapter Twelve

  After his transformation into a raptor with the power of healing, Fixit took to spending every waking moment in Veera’s trunk.

  She didn’t know what was causing his shy behaviour, but she brought him meals every day for three weeks. When she heard the first little thought from the trunk, she thought she was hearing things in her mind. As nine others joined it, she looked into the trunk, and Fixit moved aside to show her his babies.

  Fluffy little Yaluthu babies were creeping around on one of her old bodysuits. She nodded and sent a query to Fixit. She smiled when the answer was the affirmative.

  Veera, or Headmaster Halig as she was now called, sat behind her desk and laughed at the antics of the one-week-old Yaluthu babies. They were already six inches tall and chattering constantly. Fixit watched over them with the attention of a focused parent.

  The researcher that had evolved the Yaluthu was speaking to her on the com. “Headmaster Halig, I need those Yaluthu back.”

  Veera looked at him. “The next generation and the evolved Yaluthu are not yours. You received sixty of the original one hundred twenty-one. Be content with that.”

  “They are mine, you cannot keep them.”

  “They are sentient and now indigenous to Balen. It is amazing what technically happens when you restart a world. Anything that casts the next generation actually becomes a member or a species registered to that world.” She chuckled, and Fixit jumped to her shoulder and squawked angrily at the researcher.

  “It…it morphed.”

  “He certainly did. Did you know that they are born pregnant? This lovely fellow on my shoulder has been most forthcoming with knowledge now that he is mature. When those others mature, you will have the Alliance breathing down your neck, demanding their freedom. You might just want to send them here and save us all a lot of fuss.”

  She smiled brightly into the com and the man paled as she reached out and touched his thoughts.

  “How are you…”

  “We all have our skills. Now, send them out on the next transport, or I will have a ship come to collect them. They cannot evolve on your world and keeping the infant of a sentient species in captivity is frowned upon within the Alliance.”

  He spluttered, but she could feel the resignation in his mind. He would send them to Balen, and they would be able to live their lives with their own kind.

  Fixit was the eldest of an entire generation. The Yaluthu were a slow-breeding race who had enjoyed the wilds of their world. The genet
ic modification did not bother them much. They liked being bigger. Since predators were no longer a danger, Fixit was offering the little ones as companions for Citadel personnel and the Sector Guard. They could heal slowly and comfort on an emotional level that Veera could testify to.

  “If I don’t hear from you in a week, the next contact will be via shuttlecraft. Have a nice day.”

  She cut the com and smiled as Saga waddled into the room. She was ready to have her child, as were two of the other women from the station.

  “Are you ready for lunch?” Saga smiled.

  “I am getting there.” She rose from her seat and tapped the basket twice. The nine little bodies tumbled end over end and fitted themselves into the basket. “Woof. This is one of the last weeks I will be able to do this.”

  Stanik came into the room and took the basket from her.

  Fixit hopped to the pad on his shoulder, and Fixit watched his little ones carefully.

  “I will take them, you help Saga down the stairs.”

  Veera laughed. “It serves her right for coming up here.”

  Saga gasped and smacked her on the arm. “You will pay for that, Headmaster.”

  Veera smiled. “I have no doubt. By the way, my brother, sister and the rest of my family are coming here for a performance.”

  Her black robes with gold piping swirled as she took Saga’s arm and helped her down the four flights of steps in the administration wing.

  By the time they were down, there was the normal crowd around Fixit and the babies, so Saga and Veera snuck over to the buffet and filled up while everyone else was distracted.

  “Sadly, I think this will be the only set of hatchlings that Fixit has. Too bad, I like going to the front of the line.” She laughed and took the tray to the table surrounded by the folks stroking and cooing to the adorable little beasties. She cleared her throat, and the crowd faded away. The other Yaluthu were running wild in the forest during most days, reappearing only for the occasional treat.

  “Your fee, good sir.” She passed Stanik a full plate, and he grinned and dug in. They had been distracting the crowd from the moment that Fixit had allowed his little ones on public display.

  “This isn’t going to work much longer.”

  Veera sighed. “I know. They won’t fit in the basket if they keep growing.”

  He howled with laughter, and Saga laughed at her disgruntled expression.

  Fixit hopped across the table and ate from her plate, hopping back to feed his little ones.

  Veera ate her lunch and looked around. She was queen of all she surveyed, and she currently had nine Citadel members on assignments with the Sector Guard, three off on recruitment and the remainder were here at home. Her family was coming to visit, and the Citadel had every spare midwife and midwifery student posted at Balen with the fifteen pregnant women preparing to bring their new ones into the world.

  It was going to be the first Citadel with a crèche. Zenina-Balen was delighted. New citizens brought life and created a stable base for the resurfaced world. Balen liked babies, he was trying to convince his Avatar to give in and have one. Rolland-Saru was on Balen’s side and with a crèche at the Citadel, she would have unlimited childcare if she needed it.

  Balen was alive and hopping. Shuttles came and went. Station 13 continued to send experiments to the base that required a natural atmosphere.

  Veera reached out and touched Stanik’s mind with hers, amazed that after so much time craving silence, she found herself revelling in everything but.

  He touched her thoughts and drew a bubble around them. They sat in the privacy of their link with dozens of folk around them. He lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to the interior of her wrist. The images he sent to her mind revolved around her wide desk, and she shivered lightly as the images got very detailed.

  Saga snorted and said, “I will bring Fixit and the little ones up later. You look like you could use a…nap.”

  Veera got to her feet and grabbed Stanik as he shifted to his beast form and ran up the steps to her office. She had work on her agenda for the afternoon, but it could wait for an hour…maybe two.

  She was just hoping that this time they didn’t turn on the com again.

  Author’s Note

  Veera and Stanik appeared in Mauled by Destiny. The Lyrans are an interesting species, and eventually, we are going to see them in their home location.

  I am not sure when. I am never sure when. Each book calls out for a new environment, and if my cover artist would stop making interesting covers for me, I am sure that I would settle down into a nice, repetitive location.

  For those who are curious, Gift of Wyora, was the first example of Wyoran links. Wyt and Wild was the first sighting of Relay and Effin.

  Well, Ice Runner is next up, and it speaks to me personally. It has been a long, cold winter, and I am more than ready to spend some time someplace warm.

  Thanks for reading. (And I do mean that, even if you hate the book. Neener.)

  Viola Grace

  http://www.violagrace.com

  [email protected]

  About the Author

  Viola Grace was born in Manitoba, Canada where she still resides today. She really likes it there.

  She has no pets and can barely keep sea monkeys alive for a reasonable amount of time.

  In keeping with busy hands are happy hands, her hobbies have included cross-stitch, needlepoint, quilting, costuming, cake decorating, baking, cooking, metal work, beading, sculpting, painting, doll making, henna tattoos, chain mail, and a few others that have been forgotten. It is quite often that these hobbies make their way into her tales.

  Viola’s fetishes include boots and corsetry, her greatest weakness and strength is her evil sense of humour.

  Her writing actively pursues the Happily Ever

  After that so rarely occurs in nature. It is an admirable thing and something that we should all strive for. To find one that we truly like, as well as love.