Lesser Read online

  How long has Zanthan known?

  I recruited him five years ago when the first settlers were allowed in the cities. He is passively aware of me but no one has mentioned it to his mother, not even Grethan.

  Is everyone afraid of her?

  She is volatile. She came to being an Avatar as a recent widow, birthed a son changed by the exposure to power and had to raise him as he matured at a rate so slow that it took him two hundred years to reach puberty.

  Ouch.

  Indeed. His family died long before he was a full adult, leaving Sivengea his only relative. She was not prepared to raise a child alone, so I offered my surface. He grew up here.

  He didn’t mention that he was your Avatar.

  He isn’t. Together, you are my Avatar. Apart, you are simply Guardians, powerful, useful Guardians.

  She unravelled her hair and brushed it out, summoning her Masuo into a bodysuit with a leopard-skin pattern. Clean and ready for action, she headed back to her bedroom to see if anyone was on fire.

  Sivengea was standing near her son and carrying on a conversation with herself about why Grethan hadn’t told her that Zanthan was an Avatar.

  Zanthan came up to Iridia and kissed her. “Well, I found out the reason for her ire, not that there was much doubt. She has always worried that she will outlive me; now, that is no longer a concern.”

  “Why not?”

  “My lifespan will be as long as Tharos chooses. My body is resistant to the pressure of the planet’s mind, so my mother need not worry about my burning out.”

  Iridia blinked. “Great. So that is a real concern?”

  No. You are compatible or I would not have invited you. We will be together for eons; you will see this world bloom and flourish once again.

  She scowled. “I am not impressed right now.”

  I am aware, Zanthan is aware and even Sivengea is aware. You are bristling with energy and the furniture is hovering. The voice sounded so pleased that she was screwing with gravity.

  She looked around and had to admit it was kind of cool. “Can I fly?”

  Of course. Walk to the window and push down with your mind, your instincts should do the rest.

  Quietly, she turned and headed to the window, Zanthan was at her side. Of course, he could fly. It wasn’t a big deal for him.

  She stepped onto the window ledge and the screen deactivated. The evening breeze hit her and the ground looked very hard from this distance. She concentrated and her feet left the ledge, with one giant surge of confidence, she toppled out of her bedroom and headed for the pavement below.

  When she was fifteen feet from the ground, her mind pushed hard and she shot up, nearly knocking Zanthan out of the sky and making Sivengea shriek as she flailed to get out of the way.

  She aimed for the mountains, and her body wove between the peaks while her mind shrieked with glee. Her mouth was busy trying to breathe even though an amused Tharos was telling her it wasn’t necessary.

  When she finished her high-speed excursion, she returned to the base, but she wasn’t sure which window she had left open. She smacked against three of them before the fourth let her tumble through to land like a flattened squid on the floor.

  Zanthan came in and laughed at her. “Well done.”

  “Landing is hard.”

  He extended his hand with a grin. “Yes, it is. Come on, you deserve dinner.”

  She let him help her up, and they walked across the bridge to the common room and down to the kitchen.

  He dialled up a meal for her and presented it with a flourish.

  Iridia sat down to eat and watched Zanthan move around as he prepared his own meal. When he sat next to her, she sighed.

  “So, apparently, I am not going to be displaying my talent for flight to all and sundry. It is only for emergencies.”

  “That is sensible. We are to be hidden Avatars, and I am fine with that. We can and will monitor what Tharos requires, and aside from that, do our duty to the Guardians and enjoy our lives.”

  “Tharos is warning me that eons are a possibility.”

  He grinned. “I am aware. It is a good thing that we have an entire world to work with or our fights may become disruptive.”

  She arched her brow. “Do you plan on fighting?”

  He held up his hands. “I plan on nothing of the sort, but we will be living and working together, fights are bound to occur. I am merely planning for all contingencies.”

  Iridia took his hand and squeezed it. “Stop planning or it may happen sooner than you imagine.”

  He grinned and kissed her quickly as Orwip and Crokix joined them.

  She greeted them. “Good evening, gentlemen. We were just having an evening meal.”

  The two looked from one to the other and nodded as if they had suspected as much.

  Orwip smiled, “We would be honoured to join you.”

  They all sat together and discussed the species that they had met that afternoon. They talked until Grethan rose in the sky and they were hoarse. Methods for dealing with the variety of cultures were discussed and a plan was created for each individual city.

  When they were called, they would be able to answer in an organized manner.

  Zanthan finally told them. “When you get a call, your colour will flash and a chime will sound. We all have a different pitch, so learn to hear it. The combination can reach you anywhere within the base city. If Tharos needs you, you will know.”

  Crokix asked, “How do they know which one of us they need?”

  “They don’t. Tharos will read the need through the orb, and we will answer blindly. It isn’t the most calming of situations, but until there is a direct means of communication with the world beneath us, we will go and find out what is happening when we arrive.”

  He didn’t mention that every scenario had either him or Iridia on a team, so they would always know what was going on.

  They would keep the secret as long as Tharos wanted them to.

  Epilogue

  Iridia finished the letter to her parents, telling them that she had renewed and locked in her contract with the Nyal Imperium. Included with the letter were some stellar math problems and samples of rock from Tharos Prime.

  She looked over at Zanthan and grinned. “I am delighted that the courier is going to be here today. I can’t wait to send these to my parents.”

  “Do you think it will make them think of you?”

  Iridia laughed. “No, but it will keep them busy until they die and that is good enough.”

  He came and stood behind her at the desk. “I think you are just writing to prove that the implements that Krassos make are useful.”

  “They are useful. Very useful. I use my pen every day, writing in my journal that they also made me. Seriously, if they don’t come up with a different gift when I pop in, we are going to find ourselves in a library.”

  He rubbed his chin against the crown of her hair. “Would that be so bad?”

  “No, but my days are only filled now with writing about writing in the journals that I have gotten. I am almost to the point of writing a history of Tharos. He is willing to show me, but my hand gets a cramp just thinking about it.”

  He stroked her shoulders. “How is the baby today?”

  They both looked over at the large, glowing canister where their child was growing. Tharos recommended her not trying to carry to term, and she had taken the caution under advisement. With a little wheedling and trading with the Guardian command, they had gotten the micro-tank that was perfect for growing the little hybrid that they had named Nadica. She had opalescent wings, creamy skin and brilliant red eyes.

  “She is good. Two more weeks, and she will be out where we can cuddle her.” Iridia had a pulse monitor on her at all times, and the feedback was sent to Nadica so that she always heard her mother with her.

  “I can’t wait, and Sivengea is going out of her mind shopping for baby clothing on all
the nearest worlds.”

  A pale pink light and shimmering chime rang out.

  Iridia got to her feet, settled her weapons and prepared to go to work. “I will see you later. Read her a book. I have written two more children’s stories and she might like them. Let me know.”

  She kissed Zanthan and headed to the Yikva colony where another baby was on its way into the world. As an alpha female, Iridia was invited to all the births, but she wasn’t sure if they would find it an insult to not be invited to the base when Nadica made her appearance.

  Wearing the weapons was part of her uniform though she had only used them twice in the last two years. Riot control was more of an art than a skill, and after all the practice, she felt like a true artist.

  She stood on the platform, and in a flash, she was in the caverns near the Yitva city. Iridia walked calmly past their guards and into the large manor that used to be a city hall. All the Yitva lived in the same building. The communal living went back to the days when they had been slave labour.

  The elder, Srin-ha, beckoned her inside and had her take the pregnant woman’s hand. She had been present at the birth of nineteen children at the Yitva colony, and it had been a joy and a taunt to her lack of offspring. She gave good luck and the blessing of a warrior to the little one, and the child looked at her with fathomless eyes that seemed to see to the depths of her soul.

  She knew that gaze. Nadica gave her that eternal gaze every time her eyes opened in the tank. Two more weeks and she would have a child of her own, and it might give the toddlers around Tharos a run for their money.

  Grinning, she encouraged the woman in labour and waited her turn. Two weeks was not a long time when eons stretched before her. If Nadica could live a good life, love, laugh and enjoy herself, the length of it would not matter.

  All you could give to the next generation was a good start and encouragement. Let them know they were wanted and not the lesser of two evils. Iridia and Zanthan wanted Nadica, and she was going to grow up knowing love. With two parents and a planet raising her, and a sun and grandmother waiting to spoil her, she was going to need all the moral fibre and sense of humour she could get.

  Author’s Note

  First off. I am taking July 15th off. This means that not only will there be no books at eXtasy or Devine from me on the 15th, but also there will be no books from me at Kindle on the 22-23rd. I will be on vacation.

  Now, the ladies of the L’s have been shooting off in weird directions. I had no idea that Lesser could become invisible, let alone be a hidden Avatar. I wonder if folks will notice when she doesn’t age.

  Thanks for reading,

  Viola Grace

  http://www.violagrace.com

  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. Her line of day job tends to be analytical which leaves her mind hopping to weave stories. No co-worker is safe from her character analysis. 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, and her greatest weakness is her uncontrollable blush. 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.