Viola Grace Read online

  She snickered. “You have not looked recently, have you? They had a population surge twenty-four years ago.”

  He paused, his hand on her hair. “They did?”

  “Yeah. One of my kind is a healer, and she was assigned to the colony to help with the birth rate, and the survival rate shot up under her occupation. Oh, and she had at least six kids with the head of the colony. So, those kids are becoming adults, and she is very busy with the new arrivals, including her own.”

  He was silent, and she turned to him, seeing the tears tracking down his face. “You thought they would be gone in a century or so?”

  He nodded, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He held her with an iron grip, and they remained quiet next to the fire.

  “So, one of your kind had a herd of children with one of my kind?”

  She chuckled against his neck. “According to the archive, she did. Does. She was found to have latent traces of Dremarai in her, and that made it easy for her to transform.”

  “What is she?”

  Libby leaned back. “I think she is a white phoenix. Her husband is a dragon.”

  “Where did you get that information?”

  “The data link at the monastery.”

  “Can you show me?”

  She sighed and moved off him. “Sure. We can go now.”

  He shook his head. “No. Show me.” He cupped her skull with his hand and pressed his forehead to hers.

  She focused and brought up the images of Myka and D’hai and all of the children. The images of the birth records climbing, the images and vids of the leading family, including the proud grandfather of the paler blue children.

  She felt his memory sorting to him, leaving the Dremarai, and the same features as one of the new blended children was the same face as what appeared to be his child.

  “How many children do you have?”

  “I had thirty-five children in my lifetime. D’mot was the last of my children that I saw grow to be an adolescent. I left the colony when he was becoming a man. The elders had told me that they thought my power may have burned my other children out. When they ascended to power, they tried to take on my form, and it destroyed them.”

  She winced. “Ouch. Why did they reach for that much power?”

  He showed her the smug confidence in the children as they sought energy from the burning single moon. Libby stifled her shock. That was Earth’s moon.

  They lifted their hands to the moon, and a wave of transformation buckled through. The young woman smiled back at Yelfon, and her eye’s widened in shock as she burst into flames and became a comet streaking away from the gathering.

  She felt his loss as two more of the women blasted off in the same manner on different moons. The young men left to find them and never returned.

  She inserted something that he didn’t know. She showed him that fourteen female Terrans with Dremarai genes had agreed to join the colony. The colony was growing stronger. Deaths in childbirth were decreasing, and the new colonists were giving the population boost that was needed.

  He chuckled. “You are trying to make me feel better.”

  “I am. All of those children of yours didn’t die. They weren’t cursed. They ran across the globe, and flew, and settled into different communities. They became part of the genetic makeup of Terra. They are still alive through the bloodlines that scattered over the world and then found their way home to be with the rest of the Dremarai.”

  He stroked her cheek. “From bloodthirsty to consoling in two minutes.”

  She smiled. “A lady needs her hobbies.”

  He kissed her, and he murmured, “Thank you.”

  “For the hobbies? It was no trouble.” She blushed.

  “For the kindness and understanding. You have seen all the loves of my life, and I have seen yours, but not all women enjoy seeing their lover with someone else.”

  “They were then. You loved them and lived with them, and they helped to make you into the man you are now. I am now. I get to reap the fruits of their efforts to tame you.” She chuckled.

  He looked shocked, and then, he smiled. “How successful do you think they were?”

  She smiled. “Fifty percent, which is how I like you. That half of you that’s wild speaks to something in me.”

  To her horror, her stomach snarled, and she covered her mouth as she giggled. “Sorry about that. It was a long day where I had very little appetite. I guess I have relaxed now.”

  He ran his hands over her hips and kissed her softly while she felt him doing something else with his endless energy.

  He smiled. “I suppose this is part of the taming.”

  She glanced to the side, and there was a low table, cushions, and a decanter with cups. The enormous spread of food, meats, cheeses, fruits, and roasted vegetables was waiting. “Where can I wash my hands?”

  He gave her a look, and her hands flared with blue-white flame. His went off a moment later. She scrambled off his lap and reclined on a bank of cushions but poured two cups of wine before she looked over the spread. He moved the cushions with a flick of his hand, and he took their place behind her. They ate, drank, shared their favourites, and then she learned that he knew every clasp on her dress and how fast he could find them.

  The day definitely ended better than it had started.

  Chapter Eleven

  Libby didn’t want to go back to the monastery. She wanted to stay and explore Luon with Yelfon. She reluctantly followed him to the entry of the cavern.

  “What is it, Elizabeth?”

  “I am channelling an immature urge. I want to stay here.” She grumped.

  He grinned. “I am flattered.”

  “You should be. I never shirk work.”

  He pressed her up against the cavern wall and said, “I can ask Luon to give you a day off.”

  She sighed. “No. I still have more than half the ancients to meet. I also need to check on Aloth.”

  “Why are you worried about him?”

  “Because there was no malice. There was manipulation but no malice, if you understand what I mean. He was seeking personal pleasure, and the fact that they were living beings didn’t occur to him at all. He could have just masturbated then this wouldn’t have happened. He’s stupid, not evil. I have been in his mind a lot. Hm. That might be blurring my sensitivity to exposure.”

  “It could be.” He kissed her neck, and she put a hand on his chest.

  “Now, about those love bites you have been leaving all over me.”

  He grinned. “I was surprised you didn’t notice earlier.”

  “I don’t have a mirror. I saw it when I was getting changed in Mathla’s rooms.”

  He cocked his head. “You do need better accommodation so I can visit you more often without running through the monastery. Some of the novices want to see if the blue rubs off.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Where are they rubbing?”

  He grinned and lifted her against the wall, lowering her, and she felt his erection against her inner thigh as he moved her clothing out of the way.

  The slow descent was enough to wake her body from its light dormancy from early morning sex an hour before.

  He slid into her, and she shuddered, her head drooping back. He chuckled and spoke in a husky tone. “I love it when you do that. It is like your total focus is being wrapped around me.”

  She was panting as her own body was pushing her onto him. “What else would I be thinking of right now?”

  He lifted her high and released the clasp that covered her breasts. The fabric gaped open, and his lips and tongue coasted along her breasts while he lifted and dropped her onto him, then pinned her against the wall and thrust furiously.

  She screamed when her body curled around his, and he groaned and shuddered as his own release struck. They panted together, and she whispered, “When are we going to try the slow one again?”

  He chuckled and bit the
side of her breast playfully. “When you stop writhing the moment I am inside you.”

  She blushed, and eventually and with a little cleansing fire, she was ready to head back to the monastery.

  It was two weeks later when she saw Yelfon again. Master Kiol was cataloguing the memories of the first rain, the first beach, and the first windstorm that the three ancients had offered to her. She only had two ancients left, and so far, they had both declined to meet her.

  She returned to the monastery and got a message that she was to dress and meet Mathla-Luon in their garden. The outfit was Yelfon’s design, so she scrambled out of her robe and underwear and into the layers of pleated silk and gilded sashes.

  She walked the halls with the scarf-sleeves billowing, and when she got to the garden, she looked around for Yelfon, but he wasn’t there. She scowled. She had been about to jump him.

  Mathla-Luon smiled and beckoned her over. “Come and have a seat, Libby. You are looking bright this afternoon.”

  “Um, thank you. This is the right outfit, right? Is Yelfon here?”

  “You can’t sense him?”

  Libby followed her instinct, and she saw the silvery cloud of smoke and mist that swirled, and where it passed, there was an addition to the monastery.

  “He thought it was time that you had your own quarters, and I did agree to it when you became a Master.” The avatar walked up behind her.

  She smiled. “Yes, it was agreed to. I wasn’t expecting that.”

  Mathla-Luon smiled. The soul of the world said, “I could not have built this place without him. When Mathla and I drove out the inhabitants, we only managed to create what we have with Yelfon’s help. He is a dear friend.”

  “I thought as much when I found out it was Dremarai genes that I was treated with. I was altered as much as possible while maintaining my Terran designation.”

  “He said that you had discussed it. I am glad. You are doing very well for one who has just been introduced to this particular situation.”

  “Have you contacted the Dremarai and asked them about any myths or legends about him?”

  “I have. They are forwarding some of their documents and legends to us. We should have a fairly complete history soon. We have also contacted the great Alliance Archive to see what they can find. We have expanded the query to the other ancients as well.”

  “What did Aloth think of my proposal?”

  “He was very keen to know if there were actually women out there who would bear a child for a man they had never met.”

  “For a ticket to the stars? Yes. It just remains to be seen if the Alliance and the Imperium wish to have the Hirn back from the edge of extinction. If they pick up the bill, the recruiters on Terra will get to work finding compatible volunteers.”

  Mathla resumed control. “I can’t believe that women would just trade their bodies for something new or difficult to acquire.”

  “I have met women in my life that traded the use of their bodies for a sandwich and a shower.” Libby shrugged. “You can’t judge someone’s actions if you have never known their need.”

  “True. So, are you going to put out a general invitation to the ancients? You would be able to get them here and converse with them in a comfortable and controlled atmosphere.”

  “That sounds nice. How are the novices from the Hirn incident coming along?”

  “No mood swings or rages. They seem to be eager to make up for time lost to lack of focus.”

  “Good. Aloth?”

  “Weirdly, he has decided to go through novice training.”

  Libby smiled. “Good. Seeking out any kind of education and regimen is a good idea.”

  “It is no worse than the banishment suggestion.”

  Libby watched as the vapour and smoke cloud finished its extrusion, and it started to move around the building itself. Gardens took form on the upper level, and luscious bedding and drapes filled the windows below.

  She was getting her house and her privacy, so perhaps she would be able soon to lure Yelfon into an overnight stay. She might have had to work for the last two weeks, but it didn’t mean that her dreams hadn’t created all kinds of things she wanted to try with him.

  She missed him, but she understood that he had his tasks, and she had hers. They could meet in between.

  Mathla smiled. “He is building a connection to my gardens and a connection to the plains. Not all of the ancients wish to speak with the monks. They find them creepy. They also do not care for the monks to enter their territory, so this is sort of an office, study centre, and home for you. You will be able to do all of your necessary tasks there.”

  “What about food?”

  “A dispensing unit is being arranged. You will have complete autonomy but are requested to forward the memories to us.” Mathla smiled. “Your strange brand of memories and marketing has enabled you to find locations that wish to take on the thoughts of the ancients, and they are working to analyze not only the weather but the stellar patterns that are found in them.”

  “It comes down to most of the ancients not being particularly special aside from their longevity. They have seen so many things, and the significance was not always there for them at the time, so getting them into a more casual atmosphere and letting them gently recall the moments is going to be more fruitful.”

  “That is what Yelfon said. He is also interested in being in contact with his people if they are interested.” Mathla sighed. “I wonder where he got that idea?”

  “His people and mine are getting along very well. In fact, most of the ancients here with surviving descendants have one of my people in the most recent generation. Even Oshuan.”

  “Her people are egg layers. How is that possible?”

  “Her people are egg layers with a space-faring history. They have already learned how to mix and mingle with softies.” She smiled. “I believe egg donors are involved.”

  “So, your people are screwing their way into every species?”

  Libby smiled. “No, we have been invited. Our genetic structure makes us easy to manipulate into forms such as this. That makes us desirable to have a controlled introduction to their species—fast-breeding, sturdy, and easy to manipulate. If you have a colony, we are a good bet to help spread out the population. We cover worlds.”

  Mathla-Luon snorted. “Well, I ask that you keep your reproduction here to a minimum, beyond what you have begun.”

  “I passed my fertile years three decades ago.”

  “Ah, but they reset you nearly six decades back. So. How are your cycles? Zanicon told me that they had not subdued your system, but if you like, he can drop some shots and supplies off on his way by in ten months.”

  Libby pressed her hand over her belly and guessed that if she was carrying, it would have to have started only three weeks earlier. Her brain panicked for a moment, and then, she breathed to calm herself. She couldn’t give birth to an ancient. They occurred randomly in nature and only at the beginning of a species.

  Immortals were separate beings that happened in populations, but they weren’t the ancients; it was a very different situation. An immortal could appear at any time and was generally forced to leave their settlement when their status began to be obvious. Ancients happened in primitive societies, immortals occurred in scientifically advanced societies.

  It was inexact as few folk would confess to being ageless, but there were vid records, paintings, and historical records to show researchers the way. That was what this project was; it was to draw a series of heavy lines between the past and the present.

  The tumble of smoke and mist emerged on the rooftop, morphed into Yelfon. He smiled at her and bowed.

  She looked to Mathla as she inclined her head to Yelfon. “Do they know what they are? What they truly are?”

  Mathla shrugged. “I don’t know, and I will never tell them. The soul of a people is something to be treasured. As long as the Dremarai flourish, you will have
Yelfon.” Mathla smiled.

  “Then, we had better make sure that the Dremarai flourish.” She patted Mathla’s hand and walked down the staircase to Yelfon.

  He stood, wearing flowing black trousers and a black belt with gold trim and not much else. “What do you think?”

  She smiled. “It is stunning. It is everything I wanted.”

  “You aren’t looking at the building.” He smiled.

  She walked up to him and slid her hands up his bare chest. “No, I am not. Buildings can be changed; you are one of a kind.”

  He placed her hands around his torso, and he pulled her in close. “I worked very hard on it.”

  She shivered at the low tone. “I would rather that hard effort go elsewhere.”

  He smiled. “You have a one-track mind.”

  She shrugged. “Of course. Look at the man I am dreaming of in my arms.” She hugged him. “Oh. Not a dream.”

  He grinned. “You have been busy.”

  “Yup. Laying foundations is hard work, but now that they know I am not hunting their deepest secrets, I think things will become a little easier with time.”

  “And when it gets out that you are carrying, they will line up to pat your belly.”

  She winced. “It was not planned.”

  He grinned. “I have been in your thoughts; I know that children have not featured heavily in your life. Fortunately, they have featured in mine. So, I will take on the heavy burden of parenthood, and you can work on your archiving.”

  She looked at him suspiciously. “Really?”

  He pressed his forehead to hers, and he showed her memories of holding his son after his wife had passed. He got milk, changed diapers, and fought robbers with his child held in one arm. It was a series of images that took the child to their first shift.

  He lifted his head. “I have done it before, but I would rather do it with you.”

  She smiled. “I know Mathla-Luon is keen as well.”

  “They can’t have children. Luon’s presence is radioactive, and Mathla contains him. It doesn’t leave any room for a child.”

  “And Mathla was so young...”