by Viola Grace
Lemil chuckled. “Good choice. It works with your colouring. Your skin looks almost blue now.”
Yatal nodded. “Dommor would propose the moment he saw you like this. Good thing he is safely distant.”
Lemil checked on the hair and nodded. “Beautiful. Your hair took to it exceptionally well. You do need a trim, though.”
Yatal chuckled. “You may as well remain seated. She will have your hair trimmed in a few minutes.”
Lemil took some scissors and trimmed the hair, her comb gliding through it easily. “I would love to have hair like this.”
“You really wouldn’t. It hangs straight and waves when it is humid. It slithers out of pins and has to be clipped in place to hold it.”
Lemil smoothed her hair into an arc, and when she was done, Lyra smiled, nodded, and pinned her hair up into her standard roll.
Yatal sighed. “What would it take for me to see that hair down again?”
She laughed. “A medical emergency or another day off. Since my next day off is six weeks away, I would say it is unlikely.”
He frowned. “That is a long stretch.”
“It is part of my bond. Don’t worry. I have my hair to keep me entertained now. Mistress Lemil, I would like to pay.”
She waved it away. “Guardian Yatal has taken care of it, and it was my pleasure. If you book in advance next time and will allow some of my clients to line up to run their hands through your hair, I can promise you hair maintenance for decades.”
Lyra was going to tell her that she wasn’t going to be there for decades. She was doing her time as a security officer, and then, she was gone. She didn’t know where yet, but she could start doing her research into options for where she wanted to spend her time out of bond.
She got to her feet and put on her jacket. When she was dressed, she bowed to Mistress Lemil. “Thank you, Mistress Lemil.”
Lemil laughed and said, “You bow just like newbies off a station.”
Lyra paused and nodded. “It is the first thing they teach us. The second is how to exit politely.” She winked and backed toward the door before leaving.
When she was out on the sidewalk, Yatal joined her. “Mistress Lemil is very embarrassed.”
Lyra shrugged. “Then, she is feeling judged by the others in the salon. I am not judging. I attempted to leave with a smile.”
“She is going to try to make it up to you when she sees you next.”
“Why?”
“Pointing out that folks are newly arrived is considered the height of rudeness.”
“In that case, there are a lot of rude people here.” She laughed and sighed. “They don’t mean harm by it. I know that. They are just curious. I hope that no one here feels the pain of having their world broken under their feet.”
She looked around and smiled at the chill in the air. “This place feels a lot like my home.”
“So, would you stay? After your bond is over, I mean.”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. That is years away. Until then, I am just going to do my job, take my days off, and if I am lucky, I might even get another chance to skate.”
“Skate?”
“Ice blades.”
“Ah. I hope you can too. You are very graceful on the ice.”
“I loved it, and my mother loved it. My father liked drinking hot beverages while watching.”
Yatal asked, “Did they die in the cataclysm that affected your world?”
“No. They were already gone. A vehicular collision. They were forced off the road and off a cliff. Our vehicles didn’t fly.”
“How old were you?”
She chuckled and explained, “I was an adult, living away from them in another city. I buried them, I mourned them, and I resumed my life with a hole in my soul. It got better day by day, but when the world broke, I said goodbye to them one last time and went in search of a transport point.”
Lyra realized that she had to stop talking.
She stopped in her tracks, and when Yatal turned toward her, she grabbed him by the front of his tunic and pulled him down to her. The kiss was sudden, hot, and his arms closed around her in a tight embrace. He lifted her up, and his tongue slid into her mouth in light flicks. Lyra moaned and tried to get closer than her winter gear would allow.
She focused on the kiss, and her mind began to send her images of Yatal’s future. It had been so long since she had been in physical contact with someone that she had forgotten how intense the waking dreams could be. She saw the floats, saw a weapon raised, and saw Yatal struck in the chest. Lyra gasped and pushed away. “Stop. Please.”
He gripped her harder. “You kissed me.”
“Do you ride on the float? The vehicle... in the parade.”
He nodded. “I do. Why?”
“This year, someone is going to try to kill you.”
He set her on her feet. “Who are you?”
She smiled and shrugged. “Just a bondservant with waking dreams. I am sorry.”
She used her training to break his grip, dropped to her feet, and ran.
Chapter Six
Lyra got back to her rider via hiding in the shadows and avoiding the sight of Yatal overhead. She flew back to the base and wiped the tears out of her eyes. No one was going to catch them this time.
She walked in and ordered an evening meal, taking the tray to her private quarters. Because she was the only female security personnel at the base, she was allowed her own private space.
She sat in her room, ate her dinner, and then she went to bed. She had work in the morning.
* * * *
Yatal knocked on his father’s study door, and his mother was sitting across his lap, and their heads were close together.
Yamira grinned. “You look irritated, my son.”
He bowed shortly to his mother. “I am. I am also confused. Father, are there any psychics that are newly arrived here? Females, adults. Pale skin.”
Koron was curious. “Psychics, not that I know of. Why? Did you meet one?”
“I think I did. She knew that I was going to be in the winter parade, and she saw someone shoot at me in her vision.”
Koron smiled. “You don’t say. I would love to study her. Did you get her name?”
Yamira snorted. “Judging by his frustration, he got a bit more than that but not enough.”
“In that case, I definitely want to see her. If there is the potential of grandchildren, I want to make sure she is suitable.”
Yatal snapped. “Father! That is inappropriate.”
Koron leaned back in his chair, taking his mate with him. “Ah, it is that way. So, if she is so special, how did she get away from you?”
Yatal frowned. “I honestly don’t know. I was surprised by her declaration of her vision; she did something with her arms, and then she ran away. She is incredibly fast.”
Yamira’s eyes narrowed. “Did she strike you?”
“If she did, Mother, it was in self-defence.”
His mother settled back in his father’s lap. Yatal exhaled slowly. He was an only child, and it was unlikely that his parents would have another.
“Her name is Lyra.”
Koron started laughing, and he refused to say why he was so amused. He knew exactly who Yatal was referring to; that much was certain.
* * * *
Lyra faced off against the protestors who were trying to charge the rehab centre. The guardian, Mekthos, had fallen into a crowd of onlookers and injured two of them. They wanted to stare and cheer when there was a fight, but they thought a guardian was a force field. They were not.
“Stand aside, or you will be stunned.”
They jeered and pressed forward. She powered up and sent a wide spread of stunning power through the crowd of thirty, and then, she did it again.
Her ability to pulse the stunner was one of the skills that was mentioned in her file. Human physiology let her do something that a native Naz
uan couldn’t, which was why she went for a third low-level spread that knocked them flat.
Emmers and Johli came thudding toward her, but her opponents were done. She mumbled. “Back to your posts. There could be more of them.”
The other two huffed and headed back to their gates. The collection unit with the standard peacekeepers loaded up the unconscious men and women, taking them off for attempting to assault a guardian.
Security Unit Six returned to duty, holding herself up for the rest of her shift.
She was slumped over in the transport, and she looked at Emmers with eyeballs that felt numb when she realized that he was speaking to her. “What?”
“Our team has been assigned to keep the peace at the parade tomorrow.”
She lifted her head. “What? It’s tomorrow?”
“Sure. It is the same day every year. So, our units are getting a polish and will be delivered to the city tomorrow morning. We get in and do our shift walking with the vehicles.”
She blinked as the details of the day rushed in on her. “Great. What time do we leave?”
Emmers chuckled. “You need to check into medical. You are depleted.”
She waved it off. “I will be fine. I have been worse off.”
The team laughed, and then, they discussed their positions in the parade. She lifted her head. “I want to be behind the Targuthi peninsula vehicle. That way, I get to see the whole parade as it launches.”
The guys agreed that since she had never seen it before, it would give her the best vantage point.
She sighed silently. That would put her right in front of Yatal’s float. If her dreams were as accurate as they used to be, it was going to be the best place to guard him from.
She slid into her unit and locked it up before she got her limbs into the compression housings. The unit was gleaming, but it still looked like a security unit.
She got settled and walked her unit over to where the vehicles were getting in order. She walked up to Dommor, and she inclined her unit. “Coordinator Dommor, would it be possible to decorate the units so that we don’t look so military? It would help with the mood of the security detail.”
Dommor blinked. “Excellent idea, number six.” He grinned his icy grin. “I think I have just the thing for you.”
She was wary, but she made sure he didn’t cover her sensors. When she exited the prep area, she used the interior coms. “Emmers, Johli, Ziann, get in there and get ready to become part of the parade.”
Emmers growled. “I don’t recall authorizing that.”
“You would rather that this look like a military exercise? I saw little kids lining up. We can still be friendly and look frosty.” She chuckled. She was wearing icicles, fake snow, and snowflakes as she walked.
She got into position and settled in, waiting for the start of things. The guys came out one by one, and Dommor had a huge grin on his face as he looked at his handiwork. They all looked winterized.
Lyra looked around and watched the teams from across the world climb onto their vehicles to represent their countries and regions.
Yatal was representing the city. He was standing in a tunic, trousers, boots, and a long vest that was covered with stitching and lettering from Nazuan races.
His hair was long and loose, his wings were gleaming, and he definitely looked like an excellent representative of Nazua.
The parade started, and they slowly got into position. Sixteen vehicles, several acrobatic teams, and everyone was there to have a good time.
Lyra walked ahead of Yatal’s vehicle and enjoyed the parade while keeping her senses and sensors on alert.
She walked for the ninety minutes of the parade, and then she saw the building, the crowd, and the bazooka-like item that was being raised toward Yatal. She couldn’t fire at the attacker with all of the parade watchers in front of them, but she could do one thing. She stepped between Yatal and the blast at the moment that he fired. This is going to suck.
* * * *
Yatal watched it unfold as Lyra had described, but to his shock, the security unit ahead of him stepped between him and the blast and took the hit.
He flicked up and caught the perpetrator with the weapon. It was easy. When he had shot the festive unit, the crowd had taken him down.
The other units arrived and took custody of the man screaming about Nazua being a free world. Medics were converging on the fallen unit, and they couldn’t get the pilot out of the bot.
Yatal landed next to the bot and used his override to open the back of the mech. The shiny back of the armoured suit was standard, but the scent was Lyra. “Shit.”
He pulled the pilot release, and when it opened, he pulled Lyra out of the blasted bot; a huge scorch mark covered her chest.
The medics wanted to take her, but he muttered, “I will take her to my mother.”
He flicked his wings and headed for the overseer’s home, calling his mother while he was on the way. Lyra was breathing, and her suit had caught the majority of the blast, but the armour had melted, so the state of her skin wasn’t sure.
His mother was on the roof when he arrived. She examined Lyra quickly and nodded. “Bring her to the blue room.”
“You don’t need the lab?”
“No. She is out from the shock and has some minor burns. I can treat her in a more comfortable setting.” Yamira smiled. “Don’t worry. She will live to shoot you in the face with a stunner again.”
He followed her into the house and down a few levels. “What?”
“She’s unit six. Unit six was the one that struck you. Lyra Lannark. Urther. Her world was shattered by an asteroid, and she has a skill at manoeuvring mechs.”
“How do you know all that?”
“Your father talks in his sleep, dear.”
Yamira opened the door to the blue room and nodded to him. “Help me get the suit off. I was never good at undressing women.”
Yatal gave his mother a droll look, sat on the edge of the bed, and slid his hand along Lyra’s neckline to find the closure. Her dark blue hair was twisted up in a bun, and as he opened her suit, he found the clip and released it. He buried his face in the silky mass and inhaled.
“You know she’s started bleeding, right?” His mother sighed. “You Hmrain. The moment that you catch the right scent, your brain goes blank.”
He peeled the torso of the mech suit free and lay her down to finish removing Lyra’s damaged suit.
The skin on her chest was red and raw. Yamira leaned in and pressed her hands on the skin while her eyes glowed brightly. When she lifted her hands, a clean and healed imprint was left on Lyra’s body. It would take some time, but she would be completely healed. His mother wouldn’t do anything but a precise job.
He looked at the scorched and damaged suit, and he wanted the criminal in front of him again, with or without a weapon.
His mother made a small sound. “She’s fighting me. Interesting. And she’s regenerating on her own.”
Yatal had been looking away out of politeness, but now, he stared as the tissue next to a pink nipple went from red to fuchsia to pale pink to the creamy colour of the rest of her body.
Yamira chuckled. “You chose an interesting one, my boy. I will find her something to wear. Your father is going to be down here as soon as he finishes watching the news reports saying that you were fine.”
His mother left him alone with Lyra and her slow regeneration. When her skin was back to normal, her breathing eased. He realized what was going to happen next, and he quickly got a spare sheet from the cupboard and draped it over her. It had no sooner settled than Lyra started to stir.
* * * *
She remembered light and then burning and then darkness. The smell of one’s body scorched wasn’t pleasant, but now, all she could smell was lavender and mint.
She felt light. Her body wasn’t dressed. With dread, she opened her eyes and looked around. Yatal was sitting at the foot of the b
ed.
“So, Lyra. You were right. It took an emergency to see you again.”
She lay back and covered her eyes with her hands. “Of course it did.”
She opened her eyes and sat up. “You are okay, right?”
He laughed. “I am definitely fine. Your attacker isn’t. The crowd knocked him out and was kicking him while he was down.”
She chuckled. “Good. Fuckhead.”
“If my mother gets a hold of him, he will wish the crowd had finished the job.”
Lyra pulled the sheet back up. “So, where am I? Does my team know?”
“You are in the overseer’s home. My mother is a contact healer, and she helped your healing get off to a solid start. Your body did the rest. You are not a registered accelerated healer, are you?”
“No. I haven’t had a lot of damage since I came here.”
His mother came back with a dress in her arms. “Here we are, Lyra Lannark. A dress for you before my mate threatens to take you apart.”
Lyra looked at the dress, and it thankfully pulled on over her head. She got it settled, and then, she swung her legs out from under the sheet so that she could stand to get the dress in place. Yatal jumped up to help her. He held her steady on her feet while the dress fell in folds to her ankles. She was standing and dressed when the door opened. A dark purple Hmrain was standing there with the stellar eyes and wings of the same insectoid configuration as Yatal’s.
“So, Urther Lyra Lannark. You have been creating havoc in my family. My mate has threatened to kill you at least twice before knowing who you were.” He walked in and looked at her, examining her eyes and the pallor of her skin. “You don’t look sturdy at all.”
She was still being held by Yatal, and there was literally nowhere to run. “I am sturdy for one of my kind and have had some of the enhancements offered to us in specified service.”
Koron spoke to his son. “Bring her to my lab. I want to understand this.”
