Test Subjects

by R S Penney

  The woman turned and stalked off without another word, leaving Anna to watch her go with a worried expression. Had either of them noticed Rajel's presence? He cleared his throat forcefully.

  Anna blinked, then gave her head a shake, coming back to reality. “Sorry, Rajel,” she said. “Thank you for coming.”

  Grinning from ear to ear, Rajel offered a quick bob of his head. “I'm quite happy to be here, Operative Lenai,” he replied. “As I was telling Agent Seyrus a few minutes ago, this will be a new challenge.”

  “Well, thank you just the same.”

  “Happy to help.”

  Two steps behind Rajel, Cassiara had her shoulder pressed to one of the windows, her gaze fixed upon the floor. “I'll be with him,” she said. “If anything goes wrong, he'll have backup.”

  It was an effort to restrain the urge to snap at her. Anger burned hot within him, but he tried to remain calm. Even after all of his work, his commendations – not to mention the fact that a Nassai had chosen him – people still assumed that blindness made him less capable of doing this job.

  Sometimes they did it without even realizing it. Cassiara was trying to be helpful. Come to think of it, Anna's motivations might be equally questionable. Her question had seemed innocent at first, but if she was thinking that there was some reason why Rajel, in particular, might not be suited for-

  “Operative Aydrius can handle himself,” Anna said, sparing a glance for the other woman. “Technically, he's got seniority on both of us, and he's dealt with more than his fair share of dangerous situations.”

  She turned those big eyes of hers on him with an expression that made it hard to stay angry. “I'll be back on duty tomorrow,” she added. “But if you need me, please don't hesitate to call. Until then, it's just the three of you.”

  “The three of us?” Rajel inquired.

  “Keli is in the gym, training our victims to resist telepathic intrusion.”

  “Yes, well,” Rajel muttered. Hunting a telepath was one thing, spending time with one was quite another. But Ms. Armana was part of this team whether he liked it or not. “You are aware that the ability to delegate is a necessary skill for a leader, right?”

  “Come on,” Anna said. “I'll take you to her.”

  “Focus!” Keli shouted.

  The embarrassment she felt after last night's debacle had put her in a bad mood, and despite herself, she was taking it out on the students. Letting a weaker telepath slip into her thoughts and leave her writhing on the floor? Keli wanted to punch something.

  She found the sixteen people who stood upon a big blue gym mat, arrayed in four rows of four, to be utterly unsatisfactory. After nearly three hours of training, she could still get past their defenses with minimal effort.

  Marini Soval was bent over with hands on her knees, her face marked by the sheen of sweat as she tried to catch her breath. “We're trying,” she panted, looking up for half a second. “We need a break.”

  “Your attacker won't give you a break.”

  Keli stood before them in a sleeveless white dress, her arms folded as she stared them down. “You will have to develop the skill to keep him out,” she went on. “With a little discipline, you can prevent him from entering your mind. Now, focus!”

  She gathered her will and pressed it against them, and – as expected – each of her subjects groaned in response. A few raised hands to their foreheads, grimacing when they felt her presence. The experience had been described to her as being similar to having a gnat buzzing inside your skull.

  Each one of them was distinct to her. Tiela Zarvo, Marini Soval, Jhen Kaledar: each mind had its own unique flavour. Sixteen beacons of sensation, memory and emotion, all blazing like the sun. Keli ignored them.

  She wove an illusion.

  The gymnasium vanished, and soon they were all standing on nothing at all, smack-dab in the middle of an endless void. Some of her subjects looked around, stumbling in confusion, but a few of them retained their wits. Marini slapped a hand against her multi-tool, causing it to beep.

  The sound brought a few more out of their stupor, and soon Darin, Zalene and Tim did the same. “Good!” Keli said, allowing the illusion to dissipate. They were standing in the gymnasium again.

  Planting fists on her hips, Keli smiled as she ran her gaze over them. “You are all getting stronger,” she added. “All you have to do is maintain focus long enough to signal us for help.”

  Several people murmured their thanks.

  “Now, resume the counting exercise.”

  Almost everyone groaned, and Jed Asako actually plopped himself down on the mat, hugging his knees. “We need a break!” he whined. “We've been at this for hours. It's exhausting!”

  “The telepath won't give you a break.”

  “But we can't learn if we're too tired to think,” Shivi Tiar protested.

  “Very well,” Keli muttered. “Take fifteen minutes.”

  She sensed the presence of another mind. No…Not one mind but two, one of which was distinctly alien. A Justice Keeper had entered the room. Sadly, that was all she could sense without coming up against the Nassai's mental barriers.

  She turned around to find Rajel Aydrius coming through the door, dressed in those ridiculous Earth fashions that Hunter preferred. Some of those trends were catching on, which only served to demonstrate the stupidity of the Leyrian people. Now that she was free of those drab prison smocks, Keli preferred clothing that looked elegant…and maybe just a little imposing.

  Aydrius turned his ear toward the panting students, listening to their murmurs and complaints. “Seems like you're working them pretty hard,” he said. “Maybe you want to let up?”

  Baring teeth, Keli shook her head. “Don't question my methods,” she said, striding toward him. “I am employing the same techniques that allowed me to hone my skills.”

  “Maybe I'm wrong,” Aydrius began, “but I was given to understand that you were taught by a sociopath who locked you in a cell for the better part of your childhood. Are you sure you want to adopt their methods?”

  Keli folded her arms and fixed an icy glare upon the man, refusing to bend to his needling. “What do you want, Aydrius?” she asked. “It's no secret that you don't hold me in high esteem; so, why come down here?”

  The Justice Keeper answered that with a wry grin and chuckled softly as if she had just played right into his hand. How it vexed her that she couldn't just rip the information from his mind. “Anna told me to let you know that I'll be on duty tonight,” he said. “If we locate the telepath, I'll be going with you to bring him in.”

  “Grand.”

  The man slipped his hands into the pockets of his windbreaker and began to pace a circle around her. “I thought so too,” he said. “You are eager to help, aren't you? I know it might not be easy, going after one of your own.”

  “One of my own?”

  He turned his head, staring at her through those dark glasses. The man had learned to mimic intimidating gestures when it counted. “A fellow telepath,” he said. “It occurs to me that you might have divided loyalties.”

  Some of the students were becoming uncomfortable. She could feel it radiating from them. Of course, the man would insist on undermining her authority. “Ah,” Keli said. “Your distrust for telepaths rears its ugly head. Need I remind you that you would be dead if not for my abilities? You and Lenai and Seyrus and the rest. I saved you when we raided that castle.”

  Now the students were confused…and intrigued.

  Rajel's mouth tightened, and then he shook his head. “You see, I've been thinking about it,” he said. “From what I've been told, you're one of the most powerful telepaths ever, and yet you were completely ineffective against this man.”

  Keli felt her face redden, her lips peeling back as she hissed air through her teeth. “That's quite enough, thank you!” she snapped. “I do not need to explain myself to you; you weren't there. And the next time you question my loyalty-”

  “You
'll what?”

  “Try me,” she goaded. “Find out.”

  Rajel turned his back on her, facing the students. It sickened her to realize that she had played right into his hand. She could feel the mistrust emanating from every other mind in this room. “Telepaths,” Rajel said. “So very convinced of their superiority. This is what you can expect from them.”

  Keli sighed.

  That one was going to be trouble.

  Chapter 10

  By the time she got home, Anna was too wired to sleep. The dull throbbing in her head made her want to pass out on a pillow, but it was morning in Denabria, and her body was filled with a kind of nervous energy that made her want to fidget. It was going to be a long day; tonight, her painting would be on display, and she didn't know if she was going to make it to the end of the show.

  She pushed open to the door to Jack's apartment to find sunlight streaming through the windows at the back of the living room. For half a second, she felt silly. Once again, she had come here instead of going home. But she put that emotion aside. Jack must have told her a dozen times that he wanted her here; it was past time she started listening.

  Jack was on the raised floor at the back of the living room, looking out the window with hands in his back pockets. “Hey!” he exclaimed. “You were out all night. Must have been some emergency.”

  Anna stood in the doorway, her arms limp, her head hanging. “Kill me,” she said, practically stumbling into the apartment. “I thought local cops who refuse to listen was strictly an Earth thing.”

  With a chuckle, Jack turned around and came toward her. He was smiling down at himself, shaking his head. “That really sucks,” he said. “Also, note my decision to ignore that disdainful comment about the planet of my birth and focus instead on being a warm and empathetic listener. Please allocate boyfriend points accordingly.”

  He stopped right in front of her with that big dumb grin on his face, and she felt some of her stress melt away. Maybe there was some small chance that she could relax and get some rest. “So noted,” she teased. “With a ten point deduction for rubbing it in.”

  “You tired?”

  She looked up at him, and her eyes fluttered. “Exhausted,” she answered, her voice hoarse. “I feel like my head's been stuffed with cotton. And yet I'm so wide awake, Katy Perry is getting jealous.”

  “Nice reference!”

  Allowing gravity to assert its will, Anna fell forward until her nose was pressed to Jack's chest. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I really worked on that one. Hired a staff of comedy writers that vetoed my first twenty ideas.”

  His arms encircled her, one hand on the back of her head, and it felt so good. Even with the nervous energy crackling within her, the fatigue that made it hard to think, she was still at ease. Still relaxed. “You need some sleep,” Jack said.

  “I can't sleep.”

  “I think I can help with that.”

  Ten minutes later, she was in a bathroom lit only by scented candles on the rim of a tub filled with bubbles. She really had to hand it to Jack; he'd gone all out. The scent of vanilla filled the air, and he had chosen some Earth music to help her relax. Some artist called Enya. It was very soothing.

  Anna turned around.

  Her boyfriend was leaning against the door-frame with his arms crossed, smiling at her. “That should help you unwind,” he said. “I have to meet with Larani this afternoon; so I might not be here when you wake up.”

  “You're wonderful,” she murmured. “In fact, you can consider those boyfriend points reinstated. Don't ever say I'm not fair.”

  “Ha…Thanks.”

  “Join me?”

  Jack's eyebrows shot up, and then he hunched over with a hand clamped onto the back of his neck. “Well, uh…I'd love to,” he said. “But if I get in that tub with you, you might not get very much rest.”

  With a devilish grin, Anna bowed her head and strode toward him. “Suddenly I'm not so tired,” she said. “And besides, I'll sleep like a baby afterward.”

  That seemed to convince him as he stepped forward, tilted her chin up with the tips of his fingers and kissed her on the mouth. Anna melted in his embrace as he tugged at her shirt and pulled it up over her head.

  Two minutes later, she was neck deep in soapy water while Jack sat behind her and kneaded her shoulders. The tension seemed to drain out of her, every muscle in her body relaxing. “Sit up,” Jack said.

  When she did so, he took a soap bead from a small dish, cracked it and let the blue liquid spill over her back. It grew warm very quickly on contact with her skin, and Jack massaged her, working up a lather.

  In her mind, his silhouette wore a puzzled expression with brows drawn together. “So, let me get this straight,” he began. “Detective Tremana ignores your order to stay out of it and brings a team of officers with no defense against telepathic intrusion. And she honestly thought that was gonna work?”

  “Right?” Anna exclaimed. “Like who hears 'This guy can take control of you with a thought' and responds to that with 'Meh…Losing your free will can't be that bad?' ”

  “What'd you do?”

  Anna shrugged, splashing water, then falling back against him. She turned her head to nuzzle the side of his neck. “Told her off,” she said. “Pulled out the kind of speech Jena used to give us when we really screwed up.”

  “Did you call her an embarrassment to the department?”

  “No.”

  “Did you make her turn in her badge?”

  “No…”

  “Did the words, 'I'm too old for this shit' pass through your lips? Even once?”

  “No!”

  Jack kissed her forehead, then pulled away and blinked at her. “Sweetie,” he said, shaking his head. “I don't think you did this right.”

  Anna playfully elbowed his stomach, eliciting a soft grunt. “Shut up!” Teasing her about her command style after the long night she had just endured? That was definitely against the rules. Of course, the way Jack trailed his fingers up and down her back made up for it. Sweet Mercy, she was so mellow. All that nervous energy had dissipated, and now she just wanted to drift off to sleep.

  Anna snuggled up with her cheek pressed to his chest, her eyes shut as she breathed slowly. Taking a cue, Jack put his arms around her, and her determination to stay awake vanished. She let her mind wander, all her cares fading away. She was warm and safe and perfectly content.

  “Sweetie?” Jack whispered.

  “Mmm?”

  “We should get out before the water gets too cold.”

  Too cold? What was he talking about? She had only closed her eyes a few seconds ago, but…Bleakness take her. The water was barely lukewarm! Dragging herself out of the tub was absolute torture. She wanted to go back to sleep.

  Fortunately, she had Jack to help her.

  He wrapped her up in a big, fluffy towel, dried her off and then put his arm around her shoulders as he guided her to his bedroom. Anna was dimly aware of lying down on his soft mattress, curled up on her side.

  She felt a blanket settle on top of her, and then Jack was right behind her, his warm body driving away the chill. His hand on her tummy…Perfection! Anna drifted off into a deep, peaceful sleep.

  She dreamed good dreams. Ones where she could feel Seth's contentment and…Summer? Was that Summer? Though she was still asleep, her mind found lucidity for a few seconds, long enough for her to note the presence of a second Nassai. This one had a more feminine presentation, and she was bursting with love and affection. Feeling it made Anna so happy.

  Summer loved her!

  Sometime later, she woke to find herself snuggled under the covers, but alone. The sound of footsteps elsewhere in the apartment said that Jack was still here. Her mind felt clearer, less burdened by fatigue.

  Anna squeezed her eyes shut, then forced them open. “Oh wow,” she murmured, sitting up with the blankets clutched to her chest. “What time is it?”

  She got out of bed and claimed som
e of the clothes that she had started keeping in Jack's closet. A pair of shorts and a t-shirt would do for now. All she really wanted was to talk to her partner.

  As she passed through the hallway that connected to the living room, she saw Jack standing in front of the couch and facing the door with a thoughtful expression. He was fully dressed in gray pants and his light brown coat.

  Pulling the t-shirt over herself, Anna strode into the living room. Her head popped through the neck-hole, and she blinked. “Hey,” she said. “What time is it?”

  “Mid-afternoon,” Jack answered. “You slept about six hours. I was just about to go meet with Larani.”

  “Aw…I'm sorry.”

  Jack squinted at her, as if genuinely confused by her response, then shook his head. “Why?” he asked. “You needed the rest. And it was nice spending the morning with you. I read the latest Brandon Sanderson book.”

  “Yeah…” Anna said. “But I recall telling you that we were gonna…”

  He made his way over to her, bent forward and kissed her once on the forehead. “I had a wonderful day,” Jack assured her. “It was nice watching you sleep, and if you really want to, you can make it up to me tonight.”

  Anna rose on tiptoes to brush his lips with hers, then stepped back and smiled at him. “Count on it,” she promised. “So, will you come with me to the show?”

  “I'd love to.”

  “Good…Now, get going before you're late.”

  “I'm already late.”

  Crossing her arms in a huff, Anna shook her head. “And that's why I love you,” she said. “You're always consistent.”

  The sunlight through the living room window felt good to Melissa as she sat in a big, comfy chair with a tablet in hand, reading through the pages of a Leyrian romance novel. A year ago, one of her classmates had told her that Leyrians must have terrible art. “You can't have good art without suffering,” he insisted, “and Leyrians fixed all of their social problems.” Well, he was dead wrong. This book was captivating…and kind of hot.

  She sighed as the memories came back to her. High school…Had it really only been a year since she was a high school student? Less…she realized. It seemed like a lifetime had passed between then and now. So much had changed when she Bonded Ilia. She was still herself but there was so much…weight in the back of her mind.