by S. E. Weir
She looked forward to relaxing in her apartment while talking to Sundancer. This day had gotten pretty long, and it wasn’t close to dinner time yet.
Phina turned off into the corridor that connected the outer ring of the public station with the inner station that only citizens of the Etheric Empire who resided there and their guests could access. She hoped she would make it home and have time to consider dinner options.
Those hopes were dashed when she approached a cross corridor and felt a fluctuation in her mental shields. Immediately alert, Phina looked around and saw a hooded figure a short distance down the side hallway. Her gaze sharpened on a hand with skin in a shade of green that beckoned her to follow.
Phina had a fairly good idea as to who the hand belonged to. Curious but exercising caution, Phina made her way down the corridor after the alien while she pinged ADAM.
ADAM, are you seeing this?
>>Yes. I’ve tasked part of my processing power to always keep track of you and what you are doing. I don’t want any more surprises for you without us knowing about it.<<
Phina’s heart was warmed. Aww, I love you too, ADAM.
He gave the digital equivalent of an embarrassed cough, then simply answered, >>Yes. Do you have an idea as to where he is leading you, or his intentions?<<
She watched the alien’s back as he turned a corner to head down a different hallway. He apparently had a particular place and purpose for their interaction.
Well, Phina responded slowly. Either he intends to lead me meekly to my death, or he wants a private conversation without his compatriots knowing about it. I’m leaning toward the latter.
Phina frowned as she stopped behind the alien as he paused to open a door. There is also the possibility that he wanted to speak to me without Link or Will there. She paused as she stepped in, her mind whirling before responding, Or both, without either side. I think that’s the most likely possibility.
Once the door was shut, the alien gestured to seats that were arranged for conversation but more for business than recreation.
ADAM, where are we?
>>You are in a private reception room. I told Meredith to let him in.<<
I see. Thank you.
Phina took a chair and folded her legs up to cross under her. She folded her hands together and looked at the alien who sat on the edge of his seat and pulled back the hood. The Qendrok attendant, who had seemed far too interested in their group and particularly her, stared at her with curious and assessing black eyes.
He spoke earnestly, and the translation chip picked it up for her. She had read up on the thin collection of documents the Empire had on the Qendrok culture and language. She hadn’t yet had time to become fluent. She could pick words out here and there as she listened carefully.
“I beg your pardon, Delegate Waters, for the manner in which I gained your attention.”
He drew the hands from his top set of arms forward to bow over them while his second set of hands were held out to her.
Phina nodded and gestured for him to continue. “Of course. For what reason did you use this method to speak to me?”
He straightened, bringing his second set of arms in close to his body, and gazed directly at her face, occasionally glancing at her forehead as he spoke. “Several reasons, Delegate Waters. The first reason is to warn you.”
Eyebrows raised in surprise, Phina leaned forward. “Warn me?”
The Qendrok nodded stiffly. “Yes. Qartan has fixed his malevolent gaze on you. He is part of a faction of our people that values those with power over all else. However, they believe only certain beings should have that power, mainly themselves, I’m sorry to say.”
Phina watched the alien’s stiff movements, wondering if these mannerisms were normal for him or if he felt uncomfortable with speaking with her. “Why are you sorry? Do you not agree with him? You wear the same medallion.” She gestured at the object lying visibly on his chest.
“No, I do not.” He stated firmly. “Our people are divided into two factions. One is more religious, and the other is not. The religious faction has suborned the symbol of our historic ruling government for their own, believing it gives them legitimacy.” He lifted the medallion and briefly placed it on his bowed forehead, then kissed the symbol in the center and released it. “It is a symbol of our great history, and that is why I wear it. Qartan belongs to this religious faction which has gained popularity in the higher reaches of our people. Because his faction controls the government of our people, Qartan has the power to send our assassins after you.” His alien face was longer and broader than a human’s, with wide-set black eyes that looked at her with speculative interest. “He has been ranting for days about you and your unlawful nature.”
He paused, his gaze searching before slowly admitting. “He has named you an abomination.”
Phina’s heart lurched. That was her worst fear. She steadied herself by taking deep, even breaths. None of her friends and chosen family had ever had the slightest thought that the term was true about her. She’d be damned if she’d believe a bigoted alien over her family who loved her.
After a few moments passed, she asked flatly, “Why does he believe this?”
The green alien shifted uncomfortably. “What I am telling you is in part from what rumors have come to me and partly what Qartan has verbalized in his rants. They are very secretive about their practices.” He continued speaking slowly to make sure he was understood. “They have a goddess who has promised them power. Qartan is adamant that only his goddess should have this power available to her. It is why he refused to speak with you before. You are young, human, and a female with power.”
Phina frowned and began processing this while she clarified. “You said he revered a goddess. He has no issue with this female?”
The Qendrok nodded agreeably while changing his arm positions. Interesting. Perhaps their body language meant something in particular. She almost missed his next words in her distraction. “No, Delegate Waters. However, she is not young, she is not human, and she has promised him power. These factors overwrote his particular prejudice about females.”
She couldn’t help asking, “Does he consider your own females to be less?”
He shifted again, appearing uncomfortable. “Yes, but they are traditionally not given positions of power. They are nurturers rather than rulers or protectors. Qartan views that as the rightful order, rather than a personal preference due to nature.”
The doors behind the alien silently opened, revealing Sundancer quietly padding in. I knew you were getting into trouble.
Shh. Quiet, Sundancer. This nice alien is telling me all about what’s wrong with me.
The pink cat sniffed as he settled down on the side of the room where he could see the Qendrok but remain out of the alien’s line of sight. There’s nothing wrong with you aside from a distinct lack of worship in the tune of livers for me.
Sorry, humans don’t do worship of any form well.
Believe me, that fact has not escaped my notice.
“I see.” Phina considered the alien as she gathered her thoughts again, then frowned. “I’m sorry, I never caught your name.”
“Xoruk, Delegate Waters.” He bowed his head in the Qendrok greeting to an equal. “Your pardon for the oversight.”
“No problem, Delegate Xoruk.” Phina thought through everything he’d told her before Sundancer walked in. “So, you said there were several reasons, and the first is that you came to warn me that Qartan will send assassins after me. What are the other reasons?”
Xoruk nodded and straightened as he continued, his black eyes earnest. “I wished to tell you the nature of Qartan’s distaste for you, yes. I also wish to request that your delegation meet with a smaller portion of ours. Just myself and one other.”
He glanced at her forehead again, and she couldn’t help calling him on it. “Delegate Xoruk, is there something on my head that’s distracting you?”
His eyes widened, body posture conveyi
ng embarrassment. “I beg your pardon for my rudeness, Delegate Waters. Your power is visible to us Qendrok, but it is not the same as it is with others, and so it is distracting.”
Phina straightened. “You can see it?”
“Yes,” Xoruk mirrored her movements. “All Qendrok can. Most have a small amount of power themselves, enough to give them the sight to see. The Qendrok who have more power tend to be those who rise higher in our government. Most power we see in others is amassed in a person’s core.” He gestured at his thoracic region where his heart and lungs resided. “However, your power is anomalous in that it centers on your brain instead. It is something that hadn’t been seen before to my knowledge, and so it draws my attention. I certainly didn’t mean to be rude in my distraction.”
He means your ability to connect to the Etheric is centered in your brain, Sundancer told her. It is why most, if not all, of your abilities will be of the mental kind. I have seen in your thoughts that your Empress can move through the Etheric. This would be a physical manifestation of Etheric use rather than a mental one, which means you will not be able to do the same on your own.
Phina shook her head. Later, Sundancer. I have many questions, but I need to finish this conversation first. Thank you for the information.
Sundancer mentally sighed at the delay but finally simply responded, You are my human.
Phina waved a hand dismissively at the Qendrok. “I appreciate the apology, Delegate Xoruk, but I’m fine. I wondered why you kept giving me the looks you do. Now I know. We can set up a meeting. Perhaps tomorrow, around this time in this room?” She figured the later hour would give her and Will time to finish class and other things for the day before the meeting.
Xoruk inclined his head and moved his arms into another position. Her mind kept poking at the possibilities as there had to be meaning there. “The time is agreeable, Delegate Waters.”
“All right. Were those all the reasons for this discussion?” Phina hoped the answer was yes as her belly began rumbling.
After hesitating for a moment, Xoruk inclined his head again. “To meet and speak with you myself, Delegate Waters. The last topic might be better left until we meet tomorrow.”
Phina nodded, then unfolded and stood, giving the appropriate Qendrok greeting for an equal. “In that case, I will see you tomorrow, Delegate Xoruk.”
Xoruk stood as well and returned the greeting looking pleased. “And you, Delegate Waters.”
He turned and caught sight of Sundancer, his eyes widening the furthest Phina had seen yet. “You are bonded to a Previdian!”
Sundancer looked up with interest. Finally, someone who understands my magnificence. You should take notes.
Phina’s eyes darted between the two aliens wishing she was alone with Sundancer so she could speak her mind. She settled for a brief quelling glare. “Yes. That’s what he tells me.”
Xoruk appeared not to know which body position he wanted and ended up twitching several times before finally bowing his head with his palms up. “I see. I thought perhaps human females were the ones with power, but I didn’t see many females with power as I walked through your station. Being paired with a Previdian changes things. You are one to watch, Delegate Waters.”
She frowned. That statement could be taken in many contexts. “As someone who causes trouble?”
He raised his head and looked at her as if she were something wondrous. It made her shift uncomfortably. “No. Previdians are mentioned deeply in our lore and accessed by very few. But those records are clear. You are one to watch because those paired with Previdians do great things that often change the course of their people.”
Chapter Sixteen
Etheric Empire, QBBS Meredith Reynolds
“Phina, wait up!”
Recognizing Will’s voice, Phina stopped walking down the hall toward the exit of the Diplomatic Institute and turned to wait.
Phina felt pretty good. She had shuffled Xoruk’s revelations to the side and spent the last evening talking to Sundancer and training her mental abilities after dinner.
He’d had her lie on the floor—so she didn’t fall asleep on the bed, Sundancer had told her—and he had settled himself just above her head. First, he’d shown her the best way to shield her mind while still allowing the Etheric energy to flow. Then for the next few hours, he’d taught her different ways of shield filtering: to keep her thoughts in, to keep other thoughts out entirely, to filter other’s thoughts so she heard only what she wanted to hear, to be able to skim surface thoughts over a large area while blocking the deeper thoughts in case she needed to find someone such as the scary guy SofRey had mentioned, and finally how to block everything else but one person so she could go deeper.
I don’t want to do that. I don’t need to see or hear that stuff. It should be private, Phina had protested when they got to the last one.
Sundancer had been quiet for a moment then asked, What if you could save a planet by searching one man’s inner thoughts? Your Empire? The Empress? Your friends?
Phina hadn’t protested after that and renewed her focus to learn as quickly as possible. She did end up giving him the small amount of liver she had found and let him sleep on the bed. He hadn’t believed her in the morning when she told him he snored and refused to speak to her further before she left for class.
Class this morning had been much easier without having to worry as much about keeping her shields shut tight. Her filters hadn’t been perfect, but the difference gave her hope that they would be soon, and she felt much more confident and less frazzled.
After lunch, she had gotten another three classes checked off that tested rather than requiring discussion: History of the Empire and two sections of Law and Politics, one from each year. She hadn’t gotten the scoring back yet, but she knew how many answers she’d gotten right, and it was more than enough to pass. There were a few questions in the Law and Politics exams that she’d had to make educated guesses for since they could be solved with several different approaches.
Students passed with questioning glances as Will drew closer with an open smile and worried eyes. “Hey, I got your message about the meeting tonight. Anything we should worry about?”
Phina shrugged and tried to look unconcerned and not like she was under condemnation by a whole group of people. “I don’t know. It probably will be a worry to someone, but I don’t know which person it will be.”
He gave her a quick grin and looked at the time. “We have a couple of hours until then. Are you doing anything?”
“Nothing in particular. Why?” Phina asked, wary.
He flashed her grin. “Ease up there, sister. I wasn’t going to ask you for a date. I already told you that’s not the kind of relationship we’re gonna have.”
Her shoulders eased the tension she had begun to feel. “Okay, good. Just wanted to make sure. Some guys say one thing, but they are just waiting to pounce on you when you aren’t looking.”
He chuckled. “That’s exactly what guys say about women.”
Phina smiled at the quip then took a breath. “All right. So, what did you have in mind?”
Will grinned and tugged her toward the door where other students were leaving. “I’m going to take you to meet my mom.”
She groaned as the tension returned. “Oh yeah, that’s much better.”
Will led her back to the inner station. For time’s sake, they took the tram. On the way, Will asked her about her experiences growing up on the station and shared some of his own.
“Wait, which school did you go to?” Phina frowned after he shared a story from his school years.
He flashed her a smile as they exited the tram. “I went to the same one you did until I went to the Etheric Academy. I applied because I heard you and your friend Alina talking about it one day.”
She stopped, causing a small pile-up of people before he grabbed her arm and escorted her out of the way with a chuckle. “You tend to do that.”
“Do what?” Her thou
ghts were still on his earlier comment.
He grinned at her and guided her out of the way of other passersby. “Get stuck in your head and not be aware of what’s going on around you.”
Phina grimaced and tugged her arm free as she followed. “I’ve gotten better about it, but surprising revelations tend to shock me out of it.” She turned narrowed eyes toward Will. “If you were there with us in school, how come you didn’t talk to us? Did you want to be a creeper?”
Will laughed, then grinned. “I suppose it would look like that. I did try, but as I’ve just pointed out, you tend to be in your head and don’t notice other people unless they warrant your interest. I complained to my mom that I knew we would be friends, but you weren’t cooperating. She told me that meant it must not be time yet and I had to be patient.”
“Huh.” Phina blinked and tried to be more aware of her surroundings as she looked around. “That must have been frustrating. I’m sorry. Your mom sounds great.”
Will gave her an appreciative smile. “Yeah, she always gives me the best advice. Just wait until you meet her.”
Will led her to a corridor of apartment suites that looked like any other. The smells that wafted toward them were fantastic.
As they stepped inside the apartment suite where the delicious aromas originated, Phina heard a pleasant female voice call out from the kitchen, “Will, is that you, love? Just a second while I take these out of the oven and put dinner on simmer.”
“Yeah, Mom. I’m here, and guess who I brought with me?” He flashed Phina a mischievous grin.
She narrowed her eyes and whispered, “You were trouble as a kid; I can see it.”
His grin widened, but his reply got lost as a tall woman who had Will’s eyes and mouth, or the other way around, stepped through the doorway. “Who did you...” Her eyes widened, and she gasped. “Seraphina! It’s really you!”
She stepped forward with a wobbly smile. “Can I hug you?” Phina barely got a nod in before the woman’s arms folded around her and held her tight. Rather than feeling uncomfortable, it was nice. Almost like she remembered her mom’s hugs.
