Water and Power

by Viola Grace

  Enslaved by her own people, she breaks free and joins the Citadel in her capacity as a water elemental. Her destiny is fluid.

  Mora was identified to the Resicor government as a talent, and on the way to the interview that would lock her up, she was diverted and hidden in the mountains.

  After a year on her own, she was captured and her time in service to the Resicor government began, deep underground where the public would never know.

  Tranoth was assigned by the Citadel to break her free, but as a technician, he had to go where he was sent. By chance, he ended up with her on two occasions, and it was enough time to set things in place for the breakout.

  By the time they are able to move, she has been alone for six years with only minimal contact by other beings. Her mind is fragile but she is determined. If they give her a place to run and hide, they will have to catch up to her because she is going.

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  Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Water and Power

  Copyright © 2014 Viola Grace

  ISBN: 978-1-77111-934-4

  Cover art by Martine Jadin

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

  Published by Devine Destinies

  An imprint of eXtasy Books

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  www.devinedestinies.com

  Water and Power

  Tales of the Citadel Book 29

  By

  Viola Grace

  Chapter One

  Morakil Esterhart clutched her purse as she walked toward the screening centre. Her world had become a strange and dangerous place to live in, and it was getting worse.

  Resicor was turning into a world of darkness and paranoia, and Mora was afraid that she was about to become its next victim.

  A woman came up next to her and said quietly, “Do you want to pass this interview?”

  Mora tried to turn but the voice said, “Don’t look. Do you want to pass this interview?”

  Mora nodded.

  “Good. Just relax.”

  A hand gripped her wrist and held tight for a moment. A second later, they were in the midst of a pushing and jostling crowd. A cloak was draped over her head and shoulders and hands guided her out of the crowd and away from the screening centre.

  Mora glanced back, and she bit her lip as she saw herself stepping toward the centre with a nervous stride. She kept her head down and walked with the stranger who had his arm around her.

  When they got around the corner, a transport was waiting for her. The man behind the wheel said, “We can take you home or to the mountains. Your choice. Once you are out there, you will be on your own.”

  “So, I am escaping the dome and going to the hills instead?”

  “Your mind and body will be free. Consider that our gift to you.” The man nodded to his companion, and they chuckled together.

  Mora sat back. This was going to be no life for a jeweller, but she supposed that living free was a better option than living in confinement. Idly, she wondered how the fake her was doing at the interview.

  * * * *

  The double was sitting in the interview room with two people glaring at her from across the table. In the corner was an empath who was monitoring her mind.

  “So, despite your neighbour complaining about your farm having water during the drought, you are claiming that you had nothing to do with it?”

  Fake Mora smiled nervously, keeping the copied memories and personality in front of her own. “I don’t know why the family farm has more water than my neighbours. We might be on a different water table. I don’t involve myself with the farm at all. I am a jeweller.”

  Fake Mora felt the pressure on her mind, and she showed it only what it should feel. Nervous fear and confusion.

  This was not the first time she had done this, or even the hundred and first. She sat through more questions about the water levels at Mora’s home, and finally, she was discharged when the empath shook her head.

  She had a clean bill of being normal, which would mean that Mora could go home, but the blood sample would degrade in a matter of hours. Mora would be registered as normal until someone checked on the blood that they took when fake Mora entered the building. After that, there would be a hunt for her.

  “Ms. Esterhart!” The empath caught up with her just inside the door.

  “Yes?”

  “You forgot your purse.”

  Fake Mora sighed and smiled gratefully. “Thank you.”

  The empath didn’t extend it. “You know, you have a very organized mind. I was surprised, from what your brother said, you were a little scatter-brained.”

  Fake Mora scowled and rummaged through her memories. “I don’t have a brother.”

  The empath inclined her head with a cruel smile. “I had to try. Here you are.”

  She extended the bag and fake Mora looked at it curiously. “That isn’t my bag.”

  “Oh, really? I suppose that the property master got them confused.”

  Fake Mora bobbed her head. “It is fine. I am sure you can understand; I really want to just go home and get back to work.”

  The empath finally gave up. “Good day, Ms. Esterhart. It was a pleasure meeting you.”

  “Thank you. Good day.” Fake Mora felt the tingling in her body that preceded her return to her normal shape, and she turned to escape the centre with as much decorum as she could manage.

  She made it outside and inhaled sharply. She could sense the two men following her as she moved down the street. She moved quickly and loosened the knot of hair at the base of her neck. Her locks were caught by the wind, and they flowed around her. She headed into a mall, and from there, she went into the busiest restroom she could find. She bumped into a woman who was entering with her, and while she was inside a stall, she changed into the woman’s appearance. She didn’t need the mind because this was just a distraction.

  She turned her long tunic inside out and belted it with a flashy buckle from her pocket. With her hair cascading over one shoulder, she left the stall and washed her hands.

  The two men following her were waiting outside, but she walked past them without stopping. She headed to the teashop and wandered out with a tea, heading to the underground tube station and a fast ride home.

  She held her borrowed shape until she changed trains, and then, she assumed another form with the belt no longer in position. A pregnant woman was always a good place to hide.

  She waddled up the steps toward the street and hoped that Mora had made it clear of the city. Around the corner, the shapeshifter ditched her outer clothing and emerged from the alleyway wearing boots, a bodysuit and vibrant blue hair.

  It was her own body and face, but the hair was all whimsy. Amly Hyde had done what she could for Mora, and now, she had to get back to her day job in the Coroway Teashop.

  The government officials needed their teas and p
astry, and she was just the person to serve it to them.

  * * * *

  The directions to the small cabin had been spot on, but the rations they had given her only lasted six months. Mora hated the idea of hunting, but she had no choice.

  The nearby stream had fish it in most days, but she would get tired of fishing fairly quickly. She needed to hunt some of the local wildlife, and for that, she needed a weapon. She had already read the books on butchering meat from the cabin’s small library.

  “Come on, Mora. You can do this.”

  She sat next to the stream and lifted a handful of water. A flick of her wrist and she snapped it into the nearest tree, causing it to shake violently.

  She scooped up more water and increased her focus, managing to slice through the tree with one shot. With practice, she finally cut the tree down with nothing more than a blade of water.

  Mora just had to find out what her range was, and she might even be able to take down one of the local deer.

  How long would she have to live out here on her own, anyway?

  Another six months went by and she had become accustomed to hunting and foraging for a living. Her clothing was worn from repeated washing and her hands were rough from more than just the delicate metal work she used to do.

  Her vantage point in the hills gave her a good view of the sky. It was her sole means of entertainment.

  When the search parties began to come by, it took her a few moments to realize what she was seeing.

  “Damn it.”

  She ran for the cover of the trees, but the flying vehicles were sweeping in an organized wave across the mountain range. They were looking for something, and she was in their path.

  Diving into the rock was not an option, so she ran along the tree line, her worn boots skidding across rock and branches. She had no illusions about being caught. With a wave of ten vehicles flying edge-to-edge, she had no chance at escape. All she could do was keep her little cabin a secret in the hopes that someone could use it in a subsequent event.

  Mora had lived for a year with the threat of discovery, and she was tired. She was only able to run for two miles when the first blasts struck the ground around her. A groove was worn into the gravel in front of her and another behind her. She was well and truly pinned down.

  There was nothing to do but wait.

  “Remain standing. You are hereby arrested under the Unapproved Talents Act. Do not attempt to run and do not use your talent on any of our officers. That will not go well for you.”

  Mora waited and two officers descended and locked her hands together. A brace was placed around her neck, and she was marched to a clearing where one of the search vehicles had landed.

  She was bundled up and locked into a harness with weapons pointed at her.

  They flew her to the assessment centre, and then, she had some explaining to do.

  Chapter Two

  “Well, Morakil, you are looking a little different than you were the last time we met.”

  Mora looked at the pleasant face of the woman in front of her and felt the prickling in her thoughts that told her she was sitting with a psychic of some kind. Most psychics were in government service. If you could mentally manipulate someone, you had a job for life.

  Mora swallowed. “I have had an eventful year. It is bound to change a person.”

  “Yes, I can see the change in your thought patterns. Fear isn’t in there anymore. Determination is.” The interviewer smiled. “The odd thing is that there is no recognition in your mind, as if you had never seen me before.”

  Mora sat back. “I have never been good with faces.”

  “You are lying. Who was here that day?”

  She smiled. “I have no idea.” It was the truth and she knew it glowed in her mind.

  “What did they offer you?”

  Mora cocked her head. “Offer me?”

  “Yes, they had to have convinced you to go with them. What did they say?”

  “They told me I had one chance to leave and enjoy some freedom. I took it.”

  The agent cocked her head. “How did you survive?”

  “I taught myself to hunt and kill. It took a bit of trial and error.”

  Mora knew that they were going to press her for details on her talent.

  “How did you learn?”

  “That isn’t relevant. Please ask what you mean to ask me.”

  The agent sat back and tapped her fingers. “What is your talent?”

  “Water control.”

  “That is funny, I believe that you said you didn’t have any talent for water when you were here a year ago.”

  Mora tapped her cuffs on the table. “Well, not all talents get a cushy job with the government, so did you expect me to be frank about it?”

  The empath paused and blushed before going pale. “It was your duty to declare yourself.”

  “My duty to go to prison for an accident of genetics? I really don’t think so.”

  “Your talent can be a danger to those around you.”

  “No, it actually can’t.” Mora remained calm.

  The only question was where they were going to put her. Were they going to send her to the dome or lock her somewhere else?

  “Remain here.” The agent got to her feet and swept out in her tailored suit and elegant hairstyle.

  There was a cup of tea left out for her, but she ignored it. She didn’t trust anything that the Resicor government had to offer.

  Two hours later, the agent returned. “We have a posting for you. You will be taken to get your uniform, and from there, you will work in the water-processing plant with whatever skills you have mastered. You will be shackled to the facility and no one will know you exist.”

  “So, just like I am now, but I will have something to do with my time. Excellent. When do I leave?”

  The empath blinked in surprise. “Um, now.”

  “Good. This interview has gone just about as far as I was willing to go without dinner and a glass of wine.”

  Mora waited for the guards to take hold of her. The last thing she wanted to do was to stand up without them ready for it. They looked a little twitchy to her.

  She was marched through the assessment facility and several women approached her, removing her clothing with tongs and grimaces. It didn’t take much. Her clothing was ready to fall apart anyway.

  She was scrubbed, brushed and tucked into a new bodysuit, all without removing her cuffs. The ladies had skills.

  A cowl was put over her head, and she was flown for hours before being disgorged into a building that had the feel of water around it.

  She was marched down an endless array of hallways before the cowl was removed and the cuffs were released with new bands being snapped in place on wrists and ankles.

  The tech attaching the cuffs looked apologetic. “The cuffs will keep you from leaving the facility. A sonic shower array has been set up. If the bands get wet, you will get a shock hard enough to knock you out.”

  “I understand. You can’t be too careful now can you?” Mora smiled and rotated her wrists.

  She looked around and noted the folks in lab coats manning monitoring panels. One of the scientists looked at the tech and the tech nodded.

  “Miss, if you would come here and increase the volume of water through this channel?”

  Mora flexed her hands again. “I need to be near the water. Show me the physical channel and I can increase the flow.”

  She was led to the pipes under guard, but once she was standing in proximity, she could feel the flow inside the metal and ceramic. The pipe traced back into a water treatment plant, and the pressure couldn’t be built up without creating an air bubble.

  “I can’t increase the amount of water. The plant that supplies the water has a blockage. I work with water, not metal.”

  The scientist looked at her and smiled. “Very good. They wondered if you could track water as well as mo
ve it. That solves that issue.”

  Mora crossed her arms. “What did you expect?”

  “I don’t know. We were not given the extent of your talent.”

  She sighed. “Tell me what you want me to do and I will try to do it. That is all. No games.”

  The scientist nodded. “Right. Divert two-thirds of pipe nine twenty over to twelve thirty-six.”

  Mora identified the pipes and found their connecting points. She pulled the water through until it opened the valves to the correct level. It was boring, but it seemed to be what they wanted from her, so she did it.

  Two months later, she was getting the commands from a headset that she could wear around the plant. She spent time exploring the caverns that surrounded the pipes, but there was nowhere to go and nothing to do.

  The tedium continued as days flowed into weeks and she was never allowed to see daylight. The tunnels became her home, and it was a boring existence.

  After her third week underground, she had learned the reason behind her assignment. They had run out of the motors to change the valves with any kind of speed. The demand for clean water was ongoing, so her appearing at that time had been fortuitous.

  “Miss? You are requested in the boardroom.”

  Mora got to her feet and walked lightly along the gantry toward the offices.

  “Yes?”

  There were new people in the boardroom. A telepath and an empath as well as two others.

  “Ms. Esterhart? Please be seated.” The telepath gestured.

  “No thank you.” She stood at the opposite end of the long table, placing herself in the advantageous position.

  She felt pressure on her mind. “Sit.”

  Mora raised one eyebrow. “I am not one of the sheep of the population. I can feel what you are trying to do.”

  The empath whispered, “She is bored and amused.”