Hickory laughed. “Honestly, Kylie. No one would take you for a married woman to hear you speak.”
“That’s the whole idea, honey. A girl has to keep her options open.”
Kylie was a strange one, thought Hickory. I’m pretty sure she’s in a happy marriage, yet she yearns for adventure. A whiff of duplicity reached her, and she shut down her empathic sense. She didn’t really want to know if Kylie was having an affair.
Hickory was a neoteric, one of few born in the dark ages following the war who carried the mutant empathy gene. In its embryonic form, the mutation allowed her to sense the emotions of people, and she could tell when they were lying or evading the truth merely by hearing them speak. Her powers had matured on the first Prosperine mission when she’d defeated the rebel armies and lifted the siege of Avanaux by summoning the flying lizards—the Charakai—to scatter the Bikashi ground forces. Later, she’d used it to hold back the malevolent Riv-Amok from terrorizing the citizens of Erlach. On her third mission, she’d linked minds with her father and the Teacher to probe the operating systems of the Ark in the forlorn hope they could defuse the bomb before it destroyed the alien spaceship.
That same link let her share the last moments of the Teacher’s journey before the connection was severed. The experience had been so painful to her, she’d sworn never again to use her neoteric powers to look into the minds of others or to communicate telepathically to influence their decisions.
She realized Kylie was appraising her and forced herself back to the present. “Uh, sorry, Kylie. Daydreaming.”
Kylie cocked her head while raising her eyebrows. “You do a lot of woolgathering, honey. Too much if you ask me. You’d be much better off living in the present rather than being stuck in the past. I think something terrible must have happened to you.” She nodded thoughtfully, then brightened again. “As well as having kissed the Blarney Stone, honey, I’m a damned good listener. You can talk to me about anything. It might help.” She spread her hands in invitation.
Hickory pressed her lips together, suppressing the urge to tell all. How could she unburden herself to Kylie, tell her about Kar, the alien who meant more to her than any human ever had? She was a stranger, more or less, and could never understand the emotional impact his death had on her, which was a good thing. She’d kept herself isolated from Jess and Gareth for the same reason. She didn’t want pity. She’d switched off her SIM to avoid communicating with the outside world and managed to suppress her empathic talents. There was no need for these things in Trinity Beach. She could find out all she needed to know by going to the local pub.
She smiled at her friend. Kylie meant well, but how could she share her feelings when she would barely admit them to herself? “Thanks for the offer, but I’ve got to go now. Perhaps another time?” She clipped the lead onto Bonni’s collar and stood.
“Anytime, gorgeous.”
#
Hickory ignored the dilapidated warning sign printed in English and German and sprinted barefoot across the hot sand with Bonni by her side. Sightings of “Salties,” as the locals affectionately referred to saltwater crocodiles, were rare, and she’d never seen one in all her time at Trinity. She splashed through the shallows until the water lapped at her waist, then dived under a wave enjoying the thrill of the foam churning over her head. She surfaced, pulling herself through the water with crisp overhead strokes and kicking legs.
After a hundred yards, she flipped onto her back and floated, letting the current carry her. It was peaceful out here; she and Bonni had the sea to themselves. She spotted a young couple strolling along the edge of the waves, hand in hand, oblivious to anything except each other. Good luck to them.
The sky had turned overcast, and she could see a rain front approaching. She rolled over and kicked on. On a good day, she would swim as far as Yorkie’s Knob and back. A quick sprint to the point will do, today. She glanced over her shoulder. Bonni lagged behind, gamely paddling to catch up. I’ll catch her on the way back.
The one-meter swell and a stiff breeze in her face made the going difficult. She looked over her shoulder again and saw Bonni rise on the crest of a wave then disappear. Treading water, she waited until Bonnie re-emerged, then shouted at the dog to make for the shore, but the pup ignored her and struggled on. Cursing, she struck out toward her. The dog’s head remained above water, and she could see the laughter in her eyes as she swam closer.
The clouds hung low overhead, and thunder rolled in the distance. Hickory was almost there. She reached out to grab the dog, but it disappeared. What? At first, she thought the pup was playing with her and turned full circle, thinking the kelpie would bob up behind, but she saw no sign of her.
The rain fell hard and fast now, pummeling her face. She ducked beneath the waves to see if she could spot the pup and entered a world of silent turmoil. The approaching storm was reflected in the churning of the surface above her, and she had to fight the strength of the current to avoid being dragged out to sea. There was a sense of being in an alien environment, equally as strange as any planet she had been to. The water was murky with sand and torn seaweed, and a few small fish fled past her, heading shoreward to safety. Hickory couldn’t see any sign of Bonni, and she resurfaced, sucking in air.
Lightning flashed, illuminating the darkness, and she caught sight of her pet about fifty yards away being lifted on the crest of a wave only to disappear below the surface once more. She realized the kelpie was being dragged parallel to the beach by a strong rip and set out after her. It took less than a minute to reach the spot, and she treaded water, scanning the surrounding area.
She felt something brush her foot and dived, thinking it was the dog. A flash of lightning illuminated the murky depths and she glimpsed the dark shadow of a fifteen-foot crocodile, propelling itself through the water towards her and Bonni. Her breath exploded in a mass of bubbles, and she kicked to the surface.
“Bonni!”
Ten feet away, the waves erupted as her pet was pushed clear with one back leg trapped in the jaws of the reptile.
Frantic, Hickory flailed the water and screamed, desperate to distract the creature. The Saltie seemed to watch her with one unblinking eye. It flipped Bonni into the air and caught her in its jaws then devoured it as she watched, the dog’s blood staining the water all around.
Terror gripped Hickory. Her arms and legs thrashed the water wildly as she scrambled back to shore, expecting with each passing moment to feel the snap of teeth clamp onto her legs.
Finally, she touched the sandy floor and staggered to her feet, glancing behind her. The crocodile was coming for her, its tail swaying back and forth, driving it through the water. Hickory sprinted from the shallows and ran a hundred yards to the embankment. Her foot caught on a piece of driftwood and she tumbled headlong to the grass, quivering with shock. Flipping onto her back, she scrambled up the slope using her hands and heels like a crab. Her eyes flitted left and right seeking her pursuer, but the crocodile was gone.
#
That night Hickory sat on the patio watching the fury of the tropical storm. She drank the best part of a bottle of Shiraz then dragged herself to bed, but sleep wouldn’t come. She sat on the mattress edge, staring at her feet. Guilt clung to her like a limpet. I could have saved her. Why didn’t I use my telepathic gift to turn the crocodile away… Why? She asked the question over and over but found no answer to explain her response to the reptile’s presence. Was I so terrified of that creature? She shivered at the memory of Bonni’s eyes locked onto hers while she was being eaten alive. She’d felt more afraid today than the first time she’d seen the Riv-Amok—a malevolent creature, winged like a bat with a long neck at one end and a tail stretching out behind.
Its scream was the sound of crackling lightning and rolling thunder.
“God protect us.” Jess crossed herself as the monster flew over their heads.
Hickory wrapped a cloak around her body. “Everyone, get under your cloaks and don’t move no ma
tter what.”
Gareth’s face was pale but his voice was resolute. “Shouldn’t we fight?”
“Not unless you are prepared to die,” said Jakah, the Dark Sun, covering his immobile partner. “Camouflage is our best defense.”
Jakah was right, thought Hickory. They had no chance against this monster. She and Jess held each other tightly and lay motionless on the floor of the ravine.
The screech echoed in her mind. “Murderer! I see you. I will rend and tear you.”
The creature tried to frighten her into revealing their hiding place. Hickory concentrated on blocking its probing. It was a supreme effort of will for her to remain still.
The creature flew overhead, then banked and flew back to the native village. The Sri-Kanath scattered, running in all directions. The beast screeched with rage and soared to the ground, snatching two in its gigantic claws and scooping up another in its jaws.
The derisive snort of the animal penetrated Hickory’s mind; “Better these than none.”
Poor Bonni. Hickory drifted half-way to a troubled sleep. She tossed and turned, and her brow creased as she sought to expel the guilt from her conscience, but it returned, opening a wound that had never healed.
Why would you be concerned about abandoning the dog? You killed your own son, you callous bitch.
Hickory turned away, her arm swinging in an effort to make contact with the invisible torturer, her own mind. “It’s not true, I…I was barely eight weeks pregnant at the time.”
And you sacrificed your son’s life to protect a worthless, pointless career.
“I was young and foolish, desperate to right a wrong. I didn’t understand the harm I would do.”
But you didn’t tell Jacob. Didn’t give him a chance to accept his son.
“He didn’t deserve to know! He was married with children. Jacob was a selfish monster.”
No more monster than you. The voice of her conscience was scathing. Your child, and your pet, both victims of your own self-importance. You could have saved your unborn child at least.
“No. It didn’t happen like that. I needed to track down Crxtor Aliaq, don’t you understand? I was to blame for losing him in the first place. I needed to make amends.”
Was being a Lieutenant in the Alien Corps so vital to you?
“Lives depended on me. I was the only one who could track Aliaq down.”
He was only weeks old. You had a duty of care.
“You don’t understand. I was the sole neoteric on the planet. I had to find him.”
And because of your ambition, you lost your child.
“Swamp fever caused me to miscarry.”
And you lost your son.
“I lost my son!”
Hickory sat up abruptly, holding her head to stop the pain. The morning sun shone bright, heralding a new dawn, but her brow was wet with perspiration. She’d had similar dreams since the ill-fated Aquarius IV mission, but none so intense. After she’d found the lifeless body of Crxtor Aliaq, she'd spent weeks in self-recrimination, trudging through swamps and jungles, fruitlessly chasing up clues to his assassination. When she returned to Earth, physically and emotionally exhausted, Cortherien had fired her. She’d never allowed herself to grieve the loss of what might have been.
She felt calmer after her shower and called airline reservations, ate a quick breakfast, and then finally said goodbye to the sunbirds. She took a cab to the airport and boarded the plane to New Rome.
#
From her vantage point on the balcony of her grandmother’s apartment, Hickory sipped her homemade latte and watched the pedestrians in the street below out for their morning stroll.
She’d arrived the previous evening and thrown herself into her grandma’s arms. Maria had listened to her incoherent babbling about the dog for ten minutes, made her a mug of cocoa, her universal remedy for all disasters, and sent her to bed.
Hickory felt embarrassed about her earlier outburst. Bonni’s death and the nightmare of her early pregnancy loss had continued to prey on her mind all the way from Trinity. Regret over what she saw as a life devoted to duty rather than family had followed. She snorted. Family. What kind of mother would I have made? I have no idea how to be a mother. I can only imagine the sort of kids I would bring up.
Excited shouts from the road below interrupted her meanderings. She leaned over the balcony to see what the fuss was about. Probably some youngsters getting themselves into trouble. There they go, running down the footpath helter-skelter. Except these were a bit older than kids—teenagers or in their early twenties—and they looked scared.
Sounds of pursuit drifted up to her. A posse of black-shirted police ran past, their boots clattering on the tarmac and their batons drawn. Hickory felt confused. Crime was still a problem in the twenty-third century, but nothing compared to pre-war levels. And this was daylight. What offense had these youngsters committed to warrant this? A shot rang out, and she leaped from her chair. One of the kids had fallen to the ground. A girl with her hair pulled back from her temples stopped to drag the wounded boy to his feet, and they ran, following their friends into a nearby alley.
Hickory’s grandmother rushed in from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a tea towel. “What’s going on, what’s happened?”
Hickory ground her teeth and gestured at the road. “They, they…” She shook her head, unable to find any good reason for what she’d seen, but angry anyway. “I don’t know. The police were chasing a bunch of kids. One boy threw a stone at them, and a peace officer drew his pistol and shot him. Can you believe that?”
Maria put a hand to her mouth and lowered her voice. “This isn’t the first time this sort of thing has happened. Something is wrong with our system. The police shouldn’t be shooting at children.” She leaned over the balcony to look, but the street was empty.
Hickory placed her arm in her grandmother’s and led her inside. “Nonna, I need to talk to you about something.” The police shooting at the young people had somehow brought the tragedy of her lost pregnancy back to her mind. “I’m a mess.” She shook her head. “I don’t know what I’m doing with my life. I feel as though there’s no purpose to it anymore. I did once, you know I did, but…”
They sat side by side on the settee and Maria patted her hand. “Shoosh, gattina. Whatever is troubling you, worrying about it will only make it worse. Tell me what’s happened.”
Hickory looked into the crinkled face of her grandma and dissolved into tears. “Oh, Nonna, I feel so wretched.” She talked about the fateful first mission on Aquarius IV where she had miscarried. She told of the terrifying death of Bonni, and her weakness in the face of the crocodile attack. Finally, she spoke of her feelings for Kar and how his death had affected her. “I just wonder what the point of it all is. I think I’ve been chasing a pipe dream all these years.”
Maria shook her head and let out a heavy sigh. “Hickory, everybody has doubts. Do you think you’re any different from anyone else?”
Her granddaughter returned a rueful smile. “To be honest, I always thought so. I didn’t make friends growing up because I didn’t want anyone finding out how different I was. They thought me freaky enough.”
“No, Hickory. Listen to me. You were a special child in many ways, but that’s not what I’m talking about. The feelings you have are common in people your age.” She raised her hand as Hickory tried to interject. “The reason you feel lost and hurt may be different from others, but most people regret something they did or failed to do, and most don’t even know what.”
Hickory wasn’t convinced. “You think so, Nonna? I see a lot of happy men and women in the world. I’m sure they don’t feel the way I do.”
“They do, Hickory.” Her grandmother pressed her lips together and frowned at her over her glasses. “Think about what just happened outside. Our society places severe restrictions on individual freedom, supposedly for the greater good. Those kids are young enough to care, and they want to do something about it, but many peop
le live lives of quiet desperation without even knowing why. At least, you know why.”
“Do I, Nonna?” Hickory’s shoulders slumped. She felt more confused than when she’d arrived.
Her grandmother drew closer and placed an arm around her. “You’ve experienced several traumatic events that have caused you to doubt the value of your work at the Agency. I don’t understand all the details, but that’s the gist of it, yes?”
A tear escaped Hickory’s eye. She brushed it roughly away. That was the start of it. Then came the regrets. If she hadn’t dedicated herself to the Corps, she could have led a more normal life. The surgeons had done a brilliant job to minimize her neoteric impulses. It was the circumstances of her mission to Prosperine that had awakened them. If she hadn’t gone, she might have found someone to love and even had a family. “That’s the gist of it, Nonna.”
Maria tutted and patted her shoulder.
Hickory leaned towards her and allowed herself the comfort of her grandmother’s embrace. “One thing I do know,” she said. “I won’t solve my problems or find meaning in my life by moping around here.
CHAPTER 3
The Admiral
The insistent beeping of the holoscreen woke Hickory. She shook the fuzziness from her head and stared at the monitor, her eyes bleary from lack of sleep. Another weird dream. Kar and Vogel were in her thoughts often, but this was the first time in two years she’d dreamed of Jacob. Must have been the alcohol. She’d spent the previous night in the company of several of her work colleagues from the Academy. Her friend, Katrina, had announced her engagement to marry, and a few of the staff had gone out to celebrate. It was a big night, and she’d kicked on with one of the male lecturers, making the round of pubs and nightclubs until after four a.m..
He’d asked to see her home, and she’d invited him in for a nightcap. They sat on the lounge drinking red wine and talking, and then he’d leaned over and kissed her.
Fractured Prophecy Page 2
