Red Sky in the Morning (The Covenant of the Rainbow Book 1)

by Elana Brooks

Beverly’s face flamed, and she stared at her hands, wishing she hadn’t asked. “I’m sorry. It’s really none of my business.”

  “No, I understand. You want to know if it might be possible for Adrian to look past the flaws you perceive in yourself and desire you. Again, I don’t know what’s in his heart, but I can tell you how it is for me. Every body has its imperfections. There are parts of Solomon I don’t focus on, just as there are parts of myself I hope he overlooks. But those things have no bearing on our feelings for each other. When we’re together, he’s exactly what I want. If any of those parts were different, even if they were what I might consider better, he wouldn’t be Solomon. And it’s Solomon that I love.”

  Keiko looked into the distance, her expression so tender Beverly’s throat caught. Beverly wondered wistfully what it must feel like to be so deeply in love. Maybe Keiko was right after all, and it was worth whatever it cost. She sighed. “Thanks. Although it still doesn’t make sense to me.”

  “I think it’s something you have to experience firsthand.” Keiko rose. “I hope our conversation has helped you.”

  Beverly jumped up. “Oh, it has, so much.”

  “If you’d ever like to speak with me further, feel free to contact me again the same way you did today.”

  “I will.” Shyly, Beverly added, “Actually, maybe we could get together every now and then anyway, just to chat? Astrally, or maybe even in real life?”

  “I’d enjoy that very much.” Keiko looked and sounded so enthusiastic Beverly had to believe she meant it. “Every Monday, perhaps? If you’d like, I’ll come by Headquarters at the end of the day next Monday, and we can go to dinner together. Just the two of us, no matter what the status of your relationship with Adrian may happen to be at that point.”

  “It’s a date.” Beverly grinned. She’d never had a real woman friend before—it sometimes seemed other women were even harder to understand than men. But there was something about Keiko that made her very easy to talk to, very easy to like. And she seemed to like Beverly, too. Maybe it was just kindness to make the new girl in the Covenant feel welcome. But if so, Beverly would take it.

  Keiko gave Beverly a gracefully formal bow. “Sayonara.”

  “Um, goodbye.” Beverly shuffled her feet.

  Keiko stepped forward to wrap Beverly in a warm embrace. After an awkward moment, Beverly relaxed enough to hug her back.

  Releasing Beverly, Keiko said, “I look forward to next week.” With a gracious nod, she walked through the door.

  Beverly took a deep breath and went to sink back into her body. Keiko had given her a lot to think about.

  More than ever Beverly wanted Adrian’s feelings for her to be genuine. She wanted to be able to return them. A big part of her wanted to jump recklessly into whatever physical relationship he was willing to share with her and see what happened.

  But a bigger, stronger part demanded caution. Maybe she was being a hedgehog, but that’s part of who she was. Adrian would have to get used to it.

  She and Keiko had gotten sidetracked and missed analyzing one thing. But there was no reason she couldn’t do it for herself now. What were the possible consequences of her third choice—stalling?

  Good—she wouldn’t have to decide now. She would have time to think, to listen to her heart, to make sure she really knew what she wanted.

  Bad—Adrian might not be willing to wait for an answer and retract his offer. Well, that would tell her something, wouldn’t it? In that case she’d most likely be well rid of him.

  Or she might go on stalling so long he gave up on her. She’d have to set herself a deadline. A week? No, not quite long enough. Two weeks. By that time they’d know each other much better. Adrian would have a chance to change his mind. If he didn’t, that would show her he was serious. She’d see if her feelings changed, if this first flush of eagerness faded enough to let caution win out.

  And if it didn’t? If she still felt the way she did now?

  She’d go for it. Throw herself into his arms with abandon and let whatever happened, happen.

  Yes, that was her decision. It felt good to have made one. She’d tell him in the morning. For two more weeks she wanted to be friends and coworkers only.

  After that—they’d see.

  Chapter 16

  Adrian noticed Rabbi Sensei watching as he and Beverly finished their morning exercise session with a cool-down walk around the track. He met them at the bottom of the stairs. “Can I have a word with you two?”

  Adrian bit back a denial and nodded. He’d hoped to pull Beverly aside for a moment, but that would have to wait.

  Damn, he wouldn’t have another chance until lunchtime. After they left the gym they’d go to the workroom, and there was no privacy there.

  They spent the latter part of each morning working on psychic techniques which didn’t involve astral projection. Her telepathy was as good now as any member of the Covenant. She showed particular skill at picking up and interpreting the subtle signals everyone transmitted on a subconscious level. Adrian had needed to substantially increase his shielding to keep her from reading his every thought as easily as if he were speaking aloud.

  Her telekinesis was equally strong. She’d had some difficulty with control at first, but yesterday she’d finally mastered a tricky maneuver involving linking paperclips into a chain. Friday it had baffled her, but she said she’d practiced all weekend.

  Adrian swallowed his frustration. He hadn’t seen her at all on Saturday or Sunday. They hadn’t spent any time together outside of work hours. And since that one kiss, their time working together had been strictly business.

  He’d been disappointed when she’d told him she wanted to wait to make a decision and put things on hold for two weeks, but he’d understood her reasons. To tell the truth, he’d been glad of a chance to take a step back and make sure a deeper relationship with Beverly was what he really wanted, independent of what the soul bond demanded.

  Now he was sure. Every day in her presence was both more enjoyable and more of a torment. Beverly had continued to blossom both physically and psychically. The effects of her month of intense exercise were clearly visible—she was quite a bit leaner and more muscular than when he’d discovered her. But Adrian found he hardly cared. For her sake, yes. He delighted in how much happier and more confident her new strength was making her. But he would gladly have accepted her the way she used to be, if only she would allow him to touch her.

  Just looking at her, poised attentively to listen to whatever Rabbi Sensei wanted to tell them, made his blood surge and his thoughts wander into territory that required him to block furiously lest she overhear. She’d had the two weeks she’d asked for. Today he was going to insist she respond, one way or the other. Although if she rejected him—

  A jolt of bleak agony shot through him at the thought. He swallowed hard. She couldn’t. Even if the soul bond hadn’t existed, losing her would devastate him. With it, there was a very real chance it would kill him.

  He almost didn’t care—death might be easier than living without her. But if the soul bond snapped, it would kill her as well, and that could not be borne. He would do anything to prevent it.

  He schooled his expression to polite interest as Rabbi Sensei spoke. “I’m very pleased with the progress you’ve made, Beverly. Soon the Covenant will need you to take your place as a full member so you can carry out essential assignments. I’m now confident that you’ll be ready. To that end, Adrian, I’d like you to show her the last Memory.”

  Adrian gave a formal bow. “Of course, Sensei. I agree that Beverly is nearly ready to take the Covenant vows.”

  “Vows?” Beverly looked back and forth between them, curious.

  “Your formal declaration of allegiance to the Covenant. Adrian, over the next few days go over the wording with her and make sure she understands exactly what she’ll be promising.”

  “Yes, Sensei.” The vows were profound and solemn, but they didn’t ask for anything
Beverly hadn’t already informally agreed to.

  “That’s all. Go on, you two.” He waved them off.

  Beverly grinned and scampered toward the women’s dressing room. Adrian forced himself not to voice his annoyance. Rabbi Sensei couldn’t know he’d interfered with Adrian’s plans. He surely wouldn’t have if he’d had any idea.

  As if in confirmation, Rabbi Sensei put his hand on Adrian’s shoulder. “How are things coming on the soul bond front?”

  “Well, I think. I hope. She wanted time to think, and I gave it to her. Now, today if I get the chance, I’m going to ask her if she’s ready to move forward.” He stared at the door she’d gone through.

  Rabbi Sensei patted him on the back. “Very good, my son. I’ll do my best to stay out of your way.”

  “Please.” Adrian realized how rude that sounded a moment too late. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”

  “I should be the one to apologize. Hopefully you’ll find another moment as suitable.” Rabbi Sensei inclined his head and moved off.

  The cubicle where he and Beverly conducted their lessons was set off from the other work spaces on the floor only by thin dividers. Sure enough, today every other space was full, with individuals working on assignments and other pairs and small groups doing lessons. Headquarters was gradually becoming more and more crowded. New recruits located by the screenings were trickling in, and Covenant members who’d been scattered around the globe were being called in to teach them.

  So when he sat down in the chair across from her, he gave her the blandly friendly smile he’d perfected over the past two weeks. “Ready?”

  She scooted her chair to face him, her knees almost touching his, and reached to take his hands. “I can’t wait.”

  He gulped. Forcing his attention away from her touch, he focused on disciplining his mind to call up the third and final Memory from where it was engraved deep in his brain. “Part of the formalities when you officially join the Covenant will involve one of the Eight—probably Rabbi Sensei unless you’d prefer someone else—implanting the Memories into your brain. That way you won’t have just your own memory of watching them, but the originals. That’s how we’ve kept them from degrading over the millennia. There are still some copy-of-a-copy effects, but with at least eight separate duplicates in existence at any one time, we’ve always been able to repair lost or damaged bits without losing data.”

  She nodded and made a face. “I’ve picked up an idea of what this one shows from listening to people talk, but any time I ask someone to tell me more they just say I need to wait and watch it for myself.”

  “Then you won’t be surprised to know that this covers the final confrontation with the Seraphim on the scout ship. There’s a supplementary episode which shows how Gabeel helped Noh train the rest of his family to travel astrally and use psychic powers, but it’s not part of the standard sequence we show recruits. You can watch it sometime if you like, but our training techniques have advanced a great deal. Noh was fumbling around in the dark, trying to figure out how to transmit something he only understood intuitively. We’ve had eight thousand years of experience passing the skills on since then.”

  “But they were all able to learn?” Beverly’s brow creased. “I guess Noh’s children inherited the ability from him, but isn’t it kind of a big coincidence that all the others had psychic powers, too? If they’re that rare.”

  “It is. That’s one of the unexplained mysteries of the Covenant. There are two main theories. It’s pretty common for strong psychics, even if their powers are latent, to attract other psychics as mates. I think that’s probably all the explanation we need. But some people think that Noh had an extremely rare talent, the ability to wake psychic abilities in ungifted people. I’m not convinced it actually exists. The only cases the Covenant has documented occurred so long ago the written records are suspect, and if any Memories were recorded and passed down, they’ve been lost.”

  “Too bad,” Beverly said with a sigh. “We sure could use something like that now.”

  “You have no idea,” Adrian said fervently. “But anyway, all eight adults aboard the ark, with Gabeel’s help, eventually mastered the psychic arts to the point he determined they were ready to face the other Seraphim. Three days before the next cluster of comets was due to hit, the Eight left their bodies and ventured into space.”

  Beverly watched the familiar swirl form on the backs of her eyelids. This time it was luminous blues, greens, and white, which resolved into a spectacular view of Earth from space. She swallowed. It looked very much like what she’d seen on her first venture outside her body. She ached to return to that dazzling place. Adrian had taken her on longer and longer astral trips every day, but so far they’d stuck to the surface of the planet.

  A hand clutched hers. She turned to see Nama’s astral form drifting next to her, squeezing Noh’s hand in a death grip. “Merciful God Almighty protect us. Have we died and ascended into Heaven?”

  “Heaven, yes. But we yet live.” Noh squeezed her hand back. “This journey is no more perilous than our ventures over sea and land. Gabeel will guide us safely to the Seraphim vessel and home again.” His hand gestured in Beverly’s vision, indicating Gabeel’s astral form hovering a little way off.

  The other couples were likewise spellbound by the view, murmuring reassurances to each other. Gabeel gave them a few more minutes, then spoke in his usual clicks and wheezes. “Come. Follow me. The vessel isn’t far.”

  The eight humans turned and fell in behind him. Beverly saw Gabeel’s tether stretching ahead of him, thick and strong, yet seeming a gossamer thread against the vast blackness all around. She soared in Gabeel’s wake, following his tether home.

  Far ahead, the shining path ended in a tiny glowing disk. As they drew closer, it took shape—one of the small scout ships she’d seen in the second Memory. Further and further they traveled, until Beverly realized the ship wasn’t actually very small. It was at least as as massive as the Headquarters building, and shaped much like a classic flying saucer—a broad, flat cone with a rounded top. It loomed over them as they finally drew near.

  Gabeel gestured for them to halt with a flick of his tail. “Wait here. I’ll assemble the leaders so you may greet them. Come when I call, and remember our plans.” He darted forward and disappeared into the rounded peak of the cone.

  Beverly felt the sensation of skipping over a passage of time. Gabeel’s voice sounded in her head. Now.

  Noh took a deep breath, grasped Nama’s hand more tightly, and plunged through the metal skin of the ship.

  Before Beverly’s eyes the bridge of the spaceship opened up. A huge bank of what must be computers blanketed one wall. Opposite was a large viewport. On both sides spread panels covered with buttons and dials and levers.

  Three strange Seraphim floated before them in astral form. They varied dramatically in size, coloring, and markings. All of them were larger than Gabeel. The center one, the largest, its skin and fins a uniform dark green, looked down its long snout at them, hostile skepticism in every line of its body. The meaning of its hisses and whistles blasted forcefully into Beverly’s brain. “What are these creatures, Gabeel?”

  Gabeel made a quick, nervous gesture, fluttering his top fins briefly before his face. “These are ambassadors from the native intelligent species of this planet, Captain Dareff. They come to plead with you for the lives of their people.”

  “What nonsense is this!” the one on the right burst out. It was reddish brown with a bright yellow streak down the center of its face. “More of your Bleater fantasies? The animals of this planet are inconsequential. I don’t care if you’ve managed to train a few of them to project. They’re still no more sentient than bubblefish that have learned to imitate speech.”

  Noh moved himself forward and bowed to the Seraph in the center. “Greetings, leader of the Seraphim. My name is Noh. As Gabeel has told you, we come as ambassadors to speak for all of humanity. At the present time, our people suf
fer grave danger from the change you seek to perform on the waters of our world. Many have drowned; many others have been driven from their homes. If your work continues, vast numbers more will perish. We beg you in the name of God Almighty, cease your destructive actions. Call back the heavenly ice which even now Gabeel tells us is poised to increase the storms. We know your people need a new home in which to settle. We would share our seas if you could use them as they are. But if they are not suitable in their present form, and the only way to make them so is to slaughter our people, we have no choice but to oppose you.”

  The Seraph that Beverly mentally dubbed Yellowface twisted its snout into an expression remarkably like a sneer. “Listen to the Bleater rantings Gabeel has taught the animal to mimic! We should put it in a cage. When the colony ship arrives we can charge admission to see it.”

  Nama moved up beside Noh, her astral form bristling with outrage. “We are not animals! How dare you insult us so? Truly it is said that serpents speak only lies!”

  “Nama!” Noh hissed. He addressed the Seraphim again. “Forgive my wife’s rash words. But she speaks truth. We’re here to show you that we aren’t animals, but fellow beings created by God, worthy of your respect and consideration.”

  The third Seraph, which to this point hadn’t spoken, looked shrewdly from Noh to Nama and beyond them to the others. It was mottled orange with bright crimson fins. “Perhaps Gabeel’s assertions are not without merit. Their speech differs from that of bubblefish, who have no understanding of their words. Tell us, Ambassador, how many of your people live on the planet below? What have you accomplished? Have you built great cities, created profound works of art, explored your world and the space around it? What weapons do you possess to defend yourselves?”

  Noh hesitated, glancing at Gabeel. “We are a simple people. We don’t have the sort of complex devices your people possess. For weapons we have only bows and spears. Our numbers are few compared to yours, and none of us knows their full extent. It seems to me that we are as children next to the Seraphim. But children grow. Gabeel tells me that once your people were much as we are now, and that you learned over time to build the civilization of which you are so proud. He believes that in time we’ll accomplish great feats of our own. But only if we aren’t slaughtered in our cradle.”