by S. E. Weir
“We will just have to keep on it until we figure it out.”
The problem was, Phina had no idea what the solution might be.
QBBS Meredith Reynolds, Training Room
Phina had never had more fun in her life.
Maybe.
It was difficult to tell since the hormones from the workout raged through her body, igniting her brain and nerves with feelings so pleasurable it had to be better than sex. When Phina had mentioned this to Alina, her best friend had rolled her eyes and told her she only thought that because she hadn’t had sex yet.
Phina just ignored her. She wasn’t in any hurry to remedy that. As far as she was concerned, there was no point in it until she was interested enough in someone to change her mind.
In the meantime, she was flying around the room and loving it.
When Phina had entered not even an hour ago, she had found the room very changed.
“What is this?”
Maxim straightened from his task and smiled mischievously. “What does it look like?”
“A mess.”
Phina was horrified. Her precious gymnastics equipment had been moved. In between and throughout the room were other larger pieces of equipment, interspersed with smaller objects of various shapes, sizes, and materials. On one side of the room was one of the better treadmill-type exercise machines. Maxim walked over, then turned around to view the room with her.
“What else does it look like?”
Muscling past her initial reaction, she examined the room more closely and noted the distances between the equipment.
“An obstacle course?”
When she didn’t receive an answer, she turned to see the large man smirking at her. Smirking.
“Alina is good for you.”
Maxim’s smirk spread into a bright grin. “She is.”
Phina turned away, hesitated, then caught his eyes again. “You’re good for her too.”
His eyes warmed in appreciation. “Why the hesitation?”
Shrugging, Phina stared at the room. “It’s just different.”
“Are you jealous that I’m taking her away from you?”
Startled, she spun back to answer dismissively, but the concern in his eyes stopped her. Opening mentally, she stretched out and realized he wasn’t concerned for his and Alina’s relationship but for her. She hadn’t expected that. The realization drove her to consider the question instead of dismissing it.
“No, but I miss the times when it was just us.”
He nodded, then gave her braid a gentle tug. “You know we both consider you like our sister. You’re family. We will always be here for you.”
Finally, a smile peeked out. “Thanks, Maxim.”
Phina thought he might be intending to give her a one-armed man-hug—his smile made it seem that way—but no sooner had his hand reached her than he moved her in the direction he wanted her to go.
“All right, I get the idea. What am I doing?”
Warm golden-brown eyes filled with satisfaction and amusement. “We’re going to test you and push you to your limits. Don’t think I hadn’t noticed things had become easier, even before you told me the other day. I know something’s changed. To figure out what, we need to know what you can do.”
“Ok, so what am I doing?”
“I want you to move from this end of the room to the other and back.”
Wondering if he was playing a joke on her, she turned to him with a frown. “That doesn’t sound hard.”
“What if I told you that you also can’t touch the floor?”
She grinned and looked at the mess…ahem, the obstacle course with new eyes. “I’ve got this.”
“You’re sure?”
“Oh, yeah.” Phina stretched to loosen up her muscles, then glanced at him.
“Go!”
Phina ran forward, jumped, and flew.
Chapter Ten
QBBS Meredith Reynolds, Phinalina Residence
Phina closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. Nothing helped. She tried to relax, she tried to fight it, but nothing made any difference. Her mental senses had spontaneously opened over the last few days and were getting harder and harder to close again.
As a result, her head throbbed, and she constantly had to push away her awareness of what was going on around her. She didn’t need to know the neighbors on the right were having sex or the ones on the left were fighting. She didn’t want to know their son cried himself to sleep because he was afraid his parents were splitting up. It broke her heart, and the whole thing exhausted her. The worst part was she didn’t know what to do to change it or block it out. It made her grumpy and short-tempered.
Not that her attitude needed any help there. She had been grumpy and short-tempered for days, aside from when she was working out. Even classes hadn’t been enough to distract her. The cause? Link had walked away from their meeting and left without a word, and she hadn’t heard from him since.
What was wrong with the man? She had done her job by bringing her discovery and realizations to him and Anna Elizabeth. Did he think she was broken now that she had these weird abilities? Abilities she hadn’t asked for, didn’t know how she’d gotten, and wasn’t sure she wanted?
Did he not want her as his Diplomat Spy replacement anymore?
That thought had her lunging out of bed and pacing. She wasn’t going to sleep with this bothering her, so she might as well track the man down and confront him. The problem was she had no idea where he lived. He could live permanently on Stark for all she knew.
Seriously, what was the man’s problem? Even if he didn’t want her as his replacement anymore, he should at least have the courtesy to tell her to her face instead of ignoring her for days. The thought made her want to punch him in the face.
Phina stopped and took a breath to calm down.
Her emotions were now erratic and difficult to keep inside without reacting to them. The wave of anger rising in her felt like a fire that would burn anyone who provoked her. Phina’s thoughts turned to the lessons Link had been teaching her, specifically that she should keep her emotions inside and show only an expressionless face, one so cold that it might as well be ice.
The contrast pulled her mind and body to a halt as she considered the lesson and the man in question. Something was undoubtedly wrong since he never went this long without showing up or messaging, not since the promise he had given her months ago when she first saw the man under the masks. Whether the wrong lay with him or something he perceived in her, Phina didn’t know, but she needed to find him and fix this. Only one question remained.
Which would get him to talk, fire or ice?
QBBS Meredith Reynolds, Hidden Bar
Link threw back the last of the contents in his glass, automatically suppressing a grimace.
Whiskey had never been his drink of choice, but nothing else had the bite he wanted at the moment. Beer was his choice for conversation and building bridges with a colleague or informant, just because it was beer.
Link paused to give respect to his favorite beverage.
Wine was his choice for intimate gatherings and relaxing. Rum served as an occasional indulgence since the smooth sweetness went down far too easily. Mixed drinks were a waste of alcohol in his opinion, especially the fruity ones. Link shuddered at the thought.
But whiskey, now. Whiskey was a drink to drown yourself in when you wanted to forget your life for a while. Especially when the complications in said life had to do with a woman.
Come to think of it, the last time he had gone on a whiskey binge, it had been caused by a woman too. Skirting that line of thinking, he waved to the bartender.
“Two more, Smiley.”
The EI nodded and moved to grab the glasses and pour them. About to turn away, Link’s view was suddenly obstructed. Mouth dry, he slowly looked up to see the face of the woman he had been trying not to think about. Though her green eyes flashed, she showed no expression on her face.
“What a
re you doing here?”
“What does it look like I’m doing?”
“Excuse me, Miss Phina.” Smiley’s voice came from behind her.
Without taking her eyes off of Link’s face, the young woman turned to the bartender and thanked him. She relieved him of the whiskeys Link had ordered then placed the glasses on the table, sliding them forward. Tiny waves threatened to pour over the sides but thankfully reached their peak just below the lips of the glasses.
“Sit down or leave. Looking up is putting a kink in my neck.”
With that, he grabbed one of the glasses and took a swallow. After a moment, she slowly slid into the booth across from him. Once she was settled, she continued to stare at him.
After several minutes of saying nothing while he drank through his glass, feeling those eyes bore through him, he couldn’t help reacting.
“Why’d you sit down if you were just going to stare at me? Go on and leave. I don’t want you here.”
“You are behaving irresponsibly, illogically, and uncharacteristically. You need someone to look after you since you are doing so poor a job at the moment.”
Nothing. Absolutely nothing on that face. He’d taught her too well on top of her own natural abilities, and damn it, now it came back to bite him.
“Sure, kid. You go ahead and do that. You’re doing so great a job of doing it for yourself. Why not? You’re obviously the mature one here. How could I ever have missed that?”
No, what I am is pissed off! You are completely full of shit!
Link stared at her in shock as her words cut through his carefully cultivated tipsy haze. He could see that her eyes were flashing with anger, though her face still gave nothing away. Bloody hell, woman! How did you do that? I had the link blocked! What the hell do you mean, I’m full of shit? And since when did you start swearing?
Apparently, you miss a lot. Phina gave him a smile that was deceptively sweet now that he knew the depth of her anger. You mean the link you asked ADAM to block? He’s my friend, and he likes me more than you right now since you’re currently being an ass.
>>Sorry, DS, but she’s right. You are.<<
“Not enough of one, apparently.” Link was fed up. He downed the rest of his whiskey and brought the glass down on the table with a clink so loud he half-expected it to break. And why the hell shouldn’t I act however I want when I’m trying to get drunk? Especially when you blocked me out first?
Phina narrowed her eyes at him and spoke aloud.
“Explain.”
“Watch it, kid. I’m the adult here.” Who was he kidding? This little she-devil had more adult in her than half the adults he knew. I shouldn’t have to explain myself, but since it’s an issue now, here it is. When you had all these new abilities popping up, why was I the last to hear about it? When you figured out the translation, why didn’t you come to me first? If there was such a thing as shouting through the communication system ADAM had set up, Link had achieved it.
Then act like one. If you’re regretting being my mentor, you should have the decency to say it to my face. Link felt like he had emotional whiplash with the combination of Phina’s icy exterior and fiery inner emotions. I should have come to you? And when should that have been? When I was going out of my mind because I couldn’t sleep and my body couldn’t stop? When I cried myself dry after hearing the first translations once I understood them? When I felt like my mind was breaking with all the thoughts in my head that weren’t mine? When I couldn’t take anymore and ran out of my room so fast I couldn’t breathe until I finally collapsed? Is that when?
“I don’t need to explain myself to you.” Did she really think being her mentor was the issue? “Yes! Any and all of those times! I’ve spent the last several days going through all my contacts and no one knows anything, so it wasn’t an attack from someone I’ve contacted through my jobs—which is a big relief—but I’m at a loss as to what to do now to find out who or what did this. I can’t protect you if you don’t let me know there’s something wrong!”
“Then there’s nothing more to say, is there?” Ouch! “I never asked for your protection. I never asked for you to be Mister-Do-It-All-My-Way. I never asked for you to make inquiries on your own on my behalf. All I ever asked was for you to teach me so I could protect myself.”
With barely another glance, Phina scooted out of the booth, stood, and turned away. Thoughts swirling, Link knew he couldn’t let her walk away like that.
Because damn it all, she was right.
“Wait!”
Phina paused and turned slightly to look at Link. The clothing he wore was rumpled as if he had worn it for too long. The air around him smelled of booze, smoke, and old food, causing her to grimace. How many bars had he been to since she’d seen him last? Had he not slept or changed his clothes since then? His eyes were bloodshot and fired up, but worst of all, in the time it had taken her to stand and turn away, his demeanor had collapsed and he just looked weary.
Phina waited to see what else he would say.
“Let’s talk more about this, okay?”
Phina felt the energy of the bar around them. She hadn’t paid close attention when she came in, instead moving immediately toward her mentor. However, now paying attention to the ebb and flow of conversation with her senses far more open than she wished, she got the sense that a number of people were interested in their conversation. Too interested. One of those people had a sharper interest than the others. Her attention snapped back to Link.
“No.”
His upper body slumped as she went to walk out.
“Not in public, anyway. Come find me when you are done drowning yourself in booze. And take a shower. You reek.”
Reaching mentally toward that sharper mind, she tried to figure out which person went with it. This was the trouble with her new ability; everything blended together, and it was difficult to separate what she sensed enough to identify the individuals. The best she could do in the time she had was to narrow it down to a table with three people. She glanced at them as she passed, then continued out the door.
By the time she made it to the suite she shared with Alina, she barely held on to her temper, and her body was as tight as a bowstring. Hesitating outside the door, she decided she didn’t want to bring the storm inside her into the peace of their rooms. Alina didn’t deserve that. Turning away, she ran to the workout room.
A couple hours later, when Link finally found her, she was flying around the room again, vaulting over a large crate, then springing up to grab her beloved bars and twirl around them before dismounting to land on a small platform. From there, she jumped from one platform to another, all different heights and sizes, before reaching the balance beam. Phina was thrilled to complete a series of flips and jumps across to the other side before flipping back to the start. She wobbled a few times but managed to hold on.
Running to the other side, she used a springboard to reach a pole that had recently been installed near one corner of the room. After twirling around it a few times, she held onto the pole with her hands and knees as she moved up and down, never putting her feet on the floor.
Alina had laughed when she had seen it the other day, telling Phina that she had never thought pole dancing was a pastime Phina would pick up.
Phina had stuck her tongue out at her best friend. “I’m not pole dancing. I’m just using a pole to strengthen my core muscles and train my body to be more flexible.”
“Space flash to Phina: that’s what pole dancing is.” Alina’s eyes had shone with amusement as she laughed at her.
Phina had given her best friend a look that made Alina laugh even harder. “I’m not talking to you right now.”
After a few gasps, Alina responded, “That’s ok. I’ll just introduce you to everyone we meet as Phina, my pole-dancing best friend. Then when they ask if you strip too, I’ll let you do your fish-face impression as you try to explain.”
She had descended into giggles, holding onto her stomach and falling
off the couch on which they had been sitting. After a while, Phina had begun to laugh too.
Phina smiled now as she paused her twirl, having slipped a little lower on the pole as her thoughts wandered. That was one of the few times she had forgotten everything weighing on her and let herself feel like a regular eighteen-year-old. Those times were few and far between.
She reached up with her legs to hold onto the pole above her, then pulled herself higher. Holding the pole with one hand while curling a leg around it and bracing herself with the other foot, Phina caught sight of Link at the other end of the room. The expression on his face at seeing the room and what she was doing was…well, poleaxed. Amused, she twirled around once more, then placed the bottoms of both feet on the pole while holding it with both hands behind her.
Aligning herself, she pushed off and jumped onto a lower platform, only to spring up and jump onto a higher one some distance away, climbing in this way a series of platforms until she reached the top. Taking a moment to judge the distance, she leaped off the edge, twisting and flipping in the air to land a few feet from Link, her knees slightly bent to absorb the impact.
His eyes were wide, his hair still wet from his shower. “Holy hell, kid, that was amazing! When did you learn to do all that?”
Feeling more reserved than normal with this rift between them, she shrugged. “Some of it seems to be an increase in natural ability, but for the rest, what else do you think I’ve been doing aside from classes? You haven’t been around for any training lately, my body can’t sleep until I’ve exhausted myself, and since my endurance has increased dramatically, it takes a lot to do so. Aside from time to eat, which has also increased dramatically since I consume more than three times as much as normal, I’ve spent most of my free time here in the past few weeks, when I haven’t been trying to figure out how to translate the new language.”
His shamefaced look caused her both satisfaction and discontent. Stars, her emotions were still all over the place. Was this part of gaining these new abilities, being moody and uncertain of what she wanted? If so, she wasn’t sure it was worth it.
