by Abel, Regine
“No more fraternizing, then?” I asked, my heart sinking.
“Oh no, that’s allowed. But, since they can see our auras, they can get a good sense of whether we’ll be okay with it just being an affair and not a committed relationship,” Shereen said. “Warriors only marry their soulmates, who they recognize almost instantly.”
“So, any girl who gets involved with them knows right away that it will go nowhere in the long run,” I said, my heart sinking deeper.
“If they aren’t the Warrior’s soulmate, yes,” Shereen said. “And that’s why Raven messed with Sonia’s beau. He could see that she would fall hard for him, but that he would never reciprocate. So, he told the Tegorian to piss off, and Sonia didn’t appreciate it, even though she knows he did it to protect her.”
“She must be furious with him,” I whispered.
Shereen shrugged. “Sonia is upset that he meddled, but she understands he’s trying to protect her. She just would have wanted to handle it herself. So, she’s going to make his life hell for a little while.”
A wave of disappointment settled over me. “She was just trying to embarrass him then, making up stuff…”
“Hell no!” Shereen exclaimed, interrupting me. “Raven was upset because every word she said was true. Our boy is definitely drooling for you.”
My face heated again, but this time with guilty pleasure. I glanced at the door again, wishing I could go see what was happening over there. But I didn’t have the clearance for it. Beyond the doors, a hallway led to a high security elevator with a single stop: the Incubator. In that room, the Shells—the replacement bodies of the Warriors—were grown in individual incubators. Each Shell was a perfect replica of the Warrior, created from his DNA samples.
“I doubt it,” I said, but hoping to be wrong. “I’ve been here a week already, and he has made no effort to approach me.”
Shereen rolled her eyes. “Of course not, silly goose, precisely because you’ve only been here a week. What did you expect? For him to jump on you before you’d even had a chance to unpack your bags?”
Yes?
I shrugged, feeling awkward, and began fiddling with the datapad in front of me.
“Legion did the same with Ayana,” Shereen said, “although they had been talking and training together since day one. But he didn’t express his interest until she’d had a chance to settle in.”
“Training? As in combat?” I asked, wondering if she was referring to the mandatory combat training for all Soulcatchers as they often went to the front with their Warriors.
“No. Psychic training.”
“I thought Raven was in charge of that?” I argued.
“He is. But Legion laid claim to spend quality time with Ayana. So, expect Raven to come sniffing your way in the upcoming days,” Shereen said with a nod, eyes sparkling with a teasing glint.
“It wouldn’t do either of us any good considering I’ll be leaving in a couple of months,” I said with a nonchalance I didn’t feel.
Shereen snorted, giving me the ‘oh please’ look. “We both know you’re staying. Victoria was already plotting and scheming on ways to shackle you here, but Raven will definitely seal the deal.”
I made a face at her, feeling far more touched than I would admit and far more tempted than was wise, considering my trauma. I glanced back at the frosted-glass door and gestured at it with my head.
“So, what exactly happens in there?” I asked, both out of genuine curiosity and to switch to a less embarrassing topic.
Shereen turned towards the door and frowned. “Since you’re working on this project, you should have clearance. Legion has really been pushing for us to get results, fast. Some major shit-storm is brewing, but we don’t have the details yet,” she said, turning back towards me. “Hang on a second.”
Her eyes went out of focus, telling me she was mind-speaking with someone. The usual sense of unease, and pang of envy, settled on me. This was one of the main reasons I couldn’t contemplate staying on Khepri. People didn’t use phones or com systems to communicate. Telepathy took care of that. With practice, you even learned how to telepathically share images, or even draw people into a virtual representation of a location with which they could interact, like on a holodeck.
Or you could trap them within it, like I had been.
Shereen jumped to her feet, a big grin on her face, saving me from getting sucked into my depressing thoughts again.
“Settled! Legion even gave me hell for not making sure we gave you clearance sooner! Come on, let’s go look at naked Warriors,” she said with a wink.
My heart soared. “Awesome!” I exclaimed, shocked to find myself clapping my hands with excitement.
Technically, I didn’t need to witness the testing. The results and data were all that I worked with, but still, curiosity gnawed at me, not to mention that I would be the first Asian to set foot in the Incubator since none of us were either Soulcatchers or Portals.
I followed Shereen past the doors. A long hallway led to an impressive looking elevator at the very end, with reinforced doors reminiscent of a bank’s vault. Cameras and DNA scanners made it impossible to sneak in undetected and, alongside the walls, lasers blinked at the ready to zap any intruder. Saying I didn’t feel a certain sense of dread as I walked past them would have been a lie.
We entered the elevator, and Shereen placed her hand before the biometric scanner, then leaned her face forward for the retinal scan. A beep resonated, and the single button on the panel lit up, becoming active. Shereen pressed it. The strange symbol in its center flashed, and the lift flew down to its destination, stopping smoothly once arrived.
Another hallway greeted us, but a shorter one this time. We were coming from the right side of a T-shaped intersection.
“We’re inside the HQ building now,” Shereen explained. “The elevator at the opposite end comes from the Convention center. And this elevator in the middle goes up to the HQ building’s reception.”
We turned right at the junction into a much shorter hallway, at the end of which a set of massive, reinforced doors slid open upon our approach. On the other side, a pair of fierce looking Warriors stood watch, surrounded by monitors displaying all access points to the Incubator. They nodded at us, their eyes lingering on my aura before smiling at me.
It still bothered me to no end how exposed my aura made me feel, but I couldn’t deny it flattered me that all the Warriors seemed to think I had a beautiful soul. I was a reasonably pretty girl, but I’d never been the one to get all heads turning when I walked into a room. Yet, the way they looked at me, these mouthwateringly gorgeous Warriors made me feel like a supermodel.
But sexy Warrior stares became the least of my concerns as I took in the room sprawling before me. Bigger than a football field, it took my breath away. Huge glass tanks containing naked Xian Warriors in stasis—Shells as they called them—lined the walls. The males floated in weightlessness, large tubes connected to their spines. A dozen rebirth tables filled the center of the room. Overhead, hanging from the thirty-foot-high ceiling, hundreds of Xian Shells floated inside liquid-filled, glass spheres. Curled up in fetal positions, these Shells were still in the process of maturing.
“Impressive, isn’t it?” Shereen asked.
“Mind-blowing,” I said absent-mindedly, while my gaze roamed around the room.
A few Warriors and women in Vanguard uniform dresses went about their business, caring for the Shells. The usual butterflies settled in the pit of my stomach when I spotted Raven in the far-right corner of the room. Standing next to the naked form of a Warrior lying on one of the rebirth tables, he was engaged in an intense conversation with Nathalie, another researcher I’d had a chance to work with this week. Sonia kept her hand close to the interface of the rebirth table, no doubt ready to deactivate the energy field around the Warrior Shell atop it. The whole while, she stared at another Soulcatcher, Moira, standing a few feet ahead. But it was the strange silhouette of her Warrior—whos
e name I didn’t remember—standing next to her that caught my attention.
“What’s wrong with him?” I asked, pointing with my chin at the Warrior.
“Who? Raven?” Shereen asked.
“No, not Raven. Him,” I said, pointing again at the Warrior while moving towards them. “Next to Moira.”
Shereen’s head flicked towards the girl, a confused look on her face. “There’s no Warrior next to her.”
I turned to look at Shereen, wondering if she was pulling my leg. Her genuine confusion threw me for a loop.
“There’s a Warrior standing next to her,” I insisted. “You don’t see him? There’s something wrong with him. He looks… I don’t know. Off?”
“There’s nobody there, Liena,” Shereen said cautiously.
“Hey ladies,” Nathalie said with a welcoming smile. “What’s wrong, you look baffled.”
“Hey Nathalie,” I said, nodding distractedly at Raven. “Am I hallucinating or are you also not seeing the Warrior next to Moira? He doesn’t seem to be feeling too well.”
Nathalie, Sonia, and Shereen all turned to look again in Moira’s general direction, and all three shook their heads.
Raven stiffened, giving me an intense look that unsettled me. “You can see him? You can see Tempest?” he asked.
“Tempest! That’s his name,” I exclaimed, tapping my forehead. “And yes, I clearly see him even though he—” My eyes widened as understanding finally dawned on me. From a distance, the strangeness I hadn’t been able to identify was his ethereal form. “Oh my God! Is that his soul?”
“Yes,” Raven said, tension in his voice. “Tempest,” Raven said, raising his voice, “move a few feet.”
With a strained look on his face, Tempest obeyed, under the shocked mumblings of the other girls. He appeared to glide more than walk.
“Where is he now?” Raven asked.
“Next to the cooling unit,” I said, with growing concern. “But I really think he needs to get back inside his Shell. Like asap.”
“Fuck me,” Raven mumbled, his voice full of disbelief. “Sonia, disable the field,” he added absent-mindedly, his gaze never leaving me.
The energy field collapsed around the Shell. No sooner had it vanished than Tempest’s soul dashed for his Shell. He blurred as he flew towards it. His body shuddered, and he gasped loudly as he drew in a breath. Moira rushed towards her Warrior, her eyes a little glassy from the effects of the drugs in her system.
Nathalie quickly scanned both of their vitals. “Tempest is fine, but you are going to need to lie down for a bit,” she said, helping Moira to settle on the rebirth table next to her Warrior’s. “I don’t like your E/I balance right now. I’m going to put you out for a little bit.”
“So, what’s the deal?” Shereen asked, her eyes flicking between Raven and me, “Liena sees souls?”
“No one, other than people with Gomenzi Dragon blood, have ever been able to see souls like that,” Raven said. “Nathalie, get us a dozen Warriors and their Soulcatchers, quickly.”
He stepped closer to me, and my breath caught in my throat, my mind racing as to the possible meaning of this anomaly.
“Liena,” Raven said carefully, “I know you have a strong reluctance to any form of mental link, but I would need to look at your psychic void.”
I recoiled, feeling the blood drain from my face, and my stomach twisting into tight coils. Gone were my earlier thoughts of wishing to touch his mind and for his to touch mine.
“I will not do anything but look. I just need to see if you have a spark, like Ayana did,” Raven said, his voice gentle, reassuring.
I hugged myself, my head shaking involuntarily as I struggled to control my growing panic. This could mean so much for my people. To be the one who helped identify the spark for Asians would be such a tremendous honor. I could see the pride on my parents’ face from here. Beyond that, this could mean so much for the war effort if we had a new power that proved as amazing as those of the Soulcatchers and of the Portals.
And yet, I only wanted to run away, screaming. My breath came in shallow, labored bursts, my pulse racing, and cold sweats breaking over my skin at the thought of letting anyone invade my mind.
A concerned look descended on Raven’s face. He placed his hands on my shoulders and gave them a gentle squeeze in a comforting gesture. “It’s okay, Liena. Please, do not get upset. No one will ever force you to do anything you’re not ready for. All right?”
I nodded, feeling ashamed, frazzled, and relieved all at once. Raven’s eyes went out of focus for a few seconds while he communicated telepathically with someone. His hands on my bare shoulders burned my skin. I had dreamt of his touch, but couldn’t even enjoy it; his first touch ruined by the circumstances.
Refocusing on me, he smiled, caressed my cheek, then let go of me. I felt bereft, wishing for further comfort even as my blossoming panic attack receded.
“Nathalie, Shereen, we need a lot more inhibitor drugs,” Raven said. “All of these beds are about to be occupied.”
The women nodded, their eyes widening as they glanced at me before turning on their heels to leave the room.
“I… I’m so sorry,” I said.
“Do not apologize, Liena,” Raven said with a gentle smile. “I shouldn’t have put you on the spot like that. However, I hope that after all this is over, you would consider, eventually, allowing me to help you through this issue.”
My throat constricted, and tears pricked my eyes. Not trusting my own voice, I nodded, gratitude, shame, and the ever-present underlying fear all raging within me.
The main doors opened, and Legion walked in, holding Ayana’s hand. He approached us, an intense look on his face. Behind him, a handful of Warriors followed in his wake. Moments later, Myriam—Legion’s Soulcatcher and manager of all the psychic women on Khepri—entered with a couple of Asian Operators and a few Soulcatchers.
My chest ached, feeling stupidly betrayed and cast aside that I should be so quickly replaced. It was idiotic to react that way. If what I’d seen was the opening we’d been seeking to identify the Asians’ power, then of course Raven and the Vanguard would want to pursue it immediately, not wait for me to get over my trauma. Still, it hurt. I almost told him to go ahead and look into my mind, but I wasn’t ready.
Maybe I never would be.
“Thank you all for coming so swiftly,” Raven said, addressing the two-dozen people in the room. “I do not want to get anyone’s hopes up, but we may be onto some kind of a breakthrough. For this, we will need to use neural inhibitor drugs on all the Soulcatchers to kick out their Warriors. Brothers, I need you to tough out disembodiment for as long as possible. I will say no more so as not to influence the experiment.”
Everyone nodded. Wrath volunteered to go first. The Warriors moved Tempest’s and Moira’s rebirth tables to the back and brought empty ones forward. Wrath lay down on one of them, while his Soulcatcher, Linette, went to stand by the wall. Petite, with black hair and an elven face, her delicate appearance was quite misleading. On top of being an accomplished fighter, she was a decorated pilot from the US Air Force and had accompanied Wrath on countless hair-raising missions. Like all the Soulcatchers and Portals, the females of the Vanguard were badasses.
“Ayana,” Raven said, “Wrath will Portal through you, if that’s okay.”
She nodded, a gentle smile gracing her beautiful face. I was trying hard not to fan girl over her, which was difficult. We hadn’t had much chance to mingle since my arrival, busy as she was with her diplomatic work, not to mention Legion being overly protective of his pregnant mate.
Before the Portals, only death had allowed a Warrior’s soul to leave his Shell. The research we were currently performing wouldn’t have been safe or even viable, as we would have had to induce cardiac arrest to force the soul out to be caught by a Soulcatcher. But in their psychic voids, Black and brown-skinned women possessed a vortex-looking spiral which served as a gateway through which a Warrior could
voluntarily choose to pass.
Nathalie and Shereen returned with the inhibitor drugs, Victoria on their heels. From the look she exchanged with her son, Raven and she were clearly mind-speaking. She cast a stunned glance towards me, Raven having no doubt told her what I’d seen. Meanwhile, Nathalie put the electrodes on Linette’s temples to track her brain activity once they injected her with the drug.
“We’re ready,” Victoria said.
Raven nodded. “Wrath, port through Ayana.”
Nathalie gave him a surprised look. Being of Jamaican descent, she had been portaling the Warriors into their Soulcatchers during the tests.
“I want you focusing on the women’s EEGs and the Warriors’ Shells,” Raven said, answering her unspoken question. “If this goes as I hope, we’ll have multiple tests running simultaneously.”
Nathalie’s lips parted in shock, and she nodded her acknowledgement, appearing as curious as the rest of us.
Ayana’s dark brown eyes turned black, even the whites, for the second during which Wrath crossed her portal into his Soulcatcher. It was then Linette’s turn to have her deep blue eyes turn fully black.
“Got him,” Linette said.
Victoria activated the force field around Wrath’s Shell to prevent his soul from being sucked right back in the minute he got ejected from Linette’s psychic vessel. Nathalie walked up to the pilot and injected the drug into her arm. Seconds later, Linette’s eyes returned to normal, and the ethereal form of Wrath’s soul appeared next to her.
“Oh wow!” Kazumi said, staring at him.
“Wicked!” Thanh said.
The Soulcatchers turned to look at the two Asian Operators, confused as to what they were talking about.
“You see him?” Raven asked, his excitement barely hidden.
“Wrath’s soul?” Kazumi asked. “Yes.”
“Yeah,” Thanh said. “Doesn’t everyone?” she asked, noticing the stunned reactions around them.
“Amazing,” Legion whispered. He cast a questioning look at me, and I nodded, confirming I, too, could see Wrath’s soul. He smiled and approached Thanh. “I need to look into your mind.”
