“And you’ve already saved my life numerous times,” Vessa replied softly. “Despite not owing me anything at all. Despite not being a member of my crew.” She looked away from me, but I noticed a brief flash of grief dart across her face.
No one’s going to make you care for her, I heard my father’s voice say in my mind. All I can tell you, son, is that she’s worth protecting.
“Well,” Vessa sighed. “Since I’m still going to need your help, I should figure out how to enable you to help me. I’ll need to take another look at your soul, and see how much of the old plan I can still keep.”
“Hopefully none of it,” I said, stepping closer to let her examine me, even though I knew it would lead to another fight. “It was not a plan I ever wanted, and I have disagreed with you every time you offered it to me.”
“Well, yes,” Vessa grimaced with frustration as she elevated herself to inspect me. “But if I can just convince you—” Her eyes widened. “What have you done?”
I knew nothing would appease her, so I kept silent as she explored my soul.
“This,” her voice quivered with poorly suppressed emotion, “completely ruins everything. I was going to immediately double your lifespan. Set you on a path where you would gain centuries of time where others would only gain decades, and thousands of years where others would only gain hundreds!” She covered her face with both hands. “And you would have Advanced far more quickly, because we wouldn’t have needed to worry about your combat potential!”
“I told you time and time again, that path was unacceptable to me,” I said with quiet resolve.
“And I told you time and time again that you’d still likely be several stages beyond the average attacker, and therefore it wouldn’t be an issue!” Vessa snapped as she removed her hands from her face. “I wouldn’t need you to fight a second cage drake, or another practitioner like Koram! You were already stronger than the average eaterling as soon as Lunei repaired your body in that qi pool!”
“Vessa,” I said, keeping my voice soft. “Is this my night sky as well?”
“What is that supposed to mean?” she demanded angrily.
“I mean, am I free?” I asked, gesturing to myself. “Do I get to choose my own path in life? Decide what I will and will not fight for? Was ensuring that for all people not one of your highest purposes as a Soulship?”
“Well,” she stammered. “Of course you are, but—”
“There are no ‘buts,’” I refuted. “Because this isn’t about me choosing an objectively detrimental path for my life. This isn’t me exploring a regimen that you can point out a number of flaws in, that won’t get either of us what we want. This is about me choosing a role that you keep insisting is unnecessary, one you are constantly forced to concede is more necessary than you originally thought. If I hadn’t done this, would you have still tried to give me some version of a trajectory I did not want?”
For a moment, she didn’t answer me. Then she glanced over at Nova, and the two sighed in unison as they shared a guilty look.
“Blast it, Jas,” Vessa finally sighed, slapping the side of her capsule in frustration. “I’m sorry. I have lost every single person that has ever fought for me, and when you arrived and started helping me, I was determined to do better this time. I made a plan to ensure you wouldn’t ever die, and that you wouldn’t even be able to make the same sacrifices my crew made for me. And in doing all of that, I treated you the same way I hate to be treated. I am sorry I belittled you. It was done entirely out of a desire to avoid my past, and was completely unrelated to your accomplishments. And the part of me that is Nova went right along with it, because you’ve been an anchor for her even longer than you’ve been for me. Can you forgive us?”
Sincerity leaked from both sets of faintly glowing eyes. It melted the last of my anger for her—for them.
“Easily,” I sighed as my shoulders sagged. “I want to keep you safe too, Nova, Vessa... however I should think of you now. And you probably hate it when I constantly hover over you, so as a compromise, I’ll stop doing that. I should respect your strength, too.”
“Actually,” Vessa said, as an unfamiliar, wild expression flashed in her eyes. “I’ve come to a conclusion. You want to keep getting stronger, right, Jasper?”
I nodded uneasily, sensing that I had somehow just blundered.
“Learn the full benefit of what I have to teach you, correct?” she continued, eyes still narrowed dangerously.
That was a trap. I knew it was a trap. I also knew that I had already sprung the first trap, and it was too late to try to escape now.
“Within reason, including the conditions that it will actually benefit me, will allow me to help you both save the night sky, and will not demand that I do something that will completely castrate me or turn my hair weird colors... yes.”
“Those exceptions are unfortunately excessive,” the gray woman said mercilessly, and I felt a flash of concern. I couldn’t tell if her sudden imperiousness was humorous or genuine. “I will allow you to keep only three of them, or else confess your lack of commitment.”
Fear greeted me as the second trap closed. What have I done? I asked myself uselessly.
“I will bitterly compromise on the hair color exception,” I said, defeated. “Just... let me keep all my body parts. Please.”
“Oh, I will,” Vessa said smugly, eyes twinkling. “In fact, I am trying to decide whether or not you will be gaining new ones.”
Seven heathen hells, I swore internally, trying to think of a new body part I would be comfortable having. With the possible exception of wings, I came up with absolutely nothing. Please do not give me more eyes, I prayed desperately. Blue hair is already bad enough.
“I don’t know,” Nova spoke up. “I think we’ve changed him enough. For now, he’s just right the way he is.”
“It just so happens I agree, fellow mentor of Jasper Cloud,” the ship-woman said with a lofty sniff. “We are getting ahead of ourselves. Jasper Cloud, do you accept I, Vessa Soulship, as your master, thereby promising to obey all my commands, and occasionally the commands of my Beacons as well, in exchange for knowledge, training, and a place to stay?”
“I... do,” I said reluctantly, glumly reminding myself that until very recently, I had been getting all of those things for free.
“Excellent!” the ship-woman said briskly as she clapped her hands. “We will save the ceremonial drinking together for later. For now, though, I will fulfill these new obligations, by giving you both knowledge and commands.
“First, the knowledge: I like being pampered,” she declared brazenly. “It is a character flaw of mine that can easily lead to abuse, which is why I work so hard to repress it all the time, and fight you whenever you try to do something nice for me. You see, Jas, I kept trying to warn you about not poking that side of me with a metaphorical stick, but you wouldn’t listen. Can you guess the consequences of your actions?”
“Do I have to keep giving you help whenever I think you might appreciate it, only now you won’t complain when I do so?” I asked plainly, not entirely sure how I felt about this new dramatic flair that had shown up in my brand-new master.
“Wrong!” she grinned exultantly. “Instead of helping me whenever you want, now you have to help me whenever I want, which is all the time! Though, given how overly solicitous you already were, isn’t actually much of a change,” she mumbled under her breath. In a blink, she brightened again. “But still! Bring me a pouch full of water!”
“Got it,” I said indifferently, glad that her first request was an easy one.
“And have another one ready for my Beacon!” Vessa practically crowed the demand. “So that we will not have to share two cups between the three of us!”
“Done,” I said, grabbing the pouch I had just converted right before I began Drawing last night, while everyone else was sleeping. “You want a drink right now, too, Nova?” I asked, just to make sure I understood everything that was happening.
“I’m actually—” Nova began, before Vessa cut her off with another shout.
“She wants two drinks!” the ship-woman declared imperiously. “Wait for her to finish, then take her cup back for a refill!”
“Come to think of it, I really am thirsty,” Nova admitted, giving Vessa a surprised glance. “I’d ask how Vessa knew if I wasn’t already afraid of the answer. Do you mind, Jas?”
“He does not!” Vessa exclaimed with dramatic relish. The interjection was practically a screech.
“I really don’t,” I admitted, as Nova took a drink and handed her pouch back to me. “The water dispenser is maybe six short steps away from us. This isn’t exactly abuse of power, especially compared to what goes on back home.”
“Less talk, more service!” Vessa commanded, pointing a finger at us. Her eyes twinkled, her behavior practically daring me to object.
“Uh-huh,” I said as I handed Nova a full pouch moments later. “Got it.”
She-fine? Nestor sent worriedly. Sound-strange.
I am sure we would sound strange too, if we had been trapped inside this place for so long without anyone to talk to, I assured the little mouse. She’ll probably be fine in a minute. But why don’t you go check on her just in case?
Nestor squeaked in delighted agreement as he darted off my shoulder and scampered into Vessa’s capsule. The ship-woman’s expression immediately shifted from mock haughtiness to true delight as she squealed in excitement over the little mouse. He responded to her enthusiasm by tickling her nose with his tail.
“You came over here on your own!” she cooed happily, as if Nestor hadn’t done this exact same thing on a daily basis. “This is so sweet, I can forgive Jasper for whatever he did that made me mad!”
I opened my mouth to speak, thought better of it just in time, and closed it before she had the chance to notice.
“Um,” Vessa flushed with sudden embarrassment, peeking up sheepishly from the fluffy lifemouse as he rubbed against her hands. “Thank you for putting up with that, Jasper. I’ve been cooped up in this thing for so long, I needed some way to release. You were a really good sport about all of that.”
“You’re welcome,” I said simply, because I could tell that she had more to say.
“And I don’t actually want to make you my personal slave,” she continued. “But this does make me feel a lot better about making you do things for me. I know times have changed since I’ve been... around,” she said uncomfortably, referencing back when her people still ruled the night sky. “But having a formal commitment with you helps remind me that you are benefiting from all of this as well.”
“I’m glad it helps,” I shrugged. “It’s not an issue for me, unless you get too unreasonable.”
“Hmmm,” she murmured with a dangerous smile, not elaborating further.
“Can we get back to what we were talking about earlier?” Nova spoke up again, looking as if she felt she was the only sane person in the room right now. She coughed delicately and began nonchalantly scooting away from Vessa’s capsule. “We were talking about what we needed to do next, and also looking at Jas’ soul to make sure he was okay.”
“Oh, right,” Vessa replied absently. “He’s fine. He absorbed a dangerous amount of power that would have caused him a host of problems had he not taken the precaution of activating his regeneration technique first. Good idea, Jas. I want you to get into a routine of activating that technique each time you Draw or absorb power. It will make the process more stable, and occasionally a little faster. Also, now that we’ve had our talk, I want you to involve me in decisions concerning what to absorb from a slain Sourcebeast. I promise to give you advice that will respect your long-term goals.”
I nodded obediently. Despite our recent argument, Vessa had done plenty for me that I deeply appreciated.
“I’m still upset that you took such a risk without telling us, though, Jas,” Nova grumbled. “I mean, I get it, but—”
Nestor, I pleaded silently.
Yes-yes!
The little rodent suddenly leaped from the capsule and scampered up Nova’s pant leg. Once he reached the blonde woman’s shoulder, he stretched his neck as high as he could and began furiously rubbing his fluffy ears against her jaw.
“Oh my gosh, he really is that adorable!” the second woman squealed, and I suppressed my sigh of relief. I wondered how many more times I could get away with this before Vessa or Nova caught on that Nestor jumped up to them every time they were angry with me. Better to save it for emergencies, I decided.
“Nova did have a point,” I said. “What elements do you currently need the most? How much should we get, and from where?”
“Since there are two of you now,” Vessa mused, watching Nestor nuzzle Nova with a content expression on her face, and rubbing her own jaw as if she could feel what Nova was currently feeling, “I can just confess that I need a large amount of, well, everything. More water and soil samples. Some biodegradable material, like leaves or even loose fur. Don’t bring me any animal droppings, though,” she said with a shudder. “And since this probably just occurred to you to ask me about, Jas, practitioners convert everything their body doesn’t use into either more oxygen or Source energy. Otherwise I would have never let you see me, let alone carry me down the halls. Don’t ask how it works, because I’m tired and it’s complicated to explain.”
I actually wasn’t curious, and chose to take her word for it immediately.
“Moving on,” the ship-woman announced. “Again, since it will be safer for you two to collect resources, I’m going to have you go on a larger run for me. You’re going to get the things I just talked about, and this time, I don’t need any specific amounts, just as much as you can safely collect. Take as many vials as you want. There are extras in the other wardrobe.” She punched two more buttons on the inside of her capsule, wincing as blue energy left her body and traveled along the conduits to activate another pedestal across the floor. It rose and opened to reveal a closet containing a second satchel and what I presumed were outfits for female practitioners, although I tried not to be caught looking.
“Is there a reason you have a second wardrobe terminal?” I asked, pointedly averting my gaze.
“I actually have several,” Vessa said simply. “This room was originally designed to accommodate over a dozen people who could have lost their own storage devices, and clothing takes up more space than food rations. Also, I found that keeping men and women’s clothing separate tends to be very good for morale, as—for whatever reason—men in most cultures I have seen simply have no idea how to properly fold or clean most forms of women’s clothing. Hopefully, that has changed in recent years.”
I chose not to answer her, changing the subject instead.
“Should I step away for a moment?” I asked, predicting what might happen next.
“Why, yes, Jasper, that’s an excellent idea. The clothing on my ship will be lighter, more durable, and more comfortable than what Nova is currently wearing. Giving her some space to change would be a noble idea. Come to think of it, I would like to change as well. I have literally been wearing the same blouse and trousers for decades, if not longer. I am far more comfortable with Nova changing me than I would be with you, Jasper...no offense. Would you mind waiting out in the hall for us?”
I nodded, turning to walk out of the room and began thinking very, very careful thoughts. Nestor squeaked and started to follow me, before Vessa spoke up again.
“Not you, little friend,” the ship-woman said cheerfully. “You stay in here and stand guard.”
Guard-who? the little mouse asked me, confused. Why-why?
Because they wish to feel entertained, I told them. And because they do not realize that you can currently share impressions with me regarding what you see.
Should-I? the little mouse asked in a confused tone.
If they ever figure out you can do so, definitely not, I said, no longer walking forward. If they don’t... never mind.
>
“Now that I think about it, I’m still tired,” I said as I headed over to my capsule. “I’m just going to reseal the capsule and take a nap.”
“That should work,” Nova spoke up. “Just don’t open the black seal before I knock on it, or I’ll kick your butt. I mean it.”
“Of course,” I said as I climbed into the wonderfully padded bed. I closed the lid and did my best to think about how soft and comfortable the capsule was, and nothing else, until sleep took me again.
CHAPTER THREE
I woke up sooner than I wanted, staring up at the opaque screen over my head. I waited for a few moments, then gave up and knocked on the glass. No one answered. I took a moment to curse how teenage and dramatic we were all being about this, then knocked harder. It should not take anyone this long to change their clothes, my brain insisted as I beat out a series of loud raps. Finally, someone rapped back on the other side of the screen.
“Sorry, Jasper,” Nova called out, her voice muffled by my screen. “You can come out now.”
I hit the button next to my padding, and the screen slowly opened. As I lifted myself up, I saw the two women sitting next to each other, happy and not arguing presently.
“Hi, Jas,” Vessa said with an inexplicably shy smile. “Thanks for being patient with us.”
I wanted to complain and tell her that they were being overly cautious with me, and that it wasn’t necessary for me to completely leave a room this large, especially one so full of obstructions to hide behind. Any of us could have literally just walked around a corner for five minutes, instead of having me lock myself in my bed or some other drastic idea. But by then, my mind had caught up with my eyes, and the sight took my breath away.
“Sorry we took so long,” She added as she ran a hand through her dark hair. “Nova was able to help me wash up. I finally feel clean. How do I look?”
Soul Shelter Page 3
