“Wait…why do we have to know the area is clear?”
“There were no instructions on the Jumper, and therefore no way to know if it would reject a jump ending in the middle of a planet or three feet from the surface of a star a thousand times larger than Jasan’s sun. To be safe, we keep to what we can see ahead of us.”
“Makes sense, sorry for the interruption.”
Talon smiled. “Because of the amount of power the Jumper requires to create a new Door, it can only create one every two days. That’s how long it takes to recharge itself.”
“So, it’s a matter of mathematics then,” she said. “Number of light years, divided by length of safe jumps, equals number of jumps, multiplied by two days per jump.”
“Exactly,” Tee said. “It breaks down to one hundred and sixty jumps, over about ten months, give or take.”
“Give or take what?”
“Give or take the actual location of Kinah,” Talon said.
“Oh yeah,” she said. “I guess the destination point does have something to do with it.”
“Just a bit,” Tee said with laughter in his voice.
“I want to tell you guys my secret ability,” she said suddenly.
“Are you sure, Ria?” Thorn asked. “We don’t want you to regret anything.”
“I’ve never wanted to tell anyone this before. I’m sure. I feel like it wouldn’t be fair not to tell you, and I've never felt that before either.”
“Just to be clear,” Talon said, “we’ll never tell anyone what you tell us.”
Ria nodded. “I know.” She drew in a slow breath. “I know when people lie.”
“Wow,” Tee breathed. “Do you mean you can read their body language?”
“No,” she replied. “I get a strange, almost tickling sensation on my scalp, just behind my left ear whenever someone tells a lie that I can hear. They don’t have to be talking to me, and I don’t even have to know them. I always know lies when I hear them.”
“How long have you had this ability?” Thorn asked, his fingers gently stroking her hand. She focused on that, telling herself it meant they weren’t preparing to boot her off the ship.
“Always, I think. The first time I remember understanding it I was four.”
“What happened?” Thorn asked, continuing to stroke her hand, understanding that if he stopped, she would see it as a negative sign.
“My parents had just moved Vari into the little house on the hill next door. I asked my mother why, and she said that Vari’s ability to hear people’s thoughts hurt her. That she’d have to stay there until she could control it. I didn't understand the word control, so mom explained it meant she had to be able to make it stop and start when she wanted. I asked how long it would take. Mom said not very long, and I knew that was a lie, and that Vari would be gone a long time.”
Thorn saw Tee’s expression, and sensed what he was about to say, that it was normal for a parent to say such things, but Thorn saw something much deeper, and knew what a mistake that would be. He caught Tee’s eye and shook his head sharply. Tee frowned but subsided.
Thorn turned his attention back to Ria. “You couldn't control your ability to feel people’s emotions, could you?”
“No, I couldn't. I'd never tried because I didn't know I was supposed to control it. When I did try, after that, I couldn't.”
“What did you do?” Talon asked.
“I pretended I could control it. I didn't want to get sent away, like Vari did, so I worked at trying to control it all the time. It took years, but eventually I could control everything.”
“Even your ability to hear lies?”
“Yes,” she said, nodding.
“Why didn’t you tell anyone you could detect lies after you could control it?” Thorn asked.
Ria’s face paled at the thought. “I know Klanaren didn’t mind being around Vari because they could shield themselves. But most people wouldn’t go near her because she could read their minds. It wasn’t because they were concerned about her, though that’s the excuse most of them used.
“I thought that was one reason she had to live alone, so people didn’t have to worry about her knowing what they thought. I thought it would be worse for me if people knew what I could do.”
“Why would it be worse for you?” Tee asked.
“Would you want to be around someone who knew every lie you told?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, since the person is you,” Tee said. “But what I meant was, why would it be worse for you than Vari?”
Ria didn’t want to answer that, and she didn’t want to lie. Not to these men. So she just shrugged and said nothing.
Tee wanted her to know that he wasn’t going to press for answers she wasn’t ready to give, so he asked a different question. “Will you tell us about your empathic ability?”
“I always had that, too, the ability to know what other people felt. I didn’t always like having it, but it was useful. Between that and my ability to detect lies, I always knew where I stood with people regardless of what they said. When I was seven I discovered that I could take other people’s feelings away from them.”
“How’d you discover that?” Talon asked.
“The first time it happened Bean was crying because she missed Vari so much. I put my hand on her shoulder and wished I could take her sadness away from her. And I did. She stopped crying right away.”
“What happened to the sadness?” Thorn asked shrewdly.
“Yeah, that was the bad part,” she said ruefully. “I ended up with it inside myself, which I’ve never told anyone before.”
“What did it do to you?”
“It made me feel my sadness and Bean’s. After a while it wore off though.”
“Then what happened?” Talon asked.
“I didn’t know if I could control the new ability or not, and I didn’t want to have to lie until I at least knew more about it. So, I asked Bean to promise not to tell I’d taken her feelings from her, and she did. Not long after that a girl at school was sad because her dog got sick and died. So I took her grief from her. She promised not to tell too, but she did anyway.
“So I had to tell my parents, though I didn’t tell them I pulled the feelings into myself. By then I knew that I couldn’t control that part, so I couldn’t tell them about it.”
“You should have given that other girl her grief back,” Tee said. “It would have served her right.”
Ria shuddered, her head shaking before Tee finished speaking. “Bean suggested the same thing when it happened again a few years later. I knew it was a bad idea and told her so, but I didn’t know why it was a bad idea. My Mom overheard us, and decided to try an experiment. She wanted me to take her joy in watching Bean call a wild bird to her finger away from her, then give it back, so I did. It was horrible.”
“What happened?” Talon asked while Thorn continued to stroke her hand.
“The joy had multiplied so much that it wasn’t joy anymore. It was…I don’t know what it was. It was just awful. I took it back right away. I’d learned to control it by then, so I didn’t have to pull it into myself. I think it would have done something bad to me if I had.”
“What’d you do with it?” Thorn asked.
“I threw it away, into the air.” Ria paused, hesitated, then spoke again, her voice very low. “After that, Mom asked me to promise never to do that again. So I did.”
Talon frowned. There was something more there, but like Tee, he wasn’t going to push her. She was opening up to them a lot, and he knew they could only accept what she offered right now. Trying to take more would be a mistake.
“Is that why you decided to study medicine?” he asked. “So you could help people by taking away their bad feelings?”
“Yes,” she said, her expression relaxing. “When I got a little older I realized that taking people’s bad feelings away wasn’t a good idea. People need to feel both good and bad emotions. I was able to control it enough by then to
soften, or lessen some emotions instead of taking them way. I found that worked better for people.”
“Did you decide to stop studying medicine because you lost the ability?” Thorn asked, already knowing what her answer would be.
“No,” she said, her voice once again so soft they barely heard it. “That’s not why.”
Thorn nodded but said nothing and a quick gesture convinced his brothers not to ask the obvious question.
“Kólasi,” Ria said with an edge of annoyance.
“What does that mean?” Talon asked.
“Hell,” Ria replied. “It’s Greek. I picked up a few things from my godmother besides fairytales.”
“Why are you swearing?” Tee asked.
“Because I’m annoyed with myself. Our first time alone together and I drag out the pity-party kit and start hanging streamers.”
Tee laughed softly. “I’m not laughing at you,” he said when she looked up at him briefly, then away. “Well, that’s not exactly true. I’m laughing at you, but it’s because you’re funny. Pity-party kit. Never heard that one before.”
She smiled, then yawned. “Sorry,” she said. “Not sure where that came from.”
“It might have something to do with the multitude of injuries you’ve suffered over the past couple of days,” Thorn said while Talon reached over and picked her up. He pulled her into his lap, a thoughtful and slightly nervous expression on his face.
“Kitelle, we’ve agreed that you won’t be taking the suppressants anymore, right?”
“Yes,” she said, suddenly worried. “Did you change your minds?”
“No, not at all, not ever,” Thorn said firmly. Ria smiled at him, though his vehemence did startle her a little.
“If you don’t mind me asking, when was the last time you took one?” Talon asked.
“No I don’t mind you asking, yesterday morning.” She couldn’t see their frowns, but she felt their sudden tension. “Is there a problem? Oh…am I not your berezi after all?” The thought terrified her, which all things considered, was ironic to the point of absurdity.
“Of course you are,” Talon said gently. “They just haven’t worn off yet. Probably because you’ve been taking them for so long.”
“It’s more likely that it’s because of my injuries,” Ria said. “Not a lot of pheromone production happening with broken bones and cracked skull.”
“Good point,” Thorn said, trying not to laugh.
“We expect that we’ll react to you tomorrow,” Talon said. “We’d prefer to be alone with you when that happens.”
Ria frowned, then her eyes widened as she understood what he meant. “Yeah, I think that’s probably a very good idea. What do you have in mind?”
“Can you meet us here? Or is that too far for you to walk?”
“As long as I get a clearance from Dr. Jula in the morning, here is good,” she said. “When?”
“We have a couple of safety meetings on the Beacon tomorrow afternoon, and they usually drag on longer than we’d like,” Talon said. “How about after dinner?”
“That’s fine.”
“Good. Go ahead and order dinner for you and Star, and we’ll call you on your hand terminal when we’re back.”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Ria said, yawning again. Talon stood up and started walking toward the door. “Where are we going now?”
“We’re taking you to your room so you can get some sleep,” Talon replied.
“Oh. Well, I guess it’s a good idea for me to get lots of sleep tonight. I don’t want to give Dr. Jula a reason to tell me to stay in bed another day because honestly, I doubt I’d be able to do it.”
“If she does, we’ll find a way to keep your mind busy since your body will absolutely be following doctor’s orders,” Thorn said.
“Is that a threat?”
“No, Shiaki, it’s a promise.”
“What’s that mean?”
“It means shining soul. That’s you, Ria. You’re a soul that shines so brightly that being near you lights all the dark places inside me.”
Once again she found herself fighting back tears. “Thank you, Thorn,” she whispered around the tightness in her throat. “That’s the most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me.”
Chapter 19
Ria had just finished stacking the dishes from her and Star’s breakfast the next morning when someone knocked on the door. Ria walked over and opened it, then smiled when she saw Dr. Jula’s familiar heat signature.
“Good morning Dr. Jula,” she said, stepping back to let the doctor in.
“Good morning Ria, how’re you feeling?”
“I feel great,” Ria replied, pressing the panel to close and lock the door.
“Hello Star,” Dr. Jula said, spotting the Brun in the corner. “How are you this morning?”
“I’m very well,” Star replied, her tail wagging.
“I’m glad,” Dr. Jula said, setting her bag down on the table and gesturing to Ria. “I just want to get a quick look at you, Ria. Make sure all is well. You’ve had more than your share of injuries lately and that takes a toll on the body that can’t be seen by a scanner.”
“I know, but I feel fine,” Ria said, taking the chair the doctor indicated. “A little weak, and I tire easily, but that’s all.”
“That’s normal all things considered,” Dr. Jula said, taking instruments from the little bag she’d carried in. Ria did her best to relax and let the doctor do her thing. “Everything looks good,” Dr. Jula said when she was finished. “I don’t want you exerting yourself for a couple of days, Ria. I want you to start walking, but only until you get tired. Then stop. No pushing. Got it?”
“Got it,” Ria said, smiling at the thought of getting out and walking around.
“Call me if you have any headaches, nausea, or dizziness, or if you experience pain or prolonged weakness in your left arm or hip. I want you to come to the infirmary in three days for a full scan. If that looks good, I’ll let you increase your activity level.”
“Thanks Dr. Jula. Just being able to get out and walk a little will be great.”
Dr. Jula walked over to the corner where Star was lying. She sat down on the floor near Star’s head and checked her vitals. “Tell me how you’re feeling Star.”
“I feel quite good, Dr. Jula. Better than I have in a long time. My only complaint is that I tire easily, and sleep more than I should, but Ria explained why that’s to be expected.”
“Good. Any trouble with your appetite?”
“Other than it never stays satisfied for long, no.”
Dr. Jula laughed. “It’ll settle down some once you get back to a normal weight, but you can expect to be hungrier than normal with these little guys to feed. The bigger they get, the more milk they’ll need, which means you’ll need more food to produce it.”
“You’re right Dr. Jula. I hadn’t thought of that.”
“That’s why I’m the doctor and you’re the new mom,” Dr. Jula said, smiling as she got up and moved to the opposite end of the bed so she could check her hip. “Any soreness?” she asked, pressing gently.
“No, but it still feels weak.”
“It’s been less than three full days, so that’s to be expected, too. It looks really good, though.” She returned to where she’d left her bag in front of Star. “I want you to walk too, but only until you tire. Same instructions as Ria’s. Don’t push to the point of pain or even soreness and stop when you get tired. Come in with Ria in three days for a scan. If all is well, I’ll clear you for more exercise.”
“I’m looking forward to that.”
“I’m sure you are,” Dr. Jula said sympathetically. “Just remember you have to start slowly, and build up very gradually. You need every bite of food you get into you for feeding the cubs, and rebuilding your body after starving for so long. The last thing you need is to run it off. Mild exercise to build and maintain muscle tone and stay healthy is what we’re after right now. All right?”
“Are these two finished eating yet?”
“I think so,” Star said. “They’re gluttons, just like their mother.”
“They’re growing fast,” Dr. Jula said, lifting Belle carefully. “I can see a difference already.” She checked the cub quickly, then returned her to her place next to Star before picking up Lonato.
“They’re doing great. Their umbilical cords are healing nicely and they’re obviously eating well. Bring Belle and Lonato when you come to see me so I can weigh them and look them over a little more carefully.”
“We will, Dr. Jula,” Ria said. “Thanks so much for coming to see us.”
“My pleasure,” she said, climbing to her feet.
After Dr. Jula left, Ria watched the cubs fall asleep. The way they piled on top of each other always made her smile. When they were sound asleep, she got up and crossed the room, opening and closing drawers as she collected clean clothing. She felt like it had been forever since she’d gotten fully dressed.
“Are you going somewhere?” Star asked curiously.
“I have had enough of lying in bed. I need to get out and walk around. Want to join me?”
“I’d love to,” Star agreed enthusiastically. “Perhaps you can show me around the ship a little.”
“I don’t know this ship, but we can explore together until one of us gets tired. What about the cubs?”
“They just finished eating so they will sleep for an hour or two.” Star hesitated. “No one will come in here, right?”
“That’s right,” Ria said. “Just to be sure, we’ll lock the door behind us.”
“Yes, please,” Star said. “I think I will use the new bathroom while you dress.”
“Okay,” Ria said.
Star got up, careful not to disturb the cubs, then walked to the door and pressed the lever set low to the floor that Tee had shown her. Ria went into her bathroom and got dressed. She brushed her hair out, put it in a ponytail, and brushed her teeth. When she left the bathroom she found Star waiting by her bed.
“How’s that working out?” Ria asked.
Ria's Visions (Hearts of ICARUS Book 6) Page 36
