Burning Stone (2 page)

Leyhara stripped off the bits of fabric and Mockski started again, but this time, it took longer and the fabric flowed into place on her skin.

In an hour, she was wearing an outfit identical to her original one, with the slight alteration of material that would keep her from running around in smoking tatters.

She checked the fit in the mirror and smiled. “If you don’t see me in two hours, this formulation worked. If I come back, you are going to need to find something a little sturdier.”

“I will check stores and find out what is available. No, I will send one of the others to look for something. After that material, I need a bit of a rest.” Mockski swayed.

Leyhara helped him to a chair and got him a new cup of whatever had been in the pitcher. He smiled in relief.

“Thanks. They have created an electrolyte mix that my body can break down quickly. The irony is that by the time I realise I need it, I am too weak to pour.”

She waited until he had finished what was in his cup and filled it again. “Will you be all right if I get going?”

He smiled. “I will. Now go. I can feel the Avatar in the vicinity. They will not wait long.”

Leyhara patted Mockski on the arm and went outside to continue her tutorial.

She focussed on melting the stone into a flat plateau. There was no one around for miles and Halwis-Iskan was hovering nearby as Leyhara stood in the center of the stone and turned it to liquid.

The stone had melted at different temperatures, so it was surprising to Leyhara that she was not sinking into the liquid. She was hovering above the rippling surface, and she didn’t know how she was doing it.

She paced across the surface, and when Halwis nodded, she sent out a wave of her energy. As she walked forward, the rough stone shimmied and became a completely smooth surface.

Her new boots were holding up to the heat, and the edges of her skirt flared and fluttered but did not catch fire. She began to move faster and eventually sprinted across the plateau with the leading edge running meters ahead of her.

She skidded to a stop and looked out over the edge. It was three hundred metres down, and she had no urge to make that drop. The stone cooled under her feet, and she settled on the crust for a moment before she elevated once again.

“Hot!”

Halwis laughed. “Yes, it is. Perfectly smooth though. It is a good base for the wind range that we wanted to build.”

“Wind range?”

Iskan took control.
“I am proud to say that my surface is becoming a haven for those who need to learn control of the elements, including flesh. The combination of fire and earth is an interesting one and I would love a few more building sites if you are amenable.”

“Of course I am.”

Halwis took over. “Your stamina is impressive.”

Leyhara looked from left to right and then at that Avatar. “I draw energy from the stone. From the heat.”

“Really?”

“Really. I won’t need to eat for days after this. I mean I will, but I won’t have to.”

She looked back at the plateau and she smiled. “Do you want me to cut stairs down to the valley floor?”

“That will not be necessary. Folk will come and go by skimmer.”

Leyhara sighed and looked out over the alien world. “It looks so different.”

Halwis-Iskan landed next to her but kept the careful distance above the still-glowing stone. “Resicor is much greener, or so she has told me. She boasted of the bright powers in her children, and you have proven her correct.”

“She mentioned that she planted potential in as many of her children as she could. It was part of our final lecture on where we had come from. She felt we should know what happened so that we could move forward.”

“Knowing why you are the way you are is an important step to beginning to embrace your future.”

“I was never too clear on my future. I could have been captured at any time, and from there, I had no idea where I would have ended up. One of my great uncles was frozen, and he is now living with my parents.”

“They didn’t want you to remain at home?”

She smiled and watched the glow of the stone fade against the bright arc of the sky. “They wanted me to be more. There are few places on Resicor that my skill set would be useful. You offered to take me and here I am.”

Halwis-Iskan held out her hand. “And here you are. Come back to the Citadel with me. You need a meal and I have thought of the perfect material for your clothing. Mockski will need help with it, but I will have a supply of it for him by morning.”

Leyhara slipped her hand into the Avatar’s, and she was pulled gently skyward for the flight back to the base. The breezes caught and fluttered her skirt. Leyhara could see that it was part of the suit that wouldn’t stand up to the heat. Whatever Halwis-Iskan had in mind, it was probably precisely what she needed.

It took two days to get the black diamonds into a workable fabric, and Mockski was still stuck with the same design.

Leyhara was given robes made of the second material but studded with vivid purple gemstones.

“These are for your status as a Master Elemental.” Kedna wore her own vivid robes for the event. “Yours are simply designed for more heat, and now, you are ready for formal floor melting.”

The group of gathered Citadel members laughed and applauded, all were wearing their own robes, and there were a lot of elementals in the room.

A few healers were sprinkled in the mix, as were minders and other psychics. The group of thirty was a festive bunch, and they welcomed her with open arms.

Kedna and Haedock were not the only couple, but whenever a man approached Leyhara, Halwis was there and making a point of directing her conversation to a different partner.

Leyhara frowned and went to speak with Kedna. “Do you know what is going on? Every time I go to speak to a male, Halwis is in between us. Does—is there a problem with me being Resicoran?”

Kedna sighed and took Leyhara by the arm, drawing her out onto the balcony of the ancient city hall.

“What do you hear at night?”

“What?”

“What do you hear as you dream?”

Leyhara blinked. “Singing. Halwis-Iskan told me that it was perfectly normal.”

Kedna rubbed the back of her neck. “It is and it isn’t. In this system, there is another habitable world but it is barren and forbidden.”

She had no idea where this was going, but she said, “Interesting.”

“Isn’t it though? It is said that deep in the surface of that world is an ancient power, a sleeping member of a fading race. Well, it is more than said, Iskan spoke with him at length before he went to sleep. He and other Drai were scattered through space to wait for their mates. When they find a compatible woman, she will hear the song in her mind. It is their way of seducing their mate.”

“Mate?” Leyhara inhaled sharply. “I just got out here. I don’t want a mate.”

“He will wait. Waiting is what they do.” Halwis-Iskan came out of the shadows.

Leyhara looked at the Avatar with narrowed eyes. “What is a Drai?”

Kedna grinned. “I just got an upgraded holographic projector. There are files on the ancient Drai.”

They slipped down the edge of the party and into the hall that Kedna and Haedock made their home.

Leyhara spent the rest of the evening drinking wine and watching vids of huge beasts stomping across landscapes and taking to the air. The energy that had to be expended and absorbed as they shifted from one form to the other must have been incredible. A man with wings like a night flier and teeth that were intimidating to say the least.

“One of those is singing to me in my sleep?” She was a little tipsy and the idea was less creepy and more intriguing with every sip.

Halwis-Iskan gave her a long look. “His world is ready for renovation. If I speak to him and he is amenable to the work, would you go there and create landing sites?”

She wrinkled her nose, and Halwis-Iskan waved away the idea.

“Never mind. Your particular skills are much in demand. It is far less expensive and detrimental to the environment to get you to do the smoothing than it is for them to pave them.”

Leyhara raised her eyebrows. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. You have a line of requests on primitive worlds that is twenty deep.”

Leyhara bent her knees and put her arms around them. “How would I get there?”

“They would send a shuttle for you, and you could do as many of them as you wished and come home whenever you liked.”

“Is this home now?”

Kedna smiled. “It is if you want it to be. You will always have a place here, as you will always have a place on your own world. Resicor would have you back in an instant. Never doubt that.”

Iskan took over and inclined Halwis’s head.
“It is true. She has offered a whole and open link to all of her children. If you wish it, I would be able to open the link here and you could walk between worlds.”

“What?”

Halwis grabbed the body. “What he was trying to say is when Resicor sought help to break out of her long sleep, she asked other worlds for energy. Iskan offered her some in exchange for twelve of her people over one century. They would be remade into Iskanoi and be the seeds of a new population.”

“Was I part of that deal?”

“Not if you don’t wish to stay. The Drai contract supersedes all others.” Kedna smirked.

Halwis scowled. “I was going to tell her that. No matter where she chooses to live, this is her Citadel and we will always welcome her.”

Leyhara yawned and wobbled to her feet. “I think I want to see a bit of the universe. Is that possible? I would like to go on those twenty assignments.”

Halwis smiled. “I will make the arrangements in the morning. You should ship out within the week.”

Kedna got to her feet, obviously handling her alcohol better than Leyhara was. She linked her arm with Leyhara’s and helped her to her room.

“Don’t worry about the Drai. They are not quite the beasts depicted in the vids. I have met two of them, and they are urbane, cultured and devoted partners and spouses.”

“Are they in the Citadel?”

“Mostly they are in the Sector Guard, but the Guard draws a lot of its personnel from the Citadel. They came here to bring a candidate who needed a bit more training. Halwis went up one side of him and down the other. He was sorted out completely in six weeks and now has an assignment on an instable world and is working to reshape the atmosphere. It should take him quite a few years to get it just right.”

Alone in her room, Leyhara unlaced her bodice and crawled between the sheets. Tomorrow, things were going to be set in motion that would put pressure on her, but she was up for it. Well, she hoped she was. Failure was not an appealing option.

Bohrvin’s eyes were the first thing she noticed about her pilot. His eyes were a pure emerald green with hot gold around the edge and as a pupil. It gave a new meaning to having fire in his eyes. His skin was a silvery grey and his hair a rich scarlet that made her flame-red hair seem brassy in comparison.

He was taller, stronger and prettier than she was. She grappled with that for a moment and then put on her robes, gathered her spare clothing in her bag and hugged her few friends goodbye.

It was an adventure that she was seeking and Bohrvin was going to help her find it.

Halwis-Iskan took her new pilot aside and spoke to him in an urgent tone.

Bohrvin nodded and patted the Avatar on the arm.

Leyhara couldn’t understand what they were saying, but Halwis gave her a nervous look before finally nodding and wishing him a good journey.

A final hug to Leyhara and she was on her way to the first mission she would undertake as a Master of her elements. Her father would enjoy the title. He always thought that she deserved some kind of recognition for not only what she was, but also what she could do.

The shuttle that Bohrvin was piloting was a sleek design, quite a bit different from the ship that had brought Leyhara to Iskan. It was definitely something designed by another race or team of races. That thought made her smiled. Two months ago, other races had been something to fear, and now, she had not only a curiosity about them, but also the ability to satisfy that curiosity.

The narrow-backed seats of the shuttle were a little odd, but as long as Leyhara sat straight, they were perfectly comfortable. The interior walls were wide, doorways as well. Even in the slim shuttle, two people could walk side by side without trouble in any direction.

Bohrvin settled next to her and he took the controls. “Are you ready?”

She nodded. “I guess so. I am willing to try.”

He grinned. “I meant for takeoff.”

“Oh, yes. Right. Sorry.” She settled and placed her hands in her lap. “Ready.”

He turned the ship with a graceful arc, and they went for a short burn down the runway before they lifted up and away.

They left the surface of Iskan and flew through the atmosphere, heading along the curve of the world until they were pointed in the right direction and then leaving and using the spin of the orb to propel them into space.

The move he used was one that required skill and many hours of flying.

“You have been a pilot for a while?” It seemed a good start to their relationship. A nice easy question with no emotional ties.

He gave her a sidelong glance. “All my life, it seems. I retired for a while but was available when Iskan called.”

The familiarity that he used in the name made her curious. “You have known Halwis-Iskan for a while, Bohrvin?”

“Years. I used to do supply runs in the area.” He smiled. “Call me Bohr.”

“Bohr then. Call me Hara.” She grinned.

He set the controls and received confirmation on location and direction from the computer before he got up and raised an eyebrow. “Cup of tea and a mission briefing?”

She nodded and checked her chrono, stunned to realise that an hour had gone by.

“Sure. Please.”

He went to the galley and gave her the run down on how to operate the equipment and how to summon her ration packs until the enzyme treatment kicked in. Resicoran bodies did not really enjoy alien foods. Supplements and injections had to intervene.