The Solar Flare (29 page)

     “Are you all right?” His concerned eyes raked
over her for signs of injury.

     “I think so . . . I’m
sorry, I just lost control. . .”

     “The only thing that matters is that you aren’t hurt.”

     “No. I’m all right,” she replied, calming down.

     “Perhaps we took it a little too fast today.”

     “It’s my fault. . . I didn’t damage your Vela did I?”

     “No, I think it’s fine, other than a few scrapes along the bottom. See
. . . this is why I didn’t let you drive the silver one today,” he joked and laughed softly as he removed his arm from around her. She took a deep breath and laughed a little nervously with him. It felt so good for her to laugh; she couldn’t remember the last time that she did. They sat there silently for a few moments until he spoke.

     “Now, why don’t you power us up and take us home.”

     “You sure you want me to drive after what just happened?”

     “Of course. There’s an ancient saying that you live and learn. I reckon you’ll be more cautious as you learn from here on out
,” he said lightly.

     She sm
iled casually at him and fired up the Vela once more, turning them around to head slowly back towards their home, feeling as though the ice had finally broke between them.

     A few hours later, after a long soak in a warm bathtub, Ava inspected herself in the mirror of her dresser as the sun started to set.
A month of regular exercise and a well balanced diet had made her feel and look healthier than she ever had before, except than when she had Justin’s borrowed energy. She had chosen a casual long royal blue sun dress made of a stretchy material with some delicate gold beading sewn around the neckline and casual gold sandals to wear to the beach barbeque her new friends had planned for the evening. Like her other family, her new one enjoyed introducing her to novel things, especially food. Since arriving in the hot climate, she had several inches of her hair trimmed off to simplify her routine. Her shiny chestnut brown hair now fell to just below her shoulders. She slid an intricate gold headband into place to hold her hair back before heading downstairs to the terrace to meet the others who had already gathered. James smiled warmly as she joined them. He held one of his old acoustic guitars in one hand. She liked the way he was dressed, in relaxed dark blue “jeans,” as the locals called them, and an un-tucked white dress shirt with thin light blue lines on it. It was partially unbuttoned at the top and she could see the top of the old cross underneath.

     Mrs. Maclaren, Travis, the chef, and several of the other housekeepers and staff were overseeing the preparation of the food and lighting of the grill. Once at the gazebo on the beach, James set the guitar down and poured her a glass of wine before attending to the others.

     Emma and Blayke arrived, also with a guitar in hand. Apparently it was going to be a musical gathering.

     “Hi Ava
,” Emma said as she advanced on her and gave her a quick hug, a gesture that surprised Ava. But, she returned the sentiment just the same. “I heard James took you driving today. How did it go?”

     “Okay I guess
,” she said slowly with a shy smile, not wanting to divulge the truth to her.

     “She did very well
,” James said out of no-where, arriving with a glass of wine for Emma. He smiled pleasantly at Ava, who smiled back, grateful that he didn’t say anything about her over-zealousness on her first time out of the gates with the Vela. “We’ll be teaching her how to fly the Solstice before you know it,” he kidded, topping off her glass, then turning back to the others.

     “I’m sure
,” Emma laughed. “You look so pretty tonight, I just love this color on you.”

     “Thanks
,” was all she could reply. She suddenly felt a little nervous, sensing James’ eyes on her. She nonchalantly turned away from them to stare out at the sea; she never did like being the center of attention.

     When the food was ready, the sun had already been setting for a while. The flames of the candles danced in the wind in their
glass enclosures on the table. The dinner seemed much reminiscent to Ava’s experience with Wesley’s family. The fellowship, the joking, the laughing. They were so like the others, but they appeared much more relaxed and at ease. Clearly they felt very comfortable with the life they had chosen and created for themselves in this newly discovered world. After they finished eating, they kicked off their sandals and shoes and sauntered down onto the beach to the fire pit. Lucas had no trouble lighting it and everyone settled into slanted ‘adirondack’ chairs and within a few moments, James and Blayke began to play their guitars together. Ava listened intently to the sounds of the soothing melody, and maybe it was a combination of the warm weather, the wine, or the dinner, but she actually found herself relaxing back into her chair and enjoying the evening.

     She had to admit, her life had been fairly hectic after meeting Wesley. Traveling here and there, danger and excitement, as well as injury. She began to wonder, would that have been the life for her? Was that what she wanted or could accept?
She looked around at the seven Asterions sitting with her in a circle around the fire, the light flickering over their serene faces. They seemed to fear nothing, . . . perhaps they had nothing to fear. She had no idea how far away they had taken her from Kyanos, and the space stations. Were they beyond Kaden’s reach? James had never said another word about it after they arrived here. She could feel their gentle and calm natures as well as the tranquility of their combined energy and it comforted her. She felt better physically, sleeping peacefully at night, eating the right foods, and getting enough exercise. She could not deny that she was sitting here with a new circle of friends that were slowly becoming more to her.

     Her thoughts were interrupted when Blayke began to pl
ay a livelier tune and Lucas stood up with Melanie and they started to dance together in the fire lit sand. She smiled, watching the couple move effortlessly from one move to the next.

     “Go on Ava, you and James try it
,” Emma suggested playfully.

     Ava glanced at her and then James and simply said “
I’m not much of a dancer really,” which was actually the truth.

     “Nonsense, it’s so easy . . .”

     “Emma, if she doesn’t want to, she doesn’t have to,” James said softly, rescuing Ava from her persistence.

     Ava thought for a moment. It did look like fun. “Well, I guess I could try. . .” She didn’t kno
w what possessed her to agree, but she set down her glass, burying the base in the sand so that it would stay upright, and stood up. “But don’t blame me if your feet have bruises on them tomorrow,” she said seriously. Everyone laughed as James set down his guitar and approached Ava.

     “Just follow my lead, it’s simple
,” he assured her as he took one of her hands in his and placed his other hand on her back. Ava almost jumped, sensing the energy connect between them as he began to move, drawing her closer. After a few tense moments she remembered the step repetition and kept a better pace with him, breaking eye contact with him occasionally to watch her bare feet move below her, trying not to step on his toes.

     After a short while Blayke stopped playing and everyone sat back down, the fire light dancing upon their faces.

     “It’s been a while since you’ve done a concert,” Melanie observed.

     “It has
,” Blayke replied, “here I mean.”

     “Why don’t you do another one soon? The people would love it!”

     “I don’t see why we couldn’t,” James offered.

     “I can look for a date
,” Lizeth suggested. “And you could come Ava, it would be fantastic! All of the proceeds we earn go to support the local charities and the further development and exploration of Sphene.”

       “Oh, that’s very nice
,” Ava replied, sounding as amazed as she was. But then, what did 300-something year old Asterions need with more money anyway? Nothing as far as Ava could tell by her living experiences with them. Through further discussion, Ava learned that Geodesic’s profits were mostly donated back to the charities of the particular station the group performed on at the time, save for travel expenses, re-fueling and re-stocking of their ship. A fact Ava was surprised and pleased to hear. The group continued to converse more on the details of the proposed concert before, couple by couple they left, leaving Ava alone with James on the beach.

     It was well after dark and James played a slow, gentle melody on his guitar while Ava listened,
enjoying the peaceful breeze, inhaling the fresh seaside air and staring up at the twinkling stars.

     “Penny for your thoughts?” He asked after a few minutes, while continuing to play
, looking down at his guitar.

     “I was just thinking that it is so peaceful here.”

      “Yes, it is now. We had to work hard for our peace. Sustainable planets such as this are hard to come by.”

    
“Are there many other Asterions that have become human out there . . . besides the ones that I’ve met?”

     “Yes,” was his simple answer.

     “Where are they?”

     “They are everywhere and anywhere. You may have even run across some of them and not have even known it.
Though, they are few and far between by human standards.”

     “I guess you are right
,” she replied thoughtfully.

     “You would know now if it happened
again.”

     “How?”

     “You are very perceptive to our energy. That’s what overwhelmed you on my ship. Even now I can feel it, I can sense our connection. We’ve never encountered another human who could sense Asterions like you do.”

     “Do all of you have special abilities?” She wanted to change the subject. However, her interest was piqued now, especially since he was opening up to her and apparently relaxed, continuing to strum his guitar.

     “Not all of us.”

     “Why?”

     “Depends on a lot of things . . . what the Asterion was like before the transformation, the qualities of the human the Asterion inhabits, it just depends on the mix.”

     “Do you know
. . . right away I mean, once the transition is complete?”

     James raised an eyebrow, amused by her statement. “Definitely not
. . . I guess it’s something you stumble across by accident. For instance, I didn’t know I had telekinesis until I had been human for twenty some years. I remember I wanted my keys one day and I couldn’t remember where I’d left them. Then, suddenly they came flying at me . . . scared the shit out of me actually,” he laughed at the memory. She laughed nervously with him.

     “Do many
Asterions have the power of telekinesis?”

     “No
. I can think of maybe two others.”

     “And Wesley
was one of them?”

     He nodded.

     “Who is the other one?”

     “I think that’s a story for another day
,” he replied casually at her, pausing in his current song to take a sip of wine, then resuming it again. “It’s a nice ability to have . . . we make wonderful magicians,” he said with a smirk.

     She laughed at the thought. “I can imagine. Wesley can heal people and teleport also. Do you have the same skills?”

     “No.” He looked thoughtful, almost envious for a moment.

     “Do you have any other abilities then?”

     “Yes.”

     “Well, what are they?” She persisted.

     “I hope I never have to show you,” was his mysterious reply.

     Ava chewed this new information over in her mind and decided to ask him more about himself. “James, when we were on Earth, why did Draves call you a priest?”

     He stopped playing the guitar, gazed up at her and took another sip of wine, setting the instrument down. “I wasn’t sure if you’d heard that comment or not with everything going on,” he said softly.

     After she didn’t say anything he continued.
“Draves was hearing our thoughts; a terrible ability to have. He couldn’t turn it off. The constant commotion going on probably drove him mad . . . he wanted to die. But, to answer your question, he was referring to the human whose body I took.”

     “Will you tell me about it?”

     “If you wish,” he replied softly, gazing at her. Ava felt warmed, yet slightly uncomfortable by the friendship that seemed to be growing between them. “In the beginning we, Robinson and I, were one entity. But we are like fire and ice, we don’t mix well together. Our energy is fairly compatible, but it is our essence that drove us apart. Once I was free of him I wanted to be as far away from him as possible . . . so, naturally, we both unintentionally ended up on Earth,” he chuckled and shook his head.

     “
Anyway, I sensed his transformation and decided to see for myself what he had become. It made sense. I decided then that I also wanted to assume a human life and be able to act physically upon my desires. After a few years of wandering around, I heard some beautiful piano music one evening.”