‘A little sleep wouldn’t go astray,’ Telmo agreed, his eyelids beginning to droop now that all the action was over.
‘You can catch up with our father tomorrow,’ Yasper suggested, slapping an arm over Telmo’s shoulder.
‘Follow me.’ Aurora led off and turned back to Kalayna to express how excited she was to have them on board.
Yasper accompanied Telmo out, introducing his brother to his wife.
‘You married a Phemorian!’ Telmo didn’t think that happened, ever!
‘She was a Valourean too,’ Yasper boasted, and Jazmay rolled her eyes. ‘Wait until you meet your nephew!’ he said excitedly, and Telmo appeared overwhelmed as they disappeared out of view.
‘Good job and dismissed.’ Lucian excused the rest of them, and everyone headed back to their respective post or hang-out, until only Taren remained.
‘Sorry if Aurora reporting that I was kissing Telmo Dacre put you in an embarrassing position.’ Taren ventured a look at Lucian.
‘You could have mentioned your intent.’ Lucian’s arms were folded, but his voice was very civil.
‘Well, prophecy is a strange thing,’ Taren defended. ‘I didn’t intend to comply with it, but then circumstances demanded that I did comply or risk missing an opportunity I’d been warned to watch out for.’
‘I get it.’ Lucian unfolded his arms and moved closer.
‘Really?’ Taren queried. ‘Because if the situation was reversed, I’d be furious!’
‘Then I guess you are the one with jealousy issues, not me.’ He pulled her closer. ‘So please, don’t leave me out of the loop in future?’ He raised both eyebrows in appeal.
‘I’ve misjudged so many things this day —’ Taren wanted to kick herself again, but Lucian placed a finger over her lips and kissed her. He hugged her to him — she’d really given him a scare; their rescue must have been a closer call than she’d imagined.
‘Do you really think I care about anything beyond the fact that I didn’t just lose you in an explosion?’ he asked in all sincerity. ‘We got all our crew back safe, all our mission directives have been met, and after running missions for days with very little rest, I think that’s pretty damn good.’
Taren just had to grin; his concern filled her with a sudden burst of gratitude herself. ‘You’re right, that is pretty damn good.’ She moved in for another kiss, when it dawned on her. ‘Actually there is one loose end I need to tie up.’
‘You’re exhausting, you know that?’ Lucian wasn’t a huge sleeper, but even he was getting tired.
‘Has it been an hour since I got blasted by Khalid?’ Taren was feeling stronger, as the vital force of her Juju was flowing through her once again.
Lucian checked his watch. ‘Affirmative.’
Taren looked to the boardroom table and imagined the pen laying there flying into her grasp, whereupon the pen immediately complied to her will. ‘Thank heavens.’ She held her hand out before her and brought to mind Kalayna’s weapon, which, moments later, appeared in her hand. ‘If he thinks he’s keeping this, he’s seriously mistaken.’ She threw it up into the air and it fractured into molecules and dispersed in a blast of light. ‘Good luck finding a blueprint for that one, arsehole.’ Her angst was aimed at Khalid. ‘Pity that I cannot destroy his soul-vat as easily.’
‘All in good time,’ Lucian said, and Taren nodded. She eyed off the canister containing the remains of Chironjivi. ‘What shall we do with that?’
‘Well, if I dispose of it in the same manner as Kalayna’s weapon, I’ll only set the monster free. I suggest we store it in bio-containment until Telmo can advise us how to put him to rest for good.’ She smiled when she thought about Telmo. ‘It’s comforting to have Taliesin back … well, his super-conscious memory, anyway.’
It was difficult for Lucian to be as excited about that as Taren was. He too had viewed many of the historical orbs on Kila and he’d had, not so much a love/hate relationship with the soul in question, but one that had had a plentiful supply of tough love. Taliesin had never steered him wrong, even though many times it seemed that he had. Still, in another incarnation Taliesin had been Teo, and something of a rival for his wife’s affections. He wondered if the kiss of enlightenment was a little payback for that. Lucian had to admit that he’d rather liked Telmo Dacre when they’d met on Kila, and the kid did seem rather sweet on Kalayna these days. ‘Well, his presence has always served to be an education in the past, and I’m sure this revisit will be no different.’
‘It’s a little strange to hear all that knowledge sprouting out of one so young, isn’t it?’ Taren considered.
‘No,’ Lucian replied, gazing at her with a smile upon his face. ‘Not for me.’
Aurora had seen Kalayna to her quarters, which were right next door to Telmo’s, but as Yasper had insisted on showing him around, Telmo had got tied up talking with his brother and hadn’t really had a chance to say boo to Kalayna since they’d been rescued. By the time Yasper left, Telmo felt Kalayna would be resting and he shouldn’t disturb her.
Instead he took the shower he was badly in need of; he’d not liked leaving Kalayna alone for any great length of time on board the Insurrecto and although he would have loved to suggest that they shower together, he’d not had the guts before they were kidnapped and he’d feared inciting dormant passions in ghosts thereafter. What if she didn’t feel the same way about him after today? She had mentioned that he’d changed, and he had! But his feelings for Kalayna hadn’t changed — had her feelings dulled?
Under the jets of the shower, with steamy hot water pelting on his head, Telmo allowed his thoughts to drift back to before this current lifetime, to those lives and memories Taren had stirred in him. In life after life he’d coupled with many different incarnations of the same woman, just as all the others now living on board AMIE had. He recognised Kalayna as that soul-mind, which in that other universe they would have called his soul mate. The information was a little overwhelming, and Telmo felt suddenly quite ill and nervous. He’d had a pretty good run with the ladies before he’d been sent on assignment with Kalayna. Until then, Telmo had never really met a woman smarter than he was and couldn’t help but find that attractive, disarming and best left alone. Until that fateful interview with Belfore Truberman for the EBN …
There was a bleeping sound coming from somewhere, so Telmo shut off the shower and grabbed a towel on his way to investigate.
It was the crew communicator Aurora had given him. When he read that the caller was Kalayna, he got so excited he almost dropped the gadget. It took a second to find the button to accept the call. ‘Hello? Kalayna?’
‘I was just about to hang up. I’m real sorry if I woke you —’
‘You didn’t,’ he was way too quick to assure her. ‘Yasper only just left, so I just took a shower.’ Telmo could have sworn he heard a muffled groan of pleasure, but decided he was imagining things.
‘I know you’re probably tired, and this will sound really dumb —’
‘I’m not. It won’t.’ Telmo’s heart was doing back flips suddenly; he couldn’t think straight.
‘I haven’t said anything yet?’ she chuckled.
‘Do you want to come over?’ he asked.
‘Yes. On my way.’ She disconnected the call, and when his door chimed immediately Telmo was turning circles, looking for his clothes. When the chime was heard again, he opted to stick with his towel and fastened it around his waist more securely.
The door slid aside to reveal Kalayna, wearing sexy pale pink pyjamas, and she quickly ducked inside. ‘What took you so long?’
‘I was looking for some clothes,’ he explained, closing the door.
Kalayna looked him over, still wet and naked from the hips up. ‘I’d rather you didn’t.’ She grinned.
‘Well, your choice of attire is very easy on the eye also,’ he granted.
‘You like?’ She did a little turn for him and he noted her high-cut knickers were very nice. ‘Aurora gave them t
o me.’
‘Then her taste is to be commended. Zeven’s a very lucky man.’
‘I guess you’re wondering why I’m here?’ Kalayna was a little more awkward now and so moved into the kitchenette to check it out.
‘I think I can guess.’ Telmo followed, and she looked back at him suddenly. ‘But I wouldn’t want to assume … anything —’
When she rushed toward him and smothered him with kisses, he wondered if he had fallen asleep in the shower and was dreaming this.
‘No ghosts,’ she whispered in his ear. ‘I’ve been dying to jump you ever since that interview, but I was too afraid —’
‘Me too.’ He hushed her with another kiss, but then his own concerns began to surface. ‘I though I might have freaked you out with my little memory boost today.’
‘No …’ she assured him. ‘It just really turned me on.’ Kalayna lost his towel for him, as her legs wrapped around his form and he carried her to his round sleeping pod with its view of the stars.
‘You said earlier that you recognised everyone on board,’ Kalayna recalled after they’d dropped to the bed. ‘How is that possible?’
‘Taren awoke memories in me that extend beyond this universe, to another we lived in together in a different time and space.’ Telmo’s explanation only made Kalayna concerned.
‘You and the captain’s wife?’ she queried.
‘No.’ Telmo laughed at this. ‘Not just her, but all of this crew.’
‘Me included?’ Her smile returned when he nodded.
‘You especially,’ he granted, and she was clearly tickled to hear this.
‘Why am I special?’ she challenged his claim playfully.
‘Because you are my companion,’ he had no qualms in saying.
‘I am?’ His claim brought tears to her eyes.
‘I saw you perform in the court of a possessed king of a grand, ancient kingdom once.’ He nodded to assure her he spoke the truth. ‘Your name was Mahala then, which meant sweet singer, and you certainly were that.’
‘Stop,’ Kalayna half-heartedly urged him, as tears rolled down her cheeks. ‘I’m not used to so much romance, it’s making me cry.’
‘That’s because deep inside your psyche somewhere you remember what I am telling you and know it to be true.’ He gazed deep into her eyes, not fearing rejection any longer. ‘We are meant for one another.’ He moved in for a kiss, but Kalayna blocked it.
‘If I find out you say this to all the girls, I’ll kill you,’ Kalayna threatened in fun.
‘Donna, Seshut, Mahala, Kalayna … you are all my girls,’ he concluded and the response won him that kiss finally.
‘Tell me about Donna,’ she said to pause the action, and tease him.
‘Later,’ he kissed her neck instead.
‘What did I do as Seshut?’
‘You were the scribe to a time-hopping rogue alien warlord.’ He made her laugh with the claim.
‘Now you’re bullshitting me,’ she challenged, grinning with delight.
‘Never,’ he stated, staring into her eyes. ‘To lie to you, is to lie to myself; it serves no purpose.’
She caught her breath, touched by his words. ‘You have the sweetest pillow talk, Telmo Dacre.’
‘I have a very inspiring muse,’ he replied.
Again Kalayna caught her breath, but before she could say anything else he engaged her lips with his own and a sudden flood of passion ended the conversation.
15
AZAZÈL-MINDOS-COOMRA-
DORCHI — THE BEING OF
THE FIELD
With the news of Khalid’s escape; the psychic outing and kidnap of the engineers at the newly opened inter-system gateway; and the major political reconciliation that had taken place between Sermetica and Phemoria, the United Systems press was abuzz! Anselm had invited the rulers of Frujia and Maladaan to join him on Phemoria to discuss recent developments. Chief Matan-tu-hoo of Frujia had graciously declined, placing his trust in Anselm’s judgement. Maladaan had refused outright to become involved, and President Tallak had said he would hold Sermetica responsible if Khalid sought revenge on their planet, as the triple S was responsible for allowing Khalid to escape.
‘Never mind that I alerted Maladaan to Khalid’s treachery in the first place!’ Anselm complained, over a rare family dinner that the Qusay-Sabah Clarona was hosting at her private palace on the outskirts of Tonissia, where the gathering could be kept secret. The Queen of Phemoria had invited Taren and Lucian, her sister Satomi, Mythric, Zeven, Aurora and Thurayya.
‘I’m sorry I let Khalid slip through our fingers,’ Taren apologised for the umpteenth time since the event. ‘But at least Maladaan blamed him when the newly opened inter-system gateway link broke down and they had no one qualified to fix it.’
‘I do wish you’d stop blaming yourself for losing Khalid,’ Zeven complained. ‘I’m always right beside you when we do these things and yet you insist on taking all the blame!’
‘You’re annoyed because I’m taking all the credit for failing?’ Taren felt Zeven’s competitive streak knew no bounds.
‘Khalid is otherwise occupied for the moment and that’s a blessing,’ Lucian put forward his view and Mythric raised his glass to that.
‘Hear, hear.’
‘Mother.’ Thurayya had finished dessert and was wriggling in her seat. ‘May I explore?’
‘Would you like me to show you the palace?’ Satomi offered.
‘Yes please, Grandma!’ Thurayya was down from the table and awaiting Satomi in a heartbeat.
‘I’d love to tag along.’ Aurora excused herself and joined them.
‘I lived here when I was a little girl,’ Satomi explained to Thurayya, as she took her granddaughter by the hand and led her out of the royal dining room. Aurora blew Zeven a kiss as she followed them out the door.
‘If you’d told me a few months ago that my life could be this perfect, I would have thought it impossible.’ Mythric watched his wife, daughter-in-law and granddaughter until they were out of view.
‘I hear you.’ The queen tipped her glass to Mythric. ‘It all turned out rather better than we expected.’
‘I have to admit, having a family is pretty sweet.’ Zeven drank to that.
‘Back to Maladaan.’ Taren looked at her father across the table to continue to talk shop.
‘I need some air.’ Lucian rose abruptly.
‘Is something wrong?’ Taren looked to him, and sure enough he was exasperated.
‘You never give it a rest. There are more important things in life than plotting political espionage, you realise?’
‘Like?’ Taren challenged, a rising anger in her gut, as she knew where the conversation was headed.
‘Like … fun, relaxation, family!’ Lucian declared, but Taren had already tuned out.
‘He does have a point,’ the queen agreed. ‘When can we expect our first grandchild?’ Her mother took Anselm’s hand to include him in the equation but he was cringing; he knew their daughter would not like the subject matter.
‘There are psychics being persecuted on Maladaan with a weapon created from my technology and you all expect me to be thinking about having babies?’ Taren could not even fathom the reasoning.
‘Kalayna believes she has a solution for that,’ Lucian argued.
‘Which I was attempting to tell father about, before the room went all gooey,’ she snapped disdainfully, knowing her words would not be met well.
Lucian opened his mouth to retort, but thinking better of it, he turned and left the room. Zeven and Mythric were quick to follow Lucian’s exit.
‘That was a little harsh, Timekeeper.’ Mythric attempted to defuse the tension as he rose.
‘He knows the score in that regard,’ Taren defended, ‘and trying to blindside me by getting my parents on his side is naturally going to piss me off!’
‘Taren!’ Her mother was shocked.
‘What?’ She shrugged in response to her mother’s objection. br />
‘Please don’t use that colourful terminology in my presence,’ the queen replied.
‘You think that’s colourful?’ Anselm gave a chuckle, knowing his daughter’s language had a much broader spectrum.
‘In any case, I don’t think Lucian set out to ambush you,’ the queen voiced her view, as Zeven and Mythric closed the door behind them in leaving. ‘This was supposed to be a family gathering, not a business meeting.’
‘Oh please.’ Taren stood. ‘I’m not here to play house — I want some questions answered, like what is happening with the inhabitants of Tonissia’s twin city?’
The queen was a little affronted by the question. ‘Its twin city on the other side of the planet, you mean?’
‘I think you know very well that is not what I mean.’ Taren stared her mother down.
‘What does she mean?’ Anselm wondered aloud, and the Qusay-Sabah Clarona looked to him warily.
‘I think you should go find the menfolk,’ she suggested. The president was taken aback that his wife and his daughter obviously had a secret they were not willing to share with him. ‘Please,’ the queen added.
‘Of course.’ He looked to Taren, who gave nothing away, and then he left the room.
‘Have the women you keep imprisoned in that etheric city been told of the psychic revolution taking place out here in the real world?’ Taren demanded as soon as they were alone.
‘How could you know?’ The queen was still in shock about that.
‘I jump about through time a little bit.’ Taren was frank in order to get past the issue. ‘And there was a time when you attempted to feed me to the Phemoray. You showed me the city where they hoard all the souls of the most psychically talented pure-blood Phemorians, and told me of the vault where all their physical bodies reside.’
‘Oh.’ The Qusay-Sabah Clarona seemed both satisfied and humiliated by that explanation.
‘Now, answer my question. Have those women been told?’
‘No.’ There were tears in her eyes. ‘They have not, and cannot, be told.’