Chapter Eight #3
He grinned and held her with an arm around her waist. “Because you are an acolyte, and acolytes belong to the academy.”
“I didn’t hover before.”
“Didn’t you? Were there never moments when you needed not to leave footprints?”
She remembered. High avalanche possibility, she glided over the surface of the snow and hauled wood back in the same way. “Well, hell.”
He laughed, and they walked up the steps.
Whisper looked around. “Where is everyone?”
“The human women with Aubrey were taken to their relatives around Aten. Three of them had family here of one sort or another. Defenders arrived with skimmers to take them to their people.”
“Aubrey?”
“Has her hair done to Vress’s preference. Oh, the ladies that Aubrey brought with her all have latent assessor genes. That explains why she insisted on those particular ladies.”
“Yeah. It did. Mind you, she could probably see it.”
“I believe she is as surprised as the ladies are, but she could not see their futures until they awakened their genes.”
She chuckled. “Wow. What the hell is going on with the human race?”
“You are functionally over. It is unsurprising that the assessor genes are in the survivors. They would be the ones most likely to make it. They are simply sturdier.”
“Me, too?”
“No. You are human. No extra genetics at play.”
“Hooray. Wait, how did I get taller?”
“Ah, well, there were some extra genes at play but not yours.”
“Then...”
Nerigot grinned. “Mine. But to be frank, you have been receiving that since I took you to my ship. It was the only way to get you strong enough to reach Aten.”
They were still moving up the stairs.
“So what exactly was in those drips?”
“My genetic material.”
Whisper frowned, and then her eyes went wide. “No way.”
He chuckled. “It has been used recently by an elder. It is effective in bringing a consort back from the edge of death.”
Whisper grimaced. “When I find out all the details, how irritated will I be?”
“Going off Harwin and Aubrey as examples, fairly irritated. Things might be thrown, and I will learn your curse repertoire.”
“Sounds delightful.”
“I look forward to it.”
“So where is the academy?”
“Not too far from Vress’s system. The academy uses one world for education, one for training, and the others for foraging and hunting. The others have not yet been adapted for our purposes.”
Whisper nodded, and then they were on the upper level where Harwin and Ra were cuddling without the baby. Aubrey and Vress were nowhere to be seen.
Harwin grinned. “Nice makeover.”
“Thanks. I am not shiny or anything, but I think it’s okay. How would you describe the skin?”
“Starlight. Moonlight. You are shiny, babe.”
“Dammit.”
Nerigot laughed. “It explained why the oracle saw pale limbs under me and nothing more specific.”
Whisper covered her face. “Good grief.”
The Hmrain laughed, and when Vress and Aubrey returned, Vress had a good laugh as well. Whisper and Harwin went for a slow walk. Aubrey and her newly butt-length hair joined them as they looked out at the sand and the growing green spaces that were springing up.
Whisper asked, “Do you think you are truly happy out here? Either of you?”
Harwin said, “Truth is in the eye of the beholder, as is happiness. There isn’t one part of my current life that I would change. I have even gotten used to the outfits.”
Aubrey chuckled. “I picked my own style at first, but now Vress is enjoying playing dolly dress-up. That’s going to change when I have to play oracle. I am not going to wear peep-show outfits.”
Whisper smiled. “They aren’t that bad. Nothing a stiff breeze can’t destroy.”
Aubrey laughed. “Exactly. I am liking the tunic-and-trouser look. Nice and covering.”
“Yup. And it is mine until I end up as an acolyte. After that, I think I am hooped.”
Harwin smiled. “Why then?”
“Because that is the point where I have to listen to what he says. After that, I am in trouble. Do you have any idea how hard it will be to curb my tongue?”
Harwin cackled, and Aubrey snickered.
Harwin grinned. “I have some idea. Ra just rolls with it and then finds a new outfit with minimal fabric.”
Aubrey blinked. “Well, fuck. That explains a lot. Right now, Vress is giving me outfits with a lot of ties, and he knots them and then gives me a time limit before he helps.”
Whisper chuckled. “And then I came in and ruined his dastardly plan by untangling them.”
The oracle stood there and smiled slightly at her new friend. “I did not see that one coming.”
The ladies laughed and hugged, and that was when Aubrey realized that Whisper was a few inches off the floor.
Explanations and descriptions of her early manifestations were shared until the visitors to the villages returned.
Elly and Priya were going to stay on Aten if Ra agreed.
Candy had seen her ex-fiancé and his current wife and gotten her closure.
Apparently, after his shock wore off, he had grovelled in the public walkway.
His wife was shocked at his admittance of betrayal.
Candy was now sitting and talking with the defender who had brought her to that township.
Whisper waved at the other ladies. “Um, hey.”
Candy, Elly, Alyssa, and Priya rushed to her and hugged her. Priya whispered, “You got taller.”
“Yeah, there was something else in my system that had an effect.” She grimaced.
“But you are good now?” Elly smiled hopefully.
“I am good. I have to go with Nerigot, though.”
Alyssa smiled. “So you are coming back to the ship?”
“And probably leaving from there fairly shortly. It will be just you and Aubrey on that ship.”
Candy said, “And me. I can’t be in the same town as him. He apologized, but I still remember him shoving me to the side and driving away. That really hurt.”
Whisper watched a man in a lightly armoured suit with bronze skin and a gold mask of pigment around his eyes and forehead look over at Candy, frowning.
Whisper smiled. “Candy, did you get along with the defender sent to escort you?”
“Halon? Yes, he’s very kind, but he watches over that town and acts as mediator or judge for most disputes. I can’t think about being there. I don’t want to see the most painful day of my life every day.”
Whisper nodded. “Got it. And if you didn’t have to see the moron in your township?”
Candy glanced over at Halon and whispered, “Why would that happen?”
“Because Charles moved away from you by his choice; he is about to find out what happens when he runs up against Halon’s choice. Guess who will win? That couple is about to be relocated to a distant city. Their friends and family can be relocated as well.”
Candy frowned. “No. I am not going to move people from their homes.”
Whisper watched Halon approach. “Well, you might have to begin negotiating a contract.”
“What?”
“Hmrain descendants have the same rights as the originals. They can find a partner, and the Hmrain family pays to make a home for the new couple.”
Candy blinked. “But I just met him.”
“Hrmain tests compatibility by brainwave and scent, as funny as that sound. The packaging is nice but not necessary.”
Whisper looked at the others and smiled. “They don’t change their minds. He had exposure to all the humans in his town, the primals that had been made, and you were the only one who made his senses flip.”
Candy whispered, “How do you know that?”
“He’s right behind you. Ask him.” Whisper smiled.
Candy slowly turned, and Halon was right there. “Um, hello.”
He touched her shoulders. “We can move to a different township. I am not obsessed with where I live. I am becoming obsessed with you.”
“You have known me for eight hours.”
“More than enough time.” He stroked her cheek. “I will trade towns with another defender, and those who wish to follow me may. Ra has agreed to the relocation and has found a new township for us. Kevmak is not a good fit for his place, so he will switch.”
Candy whispered, “Just like that?”
He stroked her hair and rubbed his knuckles on her cheek. “Just like that.”
“Why?”
He understood what she was asking. “Because your mind reaches for your people because you want to laugh easily but are afraid of being watched, being judged. I wish you to free the laughter.”
She swallowed. “Can I change my name?”
“Of course. Whatever you choose for your contract will be your name from that point onward.”
“Oh, so I should really workshop this, then.”
“You agree?”
She looked up at him and smiled. “I do.”
He leaned down and kissed her carefully.
Whisper was trying not to look when Nerigot whispered in her ear, “We were designed for psychological impact. The height, the wings, the symmetrical features—it was all part of the design.”
She yelped and jumped. He caught her before she got more than two feet above the ground. She looked down. “Damn it.”
He laughed. “You are healthy again, and now your power is leaking out. That is what the training is for. So you will stop trying to fly. When you do fly, you will fly with me.”
Whisper looked up at him and slowly relaxed, lowering her feet back to the floor.
Candy asked, “Whisper, what was your name?”
“Isla.”
“May I use it?” Candy looked nervous.
“You can use it. Enjoy it. It was fun when I had it. Short but secure. No weird associations.” She walked over to Candy and hugged her. “Welcome to Aten, Isla.”
Isla beamed. “That feels really right.”
“Good. You can start it with an eye, ee or a why. Either works.”
“I love a name with options.”
“Isla knew what she had to do, and Whisper was the result. Nothing associated but survival.”
“That is an excellent place to start.” Candy hugged her again. “I like starting at survival and working my way up.”
Priya said, “I just wonder why we are all being nudged toward guardians when we weren’t Hmrain-compatible.”
Whisper smiled. “Look at your breastbone.”
The ladies all looked into their shirts. They started muttering about mirrors and what the fuck was that.