Chapter Seven
Keska talked with Caska in her office. “So, we are trying this.”
Caska smiled. “Good. You need family, and Kessie needs her mom.”
“Do you want to come along to Nelith’s party?”
“Yes. We are coming. Mirror will come get us, or Dark Resonance will help out.”
“Okay. That’s good.”
“You seem distracted.”
“We are going out for dinner with Aluhara and her husband.”
“Ah, tense. Where are you going?”
“Klauz’s.”
“Good choice. Private room?”
“Yes. I can fit you and Ava in if you like.”
“No. This is for you. We can meet them another time.”
“Okay.”
“Nervous?”
“Yeah.”
“You weren’t nervous meeting Nelith.”
“Um, it is more of a meeting of equals, her and me.”
“Well, go and get dressed. You love getting dressed to go out. It happens so seldom.”
“Thanks, Caska. Thank Ava for me as well.”
“I will. You need a few things for yourself. You share everything with us, and that needs to wind down. You can have a family now.”
“They are your family, too, Cas.”
“Just shut up and enjoy a day with your mate and daughter, Kes. Bring some metal to shape if you have to.”
“Thanks. It’s always weird to bring my own cutlery to a restaurant.”
Caska laughed. “Just do it. Jienne is doing pretty well after her session with her new therapist. She’s looking for a new apartment or a house. She wants the security of the doorman.”
“That’s fair. Is she going to keep in touch?”
“Yes. She has a good therapist now and is going to be working on her control at the academy. She can’t just go around pushing the emotions of other people whenever she wants.” Caska sighed. “I can’t believe she tried it with you.”
“She also tried it with Sorooth, but he’s trained for it.”
“Did she try Kessie?”
“No. She’s still alive. I would not have been able to keep control over myself if she had tried it.”
“Fair enough. I think Nigel would have taken her head off.”
“Likely. Okay, I am less nervous.”
“Good. Sorooth is behind you.”
Keska smiled. “I know.” She looked over her shoulder at the man in the doorway. “I just have to change, and we can head out.”
He nodded. “You look lovely.”
“I am going to take it up a notch.” She smiled. “Five minutes.”
She eased past him and went to the large bedroom and dove into the closet. He followed her leisurely. “This is your room?”
“I can move out in an hour if you like.”
“No, I want our clothing hanging side by side and to have you in my arms nightly.”
“Interesting life goals.”
She took down a dress that was dark gemstone colours when the light struck it.
She walked into the bathroom and changed quickly, then brushed her hair and twisted it into a fall over one shoulder.
She brushed her hands down her thighs and smiled.
She checked the drawer, pulled out some small fans, and used them to hold her hair in position.
Her black purse was in the wardrobe, and she put a few handfuls of metal into it before she smiled. “Ready.”
“Shoes?”
Her shoes were pale, and she tapped each heel four times, causing the unit to turn black.
He blinked. “Wow. That’s effective.”
“I know. It paid for this house.” She chuckled. “Well, this and a few other inventions.”
“How do I look?”
“Spectacular as always.”
Kessie ran in through the open door and said, “Wow, you look pretty, Mom.”
“You look adorable. My heart and soul.” She looked from Sorooth to Kessie.
Sorooth smiled. “Very well, now we go.”
Keska and Kessie grinned. “We go.”
Klauz came in and said, “Are you still waiting?”
Sorooth smiled. “They just arrived. Your new hostess is stunned.”
He sighed. “It is difficult to find someone who isn’t intimidated by actives.”
Keska sighed. “I know someone, but she’s out of town right now and would need a work visa.”
“Can she handle actives?”
“Absolutely, and she would look like a goddess while doing it.”
“How soon can you get me in touch with her?”
“Eleven days.”
He nodded. “I can manage that. She’s immune to thrall?”
“Yup. Breen is immune to a lot. Mind you, she still has to agree to an interview.”
Sorooth smiled, and Keska reached into her purse, pulling out a projection disk. “This is Breen.”
The woman had hair in oil-slick rainbow colours, was wearing a simple set of trousers and a blouse, and had eyes that were as rainbow as her hair. “Breen? Where are you today?”
“I got left behind on an island while chaperoning a school trip. I am waiting for a boat to get me home.”
“Are you safe?”
“Yeah, I knocked a dozen alphas into the harbour.”
“This is Klauz, and he’s looking for a new hostess for his restaurant. I thought of you.”
Breen nodded. “I am good with people and have worked as a hostess before. I will send Keska my resume, and if you want to get in touch with me, please do. If you are the Klauz that I am thinking of, I should upgrade my wardrobe. I will be in for an in-person discussion as soon as I can head home.”
Klauz asked, “Where is home?”
“The capitol. Oh, and I am not a registered active.” She smiled slowly. “Assessors have gone over me with a fine-toothed comb, and they can’t find anything. So, on the books, I am appearance-only.”
Klauz smiled. “Off the books?”
“It’s a need-to-know situation. When I am under duress, I will act. The execution varies.” She shrugged. “I don’t kill. How is that?”
Klauz grinned. “Good enough. Do you mind being photographed for advertising?”
“Go nuts.”
“Excellent. I also have a donut shop. Will you eat on camera?”
“This is sounding like a fetish site, but if there is a steady paycheque in it, sure. Just get me the visa, and I will be at your disposal for twelve months.”
He nodded. “I await your paperwork.”
Breen nodded. “Okay, Kes. Get me off this thing. The locals are offering me some fruit.”
A face appeared in the projection, and a woman blinked slowly. “Wow. You look like Nelith. Xeva! Come here and look at this.”
Kes started laughing. “I know which island you are on. Ask Dark Resonance to take you home. He’s a brother-in-law, I guess. I will know for certain this weekend.”
Another head came around the corner, and a familiar face smiled. “Keska! How are you doing?”
“Pretty good. With my daughter and my... uh... partner and about to meet my other mother in the next few minutes.”
“Who is it?”
“Aluhara of the stronghold.”
“Wow. She’s good.”
“Yup. Oh, she’s here. Gotta go. Take care of Breen, and if your dude can get her home, that would be great.”
Xeva grinned. “Absolutely. You coming to the family barbecue?”
“Yup. Me and my fam. Take care, Breen. See you soon.”
Breen waved and laughed. “See you soon, Kes.”
The projector disk went dark, and Keska put it in her purse. Klauz looked at it. “What is that?”
“An invention.”
“But what is it?”
She smiled brightly at him. “Mine.”
He narrowed his eyes. “What would it take to get you to make six of them?”
She grinned and gave him the number. Klauz blinked.
She laughed. “I have a lot of money from legit patents. Lots of them. When I am ready for them to go mainstream, I will let you know. I am not even ready to test them yet.”
He smiled and nodded. “Right. I should see what’s keeping your party.”
Kessie’s eyes were shining. “Are we going to meet your sisters at the party?”
“Yup, and I am meeting them all for the first time.” She put her hand up, and Kessie squeezed it.
Klauz nodded. “Here they are.”
Keska shot to her feet as Sorooth and a male and female arrived.
“Keska, this is Aluhara and Hedoreth. Aluhara is one of your genetic donors. Aluhara, this is Keska and our daughter, Kessie.”
Keska remained locked in place. Kessie gripped her hand and pulled her around the table. “Come on, Mama.”
Keska was hauled around the table toward Aluhara, and the woman opened her arms and came in for a hug. “Hello. You are one that I was not expecting.”
“I have two sisters. We were the experiments to get the method working.”
“And Nigel.”
“Right. Nigel was before any of us.”
Aluhara asked, “Who is Nigel?”
Keska smiled and brought out a projection disk. “This is Nigel. He escaped with Avagail. We all got out as small children.”
Aluhara asked. “Did someone help you?”
Keska snorted. “No. We just knew we had to, so we did.”
“How old were you?”
Keska shrugged. “I dunno. Five maybe?”
Aluhara hugged her again. “I don’t know how I got so lucky to have so many survivors.”
“I don’t know. We are all a little insane. Oh, this is the granddaughter that you share with Nelith and Madame Lia. Kessie.” Keska knew she had been introduced before, but she was trying to switch the attention to her daughter.
“Madame Lia? Huh. Well, thankfully, you take after your other grandmothers.” Aluhara smiled. “You seem to have a calm temperament. Lia is known for her lack of verbal control.”
Kessie nodded. “I know that Grandma Lia has said mean things about Mom, both before I was born and after. That’s why Mom doesn’t come to visit at the stronghold, but we are here now, so we can live together while Dad is a teacher.”
Hedoreth asked, “What happens after that?”
Keska shrugged. “We go back to quarterly visits?”
Kessie leaned against her. “We will figure it out.”
Keska shook Hedoreth’s hand and said, “All these years waiting and all the kids are already through school.”
He laughed. “We are focusing on the grandkids. I have seen Kessie around the stronghold, and now that I know she is family, she will be extra protected during visits.”
Kessie snorted. “If you can save me from Grandma Lia’s cooking, I would be much obliged.”
Sorooth snorted. “She’s not wrong.”
Aluhara paused. “There was a blood call a while ago.”
“Oh, yeah. I was working, so I muted it.”
Her mother blinked. “You can do that?”
Kessie glowed as she said, “Mom’s amazing. She has seven activations.”
Keska snorted. “And now we have to order. Who wants to sit where?”
They arranged themselves around the table with the ladies on one side and the men on the other. Kessie was leaning against Keska, and when Klauz took their orders, he was grinning wide as he looked around and nodded. “Got it.”