Chapter Five #3
He blinked. “Why didn’t they bring you in?”
“They are unaware of the scope of my situation.”
He paused and nodded. “You had no need to enlighten them.”
“Smart man. That’s why they call you doctor.”
He snorted. “Hazor, are you sure you want this one? There are others that aren’t nearly so witty and probably more biddable.”
“That is not what makes a compatible consort. It may be for some, but Vecchin and his kind found their partners, snagged them, and convinced them of the match as the final part of courtship.” Hazor smiled.
The doctor took her into a secure lab and showed her to a scanner for her suit.
The unit was out in the open with no curtain. She turned to glare at Hazor. “Out.”
“No. I have seen everything outlined. I want to know how far your pigment goes.”
She stifled a series of curses and kicked off her shoes and trousers, and then she pulled the tunic over her head and dropped it on the floor. She stepped onto the scanner and put her hands on the grips. Microbots spun around her in a cloud and covered her in a scanner web.
Hazor moved around the unit slowly and tutted. “I was a little too slow.”
She snorted, and in six minutes, she was concealed by snug grey webbing.
Cloudy flexed and bent and glared at Hazor. “Do not take a picture of this.”
He shrugged. “Too late.”
Dr. Winthrell snorted and got her scanning modules for her head. When he was getting the readings he wanted, he nodded. “Excellent. Well, let’s get the testing that Hazor is most interested in over with.”
She grimaced and took a seat in a suspended chair. Hazor smiled. “Winthrell is going to monitor the effect of my direct contact with your mind. It should be interesting.”
He stroked her hair back and kissed her forehead.
When the doctor said he was ready, the light curls of arousal began to snake through her body, and it escalated far too soon for her liking.
She felt him licking her sex, her belly, and all of her skin.
When the licking focused on her clit, she arched and screamed.
The suspended chair held her as her body throbbed, and her mind felt warm and purple. She had no idea that purple was a feeling.
Her heartbeat gradually slowed, and she relaxed in the support she was in. When she cleared her throat, she asked, “So, Doc. What is the situation?”
She couldn’t see Hazor.
The doctor smiled. “I had heard about this, but to see it in person was something.”
She pushed herself upright. “So is that a positive?”
He laughed. “Look into the gallery. He’s working off a little bit of the extra energy.”
She turned and saw the area he referred to as the gallery. Hazor was standing and looking at his arms. He was also covered in white fire, and he seemed tickled by it.
The doctor smiled. “I don’t think he’s been this pleased with his body since he got his first erection.”
“Yeah, but if he lights on fire every time I have an orgasm, we are never going to have sex.”
The fire shut off, and he walked toward her in long strides. He walked into her space and lifted her to cuddle her. “Mine.”
She snorted. “Aw hell. You are down to single syllables.”
The doctor laughed. “So it was a positive result. Now we need to see what kind of enhancement you have.”
“I seem to have a large barnacle at the moment.” She tried to remain calm while Hazor nuzzled her neck. “Do you have a stray water bottle or a tablet I can smack him with?”
The doctor snorted in surprise. “You would strike him?”
“He can take some rough handling.”
At those words, Hazor lifted his head, and his eyes had constellations in them. “Whoa.”
He smiled slowly. “You should see you the way I am seeing you now.”
The doctor cleared his throat. “There is time for that later. Miss, if you would give a demonstration of your enhancement?”
She eased away from Hazor off the other side of the support bed. She skittered over to the gallery and asked, “What did you want to see?”
“Can you hit a target?”
“Probably.”
A target rose at the end of the range. Cloudy drew and released. It was a psychic bolt, so it always hit the target. She struck the target, and the doctor said, “Is that it?”
“Wow. Harsh audience.”
She pulled more power into the arrow and fired a second one that blew the target into shards. Cloudy looked back at the doctor. “Would you like me to increase the power?”
He blinked. “You have precise control?”
“Of course. No one is dead, and there isn’t a line of folks unconscious where I travel.”
She dismissed her bow.
The doctor was making copious notes. “There are other projectiles?”
She nodded. “I need more targets.”
More targets rose at the far end of the gallery. She lifted two crossbows and began the rapid fire that was more a projection of her mind and far less actual mechanical action. The targets exploded as she moved her arm casually.
She dismissed the crossbows and smiled. “Anything else?”
The doctor looked at her slyly. “Can you bring down Hazor?”
“Probably, but not the way you are thinking.”
Hazor grinned. “You can drop me. I won’t hold a grudge.”
“You seem to absorb my energy.”
He walked toward her. “Oh, do try.”
She put her hands on his chest, and energy sparked and was absorbed. “Oh, shoot.”
Hazor put his hands over hers. “A little more.”
She turned up the energy, and his eyes lit up.
“More.”
She sighed. “Let me know when to stop.” She poured energy into him, and when the flame started, he held her close.
The doctor checked his scans and muttered in shock. He said, “How long can you maintain that, Miss Merryweather?”
“I have six minutes left.”
“Hazor, what are you feeling?”
“My shoulders are itching, and I don’t know that what else I am feeling should be on record.” His voice was a low rumble.
She jerked her gaze up to his, and the fire was curling out of his eyes. “Oh, geez.” She pulled her hands away, and he slammed his hands over hers.
“Keep going, Cloudy.” His words were thick.
She nodded and poured as much energy as she could part with into him.
She started to shake when she reached her limit and whispered, “Nighty night.”
* * * *
Hazor caught her as her energy went dark. The energy she had given him flared in his bloodstream, and he felt the power in his back, flaring into wide buzzing wings of fire.
The researcher crowed in excitement. “I have heard of this. There is a Hellaz Hmrain descendant who has flame wings. He’s a great grandchild from the original overseer.”
Hazor looked at him in shock. “Is she alright?”
“She’s sleeping. Pulse is strong, body is relaxed. Energy levels are stable. I do want to keep her for additional study.”
Hazor shook his head. “She has work in the morning, and I am pretty sure her parents would release her from any research you had in mind. Did you get what you needed today?”
“Yes. She’s guardian class. She already has the self-control; she just needs access to a team, and she can be global as soon as I get her a suit.”
“She won’t leave.”
“What?”
“She’s emotionally attached to this continent and this city, in particular. She’s not going to travel.”
He heard a soft whisper from his arms. “You do pay attention.”
He looked down at her features that were grey with silver and green. “Shockingly, I do.”
Dr. Winthrell looked at them and must have seen the seriousness in Hazor’s gaze. “Well, she can power you up. Whether you keep the power or not will be up to you.”
Hazor nodded. “So she’s consort class?”
“Consort class, guardian class, a community leader. My daughter does it all,” Thunder Merryweather spoke softly. “Why is she unconscious?”