Miriell shed her shoes and walked
across the lush surface she knew was some kind of grass, kept ruthlessly
trimmed to form a carpet. She stood in the center of the expanse, wriggling her
toes, pulling strength from the planet in this small space of growing things.
Nothing but a shadow in the moonlight, Conor stayed on the path, watching her.
“There
are trees and flowering bushes in this direction,” he said.
“How
do you know?”
“It’s
my business to know all the details of any location my boss frequents.”
The
reminder of the realities, delivered in his deep voice without inflection, cast
a damper on her joy. He held out his hand, and she walked to join him. Leaving
her shoes behind, he drew her deeper into the pocket garden until she stood
under the canopy of three ancient trees, beds of flowers all around. Humming,
Miriell knelt first by the flowers, absorbing their life-giving essence without
doing harm, for here the plants were only conduits for her to tap into the
planet slumbering below the harsh city blotting out the surface.
He
went to lean against the nearest tree, showing a decided preference for
remaining in the shadows. “You’re practically glowing. This must be helping,
then?”
Her
breathing was easier, and the muscles of her chest unclenched. The rattle and
wheeze disappeared. “I would bless you for this gift had I the right to call
upon Thuun for such things any longer.” Rising, she moved to the tree opposite
the one he’d chosen and placed her hands on the gnarled trunk, palms down. Touching
her forehead to the rough bark, she closed her eyes and hummed one of the simpler
hymns. It wouldn’t do to take too much from this place, to siphon so much
energy that the living things who also needed lifeforce perished. The planet’s
bounty felt so smooth and strong, flowing into her from the depths via through
the tree’s extensive root system.
As
if he’d read her thoughts, Conor said, “We probably can’t do this field trip twice,
so you’d better take what you need, however you’re doing it.”
Her
protest was instantaneous, instinctive. “I can’t overtax the garden. It’s well
tended but fragile, in the middle of the cold city of stone and metal.”
“Even
if it’s the difference between your own life or death?”
Deciding
not to answer him, she changed to a different song and added words, keeping her
voice soft.
When
she finished, he said, “I have no idea what the lyrics meant, but the song was
beautiful. I’ll take the private concert as fair trade for bringing you here.”
“A
Combine lackey who appreciates alien music?” She made her voice scornful.
Sinking to the grass, she leaned her back against the tree and stared through
the canopy of rustling leaves at the starry sky. None of the constellations
were familiar, of course. Her world lay in some faraway portion of the galaxy.
“What
are you thinking?” he asked, voice quiet in the still night air.
“Nothing happy.” She gave voice to her memories. “As Jareck said so dismissively at the
spaceport earlier today, we didn’t even know we lived on what you call a planet
until the evil ones swooped down from the cold stars, killing and capturing.”
She ran her hand across the grass, tiny green sparks flying as her energy
renewed. “No prophecy ever uttered in the temples foresaw this fate for me, or
those taken with me.”
The story:
Miriell, a powerful empathic priestess, has been kidnapped from her own primitive planet along with a number of her people, and sold to the evil Amarotu Combine, largest organized crime syndicate in the Sectors. When she and her handler are sent to use her power to commit an assassination, she must leave behind her own sister as hostage to ensure her compliance. Miriell cannot ask for aid without endangering herself and others.
Despite his best efforts, Combine enforcer Conor Stewart is entranced by Miriell, and helps her evade the worst of brutal treatment from the rest of the mob. But Conor must keep his distance, before the lovely empath learns that he has secrets of his own–secrets that could get them both killed.
The situation becomes dire when Conor and Miriell come to the attention of both the Combine overlords and the deadly Mawreg, aliens who threaten the Sectors. Can she save herself and the Mawreg’s next victims? And will Conor help her, or remain loyal to his evil bosses?
