Awake (3 page)

“Then, you need to rest. Come with me.” He leaned forward and flipped her into his arms.

He formed a gaseous column where his legs had been, and he climbed the stairs more rapidly than any sets of legs could have managed.

“Where are we going?”

“The tower. A new level appeared when you arrived, and I rather think that it was designed with you in mind.”

She wasn’t sure what he meant until she looked over her shoulder and the lower level of the tower was visible. It had an arched opening with the icon of an hourglass on either side of the doorway. A new bridge led from an arcing walkway to the doorway.

“Your new home, Kaliana.”

“Please, call me Kali.” She kicked her legs idly. “I think you can put me down now.”

He set her on her feet, and she skipped away, her skin still warm from where he had held her.

Kali looked around at the expanse of her new home. While the exterior appeared to be stone, the interior was made of transparent panes that showed the entirety of Home.

“Wow, this is impressive.” She knew she should have been feeling exposed and nervous about being out of her tank, but she couldn’t manage it. The Orb of Time was sitting in her fear centre and not allowing any impulses in or out.

He blinked. “It certainly is. It was not this developed when I last saw it.”

Kali shuddered, and her voice was suddenly not her own. “I am sorry to have sent you on a fool’s errand, Odin. I needed to see how Kali adapted to her situation. She could not stand on her feet if you were constantly there to catch her.”

He stared at her in shock. “Orb? You are speaking through her?”

“There are matters to discuss that require group participation. For that purpose, I needed to take on a body, and Kaliana is perfectly suited. Her mind was designed for this, and she is taking me beautifully.”

Kali looked down at her hands, and to her shock, her available skin was the same midnight as Odin’s eyes, or the eyes of the other Nameless.

“Is she aware of you?”

“She is looking out from her own eyes. Can you not see her?” There was amusement in the tone of the Orb.

“Her eyes are the same aqua, but the rest of her has changed. How is it that her colouring is reversed from the norm?”

“I am within her in a way that I am not within you. She still contains only a fraction of me, but it is far more than any of you could manage.”

The amusement of the Orb was palpable from Kali’s vantage point. The ancient universe was excited to be speaking directly to one of its chosen, and Kali was content to watch.

“Odin, you are appointed Kaliana’s bodyguard. You will assist her when necessary and stand at her side in case of opposition or danger.”

“There is a danger to her?”

“I will explain it when the rest of the Sentinels have been summoned. Which reminds me, please show Kali how to use the food requisition system. I selected her body shape based on her favourite period in her life. She needs to maintain it to keep her positive mental image and that is something that is very dear to me.”

Odin nodded. “Very well, I shall do as instructed, Orb.”

Kali cleared her throat. “It is just me now. Let me guess, my eyes are black?”

He nodded. “Do you know what that is about?”

“One runs the body and one the soul. You can tell who is running the emotions by the colour of my eyes.” She looked around and whistled softly. “This is really quite the place.”

“The Orb initially built this as a holding cell for the more unconventional of the Nameless.”

Kali gave him a mysterious smile. “Of course that was the purpose. There could not have been another impulse behind creating homes with no doors.”

A knock in the open doorway got their attention, and Odin moved between her and Ravikka. “State your business, Speaker of the Seven.”

Ravikka smiled. “Stand down, Odin. I am here to help Kali with her adaptation.”

“The Orb has charged me with that duty.”

“Then I will come for tea.”

Kali smiled and found the small screen that held access to Acquisitions. She ordered a selection of small sandwiches and a few Terran teas that she missed. The Orb was filling her mind with data, and she really didn’t need either one of the two who were bickering for her attention.

Kali worked on the water dispenser to acquire a hot pot ready for the tea.

In her mind, she could hear voices and thoughts that were not her own. Images, emotions, it all trailed through her mind without affecting her vision of the space she was in. Kali grinned. She was back in the data stream, and while it was different, it was blessedly familiar at the same time. As long as information was filtering through her, she felt alert and alive.

The delivery of food and tea made her jump, but she opened the hatch and pulled out her requests with a smile on her face. It had been a while since she had settled down for tea with someone and even longer since she had been able to relax just a little bit.

Odin sat scowling at Ravikka with his arms crossed over his chest, and he grudgingly leaned forward to take the tea that Kali set before him.

“Kali, do you have the knowledge of the Orb within you?” Ravikka sipped at the tea and raised her brows in surprise, followed by a pleased grin.

“Only what I need to know. It is trying to allow me to integrate at my own pace, and I must confess to a bit of hesitance.” She sat back and breathed deeply of the familiar scent. Tears pricked her eyes as it took her back to her home and the mall where she had tried it for the first time.

Odin’s face grew concerned. “Kaliana? Is something wrong?”

“No, just a memory that was mine alone.” She lifted the teacup. “My first time tasting it was when I was a teen.”

Memories spun through her mind, and she sat quietly as the Orb ran through her emotions and thoughts one by one.

Ravikka’s features took on an expression of concern as well. “Are you all right?”

“It is peculiar having something else trying to learn how you have felt about all the events in your life. The Orb is being most thorough, but it is reaching my time in the tank. Almost done.” She smiled.

Odin frowned, “What is the Orb doing?”

Kali looked at him and saw every moment of his life. “It is learning how and why I responded to everything that I have ever experienced in my life. It is using me as an emotional training tool.”

The Orb finished running through her experiences and then replayed all of her sexual encounters. There were less of those than car accidents.

Why so few? From what I have witnessed in your history, women with your physical characteristics never lack for companions.

Kali felt a blush heating her cheeks as she mentally whispered,
The current generation has been taught to despise curves in women. They may crave them but few are strong enough to be seen with one in public.

That is unfortunate. You do so enjoy your current body shape.

Images filled Kali’s mind of her enjoying her curves with a participant and by herself.
Those times are behind me, Orb. I don’t know many men who would sleep with a woman occupied by a celestial being.

The Orb fell silent, and Kali was relieved. She smiled at Ravikka. “How long have you been one of the Nameless?”

Ravikka blinked in surprise. “Don’t you see it?”

Kali sighed, “Yes, but it isn’t polite to rummage through someone’s past when they can tell you themselves.”

“I have been in service here for close to a century.”

“And you, Odin?”

“Seven hundred and fifty linear years, or something close to that.” He inclined his head.

She raised her eyebrows. “You don’t look a day over six fifty.”

Ravikka chuckled. “You won’t age either now. It takes some getting used to, but it will come more naturally after some time.”

They talked about inconsequential things and the roll of the speaker for the seven. Kali confirmed that the council’s roll would not change. They would still induct the new Nameless as well as administer discipline and advice when needed. Ravikka’s job would not change.

With a warm handshake, Kali dismissed the speaker, and she left Kali and Odin alone.

To her surprise, the door that had been wide open sealed until there was nothing but a column of stone where the doorway had been.

Kali turned toward Odin and smiled. “I suppose I had better get some rest to continue the meshing of minds. The Orb is being careful, and for that, I am thankful.”

He collected the tea tray and gestured to an open doorway with one hand. “The bedroom is through there. I will join you in a moment.”

The Orb took control of her body and walked her into the bedroom before she could do more than make a small noise of protest.

Chapter Five

The bed that she faced was huge, but no matter how much she objected, the Orb stripped off her robe and crawled naked between the sheets.

I am not sleeping with Odin
.

You most certainly are. Sex is something that I have been vastly curious about on such a small scale, and you are mine to do with what I please. I won’t let him hurt you, but this is something I need to know about.

Why? Haven’t you had plenty of experiences via your other Nameless?

Not like this. I feel what you feel, not simply see what you see. We are emotionally entwined, and the joining will be more complete when I have run through the entire gamut of human experience.

Have you consulted Odin on this?

I have. It is why he chose that form. It contains all the pleasing characteristics that your species has selected across the Alliance.

If she had had control over her body, Kali would have bolted. Her skin was the midnight and stars that showed Odin who he would be caressing, but Kali found the idea of waiting within her own mind quite off putting.

The object of her speculation appeared in the doorway and took in the view of Kali resting under the covers. She could see the calculation in his eyes, and he asked, “Is she willing?”

The Orb answered, “She believes it is sudden. That she barely knows you. Part of her mind wishes for a courtship, but I require this experience. You will proceed.”

Oh, that is romantic. Proceed. Like he is just going to…what the hell is he doing?

Disrobing.
The Orb was amused.

Odin slipped off his shirt, but it turned to mist and dissipated into nothing. His boots and trousers vanished the same way. It was obvious that he could have simply morphed into a nude form, but he was going through the motions of being a normal male with a normal female, not a gaseous entity with a stellar consciousness residing in a borrowed body.

He moved under the covers with her, and she closed her eyes as the Orb fed her the feelings of his touch on her shoulder, the caresses on her breasts and his leg sliding between her thighs.

Kali observed each of the sensations as if she were wrapped in cling film. Her mind was getting a portion of the arousal, and the more intense it became, the more she felt it. To her surprise, this was what the Orb had wanted. It could reside in her mind, but it could not bind to her thoroughly until it had shared her reactions.

She was beginning to understand why the Orb of Time was using this method. Aside from being mugged, this was the most effective way to experience a variety of emotions in a short period of time.

Her body warmed to Odin’s touch, his dark eyes staring into hers when he slid between her thighs and into her body.

He shifted and rocked slowly into her, taking time to watch her responses until the Orb shivered and pleasure spiked through every place that Kali and the Orb touched.

Odin ceased immediately and withdrew, lying next to her.

That was it?

The Orb laughed,
Yes, I know what your body can do and how it feels. That is all that I was after.

Glad you got what you were after, but what did Odin get?

Odin got to serve the Orb as he swore to do centuries ago. He fulfilled his duty.

Seriously? Centuries ago you had him agree to boink you on command?

The Orb withdrew, leaving her skin pale once again,
Go to sleep, Kali. Tomorrow will have its own challenges.

Suddenly alone in a bed with a man she only knew slightly, she winced at the throbbing between her thighs.

“I take it you were not party to the premeditation of that.” Odin’s voice was low and right next to her ear.

She turned to him and found them face-to-face. “It was not in my plans for the evening.”

“Would you allow me to hold you?”

She blinked up into his black eyes. “I think I would like that.”

He pulled her into his embrace and stroked his hands up and down her spine.

She smelled the musky scent of sex from him, but it didn’t cover up the aroma of heather on a cool afternoon that was his normal scent.

Kali sighed and wrapped her arms around his waist and up his back, stroking the warm flesh absently.

“Why are you remaining in a physical form? I thought you Nishan’s enjoyed life as a fog cloud.”

“You need me to be solid, so I am solid. I have to admit that the texture of your flesh changes when the Orb is not in control. I much prefer your soft skin to the cooler texture of the Orb’s flesh.”

“So, you are remaining here for me?”

“It seemed only polite. I dragged you here after you were blown into space naked. Your body is much in my thoughts, and I must say that the Orb did a wonderful job with the reconstruction.”

Kali blushed and stared at his collarbone. “Thank you. It was my favourite weight when I was growing up. It made me feel like a female and not just a stick wearing clothing.”

His hands caressed the curve of her hip. “I heartily approve.”

Her skin started to heat, but it had little to do with her blush and everything to do with the slow circles that his palm was making on her hip.

Delicate shivers started under her skin. “You really don’t have to do that.”