Chrystal Bones (Finding Home Book 1) (24 page)

After a moment he said, “I just wanted to let you know we will reach Farpoint late tomorrow.”

“Oh good. I want to meet Krakin.”

“He might not be on the station any more,” Jayden pointed out. “If you will remember we are supposed to meet your brother and the guys there, not Krakin.”

Jayden was becoming irritated with the fascination she had developed with his friend. He was not used to feeling jealous of anyone. He was going to punch Krakin when he saw him, just for the principle of it. Blue was his. Shalla help the man who tried to come between them.

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. He was going to spend the time they had left alone making love to her and imprinting himself on her so deeply that she would not be able to think of another man. Jayden heard Leo give a snort before the door slid open then closed. There were no more thoughts just the need to devour her, make her his in every way.

Blue stood on her tip toes and wrapped her arms around Jayden’s neck. The difference in their heights never seemed to matter when she was in his arms. The heat they generated should burn them up, she thought. She had read a couple of the romance books Riley left laying around the beach house and thought it was all a bunch garbage.

She knew different now, the right man had never crossed her path. This man was the right one for now. She still didn’t believe in a great love or a fated love but he made her feel things she had never thought she would. Making love with Jayden was better than flying through space in her astral form.

Chrystal Bones Billie Jo Hanlin

Chapter 24

Blue sat in the co-pilot’s chair with Leo sitting on the floor next to her. They both watched the space station Farpoint get closer and closer. It looked like a giant spider with too many arms to count. Ships of all shapes and sizes were attached to those arms. There must be dozens of them she thought in awe.

Each arm was a docking station and ships were coming and going at dizzying speeds. Ships that were too big to dock had shuttles flying back and forth. The sheer volume of traffic was incredible considering that nothing was out here but the station. The nearest inhabited planet was eight weeks away and beyond the station was a jump gate to relatively unknown space. It was the last chance to resupply before entering the gate.

Several Races had sent out exploratory ships looking to expand and according to the information she had been able to find only a few had actually established small colonies on the planets they had found beyond the gate.

Jayden flew around the station. Dodging ships and shuttles to one of the arms reserved for the largest ships able to dock after he received clearance from the station. She listened as he made arrangements to have the dock next to them reserved for The Trilleion when it showed up.

Blue watched Jayden’s every move as he lined the ship up with a large metal tube coming from the docking arm. There was a hard bump when the ship connected then a loud clang as the clamps latched on holding the ship firmly in place. Jayden powered down the ship and turned to her, “Ready princess?”

Blue swallowed her apprehension and excitement and looked back at him with a calm expression. “Let’s do it,” she said giving Leo a scratch behind the ear. Not for him but because she needed the comfort of his familiar touch. She told him, “Let me get a feel for the place then I’ll come back for you.”

Jayden cleared his throat before saying, “I am not sure that the station officials will allow Leo onboard.”

Blue gave him the same look she had given him when he had tried to talk her into leaving Leo on Earth. He decided not to have the same argument again. She could take it up with the officials if they objected to Leo’s presence. He would not get in the middle of that conversation.

Farpoint was a large bustling mall bursting with color. When Blue exited the docking tube following Jayden the barrage of emotions from so many people enclosed in a confined space hit her hard almost bringing her to her knees. Hastily she stumbled several steps back into the docking tube, all of her natural grace deserting her under the weight of emotions pouring into her.

She leaned against the wall breathing deeply. She couldn’t believe she had gotten so comfortable around Jayden that she had forgotten. Painstakingly she rebuilt her shields layer by layer until the emotions were no longer beating her down but were instead muffled behind the wall in her mind.

She could still feel them but they didn’t overwhelm her. Using the techniques Dro had shown her, she built in a small window that when opened could be used to arrow in on a single person. Allowing her to feel their emotions without letting in everyone else’s at the same time. When she was done Jayden was still there behind the wall with her and his concern came through loud and clear.

Jayden had never experienced anything like what had just happened. One moment everything was fine and the next his head had exploded with feelings not his own giving him a blinding headache. He turned to Blue only to watch her face pale and she stumbled back.

Of course, he thought when he had figured out what was happening. If he was getting just the backlash of emotions from their connection she must be overwhelmed with them.

Gradually the noise in his head was dampened down enough that he no longer felt anything but Blue. He brushed his knuckles down her cheek. “Are you okay now?” he asked her.

“I’m fine. I can’t believe I was so stupid and forgot to shield before we left the ship.” She shook her head in disgust.

That was one mistake she would never make again. She straightened up and took one last deep breath to center herself.

“Let’s try this again,” she said to Jayden. Motioning him to lead the way. This time when the door opened into the station she was well shielded and able to step out into the busy place with no repercussions.

There were shops selling everything a person could possibly want or need. On this level alone there were shops selling food, trinkets and clothing. There was an air of urgency with the humanoids rushing to and fro. The station was set up in a modified spiral configuration with no stairs and when Blue got a good look at some of the aliens she saw why the designers had designed it that way.

It was all she could do not to gape like a green tourist as she watched an alien roll by in a wheeled contraption that encased his body leaving only his head exposed. That head was black as night and had no eyes that she could see. There was a slit in his face that she thought was his nose and it vibrated with every breath he took. When he smiled at her, at least she thought it was a smile, he exposed a double row of razor sharp teeth as he rolled past her.

She tore her eyes from him to study her surroundings. There was clear column lit from within with several colored lights and filled with swirling smoke going straight through the center of the station. Black pipes, spaced every twelve inches, connected the column to the floor. Making a ladder from top to bottom. She could see from this side that there were three elevators, made of the same clear material as the column, taking aliens up or down floors.

Blue was hyper vigilant as she followed Jayden. Her eyes took in as much as she could despite the fast pace he set. With his superior height, broad shoulders and the determined look on his face people scurried out of his way, giving them a clear path.

They were passing another clothing shop when Blue heard a soft whimper. With all the noise around she knew she hadn’t heard that sound with her ears, but with her mind. Someone was scared and crying. They were also able to project that to her. She stopped and turned, looking for who had made the sound of distress. Opening the window in her mind she slowly swept the area until she found the source. She saw the bright, sunny, yellow light in her mind and followed it to a dark corner.

Huddled on the floor was a tiny little alien girl. If she had been human Blue would have put her age at three or four. She was so little and delicate and way too young to be away from her family. When Blue walked closer the little alien huddled further into the corner and whimpered. Blue stopped and knelt down projecting soothing feelings of safety.

“What’s wrong little girl? Are you lost?” As soon as the girl heard Blue’s magical voice her head came up. She stared as tears started flowing from her eyes.

Blue took a few more steps towards her and when she was close enough to touch her the little alien threw herself into Blue’s arms, sobbing for all she was worth.

“Hush baby. It is going to be okay. I promise.” It took a few minutes to calm the little one down. When she did calm down Blue asked her, “What’s your name little one?” She lifted her head from where she had buried it in Blue’s neck and started chirping so fast that the translator couldn’t keep up.

Laughing Blue said, “Whoa, slow down.” It wasn’t long before she had the whole story. The little girl’s name was Marishkania. She and her mommy had been going back to their ship when she saw the prettiest dress. When she had turned around to ask her mommy if she could have it, mommy was not there.

Marishkania told Blue solemnly, “Mommy gotted lost, not me.”

Blue hid her smile, “Well, then we better find mommy before she gets really scared.”

Marishkania nodded in enthusiasm.

Blue shifted the girl’s slight weight to her left hip, leaving her right side and hand free to pull her gun if she needed to. Jayden was where she knew he would be, standing guard at the entrance. She had felt his irritation when he noticed she was not behind him.

“I see you are still finding lost children,” he said when she walked towards him.

“Marishkania is not lost. Her mommy is,” Blue told him. The girl fell silent when she saw Jayden and she shyly smiled up at him.

Finding the little alien girl’s mother turned out to be easy. Blue removed a couple of layers of her mental shield and scanned for a light to match the girl’s at the same time she sorted through the emotions of those around her. Anger, despair, joy, hope, indifference and satisfaction along with a host of other emotions hit her from all directions. They were muted by the shield so she was able to sort through them easily enough. One big guy was filled with a vicious hate so corrosive it was eating him. She knew he was about to do something that spelled trouble for someone soon.

She stared at him wishing she could get close enough to touch him. He was heavy set with a drooping jawline and pointed ears set near the top of his head. His hair was black and grew in a three inch strip from his forehead down the back of his thick neck where it disappeared under his shirt. The more she stared at him the more he reminded her of a Troll.

Another Earth legend come to life. She turned away from him, promising herself she would find him again. Hopefully before he got the chance to do whatever he was planning on doing.

Marishkania’s mother was in a total panic. Blue could feel that panic and fear coming from the next level up. She knew it was the mother because no one ever had that level of panic over anything but a missing child. Blue had felt it too many times over the years in her work to mistake it for anything else.

She told Jayden,“We need to go up a floor.” She walked quickly to her destination. The slight weight of the little girl barely registering.

When she was on the next level, she walked around looking for the source of the panic. She found it standing outside of the security office. The mother was an adult version of the little girl. Same delicate features and bird like build. She was waving her hands all over the place as she talked rapidly to the officer. At her side stood a stoney faced man Blue assumed was the father and Marishkania’s shouted, “Daddy!” said she had guessed right.

The man’s head whipped around at the sound of his daughter’s voice and seeing her in Blue’s arms with Jayden standing at her side, he couldn’t hide his surprise. Both he and the mother walked quickly to them. They were closely followed by several of the station’s security officers.

Blue felt and saw Jayden go on full alert. When he placed his hand on his weapon ready to pull it and shoot at a moments notice. She knew something was wrong. She slowly lowered Marishkania to the floor and stepped back to stand at Jayden’s side.

She too went on high alert. Not that she hadn’t been anyway. She didn’t know what it was about this man that made Jayden’s hackles go up but she would back him up if he needed it. She opened the window in her mind and concentrated on reading everything she could from the girl’s father. He was just as wary and prepared for trouble. For some reason he was worried, really worried about Jayden.

Marishkania was pulling her mother over to Blue, babbling a mile a minute. When they reached her the woman said, “I cannot thank you enough for finding my little girl.”

For such a tiny thing she was fast and had Blue in a hard hug before she could avoid it. Sheese, what was it with people aways wanting to hug her just because she found their kid. She could only be grateful that her chrystal hadn’t chosen that moment to activate and shoot the woman across the room.
Yeah that wouldn’t have made things worse or anything,
she thought sarcastically untangling herself from the woman.

The man had caught up with his family and stood stiffly in front of them. He gave a curt nod to Jayden before saying, “Haldairian.”

“Oranie,” Jayden replied.

Okay,
Blue thought when nothing else was said. Mother and child caught on to the tension between the men and fell silent.

Time to do something before this got out of hand. She stepped between the two men and held her hand out to the girl’s father, “Hi, Marishkania was afraid her mother had gotten lost. I am glad to see that wasn’t the case.”

He looked at her then at her outstretched hand before slowly grasping it in his. He didn’t shake it like she was used to. Instead he held it gently between his hands, giving her the chance to read his thoughts.

He knew who Jayden was and was worried that there would be trouble because his business was on the illegal side. He was well aware that Jayden knew who he was. He was very grateful that his daughter had been found but wished she had been found by someone other than them. He was also intensely curious about who she was.