Hyde and Seek (3 page)

Amly hesitated for a moment but took the fabric. It shook out into a baggy bodysuit.

“It is already turning into what you expected.”

“Um, where can I put this on?”

Fixer pointed to a screen in one corner.

Amly gathered the fabric up and went behind the screen, slipping the suit on and accepting it transforming into a formfitting uniform similar to the one Walking Shadow had put on in the ship.

She resumed her normal shape and walked out into the workshop with her bodysuit fitted tightly under the medical robe.

Fixer blinked. “Blue?”

Amly shrugged. “It is easier on the eyes than dark rainbow.”

“She has you there, Mala.” Walking Shadow chortled.

Fixer made a face at him and said, “If you would take off the medical robe?”

Amly removed the fabric and watched as the Guardsman studied her.

“Can you adjust the colour?”

Amly concentrated and the Masuo obliged by turning a rich dark blue.

“Excellent. Well, it is armour grade and you can take a few blasts to the chest without the suit being damaged, but for detailed manipulation, I would like to see you back here this week.”

“Why?”

“Because I have the equipment to run you through your paces and we can practice you getting a look at armour and copying it.”

“Can’t I do that at the Citadel?”

“You could, but you would gain an audience. Here, you can do it with privacy and we can get to the fine details.”

Amly grinned, “And you can put off whatever else you had on your
have to
list.”

Fixer shrugged. “I get my enjoyment where I can.”

“That is a good way of looking at things.”

“When your husband is prettier than you could ever hope to be, you get used to changing your perceptions, and it changes the way you look at things for you.”

Amly smiled and looked toward Walking Shadow. “What next?”

“Next, we check you into the Citadel and you get something to eat and some rest. Tomorrow, you will meet Equilar, and she will tell you whether or not she will take you on as an apprentice.”

Fixer blinked. “You are trying to get in with Equilar?”

Amly wrinkled her nose. “Apparently, I am cut out for espionage, and she is the one I need to talk to.”

“I will wish you luck then. Keezik, get her over to the Citadel, she is weaving where she stands.”

He snapped off a salute and put his arm around Amly, herding her out of the building and to a stand with a series of small fliers hooked to it.

“One of Fixer’s designs. They work pretty well and have a magnetic repulsion as emergency landing gear. They are very safe.”

“Why is it that you sound like you are convincing yourself as well as me?”

He chuckled and made sure she was settled before he unhooked the charger and throttled the vehicle into action.

They were up and away in seconds, and Amly looked around, wondering if this world was any better than the one she had left.

She smiled to herself. The clothing was certainly better, so that was one thing right there.

She was greeted by the administrator, Turnari, and had to stop herself from staring at his horns. It was a first for her.

The food that she was directed toward was in the lavender-purple colour coding and it went down easily.

Administrator Turnari kept staring at her, and finally, she mimicked his own appearance back at him, her Masuo trying to imitate his robes.

She kept eating, and moving her head felt strange with the oppressive weight on her. They were well balanced but still not comfortable.

His shock wore off and he blinked. “Please, that is very disturbing.”

She resumed her normal features. “Well, you were asking for it.”

Walking Shadow snickered again.

Tired, she glared at him. “I am glad I can be a source of amusement. Now, where the hell am I staying?”

She cleared her trays away and returned to glare at the two men who were looking at her in surprise.

“What? I am tired, I have shifted into seven different people in the last three hours and I am tired.”

“Seven?”

“Even shifting back into my own form takes effort, Walking Shadow. I need sleep now.”

Turnari nodded. “Right. I have set aside room three-twelve for you. Up the stairs for three floors and to your left. The lock is set for the scanned information that Dr. Effin sent over.”

“Thank you and good night.” She nodded her head and walked in a straight line for the staircase.

She dragged herself up the stairs, and when she reached the third floor, she looked at the numbers until she found her room. She focused on keeping herself awake until she got inside the room, and then, she staggered to the bed and flopped on her back. Darkness swelled up and pulled her under.

* * * *

Turnari jolted and pressed a finger to his suit. “Yes?”

“It is Effin; is Amly with you?”

“No, she has gone to her quarters.”

Keezik stared at the administrator and spoke to the doctor on the other end of the com, “What is wrong?”

“Her systems started to fluctuate wildly; it seemed that her inner organs were rearranging themselves and then finally settled.”

He was on his feet in an instant. “Is she all right?”

“She has settled and her body seems to be asleep.” Effin’s voice contained relief. “That scared the hell out of me. Alarms were going off everywhere.”

A woman cried out and ran to the food trays. “Oh no.”

Turnari walked up to her and asked, “What is it?”

“There is a new staffer working the kitchens, and he is colour blind. This food is supposed to be for Azon mixes only. Thank goodness most of it seems to be here.”

Keezik looked at it and recognized it from Amly’s plate. “Rearranged her internal organs you said?”

Effin spoke through Turnari’s suit. “Indeed. They are now more in line with Azon species standards.”

“You can record that she has unconscious adaptation skills.”

Effin paused. “All right. I bid you good evening.”

The com clicked and went quiet.

The kitchen staff member was waiting to see what Turnari did.

“Take him off displays and make sure that the colours are backed up with words on the racks so that he can at least read the differences.”

The woman nodded and retreated to the kitchens with the offending tray.

Keezik looked at Turnari, “Well that answers that question.”

“What question?”

“How many changes are too many? The answer is eight or the one she didn’t know was happening.”

Turnari blinked. “Are you sure you want to be paired up with her? She seems a little moodier than most of the women you have chosen since you arrived.”

“I think she is entitled. Her body is under tremendous strain and her mind changes as well. She must be exhausted all the time because she has never been allowed to practice. We will build up her stamina and she will get the instruction that she needs if Equilar agrees.”

Turnari grimaced. “She will agree; she just doesn’t know it yet. Amly’s talent will make her a master spy and she will need all the preparation she can get.”

Keezik grinned, “As long as she gets the sleep she needs, I don’t think she will have a problem with the learning.”

“I hope not. We are counting on her to be willing to help her own people.”

“She will be. She has been working toward that end this entire time. She needs this as much as we do.”

“Are you ready for your part in this?”

Keezik nodded with a grin, “It is a part I was born to play.”

Turnari scowled. “How is it that you make it look so easy?”

“What?”

“Finding your mate. You two vibrate in sync like an old married couple. I have no idea how that happens.”

Keezik gave him a considering look. “First, you have to find out what she needs, then you have to find a way to give it to her. She will respond in kind.”

“I would have to get to her first.”

“If she is meant for you, it doesn’t matter when you meet. You will both know it is right. Ask Commander if he can pin down when you will meet your match. It worked wonders for me. I knew where I had to be and what I had to do.”

Turnari gathered the remains of his meal, and he grimaced. “I don’t know if I am ready to do that.”

“Then don’t feel jealous when we find our mates. We put a lot of work into being where we need to be. I was almost captured a dozen times when they spotted me by my psychic imprint. I managed to keep out of trouble and be there for Amly when she needed an escape. I earned my chance at love.”

“You are confident she will turn to you eventually?”

“Confident, no. Hopeful, yes. I know that I have a chance, the best chance I could have.” Keezik shrugged. “I will keep myself in her thoughts and hope that she reciprocates when the time comes.”

Turnari headed back to his office and Keezik hit the gym. He had a lot of tension to work off before he could sleep. Knowing that he was in the same building as the woman who would be his best chance at love was enough to send him to the weights and the fight simulator. In the morning, he would have to hold back his tension and work on self-control all over again.

* * * *

Amly brushed her hair and changed the Masuo into a day dress, just for fun. She skipped down the stairway and got herself some breakfast while humming happily in her mind. It was relaxing to have this moment where nothing
had
to be done. Where she could simply exist happily and pretend that she was normal.

When Walking Shadow came to her side and sat down, normal went out the window.

“Good morning, Walking Shadow.”

“We are not on duty, Amly. Call me Keezik.”

“Keezik then.” She watched as he closed his eyes and shuddered.

She finished her meal and thanked the woman who came to get her tray.

“Do you know what is on my agenda today?”

“Equilar is your first appointment of the day, but we have a few hours before that appointment. I would like to offer you a tour so that you know which facilities you can access with impunity.”

“That sounds like fun.” She smiled brightly, recharged for the day.

“Ready when you are.”

She got to her feet and took the arm he offered her. They walked out slowly, and she enjoyed the strange sandal arrangement that the Masuo had worked out.

“So, you are wearing a dress today?”

“I rarely get the chance to wear something feminine. If I have to hide from tracking, I need to be able to shift and wear a different jacket or shirt. I am just lucky they never track me by the shoes or I would be doomed before I found one of my stashes.”

“Stashes?”

“Sure. I kept a series of clothing in different places around the city’s underground. I would go into a different men’s or ladies’ room in the tunnels and change clothing, emerging wearing the features of one of the other inhabitants of the lav.”

“How long can you hold a sight-only shift?”

“An hour, possibly longer if it is necessary.”

“Impressive.”

“I hope so. It sounds like Equilar is going to be quite the hard woman to impress.”

“She is stringent in her standards. She has no talent herself, but she has manipulated an entire government into poisoning their own people. The nobles of the Moreski are all confined to their world while they slowly die out.”

“That sounds horrible.”

“Well, the Moreski nobles are not very nice people. The dark rainbow hair is the indicator of nobility. For years, they thought it could not be transmitted to half-breed children, or that is what they put about. Mala is one of the only surviving half-breeds on record, though I have heard of a few others, I have never met them.”

They were walking past a gym, and he pointed out the mechanisms by which she could work out. They continued on their path, and she asked, “Are you truly cousins with Fixer?”

“I am. Our grandmother was a slave, and she was bred to various partners. My mother was one of the children, Mala’s mother was another.”

“That explains why I can’t pinpoint your species.”

He grinned. “I am flattered that you have been trying.”

“It makes it easier to copy you if I know what I am aiming at. Now that I can access records, if I can find the standard movements and descriptions of your people I can mimic the more subtle nuances of someone.”

“Does it make that much difference?”

“To put it in farm terms, if you raise a bird with beasts, flying will not be natural to it. If you put it with other birds, it will move all wrong and the birds will avoid it.”

He nodded and it flattered her to think that he was actually absorbing that bit of information.

He showed her the classrooms where folk in robes were working studiously to absorb information.

The illumination class was amusing. She looked through the door panel into the darkness and flickers of light sparked around the room. Some were light, some were combustion and all were very visible in the darkness.

“That is very interesting. The idea of folk being allowed and encouraged to master their talents is a little beyond my scope of experience.”

Keezik nodded. “I am aware of it. I was skulking around your world for a while before I got the extraction assignment.”

“Does it exhaust you to use your talent?”

“Not really, it just wears on me like any physical activity. My talent is usually limited to my skin unless I am passing through matter. That is wearing on my senses, I can tell you.”

She blinked. “Right. I can see where it would be.”

“Come on, I will show you the gardens. The horticulture talents are really working overtime to get a high-yield plant that doesn’t destroy the soil.”

Amly didn’t know much about plants, but she did recognize the woman who was coaxing a tendril around a runner post in elegant loops.

The woman must have sensed her gaze, because she turned around, squealed and ran forward for a hug. Amly caught her and hugged her third rescue. Wekiat had been scheduled for invasive interrogation, but Amly had stepped in and taken over the interview. The agents had been forced to let her go, as the Wekiat Dorsai they had in custody had no idea how to grow any sort of plant whatsoever, let alone have a horticultural talent.