Lesser (7 page)

His wings stretched out and back for balance as he rocked against her until he began to slip inside. It took a lot of effort on both their parts and sweat covered them when he finally was fully seated.

He panted and leaned in, resting his head against hers while they each regrouped.

When she was ready for him to start moving again, she nipped at his jaw and licked his lips. He kissed her and extended his wings as he started to slowly thrust.

She stroked his back, the flexing muscles of his buttocks and then worked upward toward his wings. Iridia stroked the edges where wings met body and ran her fingers along the deceptively soft feathers.

He shuddered violently and increased his pace. His mouth bit at hers as he swept her along in his ferocity. His skin glowed more violently, and the hot friction of him pistoning inside her was building another release, only this one felt far more intense than the last.

Her hands clawed at him as she got closer to the edge of control, and when she couldn’t hold on any longer, she tore her mouth from his and bit down on his shoulder while her body went berserk.

She shook, moaned, twitched and spasmed under him, and he kept thrusting.

Finally, she flung her head back into the bed with a keening wail, and he moved in and bit down on her exposed skin. A jet of something hot ran through the bite as the same sensation was felt inside.

The fire between the two entry points flowed and combined into a wave of cellular inferno that caused the world to dissolve in bright sparks.

When she came back to herself, Zanthan was looming over her, her blood on his lips as he licked it away.

He grinned. “I am very glad I did not take you up on your invitation to leave.”

She smiled shyly. “Thanks for the foreplay.”

He leaned in and slowly licked at her neck. “I read your file.”

She blinked. “No one ever asked me about that.”

“They didn’t need to. You had a medical scan. Those things are thorough.”

He was smiling against her skin again.

She felt energized. “Do you think it is a little weird that I got sleepy so suddenly?”

“I am not familiar with your species, but I believe you should rest regularly.”

She scowled. “It felt a little staged.”

“It is not one of my talents, so if you are thinking it was me, it wasn’t.”

“No, it felt like it came from outside and inside at the same time. Are you going to get off me anytime soon?” She grinned and sighed, moving her head so he could have full access to her neck.

“I like it where I am. You are exceedingly soft.”

“So I have been told. My ancestors developed for frigid temperatures with harsh sunlight. I change colour when I have been exposed long enough.”

“You change colour frequently, but not when I was inside you. You gained pink and you stayed pink.” He grinned down at her.

She couldn’t really blush anymore, so she squirmed instead. “I am thinking a shower is in order.”

“I am thinking you feel delightful.”

“So, we are having a basic difference of opinion. Off, Zanthan. Now.”

He remained fixed on her, so she pushed at his shoulders. To her shock and his, he went flying backward.

“I leave you with my son for two days and you jump into bed with him?” Sivengea was blazing with fury.

“Grethan, control your Avatar.”
Iridia heard another voice exiting her mouth.

Sivengea raised a hand with a ball of light in it.

Iridia raised her hand and the voice sounded again,
“Not on my world, Sivengea. You will never raise a hand to mine.”

Sivengea staggered back as the force of the very angry world pushed her back and extinguished her fire.

“Tharos? You swore you would never take another Avatar.”

Zanthan got to his feet. “That is correct, Mother. He has two.”

Iridia looked to Zanthan and he winked.

The solar Avatar staggered.

Iridia shrugged. “This is fascinating, but I am going to take a shower. Feel free to discuss what you have to, because, Zanthan, you and I are going to have the same damn conversation later.”

She got up and forced her thighs together for the walk to her private bathing room. The solar shower worked on her body, but she was busy looking around for the energy that had used her voice.

Where are you?

I am in here as I will always be, Iridia. I had meant to keep my presence from you, but Sivengea forced my hand.

Why hide?

I know you are aware of my previous Avatar’s execution. She was delicate and unprepared for the riot that sprang up. With Zanthan at your side and part of me inside both of you, you will be defended. I was too greedy with Natalik, and she was unable to defend herself when the attack came.

How long has Zanthan known?

I recruited him five years ago when the first settlers were allowed in the cities. He is passively aware of me but no one has mentioned it to his mother, not even Grethan.

Is everyone afraid of her?

She is volatile. She came to being an Avatar as a recent widow, birthed a son changed by the exposure to power and had to raise him as he matured at a rate so slow that it took him two hundred years to reach puberty.

Ouch.

Indeed. His family died long before he was a full adult, leaving Sivengea his only relative. She was not prepared to raise a child alone, so I offered my surface. He grew up here.

He didn’t mention that he was your Avatar.

He isn’t. Together, you are my Avatar. Apart, you are simply Guardians, powerful, useful Guardians.

She unravelled her hair and brushed it out, summoning her Masuo into a bodysuit with a leopard-skin pattern. Clean and ready for action, she headed back to her bedroom to see if anyone was on fire.

Sivengea was standing near her son and carrying on a conversation with herself about why Grethan hadn’t told her that Zanthan was an Avatar.

Zanthan came up to Iridia and kissed her. “Well, I found out the reason for her ire, not that there was much doubt. She has always worried that she will outlive me; now, that is no longer a concern.”

“Why not?”

“My lifespan will be as long as Tharos chooses. My body is resistant to the pressure of the planet’s mind, so my mother need not worry about my burning out.”

Iridia blinked. “Great. So that is a real concern?”

No. You are compatible or I would not have invited you. We will be together for eons; you will see this world bloom and flourish once again.

She scowled. “I am not impressed right now.”

I am aware, Zanthan is aware and even Sivengea is aware. You are bristling with energy and the furniture is hovering.
The voice sounded so pleased that she was screwing with gravity.

She looked around and had to admit it was kind of cool. “Can I fly?”

Of course. Walk to the window and push down with your mind, your instincts should do the rest.

Quietly, she turned and headed to the window, Zanthan was at her side. Of course, he could fly. It wasn’t a big deal for him.

She stepped onto the window ledge and the screen deactivated. The evening breeze hit her and the ground looked very hard from this distance. She concentrated and her feet left the ledge, with one giant surge of confidence, she toppled out of her bedroom and headed for the pavement below.

When she was fifteen feet from the ground, her mind pushed hard and she shot up, nearly knocking Zanthan out of the sky and making Sivengea shriek as she flailed to get out of the way.

She aimed for the mountains, and her body wove between the peaks while her mind shrieked with glee. Her mouth was busy trying to breathe even though an amused Tharos was telling her it wasn’t necessary.

When she finished her high-speed excursion, she returned to the base, but she wasn’t sure which window she had left open. She smacked against three of them before the fourth let her tumble through to land like a flattened squid on the floor.

Zanthan came in and laughed at her. “Well done.”

“Landing is hard.”

He extended his hand with a grin. “Yes, it is. Come on, you deserve dinner.”

She let him help her up, and they walked across the bridge to the common room and down to the kitchen.

He dialled up a meal for her and presented it with a flourish.

Iridia sat down to eat and watched Zanthan move around as he prepared his own meal. When he sat next to her, she sighed.

“So, apparently, I am not going to be displaying my talent for flight to all and sundry. It is only for emergencies.”

“That is sensible. We are to be hidden Avatars, and I am fine with that. We can and will monitor what Tharos requires, and aside from that, do our duty to the Guardians and enjoy our lives.”

“Tharos is warning me that eons are a possibility.”

He grinned. “I am aware. It is a good thing that we have an entire world to work with or our fights may become disruptive.”

She arched her brow. “Do you plan on fighting?”

He held up his hands. “I plan on nothing of the sort, but we will be living and working together, fights are bound to occur. I am merely planning for all contingencies.”

Iridia took his hand and squeezed it. “Stop planning or it may happen sooner than you imagine.”

He grinned and kissed her quickly as Orwip and Crokix joined them.

She greeted them. “Good evening, gentlemen. We were just having an evening meal.”

The two looked from one to the other and nodded as if they had suspected as much.

Orwip smiled, “We would be honoured to join you.”

They all sat together and discussed the species that they had met that afternoon. They talked until Grethan rose in the sky and they were hoarse. Methods for dealing with the variety of cultures were discussed and a plan was created for each individual city.

When they were called, they would be able to answer in an organized manner.

Zanthan finally told them. “When you get a call, your colour will flash and a chime will sound. We all have a different pitch, so learn to hear it. The combination can reach you anywhere within the base city. If Tharos needs you, you will know.”

Crokix asked, “How do they know which one of us they need?”

“They don’t. Tharos will read the need through the orb, and we will answer blindly. It isn’t the most calming of situations, but until there is a direct means of communication with the world beneath us, we will go and find out what is happening when we arrive.”

He didn’t mention that every scenario had either him or Iridia on a team, so they would always know what was going on.

They would keep the secret as long as Tharos wanted them to.

Iridia finished the letter to her parents, telling them that she had renewed and locked in her contract with the Nyal Imperium. Included with the letter were some stellar math problems and samples of rock from Tharos Prime.

She looked over at Zanthan and grinned. “I am delighted that the courier is going to be here today. I can’t wait to send these to my parents.”

“Do you think it will make them think of you?”

Iridia laughed. “No, but it will keep them busy until they die and that is good enough.”

He came and stood behind her at the desk. “I think you are just writing to prove that the implements that Krassos make are useful.”

“They are useful. Very useful. I use my pen every day, writing in my journal that they also made me. Seriously, if they don’t come up with a different gift when I pop in, we are going to find ourselves in a library.”

He rubbed his chin against the crown of her hair. “Would that be so bad?”

“No, but my days are only filled now with writing about writing in the journals that I have gotten. I am almost to the point of writing a history of Tharos. He is willing to show me, but my hand gets a cramp just thinking about it.”

He stroked her shoulders. “How is the baby today?”

They both looked over at the large, glowing canister where their child was growing. Tharos recommended her not trying to carry to term, and she had taken the caution under advisement. With a little wheedling and trading with the Guardian command, they had gotten the micro-tank that was perfect for growing the little hybrid that they had named Nadica. She had opalescent wings, creamy skin and brilliant red eyes.

“She is good. Two more weeks, and she will be out where we can cuddle her.” Iridia had a pulse monitor on her at all times, and the feedback was sent to Nadica so that she always heard her mother with her.

“I can’t wait, and Sivengea is going out of her mind shopping for baby clothing on all the nearest worlds.”

A pale pink light and shimmering chime rang out.

Iridia got to her feet, settled her weapons and prepared to go to work. “I will see you later. Read her a book. I have written two more children’s stories and she might like them. Let me know.”

She kissed Zanthan and headed to the Yikva colony where another baby was on its way into the world. As an alpha female, Iridia was invited to all the births, but she wasn’t sure if they would find it an insult to not be invited to the base when Nadica made her appearance.

Wearing the weapons was part of her uniform though she had only used them twice in the last two years. Riot control was more of an art than a skill, and after all the practice, she felt like a true artist.

She stood on the platform, and in a flash, she was in the caverns near the Yitva city. Iridia walked calmly past their guards and into the large manor that used to be a city hall. All the Yitva lived in the same building. The communal living went back to the days when they had been slave labour.

The elder, Srin-ha, beckoned her inside and had her take the pregnant woman’s hand. She had been present at the birth of nineteen children at the Yitva colony, and it had been a joy and a taunt to her lack of offspring. She gave good luck and the blessing of a warrior to the little one, and the child looked at her with fathomless eyes that seemed to see to the depths of her soul.

She knew that gaze. Nadica gave her that eternal gaze every time her eyes opened in the tank. Two more weeks and she would have a child of her own, and it might give the toddlers around Tharos a run for their money.