WrappedInThought (3 page)

Curious now, he leaned forward. “Why?”

“Because she is honest, homesick and blunt to the point of rudeness. No matter their mental shields, she can read whatever her instructors are thinking.” Turnari sat back in his chair. “You are the only one that I could think of who will not care what she reads.”

“Thanks, I think.”

“It is true. She is a very attractive female and that has thrown her instructors for a loop. They were unprepared when confronted on their admiration of her appearance. Frankly, she frightened them away.”

Baengar nodded. “What will I be preparing her for?”

“Full-on espionage. She has a skill for getting intelligence that makes a telepath look clumsy in comparison. She can gain delicate intel just by walking through a room. We need her and we need her prepared for anything that can come her way. Equilar is on etiquette and deportment and she seems to be coming along well in that regard.”

Baengar let out a low whistle. “Equilar, huh? That is something.”

“I know. She jumped at the chance after meeting Aliiva on Caneer. She saw potential in that young woman and I think you will have to see the files before you understand what your new trainee is.” He keyed in a set of secure codes and surveillance footage from Caneer came up.

Baengar leaned forward as he watched the image of the woman bash the bomber over the head with some kind of melon. He blinked as she ran her hands over the man, closed her fists for a moment and then opened them to begin working on the bomb. It was a complicated device and as her thick platinum braid slithered over one shoulder, she kept her face calm and she worked until the unit was disarmed.

When she finished her work, she slumped in relief, a bright smile on her face that quickly faded as she was arrested with the bomber. Resignation took over and Baengar couldn’t help but admire her composure.

“She’s impressive. What does she do, exactly?”

“She reads psychic residue. Any touch or extreme emotion copies a few seconds of thought onto her body and she can retrieve that thought at any time. Unlike a telepath, she will never show signs of what she is reading, because she does not read the information at site. Aliiva Egrar literally wears the intel she gathers until she has time to read it.”

Baengar whistled. “More impressive. No wonder the intelligence service is waiting for her.”

“We need to get her checked out on all weapons and some fairly intense hand-to-hand stuff.”

He nodded. “So, when do you want me to start?”

“Well, you look like hell, so how about tomorrow after lunch? That way, you can get a few meals and a good night’s sleep in you.”

“You are taking it for granted that I am willing to do it.”

Turnari grinned. “I saw what happened to you when you first saw her. You think she is the one.”

Baengar fought the urge to growl and inclined his head instead. “It is possible, but I won’t know until I meet her.”

“What if she isn’t interested in you?”

“Then I will simply have to try harder.” He grinned and got to his feet. “Noon tomorrow it is. Will Kalo bring her to the firing range?”

Turnari laughed. “Kalo has appointed himself her guardian. He helps her get from place to place and I think he sees her home sickness more than anyone else. I get the impression he thinks of her as a little sister.”

“Good. I don’t want her being alone when I am not here.” Baengar smiled.

“With her talents, it will probably be the other way around.” Turnari grinned.

“So, I will be left waiting here while she travels?” The switch was not lost on him.

“Probably. Or off on your own journeys while she works in the most elegant receptions in the Sector.”

“I have to train her to my exacting specifications first. How do you think she will do?” He didn’t wait for Turnari to answer, leaving the room and heading for his own quarters.

Baengar lay in bed after his shower, thinking about the woman he had seen on the vid. Turnari would not have shown him the vid if the woman had not been available. The moment that she had entered the security footage, he had felt the click of recognition that he had been searching for his entire adult life.

Tomorrow, he would meet her face to face and his intuition would either prove itself or he would train yet another member of the Citadel who would put themselves in harm’s way.

His last two apprentices had gotten into situations far beyond their training and both had ended up dead. He hadn’t wanted another trainee, but if he could do anything to keep that woman from harm’s way, he would. Whether she liked it or not.

Chapter Five

Aliiva took aim and blew up the targets, one after the other. She was dressed in her apprentice whites and lying on the range as she used the blaster. A shadow fell over her and she looked up to see a large male silhouette blocking the light.

“Recruit Aliiva, I am your combat instructor.”

She returned her attention back to the range. “I have heard that one before.”

She blasted the target into oblivion and yelped in shock as she was lifted into the air, gun and all.

“How would you get out of this position?” His voice was deep and resonant in her ear.

She struggled, her writhing putting his mark on almost all of her body. The gun clanged to the floor and she tried to bring her elbows back to strike him, but she was shocked when instead of two hands on her, there were four.

“Never try to wrestle with an Oefric. We can create a form for every eventuality. Fortunately, we are also very law abiding.”

He turned her in his arms and she stared up into his eyes. “My combat instructor?”

“Yes. I am Baengar. I have been assigned to you as your instructor in weapons and hand-to-hand combat.”

His eyes were the bright blue of the Caneer oceans, his jaw was wide and the twist of his lips gave him a fierce appearance. His nose was long and straight while his brows arched wing-like over his thickly lashed eyes.

The extra set of arms that held her emerged from under the normal set on his shoulders. “How are you doing that?”

“You have your talent, I have mine.” He grinned and it made the high cheekbones of his face less severe.

“Um. Can you let me go now?”

She watched as his nostrils flared and his pupils dilated.

“Of course.”

She shifted in his grip. His hands were on her arms and waist.

“Will you please let me go now?”

He smiled and released her.

“It seems that Equilar’s etiquette has sunk in.”

She clenched her hands, but didn’t do a reading. At this distance, she wasn’t sure that she wanted to know what he was thinking.

She cleared her throat. “I thought I had run through all of the available combat instructors.”

He grinned. “I returned last night. Turnari asked me immediately if I would take over your training. It seems that you are cleared for accuracy. Now, let’s see how you do with speed drills.”

To Aliiva’s astonishment, he ignored what seemed to be flaring interest between them and got down to the business of teaching her how to fire a stunner when she had a vision-restricting blindfold on.

He kept speaking to her while she stumbled around, her eyes widening behind the gauze covering them.

“You need to listen for the clues that you need to aim your stunner. Walk as lightly as you can, let your senses expand around you, increase your awareness.” His words were low and did not interfere with her ability to hear the minute whirr of the target.

She knelt and fired, shocked when an answering blast went over her head.

“The kneeling was a good instinct. The targets are set to return fire, but are on a low stun setting, so if you get hit, don’t panic.”

She didn’t answer him but kept her attention on the sounds around her. Her eyes adjusted to the dimness of her wrap and she was able to increase her speed through the halls.

The burn of a strike hit her upper arm and she fired at the attack point with the stunner. Another hiss struck next to her and she fired again.

The second strike hit her in the chest and knocked her down, the third struck her head and the fourth shot over her as she lay writhing on the ground.

“And that concludes our exercise for today.” Baengar removed her blindfold and lifted her in his arms.

“This was a simple exercise?” She was dizzy from the impacts.

“Not a simple exercise. I wanted to know if you would follow orders and you did, even though putting on the blindfold risked your safety and ability to perform your task. That was stupid. Never put yourself at risk simply because someone tells you to. You are not in the military, there is no unquestioning obedience required of you.”

Aliiva blinked up at his handsome features. “So that was a personality test?”

He sat her up on his lap and reached for a bottle of water. “Something like that. You need to know that your duty and sole concern is to retrieve the information and to get it back to the Citadel.
You
are the important portion of the equation. Your health and safety is paramount. Protect yourself at all times.”

A small smile ran across her features. “I thought I was here to do some good.”

The warmth of his lap was comforting and despite the trace on her skin, she was enjoying the contact.

“You will do some good, I am sure of it. However, to do that good, you will have to remain alive and whole. Consider that your primary duty and for pities sake, don’t accept any physical handicap that I impose. I could have dimmed the lights just as easily without disorienting you.”

She realized that he was correct and she lightly punched him.

He chuckled. “That was your one free punch. The next time, I will make you work for it.”

Staring into his eyes, she realized that he was serious. When he dismissed her for her evening meal, she had been filled with basic techniques on how to disarm an attacker and he was going to quiz her on it the following day.

To her surprise, she was looking forward to it.

Kalo was waiting for her when she arrived at the dining hall. He got into line and they made their selections before grabbing a quiet table at the edge of the hall.

“How did you like Baengar?” Kalo was grinning.

“He was…different.”

The chuckle was genuine. “He is the only Oefric in the Citadel as far as I am aware.”

She smiled and jabbed at her salad. “Not that kind of different. He is not as eager as the others were.”

“What did his residue tell you?”

“Nothing. I haven’t examined it yet. And don’t say it like that. It sounds sleazy when you call it residue.”

The cackle had a few heads turning. “That was the idea. Baengar is truly an amazing man who has been through far too much disappointment and despair in his life. He needs someone like you.”

“I am merely his student, Kalo. He is only training me so that I won’t get killed the moment I leave the Citadel.” Her lips twitched.

“Examine the traces and tell me that again over breakfast.” Kalo’s smugness got on Aliiva’s nerves, but since he reminded her so much of her little brother, she let it pass.

She waved his smirk off. “Next topic. What classes were
you
in today?”

He speared a vegetable and mumbled as he munched. “Counselling. Can’t you tell?”

She laughed and kept a cheerful expression on her face during the entire meal.

At her room, she waved goodbye and shut the door on his retreating back. The moment she was alone, she gathered all the thoughts that Baengar had left on her and examined them one by one.

His attraction was obvious, none of the hidden lust that the others had harboured. His interest was clean and open, appreciation of her physical form in a very basic manner.

She also read the genuine concern that she grasp the ability to defend herself and the fear that she would not guard herself when on assignment.

To Aliiva’s surprise, it was the concern for her safety that struck the chord and rang through her thoughts and into her heart. Baengar was going to train her and ensure that she could be safe in whatever situation the Citadel put her into. That piece of conviction was sexier than anything that any man had ever said to her in her life.

Chapter Six

She shifted, kicked out and tried to sweep Baengar’s feet out from under him. When he leapt out of the way, she quickly changed direction and he went down in a tangled heap of limbs.

Slow applause came from the sidelines of the sparring area and when Aliiva stunned her instructor, she turned to see her shocked visitor.

“You just stunned Baengar.” Turnari was shocked.

“He has told me to never leave an opponent in a position to take me down. Make sure that he is down and then I can continue with my escape.” She wiped her brow and face, wincing at the smear of blood coming from her nose.

Her weeks of combat training had enabled her to get faster, sneakier and move with grace that even Equilar noticed, though she was not a fan of the bruising.

“To what do we owe the pleasure of your company, Coordinator Turnari?”

She towelled off while Baengar got to his feet.

“Aliiva, I believe that you are ready for your first assignment. We need you to leave tomorrow morning. Equilar will come with you.”

Baengar was leaning against the wall and he shook his head. “She is not ready.”

Turnari looked surprised. “She managed to drop you, Baengar. How ready does she have to be?”

“She isn’t ready to be out there alone. I don’t
want
her out there alone.” The last was said with a firm tone.

“She will be with Equilar. She is not alone.”

Baengar sprouted fangs and snarled at Turnari. “Equilar is the entry excuse for Aliiva. She is not a defence. She is a politician, not a guard.”

“She has promised to watch over Aliiva.”

“She will not be enough. I am volunteering to come along and guard my charge on this first mission.”

Aliiva got Baengar a bottle of water and watched while he drank it.

Turnari was shocked. “You will pass yourself off as a politician?”

He crossed his arms. “A bodyguard. Several of the politicians have them, you know. Ask Equilar. I did.”