AHealingCaress (3 page)

“Your intellectual curiosity about a talent that has been right in front of your eyes for four years is not a reason to deny this request. As for her contract, there is a breech on our part. We did not provide her with training for her talent. That means she only owes us for room and board, and her duties as local vet and instructor have more than compensated for that. In fact, we owe her a substantial balance for her services.” Astothic waited for the doctor to continue.

Bren stood calmly and waited for someone to decide her fate. The resolve lasted for three whole minutes.

“Dr. Tinneer, I have been subjected to sneering and derision from not only you but other healers who instigated a general campaign to have me named as the vet from the moment I first demonstrated my talent on a bird in the courtyard. From that moment onward, none of the instructors in the healer courses were interested in learning the basis for my healing. No one cared how it worked, so I was left to discover how to improve my skills on my own. I don’t resent the Citadel for this, but I do believe that beyond room and board, I have given far more than I have gotten here.”

Dr. Tinneer coloured with embarrassment. “I didn’t understand.”

She sighed. “You still don’t. My talent is unique and as far as the archives have indicated, I am the only Trinial ever to be trained in the Citadel. I have added my data, personal scans and all information I can glean about the way my talent works to the Citadel archive. I am sure that the Sector Guard healers can do any further inquiring that is needed to pinpoint the focus of my talent.”

Tinneer ran his hand along his skull and nodded. “I apologize for my attitude, Brenawyn.”

She sighed as it became obvious that his fight was over. “If I may ask, what changed your mind about the strength of my talent?”

He coloured again. “I interviewed the patients that you treated and they explained that with the lack of pain at the moment of healing, they assumed that you were engaging in some kind of hypnosis and they were embarrassed by their arousal. By the time they realised that you had actually healed them without the burning pain that normally came with the healing, the official report had been filed that your skills were not acceptable to sentients.”

“Will you amend the records?”

“I will. It is the least I could do.” Dr. Tinneer inclined his head. “Could I ask you to return here to do orientation lectures? I have found that the students from your classes are far better at relating to patients than the others are. They actually listen to the patients and seem to deal more easily with the sudden changes in mood that come when the pain kicks in.”

Bren grinned. “I teach them to watch for changes in attitude and posture. I am a proponent of animal instinct and I drive the point home with wild matchkies.”

The doctor winced. “That would do it. How do you know if they are paying attention?”

She snickered. “The ones without bite wounds pass the course. We also use the course to practice healing minor wounds in a venomous situation.”

Matchkies were endemic to the area around the Citadel. They were small, fluffy, cute and had a bite that caused swelling in all extremities within half an hour. They loved to sit in Bren’s arms, but when her students tried to cuddle the wrong beastie, they needed healing and they needed it fast.

It was one of the quickest ways of getting their attention and to have them look for the physical signals that every species put out. She had learned to read those signals as a pickpocket and they made healing animals second nature.

Tinneer blinked. “Interesting. I had not thought of using them as a training tool.”

“I will leave you my course outline. It details all of my techniques. I guarantee that after the third bite, you will get the hang of it.”

Zeyan and Orenn sighed. Orenn said. “Well, I am glad that this could come to a satisfying conclusion. Tracker has been authorized to bring her to Teklan.”

Astothic nodded. “She is released from her service to the Citadel and will be authorized to act as an agent if she should wish to. She may wear the robes of a healer and have access to all the resources offered by the Alliance to the Citadel.”

“Thank you, sir.” Brenawyn inclined her head.

Tracker raised a brow. “She is free to leave?”

Astothic was firm when he looked at Dr. Tinneer. “She is, with our blessing.”

Bren let out a long, shaky sigh. “Thank the stars for that. This has been a stable home and I have appreciated it, but I am a grown woman now and it is time for a little adventure.”

Tracker grinned. “That, I can supply.”

Astothic waved them out. “Enough of the double entendre. Get out and have a good life. Don’t forget to check in every six months and keep us apprised of any exceptional talents who may need training. I promise that Vesa will be more helpful than Dr. Tinneer was.”

Tracker offered her his arm and Bren took it. With a smile and a wave at the good doctor, she left the administrator’s office to collect her uniforms and few possessions.

Tracker leaned against the wall while she packed.

“Will you miss it?”

She knew what he meant. “It was home and now it isn’t. I got far worse treatment on Gwellen and I was born there. At least here I was safe. I never had to worry about my sanity, my body or being injured just for fun. Thank you for thinking to bring me here.”

She paused in her packing and turned to face him. “I mean it. Thank you. You probably saved my life that day and I owe you more than I can say.”

He inclined his head, acknowledging her comment. “It was what I had to do at the time and I would do the same again.”

Bren smiled. “It is comforting to know. Well, I am packed. Shall we go?”

“I thought you would never ask.” He stepped forward and tossed her bag over one shoulder. He offered her his arm and together, they left the Citadel for a new life.

Bren smiled at the blackness of space. After so long, it felt good to be back where anything could happen. “I missed this.”

Tracker smiled. “The shuttlecraft?”

“Just flying. I haven’t been allowed to leave the surface since you first landed me there. I enjoyed flying. Just being out where no one could get me was so freeing.” She sighed and propped her chin on her fist.

“You were really living on the edge of sanity there, weren’t you?”

She smiled. “Ever since Therin applied to marry me, my life has been out of my control.”

“Therin was your fiancé?”

“No. The family wouldn’t allow him to wed someone like me, so it was decided that once I was no longer of use to them, I would be sold to a brothel. Picking your pocket was my last chance.”

“What would have happened if you failed?”

“Well, I did fail, so Therin was going to divest me of my virginity and then sell me to the highest bidder.” Bren stared out at the stars as they approached the jump site.

Tracker was silent for a moment. “Who named you Brenawyn?”

She cleared the lump in her throat. “My parents. They died when I was eight. Brenawyn Marietta Norlii of the Gwellen colony. They gave me all that and then died of a plague.”

“There was no one to take care of you?”

She shook her head. “We were the only Trinials on Gwellen. I don’t know why my parents chose it as a home, but after they died, Therin was the one who found me and took me to the family.”

“He did it out of the goodness of his heart?”

She snorted. “No. He was looting our home and I tried to defend it with a broom and a fireplace poker. He was in his teens and he thought it was cute, so he tied me up and hauled me to the family. No one knew what I would grow into at that point, so they allowed me to learn what I could.”

“What you would grow into? Are you talking about your talent?” Tracker looked at her with curiosity in his dark eyes.

She chuckled and held up her hair. “The family prides itself on being inconspicuous. I stood out in the mostly brunette population and it made me an awkward thief. It is the exact definition of beauty being in the eye of the beholder. If you were beautiful, folks would notice and beauty was something that the family was trying to breed out of itself. They wanted to be nice and average and having me in their bloodline would have messed that up.”

“So, because you became a stunning young woman, they wanted you away from them?”

She blushed. “Yes. I suppose. It sounds nicer when you say it though.”

He laughed. “We are going into jump. Hold tight. Next stop, Teklan.”

Chapter Five

Flying through the atmosphere of Teklan was a treat. Bren had never seen a shifted Drai before, let alone two. The huge beasts followed them down to the base and Bren stared at the musculature of the Drai the entire time.

“Should I be jealous?” Tracker’s voice was amused.

She smirked. “Ha. I know very well that these two are Drai sleepers and that they have mates. I am simply drawn to the shifts in musculature and am marvelling that they can fly.”

He chuckled. “As long as you marvel from afar.”

Bren turned and realized that her companion was jealous. It wasn’t the first time someone had expressed it in relation to her, but it was the first time that it sent a secret thrill of warmth down her spine.

“How did you get assigned to Teklan?”

He started their landing trajectory. “I was originally assigned to Station 13, but when Teklan specialized in investigations, a Tracker was called for.”

“It seems like strange work.”

“Oh, it is, but it is also rewarding. Sometimes when I track something, I find something that I am not even looking for.”

He set the shuttle on the tarmac and powered it down. “Welcome home, Brenawyn.”

She grinned and unbuckled her harness. With eager strides, she moved to the hatch and waited for Tracker to join her.

He had her bag and his slung over his shoulder and he opened the door with a flourish. The air of Teklan rushed in and Bren breathed deep.

“It smells like a new world.”

Tracker took her hand and led her down the steps.

A Kozue woman with long, dark hair came toward them, a column of mist at her side. “Welcome to Teklan, Healer.”

Bren recognized a Citadel greeting when she saw one. “Thank you for your welcome, Healer.”

The women cracked a smile. “I am Gray. Welcome home.”

“I am Bren. Thank you for your welcome.”

Tracker cracked a smile. “The mist is Canil, Gralial’s partner.”

The mist thickened and became a male with Kozue features. “I am pleased to meet you, Bren.”

She smiled politely. “A Nishan animorph?”

Canil grinned. “Precisely. You know your species.”

“It was a hobby of mine. I enjoy the study of exotic races, being one myself.” Bren inclined her head.

“Please, come into the base. Or would you prefer to see your housing first?”

“Tracker?”

He answered. “Our housing first. The base will still be there when Bren has settled in.”

Gray reached out and clasped Bren’s free hand. “I will see you soon.”

Bren felt the surge of power up her arm and her own talent fought it as she stroked her palm against Gray’s. Her own talent crept across Gray’s skin and the woman widened her eyes. “That is amazing.”

“It is different, but it will work well on folks who have implants as well as any animals in the vicinity.” Bren grinned and they parted.

Gray blinked and grinned in reply. “This is a very good thing.”

“I really hope so.”

Tracker laughed and wrapped an arm around her waist. “This way, Brenawyn. We have a charming home just outside the main base.”

She blinked. “How do you know that? Were you planning to bring me here this whole time?”

He chuckled. “I always find what I am tracking and when I started to think about a partner, my senses led me to you over and over again.”

She smiled. “That is both sweet and creepy.”

His laugh was genuine. “I try.”

There was a small village sprouting up on one side of the base. Neat houses with tidy yards were being built with what seemed to be attention to detail. One house was in an environmental bubble, another had a huge pool where the yard was on the others.

“They seem to be very specific in matching the needs of the Guards to their houses.” She raised her brow at the pool.

“A few of the support staff are amphibious and they like a place to hang out on their days off.”

“I see.”

“Our home is this way. The forest will not be developed, so if you make friends with any of the local critters, you are welcome to them.”

She chuckled. “Don’t tempt me. You may end up living in a menagerie.”

He grinned. “I would not mind that at all.”

She laughed and smiled as he opened the small, neat gate to a house that was trimmed in dark grey with a tidy yard. “How is it that you are so accepting of me as a partner?”

His smile didn’t fade. “I could ask you the same thing. Sometimes you meet someone and you just feel the sense of rightness. For me, it was the moment you fell in my lap in that tea shop.”

She laughed. “I had almost forgotten that. For me, it was the moment when you followed me to the animal pens. You were so calm despite the fact that I had stolen from you. You were all that I could see from that moment on.”

Bren didn’t bother telling him that he had featured rather vividly in her fantasy life, but she had the feeling that he knew.

The house was as neat on the interior as the exterior. The furnishings were standard for bipedal species with regular joints.

Tracker dropped her bag in one room and his in the adjoining room. A sense of relief flooded her and fought with a surge of disappointment.

Of course they weren’t sharing a bed. They didn’t know each other.

She unpacked swiftly and hung up her robes. She had a few casual outfits, but they would wait until she was not going to be meeting people for the first time. For today, she just made sure that she wasn’t still wearing any of Tracker’s blood. While she had washed up in the shuttle, the edges of her robes were stained in his blood.

Bren was amused by Gray’s lack of alarm when she met them, covered in Tracker’s blood, but if her handshake was any example, Gray was a very powerful healer indeed.