Chrystal Bones (Finding Home Book 1) (28 page)

“Princess I knew you would be alright. Did our illustrious leader take good care of you or did you kick some ass?”

Since he had heard her tell Vihan during one of their practice sessions that she was going to kick his ass, Sparks had used the expression every chance he got.

Vihan looked up from where he was working on his panel and gave her a smile. “Nice to have you back,” he said.

“Thank you. It is nice to be back.” She found that she really meant it. Somehow these men had cracked the shell around her heart and become important to her. She looked around for the rest of them.

“Idris and Jayden are in engineering. Dro is in medical with Jos,” Sparks informed her.

Suspicious of the gleam in his eyes she asked, “What’s wrong with Jos?” Vihan snorted while Sparks’s grin stretched his whole face.

“He forgot to hold on,” his grin told her it wasn’t serious.

She shook her head at him knowing that there was more to the story than that. She would ask Jos what happened.

She decided to stop at medical before going to find Idris and Jayden. She could hear Jos complaining before she entered the room. Dro was holding his arm, running a bone stimulator over it. At the same time he was telling Jos,
“If you would quit using it for a couple of days it would heal faster; you know that.”

“Doc I don’t have time to sit and do nothing. You know that,” Jos parroted the words back.

“Maybe now that Jayden and I are back you can find the time,” Blue said from the door. Both men whipped their heads around to stare at her.

Jos’s grin was as engaging as his brother’s but unlike Sparks he didn’t hug her. Dro walked to her with hands held out. Blue looked at his hands then into his pale yellow eyes. Eyes that shined with relief at seeing her.

Feeling a sense of deja vu, she hesitated for just a moment before placing her hands on his, palm to palm. Thoughts and images swirled. Words were not needed. It was a true joining of their minds. It was communication at its most basic and most complicated level. It was intimate without being sexual.

The contact lasted only for a few moments before they slowly withdrew breaking the contact. Dro was the first to speak,
“Your mental abilities are growing.”

Blue gave a soft sigh. He would pick up on that. For now she chose to ignore the statement and instead asked, “Is Mr. Graceful going to be ok?” She looked at Jos, who had been watching them with a thoughtful frown on his face.

“It was just a broken arm. It will be fine, if he would refrain from using it,”
Dro said with a stern look at the now smiling Jos.

“Do not worry so much Doc. It will be fine. It is not the first arm I have broken,” he joked.

Blue touched the arm in question and felt her hand heat. Jos gave her an incredulous look.

“Damn girl, your hand is hot.”

Blue hastily removed her hand not sure why she had felt compelled to touch him.

Since the new chrystal had attached itself to her on Earth she would have some knowledge come to her. This one told her to touch Jos’s arm where the break was. She hadn’t spent a whole lot of time trying to decipher the information from the chrystal but the little she had didn’t tell her much beyond basic knowledge of the chrystals themselves. The information had settled into her and would come to her when she needed it.

Her range of being able to see things with her mind had expanded. She could close her eyes and see where everyone was, both on the ship and on the station. The one thing she didn’t know much about was the way the shield worked. Except for when it had pushed the guys away in her living room on Earth it had not made another appearance.

Of course she hadn’t needed it except on the mud hole against the Ragillians. They had no emotions and she was pretty sure that was what it took to activate it. The chrystal had a specific purpose and that purpose was related to Shillidon and the chrystals that were its life’s blood.

Jayden and Idris were not in engineering when Blue got there. She opened her mind to find them and saw that they were in the exercise room.
That’s odd,
she thought,
weird time to be exercising
. She closed down her mind’s eye and went to them.

They were fighting and it was not a practice session. They were very serious in trying to hurt the other, at least Idris was. Blue watched for a few seconds noticing that Jayden was mostly defending himself against Idris’s blows. She could feel the anger pouring out of her brother. The intense look of purpose didn’t bode well for Jayden. It didn't occur to her that they were fighting because of her until she heard Idris shout at Jayden.

“She is my sister not one of your play things.”

Her mouth dropped open at Jayden’s reply, “She is not a toy to me. I only told you because you are her brother and you have a right to know that we are involved. I love her Idris and want her to be my bonded.”

Idris stopped his fist in mid swing, his face going pale. “You can’t. She belongs on Shillidon, not Haldairia. I will not let you take her from us again.” He renewed his attack on Jayden.

Blue didn’t know who she was angrier at, Jayden for thinking he had to tell Idris about them or Idris for thinking he had any say in who she got involved with.

She waited until the combatants separated then stepped between them. Idris was unable to fully stop the fist that was headed for Jayden’s face. Blue dodged the blow and in the same motion she sent her fist into Jayden’s stomach with all the force she could manage. She heard his harsh intake of air but knew she hadn’t really hurt him. Then she kicked out sideways with a boot clad foot and sent it into Idris’s stomach.

That blow had a lot more force behind it causing him to double over. “Now that I have your attention would either of you care to explain what’s going on here?” she asked them in a pleasant tone that belied the fury rising inside her.” Oh, she knew what was going on but she wanted to hear it from the both of them.

The two men looked at each other wondering what she had heard. When they didn’t speak she turned to Jayden, “What makes you think what we do is any of his business?”

That answered that question
, Jayden thought.
She had heard enough.
Thinking quickly he said, “He is your brother and my friend. He has a right to know what is going on.”

“No…. he doesn’t,” she said. “And even if he did you had no right to take it upon yourself to inform him. Just who do you think you are?”

“I am your lover, that is who I am.”

“If you think that gives you the right to make decisions for me or about me,” she poked him in the chest, “Then you won’t be my lover for long.”

Blue turned to face Idris, “And you, you may be my brother but you haven’t been around for most of my life. You don’t get to decided anything for me either. Who I choose to get involved with is none of your business. Not now, not ever. Got that?”

Idris started to say, “But you have to go to Shillidon.”

She cut him off before he said anything else, “I know I have to go there. You don’t have to keep throwing it in my face. You have told me enough times that I am the only one who can save your precious planet,” her voice was so cold it could have frozen the sun. “You really don’t have to keep reminding me. I told you I would go. I never said I would stay.”

“But it is your home,” Idris said.

“No, It is your home. I don’t even remember the place.”

“But.”

“No buts. You can’t play big brother now Idris, it is too late.”

She stepped away from them and walked away. When she reached the doorway she turned back to find them looking at her. Jayden with annoyance and Idris with concern. “You can beat each other bloody. I really don’t care, just leave me out of it.”

The
quiet
was deafening when she left. The two men who had been closer than brothers for so long looked at each other. Jayden had been sure that Blue understood where their relationship was going. Now he was left with the uncertainty of not knowing if she felt the same way. For the first time he was left wondering if he was going to be able to keep her in his life.

Idris was left reeling. He had thought he was making progress with her. She had told him that his sister had died and for the first time he was starting to believe it. She was right, he had no right to interfere in her life. If she wanted Jayden that was her choice and he had no say in it whatsoever. If she chose to leave Shillidon he had no say in that either. They could hardly imprison her to keep her there and even if they did he had no doubt that she would find a way to escape. That thought brought a wry smile to his face.

Jayden smacked him on the back of his head, “What are you smiling about? In case you did not notice she just handed both of us our heads on a platter.”

“Idris’s smile turned into a grin, “I know. She is great. She had a temper when she was little too.” Laughing he pounded Jayden on the back. “You are going to have to work hard to keep her.”

Jayden frowned at him in suspicion, “You changed your mind about us awfully fast.”

“I was mad at first but the more I think about it, the more I think she will be good for you and you for her. One thing is for sure. She is going to run rings around you.”

“She is mad at you too, you know,” Jayden pointed out.

“I know, but I am not the one sleeping with her.”

Idris left the room still laughing. Whether she wanted to be or not she was his sister and he would never give up on her.

Jayden looked around the empty room, absently rubbing the spot on his stomach that had connected with Blue’s fist. Out of all the blows Idris had landed the only one he felt was that one. He had not needed Idris to tell him she was going to run rings around him. Thank Shalla she was not a weak woman. A weak woman would bore him in no time. Blue might drive him crazy but she would never bore him he thought with a smile. His mood improved and he spoke aloud into the empty room, “I have a month to get her over her mad.”

Chrystal Bones Billie Jo Hanlin

Chapter 28

Blue and Jayden were in bed quietly talking after making love. She was slowly opening up to him and telling him more about her life on Earth as she learned more about his. It had taken the guys little time to get used to them being together and they were full of good natured teasing.

She no longer tensed up and moved away when Jayden touched her in casual affection in front of them. She kept her room even though she spent most nights in Jayden’s. She was starting to trust this thing between them and was becoming resigned to, if not comfortable in having others know about their relationship.

They were both strong people and little disagreements popped up now and then. Jayden could be relentless when he wanted something and he had the tendency to push until he got what he wanted. What he wanted was Blue, body and soul. He had her body and he had spent the last weeks pushing her to come out of the shell she had encased herself in for most of her life.

The first time she had thrown a wrench at him in frustration he had just laughed and kissed her until she went weak in the knees. She was beginning to get used to this new life. It would take her some time to trust it as it had with her old one. At least in this new life she didn’t have to hide from anyone and that allowed her more freedom than she had ever had. She was free to be who she was and the weight that lifted from her shoulders was a huge relief.

The only aspect of herself that Jayden was uncomfortable with was the astral projection. She hadn’t done it since that first day aboard. Mainly because the ship was traveling at such speed that she wasn’t sure she would be able to keep up and they didn’t have the time to stop and let her explore.

He didn’t understand what she did and neither Dro nor Blue could explain it to him. The light in her eyes when she tried made him very uneasy. He knew it had a pull on her that he would never understand or feel comfortable with when her essence or spirit was out of her body.

Jayden tucked Blue under him in his favorite sleeping position. His body surrounding hers in a protective barrier against anything that might hurt her. It had taken Blue time to get used to being surrounded by him in what should have been a suffocating embrace but was instead comforting. Secure in their own little world they drifted to sleep only to be abruptly awakened by the alarms blaring throughout the ship.

Jumping out of bed and pulling on clothes they ran to the control room. Both were already talking telepathically to Vihan who was on shift. A Ragillian ship had just dropped out of hyper into their path. For the second time on this journey it was as if they knew right where the Trilleion would be. That just was not possible. No one but the people aboard were aware of where they were or where they were going. There had been too many delays and side trips to accurately predict where they would end up and they had not contacted anyone to update them on their position.

Somehow the Ragillians knew where to find them to set up another ambush. Jayden and Blue ran into the control room followed closely by Idris, Sparks and Dro. Jos had gone directly to Engineering.

“What is our situation?” Jayden demanded in complete control striding to the middle of the room. Sparks slid into his station and brought up all view screens just as three more Ragillian ships took up position around them.

“We are surrounded Jayden. Any direction we go, we are going to get hurt but we should be able to break through,” he said.

Dro spoke telepathically to them all,
“We are going to have to take out at least one ship completely to create a hole to slip through. Once through we can probably out run them.”

It went against the grain for all of them to run when their natural inclination was to fight. If it was just one ship or even two there would be no hesitation but surrounded as they were by four it was going to be a little trickier.

Jayden’s mind raced through the options as he studied the ship’s computer automatically labeled Red One through Four in the order they had appeared.