Ice Runner (4 page)

“Welcome, Kescu. Come on in.” The great outer door creaked upward, and she stepped into the first lock, her temperature riding high.

The second lock showed signs of melting as she waited, and she made an effort to cool down.

The inner lock helped calm her down, but she was unsure of how she was going to react when she saw him again.

His easy smile and welcoming eyes relaxed her the moment that the final door exposed him.

“Hello again, Kescu. Please, come in.” She unbuckled the courier pack and checked her chronometer. “Thank you, but I need to be heading out momentarily.” She didn’t, but being out of his influence seemed safe.

His face expressed his disappointment. “Are you sure? I have carved out a guestroom.” Kes blinked. “What?”

“I made you a guestroom for when you come on courier missions. It is the least I can do for your help to my research.”

“I am being paid, you know.”

“I know. There is no reason that you can’t be comfortable.” Lor grinned, and she handed him the pack she was carrying.

He scampered into the greenhouse and invited her to follow.

Kes drank from her water pack and decided that she could spare a few minutes.

“How long have you been in the Citadel?” She sat on the stool and swung her legs while she ate her ration bar.

“I was educated there, so about fifteen years. My people do not have a high opinion of talents, so when mine surfaced, it was necessary to ship me off to school.”

“Is your name really Wender?” He grinned. “You have been looking me up? I am flattered. No, I would not be registered under Wender if you went looking. It is my chosen name. My family name is nothing but trouble.” She laughed and watched him gently caress a seedling into blooming.

“I have dinner in the oven if you are interested.” He asked her slyly as he worked on the next eleven seedlings.

Oh, he was very sneaky. “I don’t want to put you out. Why do your people hate talents?” He blinked and chuckled at her guileless question. “They don’t hate them, they fear them, and they use them to death. Talents in the Hanushivi do not have a long lifespan.”

“Why does the ruling family allow it?”

“They have not had a strong enough talent in power to defy the common usage of their people. It will take a talent of courage and power to make a stand for their people.”

Kes frowned. “Your talent is strong. Why don’t you speak up?”

He looked at her and laughed. “Enhancing the life cycle of plants is not a strong talent, it is a parlour trick.”

She tried to be casual. “I haven’t heard of the Hanushivi before.”

He shrugged. “I am not surprised. We don’t travel much and have never had an extensive population. We live on Shivi and die there, for the most part. I am currently an exception.”

“How many other exceptions are there?” He paused and stared off into the glass of the greenhouse. “None. None that I have been able to confirm. I have been looking for the last three years, and the Citadel has assisted me in my search by lending me seers who provided nice and vague clues as to where I could find another one of my kind.”

Kes suddenly felt uncomfortable. “How would you find one of your kind?”

“I would look for a woman with Hanushivi characteristics, and barring that, I would do genetic exploration to find the fire in the ice that the seers taunted me with.” He smiled politely, but there was knowledge in his eyes.

“Genetic testing?”

“Indeed.”

“Wouldn’t you need a hair or skin sample for that?”

“It is amazing what information can be contained in a simple kiss.”

Shock rippled through Kes. “What did it show?”

“That despite appearances, you are like me, and I would like permission to show you your home.” Kescu looked around at the ice in all its colours as seen through the greenhouse glass. “This is my home.”

“What if I told you that your parents are still alive? They were sterilized after your talent was made apparent, but they are still alive.” She scowled. “How do you know that? What is my mother’s name?”

“Lyrica Aduran, married to Jerrin Aduran for thirty years. When you disappeared, they were questioned and sterilized. No brothers or sisters I am afraid.”

She almost slipped off her stool. Even Kema hadn’t known her father’s name. “How do you know all this?”

He blinked. “Let me finish this, and we will have dinner and talk some more. I have some explaining to do.”

She laughed at the understatement and waited while her body reset to normal levels.

Over dinner, he asked, “Can you heat your body when you aren’t cold?”

“How hot are we talking?”

“Flame hot?”

She shrugged. “I have never tried. You don’t want a fire in an environment where the atmosphere is piped in.”

“Fair enough. I am the current King of the Hanushivi. Lorvik Enderell is my given name. We are a solitary world in the Vexar Empire.”

“King?”

He nodded grimly. “King.”

“What does that entail you to?”

“A nice house and a pain in the ass. It is mostly ceremonial, which is why it is not disruptive for me to be here. I am looking for my destined queen, and I think I found her in you.” She coughed and spluttered, covering her mouth with a napkin. “Queen?”

“You are fit, beautiful, have a good heart and a lovely sense of decorum, and you appear to be a virgin. You meet all the official criteria and two of mine.”

Kes blushed at the mention of virginity. “What are your criteria?”

“You have to actually love your family, and you need a sense of humour.”

“Why is that important?”

“I was born out of an obligation to have a son, I don’t want that for my children. I was still a child when you disappeared, but a betrothal was already being whispered about. Apparently, we are a match on a genetic level.” Kes rubbed the back of her neck. “I am not even sure that I am the same species as you.” It was a lie, but a very polite one.

“I am. With the Vexar empress being raised at the Citadel Thoola, this is a time for the rise of talents. If we can lay down enough groundwork to support those who come after us, I will consider our reign to be an accomplishment.” She cleared her throat. “Our reign?”

“No single rulers on the throne of Shivi. I have one more year to find a wife and then the throne will go to the nearest noble of appropriate lineage.” Lor poured a glass of water for her.

“You seem very certain of me.”

“I have gleaned every bit of information that Wanlio 6 has to offer on you. You have put your life in danger numerous times to help stranded explorers and those stupid enough to venture out of the cities to get on the surface. You engaged in private runs for nineteen hospitals whenever there was a transplant at stake. You might not be one of these people, but you do watch over them. Being a bonded courier for the research station pays the bills for you and your family, but your actions speak volumes.”

“What do they say?” She collected the plates and took them to the counter to start washing them.

He walked up behind her and put his hands on either side of the counter, bracketing her body. His whisper was warm in her ear. “It says that despite it being glaringly obvious that you have enough power to take this entire world over, you just want everyone happy and healthy, and if that is not the action of a woman who knows she was born to rule, I don’t know what is.”

She shivered and turned to face him, putting heat into her hands as she pressed them to his chest. “They are the actions of someone who knows that not everyone around her is as strong as she is.”

He gave her a quick kiss before he backed away. “Exactly.”

Kes stood staring at the swirl of robes as he returned to his greenhouse and left her to absorb all that he had said.

A
quick check of her chronometer told her that the night was still in full swing. If she ran out in the temperatures on the surface right now, even her heat wouldn’t save her. Frustrated, she flipped off the covers he had thoughtfully provided, and she went into the kitchen, making some hot tea.

She winced as the light came on in Lor’s room.

She apologized as he walked out wearing loose sleep pants and nothing else. “Sorry. I couldn’t sleep.”

He smiled and rubbed at his eyes with one hand. “Don’t worry about it. The crackle of the ice always wakes me around this time. What kept you awake?”

Kes stared at him with her mouth open before she said. “What do you think?” He smiled. “Perhaps my ham-handed proposal was causing you distress.”

She sighed. “That is fairly accurate. I don’t know what to think of any of that. I want to ask my mom for details, but it is too late or early depending on your perspective.”

“Would things be easier for you if I spoke to your mother?”

She tore her gaze from the smooth movements of muscle in his shoulders as he got the teacups down. “What?”

“Kescu, would you like me to speak with your parent to explain the situation?” She blinked. “Would you do that?”

“Certainly. I can set the watering system to automatic and come to Corial for a few days if you are willing.”

She frowned. “When would you come?”

“We could travel together through the tunnels if you wouldn’t mind. I would feel better not being alone on a rider. Is that possible?”

“Will a longer delivery time wreck the experiment with Dr. Senzer?”

He shook his head. “Can we swing by Yola?” Kes sighed. “It will add eight hours to the travel time, but we can travel day and night if you don’t mind.”

She mentally kicked herself for basically agreeing to travel with him. “You will need to make arrangements for yourself. My family doesn’t have a spare room.”

His smile lit up the room. “I will make them immediately, and I will notify Yola that we are coming.”

Lorvik moved around the kitchen and set out a light snack before he disappeared into his chambers.

Kescu sighed and realized that she was more tired than she thought if she had just let herself be tricked into introducing her mother to the man who was hunting for her. It was beyond stupid, and she had to admit she was worried. Lorvik had no idea what he was going to face in the embodiment of Kema Washley.

“It has been a while since I used one of these, but here we go.” She was in first position on the tunnel rider, and Lorvik was sitting behind her, Dr. Senzer’s experimental fruit tucked into the cargo area along with her meal packs.

She fired up the machine, and it hummed to life. “Are you ready?”

He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tight. “When you are.” She throttled the tunnel rider forward, and they were off. It took a certain amount of nerve to ride the tunnels. They were endless holes carved into the ice and there were no landmarks, only more ice.

In her earpiece, she heard him ask, “How do you know where you are?”

She chuckled. “You can tell where you are by speed and time. The rider records your distance and the length of your journey. You work out the location from there.”

“It doesn’t have a location tracker?”

“They are unreliable if you are too close to a mineral pocket. They can throw you off by up to three hours.” She throttled the rider faster, and they continued to slide through the tunnels at a pace she would normally have acquired on foot.

“How are you not dizzy?”

She laughed, “Did you want to drive? It helps with the tunnel vision.”

“Gods, no. I am content to cling to you for support. You seem to know where you are going.” An unladylike snicker broke free. “You had better hope that I am not going to kill you and leave you for dead. No one would ever find you.”

“I love an element of danger.” He held her tight, and his hands were pressing tight to her runner suit.

The padded suit was her mother’s design. It was sleeveless and suited Kescu perfectly. Her skin was rarely cold, and when it was, she put a wrap on. Her wrap was currently in her pack with the rest of her things.

She clocked three hours of tunnel and pulled aside. She shut the engine down and sighed.

“Okay, rest break number one.” He dismounted with a groan and looked from one side to the other. “Is there any corner or turn where I could… ”

Kescu sighed and walked sixteen feet behind the rider where a crack in the ice gave her the perfect starting point. She heated her body and walked into the ice. It was slow going, but she got a nice niche carved out that would fit Lorvik’s body. As a bit of humour, she even carved a makeshift lav out of ice.

Sighing and rubbing her hands to disperse the heat, she left the small chamber and waved him in.

“As you requested.”

“Thank you. Don’t you need to use one as well?”

She shook her head. “I went before we left and am good for another ten hours or so. It is a side effect of using my talent.”

He disappeared for a moment, and she wandered back to the rider. Another four hours and they would be at Yola Base, another five after that and they would be in Corial. Kes drank some water and pulled out a ration bar. Smiling, she watched a consternated Lorvik emerge.

“Is there somewhere I can wash my hands?”

“Rub the walls, scrub your hands, rub the walls again and then come here, and I will dry them.” He was awkward as he did as she said. “You must think I am an idiot.”

“You are not the first visitor that I have taken through the tunnels nor the first to forget that we are surrounded by water.”

He walked over to her and extended his cold, shivering hands.

Kescu reached out and took those hands with hers and used the heat from her skin to dry him.

She watched the colour return to his gold-green skin, and she smiled up at him. “Is that better?” He leaned in and kissed her in answer. The kiss was light and exploratory, but when he pulled back, she went up on her toes to keep the contact.

A strange shiver ran through her from head to toe, and it was that unfamiliar feeling that made her pull back.

He had a slight smile on his face, and his lips had a shine that made her want to check her own.

Kes cleared her throat. “I have half a ration bar for you.”