Winning Souls (2 page)

“Well, you seem to be settling in. Meals are available to order, or you can go to the dining hall. If you choose the hall, make a reservation for one.”

She nodded. “Thank you for all your help.”

“If you need anything, just call me.” He smiled and disappeared through the doorway.

Enher nodded, and she unpacked her bags for the three-day journey through space. She kept her public persona at the front of her mind and took a shower before leafing through the offerings of the ship.

Shopping, spas and expensive liqueur were all part and parcel of the trip. Enher had no interest in having anyone touch her in any way, she had enough clothing to last her for two years and she didn’t drink intoxicants. Well, she drank them, but they had no effect. What was the point?

Enher slipped a gauzy robe over her shoulders and keyed on the vids. Each vid had an underlying theme of excess and frivolity.

She smiled and reclined on the couch, watching the vids and the subliminal messaging they were pumping into the forefront of her mind. If her brain hadn’t been structured the way it was, she would have been summoning room service and shopping online.

The nautilus structure of her brain was a curiosity, even for the Citadel. Her mind expanded outward from her core in a Fibonacci sequence of segments that each held an individual purpose.

Her outer layer was the largest and was a bright and cheerful outlook on the world. Under that layer was job stress. Those were the two layers that were most often scanned by those with empathy or telepathy. She had been touched twice since boarding the shuttle and was fairly sure that her structure was the reason she had been chosen.

She flicked through the vids and saw a number of them that would drive her to seek out sexual services. She covered her mouth while she laughed and kept flipping through the stations. Sex was not often on the Reedamani menu; they were rare for a reason.

Dinner was going to have to be her extravagance. She was not particularly hungry, but someone who had just won a first-class ticket would enjoy it.

Enher grumbled and got to her feet after three hours of nothing. She called for a reservation for two hours away and set about finding suitable clothing that was just a little too daring for the occasion.

It was time to eat, drink and be merry, because she had no idea what was going to happen when she hit the planet.

By the time she disembarked, she was unsure as to what was actually going on. Her account balance had not been touched and no record of her first-class expenditures was accessible.

She had finally taken advantage of the spa services and gotten groomers to enamel her nails.

It was beginning to feel like a vacation, and she was starting to relax.

Enher-Dahl left the customs area with her bags over her shoulders, and she found public transport to take her to the peninsula where her hotel was located. She had arrived near sundown, and the bright lights and sparkle of the peninsula were visible from half an hour away. They grew bigger and bigger in her view until she finally saw the city built for tourists, perched on the edge of the ocean.

Xabba City was where her arrangements were, and her senses were on the alert, her skin glowing a soft yellow with anticipation. Some of the other passengers eyed her in surprise, but she ignored it and kept her gaze out the window as the glitter and sparkle of the tourist trap embraced them.

She checked her itinerary and got the name of her hotel. When the transport landed, she headed to the public terminal and got a driverless conveyance. She scanned her hotel’s location and the vehicle pulled away from the curb.

Ads for the services were playing on the screens inside the vehicle until it pulled up in a covered dock for her to disembark. She swiped her payment band and exited the transport.

The clerk at the front desk greeted her by name and had a porter take her bags to her suite for the extended stay.

“Extended stay?”

“Yes, madam. We have you down for two months. Your stay was upgraded.”

“Oh. Dear. I didn’t have someone watch my house for that long.”

The clerk smiled. “It is not a problem. You may make any calls you wish to make your stay here pleasant and care free.”

Enher nodded. “Very well. I may need to leave earlier.”

“Just call down to the front desk and we will make all the arrangements for you.”

“Very well. What room am I in?”

“Twelve fourteen. Enjoy your stay, Madam Enher-Dahl. Thank you for choosing the Fire Arms.”

A scan of her palm later, she was on her way up to her room. The strange silence between her and the folk around her didn’t seem unusual until she realised that she couldn’t hear anything on her normal psychic frequency. As she got out of the lift, a smile crept over her features. She did love a challenge.

Now, she just needed to weed her new partner out of the people around her while she engaged in what she would normally do on a vacation. Surf gliding was not a popular occupation, but she was really quite good at it. Her imaginary companion would have to keep up.

Enher did a quick personal assessment when she got to her room. She was awake, alert and in the mood to see the sights. She went to the entertainment centre and keyed in options for the day.

She flicked through the more adult tours that involved sex or nudity and opted for a tour of the local coastline complete with animal observation and a light dinner. That seemed to be right about her speed, and since the whole idea was that she behave normally, she made her selection and got the directions to the door where a vehicle would be waiting. A swipe of her hotel code would deliver her to the tour site, and from there, she would be off on her adventure.

Enher wore a loose tunic and trousers, both sashed tightly at the waist. With comfortable shoes and a container of water, she headed down to the lobby to meet her transport.

Hopefully, her partner would make contact soon, but in the meantime, she was going to have some fun.

There were eight other aliens on her tour, and each one was from a different world, including an Enjel. She had never seen one of his kind in person before, and he was just as intriguing as she had been taught.

They each got a seat at the edge of their skimmer, and the views were spectacular. Enher-Dahl watched the world beneath her, itching to put her feet on the soil.

“You look restless, miss.”

She was startled out of her absorption with the landscape by the voice next to her. She turned her head, and the Enjel had taken the empty seat across from her.

The Nyal woman who had initially been sitting there had moved up to the front with a dazed expression on her face.

“I am not used to so much time away from the ground. I am better when I am on my feet.” She sighed and extended her hand to him. “Enher-Dahl.”

“Ulises Argato.” He took her hand in his and bowed over it, his wings flexing and shifting restlessly.

She chuckled. “It seems you are as eager to be out of here as I am.”

He grinned. “I do better with specifically designed seats, it is true. You are on vacation?”

Enher nodded. “I am. It was either run away and release some stress or explode in front of my students.”

“You are a teacher?”

“I am.” She smiled. “And do you have an occupation, or do women just throw themselves in front of you to support you?”

He gave her a startled look. “Um, no. I mean I do security work for traders. This is a chance to run loose without having to take orders.”

She nodded. “I can definitely understand that. I am looking forward to not having to micro manage everyone around me.”

Their skimmer settled and the tour guide smiled. “Welcome to the Akuran coast. The wide variety of wildlife is used to the incursion of visitors, but I suggest that you allow them to come to you. They can bite if pursued.”

The tourists left the skimmer in an orderly manner and gathered around the guide as she explained the wildlife and its part in the ecosystem of Nurmegar.

“Centuries ago, we were struck by a meteor shower that broke huge gaps into the crust of our planet. The plants and animals settled into their new roles in the changed system and became much friendlier to the locals and visitors. We now have a thriving tourist community that numbers in the millions at any given time, all over the globe.

“The animals enjoy the tourists, but again, be sure that you don’t pursue the creatures of Nurmegar. They tolerate a lot but do not like being threatened.”

The tourists seemed eager, but Ulises cleared his throat. “Am I cleared to fly here?”

The guide nodded. “It is perfectly safe.”

He didn’t need any prompting. He stepped away from the crowd and launched himself skyward.

The huge black wings propelled him up and toward the puffy clouds. Enher smiled and turned toward the walk that would lead her down to the water’s edge.

“We have two hours here before we are on to the aerie, so enjoy the sights, the shops and meet me back at the skimmer in two hours.”

The crowd parted, but Enher was already halfway down the steps. The boardwalks extended out into the sea, and the beasts that swam in the water came up to the edge of the walkways and frolicked for the watchers.

She followed the pull to one of the less-occupied walkways, and she knelt at the edge. A whiskered face with huge black eyes stared out of the water and eased up toward her.

Enher felt the pull of the beast and extended her hand toward it, stopping a few inches from the surface.

The creature rose out of the water and pressed its head against her palm. She smiled and stroked the cool, soft, wet fur. “Good afternoon, darling.”

The beast let out a small huffing sound, and soon, other silvery heads were rising from the water, each jostling for position to have her touch them. When fights broke out, she pulled her hand back and stood up.

A crowd was gathered behind her, and they restricted her ability to move, but she pushed through them and made her way to the shore.

Each beast had a hunger in it, and her touch had fulfilled that hunger for a moment. The moment she stopped touching them, the hunger roared back.

Enher rubbed her hands together and washed them in the fountain set aside for sea-bathers.

A commotion on the beach behind her made her turn, dreading what she was going to see. The awkward and slowly moving aquatic beasts were coming toward her.

Enher pulled her focus together and closed her mind off from the incoming beasts. They paused and shook their heads in confusion before slowly returning to the water.

She exhaled and walked up the stairs toward the shops. Enher’s control was shaken. She had wanted to give her mind to those beasts and enjoy the affection that they took from her.

She had suddenly gained an insight into what might have happened to all those tourists in comas all over the galaxy.

“That was quite the sight. I could see beasts swimming in from all directions.” Ulises stood next to her on the upper deck.

Enher rubbed her forehead. “I could feel them coming in.”

“You are psychic?”

She looked at her green-glowing skin. “I am. There is a strong degree of empathy in my bloodline, and my mood is displayed on my skin.”

“I am guessing you are not feeling quite yourself right now.”

She looked at him, the pale violet of his eyes framed by the dark, sooty lashes that she would kill for, straight brows and a rich chestnut tumble of hair that ended at his jawline. The wings were the same deep black as his lashes. It was the skin that was surprising. He was pale with a tinge of blue in his colouring. Normally, she associated the idea of the Enjel with glowing, golden beings.

“I am not. How long have you been on Nurmegar?”

He grinned. “About a week, but I have been sticking to the entertainments of the city until now. I was desperate for the outdoors, and this tour aligned perfectly. When did you get in?”

“Three hours ago. I needed to get myself into a new routine on this world, and seeing its nature in action was the best idea I could come up with. Now, I am thinking that it might have been a mistake.”

“I will be with you at the aerie if that will make you feel better. Birds have a tendency to steer clear of larger predators. I promise to act fierce.” He fluffed his wings up.

She laughed, her colour changing to a pinky-orange. “Thanks for that. I might take you up on it.”

“I will keep an eye on you and swoop in in case you are in distress.” There was an intensity to his gaze.

“If you are trying to make a move on me, you are probably wasting your time. My people rarely breed out of season and even more rarely enter season. If you are with me, you are strictly in the friend zone.” She smiled as she used the term that she had once heard a Terran use.

He inclined his head. “It will be a nice change, though I cannot swear to my urge to expand out of that zone.”

“Take your cues from my skin. You are looking for lavender or hot pink. I hope you are not colour blind, because red does not mean I am in the mood.”

He laughed and offered her his arm to return to the skimmer. They paused along the way for some refreshments and leaned against their craft while they waited for the tour guide and the rest of the guests to rejoin them.

“Is that your natural hair colour?” He smiled as he gestured to her lavender locks.

She chuckled. “Yes. It was my father’s colour before me, and he was not appreciative of how pretty it made him look.”

Ulises chuckled. “What is the name of your species?”

“I am a citizen of Yarcuth, of the genetic subset, Reedamani.” She smiled and watched a flicker of acknowledgement go through his gaze.

“I have never been to Yarcuth, but I hear good things about the curiosity of your people.” He inclined his head.

“Speaking of curiosity, why did you choose Nurmegar to vacation?”

“It was recommended by the sister of a co-worker.” His look spoke volumes, and she finally clued into the fact that she had found her partner.

“For me, it was a friend of a friend.” She nodded and relief flickered in his gaze.