Trials of Conviction, page 10
She flipped onto her stomach, using her bound legs to push herself forward as she clawed her way across the few feet separating her from the wall.
Please let this work.
"Stop her!" the demon screamed.
The drones, realizing their prey was getting away, dashed forward.
"Too late, suckers," Elena crowed, giving up on her army crawl and instead choosing to roll like an overstuffed burrito.
As the old proverb stated—if one could not run, make like an inchworm and squirm your way to victory.
Okay, no one said that, but after today, Elena was thinking they should.
In one last desperate bid, Elena lunged forward, falling through the wall and out the other side. She rolled, fetching to a stop in front of a pair of black, shiny boots.
The general from that first day looked down at Elena with an apathetic expression, greeting her arrival as just another event in a series of them.
It wasn't until he noted the mud and gunk covering her that a note of distaste appeared. "You survived. How surprising. Maybe you won’t be entirely useless after all."
Kira – The Wanderer
Scalding power encased Kira's body, surrounding her with blistering heat. It bathed her in life. Pleasure and pain twining together.
Kira embraced them, afraid that she'd drift away if she didn't hold tight. Disappear and fade into the ether.
Daughter of Roake.
Vaguely, Kira became cognizant of power that billowed around her, waxing and waning. Like the inhale and exhale of a giant set of lungs. It soaked into the pores of her skin. Tiny pin pricks of pain that invaded every inch of her body.
Kira twisted away from it. Or at least she tried, only to find her limbs wouldn't move. They were caught firm. Something trapping them as efficiently as chains.
Kira whined as the discomfort grew, eclipsing even her high threshold for pain.
Hush, child. You have damaged yourself. This will help.
Her eyes opened a crack. The opalescent coils of a lu-ong, a creature both feared and revered by the Tuann for its sacredness, wrapped over and around her. The nook it created was just large enough for her to rest without fear of being crushed.
A very real concern since all it would take was a stray flex of the lu-ong’s body for Kira to meet a very untimely end.
Hazily, Kira took in her situation. Some part of her aware that she was dreaming again.
The lu-ong's coils moved, slithering over her. They rolled her as they parted, allowing the lu-ong to peer through the opening created.
Now, see, Roake's daughter.
Pressure built in Kira's mind. The lu-ong and its coils vanished, leaving her walking in an immense fog.
Her feet whispered over dead leaves as she moved forward. Trees parted for her, allowing her to step into a clearing where she found a boy sitting on the ruined carcass of a four wheeler.
His head was bent as he doodled on the ground in front of him with the stick he held. The bodies of monsters lay scattered around him. Tsavitee, Kira now knew, but back then they'd known them as 'master'.
"Are you just going to stand there?" the boy asked, finally lifting his head.
Eyes the color of daisies looked out of a face that she hadn't seen in decades.
"Jin," Kira whispered.
His grin was too mature for his young face as he gestured down at himself with the stick he was holding. "In the dream flesh."
"I've been looking for you everywhere."
"Looks like you've found me, Nixxy."
A sob escaped her as she fell to her knees in front of him and threw her arms around his small body.
"I've never been far from you," he whispered into her hair as her shoulders shook from the force of her sobs.
"I can't feel you anymore."
It was like he was dead. His absence a mortal wound in her mind. The connection that had been their strength was now her weakness.
Jin reared back. "You're stronger than this, Nixxy. You're the Phoenix. Even if I was dead, you would survive."
Kira shook her head. "I'm afraid not. Not this time."
Every person had a breaking point. A place where they couldn't take anymore loss or they’d shatter. Jin and Elena were hers. Dearer to her than her own life.
"No, Kira," Jin said fiercely. "This isn't Rothchild. You aren't alone this time. You have others around you that you can rely on. Lean into them. Don't let the abyss drag you into the darkness. Promise me."
Kira cupped the hand Jin had placed on her cheek, her smile sad. If he wanted her to, she'd lie to him. But that's just what it would be. A lie.
She could feel the future barreling down on them like a rushing wave. If he went, so would she.
Denial showed in his face as he shook his head. "No, I won't let you. You don't get to do this."
He leaned his forehead against hers. There was a tickle in the back of her mind, Jin fiddling with a few of her bonds.
Her brow furrowed as she sensed his tinkering. A few connections strengthening. One in particular that while much newer than the rest was among the strongest.
"What did you do?" Kira asked.
Threads spread out from her body, disappearing into the fog.
There was Jin's. Thin and frayed. Its glow dampened until it was almost invisible. Next to it, another bond shone, younger but brighter and more dazzling than the rest. Its stable presence in her mind radiated love.
"You have other people around you now. You aren't alone. Lean into them. Trust them to catch you should you fall," Jin urged.
Kira's gaze moved back to the bond that she somehow knew represented her connection with Graydon.
"Now enough of this laying about. It's past time to wake up. Elena and I are waiting for you to come find us."
There was a hard surface under Kira's cheek. Strangely, she didn't find it uncomfortable. There was also the incongruent scent of damp earth and the smell of growing things that left Kira vaguely disoriented since last she recalled she was supposed to be on a ship in the middle of space.
Kira blinked, opening her eyes to find black synth armor directly in front of her. She shifted, rolling partially onto her back to gaze up at the man the torso belonged to. It turned out that hard yet comfortable surface was Graydon's thigh. Her head lay in his lap, her face toward his front.
Graydon had always been beautiful, but there was something mesmerizing about his current expression.
It wasn't that it was gentle. Though it was. There was a softness that came with his guard being down. A vulnerability she'd only caught glimpses of here and there.
It was a version of Graydon that very few ever got to see.
Kira squinted at what he was leaning against. "Is that a tree?"
The sapling's trunk was thin but strong enough to support Graydon's weight. Its branches reminded Kira of a willow tree, sweeping in a graceful arc to brush the ground. Its white bark was tinged with traces of fuchsia. The leaves were an intriguing pastel blue, contrasting with the backdrop of space visible through the glass ceiling that had definitely not been there before Harlow got ahold of her ship.
Graydon's gaze dropped to Kira's face. "I see your powers of observation remain intact."
There was a tenderness in his gaze that made Kira's chest hurt. Their connection pulsed, feeding her warmth.
"What happened?"
"We left Ta Sa'Riel."
Kira closed her eyes. "The Mea'Ave."
Graydon's touch was gentle as he massaged her temples.
"This isn't the first time I've left the planet," Kira argued.
The side effects on that occasion were nowhere near as brutal. A slight absence. Barely noticeable unless you were as sensitive as she was.
"The circumstances then were different."
"You mean Jin's absence."
His nod had her sighing in resignation.
"Who would have thought the Tuann were so damn fragile?" Kira grumbled.
Humans would be shocked to learn that the race they called wizards due to their seemingly magical technology had so many vulnerabilities. She certainly was. For all her strength and abilities, it was frustrating how easily her body and mind could betray her.
"Why do you think we've never tried to conquer the galaxy?" Graydon asked.
Kira ignored the arrogance in that statement, taking stock of her surroundings. "How did Harlow manage to put a garden on my ship?"
In addition to the tree, there were bushes with tiny magenta flowers dotting the perimeter. Their shape similar to wild roses. And just as beautiful. Low-lying, wide leafed plants whose edges were a brilliant red grew in the open spaces, a white spiral shaped flower sticking up out of their centers. An ivy-like plant climbed the walls, covering them so thoroughly that Kira could no longer see the metal behind it. Or the hatch that should have been somewhere around there.
Flowers called azira aliri surrounded Kira and Graydon. As if they'd sprouted at some point while she’d been sleeping. The round stamen with the bright orange and blue petals sticking out of the top like cat ears added another splash of color to the space.
"Harlow wished you to have a piece of home for your travels," Graydon said.
Kira stroked the top of an azira aliri. "It's unbelievable. I didn't think the Wanderer could sustain something like this."
Gardens were considered a luxury in space. Skilled botanists were usually needed to maintain them. With how limited space was on her ship, this was something of a miracle.
"Let's just say he was highly motivated," Graydon said with a strange note in his voice that Kira didn't have time to analyze as chittering came from the tree's branches.
A tiny creature poked its head out of the leaves.
"A chaterling," Kira said in surprise.
The creature glided down from the tree, landing on the hand Kira held up by instinct. Its weight was barely noticeable as it chattered at her, carrying on a conversation only it understood.
About the size of Kira's closed fist, the chaterling had more mammalian features than avian. Its fur was a pastel blue with darker blue striping along its back and belly. Horns curled up from its head and it used its long tail to grip her wrist for balance.
"Your uncle was especially pleased when a flock decided to nest in the fersier." He nodded at the tree above them for context. "Considering our plans, it can't hurt to have them on board. Maybe their auspiciousness will rub off on us."
The chaterling warbled.
Others poked their heads out from the bushes and plants around them to regard Kira and Graydon with interest.
Chattering came a second before they launched themselves into the air.
Kira laughed as they used her body and Graydon's shoulders as perches, clinging to her lover's armor and hair as he held very still.
The chaterlings didn't stay long. They disappeared back into the garden and up the tree's trunk. The one Kira was holding was the last to depart. It rubbed its cheek against her hand before following its brethren.
"Is there anything I need to be aware of regarding their care?" Kira asked.
Graydon threaded his fingers through hers. "They're self-sufficient. They'll keep the garden healthy. You just need to provide water. The grow lights Harlow installed operate on a special wave length similar to Ta Sa'Riel's sun."
Kira relaxed into his body. "You brought me here because Harlow's 'piece of home' acts as a mini link to the Mea'Ave."
It wasn't noticeable at first. The connection weak. Just barely enough to ease the effects of departure. But it was there. In every plant and chaterling. The soil even. The air itself fused with a tiny bit of what made the Tuann worlds so very special.
Everything in this room was connected to the Mea'Ave. A literal 'piece of home'. Harlow's gift to a niece who planned to stray far from what was safe.
"There's a reason the Tuann incorporate gardens like this into all our ships," Graydon said in agreement.
"So it's not just because you like the way they look."
"There's that," Graydon acknowledged. His smile made things low in Kira's stomach tighten. It was an expression of pure maleness that almost made her miss what he said next. "But the way it can act as an emergency measure to aid our kind is the more important part."
A traveling med bay of sorts. One intended not for the body but rather the soul. It might not be able to heal massive damage, but it could at least sustain the Tuann long enough for them to get to the ki rich environment of a Mea'Ave inhabited planet where they could recover on their own.
Kira wiggled onto her back, staring through the branches of the fersier to the view of the stars. "This is all incredibly embarrassing."
Collapsing, in and of itself, was bad enough. But to do it in front of an enemy? Someone she was trying to recruit as an informant and source?
She might as well have rolled out a signpost declaring her unsuitability as a partner. In Aeron's place, she'd be questioning whether someone so fragile was worth working with.
As the Phoenix, she was downright mortified.
"Quillon believes it's a side effect of your bond with the soul bound," Graydon said in a neutral voice.
Kira's gaze jumped to his. "What does that mean?"
Graydon's face had gone blank. Nothing slipping through.
Kira knew her lover. The more inscrutable he was, the deeper his emotions ran.
"You're fading."
Graydon's mask slipped, offering a glimpse of what he was trying so hard to suppress. A ferociousness that was every bit as savage and unyielding as Kira's desire to save her niece and Jin.
"In that case, I'm surprised you didn't return me to the planet."
For the Tuann, fading was another word for dying. It was a slow and excruciating process that she'd heard about but never witnessed.
"I wanted to." Graydon's words were stark. "More than anything I've wanted in a long time."
"Why didn't you?"
"Because it would kill you to stay."
A tear rolled out of the corner of her eye as she looked away in shame. His grief more than she could bear.
Graydon touched her chin, turning her back to him. His face solemn as if to impress upon her his seriousness. "If I can't stop you, I might as well join you."
Kira's lips parted, her heart leaping even as she fought to reject his offer. "You can't. Your emperor needs his Face."
Graydon smirked, his features lightening. "Too late. It's already done."
Kira glared at him. "This isn't what I wanted, Graydon."
He shouldn’t suffer because of her mistakes. More than anyone, Kira wanted Graydon to live a happy and fulfilling life. Even if she couldn't be at his side.
Graydon was unaffected. "We make quite the pair, coli. One willing to sacrifice everything. The other unwilling to let her. It'll be interesting to see which of us wins this skirmish."
"You're insufferable," Kira said, giving up.
"I know. That's why you love me."
The hell of it was she did. Somehow. Someway. With her whole heart and soul.
There were still days she found herself surprised by that fact. That she could love someone so entirely. To the point they became the very breath in her lungs.
"Your oshota are going to kill me when they catch up to us," Kira grumbled.
"They're not going to be happy, no."
Kira eyed him unhappily. "You gave me so much shit about misplacing my oshota all those times and here you do the exact same thing."
Graydon's grin was roguish. "You made it seem so fun. I thought I'd see what all the fuss was about."
Kira sent him a repressive look. "How can I be fading if Jin isn't dead?"
She may have had some doubts before but her dream had allayed the majority. That had been the real Jin she was talking to. She didn't know how, just that he was.
"Quillon believes there's something hindering your connection. Whether that's distance or another factor is up for debate." Graydon paused, choosing his words carefully. "Even after you're reunited, there's a chance your ki deprivation may relapse."
Kira processed the news that all the work she'd put in until this point might be undone. She released a shaky breath, nodding in acceptance. "If it's this bad for me, how much worse is it for Jin?"
That was the question that haunted her.
There was no garden oasis for Jin to steady himself. He was alone and without backup. So very far away. With no one to explain what he was going through.
"Quillon doesn't know. Since Jin is one of a kind, there's no telling how his mind will react to being cut off from you. It could be he's totally fine. His lack of a biological body could mitigate the side effects for a time." Graydon paused. "Or it could be worse."
Her health was failing. Her mental state was suboptimal. And Jin might be faring the same.
What a pickle they'd landed in this time.
There was nothing to do but accept the situation and then plan around it.
Just like Himoto always said—"Kira-chan, you may one day be in a place where your back is against the wall. You'll want to scream about how it isn't fair. But people like us know the universe has never cared about ‘fair’. Fight forward. Always."
He was right. She did want to scream. She also wanted to rip things apart with her bare hands and then decorate her ship with the entrails of her enemies.
"You have options, you know. You could turn back," Kira offered, carefully not looking at Graydon. "It'd probably be better than hitching your future to a woman destined to go out in a fiery blaze."
Kira felt the way Graydon stilled, the gathering storm that signaled dangerous things to come.
"I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that."
One corner of Kira's lips hitched up. Somehow, she'd known that would be his response.
He forced her into a sitting position in his lap, turning her to face him. "I demand my place at your side. It is my right as the one who swore the oath of Aliria to you. I will walk into the darkness with you and hold your shattered pieces together if that's what this takes."
Graydon's face was furious, his fingers tender as he feathered a touch across her jaw. "I'm here, Kira. All the way to the end. Your shelter and your anchor."
