are delighted and terrified.”
With the guards watching the approaching station, Sinder leaned close and asked, “Where is the woman you were mentioning yesterday? The Purist who tried to join with Kema.”
Ali’s face sobered, “We will go there first. You will need a jovial atmosphere after you see her.”
Sinder held her mind still as she followed Ali and the guards through the village. Several people ran to Aliaha for introductions, but she fended them off and told them that she and the Avatar would return shortly. The woman took her directly to a dark house at the end of the block and knocked.
A worn, sad woman opened the door. “Aliaha, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
“The Avatar would like to speak with Tish.”
“You know that Tish doesn’t make any sense. What would Geor need with her?”
“Not Geor. Kema’s Avatar. She wishes to see Tish, to find out what damage was done.”
The exhausted woman looked at Sinder in surprise. “You? Kema finally took a body?”
Sinder nodded. “She did, and she regrets the madness that some experienced. There was no way for her to tell you that your minds would not match hers, and some of your organizers did not take the hint from the first waves of attempts.”
The woman blocked the door. “I won’t let you hurt her.”
Sinder shook her head. “I am not here to hurt her, but I need to see her to understand what happened.”
When the woman hesitated, Kema surged to the fore. “Out of my way woman, I can feel my power calling me.”
Stunned at facing the mind of the meteor, the woman backed away from the surge of energy as Sinder entered the home.
She heard the music as soon as she stepped inside. It took seconds to find the High Nalu woman sitting and rocking on the floor, crooning music from a planet long dead.
The energy signature of her body was muddled. Sinder sat next to her on the floor and took her hand.
Kema surged through the contact and collected all pieces of herself that she could find.
Sanity returned to the young woman, and she blinked at Sinder. “Was I successful?”
Kema spoke, “You were not right for me, Tish, but you need to return to your life. Enjoy and know that you have touched a power that was never meant to hurt you.”
A gasp from the doorway brought Tish’s attention around, “Mama?”
The woman let out a low moan and ran forward to hug her daughter.
Sinder got to her feet, walking back to Aliaha while dusting her hands on her skirt. “Okay, so you were going to introduce me to your family?”
Aliaha smiled, “Proud to do so, and if you wish, I will create a plan to take you to the ten surviving mad women who are living in the same hell as Tish.”
The Avatar smiled, “It isn’t hell. They are singing songs from Kema’s world. They took the music from her. It was all your bodies could copy.”
“So, all these years they could have resumed their sanity by simply touching the stone again?”
“No. It was a one-way trip. Once they were changed, they could not be saved until there was a place for the power of Kema to go. That is where I come in. I am the case for the power of Kema.”
Aliaha had a dozen more questions, Sinder could see it in her eyes, but she held them while her family surrounded them. It was time for joy and discussions of power, and madness could wait for later. They had waited this long after all.
Epilogue
Two years later.
“Wake up, Geor. It’s the first day of the Landing Festival.” Sinder struggled out of bed and groaned as she tried to look past her belly to her feet.
Her mate gripped her hand and nipped the interior of her wrist.
She dragged in a slow breath and sighed on the exhalation. “They don’t need me there, Geor. They need their Avatar or Crixox. Get out of bed and get into the shower while I try and find my shoes and my feet.”
After a year and a half, Sinder had given Kema the all clear for reproduction. Within two weeks, there was a third person sharing her
With the guards watching the approaching station, Sinder leaned close and asked, “Where is the woman you were mentioning yesterday? The Purist who tried to join with Kema.”
Ali’s face sobered, “We will go there first. You will need a jovial atmosphere after you see her.”
Sinder held her mind still as she followed Ali and the guards through the village. Several people ran to Aliaha for introductions, but she fended them off and told them that she and the Avatar would return shortly. The woman took her directly to a dark house at the end of the block and knocked.
A worn, sad woman opened the door. “Aliaha, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
“The Avatar would like to speak with Tish.”
“You know that Tish doesn’t make any sense. What would Geor need with her?”
“Not Geor. Kema’s Avatar. She wishes to see Tish, to find out what damage was done.”
The exhausted woman looked at Sinder in surprise. “You? Kema finally took a body?”
Sinder nodded. “She did, and she regrets the madness that some experienced. There was no way for her to tell you that your minds would not match hers, and some of your organizers did not take the hint from the first waves of attempts.”
The woman blocked the door. “I won’t let you hurt her.”
Sinder shook her head. “I am not here to hurt her, but I need to see her to understand what happened.”
When the woman hesitated, Kema surged to the fore. “Out of my way woman, I can feel my power calling me.”
Stunned at facing the mind of the meteor, the woman backed away from the surge of energy as Sinder entered the home.
She heard the music as soon as she stepped inside. It took seconds to find the High Nalu woman sitting and rocking on the floor, crooning music from a planet long dead.
The energy signature of her body was muddled. Sinder sat next to her on the floor and took her hand.
Kema surged through the contact and collected all pieces of herself that she could find.
Sanity returned to the young woman, and she blinked at Sinder. “Was I successful?”
Kema spoke, “You were not right for me, Tish, but you need to return to your life. Enjoy and know that you have touched a power that was never meant to hurt you.”
A gasp from the doorway brought Tish’s attention around, “Mama?”
The woman let out a low moan and ran forward to hug her daughter.
Sinder got to her feet, walking back to Aliaha while dusting her hands on her skirt. “Okay, so you were going to introduce me to your family?”
Aliaha smiled, “Proud to do so, and if you wish, I will create a plan to take you to the ten surviving mad women who are living in the same hell as Tish.”
The Avatar smiled, “It isn’t hell. They are singing songs from Kema’s world. They took the music from her. It was all your bodies could copy.”
“So, all these years they could have resumed their sanity by simply touching the stone again?”
“No. It was a one-way trip. Once they were changed, they could not be saved until there was a place for the power of Kema to go. That is where I come in. I am the case for the power of Kema.”
Aliaha had a dozen more questions, Sinder could see it in her eyes, but she held them while her family surrounded them. It was time for joy and discussions of power, and madness could wait for later. They had waited this long after all.
Epilogue
Two years later.
“Wake up, Geor. It’s the first day of the Landing Festival.” Sinder struggled out of bed and groaned as she tried to look past her belly to her feet.
Her mate gripped her hand and nipped the interior of her wrist.
She dragged in a slow breath and sighed on the exhalation. “They don’t need me there, Geor. They need their Avatar or Crixox. Get out of bed and get into the shower while I try and find my shoes and my feet.”
After a year and a half, Sinder had given Kema the all clear for reproduction. Within two weeks, there was a third person sharing her
Similar Books
