Astra: Synchronicity (29 page)

Amii smirked. "Just be sure you don't ask one
of them their favorite color and start a war or something."

Leslie allowed the needling remark about her
softball interview with Chairman Dodd to fall flat. She turned to
walk away but not without a scathing glance toward Amii. After a
few seconds, she disappeared into the throng of humans in search of
her next great interview.

He glanced back toward Amii, whom he still
had his arm around. The thick soles of her shoes made her taller
than him. Her winsome expression appeared to harbor no ill-will
toward the journalist. The smile she offered him made him feel like
the luckiest man in the room.

At least, until he saw Xander. He'd struck up
a conversation with one of the Xuranians near the buffet table. He
was no doubt curious about their mechanoid technology and eager to
find out everything he could about their design. Magnius couldn't
blame him for trying.

When the scientist caught sight of them, he
scowled in disapproval. Magnius reflexively returned his arm to his
side. "I'll see you later on tonight," he told her.

"At the gala? I didn't plan on going."

"See, that's the thing." He scratched his
jaw. "Now that I told Leslie about you being my sister, there's a
certain expectation for you to be seen with me."

She laughed. "But I'm not your sister."

"I don't think there's any concrete proof
against it. You could be and neither of us knows it."

She shook her head and leaned into him with a
wry smile on her face. "What makes you think I'd want to be your
sister?" she whispered.

The seductive twist on her words set his
heart ablaze. She brushed her nose against his cheek on her way
back to his eyes. In the low lights her dilated pupils conveyed a
strong sense of desire. Had they been alone he wondered what
might've happened next between them.

She turned away and headed toward Xander. The
prospect of seeing her tonight set his heart aflutter. The next few
hours couldn't pass by fast enough.

***

"You know how to dance, right? For tonight?
There could be dancing."

Nadine had offered to help Amii prepare for
the gala earlier in the day since her husband planned to be gone
all evening to meet with the Xuranian royal family. The poor girl
hadn't a single article of clothing to wear to such an event so
she'd rummaged her closet to find something that would fit the
lanky woman. They'd gone through several potentials and were down
to a single option.

"It would be silly to think I never learned
to dance in life, right?" Amii slipped the red dress over her head
and popped out the top, noticing little room to close the zipper.
"Is this going to fit me?"

The second lady grabbed the cloth on the
back, cinching it together like a corset while she zipped it up.
"Damn right it's going to fit you."

"Tell me something. Magnius is a psion…isn't
he."

The pounding of Nadine's heart caused the
joviality to fade in an instant. She wondered how he'd given
himself away despite his every attempt to hide it. "Why don't you
ask him? Would it matter if he was?"

"No. Not really."

Amii's frame wasn't as petite as hers, but
this dress had always been a bit big on her. The stunning
floor-length crimson gown dripped with luminous gemstones. Once
Nadine had it zipped, she stepped back and examined it. Due to
Amii's height, the hem fell against her shins. At least with the
tulle skirt, she still looked fabulous.

Amii slipped her feet into a pair of red
satin shoes with kitten heels. She walked over to the mirror and
stared at herself. "How do you do it? Having to look perfect all
the time, always putting your best foot forward as an ambassador…it
seems so exhausting."

Nadine shrugged. She picked up a brush and
ran it through her friend's straight hair. "Sometimes I loathe
having to get up. But then I think of how grateful I am to be out
of that lab, being studied and tested every day like a caged
animal. Then, it's not really so bad."

When she finished, Amii strode to the door.
With the press of a button, it slid open and the hallway beyond
beckoned. Nadine tried to stop her. "But the gala isn't starting
for over an hour!" But she waved her hand and slipped outside
before the second lady had a chance to say anything more.

She sighed and returned to her normal
pre-gala routine: a soak in the bath, re-curling her hair, and so
forth. She had the art down to a science. In one hour she was ready
for the event so she sat next to the door and waited for Magnius to
arrive.

When the door chime rang fifteen minutes
later, the second lady promptly answered. "What took you so
long?"

He glanced past her into the room and asked,
"Where's Amii?"

Nadine smiled and adjusted his dark violet
handkerchief. "She's already there. She said she planned to hit the
bar early and often."

"I get the distinct feeling I will be
too."

They walked into the ballroom, arm in arm.
Most of the AC crewmen who'd been around during the afternoon had
returned to their ships, leaving only civilians in their midst.
Nadine waved to a group of Asian delegates, who she recognized from
her recent visit to Kashtivone. The array of distinguished PAU
officials present staggered her mind. The only notable missing was
Oleg Straikovsky himself.

Magnius pouted his lips. "I don't see
her."

"Maybe I was lying. Maybe she's still in my
room. Maybe she's out with some Asian dignitary who's working hard
to sweep her off her feet and get her into his bed."

"Don't play games with me tonight."

"What's wrong?"

He rubbed his face. "I don't like Xander. If
you don't know that much, you're not a very good telepath. He sits
around and tries to provoke me because it's his idea of fun. I find
it hard to believe anyone could be so purposely annoying."

"I'm sorry about that. The trip hasn't been
all bad, has it?"

"No. But I still wonder why in Astra I agreed
to this in the first place."

Nadine glanced toward the doorway and smiled.
"Because of her."

When he turned to see what she was looking
at, the sight almost took his breath away. Her sanguine dress
turned heads amongst a sea of black and white. It fit her like it
had been made for her. Magnius appeared unable to do anything but
stare.

She watched Amii head over to the bar. "She
knows you're a psion."

"How? I haven't used my powers since Tiyuri
poisoned me."

"The how doesn't matter. You need to tell her
tonight."

"Do you think she'll be okay with it?"

"She'll take it in stride so tell her before
fate intervenes and someone else thinks you've been lying to
them."

Nadine pushed his shoulder and the two of
them walked toward the bar. A member of the PAU delegation had
already sidled up to Amii.

When Magnius approached, he put his hand on
the gentleman's shoulder. "That's my sister you're trying to make a
move on. Trust me, she's not interested. She has an armful of
boy-toys back on DeSoto."

The Arabic man sighed and strolled away.
Magnius sat down next to her and gestured toward the Xuranian
bartender. The second lady took a seat on the other side of him,
where she could eavesdrop on the conversation.

"Must we keep up the pretense that I'm your
sister?"

"Well, I think it sounds better than
advertising the fact you can't remember your past." As the
bartender approached, he ran his hands through his hair. "Uh, what
do they have? What are you drinking?"

"Bopir can make anything you want," Amii
said. "I've been chatting with him for the past half hour or so.
He's well-versed in human drinks."

"Supernova please."

"What kind of girlie drink—no. He'll have a
martini, very dry and two olives please."

Bopir left the two of them staring at each
other. "I happen to like supernovas," he said. "How many have you
had by the way?"

"Not nearly enough."

"Not having a good time yet then?"

"You were the one who sent that nice gent
from the PAU away. I was hoping he'd take me on a private tour of
the palace."

"He's not your type," Magnius said.

"And when did you become an expert on
me?"

"You're right. I'm an asshole. My wife
certainly thinks so anyways. No relationship is built on a hundred
percent honesty. Not one. And men lie, and they don't always tell
the people they love what's on their mind. But you know what? Women
are the exact same way. They expect us to know things that they
never tell us, and then they get mad when we don't know!"

Amii stared at him until the bartender
returned with a glass. "So what are you trying to say?"

He drowned his sorrows in the cold
juniper-flavored drink. "I'm just a mess. I'm sorry."

Without a word, she fished an olive out of
his shallow glass and stuck it in her mouth. A question that
couldn't be asked hung over them like a bough of mistletoe. Amii
laid her hand on top of his. "It's not your fault."

A hurricane of emotion consumed him and left
him unable to respond.

A nasal voice broke the silence that had
settled between them. "Matt Zoleki, you devil, what are you doing
here?"

They turned to see the head administrator of
Fantasti and his gorgeous wife. Magnius shook both their hands and
smiled. "Chairman Dodd. Isabelle. Wonderful to see you." Nadine
sensed animosity in his tone, cloaked so well it almost fooled
her.

"I've not seen Lyneea," Isabelle said as she
scanned the room.

"Actually, I'm here with my sister." Magnius
said. He gestured to his side. "Amii. My sister. Visiting from
DeSoto."

She stepped forward and said hello. The
chairman and his wife stared at her for several moments. Isabelle
smiled. "Pleased to meet you, Amii. Do you also work at the family
company?"

"Yes. I'm the head of advertising. And when
I'm not doing that, I wrangle swordfish."

"I see," the chairman said.

"And she does a great job," Magnius cut in as
he put his arm around Amii's waist. "I don't know what I'd do
without her wrangling my swordfish."

Chairman Dodd put his hand on Magnius'
shoulder like the two had been friends for a long time. "I was just
taking Isabelle to meet Eniqua. I'll be seeing you."

"Absoulely," he responded and the couple
strolled away.

He tried to ignore Amii's blatant faux-pas.
There were no swordfish in the oceans of Fantasti. Not a one. And
now he'd implied the two had some sort of indiscretion.
Perfect.

A traditional Asian tune emanated from the
speakers hidden in the walls around the room. Magnius placed his
left hand on his hip and bowed as he reached out and offered his
right hand to her. "Could I have this dance, Amii?"

His offer took her aback. "I'm…I don't—I"

He gazed into her eyes. "Dance with me,
please," he repeated.

Amii shared an uneasy glance with Nadine, who
pushed her out onto the dance floor with him. She'd heard the Asian
folk melody many times before, even with translated lyrics, and
seen the beauty of a whole floor of people dancing in time to the
simple music. He watched the other couples around them for a few
moments before mimicking them and blending seamlessly into the
crowd.

Within moments, a strong psionic presence
radiated from the dance floor. It came from Magnius, who was at the
moment turning in a circle with Amii, their right arms raised
vertically between them. They touched one another before they spun
around in turn, clapped their hands, and stomped their feet.

Despite the fact that the two of them were in
sync with the rest, they stood out from the throng around them.
Amii's ruby dress hugged her body in adulation, and the red tulle
and gauze of her skirt set off her long legs. And Magnius
complimented her in his white tuxedo. They looked every bit the
power couple that Chairman Dodd and Isabelle were, and Nadine
wondered what the future might have in store for the latent psion
and the woman he adored.

In her visions the two always appeared
together, never apart. And for some reason, here and now, the
energy between the two of them filled the ballroom. Their aura felt
almost blinding.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught
sight of Xander schmoozing it up with Lyneea, and the thought
frightened her. The scientist acknowledged her with a nod when she
came up beside him, but Lyneea seemed oblivious to the presence of
anyone besides the present focus of her attention. The focus of
many around the room it seemed. Magnius and Amii.

"That woman sticks out like a sore thumb with
that hair of hers," Lyneea said. "Do you think it's real?"

He seemed quite annoyed by the question. "Of
course it's real."

"And she's so unattractive. That body of
hers…she's built like a damn man. How can he be in love with her?"
A robotic waiter brought her a drink, which Lyneea snatched and
began to chug.

"I thought you didn't care."

"Do you think he's the one making all the
moves on her or the other way around?"

Xander took a deep breath. "It's all him.
Trust me."

"How can you be sure of that?" she asked. "I
mean, look at the two of them."

He stood up next to Nadine and glanced out at
them, quickly spotting Amii in her sparkling gown. She followed
Magnius' lead well as he tossed her out and spun her around. A
small part of Nadine envied the attention their dancing
garnered.

Lyneea cast the pair an evil stare. "He used
to look at me that way…smile at me that way. Asshole." She buried
her head in her arms out of disgust.

Xander furrowed his brow at her. "There are a
thousand other men who'd be better for you than him. Get over it
already. Shag someone else and move on."