A caretaker in a mask came and spoke to Davio as she nibbled at her meal of meat and roasted vegetables.
He nodded at the other male in the mask and then walked to stand next to her. “My lady, there is a visitor for you.”
“I was not expecting visitors today, squid face.”
“I am sorry, my lady, but they will not be denied and this is not the appropriate place.”
She shook her head and got to her feet. “Of course not. No one should be allowed in my private apartments. I will meet with this visitor and give them a piece of my mind.”
With absent hands, she straightened her invisible gown and adjusted her tiara. Davio walked with her through the throng of chemically insane talents and their caretakers. She moved her skirts out of the way smoothly and the caretakers of the other prisoners winked at each other as she passed.
It took them ten minutes to walk to the mysterious location of her visitor and the gasses thinned to nothing by the time they arrived.
“It’s horribly rude to be taken from my meal.”
Davio nodded, but there was a strange tension in his limbs. Whatever was on the other side of that door, he wanted her to make a good impression.
He paused for a moment and unclasped his mask, stowing it on his belt. He knocked and when the door opened, he gestured for her to enter.
She lifted her imaginary skirt with one hand and swept forward with all the regal bearing she could muster.
Erinii wished she could pinch herself, because she wasn’t sure that the male in robes standing near the window was real.
“This is patient Zakkata. She currently believes that she is the Swan Queen. There is no sanity for you to speak with, Instructor Nemilin.”
The male had long black hair and chalk white skin. His eyes were brilliant blue and their gaze bored into hers.
Hello, Erinii Zakkata. I am here to request that you be remanded into the custody of the Citadel.
She blinked and concentrated.
I would be only too happy to leave, but my government has consigned me here, so how are you thinking of getting me loose?
You are lucid?
Yes. I have been avoiding the catalyst medication that they make us take. With the catalyst, the hallucinogenic gasses have a very dramatic effect.
He bowed low, “Greetings, Your Majesty.”
She inclined her head. “Greetings, Instructor Nemilin, you have interrupted my meal. An appointment should have been made.”
One dark eyebrow lifted in amusement. “Pardon my abrupt appearance, Majesty. I was not planning to visit you but could not pass up the opportunity once I had heard of your charms.”
She tried to blush and batted her lashes. “Oh, sir, you do go on.”
The administrator was looking between the two of them. “You see, Instructor. This woman is clearly out of her mind with delusion.”
He inclined his head. “I will take her anyway.”
“I am sorry, I can’t allow that. She is a danger to herself and others.”
Fifty meters outside the gate, I have a shuttle. It counts as a consulate and carries immunity from seizure. I will remain here for precisely twelve hours. If you can get to the ship, you will be free.
I understand. What is the penalty if I leave now?
She cocked her head and waited for his reply.
Go.
Chapter Three
Four years of repressed energy turned the wall into tiny bits as she slammed an invisible fist through the window. With her indoor slippers, she ran through the hole in the building and tried to find the shuttle as the Instructor had described it.
The first green gas bomb went off and she shielded her body with a four-foot bubble while a second and third exploded within an arm’s reach of her. Erinii deflected the weapons trained on her and kept going, snapping the gate in two as she approached.
She heard the shouts and ran as quickly as she could, her cardio was the only part of her exercise regimen that she had been unable to maintain. Her skin burned and her pulse raced, but she managed to make it to the silvery ship that opened at her arrival.
A skimmer cut her off, blocking her from gaining sanctuary. The administrator was in the skimmer with the instructor.
The moment that the Citadel representative was out of the skimmer, she shoved the transport device aside while clutching the administrator in a fist of power, lifting him fifteen feet off the ground.
She faced the instructor and asked him, “Was your question genuine?”
He stood with his foot on the step of his shuttle. “It was.” He extended his pale hand to her and she took the few steps necessary to close the distance.
He was completely unfazed by her grip on the administrator. The moment that she took his hand, he pulled her inside and pressed a number of keys on the door pad to seal the hatch.
“You might want to release the administrator, Erinii. You don’t want to hold him during launch and we need to be going
right now
.” His voice rose on the last two words and the ship shuddered under their feet.
She lurched and he wrapped her in his arms, holding her tight as the ship lifted off the surface and made for the sky.
“You have a pilot?”
“Sort of. Let’s get you into a seat and then we can discuss whatever you wish.”
He helped her walk along the rocking deck and fight the heavy pressure of gravity.
She fell into the seat with a groan and buckled the harness with her mind. He sat next to her and wrapped his hands around the controls, pulling them out of the atmosphere and dodging the weapon’s fire that was coming from the surface.
“They seem to object to your departure, Erinii.”
She yawned. “They don’t want me, but they don’t want anyone else to have me. It is a story written in the ages.”
He chuckled. “You still don’t believe that this is real, do you?”
She blinked and grinned. “If this was real, you would not be nearly as pretty as you are.”
The laugh that he barked out made her smile. It was a good hallucination to have. His neck was corded with muscle, his robes teased as to what would be underneath and his hair begged to be touched.
Absently, she touched her hair and scowled at the matted red mass that was knotted into a wad on her head. It was at that moment that a trickle of hope went through her. If her hair was this messed up, she might have touched reality. All of her fantasies had held elaborate coifs that were held in place with tiaras or veils.
The knots that she was wearing must have made her look as insane as she had been only one week ago.
She watched the mountains that surrounded the city of her birth grow smaller and smaller as they entered the cloud layer. The Citadel representative was quite the pilot. He pulled them out of the territory of Bassinor and into free and open space.
The moment that they were free of Bassinor space, an escort of larger, sleeker ships surrounded them. Without any words being spoken, another ship moved over them and metallic clangs indicated contact.
A silvery sheet covered the view screens and monitors. “What is going on?”
“The Sector Guard is hiding us from any pursuit and taking us to Citadel Morganti, so you can get some training for that agile mind of yours.”
He lowered the power settings on the ship and turned to face her. “We are stable now. You can unbuckle and walk around.”
She fumbled with the harness and slowly got to her feet, the magnetic, artificial gravity felt odd under her feet, but she managed to get up and move toward the galley where her host was waiting for her.
“Do you mind if I run a cursory scan? It will give us a baseline as to how saturated you are with sedatives.”
She shrugged. “Sure. When you are done, can you find me a hairbrush? I think it has been a while.”
He grinned. “I believe that can be arranged. By the way, we have never been introduced. I am the kinetic instructor at Citadel Morganti. My name is Dravi Nemilin.”
“You already know I am Erinii Zakkata. I was a clerk and now am an escaped prisoner.” She followed him to the fold-out scanner unit and stood with her back to the machine. The clasp of a restraining halo was unmistakable.
His absent smile was all that kept her from ripping the object off her head. The machine chirped as it completed each of a battery of tests and when it was done, she was free.
She jumped as far away from the machine as the narrow confines would allow. “I don’t like that.”
Dravi cocked his head to one side, a slither of dark hair moved over his shoulder and down across his chest. “Is there any particular reason?”
Memories of being tied down, drugged and examined flooded over her. Despite her government’s disdain for talents and psychics, they were intensely curious about how it worked. With her public exposure of her talent, it gave them free reign to abuse her as a lawbreaker.
Her voice was soft as she said, “I don’t like being confined.”
He nodded and smiled gently with understanding. “I will get you that hairbrush.”
The flutter of his robes as he walked into the lav was soothing. The slight, hypnotic sway of fabric as he glided soundlessly through the ship set the possibility in her mind that she was back in the facility and none of this was real.
He brought back three brushes and a comb, handing them to her with another smile. “This should help you to make sense of that mess.”
She blinked. Reality slapped her in the face as his wry expression sent a thrill through her. No one ever called her on her ratty appearance in her hallucinations.
“Thank you.”
There was a seat in the galley-medical-sleeping quarters. She perched on the edge of the seat and divided the snarl of her hair into sections. It took some doing, but with her arms aching and two hours passed, the crimson curtain of her hair surrounded her.
She sighed and wiped the tears from her eyes and cheeks. She sniffled and walked into the lav to wash her face and hands. Her reflection shocked her. Her normally green eyes were surrounded by pink from her tears, her skin was chalkier than normal and the dark circles around her eyes stood out like bruises.
Her lips were pinched and pale as if the stresses of her life were written on her face. With the hallucinations, she should have looked well rested, but she supposed her subconscious had been fighting for its freedom for quite a while. She just wished she knew for certain if this was real or the product of her imagination.
Chapter Four
The shuttle that they were in shuddered.
“What was that?” Erinii had spent the better part of the six-hour trip in complete silence.
Dravi looked at her in surprise. “I thought you were asleep. We are entering the Morganti atmosphere. They will be dropping us off at the Citadel and you will be able to get a proper detoxing in the medical centre and from there, your training will begin.”
“What training?”
“How to use your abilities to your greatest advantage. The planet has allowed us a training ground for this purpose and I have no doubt that after you have recovered from your confinement, you will be up to the challenges.”
“To what purpose?” She really couldn’t see any use for her skills that didn’t involve destruction.
“Our Citadel outpost works with the Sector Guard. We go in where they can’t and do what no one asks of us. It is a far cry from the old ways of doing things. Now, we have a purpose beyond serving the politicians of the Alliance. We can make a difference.”
Erinii ran her hand through her hair and idly started to braid a lock. “Isn’t that a little hackneyed? Make a difference?”
He sighed and looked at her. “If I had not chosen to make a difference, you would not be here. If your caretaker had not chosen to make a difference, you would still be in a medicated stupor on Bassinor.”
She blushed. “Ah, you are correct. Please pardon my slip. I am not used to thinking of myself as useful in any way.”
Dravi’s lips twisted in rueful acceptance. “Please pardon my comment. I forget that we don’t know much about your planet or its customs.”
Erinii was going to say something else, but their shuttle landed with a gentle thump.
The silvery covering surrounding them dissolved and she was staring at a smooth, wide tower surrounded by buildings still in construction.
“Welcome to the Citadel, Erinii Zakkata, your new home.” Dravi released his harness and got to his feet.
Erinii used her mind to flick her harness loose and followed him to the back of the shuttle. Dravi grabbed the storage chip from the scanner as he passed, tucking it into the depths of his robes.
The day was bright, Erinii held her hand up to her eyes as she struggled to adapt to the far more hostile light that bathed Morganti. She followed her rescuer slowly. Her slippered feet were not up for any speed over the rougher terrain of the construction zone.
“The building will be completed within the year.”
Erinii looked around her as she walked. She knew that she would never be able to find her way around until she spent some time learning this particular fantasy. A few figures in Citadel robes waved at Dravi as they made their way to the huge tower that the organization was named after.
The medical centre was waiting for her and when the physicians swarmed her, panic set in.
Memories of the crowd pushing in on her, kicking and striking her until she went down and stayed down ran through her thoughts.
She pushed out with her mind to create a bubble of unoccupied space and though her power flickered wildly, she held them at bay until Dravi pressed his pale hand against the wall she had erected.
“Erinii, you have a lot of toxins in your system that have to be purged as quickly as possible. Healer Brenak will attend you and the others will stand back. Is that acceptable?”
She blinked rapidly, fatigue overwhelming her limbs. “Just the one?”
Dravi smiled helpfully. “Just the one.”
She shook and lowered her protective covering.
A female extended her hand and the others faded back to watch the procedure. “Please come with me, Ms. Zakkata.”
Erinii took her hand and let the healer lead her deeper into the facility and to an exam bed.