“What of Harmony?”
“
She is perfect for me. I felt that she was perfect the moment that she drew near. She almost escaped, but I pulled her in, and now, here she is.
”
Shock rippled through Harmony. She knew she had felt something pulling at her, but this explained the energy blasts that knocked her navigation out.
Son-of-a-bitch.
“
Oh dear. She is angry. I needed her. In time, she will come to accept it.
”
The star faded back and Harmony came through. “Damn it!”
“Welcome back, love. So, did you hear everything?”
She wrinkled her nose. “More than everything. I could hear the emotion from the inside as well. She really did need me as a voice, though I can’t understand why.”
He sighed. “I believe that is where I come in. I am the candidate for the voice of the dark star. I had finally believed that I was in a life path that would keep me away from it, and yet, now I need to confront it.”
Harmony saw the resignation on his face and stepped toward him, blinking when he flinched back.
“You are giving off a lot of heat, Harmony. If I ever want to be with you again, I will need to become your equal. That will mean a trip in the ship.”
She sat back on the exam table. “Explain, but you can turn the recorder off.”
He blinked and smiled. “Good to know that you can still see the world around you when they are tinkering around in there.”
“You are stalling, Nero.”
“I am.” He sat near her on the bed and took hold of one of her hands. She could feel the cool of his skin and hoped that she wasn’t causing him pain.
“Well, as I told you, my species was young when it came to space faring.” He sighed and squeezed her hand. “We were not young when it came to Avatars and the planets who needed them. I woke here and felt a pressure in my mind. I rejected it. I was not going to be used.”
He swallowed. “It continued to press on my thoughts. It was not hostile, but I did not want any part of it. I jumped from the tower and tried to end my life. Yes, my portrait hangs in that tower.”
She didn’t make a sound, though her heart ached for the desperation in his voice.
“I woke again in the tank and was assigned as catcher. On my first mission, I felt the pull toward the rift and instead of answering it, I jumped out of the ship high enough to kill me, or so I thought. I woke in the tank again.”
“Over and over I killed myself and woke in the tank, restored and with a mind full of alien whispers. Finally, I became the restorer. It seemed content with that. Three hundred years as the restorer and I have enjoyed most of it.” He chuckled. “I have really enjoyed the last few weeks, and I believe that the dark star has been waiting for this moment.”
“They knew we would suit?”
“If they are an even match in power, mass and energy, then their Avatars would reflect those same characteristics. That would be us, I suppose. Now, I will need a trip to the rift so the dark star can touch me and I can once again touch you.”
Harmony smiled. “It seems a lot of effort just to get laid.”
“It is not that and you know it. Now, as there is no other restorer, I will need you to take my body here and drop me into a tank once I have been struck.”
I have an answer for that. We can carry him. You can use my energy to fly to the rift and back. Take him to the rift, throw him free of your body and let him be struck by the dark star. Catch him and bring him back to the surface for treatment. He might not even need it.
Harmony whispered internally,
Don’t you know how this is going to work? I mean, you knew you would burn me, did you not?
I did, and I regret it, but you are now ever so strong and capable of withstanding anything. You might even be able to fly free of the rift one day. I do so miss open space.
Harmony shook her head to clear it. “I have to go outside and check something. Am I still classified as a catcher?”
“I don’t see why not. You were injured, not dead.”
“Good. Do I have any clothing here?”
He chuckled. “I will fetch you one of my tunics.”
When she was wearing the dark scarlet tunic, she smiled. “She says I can fly, but I am going to try to go from the ground up and not the roof down.”
He blinked. “Flying? No one mentioned we would be able to fly.”
She saw a bit of boyish enthusiasm in him as they walked out to the path next to the river. The star gave her instructions, and in a moment, the tunic flared and ruffled at the hem, and the next moment, she was in the air, climbing at a rate that should have made her dizzy but instead filled her with riotous glee.
Directions were difficult, speed was amazing, and she didn’t need to breathe as she thought she would. The star was right. She was now capable of withstanding anything.
She swirled through the sky and finally returned to stand next to Nero, though she did land ass first on the ground.
He grinned. “I would help you up, but there is heat coming off you in waves.”
She grinned back. “You have got to try that. Can you wear something to disperse the heat of my grip?”
“There is a metal harness in the retriever building. I can use that.” He waited until she was on her feet. “This way.”
She pattered along with him, finally gliding a few inches from the ground. With the rift so close, it was too easy to pull and use the power.
He looked at her and did a double take. “You are flying even now?”
“I don’t have shoes on.”
“Fair enough, I suppose. This is going to be news.” He smiled and opened the door to the retriever building. The interior was a museum of sorts. All the different techniques used over the centuries to get the fallen out of their ships were displayed on the walls. Some of them were a little barbaric, but it wasn’t like they were hauling living and breathing beings.
Four of the retrievers were sitting in the common room, and they sat up when they saw Nero. “Restorer, what can we do for you?”
Harmony recognized the man as Steklin. One of her early courters.
“The catcher and I require the Masden harness, immediately.”
They looked past him to where she was hovering above the floor in his tunic and bare feet. They jerked in surprise when they realised what they were seeing.
She put her hands on her hips. “Come on, Steklin. Point it out and I will get it myself.”
His hand shook as he pointed to a metal structure mounted on the wall. It was designed to close around the torso but had grips extending from the shoulders for ease of handling. It would be harsh for a fallen but would work fine for Nero.
She grinned and flew up to examine how it was fastened to the wall. She freed it with a jerk that sent bits of rock tumbling. “Oops. Sorry. I don’t know my own strength yet.”
Nero laughed.
She carefully descended, extending the harness to him. “Here you go.”
He took it with his shoulders shaking. The retrievers were staring at Harmony as if she had grown another head.
Nero explained. “She is the Avatar for half the rift. Her body has undergone alteration.”
Steklin nodded. “That appears to be an understatement, Restorer.”
Nero was calmly opening the harness and putting himself inside it.
When it was firm, the men asked him, “What are you doing, Nero?”
“Oh, didn’t I mention? I am the other half. Come on, Harmony. I have a date with a dark star.”
She waved farewell and flew off like a giant brown-skinned pixie. Keeping her hips lowered so that they couldn’t see up her tunic took up all of her concentration. Even giant pixies needed underwear.
Carrying a grown man took some doing. Hoisting him into the air was easy. Flying with a burden and a sense of decorum was a dichotomy that she found annoying. Once she was high enough, she said to hell with decorum and simply poured on the speed.
Even though she was expecting it, it was surprising when he went limp. She had to act fast. She had no idea how long his species could be without air and felt like an idiot for not asking.
She hauled him upward until the blades of light caressed her and darkness reached for him.
“You want him? Take him!” she used all of her might and threw Nero into the clutches of the dark star.
She watched him soar away from her and a ball of dark energy form and approach him rapidly. His body jerked violently when the power struck him, and suddenly, he was hurtling back toward her.
“Shit.”
She flew toward him, matched his pose and then flew backward, letting his body strike hers and slowing it at a measured pace. His body was alive with energy, but his eyes were closed.
Harmony wrapped him in her arms, ignoring the harness. She held him tight and flew them right into the restoration centre. Zipping through the halls, she concentrated on picking the right tank for him. The tank that she had so recently occupied.
With quick motions, she removed the harness, stripped off his clothing and carefully lifted him, easing him into the oxygenated liquid that would allow him to heal.
With nothing left to do, she sat and watched.
His body was not burned as hers had been. It took thirty-six hours, but eventually, he thrashed and his brilliant eyes opened. He surged out of the tank with grace, carefully making his way down the steps.
She blinked at him. “How do you feel?”
His voice was not his own when he spoke. “
Amazing. I understand the fascination with taking an Avatar. I can speak, think and move just like the fallen do. It is wonderful.
”
“Hello, dark star.” She sat at Nero’s desk and watched the stranger in his body walk around and pick things up.
“
Greetings, avatar of the light. Are you enjoying your new status?
” Nero’s mouth showed his amusement.
“The flying is entertaining, but you know why he gave in to you at last.”
“
Of course. He wants you. I have no objection; in fact, I am relieved with just a touch of curiosity. His memories of your time together are quite heated. It is a wonder you didn’t set the bedding on fire without benefit of the touch of a star.
” He chuckled.
“When are you going to let Nero come out again?”
“
When I have finished learning this physical world.
” He beckoned her. “
Come here and kiss me.
”
“What?”
“
My price for returning him to control. I wish for you to kiss me.
”
It was weird. It was a very familiar body but not a familiar mind. “Are you serious?”
“
Do you want him back?
”
“Yes.”
“
Then, kiss me.
” He held his hand out to her, his naked body gleaming in the light. “
I want to know what it feels like first hand.
”
She slipped her hand in his and the heat almost made her moan. It must have been the changes in her because that would have been enough energy to blister her before. He leaned his head toward hers, and she brushed her lips against his. She teased him with tiny strokes of skin against skin, finally licking and parting his lips with her tongue.
He cupped the back of her head with his hand, and his mouth came down on hers with savage familiarity. She held onto his hair as they ravaged each other, and when they finally parted, they were both panting.
She grinned into Nero’s eyes. “Glad to have you back.”
“He is still in here, watching.”
“She is watching as well, but she wants to experience the physical world and is content to let me lead. He seems a little pushier.”
Nero grimaced. “He is. Now, teach me to fly.”
She laughed. “Fine. Go put some pants on.”
He looked down and his cheeks darkened. “I felt so warm, I didn’t realise.”
“Are you in a hurry to fly?”
“Why?”
She removed the tunic and trousers she had retrieved from her quarters. “I thought you might want to give some attention to physical experiences.”
Harmony pressed him back against an exam bed, and he obligingly sat down, reclining when she prodded him. Her fingers glowed, and she traced his body in heat and delicate patterns.
When her fingers circled his cock with heat, he groaned and arched back, his head and heels propelled him into an arc. She released his shaft and climbed astride him. Harmony eased him inside her and smiled. It had only been a short time, but she had missed this.
Nero sat up and arranged her so that her legs were wrapped around him and his hand was in the centre of her spine, pressing her against him. “Ah, Harmony. I have missed you.”
His free hand cupped her buttock and rocked her against him. He kissed her, and she revelled in the delightfully unhurried lovemaking. The star was watching avidly in the background, and Harmony got the idea that she was almost taking notes.
His hands began to roam, and she kept the rocking rhythm that stirred him inside her more than thrusted.
The heat of his touch was torture. Pleasure rippled through her as he cupped her breasts, abraded her nipples and stroked the soft skin underneath.
She didn’t know if they moved together for hours, minutes or days before the tension building in her peaked and she bit softly at his shoulder. She laughed softly as he bit savagely into her skin; her move spurred his release. She had learned that trick on their third day together, and when it stopped working, she would stop using it.
He released her shoulder with a soft kiss. “I have missed you.”
“Well, you need miss me no longer. If I were any closer to you, I would be internal…and you actually are.” She chuckled and kissed his jaw, stroking his hair and flicking the rings in his ears.
“You know, amongst the Kell, if we were wedded, you would wear some of my rings.”
She narrowed her eyes. Those rings were all designed to go through cartilage. “How many?”
“One for the engagement. One for the wedding.” He stroked her ears. “I think they would be very fetching.”
“I would have to find a piercer in the commercial sector and with only one catch under my belt, I am not sure that I have enough credit for it.”
He laughed. “I have the largest medical centre on the planet. I think I can manage a piercing.”