Astral (6 page)

Dorf paled. “A few folk considered it superstitious to invite you.”

“Who are they?”

“A small group. I am sure they won’t do anything.”

He closed his eyes and searched for his mate. “They already have.”

With his senses extended, he swept for Dina, but with so many people in so small an area, it was going to take him a while to pinpoint her. He hoped that she had that much time.

* * * *

Dina had a hangover and she was imbedded in some sort of gel. There were men looking in on her and she had one thought, they were wrecking her gown.

She struggled in the gel, but it held her fast and all attempts to use Arci’s energy caused a nasty fizzle in her system.

Since breathing was not necessary, she simply sent herself out of her body and went looking for Zakkar. He would be able to get her out of this mess.

He was worried and his energy was wreathing around him in a hostile halo. Dorf was barking commands to someone nearby while Zakkar concentrated.

She stood in front of him. “Arci, I am here. I am just a little powerless at the moment.”

Red poured into Zakkar’s eyes and she was staring at the gaze of her star in no time. “Where are you, Dina?”

“Underground and in a thick gel.”

“Can you lead me there?”

“Come on.” She tried to take his hand out of reflex, but she passed through him, only a hint of the tingle she normally felt ran into her.

She followed her connection to her body, chatting and whistling on the psychic plane so that she could keep Arci following her.

It was a strange thing and a few people walked right through her in their rush to get out of Arci’s way. Apparently, glowing red eyes were not considered a good thing on this world. She glanced back at him a few times and the blank determination on his features was enough to keep leading him to the place where she was being held.

When the door was locked to their entry, he blasted it into cinders before passing through.

Four young men sat around a table and one became physically sick when he saw Arci.

“Avatar, it was not my idea. I only mixed the knockout gas. That is all.” The man grovelled and one of his companions struck him with a fist.

“You can play with these boys, or you can come and get me. It is your choice.” Dina tried to get Arci to focus on the task at hand.

He asked the young men, “Why did you take her?”

The leader stood up and jerked his chin in the air. “You tax us to death and you want to know why we took her?”

Arci tilted his head. “I do not tax those in my star system. I never have. I am a star, I need nothing.”

The boys looked confused. “The prefect says that you are demanding tithes that cripple the population. We have starvation and you merely give us the weather to provide you with more.”

“Bring my bride to me, or I will incinerate you where you stand and we will never get to the bottom of this.” The reverberation of his voice was intense.

Two of the lads scrambled into a hatch in the floor and Dina rejoined her body, because she really wanted to know what was going to happen next.

The moment that hands lifted her out of the goo, she breathed in and said, “Put me down and get above. I am not going to be seen like this.”

The young men stared at her as she began to glow and then scrambled up the ladder that led out of the hatch.

She flashed her power over and over until the goo was gone from her body and her clothing. Dry and relatively happy with her appearance, she smiled at the touch of Arci’s mind.

Are you going to join us?

“On my way.” She levitated up and out of the cellar, moving directly to Zakkar and enjoying his embrace.

Dina breathed deeply before she remembered that she didn’t need to breathe. The feel of Zakkar was enough. “I am sorry that I breathed in that gas. I forgot I don’t need to breathe anymore.”

He ran his hands through her hair and kissed her deeply, unconcerned with the would-be terrorists in the room with them.

“I was worried. You are not quite complete yet and they were able to play on your vulnerability.”

The men blinked at them and she leaned against her mate. “So, your prefect is bleeding the people dry and blaming Arci? That is not very nice.”

The leader paled. “How do you know that?”

“I was here. Don’t think that because you have my body, you also have my mind.” She released Zakkar and scowled at her kidnappers. “That was really low by the way. Why didn’t you just talk to me?”

The leader looked harassed. “We were assured that you would not be cooperative.”

Laughter was not polite, but she couldn’t resist. “Who told you that? I have been talking to everyone and I have to say that your people can really hold their liquor.”

The leader looked horribly embarrassed. “The prefect warned everyone that you were delighted with your elevated status and would have no interest in our plight, that you were in search of the profit to be made from our people.”

She laughed. “I have a very nice nest egg from my service to the Alliance. I have enough money to live on for the rest of a normal Terran lifespan. As an avatar, I don’t need money, I don’t even need atmosphere and if I had remembered that your gas wouldn’t have worked…”

Zakkar was behind her, Arci at the forefront and both were unhappy with what had happened to her.

“I am a mediator by trade, so tell me what your grievances are and what the prefect has said about the avatar and we will get this sorted. Do you have any access to election laws of your people? I need some light reading.”

She could feel amusement coming from her mate and her star. To the astonishment of the young men, they took seats at the table and as the tale unfolded, they came up with a plan to find the accounts that the prefect was withholding.

The golden-green goof was not going to know what mediated him.

Chapter Ten

The people of the city were gathered in the square. Many were the worse for wear, but they all appeared when the prefect called an emergency meeting.

“People of Shakin, the avatar of Arci has left us after his bride was kidnapped last night. As a penalty, he is claiming ninety-five percent of all harvests this season. We will engage in this penance, because it is the right thing to do for the star who gave us a home.” Dorf made his announcement to the hung-over population.

From above, Dina and Zakkar descended, landing in front of the prefect, much to his shock.

Dina said sweetly. “It is so thoughtful of you to try and give me recompense for the assault and confinement.”

Her voice echoed through the square, no audio system was required, Arci was at work.

Dorf was sweating. “Avatars, I thought you had left.”

Zakkar grinned. “We know. We also know that you have been collecting taxes on our behalf, but funnily enough, we have never demanded taxes or tithes.”

A wave of shock went through the crowd.

Dina asked the terrified man, “So, how long has this been going on?”

“Centuries, Arci. Over four hundred years.” Dorf looked like he would faint, so Dina grabbed him by his shirt and hung on so that he didn’t topple over.

Zakkar’s eyes closed and Arci showed Dina his thoughts. Five hundred years ago, the final generation of Valoi were born. Zakkar had spent every moment he could with his people, but it was no use. They simply lived for thought and died at the age of one hundred fifty. Zakkar had been home for the death of every one of the last generation, an obligation that he had taken on with Arci’s cooperation.

Zakkar had been grieving and the leaders of Caros had taken advantage of the absent avatar.

“It seems to me that as compensation, the accumulated accounts should be distributed evenly across the entire population, all of the participating prefects will have all assets seized and they will be banished from all civilized societies.”

Dorf spluttered. “You can’t do that. I have a wife and family.”

Dina lifted him easily, holding him high and levitating so that the gathered folk could see him. She turned him so that he faced those staring at them. “They have families, Dorf. They needed every bit of earnings that they could manage and you and your ilk took it from them, promising them Arci’s retribution if they did not hand over everything. That is obscene, Dorf. Rest assured that there will be a full audit and from this moment on, no transfer of funds or data will leave Caros.”

With him dangling twenty feet above the podium, he was choking and babbling.

“I could kill you right now, you know. It wouldn’t even take a second. One moment you would be here and the next you would be nothing but ash. Do you like that thought?”

He shook his head violently.

“Then why did you think it would be a motivator for your people to work? Fear leads to resentment and now that they know who is behind this mess, I think you will have quite a hard time in convincing them to do anything.

“Now, as my gift to you, I am offering you the chance to do good in this life. Leave the city, take your family, or leave them to live without you. It is up to them to choose their path.”

Dorf passed out. Apparently, a fear of heights trumped a fear of being immolated.

Sighing, Dina landed next to the podium and she dropped Dorf to the stage. Zakkar held out his arm and she went to him. “Did you manage to contact the Sector Guard?”

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I did. They are dispatching Frost and Finder to do the audit as well as a few others to round up all the prefects. It seems that we will have to hold an election.”

She laughed. “We will give them whatever they need. They have been abused in Arci’s name for too long.”

He agreed and together, they fielded questions from the rapidly sobering Carosians. It took hours to answer everything and there were three attempts to drag Dorf off and beat him to death, but in the end, everyone looked forward to earning off the fruits of their labours and a new planting season began.

Finder was a charming woman and a Terran to boot. Dina had a lovely time just listening to the peculiar turn of phrase that was native to her people before she stepped forward for introductions. “Hello, Finder. I am Dina, second avatar of Arci.”

Finder smiled and extended her hand. “Pleased to meet you.”

Zakkar and Frost were deep in conversation, so Dina steered Finder toward the workstation that they had organized for her at city hall.

Finder asked the question before Dina had the urge to explain. “How long have you been an avatar?”

“About a month and a half, but it beats waiting for the Alliance to choose a man for me.”

Finder stared at her, shock in her features. “You’re from Earth!”

“I am. Or was. I am not sure what the term is.” She looked down at her white skin with onyx sparkles and shrugged.

Finder touched her arm. “It’s hard but really warm. Did it hurt?”

Dina chuckled. “Not really. I went for a nap and when I woke up, the power was firmly seated. The rest happened within a week or so.”

Finder sighed. “Things have a tendency to do that kind of thing out here. They either go full speed or they crawl along. There never seems to be anything in between.”

Dina looked across the room to their men. “So, you got one of the dragons?”

Finder grinned. “I did.”

“How is he?”

“He’s great. Charming, protective, but he lets me do my own thing and waits for me to ask for backup. How is the star?”

“It is a peculiar situation. We have two bodies in our relationship but three minds. It gets a little weird sometimes.” Dina ran a hand through her hair.

Finder snickered. “Well, enough of the pleasantries. What do you need me to do?”

Dina sat down and outlined the situation—the prefects, the tithes and the impoverished populace. “We need to find as much of that money as we can to get it back here and to the people it was taken from.”

Finder began to work at the terminal. “City-wide or global?”

“Global. I am thinking that they transferred some of it off world to keep it hidden.”

“Good thought. Okay, let me do my thing. I will have Frost find you when I have something.”

Dina let the pro do her job and paused next to Zakkar. “I am going out to help the farmers in the fields. Finder has the audit in hand.”

He nodded and she levitated to leave the hall via the window.

The farmers were a little appalled at her presence until she started hauling some of the old manual ploughs through the dirt.

Her changed body didn’t sweat, her food was burned rather than digested and she never really got hungry anyway. Hauling the ploughs merely took time and she was able to reach areas that the wide blades of the machines could not.

When a break for lunch was called, she sat with the ladies and a child crawled up to sit on her lap. The mother rushed forward to pull the child away, but Dina sat and crooned a lullaby to the child until she passed out in her arms.

“I came from a fairly large family. No baby can resist my voice.” She smiled and forked up some of the salad that the ladies had served to her.

“Will you and the avatar have children?” The questioner was a teen, but it was still a good question.

“I have no idea. The star has changed the way my body works, so I am not sure that I can have children. From stories I have heard, an ex-stellar avatar has had a child, but she didn’t have the radiation of the star running through her constantly anymore.” She chuckled. “We have a lot of time to work it out no matter what happens.”

The women sighed at the romantic notion and some sent angry glances toward the men’s table.

Dina had to ask. “Why do you sit separately from the men? I thought this was an equal society.”

Lorrar, the headwoman at this farm, smiled. “In case you hadn’t noticed, my dear avatar, they smell.”

She giggled quietly so as not to wake the toddler in her lap, but it was incredibly funny. “I hadn’t noticed. I only breathe to speak now and my nasal cavity isn’t rigged for detailed discrimination.”

Lorrar seemed appalled. “How do you taste anything?”

Dina bit her lip and confessed. “I don’t. I just eat because people keep shoving food at me. I don’t need it. It is a conditioned behaviour.”