The Vulpirans' Honor: The Soul-Linked Saga (31 page)

“Yes, she knows,” Honey replied.  “We didn’t intend for her to know.  We thought it
best, safest actually, for her to believe that we were her parents.  Since we did
adopt her, according to the laws of Terien we are her parents.”

“Why did you change your minds?” Hunt asked.

“We didn’t,” she replied.  “Nica knows...things.  She has a talent for it.  She’s
always known the truth.  Even when she was a baby she would never call us Mama or
Dada like other babies.  So I gave her those names for us, and told her what they
meant.  She was maybe a year old, but somehow she understood.

“When she got older we had to teach her not to contradict people when they assumed
we were her parents.  We also tried to avoid saying that she was our daughter.  It
was a fine line, but it was better than lying in front of her.  I doubt that the distinction
matters, but it made us feel better.”

“What is her gift, exactly?” Vikter asked.  “If you don’t mind telling us.”

“She has two, like I do,” Honey said.  “She sees what
is
.  She can tell if someone really means one thing when they say another.  She knows
what people are really like, inside.  She knew Michael and I weren’t her parents,
for example.  But she also sees things that will come, which can be frightening sometimes. 
The best thing about it is that it isn’t perfect, and it isn’t constant.”

“Do you mean she sees things, and then they don’t happen?” Lance asked.

“No, if she sees it, it happens,” Honey replied.  “I mean that she doesn’t see everything. 
Just bits and pieces here and there.”

“When we brought her home from your Aunt’s that day, she told us that we were going
to marry you, and wanted to know if she would get to shift into our alter-form,” Hunt
said with a smile.  “We didn’t doubt her, but neither did we fully understand her.”

“Did you ask her about it?”

“No, we could not cross-examine a child,” Vikter said.

“Actually, we did ask her one question,” Lance said.  “We asked her what would happen
to her father if we married you.  She misunderstood the question and replied that
Michael would not be marrying us, that he was going to marry someone else, but that
she couldn’t see who.  We asked her no more questions after that.”

“I appreciate that,” Honey said.  “They do not tolerate psychic gifts on Terien, to
put it mildly, but it’s very difficult to teach a child Nica’s age not to talk about
something that is, for her, normal.  The result was she was never allowed to go off
on her own without one of us.  It wasn’t so bad when she was a baby, but the older
she got, the more difficult the situation became.  We didn’t want to isolate her,
but at the same time, we knew that other people’s reactions could be dangerous.  Michael’s
mother cutting off her braid was a warning to us.  That’s one reason why Michael worked
so hard to get the assignment on Earth, representing Terien on the Intersystem Scientific
Counsel.  Earth is much more open minded about such things.”

“Her life, from this moment forward, will be different, Honey,” Vikter said.  “She
will be loved, guarded, and treasured for precisely who she is.  She will never have
to hide anything, never have to worry.  We will see to it, this we promise.”

“Thank you,” Honey whispered, overwhelmed by the sensation of freedom and peace she
was beginning to feel.  Could life really be this good?  This simple?  Was it really
possible to be who and what they were, and be accepted for it?  It was hard to grasp,
even for her.  She hoped it came easier for Nica.

“I just remembered something,” she said, frowning.  “This morning, before I went to
the clinic, Nica was worried about someone named
Shari
, and wanted to know if I knew anyone by that name, which I don’t.”  Honey told them
all that Nica had said that morning, comforted by the serious expressions on their
faces as they listened.  “Usually she doesn’t see things about herself, so this bothers
me even more than usual.”

“Why are you surprised?” Vikter asked when she was finished.

“Surprised?”

“We can feel your emotions as you feel ours,” Lance said.  “Right now, you were surprised
while you spoke of Nica.”

“You didn’t laugh, or brush me off,” Honey said.  “You took it seriously.”

“Of course we did,” Hunt said.  “Why wouldn’t we?  Nica’s fears should be taken seriously.”

“Did Michael not believe in her ability?” Lance asked.

Honey shrugged, and felt their hurt at her reticence.  “Okay, I’ll tell you, but I’m
uncomfortable speaking badly of Michael.  He’s been a good friend to me, and a good
brother to Nica.”

“But?” Vikter asked.

“He knows Nica has a gift, of course,” she said.  “But at the same time, he has a
difficult time taking it too seriously.  Michael was born and raised on Terien with
Terien beliefs.  He never knew he had a psychic talent until after we got to know
each other better and I told him.  He’d been using it for years to a small degree
without even being aware of it.”

“So he knows, but doesn’t really believe,” Vikter said, trying to understand.  “What
else does he not believe?”

“He doesn’t believe that the Teriens will try to take Nica from me when they find
out we’ve defected,” she said.

“What do you think they’ll do? ” Vikter asked.

“They’ve threatened to take her from me,” she replied.  “So yes, I am afraid that
they will.  Michael says that there is no reason for them to do that, and I see his
point.  What would they want with a little girl?”

“You see his point, but you’re still afraid they’ll try to take her,” Hunt said.

“Yes,” Honey replied.  “They won’t take her because they want her.  They’ll take her
to punish us for defecting.”

“What else will they do?” Vikter said. 

“I don’t know,” she said.  “They’ve already pulled my credentials.  The worst thing
they could do to me would be to take Nica.”

“They will not take Nica,” Vikter said, his tone so certain, his expression so absolute,
that she couldn’t help but believe him.

“We should go now,” Lance said.  “It grows late, and you need sleep.”

Honey nodded, as she stood up.  “I feel much better now than I did earlier.  Thank
you.”

“We feel much better too,” Vikter said.  “Tomorrow, when the architect comes, would
you object to our joining you?”

“Not at all,” Honey said with a smile that included all of them.  “It’s going to be
your home too, so I really think you should be there.”

After a gentle goodnight kiss from each of them, the Vulpirans walked off into the
garden, using the garden gate rather than going through the house.  Honey watched
after them for a few moments, wrapping her arms around herself against the mild chill,
realizing that she still had Hunt’s jacket on.  She turned and went into the house,
locked the door behind her and went up the stairs, all in a dreamy haze of happiness. 
After preparing for bed she checked on Nica, brushing a lock of hair from her cheek,
before climbing into her own bed.  She took Hunt’s jacket with her, laying it over
her pillow so that she could fall asleep with the scent of him surrounding her.  She
slept better than she had in months.