Her psychic blades were secondary to her dreams and while her family didn’t advertise it, they were definitely part of her. All of those who had witnessed it simply accepted her talent but didn’t talk of it in casual conversation. Sure, they may have gotten drunk and shared stories of being near her when she used them, but it wasn’t something mentioned in polite company.
Her dreams were her true weapon and they were only common knowledge for her family.
With her shoulders straight and her senses on the alert, she took the first steps into the jungle and away from the safety of the shuttle.
Three hours later, she was drenched in sweat and she could hear Venin breathing behind her. “I am calling a break.”
The temperature had turned the already-humid air into a thick, gaseous soup that made it hard to breathe and harder to exert herself.
She examined a log for inhabitants and then took a seat. Venin sat next to her and he swatted at the insects that were trying to make friends with him.
“Why aren’t these bloodsuckers after you?”
She grinned slightly after fishing out a small ration cube. “The energy that powers my knives causes a change in my personal electric field. Bugs don’t like it. I can also turn it up to fry them if I am so inclined.”
She shaved a slice of ration off with one of the blades she wore. With slow and measured chewing, she broke the small slice down into nothing before swallowing. She had no urge to get bound up internally while in the jungle and the compressed rations would do precisely that if she ate too much.
A sip of water washed the food away and she carefully took another bite.
Taking pity on Venin, she reached out and caressed his arm lightly, placing a hint of her charge into his suit. The bugs shot off in every direction.
“Thank you. I think I am down a pint.” He grinned and took out his own rations, sipping and chewing in turn.
“How far do you estimate we are?”
Venin lifted the small beeping object off his belt. “We are making amazing time. It is almost like you have been here before.”
She snorted. “Not likely. This is my first time off Keroa.”
He gave her a look that she couldn’t decipher, but she suspected that he had a suspicion that she was not a one-talent woman.
“Then it is true. Your people don’t leave often.”
“No need to. Keroa is sparsely populated and has ample farm and hunting grounds. We don’t need to go anywhere to get what we need to live and thrive.” She shrugged and put the rest of her ration cube back into her pouch.
She took a few more sips from her flask and put in back into position. “Let me know when you are ready.”
He blinked at her. “You have quite a bit of stamina. It’s good to know.”
Iris looked at him with suspicion. “Why?”
He grinned, “When it happens, you will know.”
With that peculiar comment ringing in her mind, she returned to the path that was glowing in her mind.
They had gone on for half an hour through thickening jungle when her distraction almost cost her her life.
The beast swung down from the tree and swiped at her with a wide yellow claw. She jumped back and slammed into Venin. With nowhere to retreat, she extended her psychic blades and slashed at the creature.
It yowled in shock and backed away, only to swing around her and try to attack from behind.
Venin shook and shifted his form, gaining a muzzle as well as huge claws.
For a moment, Iris wasn’t sure which one deserved her blade, her companion or the jungle beast.
Venin circled around it and it fled toward her and away from the other predator.
As swiftly as she could, she jammed her blades into it at the base of its spine, breathing easier as the creature slumped to the jungle.
Venin’s wide golden eyes stared into hers as he approached. She noted the feline features, the flat nose and visible fangs. To her shock, his tail lashed from side to side.
“Um, Venin, you have a little something on your face, like fur and pointy teeth.”
His words were slow but clear, “You are not afraid.”
“I am not. I have the ability to stab you at my whim, remember? It is quite the confidence builder.”
He let out a slow, coughing laugh. A deep purr rumbled from his chest.
“You are not pure Azon, are you?”
His smile was toothy enough to be frightening, but she found it fascinating. “I am not. This is what happens when Morin genes combine with the right Azon genetics. We get the best of both worlds. The same as when it happens in your species.”
She blinked rapidly. “So, you are part Morin?”
“More recently than the Keroa but still an unexpected blend. The Azon males are far more protective of their females than your folk, but some of the Morin managed to get their genes into our species.”
Iris shook her head. “Do you stay like that?”
He laughed. “If it does not bother you, it does make it easier for me to navigate in the jungle.”
“Be my guest. Let’s get going. That creature was part of a social group and was defending their territory. We don’t want to be here when the rest of them show up.”
He nodded and gestured for her to lead once again.
Somehow, having his new form at her back was even more disturbing than his original shape. She was in trouble.
Chapter Seven
It was nearing sunset when they broke cover and were suddenly on the rocky edge of the volcano that was their ultimate target.
“What do you know about the folk who hid the crystal here?”
He grinned with his frightening show of teeth. “As much as you do. The Morin were the ones who hid the crystal here. They wanted to make sure that it wasn’t used for unsavoury uses and with the power of weather channelled through it, it would devastate whole worlds.”
“The Morin are the dead gods?”
He shifted back into his normal form. “They are. In a last-ditch effort to pass on their bloodlines, they stopped at every planet with compatible females and did what they could to keep their genes circulating.”
“And they hid their technology wherever they went.”
Venin’s smile applauded her for catching on as quickly as she had. “Exactly.”
She got to her feet. “We need to get to the staging area and rest for the night. The Morin planted any number of secrets in their caverns and we need to be alert to find our way.”
His eyes widened. “How do you know that?”
“You are not the only one with more than one talent. What is your psychic ability?”
He chuckled. “Isn’t my other form enough?”
She laughed. “It is, but I doubt that you use your tail to get you where you need to be.”
“You show me yours and I will show you mine.”
She was too tired to do more than scowl at him. With her mind focussed on the glowing path in front of her, she sparked up her blades and found the entrance into the cavern that would lead them to the crystal.
“Stay back. This is going to get bright.” With a look at the stone on either side of her, she jammed the blades into the walls and her power flowed along the crystal veins that ran through the huge inner room.
When the room resonated at the same frequency as her body, she cut the power and watched the glow pulse lightly with her heartbeat.
She flipped out her small blanket and watched as the pad under it inflated lightly.
“How did you know how to do that?”
Exhausted, she stumbled and sat heavily on her small, lumpy sleeping pad. “It is one of my skills. Well, not really a skill, but when I am about to go on a hunt, I am given the path in a dream the night before. I knew about those tree creatures and I knew that they don’t travel alone for very long.”
He reached into his pack and he flicked out a small square that popped up into a tent large enough to hold his tall frame easily.
He gave her a glance that held some meaning she couldn’t decipher. “Come on in, the air pad is more comfortable than that little thing.”
She scowled. “I am all sweaty. I don’t want to inflict that on you.”
He walked to her spot on the stone floor and knelt on her bedroll. Without asking permission, he pressed his nose to her neck and inhaled deeply. “You smell divine.”
Her blush could have lit the room and the light above them pulsed rapidly.
“I don’t think that it is appropriate that we share a tent.”
Venin winked. “Well, I can’t show you my talent unless we are close together.”
She raised her brows in surprise. “You are kidding.”
“I am not. If you want to see what I can do, you will have to share a comfortable night’s sleep with me.” His eyes were sincere, but they shifted to take on a feline cast.
Huge kitten eyes stared at her and she couldn’t hold her composure. She laughed and gave in. “Fine. I will just eat dinner and then join you in your tent. No funny business though.”
He held up both hands. “I promise, nothing funny.”
She took out her knife and shaved off another strip of ration. Being polite, she offered it to him.
Venin’s eyes widened as he chewed slowly. “What is that? It’s amazing.”
“Keroa ration cubes. My mother makes them for me. She takes my favourite foods, compresses, dries and compresses them again until I get a three inch cube that I can eat for days.”
He asked for more and she felt she needed to warn him, “Drink a lot of water or you will get a little…congested.”
He nodded and sipped at his water bottle. “I think I am running low.”
When he sniffed for fresh water, she nodded to the far corner of the stone chamber. “There is a small waterfall there, but I will have to come with you. If you take water from the basin, it will paralyze you.”
“How do you know this?”
“I told you, it is part of my talent. I know where I need to go and how I need to get there safely. The proper path glows and anything else remains dark.”
“What is wrong with the water in the basin?”
“It has absorbed the metals that line the basin. It is a very effective paralytic.” She didn’t explain the images she had of men, women and animals all lying on the edge of the pool.
Iris noted that the bones of the dead were mostly dust by this point, but she still sought out the small, hidden steps in the side of the waterfall. “Give me your water bottle.”
He handed her the collapsible bottle and she tucked it under the strap of her long knife as she climbed to the mouth of the waterfall where it came out of the crystal.
“Why are you going so high?” He was standing at the foot of the falls and staring up as she worked her way up the fall.
“The mineral here taints the water the moment that it strikes it.” She leaned out and held his water bottle under the fresh flow that only touched the psychic-sensitive crystal.
Carefully, she propped the full bottle on her knee to cap it before she dropped it. Her own water bags were filled one at a time and carefully slung back onto her belt.
Iris’s arms were shaking with fatigue when she managed to finish getting water and stood next to the pool once again. “Well, there, we are set for tomorrow.”
She yawned and headed for her bedroll again.
He beat her to the small, flat blanket and gathered it up, shifting it into the tent. “Come along. You are exhausted.”
She followed him meekly and when he stepped into the tent, he pressed something along the wall that caused an outward expansion.
“That should help with the confinement issue.”
Iris sighed. “I rarely use shelters unless I have to.”
“You have to. Now, take off your blades and lie down.”
Her mind was blanked by exhaustion, so she did as she was told. The climb up the waterfall had used the last of her energy.
One by one, her seven knives were removed and placed next to her bedroll. She sat heavily and slowly relaxed. She pulled one of her knives and sliced off some more dinner, using the water sparingly.
Her body ached and she wanted nothing more than to pass out, but she had to ask. “So, Venin, what is your talent?”
He grinned and knelt next to her. “Lie back.”
She blinked and slowly straightened her limbs as she settled herself on the bedroll.
To her surprise, he lifted one of her hands and caressed the palm. Heat spiralled through her as well as a completely relaxed sensation.
That one touch gave her the feeling of a full-body massage and she smiled, letting his caress carry her off to sleep.
Chapter Eight
He was watching her when she woke.
Iris put it together rapidly. “You have the touch of the Morin.”
Venin shrugged. “Yes, but it is not strictly for seduction, I used it to relieve your tension last night. Your muscles were a disaster.”
She chuckled and sat up. “I am aware and you were right, this was more comfortable than simply sleeping on the ground.”
“Glad I could be of some small service. Have breakfast and we can go.”
She smiled and reached for her pouch. When she removed a fresh cube, she couldn’t help but notice his longing look. “Would you care for some?”
His grin sent her chuckling and she shaved off a few curls for him. “Here you go.”
Iris took a few curls for herself before tucking the rest of the cube away. She ate, drank and then got to her feet. “Before I suit up, I need to find a suitable spot for a lav.”
“Out the cavern opening and to the left is a suitable area.”
She nodded and left him to attend to nature.
When she returned, she washed her hands in the pool at the base of the fall. She wiped her hands on her trousers and returned to the tent.
“I thought that the water was toxic.”
“It is if you drink it. I have already eaten and my water is in a container. There is no danger of cross contamination.” She started to put her blades back into position and when she was dressed for the day, she grinned. “Ready?”
Venin smiled. “If you are. Lead the way.”
She laughed. “I dreamed about our path today. Stay close and keep ready. You may want to shift yourself a little, it will improve your reflexes.”
He nodded and his face changed into its feline form, his tail lashing behind him.
“Your suit is custom made for this, isn’t it?” She admired the fit openly. For all he knew, she was staring at the workmanship.