He was laughing one minute, and she caught him in her shadows the next. She carried him to her and looked at the server. “Can you bring three bowls of stew please? Robik has increased his metabolism, and he is burning through more calories than he consumes by about five to ten times.”
The woman returned to the kitchen and brought a huge kitchen bowl full of stew. She winked at Noma. “I thought it would be faster to bring the big bowl.”
Noma sat Robik up and held him in a proper position while she spooned up some of the stew gravy, and she slipped it between his lips. She rubbed his neck and he swallowed. It took five spoonfuls before he opened his eyes and he took over feeding himself.
“Don’t use your speed, Robik. You will only need more food, and I am sure that this restaurant closes eventually.”
Urad shook his head. “How do you know the vulnerabilities of the powers?”
“Years of study. I was given access to information on talents and I read everything I could. It put me into the position to come here.”
“Your people know about talents?”
“They hunt them and lock them away, much as your priests are doing here. I think that was why I ended up here. It is a similar situation.”
“And you are saying that your world sent you here?”
“She did. She occupied the body of my sister and sent me through the portal.”
Robik kept eating, but his gaze flicked between them.
Noma removed her shadows from him now that he was eating on his own.
Urad looked at her and he smiled. “I think you have explained enough for one day. I will show you where you can rest and recover from your ordeal.”
Robik was nearly finished with his meal, so Noma got to her feet and patted his shoulder. “Eat when you are hungry and do internal checks to verify your energy level. If you don’t know how to do that, I can show you tomorrow.”
He nodded and she left the café area. Urad followed and when he caught up to her, he offered her his arm. “Hang on to me; you will be staying in the tower until a permanent residence has been arranged for you.”
She looked up at the tower and thought of all the folk she had helped to find the Citadel, and she smiled. “It is appropriate.”
In her new rooms, she had a bathroom, a bed and a window. It was all she needed.
Noma reached into her robes and pulled out the orb. “So, why did you get chucked through the gateway?”
Light danced out of the orb and across her eyes. Numbers, images, details of the local terrain, it was all there.
When the light display was over, Noma was blinking. “What do you mean I am over six hundred years in the past?”
The image of the tower she was in with the word
Citadel
embossed on it repeated over and over again.
“You have got to be kidding.” Noma rubbed at her temples. Exhaustion pounded like a drum in her skull.
The orb tucked itself against her side, but when she closed her eyes, she could still see the word and the image. If this was a Citadel, why wasn’t anyone training?
Daylight ripped into her window with fury. Noma fought the hiss as she got to her feet, and she stumbled to the bathroom with eyes narrowed against the brightness. Morning light was her least favourite.
Summers at her grandmother’s cabin came in handy in dealing with the plumbing and her talent for shadows made it easy to move in the dark. She was going to have to rinse out the bodysuit she wore under the robes. She was fairly sure that she hadn’t earned sufficient work credits to earn a new outfit.
With a deep breath, she opened her door and headed out into the hallway and down the myriad stairs to the main floor, and then, she followed the smell of bakery products.
There weren’t many folk around, but the few who were up gave her sleepy smiles and confirmed that she was, indeed, headed in the right direction.
A few of her students were at the dining area, and they showed her where to go to get the breakfast pastries that everyone else was enjoying.
Breakfast was quick, and when she had put her plate in the washing station, her students hauled her back to the classroom and Noma came to a stunned halt. Eighty hopeful faces turned toward her and she blinked. “We are going to need a bigger room.”
A wave of laughter ran through the crowd, and they went in search of a bigger room.
The breathing and focus class went well outdoors with their backs to the tower, but when they lined up in the practice yard, she had to group them by talents.
The healers were standing by in case anyone got a little carried away and the shielding talents were in front of them.
Fire went first with ice immediately behind them. Water was on the far right, just in case.
“All right, whenever you are ready, fire at will.” She smiled at her own joke and remained on guard to stifle whoever got out of control.
Flames of varying hues shot out randomly, some in streams, some in spurts. The bright heat was intense, and the ice talents kicked in, cooling the air around them and everyone else.
Noma smiled. This is what she had been told the Citadel did. Talents worked together to teach each other and helped personal advancement.
When the flame talents had flickered out, the ice and water talents got together, and several managed to craft sculptures made with their powers.
The crowd applauded when they had run their course and the shifters jumped into action. Claws, spines, fur and scales blurred in a frenzy of shredded fabric and practiced control.
A few false shifts caused a rush from the healers, and Noma watched with attention to detail as the shifters were coaxed out of their half forms and back into normal shape.
When the physical talents had all had a turn, she smiled at the psychics. “I know you want to try your hand, but I believe a more controlled and less emotional environment might do for you. Separate classes will be necessary for practical application. The telekinetics shall practice lifting a single grain of sand and alternately heavy weights. Empaths should work with the newcomers to determine their state of mind as well as work screening newcomers for specific needs they have not detailed. Telepaths should pick information from the library and have a silent debate club, all on different topics and all in the same room. This will teach shielding. I can give you the basics but cannot demonstrate it for you.”
The telepaths grinned and nodded.
“Now, for the three shapers that we have on hand, I am going to set you to tasks that you no doubt have already undertaken. I need a few changes of clothing.”
Laughter rang out, but one young woman gave her a serious look. “Will you come to my chambers for a fitting? I can make up something in bark and local fibres.”
Noma looked at her and smiled. “If you are willing, I will be your dressmaker’s model.”
The young woman gave her a thumbs-up.
Urad stepped forward. “Noma, we have yet to see how your skills would blend with ours.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Really? You want to pair up with me?”
A giggle rolled through the crowd.
Urad bowed, “More than anything.”
She beckoned him forward and called out, “Clear the line. This could get messy.”
They lined up, his right shoulder to her left, and they extended their hands. She placed her hand on his wrist and she glanced up at him. “Ready when you are.”
She could feel the power surging through his arm and gathering in his hand. She met it with darkness, and when he reached critical mass, they fired.
Her darkness and his light twisted together, writhing as they rocketed toward the wall. The crowd cried out as the power ripped through the wall and made a rather sizable hole.
Noma jerked her hand from Urad’s and stepped aside as she cut the power. The hole was dramatic, and it looked as if the power had continued on.
Urad was next to her as they approached the wound in the stone. “We did that?”
She nodded. “We did.”
“Well, as you know all about powers, what would you call this?”
“Vibrational synchronization. I will just say that it isn’t common, and when it occurs in psychics, it can be devastating to those around them.”
“How so?”
“They can broadcast and control others if they are inclined to. It is how entire cities on my world fell to whatever they chose to use to influence them. Paranoia against physical talents was part of it.”
The walls of the hole were smooth and cool. The track of their power had continued and left a scorched mark through the landscape until she couldn’t see how far it went. “Wow.”
She looked at Urad. “I want to see how far it goes.”
Before he could say or do anything, she slipped through the hole and had her shadows sprinting across the landscape. The tower was a tiny speck when she turned and the streak of energy still hadn’t stopped. As far as she could tell, it eased up and into the sky taking out trees, rocks and even the tip of a mountain.
Shaking her head in amazement, she returned to the city, and since the talents were already sealing the hole, she climbed up and over once again.
The crowd was helping the shapers by giving them materials to seal the breach in the wall. Upon seeing how hard they were working, she climbed back over the wall and headed for the nearest pile of tumbled rocks. She lifted a large chunk of minerals with her shadows and hiked back to the tower.
Noma had to admit it was freeing to be able to use her talent and not care who saw it. She hauled the rock up one side of the wall and carefully lowered it from the battlement before she descended herself.
One of the strength talents was already smashing up the rock and handing it to others who put it in place for the shapers. It was an act of community power and spirit and made Noma smile.
Not bad for her second day.
Urad was sitting with her during lunch, and he was still a little stunned around the edges. “I have never felt a power rush like that in my life.”
Noma poured another glass of water from the pitcher. “Me neither. It was quite something.”
“So, are you teaching tomorrow?”
“Yes, I will teach until there is no one else who needs to learn, and then, I will move on to more detailed lessons, classes, tutorials, that sort of thing. Of course, I need to do some exploring. I need to go out and find a pit.”
Urad paused. “Why would you want a pit?”
“I need to know what is inside it and how it works. I suspect that there is a vessel and some cold storage inside one, but I need to get into one in order to make that determination.”
“That will be a dangerous mission.”
She snorted. “I have ripped through time and space. I think I am up to some priests and chains.”
“They have wants, staves, all designed to stun and keep you passive.”
“I am sure they will get in a few good shots, but I am not a normal, untrained power. I know what I can do and I have surrendered to my fate.”
He reached out and grabbed her hand, stroking her knuckles with his thumb. “I do not wish you surrendered to fate, I want you to surrender to me.”
She blinked and wondered if her mind had mistranslated the phrase into something suggestive. “Not until I get a change of clothing.”
He stared at her and started laughing. “I had forgotten that you did not run here with supplies. Minny is willing to make you clothing.”
“I thought she and the other shapers would be too tired after today.”
“On the contrary, working together, they are energized.”
“Can you show me to Minny’s home after we eat?”
“Of course.” He grinned. “I might even stay to find out how this all takes place.”
It took her a moment to realise that he was speaking about watching her get dressed from the skin out.
“That isn’t going to happen. My shadows aren’t just for hauling rocks around; they also make an impressive privacy screen.”
He chuckled and leaned back, his eyes twinkling. “I love a challenge.”
Noma had to admit that Minny had a deft touch and an eye for colour.
“You really don’t have to do this. I am sure that I could manage for a few weeks before I am desperate.”
Minny smiled. “I enjoy the challenge. I come from a family of weavers, so I was able to continue for quite a while without being noticed. It was my fiancé that turned me in to the priests. He saw me working one night and knew that what he was seeing wasn’t normal. The next morning, the priests were at my door.”
She shook her head and kept wrapping the bark over Noma, shaping it into an even fabric.
A thick layer of shadow kept Urad from seeing any details, but he could still participate in the conversation. “Have you dealt with many shapers, Noma?”
“No, but I have heard of the exploits of two very excellent ones. One of them is the lynch pin to the Sector Guard.”
“The what?”
“It is a branch of planetary defense and many of its personnel are from the Citadel.”
“You are using terms that I don’t understand in that context.”
“The Citadel. You know, this large building we are next to.”
Urad continued to speak through the shadows. “This is simply called the city. From what Yahshen has been able to tell us, the city was originally one like any other, but there was an uprising from the pit and the powers broke free and took this place over. The stone shaper built the walls and the folk who lived here were driven out. The city has never had a name.”
Noma was surprised. “But I thought…never mind what I thought. So, you just wait for new talents to show up outside the walls?”
Minny smiled. “That is the way it has always been.”
“We don’t have enough strong powers to go on raids and no idea where to find the ones who need us. What would you suggest?”
Noma felt a sense of rightness. “I think I know where to look. Is the pit still here?”
Urad’s voice was cautious. “I will take you there when Minny has completed your new suit.”
“Good. I need to know what I am getting myself into before I start causing a fuss.” She grinned at Minny and the woman nodded.