Guarding Forever (3 page)

There was an expression on Ulroc’s face that made her think the man’s spouse was leaving something out.

The tables filled, and Ohra took a sip of her wine. Another sip and she put it down. A shadow fell over her as the final chair was filled, the one on her right.

“Don’t you like wine?”

“I haven’t had it before.”

The man sitting next to her was an Edinar. He had broad shoulders, black hair with silvery threads running through it and deep blue eyes. His strong jaw spoke of a stubborn nature, but his hands had the grace of a man who played an instrument.

He extended a hand to her. “General Forin Thanloss, at your service.”

She slipped her hand against his. “Ohra Ianic.”

He smiled and lifted her hand to his lips. “I am very pleased to meet you.”

She felt a distinct tingle in her skin at the light contact. The moment she could slip her hand back into her lap, she did. She also covered the kissed appendage with the other as if to protect the sensation and keep it with her.

The conversation around the table slid into political subjects, and since Ohra was hopeless at politics, she remained quiet and sipped at her wine.

A low voice asked her. “Where are your thoughts, you seem a million miles away?”

She sighed and out of her mouth came, “I am on a cliff, watching the stars and guarding forever.”

He jerked back a little, “What did you say?”

Before she could answer, the key speaker for the evening called everyone to attention and began a long and historical information session on how the Edinar came to be there.

She sipped at her wine again, made a small face and put it down.

After a droning explanation, the speaker said, “And none of this would have been possible without the monitors who volunteered to join this project via rigorous testing and exhaustive exams. They made it through, and those, we are here to speak to today. They put their lives and sanity on the line to keep the Edinar safe, and to them, we owe our current state of economic growth. Would all the monitors, please, stand.”

Ohra moved her chair back, and the general got to his feet to assist her. It was the most polite thing anyone had ever done for her.

She stood there with the other monitors, their shorn hair a definite clue as to their identity. Once the applause and pictures died down, she returned to her seat.

The general offered her more wine, but she was still only halfway through her glass. Ohra sipped a few times and sat still while her head spun.

The Edinar were listed, and their accomplishments in the physical world were mentioned as well. They were helping to propel the Horalthians into a higher social standing in the universe, and they were doing a wonderful job. Manufacturers were streamlining, the society had record low unemployment and manpower was happier than it ever had been.

Everyone clapped as the Edinar rose, and Ohra felt a sense of pride in whichever one she had brought into the world. She had hoped that she could keep the memories, but no matter what she did, they wouldn’t come back to her.

It was the most frustrating part of being a monitor. She knew that she had done something to keep her charge calm, but she had no idea what it was or who it was.

When the Edinar sat again, a meal was served. That surprised her. Only those seated were being given a meal. She looked over her shoulder at the dignitaries and vid stars that were in attendance.

General Thanloss tapped her hand. “Don’t worry about them. They were only allowed visitor passes for this event. It was never meant for them.”

“I feel weird that they are watching us eat.”

He laughed. “Understandable, but it is no reason to let the meal go to waste.”

She gave him a shy smile. “Good point.”

Ohra nibbled at the vegetables and sliced the meat into small pieces that were easy to chew.

“How long were you a monitor?” Thanloss was apparently chatty.

“Six months.” She nibbled her way through the food on her plate.

“What are you doing now?”

Ohra looked over at his curious features. “I am a student. Well, I am a medic, but I am going into a specialty so I can get back into the program.”

“You can’t be a monitor again?”

She shook her head. “I died on the table a few times during the link. I can’t take another assignment on.”

He looked surprised. “You died?”

“Yes, they said my heart stopped. The chemicals that they used to enable us to communicate with you can stress our bodies. We are chosen because our minds are a close match, and we hope the medics can keep us alive long enough to bring you out of it.”

“So, the monitors here all risked their lives for us?” Thanloss looked around the room.

Ohra followed his gaze. Pale men and women were dotted around the tables. The monitors all had the same look about them. They had seen another world and had been changed by it.

The rest of the politicians, the officers, they all had a solid connection to the physical world, and it showed in their faces, their robust colour and their animated attitudes. The monitors looked like shadows of the moon, pale and quiet next to the blazing sun of the others.

The Edinar were something else entirely. They were flames of energy that crackled and popped even though they were sitting at rest.

Ohra catalogued the differences with interest. She had never seen them all together in a room like this before.

“What are you seeing when you look out through those huge blue eyes?” Tanyos brought her attention back to the others at the table.

“I am seeing the changing face of our world represented in this room. It is something to see, all the different levels of energy and the burning minds in the room.” She covered her mouth when she realised that she had mentioned the minds. Outside of a link, she shouldn’t have been able to see them.

The two Edinar at the table stared at her, and she tried to make herself invisible.

Thanloss asked, “You can see their minds?”

She leaned toward him and whispered. “No. Just the energy that they are giving off.”

He nodded.

When dessert had been served and consumed, music played and couples took to the floor. Ohra had seen dancing on vids, but to see it in person made her heart ache.

She had seen affection before, but around the dance floor, there were those couples that glowed with love.

“Do you dance?” Thanloss leaned in and whispered.

She shook her head. “No. I tried in school, but I was unable to surrender control.”

“Would you care to try?”

She blinked. “Here? In front of all these people?”

He smiled and rose to his feet, offering her his hand. “I am sure I can find somewhere quiet for your first lesson.”

“You want to teach me?”

His smile was gentle and encouraging. It was a strange expression for such a hard-looking man.

With hesitation, she slipped her fingers along his skin. She felt an electric jolt of recognition at the touch, as though she had felt it before, but she knew that she hadn’t.

He helped her to her feet, and instead of heading for the dancers, he walked through the observatory with her at his side. He carefully helped her up the stairs, across a balcony and out the doors.

They were on the wide deck, looking out at the world with the stars dancing above them.

He turned her to face him. “Now, put your hand in mine, place the other hand on my arm and look into my eyes.”

She looked up into the dark blue gaze and faced him with the stars overhead. In her pale blue gown and he in his smart uniform, they stood and looked at each other while the stars watched.

He took a step toward her, and she stepped back, the music inside was audible, and they moved in slow concert with the orchestra within.

Ohra felt a strange recognition in being held in his arms. They danced around to song after song, getting nearer to each other with every change in music.

“Why do I feel we have met before?” When he pulled her in tight enough for her bodice to brush his uniform, she suddenly felt very chatty.

“Perhaps we have.”

She blinked. “I am fairly sure I would have remembered that.”

“Perhaps not.” Thanloss smiled down at her.

He held her tight against him and twirled her around. “Are you ready to try this in public?”

“You promise not to drop me?” She twisted her lips with indecision.

“I promise.” He grinned.

She released his hand, and he slowly stepped away from her. Once again, he offered her his arm, and he escorted her back to the party.

The music was louder, the dance floor was thick with dancers, but General Thanloss held her politely and steered her through the confusion.

The motion of his body moving against hers became the focus of the dance. She waited for the next brush of heat against her and held her breath when it came.

They danced for hours, until the crowd dwindled and it was time to go.

He stepped away from her and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “You look exhausted. You should go.”

She smiled. “Thank you for a very enjoyable evening. I wish you luck and joy for the future. You and your people are helping us usher in a golden age.”

Ohra went up on her toes and took her first proper kiss in front of all those remaining at the celebration.

She collected her clutch from the table and waved farewell to the bemused general.

At the front gate, she looked around and lifted her private com. She called for a car, but it would be forty-five minutes before it could arrive. She was going to have to wait in the evening air.

She explained her loitering to the guards nearby and took up a watching position outside the main pathway so she could watch the Edinar and the politicians picked up by car after car.

The low stone wall let her kick her feet as she watched, and it was only when she felt a gaze on her that she turned her head to look up at General Thanloss on the decking above her. With a smooth move, he leapt over the railing and landed on the stone in front of her. “I thought you had left.”

“I am waiting for my car.”

He blinked. “Didn’t they make arrangements for you?”

She shook her head. “Not that I am aware of. I got an invitation and was told to show up. That was all. At least with most people gone, I won’t have to hike down the hill.”

He raised his hand and a sleek black vehicle pulled up. “Cancel your car. I will take you home.”

She pinked in embarrassment. “It is fine. It will all be fine.”

“Yes, it will, now cancel that car.” He offered her his arm.

She lifted her com, and against her better judgement, she cancelled the car.

Ohra hopped off the stone wall and wrapped her fingers around the arm he held out to her. He walked her to his car and settled her in before closing the door.

Thanloss slid in on the opposite side and closed the door. “Where are we taking you?”

“Three-seventy-eight Dohl Street.”

He relayed the order to the driver who merely raised a brow at the address.

Ohra sank back into the plush cushions. “It isn’t the best area of town, but it is cheap, and it means I can continue my education beyond what the monitor fee gained me.”

“There is no reason to explain. I was raised in a poor area, and it shaped me into what I consider to be good and proper. I try to judge people by their actions and not their income bracket.” He patted her hand.

“How have you judged me?”

The words hung between them, and he reached out to touch her jaw with two fingers, turning her head so that her gaze me this. “I do not have the right to judge you. I see you. Every inch of your soul glows brighter than the stars above us.”

His eyes said that he was speaking the truth. When he leaned in to kiss her, she returned the kiss with an enthusiasm and skill she didn’t know she had.

He pulled her into his lap and slid a hand into her hair, kissing her wildly while they drove into her neighbourhood.

The driver cleared his throat. “Excuse me, but we are here.”

Ohra jerked back and fought her skirts as she tried to get out of the car.

General Thanloss held her and whispered, “Calm down. We did nothing more than kiss.”

She blinked frantically and bit her lip. “I really think I should go now.”

He sighed and opened his door, walking around to open the door on the sidewalk side of the vehicle. He extended his hand, and she used it to help her get out and untangle the twist she had made of her skirts. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure. I will see you to your door.”

She shook her head. “That is not necessary. I am on the top floor and there is no lift. You have had a long night as well. At least I get to pass out when I finish my climb.”

He scowled and looked around, seeing the shabby nature of their location. “Why are you here?”

“It is inexpensive and the transit takes me to my classes with only an hour’s transfer time.” She tried to move past him, but he shifted to block her.

“May I call on you again?”

Ohra looked up at his sincere features. “Why would you want to?”

While he stood shocked, she slipped around him and scuttled through the doors of her apartment and up the stairs.

* * * *

Forin watched her run from him, her pale blue skirts fluttering as she moved. The way she had moved when she didn’t want to speak to him anymore confirmed it. She was his monitor.

He returned to the car and said, “Home, Niric.”

“Yes, General.”

Their insistence on referring to him by his rank even though he had no army or air force to follow him never failed to amuse.

Ohra Ianic was his monitor. He could remember the feel of a woman in his arms; her kiss was sweet and had the same curiosity that his instincts remembered. Instinct had driven him and several of the other Edinar to seek out their monitors.

Whether the Horalthians knew it or not, they had managed to match most of the Edinar with members of their species that were mentally compatible, and in many cases, they were physically compatible as well. Those were the monitors that the ball had been meant for, to bring them out where they could be seen and recognized again.