“I would no sooner make you over than damage a sculpture or paint over a portrait. You are as you were evolved to be. Rejoice in that.”
“I will try. Why did you make the eyes of your people into rainbows? Why so many colours?”
“They came together out of twelve different species, and I honour them all.”
He blinked and the bright rainbow of Benliar’s gaze was back.
“That looks better. Roden is informative, but you actually have an expression on your features.” She smiled at him.
His smile was slow, but he kissed the back of her hand before tucking it under the covers and stroking her hair. “Good. My expression is currently fixed so that the worry doesn’t bleed through. Your mind is holding nicely.”
She smiled and did a personal check. “It is, and the edges of my consciousness are still retracting and being reinforced. Give me another month and I might be able to run around without you.”
Spot waddled up the blankets and burrowed against her chest.
“He was worried as well.”
Wim made a face. “How long until the doctor gets here?”
“Why?”
“I probably shouldn’t eat or drink anything until I have that scan you are insisting on. If there is something wrong, an empty stomach will make things easier.”
He nodded and revised the directions to one of the bots.
“They will wait on the broth until you have been given the all clear.”
She smiled and relaxed as fatigue swamped her. A trill of worry ran through her. This didn’t feel normal. A headache pressed inward, and she slid a hand under her hair along her scalp. Perhaps seeing a doctor wasn’t a bad idea after all.
The woman’s hands were steady as she ran the examination scanner over Wim’s body. “Everything seems fine.”
Wim looked her in the eye. “Check my head.”
The scanner moved up and the doctor’s expression grew solemn. “Ah. Well that would do it.”
Benliar looked up. “What is it?”
Dr. Nejik closed her scanner. “Tumour at the base of her skull. It is small, but it is capable of disrupting her ability to control any psychic talent. It looks disruptive but benign.”
Wim smiled brightly, “Can you remove it?”
“I will need to do further scans at the medical centre. I am not equipped to do surgery here.”
Benliar was scowling, “When?”
“Give me a few hours to prepare. When can you have her there?”
Benliar scooped Wim and Spot up, and he strode to the window. It burst open at his approach. “Call them to run the diagnostics the moment I arrive. We will be there in ten minutes.”
Dr. Nejik nodded and Benliar took off.
Wimsah put her face against his shoulder, and she said, “You don’t have to be in such a hurry.”
“You knew.” His tone was grim.
“I was pretty sure.”
“Why didn’t you mention it?”
“Because my people couldn’t treat it and the Balen healer was concentrating on keeping me alive with some muscle tone. Pretty sure that my physio didn’t cover my head.”
He scowled. “I am going to discuss that with Balen. Your medical issue should have been visible.”
“Should have been but wasn’t.”
He held her tight with the bedding wrapped around her. She had to admit that this time she was far warmer than the first flight.
The diagnosis was both a relief and a source of tension. For the last three years, she had been aware of the degradation of her self-control, and it had been a suspicion that there was something in her head. Getting treatment on Resicor had been out of the question. Her mind glowed on the scans and they wouldn’t be able to miss that little tidbit. Fear had almost cost innocents their lives. That was what she couldn’t stand.
Spot was facing the wind and his eyes were half closed in pleasure. He enjoyed flying.
The medics met them on the roof and put her on a gurney for her exams. There were several doctors on site who ran all of the pre-surgery scans, and then, Dr. Nejik arrived and things got into full run.
Being sedated again didn’t really feel like something she should do, so when Nejik suggested that she should be awake during the procedure, she agreed.
With Spot locked out of the room and clutched in Benliar’s arms, she lay face down and let them strap her in place.
The shaving of her hair was not unexpected, but she held still not only because of the clamps, but also because this was something that had to be done.
Everything felt lighter when she was ready for her visitors. Her head wound was sealed and she was settled against fluffy pillows.
Benliar came in and Spot propelled himself through the air to land on her chest. She flinched at the sudden impact but caressed him as he nuzzled her chest.
Benliar sat next to her and he took her spare hand. “Well, it was a tumour, it was big and it was hurting your control centre as well as dangerously close to a main artery.”
She sighed and nodded. “I thought as much. I was affecting people I wasn’t even aiming at and that is when I turned myself in.”
“How does your talent feel?”
“Sore. It feels new, like it has gotten an overhaul.” She was sitting up in bed and the local physicians were coming in regularly to take readings.
“You have. Roden went over every inch of you checking for abnormalities while you were sleeping. Resicor provided him with the necessary information about your physiology, and I passed it along to the doctors here.”
“Ah. Well, that does explain the energy signature still running through my veins.” Wim shifted and Spot squeaked angrily at her until she settled.
“He has been distraught.”
Something was odd about that. “Why? How long was I out?”
“Two weeks. It was necessary to check your body over and verify that the growth would not return.” His fingers stroked her palm. “It was persistent.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your body rebuilt the growth five days ago, and it was removed again. This time, it was near the temporal lobe. So far you are clear, but it is something we need to monitor.”
She sighed and scratched Spot under his chin. “Wonderful. This wasn’t something that I had planned on.”
He ran his thumb over her palm and her skin prickled in reaction. “Nor had I.”
There was a tension in Benliar that was a little peculiar.
“What is up?”
“Roden would like to ask you a question.”
She paid attention and even Spot turned toward him.
“I would ask that you become my Avatar.”
“What? What about Benliar?”
“You would not be my population Avatar, but you would carry a portion of my consciousness inside you. This would freeze your age and biology where you currently are while extending your lifespan indefinitely.”
“What about the five-hundred-year cycle?”
“It would not apply to you. You would remain as my Avatar as long as you wished.”
“What about Benliar?”
“He is on contract with me for five hundred years. Extending the contract would be up to him on a decade-by-decade basis. It has happened before.”
“You have propositioned an alien woman before?” Wim gave him a narrow-eyed look.
Roden grinned.
“No. You are the first.”
Benliar resumed control of his body. “He is waiting for your answer but take your time.”
“Why is he offering this to me?”
“He likes you. Worlds have been trying to get samples of Resicor DNA for years, and now, you have been offered to us for safekeeping. Roden would be honoured if you chose to add your genetics to the Roden population.”
“How would I manage that if my biology was frozen in time?”
“It would be negotiated at the time.” He pressed a kiss to the back of her hand.
“Where would I find the other genetic donor?”
“Roden is offering me as a compatible mate.”
She smiled slowly. “He is offering your poor body to throw itself on the strange alien for the sake of species development?”
“Something like that. Consider me a permanent companion, like Spot.”
She looked down at the creature in her arms. “Can Spot be included in this deal?”
“After he transforms to an adult, yes, if he wishes it.”
Spot looked up at her with his crystal eyes, and she tried to put the ideas into pictures and project them into his mind.
He sent her an image of little ones, smaller Yaluthu.
“He can have his children?”
“They can be exempted into our species-import regulations. How fast do they breed?”
Wim smiled and scratched Spot’s chin. “They reproduce when their bondmate is stable and they have what they feel is a good home. A protected environment.”
“Will you accept Roden’s terms?”
She twisted her lips. “I think I need to talk to Trala.”
Wim’s hand felt cold when he left her with Spot. She scooted Spot around and gave him a thorough scratching that sent black fluff flying.
“Huh, you are getting a little patchy.”
He chortled and waved his wings happily as she rolled him around on her sheet-covered thighs.
Dr. Nejik came in and blinked. “Is that normal for him?”
“From the mental briefing that the head of the Balen Citadel gave me, yes.”
“May I do your scan?”
“Sure.”
Dr. Nejik took the scan and her face was relieved. “No visible sign of additional recurrence.”
“You look more relieved than I am.”
Dr. Nejik leaned in, “I have never been so close to the Avatar before. His power is unsettling.”
“Is it? I hadn’t noticed, but I suppose it could be considered somewhat off the normal aura for a living being.”
Dr. Nejik’s colour was high, and to Wim’s surprise, she realized that the other woman was aroused. With a peculiar flare of jealousy, Wim reached out and suppressed the woman’s arousal an instant before Benliar returned.
He paused and then handed Wimsah a tablet with a smile. “It has been set up as a portable com.”
The implication was obvious. She was supposed to make the call right now.
After having called once, she used the memorized code to contact Trala.
Dr. Nejik stayed nearby out of curiosity.
When Trala’s face came on the screen, she smiled. “I am getting the hang of this. Hiya, Wimsah. How have you been?”
“Apparently, I have suffered from two brain tumours.”
“Oh no.” She looked queasy. “How are you now?”
“Better, but Roden has asked me a question that I need help answering.” She turned to Nejik, “Thank you, doctor.”
When her physician had left the room, she turned back to the screen. “Sorry.”
“So? How are you doing, and what question?”
“I have had two tumours pulled from my skull and I have just been offered a five-hundred- to unlimited-year life span as an Avatar.”
Trala whistled low. “That is unexpected. What do you want to do?”
“I don’t know. You know I have been stuck in a world of nothingness. No future and my past scrubbed by the government.” She swallowed past the catch in her throat. “You are all the family I have left, and if you say no, I will say no.”
“Say yes. You deserve a long life to make up for the one that was lost to you. The Roden pursue knowledge, and I know you wanted to go to school. So, with centuries stretching out before you, do it. Educate yourself. Learn what pleases you and enjoy life.”
“Just like that?”
“I prepared to be Resicor’s Avatar for years. Noma prepared for her life in her own way. I am guessing now that you saw into Resicor’s plans in that burst of power.”
Wim shrugged. “I did, but you were learning what you needed to know as you went along. There was plenty of information for you to deal with.”
Trala snorted. “Well, I say go for it and enjoy. Talk soon.”
Wim turned the screen off and looked over at Benliar. “Well, if the offer is open, you can tell Roden that it is a yes.”
His eyes darkened and he smiled, bowing gracefully. “He accepts. The joining is not a good idea in the hospital, but as soon as you are released, it will be formalized.”
Wim swallowed. “When will I be released?”
“That is up to the doctor, but if she keeps you past today, I will simply remove you and Spot.”
“Spot doesn’t want to be an Avatar before he is mature and I agree.” She cuddled him close to her.
“I will find Dr. Nejik and send her back in for a final check.” There was eagerness in his voice.
She nodded and Spot rubbed his head against her chin. “I guess we are getting an upgrade.”
The flight to his home was accomplished with her wrapped tightly in a dark cloak and Spot snuggled between them.
She dressed in a long gown and a shawl, smiling nervously. She met him on the wide deck surrounding his home. Spot was inside on her bed, napping and snoring.
“Once Roden is bonded to you, he promises to be circumspect and not intrude on your privacy more than is necessary.”
“Good. Will I still be cold?” She bit her lip and shivered.
“Only if you wish to be. I promise to remain nearby to warm you if it becomes necessary.” He stepped forward and held out his hands, palms up.
Wimsah stepped toward him and slipped her hands into his. She looked up into his rainbow eyes as they darkened and he leaned in to kiss her.
Curls of heat began at her feet and worked upward as the energy of Roden moved into her. It wasn’t the flashing blaze of Resicor, but that had burned through her, not eased inside.
She held tightly to his hands as her skin tingled from the ground up. The energy level had just reached her breasts and was creeping toward her shoulders.
His mouth moved slowly over hers in a delicate and careful motion as if he was petrified to frighten her. When the energy reached her mouth, she let go of his hands and pressed them to his chest, sliding her hands up to wrap around the neck that flexed at her touch. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her flush with his body and the rest of the connection flared around them in a bright wave.
Their kisses picked up in intensity, and the world around them brightened as power danced in a glorious ball before shooting for the sky.
The cessation of heat was a shock, but Roden had left a pilot light inside her. She could call the psychic flames whenever she wanted to.