Sudden Storm [Tales of the Cidatel 21] (2 page)

“Where are we going?”

“Citadel Arcani. You will need to complete your agreement of enrolment before you can go out on missions though.” Burn turned around and smiled at her.

She blinked at the sharp teeth and the feral look that the facial markings gave him. “Where is the document?”

He blinked and brought it up on a data pad, twisting in his seat to hand it to her.

She examined the document carefully, noting the charges that she would accrue for room, board and clothing. She would also be charged for classes that she took but earn funds for classes she taught. The bonuses would be submitted when she went on assignments and an account would be maintained for her personal needs from the moment she signed on to join the Citadel.

With her mind already made up, she signed using her finger and a thumbprint. Seconds later, she was a new member of the Arcani Citadel.

Vexa sat back and used the data pad to catch up on a thousand years of news for the planet Ki before she turned her investigation to Ichadra.

Nothing. There was nothing to give a clue as to the destruction of the people who had crafted her. One moment, they were there, and just over nine hundred years ago, they disappeared.

Vexa tapped the data pad and looked into the Sector Guard. She had to admit that she liked what she was reading. Dozens of worlds had benefited from their dedication to assisting those in need.

Her languages were a little out of date, but she managed to make it through most of the official reports with minor confusion. She cocked her head as she scrolled through page after page, watching for any signs of her sister of blood until she finally saw the mention of the Destroyer.

The ability of the other Ichadran clone was described in the most general detail, but her whereabouts were not mentioned. Vexa pressed her lips together and sought out her other sister, the Rain.

There was no mention of her anywhere in the records. She was not sure if that was a deliberate omission or a strategic one.

The shuttle jerked, and Vexa inhaled sharply as she felt the peculiar sensation of being in two places at the same time.

Burn looked back at her and winced in apology. “I am sorry. That was a jump. Are you all right?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Warn me if it will happen again. I am not accustomed to being torn and then folded in half.”

“Was it painful?”

She analyzed her feelings. “No. Uncomfortable, as if I was looking at the back of my own head.”

His features moved into a considering expression. “I see. But it was not painful?”

“No.”

Burn smiled. “Good. We have two more to go before we reach Arcani.”

Vexa dragged in a slow breath. “Fine. Just warn me, please, or things will be getting a little uncomfortable in here.”

She was having difficulty not calling the elements to protect her, her heartbeat pounded far more rapidly than she let on. Shocks were not good in a confined space. She could feel the air moving around her in a sluggish motion, and she tried to stop herself from calling water. She only had to touch one element to call another, and the only thing in contact with her on a spacecraft was air. Water, earth and fire were hers to call and that would be a very bad thing in the enclosed area.

The com unit chimed as she was reading another entry about the history of the Citadel.

Recon answered it. “Recon here, what can I do for you, Relay?”

“We have need of the newest Citadel recruit. There is a situation on Neehash that I believe she is perfectly suited for.”

“Send me the specs, and I will have Burn go over them with her. What are we walking into?

“You will not be walking anywhere. There is a plague situation and a cure has been created, but it needs to be spread around the world. I believe that the new recruit can assist in an efficient manner. Head to Neehash. There is an orbital station waiting to give you final details and run through scenarios.”

Recon acknowledged the message, and Burn turned again to ask, “Do you mind getting right to work?”

Vexa shrugged. “I would rather start on a full account.”

Burn grinned. “Then, we shall go to Neehash.”

Chapter Three

The orbital station was only one jump away, and this time, Recon gave Vexa warning.

Vexa looked at the station and tried not to think about the lack of environment and what kind of damage she could do.

Burn watched the docking procedure and kept in touch with the station as Recon linked them to the metal of the huge structure.

Vexa felt the seals lock them in place, and she looked through the front viewer to see the interior of the massive structure that was the shuttle bay.

Burn unlatched himself from the harness and extended his hand. “They are waiting for you.”

Vexa nodded and removed the harness, standing with only a slight wobble to her legs. “Then, we had better not keep them waiting.”

Without a world to feed her, her knees were weak. In only the few hours since they had left Ki, she had grown hungry for the second time in her life. The first time she had landed on Ki, she ravaged the area around the base that had been created for her by Ichadra specifications. It had gone from green to desert in hours as she took in water, soil and heat from everything around her until nothing but barren dirt and sand had remained. A blast of wind had swept the area clean after she finished her personal restoration. After that she had gotten to work at defending the surface.

The air of the orbital station had two things in it that she could pick out. The first thing was the medical tang that was unmistakable in labs. The second was green loam and growing forest. Her body ached with hunger in seconds.

“What is it, Vexaniali?” Burn was at her side with a concerned expression on his face.

He looked as if he would reach out to touch her, and she raised her hands to fend him off. “No. Don’t touch me. I am hungry, and I am afraid of what contact will do.”

He blinked rapidly. “I don’t remember seeing any rations down in your cavern. What have you been eating?”

“I have been consuming Ki. Heat, water and earth are what I consume.”

He nodded and looked around. “Right. Of course. It explains quite a bit. Come with me.”

She followed Burn down a hall and paused at a safe distance as he spoke with one of the crewmen in military uniforms. They looked at each other and used coms on their shoulders to ask a question. When the answer came through, they nodded with relief.

Burn turned and gestured for her to follow. She was amused by the diffidence that the guards treated him with and even more amused when they stopped outside a lab door.

Burn beckoned for her to follow him into the lab. “It is proofed against fire.”

She entered, and the guards closed the heavy door behind her.

Vexa stood in the centre of the room lined with metal. “What now?”

Burn walked toward her, and the marks on his face started to glow. Light poured out of him, and with the light came waves of heat.

Vexa sighed and closed her eyes as the heat poured into her, satisfying her hunger with the energy he was putting out. “Thank you. I was afraid of what came next.”

She opened her eyes, and he was standing right in front of her. Fire was still coming off his body, but she could stand in the heart of a volcano and not be touched.

At this close range, she could see the glow of more tattoos or bands on his skin. His bodysuit gave off a slight scent of being overheated, but it didn’t melt as flames licked him, blue white in the light of the fire lab.

There was a strain on his face. “Do you have what you need?”

“I do.”

“Then, please stop eating me.”

His words were plaintive, and she stepped back with sudden realization that he was so hot because she was pulling it out of him.

She cut down her consumption and continued backing away. His temperature gradually cooled, and he sighed in relief.

“Sorry.” She blushed and ran her hand through her hair.

“Don’t apologise. I haven’t every tried to burn that hot before. It is nice to know that I can survive it. Now, if you are content, we can proceed to the briefing.”

Vexa laughed. “I think I should offer you dinner or something. You look a little pale.”

He smiled and offered her his hand. She stepped back toward him and touched him. There was a spark, but her body didn’t hum with hunger, so they were able to make their way out of the lab and into the heart of the station. The guards still eyed her warily, but since Burn was content to stay next to her, their fear didn’t bother her like it would have on Ichadra.

The briefing room was huge with a large globe rotating as a hologram in the centre of it.

Vexa asked, “Neehash?”

Burn nodded. “Yes. Dr. Argee and Dr. Heshla will tell you what you need to know. I am going to get myself a snack.”

She winced as she realized that she had depleted his energy to a dangerous level.

The two doctors in question came around the hologram and inclined their heads. The Dhemon female had scarlet skin, dark hair and an easy smile under the petite horns. “Good day, Vexaniali Webko.”

“Good day.” She inclined her head.

The male was an Enjel. He had dark skin and midnight hair, but his wings were snowy white. “I am Dr. Heshla, this is my wife, Dr. Argee. You have met our son, I see.”

Vexa looked toward the doorway where Burn had disappeared. “Burn is your son?”

Dr. Argee smiled. “I know. No wings, no horns. We were trying to end the animosity between our peoples by showing that we could interbreed, but we had to engage in some alteration to his genetics to bring him to term.”

Vexa looked from one to the other. “Gene silencing?”

Dr. Heshla looked surprised. “You are aware of it?”

“I was given a fairly extensive explanation of how I came to exist. I did my own research after I was dropped on Ki. The computers actually ran for the first five hundred years.”

She smiled at the shock on their faces. “Did you assume that I was kept in a coma when I wasn’t working as an Elemental?”

Dr. Argee winced. “Well, from what we heard of the Destroyer, we assumed that you were the same.”

Vexa shook her head. “No. I was not as dangerous as the Destroyer was. It was noted that I need to consume, but as long as I keep my feet on the ground, I can maintain myself properly.”

Dr. Heshla widened his eyes. “So, our son took you to the lab because…”

“I was hungry, and I can eat heat as well as water or earth. He fed me, but I think I continued a little too long. He was looking peaked when he left.” She twisted her lips and walked forward to see the rotating globe. At closer examination, there were spots of light and a corresponding spreading of darkness.

“What is this?”

Dr. Argee moved to stand beside her.

Vexa tried not to calculate the solid mass, the water and the heat in her body.

“This is a generated recording of the disease packets that are spreading across Neehash. We have crafted a cure and an inoculation for those not infected, but it has to be administered quickly. Death is taking the population quickly, but we have no way to act globally. We just don’t have enough people.”

Dr. Heshla spoke. “When Burnoriel told us he was being sent after the Elemental, we did research on you. You have the ability to move the very air of an entire world and that is precisely what we need to administer this treatment.”

“You have it in gaseous form?”

“Over a thousand canisters that we can launch the moment you are ready.”

Vexa looked at the blotches of darkness that were spreading across the surface. “When can I get to the surface?”

Dr. Argee frowned. “Can’t you do it from here?”

“No.”

Dr. Heshla shook his head. “It isn’t safe. There is a plague raging, and you might not have immunity.”

She waved her hand at the darkness spreading across that globe in steady increments. “My life for millions. I am willing to take the risk.”

Dr. Argee shook her head. “No. You can’t. It’s too risky. Can’t you do it from low orbit?”

Vexa turned to her. “I cannot move the air unless I can touch another element. It was how my people kept me tied to the world I was on. I can only work with an element when I draw energy from the other. For this kind of movement, I have to be in a place that I can destroy. Preferably rocks or a mountain.”

Heshla asked, “Do you have to destroy it?”

“No, but it is best to be prepared. I might get hungry.” She smiled brightly, and they looked at each other with hope and horror in equal measure. “Get me down to that world, please. We are wasting time.”

Chapter Four

Being in a launch pod was not pleasant. She descended rapidly, and the snug cocoon wrapped around her slowed until it landed with a soft thump.

Vexa blew the pod and got out, smiling at the empty plateau that was her landing site.

She stretched and the rock beneath her disappeared in a wave, giving her the strength for what came next. Vexa heard a beep from the wristband they had slapped on her before she had climbed into the pod.

She looked up and watched as the canisters fell from the sky, across the horizon and beyond.

There was one nearby, and as it hissed and jetted its contents into the air, she concentrated on moving that air.

Her mind linked to the planet’s surface, and she felt the caress of the medicine-laden air. She moved the air of the entire world and spread the cure to every nook and cranny in hours.

Vexa continued to swirl the cure around Neehash until a chirp came from her wrist once again. “Now for the hard part.”

She reset the weather patterns to what they were when she landed. It took her the same amount of time as disseminating the cure, but as she slumped to her knees and exhaled softly, she enjoyed the feeling of a job well done. She took the band and squeezed it, triggering the call for a pickup.

If she was able to sweat, she was quite sure that she would have been drenched in it, but her body didn’t part with water or body heat or its mass. Her body didn’t even like to breathe, but she convinced it it was necessary to blend in with people around her.