Avenge

Aura has lived being a psychic mouthpiece for other races. When she sees an assassin from her past, she takes matters into her own hands and loses her life in an act of vengeance. Randr has been trying to catch his Terran before she got herself killed, but she manages it anyway and he has to act fast. Carrying her Home, healers put her back together and time heals her wounds. Now, he only has to explain that she is destined to be a time agent chosen by the consciousness of a dead universe. What could be difficult about that?

The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Avenge Copyright © 2012 Viola Grace ISBN: 978-1-77111-196-6 Cover art by Martine Jardin All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher. Published by eXtasy Books Look for us online at: www.extasybooks.com

Avenge A Terran Times Tale By Viola Grace

Chapter One

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arral Nich was an ancient world and it had the feeling of being what it was, a living museum. Aura Athena Arkan was bored out of her mind. Assigned as an intermediary for a water-born race called the Irati, Aura had watched her client return to their ship an hour ago. The tank that the ambassador had travelled in was not conducive to a good evening with dinner and dancing. She returned to her own world with her compliments to Aura’s trainer. Aura had thanked her politely and when she was gone, had entered the museum to join the party. As the music swelled, folks took to the dance floor in the old ballroom. “May I have this dance?” Aura jumped as the voice whispered in her ear. She turned to see a tall, elegant man wearing a hooded cowl standing right next to her. All that was visible was his jaw line, a sensual mouth and very pale skin. “Oh. I am not sure that I know this one.” The shadowed face smiled. “I am sure that I can lead you if you will trust me.” It was a strange request. “I will trust you to lead me in the dance. After that, my trust is reserved for those who have earned it.” 1

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“Fair enough. Shall we?” He extended a strong, long-fingered hand and she placed hers in it. He led her to the dance floor and swung her into his arms. Aura was amazed that his arms didn’t roam but stiffened to keep her in step as they twirled around the floor with the other dancers. She was literally steered in the patterns of the dance and after a while, she relaxed enough to let herself enjoy it. “You are doing much better, my lady. How is it that you have come to Tarral Nich?” She looked up into the dark recesses of his hood. There were still no obvious features beyond that hypnotizing mouth. “I am here on assignment. I was being used as a kahdore.” “A what?” “It is an Irati name meaning air mouth. I open my mind to my employer and they use my body to speak through. It is an odd talent, but it is mine.” He smiled down at her. “It is my luck that you were here today then. May I have your name?” She grinned as he twirled her in a slow pass. “You may not have it, it’s mine. Do you wish to know it?” “I do.” “You first.” “Randr.” She blinked. “Well, pleased to meet you, Randr. I am Aura.” If he was sticking to first names and no designations, she was going to be right behind him. He had one hand on her lower back and the heat that was radiating from his palm worked on her nervous 2

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system in strange and fascinating ways. “Why are you here, Randr?” “That is a very philosophical question, Aura.” “Yes, it is, but in this case, I am sure that you are aware that what I meant was why have you come to this reception on Tarral Nich?” He spun her around, his hand pulling her more firmly against him. It was at this point that she realized he was either carrying steel in his trousers or he was aroused. “I was called here by the knowledge of my woman being in this place, at this time. She is the reason that I am here.” Aura was confused by his use of the word time. The way his voice expressed it, he had chosen to move through time and space to join the reception at the museum. “I don’t understand.” Her whisper was for his ears alone. The music stopped and they parted. He grinned at her, his mouth twisting in a smile that showed pointed teeth. “You will.” He bent and pressed a kiss to her knuckles, a light bite followed that drew a bead of blood, but before she could protest, he was gone. **** “Did you get the sample?” the voice in his earpiece was intensely curious. Randr disappeared into the shadows of the gardens behind the museum. “I have it. Analysis is running, but 3

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I believe that she is the one.” “You must be sure. There is no room for error.” “Then let me have the hour to confirm the match.” “Be in contact in one hour. The gate will only open for three minutes, so we have to make it precise. Be sure, or we will have to find another one.” “Understood. I will speak to you in one hour.” Randr cut off the link and turned to watch the woman from the shadows. This was his nineteenth run through time and space, looking for this woman at precisely this time. Each time he had followed Aura to a world, he had missed her by hours and today, he was confident that he could catch her and bring her back where she belonged. **** Since Randr had disappeared, Aura was on her own, sipping at a glass of wine and making small talk with the assistant of one of the local representatives. A familiar figure passed along the edge of the ballroom and her blood ran cold. “Please excuse me, Rora. I think I see someone I know.” Aura smiled brightly while rage ran into her normally calm mind. “Go ahead. I will be here when you get back.” Rora sipped at her beverage with her short trunk and smiled. Nodding absently, Aura followed the man who had killed the ambassador of Gehnik just after her assignment three years ago. The assassin she was trailing had poisoned the water that Mishsha was floating in and the living jellyfish had 4

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not had a chance. Aura had been the only one who had seen him entering the quarters of the ambassador and that was because she had offered the man her services as kah-dore to assist him in communicating with the creature in the tank. The man had declined, indicating that he did not need her. One hour later, preparing to lock into the shuttle, she had been removed and given a going over by the local constabulary. Her innocence was easily proven, but they were not happy to have their best suspect cleared. The conversation in the hall had been recorded, as had a speech within the ambassador’s quarters clearly stating that the poisoning was for a bounty. It had cost her six months of investigation into every inch of her mind and a very good friend in the ambassador, so his killer’s face was not one she was willing to forget. He moved slowly along the perimeter of the crowd, speaking casually to anyone he passed. With every laugh and casual chuckle that he gave out, her soul burned a little more until her fury blinded her. Aura eyed one of the security officers standing by and bumped into him, lifting his stunner from his belt and apologizing profusely. He smiled and brushed her off, “No worries, miss. Have a nice evening.” With her gown rustling, she followed the assassin out of the ballroom and down the hall. He didn’t seem to be aware of her, but she quietly fiddled with the stunner until the safety was off and the power was ramped up. 5

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He passed a number of displays before stopping in front of a case. When he raised his arm to smash the glass, Aura lifted the stunner and fired. He screamed and fell to the ground, twitching dramatically. Caution was gone and she strode to where his body was writhing on the floor. A knife flashed in the dimness of the hall and embedded itself in her ribs. Aura fell back, clutching at her wound. The assassin stood and scowled at her, tilting his head as he stared. “You. The interpreter.” She didn’t speak. She could taste blood and pain was radiating through her. He reached out to take the knife back and she raised her hand, shooting him again, this time between the three eyes that decorated his forehead and straight into his brain. When he fell, she fired again. And again. When the stunner’s charge was empty and he was dead, she started to return to the party, the obscene broach of the wound and knife front and centre on her gown. Hands caught her and held her. Cursing was definitely the tone of the alien words coming to her ears. With a swift move, Randr lifted her and walked out into the gardens. “This is not how I wanted to see you, Aura, but hold on. We are almost home.”

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Chapter Two

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welter of images assaulted Aura’s senses—lights, men and women with long black hair, searing pain and then everything going dark. Waking was an exercise in pain. Her ribs felt like they had been host to a knife, her throat was dry and raw. Lying still, she tried to get a feel for her surroundings, but all she could determine was that she was not in an Alliance facility. Footsteps approached and the bed she was lying on tilted at the waist, bringing her to a sitting position. Randr was standing next to the bed with his lips pressed together with tension. “You had us worried, Aura.” She croaked, “Where am I?” “That will wait for later. For now, know that you are simply safe and alive.” He reached to the bedside table and gave her a glass of water with a straw. She blinked. It was so prosaic—it could have been a glass from a hospital on earth. With a few slow sips, she managed to make her voice sound normal again. “It’s later. Where am I?” He sighed and scooped her out of the bed, sheet and all. 7

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Randr walked with her to a double door and with the flick of his hand, he opened the doors and stepped onto a balcony that overlooked something that took her breath away. Beyond the balcony, a wide panorama of land and mountain ranges extended, but what stunned her more than anything was the stellar expanse that made her feel like she could simply reach out and touch the stars. “There is no name for where we are. We are outside time and have no home on any world that has a name.” Randr looked down at her and the curve of his lips was serious. “So, I am lost in space?” A giggle started in her mind and spread until she stopped laughing with a gasp. “Not lost. We know exactly where you are. We had to remove you from your timeline and I am afraid that I cut it rather close.” She blinked. “Removed? From time? Am I still asleep?” His lips curved upward in amusement. “No. You are awake and alive. Both were in doubt just a few hours ago.” She touched her forehead and reached up to yank on her hair, a method that never failed to wake her from a peculiar dream. “Ow.” His mouth twisted in a wider smile. “That was unusual. Is it a species’ tradition?” She looked around her again at what appeared to be a chunk of land floating on its own in space. “This is real.” Randr turned and walked back inside with her. “It is real. And as soon as you are up for it, you will learn 8

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why you are here.” There was an undertone of threat to his voice, but she was too tired to take it to heart. She relaxed back into the crisp sheets of the medical bed and he slowly lowered her back to a prone position. “Sleep well. You will be feeling much better when you wake.” Aura could feel a smile curve her lips as she drifted off. The lightest touch of lips on her forehead sent her into dreams. **** Randr looked down at the small Terran and shook his head. They had used the power of three healers to pull her back from the edge of oblivion and her wound still had not healed properly. It was the curse of the Nameless that they died so easily before they underwent transformation, but they had gathered around the newest of their number to bring her into their midst. He had almost been too late. Seeing her staggering with the knife piercing her lung and internal organs had almost caused him to lose his concentration. The trip from her space and time to his had taken seconds, but it was seconds that she did not have. Randr caught a glimpse of a sleeve near the door and he walked out into the hall. “What is it, Tavik?” Tavik grimaced. “The council wants to meet the new arrival. When do you think she will be up and about?” Randr sighed. “As soon as I accelerate her wound. 9

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Give me an hour and remember that she hasn’t seen one of us before. A little concealment will probably go over very well.” Tavik blushed and drew up his hood to conceal the eyes that marked all of the Nameless. Dark orbs that held the swirling of stars within them were a little unusual for even the races of the Alliance. No matter what species the member of the Nameless had been born, their eyes shifted to the stellar pattern after they embraced their genetic heritage. “Are you going to heal her now, Randr?” “I am. Have you seen the procedure before?” Tavik shook his head. “She is in a natural sleep, so I will not be able to speak for fear of waking her, but if you watch carefully, I will answer whatever questions you have afterward.” Tavik nodded and followed Randr into the room. Randr removed the knife from his belt that all Nameless were given at their activation and quietly slit the fabric of the sheet that covered Aura’s wound. The wound was angry and red against the pale alabaster of her skin. With a quick look to Tavik, Randr gathered temporal energy between his palms and pressed the shift in time into Aura’s flesh. The skin began to pale rapidly and when the mark had almost faded, he withdrew the orb of accelerated time and reabsorbed it into his hands. When Randr looked up, Tavik was staring at his hands, his lips moving silently as he formulated questions. He got Tavik’s attention and they left the room where Aura was recuperating. 10

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Once the door was closed, Tavik asked, “How do you control it like that? I am never able to get the orbs that small.” Randr walked down the hall with the younger Nameless. “You just have to remember one very important thing when you heal with an orb.” Tavik looked at him with attention. “What is that?” “If the orb is too large, it will age and kill the person you are trying to heal. If you don’t think you can keep your concentration in check, you had best not attempt the healing. I did not even try to heal her until the physicians here had stitched her up. If I had aged her wound without treatment, she would have either died of septic infection or bled to death. We are not healers. We can only move the process along once everything is in its proper place. So, when you try and heal someone, keep that in mind and keep the power tight. Also, withdraw the orb before they are completely healed as their body is going to continue to move at an accelerated pace until the energy dissipates.” Tavik nodded. “Thank you. Where are you off to now?” Randr grimaced, “Her clothing was soaked in blood with a large hole in the torso. She will need something to wear to meet the council. I am going to clothing storage.” Randr strode along and Tavik came with him. He sighed at the enthusiasm of the younger man, but he was not in the mood to act as tutor. Ravikka was Tavik’s tutor and he needed to address his questions to her. Tavik’s people did not consider women to be equals to men and that could be part of the problem. He 11

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was only one year into his time as a Nameless and he would learn. At storage, Randr entered Aura’s measurements into the computer and ran through the available selections. He selected three outfits all the way to the shoes and undergarments and waited for the machine to remove them from their cubicles to deliver them. “Why that clothing?” Tavik was looking at the selections on the screen. Randr stifled a sigh. “Aura is capable of a fairly active lifestyle, but she also needs a casual outfit and a dress. Most women who have worn trousers prefer them for a relaxing day.” “They are not appropriate for a lady.” Randr laughed out loud. “You don’t know much about women. Give them an option and they will pick clothing to impress you. Tell them what they have to wear and they will find ways to thwart you. Aura is an independent agent, much like your tutor Ravikka. She does what she pleases but adheres to protocols.” Tavik looked a little abashed. “But Aura was a servant. She is subservient.” Randr collected the boxes that the storage device had obtained. “I don’t think you read the full report. Aura was stabbed while murdering the assassin who was responsible for the murder of nine ambassadors of the Alliance. She went after him with nothing more than a stunner and a need for revenge.” “Women are not capable of that sort of action.” Randr shook his head and started back toward the medical centre. “You will address all of your questions to Ravikka from now on. Your attitude is unacceptable 12

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for one of the Nameless. I have humoured you for too long. Goodbye, Tavik.” Tavik stopped in place and stared at him. “You are serious?” “By discounting women, you are ignoring half and occasionally more than half of all the living beings out there. Anyone, and I mean anyone, is capable of shaping the future for their race and the sooner you learn that, the better off you will be. Ask Ravikka to take you of a tour of the women in your species’ history. You need an education, my friend.” Tavik was left behind as Randr brought the clothing packs to Aura. This woman was capable of so much more than most would think looking at her golden hair and soft hands. While he gritted his teeth at the thought of those hands against him, he accepted that as one of the Nameless, she would be able to choose her own mate and partner. Though he had known her the moment he saw her, she might not share the awareness of a true mate as his people did. He really hoped that it was not the case. Having her at his side throughout the eons stretching around them in all directions had an appeal he could not deny, even if he had wanted to.

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Chapter Three

T

he pain was gone. That was the first thing that Aura noticed as she sat up. The second was that Randr was sitting in a chair at the foot of the bed with a pile of boxes beside him on a low table. “What happened? How long was I asleep?” The sheet across her breasts skidded and she clutched at it frantically. “Only thirty minutes or so. I had to wait until the healers were finished before I completed your treatment.” He stood and she blinked at how very tall he really was. “Thank you?” He chuckled. “You are welcome. These boxes contain several options of clothing for you. The council here is eager to speak with you, so the sooner you can get dressed, the better. I will remain outside.” She watched him leave and the moment he was out the door, she flipped back the sheet and looked at the mark where the knife had slid between her ribs. It was an old scar now, which she would have imagined to be impossible. The rest of her was clean and blood-free, so she guessed that the medical team had run her through a 14

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cleanser. She got to her feet and after she swayed for a moment, she took a few steps and reached the boxes. The first one yielded a set of wide trousers and a kimono-style jacket. There was matching underwear and sandals and she grinned as she put the first box aside, looking into the next one with glee. An evening gown in red with matching slippers was tempting, but she felt it necessary to look in the final box. Her heart stuttered in her chest. Jeans and a t-shirt with sneakers stared up from the confines of the box. A matching set of lingerie in her size was in the box. This was not the clothing to wear to meet a council, but she definitely wanted to keep it for later. She opted for the red gown and matching slippers. It seemed appropriate somehow. The breast band and panties were the same crimson and were exactly her size. She was dressed in under three minutes and when her explorations turned up a lav, Aura checked her hair. Someone had piled it into an ornate tumble of curls on her head while she was sleeping and aside from the creepy factor, she had to admit that they had done a good job. When she was confident that everything was in its proper place, she opened the door. Randr was standing there, but his hood was thrown back. “Oh, wow.” Not only did he have cheekbones that gave him the appeal of an ancient statue, but his eyes also were a swirling vortex of stars. 15

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Her hand was on his cheek before she could stop herself. The pleased surprise on his face was enough to let her continue the slow stroke that examined the texture of his skin. Hot steel under velvet was a trite thought, but it was the best description of his face where her hand made contact. She curled her fingers and lightly dragged her knuckles down his jaw line before putting her hand back at her side. “So, the eyes must be the reason that you wear the hood.” “It is best that we keep ourselves in shadow. The eyes are an indicator that we are not local in most places.” His grin had a touch of masculine arrogance. He had obviously enjoyed her admiration. “I can see how that would be likely, but what are you?” Randr held out his arm and Aura took it. “I am one of a peculiar subspecies that pops up randomly around the universe. The council will explain everything. Will you come with me?” “Of course. I have to know what is going on. This day has been far too weird for me to stop it now.” Her grin answered his and before she knew it, they were walking on a high bridge leading to a tower in the centre of the…whatever it was. The bridges linked all buildings together, some cracks in the ground beneath them showed the same swirl of stars that were in his eyes. “Is that a danger? All those cracks?” “No. They have been there since Home separated into its own alternate space during the great beginning. 16

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The buildings came later.” She filed that information away for when she was capable of imagining that the piece of turf she was standing on was part of the universe before the universe. Aura held onto Randr’s arm a little tighter as they entered a room with seven other beings sitting in it. Randr walked with her to the centre of the room, detached her arm and stood beside her as she faced the arch of the star-eyed grouping. A woman with a kind face smiled and leaned forward. “Do you know where you are?” “On a floating chunk of rock?” The woman sighed, her amber skin glowing against her midnight hair. “Randr, what did you tell her?” He chuckled. “I followed protocol for once. All initial information will be given in the presence of the council.” The woman grinned. “Well done.” She straightened, “Aura Athena Arkan of the Alliance Protectorate of Terra, welcome to Home.” Aura tilted her head. “This isn’t my home.” “We simply call this place Home. It has no other name. We are called the Nameless and our kind appears at random throughout the universe. Sometimes alone, sometimes in clusters, there is no way of knowing when one of ours will make themselves known.” “Okay. But I am not one of you. You have those fascinating eyes and I do not.” “None of us are born with these eyes, merely the potential for them. I will need to explain, but first, introductions. I am Ravikka. These are Toril, Mavish, 17

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Rehnara, Elorak, Nir and Gwetho. We are the current council of seven.” “Pleased to meet you.” Aura gave a graceful curtsey. One of the men leaned forward and grinned, “And we are pleased to meet you.” Ravikka waved him back. “Stop flirting, Gwetho. She is not for you. Now, Aura, the Nameless have been occurring randomly throughout the universe since our minds could comprehend time. We travel here at the moment of our death and then begin a new life as one of the Nameless. “We are observers and guardians of time. We open doorways into history and the future, changing nothing but learning details that no one else has ever seen. Our minds and memories stretch before and behind us. The Nameless are guardians of the future, we do not alter the past, but we make sure that it happens the way we remember it.” Aura furrowed her brow. “How can you guard the future if you already know what happens? How can you observe the past without affecting it?” Ravikka grinned and leaned back. “Good questions. We don’t know our actual purpose. We simply try and find meaning in what we are and how we can help and maintain the timelines.” Aura nodded. “Fair enough. What is the deal with your eyes?” Gwetho stood. “When a new recruit is located, we expose them to the Orb of Time. If they are truly a Nameless, they transform and take the power of time itself into them. We give them a knife, training and a tutor and they learn our ways.” 18

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“What happens if they are not truly a Nameless?” Aura had to ask even if she didn’t want to know. “They burn up immediately.” Gwetho shrugged. “We have created blood tests to find the dormant gene to confirm identification. It has dramatically reduced the number of misidentifications.” “I see. So, you think I am a dormant Nameless.” Randr answered her. “I know you are a dormant Nameless.” She turned and looked up into his swirling gaze. “How can you be sure?” He reached for her cheek and mimicked her caress from earlier, stroking her skin before rubbing his knuckles along her jaw line. “Because I have seen my future and you are in it.” She blinked rapidly and turned back to the council, her cheek throbbing with the energy of the small caress. “Why aren’t you overrunning this chunk of rock if your kind have been running around for millennia?” Ravikka grimaced. “It is difficult, but we can be killed. When the energy of our lives leaves us, it resets us to our original genome. When we are away from Home, we are just as vulnerable as any regular being in the standard temporal stream. Recently, nine of our number have passed on, but new Nameless are being found every day.” Aura rubbed her forehead. “Just for the sake of agreement, say I believe all this. Why are you called the Nameless? You all have names.” Randr answered. “We give up our family names, our previous lives and our planets to simply become one of the Nameless.” 19

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Aura turned when she heard the pain in his voice. “She said we were taken at the moment of death. How did you die?” He looked down at her with a sad expression in his face. “It is a conversation for a different time, but yes, we all come here in the moment we should have met our maker. We hunt for new Nameless through time, trying to catch them just before they are scheduled to die so that the impact they have made on others throughout their lives is maximized. You had given all you could for your vengeance and then it was time for you to join our ranks. Will you join us?” Aura smiled. “Of course. I do so love a new adventure and a life of running through time is too good to pass up.”

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Chapter Four

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he deep tone of a bell pealed in the tower of the building they were in. Ravikka nodded solemnly. “Good. We will make our way to the Orb of Time and the others will join us there.” Randr extended his arm and Aura took it once again. They paced slowly with the seven councillors through the halls, down the stairs until they were in a room at the base of the tower. “Wow. That is…wow.” Aura followed her instinct and walked the edge of the large lip around the edge of the floor that had an open gap to the swirling vortex of the stars. She walked easily on the narrowing stone path until she stood looking down at the window to a universe past. The seven councillors each took a position around the outer wall and pressed their hand to an icon in the stone. Men and women with starry eyes filed into the room and stood as witnesses. The bell in the tower rang again and the councillors pressed the icons that they touched. The vortex of the stars swirled rapidly until it 21

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became a ball of light. Aura stood and looked at the approaching glow and exhaled. “Welcome to you, Orb of Time.” The ball paused for a moment and the councillors looked from one to the other. Apparently, this was not a normal occurrence. With a slow and gentle approach, the orb eased into her, becoming one with her as it met her body and moved inside. She knew this feeling. It was what she had trained for in her previous life’s occupation. There was something in her mind and it wanted her to be with it forever. Today, it was moving in. When the glow receded, she looked around the room and the witnesses were looking at each other in surprise. Unsure of what was causing the problem, Aura turned and walked back the way she had come. The councillors filed away from their positions and back toward the council chamber. Randr gave her a soft hug and offered her his arm. “You did well, Aura.” “Why is everyone so freaked out?” “This transformation was a little…odd.” They were speaking quietly as they followed the councillors. “How so?” “There is normally a burst of light, a fight for your soul. Your calm acceptance and the lack of screaming has confused and frightened a number of the observers. It is usually the same for everyone.” She nodded. “Until now.” 22

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“Until now.” “I know why it is different. I can explain it to the council.” “This will be interesting.” She chuckled. “I am usually interesting. You just have to pay attention.” Back in the council chamber, she faced the seven again, but this time, they were far less indulgent than they had been an hour earlier. “Ravikka, I believe that you and the council are wondering about the transformation and it differing from the norm.” Ravikka looked uncomfortable. “We are. It was unusual to say the least.” “This is what I am trained for, to host a power, a mind not my own. I have the ability to compartmentalize and keep the kernel of my soul separate from whoever is occupying my mind. That includes the soul of time itself.” The councillors blinked and Ravikka asked, “Is that what this is?” “Yes. The soul of the time of a universe lost. It was old and so very powerful, so the new universe could not simply destroy it. You can’t destroy that kind of power. It took a piece of a world as it shattered, built a city and called those who could house its power through rifts in time. It pulled its own people Home and gave them the seeds of power.” Gwetho leaned forward. “Why?” “For the same reason that we are here. All on the edge of death, we were taken to begin a life unrecorded 23

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by living history, just like it was. It wants to live through us, but its power cannot be used or left in the other universe. We are the wrapping that carries it where it wants to go.” She was feeling dizzy and her stomach growled violently. Randr chuckled. “Give her the knife so that we can go and get her something to eat. She hasn’t had anything since that reception a week ago.” Ravikka jumped up. “Forgive me. We were distracted.” She walked to a chest and withdrew a long leather belt and a knife. Ravikka stood in front of Aura and wrapped the belt around her hips before threading the knife into place and buckling it. “With this, I decree you to be a Nameless and your tutor shall be Randr. While you may ask any of us for help, he is in charge of your education.” Aura nodded. “Thank you. I look forward to learning your…our ways.” Ravikka leaned forward and embraced her. “Welcome. Randr will show you to your quarters.” Her stomach growled again and Randr took her by the hand. “This way, Aura. We have a lovely selection of food from every point in history.” She followed him absently, her body still going over the peculiar feeling of having a piece of time from another universe in it. It was one thing to have it but another to know exactly what it was. Knowing what her past experiences as a kah-dore had given her, she was relieved when she checked and the mind inside hers had no intentions to speak through her. It was simply along for the ride and rather curious 24

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as to where she would take it. Shaking her head slightly, she stumbled and then was jerked tightly against Randr. The edge of the bridge was close and there was no railing on this walkway, if she had wandered off, she would be falling toward the crack under the bridge. “Be careful, Aura. This is not a safe place until you learn to walk through the paths. Once you can open direct pathways in this place, you can go anywhere in seconds.” With his body plastered against hers, she was definitely aware of where she wanted to go with him, but just as she was leaning up to kiss him, her stomach snarled again and the moment was shattered. “Come along. You can molest me later.” She perked up at that. “Promise?” “I promise.” He released her but kept his fingers woven through hers as he led her into a building that was full of tempting scents. It was time to have a snack and anything else could wait until later but not too much later. An immortal woman full of an Orb of Time had needs after all and they were probably detailed and weird. Aura could hardly wait.

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Chapter Five

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ntering the arched doorway, Aura looked up and stared at the elaborate ceiling. “Holy cow. What is this place?” Randr smiled, “Welcome to the acquisition centre. They are a department of the Nameless that gets us the clothing we need, the food we eat and anything necessary for travel through time.” She laughed. “Professional thieves.” His face took on a haughty expression. “Please, acquisitions specialists.” She giggled and followed him into the exquisite building. “Who built this place?” Randr shrugged. “Home has been the same since the first Nameless came here. We know nothing about those who came before.” Enormous alcoves turned into room upon room of lovely objects. “Doesn’t anyone ever steal them?” Randr laughed. “What would we do with them? The Nameless don’t use currency and we have everything provided. You can even take a turn being in one of the trades we have after your training. Your options depend on the amount that you can expand your temporal field. It is a personal-control issue.” 26

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She blinked and tried to take in all the contrasting options from histories of worlds she had never imagined. Statues of a hundred species lined the walls. “Some of those have to be new additions.” He led her down the row and pointed to a figure that was disturbingly familiar. “An image is made of you the moment that the Orb accepts you. You are the first of your species to be identified.” She looked around eagerly. “There doesn’t seem like a lot of them, where are the others?” His features darkened. “When a Nameless goes off active duty, their image is removed to storage.” “Do we die a lot?” He pulled her away from the image of herself and walked her toward the scents that had been teasing her. Randr’s image was near the end of the line. But he hauled her past the copy and into the dining area. It was her first meal in her new situation and she took snack foods from nine races she recognized and five that she didn’t. Aura expected some of the others to come by and speak to her, but instead, she received suspicious glances. “What is it?” “No one knows quite what you are yet. They are wary of having an untested power in their midst.” Randr shrugged. “They will get over it after you acclimate.” She finished her food and pushed the tray aside. “What will my education entail?” Randr completed his own meal and sat back. “Do you want to learn about it here or shall we take a walk to the library?” 27

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Eager to get started, she nodded. “Library, definitely.” He rose to his feet and she to hers. As they turned to leave the dining area, a male blocked their path. Randr’s tone was irritated, “Tavik. How nice to see you again. Aura, this is Tavik. He is the newest Nameless except for you. Tavik, this is my pupil, Aura.” The young man looked at Randr with a possessive gaze. “I see that you are willing to take on the position of instructor when it suits you.” Randr shifted to stand between Aura and the young male. “You are not mine to teach, Tavik, Aura is. I have seen her in my timeline since I first looked into the Orb.” Aura blinked in surprise. Interjecting at this time would not have been a good thing. In a move so quick, she barely saw it, Tavik flickered and then appeared at her side. “What have you done to make him loyal to you, cow?” Aura didn’t like being talked down to and she really didn’t like the sneer on Tavik’s face. With a swift move, she kicked his knees out from under him, punched him in the throat and had her new knife at his neck. Randr was standing with an amused smirk on his face. “That would earn my loyalty.” A strange impulse ran through Aura and she opened her mouth, inhaling sharply. A spike of swirling power left Tavik and nestled in Aura’s body. “You won’t be able to jump again for a while. Learn some manners, Tavik. You are giving us newbies a bad 28

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reputation.” He swallowed and something flickered in his eyes. If Aura were a little more used to his features, she would have said it was the seed of respect and a little bit of fear. When his limp posture made it clear that he had surrendered, she released him and sheathed her knife. An audience had gathered, but the only person she was looking at was Randr. She had been prepared for irritation or even fear, but the heated arousal in his expression was unmistakable. She straightened her gown self-consciously and squared her shoulders. “I believe that we were going to the library?” Randr offered his hand. “Wherever my lady wishes.” The crowd parted and Tavik got to his feet, bowing to her as she walked past him on Randr’s arm. “That was weird.” She murmured it as they walked out of the elegant building along another side-less bridge. “Tavik has had trouble adjusting and he despises the fact that his tutor is one of the seven councillors. At his point in time, his race has not yet learned the value of equality and having a woman in a superior and senior position to him is too much for him to deal with. Your little display will either make him rethink his attitude or get you an enemy for life, which around here can take quite a while.” She winced and he wrapped his arm around her. “Aura, why did you react with violence?” “That wasn’t violent. It was intercession in a situation that could become much more difficult if it 29

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was allowed to continue. He had to know that I would not be intimidated.” “Why?” “Because Tavik is a bully and there is no way to teach him a lesson without making him vulnerable first. He will only pick up on what he can use to his advantage.” She shrugged. The library was a most peculiar affair. Frames were around the edge of the room with tiny plaques under each one. The rows of frames swirled upward along the walls, an endless procession that went up into the hundreds of feet. “How does this work?” She walked up to the nearest frame and it flickered, an image taking shape inside it. “You select the point in time that you want to see and focus on the planet and general area. It will show you everything that one of the Nameless has seen in that place and time.” The frame nearest to her was a relatively current era. She pressed her palm to the smooth panel on the side and focussed on Tarral Nich. Watching your own death was creepy, but Aura had to make sure. “You should not be watching that. It will upset you.” Randr put his hands on her shoulders and the image dimmed for a moment. “I have to see it. I need to make sure he was dead.” Randr’s fingers tensed. “Fine. Watch your own death then.” “Thank you, I will.” She concentrated and focussed, watching her hands and body attack the assassin and being stabbed in 30

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return. “Why is this the point of view?” “You are the one who saw this moment in time. You saw what he did and what you did in return.” She didn’t hush him but watched her blasting the assassin over and over until he wasn’t breathing or moving. From that moment, her focus spun and another set of eyes was now walking toward the assassin. A blade came out and slit the man’s throat as his three eyes opened in recovery. Aura knew that hand. It wiped the blood off the knife and then the image was running through the halls to sweep her into an embrace and lift her into his arms. A ball of light covered them both and then, he was striding into the medical centre at Home. She watched the medical teams cut her clothing away and the healers who worked on her in a humanfashion surgery. She watched the hands of Randr stroke her hair back from her head and idly start to weave her hair into the arrangement that she had woken up with. Images flickered as different points of view showed her during her surgery and then Randr’s hands bathed her slowly and she saw herself in a completely different light. Blushing furiously, she jerked her hand away from the frame and turned to face him. “You saw me naked?” He winced. “It was necessary.” With a happy sigh, she draped her arms around his neck and smiled. “Well, what did you think?” 31

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Chapter Six

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ight shimmered around them as he bent his head to hers for a kiss. Aura’s mind hummed with pleasure as his caress of her lips sent sparks of sensation through her body. “Where are we?” He bent and nibbled his way down her neck. “My quarters. I thought it would be better than defiling the library.” She moaned and tilted her neck as his hands worked at her gown, easing it until it pooled at her hips. Randr worked at her belt and when the dagger fell to the ground, he pushed the dress after it. Facing him in nothing but her breast band, panties and shoes, she blushed under his frank scrutiny. “In all my views of time, past and present, I never thought that I could be more smitten than I am at this moment.” He drew his hands along her skin in a slow caress that showed he was enjoying all the textures he touched. “Smitten is a pale word.” “Enthralled, enraptured, entranced. Pick your word. I am busy.” He dropped to his knees and he pressed kisses to her skin as he removed the last bits of scarlet 32

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clothing. He flicked her a gaze that showed heat in those swirling stellar eyes before he wrapped his lips around one nipple and suckled strongly. Aura wove her hands into his midnight hair and arched into the pull of his mouth. Her knees started quivering as a riot began in her nerve endings. A prickling in her body beyond the sensual started and he trailed down her ribs and belly before pressing a swift kiss against the soft curls at the core of her and then grabbing her and tilting her to her back. Power writhed around her, holding her up and just at a comfortable height for Randr to press his mouth between her thighs and part her with a long slide of his tongue. She floated closer to him when he tugged on her flank and energy held her to him as he worked into her with wet heat and brought forth her own response in a wave of shivering, gasping energy. Randr’s hands cupped her ass, pulling her firmly to him as he delved into her with abandon. His sharp teeth were pressing against her clit as he flicked into her with his tongue in endless, wet slides. When he withdrew his mouth from her sex, he replaced the thrust of one appendage with two long fingers that curved and stroked the upper wall of her channel. Mewling and helpless, Aura tried to grab for his head, but with the energy holding her in place, there was no way to sit up or move to grip anything. She was trapped with her nails digging into her palms while her body jerked with every caress of her g-spot. Her voice panted and whined as she fought to gain 33

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her release, but it was when he wrapped his lips around the small bud of her clit that she screamed as the flick of his tongue sent her over the edge. Aura’s hoarse shout was Randr’s signal to toss her to the bed. While she waited for the spasms of her channel to cease, Randr was stripping out of his clothing. For a man with a pale complexion, his body was structured like a warrior who did nothing but fight and preparing to fight. Long limbs, slabs of muscle, lithe legs and wide shoulders gave her quite a bit to absorb, but the wide, flared cock that was taking center stage made her eager to get on with the assimilation. Aura sat up to reach for him, but he pushed her back with gentle and insistent hands. He linked his hands to her, palm to palm, and as their fingers wound together, he worked into her. She wanted to close her eyes to savour the feeling of his cock sliding into her, but facing him and watching his expression as he moved into her for the first time was too tempting. The stars in his eyes, the swirling galaxies that she could see against the blackness, they hypnotized her and pulled her in. As her body was swallowed by pleasure, her mind opened to see every moment of her past. Every disappointment, every moment of enjoyment and all images of her friends and family swamped her thoughts. All of her time came to her, crystal clear and she rocked with Randr as a new series of images filled her mind. She saw Randr as a lover laughing with her in the morning light, her family as seen from a distance, being 34

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handcuffed in front of the seven and knowing that it would not end well, Tavik coming to her aid and a new branch of the Nameless taking form. All of these images were hazy, blurred as if they were not yet set, but Aura recognized a few of them from her own past. If she was right, she was going to break some very big rules for the Nameless. Light started to pour out of her, her skin glowing brightly in Randr’s embrace as she arched against his increasingly powerful thrusts. Each slide and rock drew a gasp from her and when she screamed, he shouted, grinding his hips to hers and his own glow met and mingled with hers, his timeline pouring into her mind. His hands were still holding hers, his lips moving softly against her neck when she blinked herself back to the present. She tried to kiss him, but she was firmly pinned to the bed. A low laugh worked its way out of her throat. “Defile the library indeed.” He raised his head and pressed a kiss to her jaw, working his way up to her lips in minute increments. His smile kept the kiss from being more intimate, but she got the idea. “Why can I see parts of your life in my mind?” He looked surprised. “I haven’t heard of that before. Usually, we only share our viewpoints for the present.” Aura braced her feet on the bed and rocked her hips slightly. “Does this kind of thing happen often among the Nameless?” Randr feathered kisses along her forehead. “Not that often. We normally take casual lovers in the timelines we visit.” 35

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“So, this is unusual?” He pressed his lips to hers. “Not where you are concerned. The unusual is the everyday with you.” “Should I be flattered?” “It is a fact. Nothing about you is standard or usual. You are exceptional in every way.” She closed her eyes and went through her view of Randr’s timeline. He had grown up on a high-tech world over a century ago. Despite his people being evolved, they chose combat as a method for settling their differences and he was a good citizen and went to war. On a battlefield in the rain, he had been dying from a series of wounds inflicted by a shattering vehicle. A woman wearing a hood had come and knelt at his side. With surprising strength, she tore one arm of his bloodsoaked uniform from him and draped it over the large puddle of crimson at his side. She had simply lifted him and carried him Home in a burst of light. Agrohan was his rescuer and her bondmate, Ickola, was his healer and tutor. He had learned the ways of the Nameless and begun to live a life after his had ceased. “How are you doing that?” She smiled at his question. “I have no idea. There is so much inside me now, and I am not even counting you.” Tilting her hips against him caused an answering twitch inside her. He retreated and slid forward, thrusting deep. “Concentrate on me, the rest will sort itself out in the morning.” She laughed, “If this is part of my instruction, 36

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consider me an attentive pupil.” As he rocked into her with short shifts of his hips, she shivered. Her first day as a Nameless might have started out rough, but it was ending with a bang.

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Chapter Seven

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earning to move in space was easy at Home. Since it was a fixed point in space and time, removed from both, it did not move while one of the Nameless was stepping from place to place. “Come on, Aura. We are not going to have breakfast unless you can walk directly to the refectory.” Randr was sexier this morning than he had been last night and that was saying something. Today, he was wearing a dark crimson shirt, black trousers and black boots. For her, he had retrieved the Terran wear from the previous day’s selections. “While that clothing is very form fitting, it is not that flattering to you. I much prefer you in the gown of yesterday.” He sighed heavily. She laughed and concentrated on calling the Orb power within. “You seemed to prefer me in nothing yesterday.” “True.” “Then, shush and let me concentrate. These clothes are comfortable and let me move. That gown was a little restrictive.” He snorted. “I am sure that Tavik is grateful for it.” She gave him a dark look and got back to 38

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concentrating. When she managed to create a doorway to the refectory, she stepped through and had to stifle the frantic inner applause that her mind was generating. Randr appeared at her side in an instant. “Well done. First lesson learned and passed.” “Hardly my first lesson. For example, that thing you did with your little finger last night was completely new to me.” She laughed as he stood there with a shocked expression on his face. This morning, she stayed on the safe side of the foodstuffs that had been acquired for the Nameless. She sat and ate with her tutor, asking him anything that passed her thoughts. “So, nothing grows here because time is a static state?” “Correct.” “Then how was I able to heal at all, how are we able to speak and move?” Aura nibbled at her experimental food for the day, substance on a stick. “The Orb gives us the ability to live outside of time, as for your wound, I sped up the healing process to allow you to live. It was the same way it was done for me and the same way it was done for everyone here.” She chuckled. “So, the Nameless are a bit lemminglike in their habits?” “I don’t understand the reference.” “We tend to die a lot.” “Well, yes. But, if our collectors are paying attention, then we are taken up at the moment that we die.” “What if the collectors don’t get there in time?” It was a legitimate question. She wanted to know how many of her new people were missed in the shuffle. 39

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“They die and are not healed and given the power of the Orb. They live and die a normal life.” She shrugged. Billions of people died every day. Some had tremendous potential but died anyway. It was not fair, but life wasn’t fair. Aura felt a searing pain and she clutched her head. Images of her beaten sister sobbing against her mother, the police standing in the living room and taking the information of the attack swarmed through her thoughts. When she was fourteen, her nineteen-year-old sister had been out with friends and had been abducted from the parking lot of the bar while they were waiting for a cab. Beaten and bloody, she had stumbled home, but her mother had refused to let her shower. With no recriminations and no shame, Aura’s mother had taken Carola to the hospital and stayed by her side while she gave the details to the police. Aura was reliving every moment, but when the police arrived to notify Carola that her attacker had been killed, everything went bright. “What is going on?” Randr’s whisper was concerned. “What do you see?” “It isn’t right. I am seeing something that happened when I was younger, but I am seeing things from a different angle as if I was there.” Randr rubbed her shoulder. “You are needed in time. This happens occasionally. When we need to be in a specific place, this sort of thing takes over our minds and bodies, giving us an imperative to go and take our place in time.” 40

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“How can I do this when I don’t know what I am doing?” “The energy will guide you, but you need to get a hood.” He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her in his arms. There was a bright flash of light and they were in a building with racks, tracks and machines that whirred and chirped happily as they filed and retrieved objects. Randr set her on her feet. “This is our storage facility. You can request anything and it will be found. Simply select your size and view the available objects, or request something and acquisitions will find it for you in an hour or so.” Aura touched the knife belt on her hips. It had been a reflex to put it on, but based on what she had seen, she was going to have to use it soon. She stood in line with six others waiting to use the machine. Randr was at her side and they both waited patiently, but her body had other ideas. It started to glow. The woman ahead of her glanced back and then jumped. She tapped the man in front of her and they parted. “Why are you doing that? I can wait my turn.” The woman smiled. “If time is calling you, it must be urgent. Get what you need. We can wait.” The entire queue parted to let her through and she quickly entered her measurements in and selected a large hoodie. When the box was delivered to her, she put the black hoodie on and pulled the hood down to cast her eyes in shadow. 41

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Randr frowned. “I do not think you should be going alone.” She looked at him. “Is the procedure for going back in time the same as for my moving here at Home?” He scrubbed his hand through his hair. “Not really. We will use the library. It will help you focus.” She nodded and pictured the library in her mind. It didn’t take much looking to find the frame with the decade she wanted in it. She placed her palm on the edge and focussed. “I will be here and then, I will come back as quickly as I can. Is that all right?” Randr turned her to face him and pressed a heated kiss to her lips that made her head spin. “Come back as soon as you do what time commands. If you don’t, I can and will retrieve you again.” She nodded and returned to the frame, focussing on the image of her sister’s bruised face and using it as the touchstone. With a slight flick of her mind, she found the man who had done it and when she had her focus, she stepped into the image. Andrew Smith was a normal-looking man and you would never guess that he was a vicious rapist until you saw the dead look in his eyes and the bruises on his knuckles. Carola had marked the side of his neck with her nails and it was that telltale streak of red that confirmed his identity in Aura’s mind. To walk the streets of her hometown again, to breathe in the air of her city was a true blast from the past. 42

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Andrew was walking down the street from his home to the car park where he kept the vehicle that he had used to stage his little attack. Aura followed him, a cool necessity taking over her mind. She hated him with a passion and when she had been told he had been stabbed in a car park, she had felt relief and her sister had begun to rebuild the shattered sanity that had been hanging by a thread. His death had let her life move forward and so, time decreed that he had to die.

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Chapter Eight

S

tabbing someone was far messier than she had imagined, but the black of the hoodie concealed the bloodstains nicely. Her mind remained cool and blank, another moment in her life was now pressing on her. Without thinking about it, she focussed on a night that had flared into memory the moment that she saw the hoodie. It had seemed so peculiar at the time, but she now knew what she could not have imagined then. When the call for Terran Volunteers spread across Earth and every race and continent put their best and brightest forward, Aura had been sitting in a coffee shop and waiting for her order. A woman wearing peculiar clothing and a hood had come up and spoken to her in a familiar voice. In this moment with blood on her hands, Aura was sure of one thing. She had been the woman who had been in that coffee shop on that day. Sighing, she heard the siren in the distance and quickly moved out of the range of the monitors. Focussing on Home, she stepped through the doorway and right into Randr’s arms. “You are covered with blood, Aura. Are you 44

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injured?” His concern was intense. He swiftly lifted her in his arms and held her while he stepped to his private quarters. “I am fine. I just had to take care of a moment in time that needed my attention.” She shivered as he hauled her into the lav and quickly stripped her. She was under the spray in seconds, the stains of the stabbing being sluiced from her skin by his attentive hands. “What did you do?” His voice was low as he scrubbed her before wrapping her in a fluffy towel. “What I had to. My sister was attacked and a day later, her attacker was found stabbed to death in a car park. That is where the Orb took me, so that is what I did. The strange thing is that I wasn’t driving my body. It was like when clients use my mind and my mouth to speak through. Time was speaking and this man had to die.” He closed his eyes and sighed. “I hadn’t gotten around to telling you about the rules and that alone might save you here.” She watched him clean her blade and belt. “What rules?” “You are not allowed to go back within your own timeline. Nothing that you do can affect your life and alter it in any way.” She sat on the small chair near the vanity table. “The problem arises in the fact that the man who raped my sister was definitely murdered via stabbing within forty-eight hours of the attack and he was killed in that car park before he could get rid of the vehicle with her blood in it. The timing of his murder gave my entire 45

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family and my sister’s friends rock-solid alibis. They were all together in the family home and the police were taking interviews from the friends who were with her the night she was taken. It was a window of two hours and it ended her torment and let her get on with her life. When I left Earth, she had three kids and a husband who doted on her.” Aura teared up a little as she thought of her family getting older and her own existence continuing on until she met some catastrophic end. He finished drying her belt and started to oil it lightly. “What was the effect of her attack on your life?” “My parents took more of an interest in our lives. They planned for our futures and helped us to achieve our goals. Until that horrible night, we had simply been accessories to them as far as we knew. Deep down, we knew they loved us, but after that day, they started to show it. It marked a turning point in the way I thought about family and friends. It changed my life.” He cupped her cheek with his hand. “That must have been quite the shock.” She shrugged. “Our pasts make us who we are, shape the future that we will take. Without that moment, I would never had had the ability to take a risk on the Volunteers and never ended up here. I would not be me.” “Remember that. You will have to explain it to the seven. At least you have plenty of witnesses to the summons.” He smiled and disappeared into the bedroom. He returned with the third box of wrap tunic and 46

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trousers. She put it on and brushed her hair out once again. They were just walking back into the bedroom when a wall panel lit up. Winking, Randr answered the call. “Randr, we need to see you and your pupil immediately. Her first transit was monitored and she will need to face the council.” “Understood. We are on our way.” He disconnected the call and turned to her. “Are you prepared to meet with the seven and explain what you did?” She grabbed one of his cowls and draped it around her neck. “Ready as I will ever be. Just let me put the knife back in place and I will meet you there.” Randr frowned but nodded. “If you are not there in three minutes, I will come looking.” She smiled brightly. “Be right there.” Aura buckled the dagger into place and opened the rift in time and space. If she was going to be kicked out of the Nameless for moving through her own timeline, may as well be reprimanded for twice as for once. The shop was as busy as she remembered it. With her cowl drawn over her head, she looked like one of any number of religious observers. Lone Aura was sitting and reading a paper while drinking coffee. Current Aura paused by the seat across from her and asked, “May I use this chair for a moment?” Past Aura looked up and smiled. “Of course. It is standing room only in here today.” Present Aura looked up at the television that was 47

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announcing the amazing news of alien life and the request for Volunteers. “Would you ever consider doing that?” Past Aura looked at the monitor, “What? Applying for something like that? No. With all of the Olympic athletes and military personnel being shoved at them, a little nobody like me would never even make the final cut.” Present Aura looked at herself and smiled. “You never know unless you try. Someone who truly embodies humanity with all its flaws could be just what they are looking for. Give it some thought. Thank you for the chair.” Aura sighed and got to her feet, walking past herself to the door. Past Aura grabbed her arm. “Weren’t you going to have coffee?” Aura smiled, “I got what I wanted here today. Space may be a stepping stone to your destiny. Keep an open mind, go to the office and see what they say.” The crowd jostled her and her cowl slipped back for a moment. She quickly tugged it back into position, but Past Aura’s face had a shocked look. When Aura made it out of the shop, she breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing an alien had indeed been her primary motivator to apply to be a Volunteer. The woman with black eyes had made an impression. Walking into the alley nearby, she walked back to the council hall where seven Nameless were waiting to kick her ass for breaking rules she barely knew existed.

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Chapter Nine

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er timing was perfect, but she was wearing a coffee stain that she hadn’t realized she acquired. “Am I late?” She stepped into the centre of the council room once again. Randr looked down at her and did a double take. “You didn’t come straight here, did you?” She sighed. “Let’s find out.” They stood together and waited. Ravikka waved her hand and the image of a blood-spattered body on the ground filled the screen. “Aura, the seven has called you here to address the matter of you using the Orb-given abilities to tamper with your own timeline. This is forbidden as it causes damage to the time stream and changes you.” They sat and stared at her. Aura stared back. Randr was trying not to laugh, she could tell. Gwetho leaned forward. “What do you have to say for yourself?” Aura gave a quick bow to the council. “I had to.” Ravikka cocked her head and the others murmured at her words. “What do you mean?” Aura straightened and explained her past and the 49

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necessity for the vengeance that she had enacted. “The Orb must have agreed, because it replayed the date and time over and over in my mind and set my body glowing. There were folk in line at the acquisition centre that saw my skin lighting up and can confirm my story.” Gwetho leaned back with a strange look in his eyes. “How did you feel while you were killing him?” Aura tried to remember, “I don’t know. I was completely blank as if something else was riding my body to do what was necessary. I still have no clear memories of the event other than knowing that I was the one to do it and being covered in blood.” Rehnara leaned forward. “You didn’t have control over your body?” Aura rubbed at her forehead. “It was more like this was something I had to do. The impetus to carry out this task was all consuming. The other one I did on my own.” Randr stiffened at her side. Ravikka blinked, “What other one?” Aura straightened, “In the spirit of full disclosure, several years ago, I was sitting in a coffee shop and a strange woman came by and gave me the idea that I could volunteer to leave my world and I would be considered. Without her words, I never would have left my planet, never joined the Alliance, never gotten the training as a kah-dore and never ended up here. I went and spoke to myself to give me that pep talk.” Rehnara asked, “You spoke to yourself? How do you know this?” Aura looked down at her clothing. “A woman 50

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wearing this non-Terran outfit sat next to me with a cowl over her features. We spoke quickly and she left, I left. Wow this time stuff is weird.” Gwetho snickered, “So, the first trip into your own life you did innocently, the second knowing that it was forbidden.” Aura nodded. “I knew I had to get the trip to see myself in before I was locked down by the council. I know it is weird, but I didn’t want to miss the opportunities that I have had in my own life.” Ravikka rubbed her forehead. “This is a very difficult situation. Please give us an hour and then return to receive our decision.” Randr wrapped his arm around her waist and forcibly escorted her out the door and onto a huge arc of a bridge. “You could have told me.” “I didn’t know what was going to happen. I just wanted to get it in before they Un-Namelessed me or something. If they were going to lock the current me in, I didn’t want the past me to suffer.” She leaned against him and sighed. “They can’t undo what the Orb has done. They can try and restrict you here at Home or put you in a subservient position like polishing the frames in the library.” He stopped on the bridge, the expanse of their peculiar Home spread out as far as the eye could see. Aura looked up into his fathomless eyes and watched the stars spin. “I don’t care what they do to me. I did what I had to do to keep myself on the path that led me here.” “You didn’t warn yourself of the treachery that you would encounter?” 51

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She shook her head. “No. I didn’t want to colour my reactions when it happens. My innocence was proven when I was scanned over and over. It was the only thing that kept me from being imprisoned for killing the ambassador. The security teams were eager for a conviction.” He grinned. “Well, knowing that, you will be fine. You may be restricted in your movements for a while, but nothing punitive will be done to you, I am sure of it.” She smiled up at him and noticed a small device clipped to his right earlobe. “Are you wearing a wire?” He blinked. “What?” “A transmitter.” She scowled. “The council wished to know the details of your actions and compare them to the imager. If the two match up, you will be free to go where you will.” She sighed. “They could have just asked me.” “Their experience is that people will lie to gloss over their lapses in etiquette. They will check and then they will render their decision.” He kissed her and she remained passive. “Is something wrong?” “You kept that from me. That is not a good thing.” Her tone was grim and she tried to continue on the bridge. Randr gripped her arm and held her. “It was necessary to clear your name. The seven are not interested in disciplining the Nameless, but it is one of their tasks when this sort of breach occurs. Usually, they only have to attend the celebrations when a new Nameless is brought aboard.” 52

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“I am still not happy.” “What can I do to make it up to you?” He was sincere, it radiated from him. “I don’t know.” Aura sighed. “I honestly don’t know.” They walked together in silence, doing a long loop across several walkways until they returned to the council chambers. The seven were on their feet and witnesses were assembled. Aura and Randr took their position on the central icon on the floor. Ravikka gave them a solemn look. “It pains us to have to discipline one of our own, but on this occasion, there is nothing else to be done.” Aura was resigned, but Randr tensed. Ravikka continued, “Randr, as you are the tutor of this woman and responsible for her until her training is complete. We are binding you to her for as long as you both shall live. She will be unable to walk the worlds alone, as will you. Where one of you walks, the other will follow.” Randr jerked physically as if struck. “A forced bonding? That has never been enacted.” Ravikka smiled, “We have reason to believe that you have already woven your timeline with hers and she with yours. You will be bonded and her knowledge will be yours and yours will become hers. There is no other way that the council will allow her power to traipse around Home and the universe at large. She needs a guard and a keeper and you are now both.” Aura was confused. “What is happening?” 53

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Rehnara piped up, “You are being ordered into an arranged marriage, Aura. Your punishment for breaking the rules and Randr’s for sending you off without you knowing all the regulations.” Gwetho was smiling and one of the observers stepped forward, handing him a strange object. “Acquisitions tells us that it is traditional for a bride of your species and culture to carry flowers, so they brought these along for you.” He handed her a bouquet and gave her an encouraging pat on her arm. Ravikka stood in front of them and looked at Randr. “As the speaker for the seven, I hereby declare you bondmate to Aura.” She turned her head and smiled at Aura. “As the speaker for the seven, I hereby declare you bondmate to Randr. “Where one of you goes, both shall go. When one is called to duty, both shall be called to duty. You are linked by law and power.” Aura was going to comment that their power had not been combined when Ravikka extended her arms and the other members of the council sent small orbs of power toward her. She gathered them together and extended the ball, adding power of her own. “Place your hands on the Orb and accept your binding.” Aura reached out with her free hand and placed it on the orb. The crackle of power ran over her fingers as she caressed the surface. Randr paused, looked down at her and then firmly pressed his hand to the orb. Aura flinched as the power shot up her arm and 54

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raced through her body and she saw Randr do the same as the bundle of energy was gradually absorbed into their skin. Ravikka grinned. “With this energy tying these two together, I now pronounce them bonded until the Orb of Time shall end their cycles. Go with our blessings.” Aura’s hand stung, but she grinned, “The tradition of the flowers indicates that all single women must line up to take a chance at catching it as I throw it. Anyone without a bondmate needs to stand over there.” The observers laughed a little but shifted and four women of the council walked over to take part. Aura turned her back to the women and tossed the bouquet. Ravikka stood with a surprised look on her features and grinned in shock. “What happens next?” Aura laughed. “Traditionally, out of the women gathered here, you will be the next to be bonded. It is a superstition but still rather fun. Whatever happens, you now have a lovely bouquet to keep yourself company tonight.” Randr grabbed her from behind, his arm wrapping around her torso. “I believe that a consummation of the bonding is also required.” She smiled, “If not required, at least demanded. Lead the way, bondmate. I will follow where you walk.”

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Chapter Ten

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e didn’t walk them there. He lifted her and walked her into the portal that led to his room. Her clothing flew off under his skilled fingers and when she was standing in nothing but her hair, he stripped himself and stood next to her. “With my folk, we had a tradition of the woman tasting every inch of her bondmate on their first night. I will forego the entire experience if you will simply apply your lips wherever you see fit.” She laughed. “I am a fan of upholding tradition. Hold still.” Surprising him, she slid behind him and went up on her toes, lifting his hair and pressing a kiss to the nape of his neck. A soft flick of her tongue made him jump and she grinned as she moved on to his shoulders. She spent five minutes slowly caressing and licking every major muscle group and joint. His muscles were flexing and trembling under his skin with every soft touch of her mouth and fingers. Feeling wicked, she knelt on the floor and scooted around him, facing his slick cock and tense aspect. She started at his feet, worked her way up to his thighs and then stood, kissing his jaw, neck and collarbone. The musculature of his body was different from a human male but similar enough for her to tell what was what. Her deliberately obtuse caresses were leaving him aching and the precum that his cock produced was 56

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actually coming out of the entire shaft, slicking the entire column for entry, an ingenious design that would lubricate the long, wide column for ease of movement. When her tongue finished trailing down his torso and over his hips, she only had one part of him left unlicked. Her voice was husky. “Lie down.” He jerked at the throaty growl of her tone, moving to the bed and lying back with the erect pole of his cock summoning her. She climbed up and knelt at his hip, bracing herself so that the only part of her body touching him would be her mouth. She slid her tongue down the column of his shaft, feeling the pulse inside and the waves of heat that here coming from his skin. He tasted vaguely of salt-water taffy. Sweet, salty and slightly smoky, she parted her lips and took the head into her mouth, licking and sucking softly. The seduction of Randr had done its own work on her and as she sucked and slurped, her channel throbbed and clit ached for a touch. When she finally withdrew, licking her lips slowly, Randr’s control broke. He flipped her to her back and feathered a kiss to the nape of her neck. “Oh you are kidding me.” He growled, “Equality is important. What you did to me will now be done to you. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.” His tone did not say that he had enjoyed it. His tone said it had been torture and to be honest with herself, that had been her purpose. Aura clenched her hands in the bedding and held tight. She arched, twisted and shook as his lips and 57

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tongue teased her spine, buttocks and thighs. When Randr slid an arm under her waist and flipped her to her back, the rush of cold air on her hot and aching skin caused a gasp. His grin was wicked, but the sweat beading his brow and coating his chest told her that this was just as difficult for him as for her. She let her voice loose, sighing, moaning and twisting as he kissed, licked and caressed her torso until she was fighting the urge to flip him to his back and straddle him. When he parted her thighs and tasted her, the keening wail of an orgasm denied broke from her and her body shook wildly when his tongue slid inside. He moved up and repeatedly tongued her clit, sending her into the arms of the release that she had been waiting for. Snarling, he fit himself to her and pushed inside, the extra girth that he had gained must be a species peculiarity to waiting, because he was wider than he had been the night before. She felt stuffed, filled to aching, but when he started to move, pleasure drove out all discomfort. With every stroke, her body stretched, shifted and accommodated him until she was able to wrap her legs around his waist and hold on tight as he began to thrust in earnest. The fit was so tight that when he groaned and his hips jerked against her, she could feel the ripple that ran through his cock and when he jetted inside her, the peculiar stroking sent her over the edge. Sweat coated them both, but Randr wrapped her in his arms and held her tight. He rolled to his side but 58

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remained inside her, holding her leg over his hips. “Good evening, bondmate.” Lazy satisfaction was written all over his face and body. She grinned and blushed. “Good evening, bondmate.” He stroked his hand slowly down her back. “This is not the way I would have chosen to bring us together, but I am willing to deal with it.” Aura grinned, “I think the method of our coming together was just fine. What did you have in mind?” He laughed and rolled to his back, sending his cock to the hilt inside her. “You know what I meant.” She sighed and rocked slowly against him. “Yes, I do. What did you have in mind?” “A slow courtship, introducing you to my culture, that sort of thing.” She cocked her head and she started to move on him with a more deliberate motion. “Why can’t we do that?” His eyes widened and the stars spun rapidly in his gaze. “You would like a courtship?” She rose and fell as their conversation started to wear on her concentration. “I would like us to be complete. We have been fused together at the centre, but the edges are loose. I want to seal those edges with experiences that we share.” He grinned, grabbed her hips and pulled free of her. She cried out at the loss of heat inside her, but when he put her on her hands and knees and slid into her while cupping and kneading at her breasts, she forgot everything else. He thrust, circled and thrust again, his cock waking every nerve inside her and the angle of his entry stroked 59

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the nerve bundle on her front wall. Aura bucked, twisted and slammed back against him as she sought her release, but when he reached under her to stroke her clit, she screamed as her orgasm rushed her and pulled her under. He shouted as his own climax struck him and his weight bore her to the bed under him. Her heartbeat slowed to a normal pace and she smiled at the feel of him against her. She might have a lot to learn as a Nameless, but it seemed that she had already caught on to one of the most important things in life, finding someone to share it with.

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Chapter Eleven andr woke her in the predawn light. “Wake up, Aura. We have to go.” She opened her eyes and his skin was glowing white, as was hers. “I don’t understand.” “The Orb has summoned us to attend a moment in time and we must go. Can you not see it?” Aura concentrated and an alien landscape came to her, rushing in to show her a town square and a people all wearing clothing similar to her outfit of the previous day. “I can see the where but not the what.” “We will be shown what do to. Now, take a shower and bind your hair up. We have a moment to witness for the archives.” She stumbled to her feet. Her thighs fought her for a moment, not wanting to close properly. As a wedding night, it had been memorable. Perhaps one day in the future, the Orb would send someone back to witness it. With a smile on her face, she waddled into the shower and stood as the hot spray woke her up the rest of the way. It was a cross between relaxation and pain and she used it to rinse off the sweat of the night before as well as the cum that had dried on her inner thighs.

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She turned off the taps and gingerly patted her skin with the towel. Her skin had been nipped, bitten and sucked in a number of locations and she was covered with a layer of light bruising in peculiar areas. She brushed her hair out and braided it. Looking at herself in the mirror was a challenge as the glow that she was putting out made focussing a little awkward. Aura tied the braid off with a piece of string she found in a drawer and when she got dressed, she left the wet braid hanging down her back. She put the wrap tunic and trousers back into place and arranged the cowl over her head as quickly as she could. Randr was ready and wearing a matching outfit. “Are you ready?” “I am.” He held out his hand and they used the energy of their imperative to step through space and time. “Why are we sent to some places and not others?” “The Orb is trying to get an image of all living experience from what we can tell. It wants to see all pivotal points in time—where destinies were changed and lives took a different path.” She nodded and they joined the crowd slowly working its way toward the centre of town. It was a modern city, but everyone was on foot and not in the conveyances that were parked on the sides of the streets. Aura asked him, “Does anyone ever notice us?” He nodded. “Every now and then there are individuals who can see us for what we are despite the cowl. It is how the Nameless got their names. Others 62

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call us the Sentinels.” At his speaking those two titles, a few local folk looked at them before shrugging and looking away. “They don’t want to see us, do they?” Aura was catching on. “We don’t belong here, but we are not to be feared, so they try and look past us.” “Why do we wear the blades?” “Blades are used for defence on almost every world at every point in history. It is the easiest weapon that we can carry and not make a scene or draw attention.” He didn’t have his arm around her, but he was as close as the crowd would allow. None of the people they walked with were touching and it was a telling point. No sense breaking taboos and bringing attention to themselves. They walked and Aura looked at as much as she could. She had no idea what the moment they were supposed to be watching was, so she was going to take in everything. A podium had been assembled in the middle of the square and as they watched, a male strode to the centre of the elevated space and addressed the crowd. “Men and women of Tival, I am here to spread the news about a strange find at one of our satellite outposts. We have proof of life from beyond our world and it has made a request. Two thousand of our people are to be offered to them to test our suitability to join their Allied worlds. If our people can blend in, they will be welcome and we will experience the benefits of increased technology. “Meetings such as this one are occurring all over our 63

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planet. If we agree, we will see some of those visitors and they will begin an interview process for our Volunteers.” The crowd murmured, a voice called out, “What if we don’t want it?” “Our government has already decided that the benefits far outweigh the displeasure of the people. We managed to expunge the psychic gene in our species, because it was not wanted. Now, we have the chance to use the advanced technology for our own advancement without the aid of genetic tampering. “The representatives will be arriving soon and they are to be greeted with cordiality and polite respect, no matter what they look like. We need this, we need what the Alliance can give us and anyone who interferes with the process will be incarcerated. This meeting was just to make sure that everyone was on the same page. Gathering dismissed.” Just like that, the Tival gathering broke up and folk started to leave. A voice called out, “Where do we volunteer?” The crowd froze. The man on the podium scowled toward the speaker and Aura looked at the man in the crowd, still facing the podium. “I don’t think you understand. Our volunteers will be hand selected. They are volunteers in name only. Now, disperse.” The crowd turned and dispersed, leaving Aura, Randr and the man who had wanted to volunteer. He looked at them with surprise and Randr inclined his head before he opened a portal for anyone to see 64

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and pulled her back Home. Aura was shocked, “Why did you do that?” Randr smiled, “Check your memory of the timeline.” She closed her eyes and ran through the images and the bright flash that encouraged the only Tival champion to force his way into the Tival Volunteers was indeed caused by two unknown folk who were never seen again. “Wow. This is tricky stuff. I don’t know if I am going to get the hang of it.” He smiled. “You will. We have appeared at a million points in history, holding up a ticket, knocking a child from the path of a carriage, directing a scanner to a socalled empty point in space that finds a floating shuttle or life-pod.” “That is a heady responsibility.” “It is not ours, it is the Orb. We are simply its hands and feet.” He smiled. She blinked and her stomach growled. “I am going to get some lunch. Coming?” He shook his head, but there was a sly look in his eyes. “No, you go ahead.” Shrugging, she powered up and opened the doorway to the refectory. A second after she came through, Randr was at her side. “I thought you weren’t coming.” He shook his head. “I didn’t. We are tied together. Where you go, I go and vice versa. I just wanted to test it out and it really worked.” She winced. “A good thing you weren’t using the lav then. I am assuming this only happens when we are 65

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using the gateways.” He shrugged. “I don’t know. I have never seen a bonded couple like us before.” She wandered to the food selections and then found a table. To her surprise, Tavik sat next to her and inquired as to her day. “It has been fine, Tavik. Here is your power back.” She exhaled and released his ability to use his power to move in time and space. He blinked and smiled. It was a shy smile. “How did you come upon such control of your abilities so early?” Randr sat across from her and nodded for her to answer. Aura ate a few bites and then explained, “I have been trained to compartmentalize my mind. This apparently was very attractive to the Orb and it moved more of its consciousness into me than is normal. This gave me the means to control the influx of power and in that manner, yours.” He stared at her, eyes wide. “Where did you get that training?” “From the Alliance. I was a Terran Volunteer and I received training to welcome other minds into my mind at the Citadel. It took two years and was very painful, but I managed it.” Tavik blinked. “You had to study?” “Of course. No thing achieved is valued unless there is work involved to acquire and master it. If you spent more time working on how to manage your new power and less on how to gain mastery without working at it, you would be a much better Nameless and you might even be tapped for a witnessing moment.” 66

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Tavik smiled, “You think so?” “When you prove that you have an interest in time as a whole and not simply your place in it, yes. We are all here because we have the potential to be so much more than we were born to. Prove it and then gain the respect of your peers. Start by asking your tutor every question you are too embarrassed to ask. There is no place for embarrassment here, many of the moments that we witness are consummations that begin lines of dynasties reaching from thousands of years ago to modern times.” A polite smattering of applause broke out from the nearby tables and faces that had once looked at her with fear now grinned at her grasp of the Nameless purpose. Randr smiled at her and reached out to take her hand. “I believe that you have captured the heart of our existence, my love. We live not because we are too great to die but because our lives could be more useful than our deaths.” Aura smiled at her bondmate and squeezed his hand with hers. “I never thought that getting stabbed in a museum would be the best thing that happened to me, but here I am and I couldn’t be more pleased with how things have turned out.” **** Tavik watched them look into each other’s eyes and while he felt a vague jealousy that they had a bond he wished for himself, a tiny flicker of power within him gave him the image of a bondmate of his own. She was tall, strong and of the same species as Aura, but if he could wait for a decade, she would be his. 67

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He left the couple alone and went off to beg his tutor’s forgiveness and to begin again. If he was to get a mate of his own one day, he wanted to be worthy of the woman that time was showing him was meant for him alone. He had a lot of work to do, but as he walked toward the council hall, he grinned, time was on his side.

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Author’s Note When you hear about the big bang, some folks think of it as a beginning, but I have to wonder, what was there first? When one thing begins, another ends and this set of five books covers the universe that didn’t want to end and the measures that it takes to keep its hand in. Aura has lived a tangled life. She has saved herself several times and has interfered in the lives of others. In the following four books, we will find out exactly what happens when women who barely have a grip on their own reality start monkeying around with time. Thanks for Reading Viola Grace [email protected] http://www.violagrace.com http://www.extasybooks.com

About the Author Viola Grace was born in Manitoba, Canada where she still resides today. She really likes it there. She has no pets and can barely keep sea monkeys alive for a reasonable amount of time. In keeping with busy hands are happy hands, her hobbies have included crossstitch, needlepoint, quilting, costuming, cake decorating, baking, cooking, metal work, beading, sculpting, painting, doll making, henna tattoos, chain mail, and a few others that have been forgotten. It is quite often that these hobbies make their way into her tales. Viola’s fetishes include boots and corsetry, and her greatest weakness is her uncontrollable blush. Her writing actively pursues the Happily Ever After that so rarely occurs in nature. It is an admirable thing and something that we should all strive for. To find one that we truly like, as well as love.