Page 142 of Return of the Nine

“Are you dangerous?”

“To you? Never. Would you care to accompany me to the Balance area where we can look into the best means by which to use your talent?”

She looked back at Ziggy, and her friend waved her on with a smile. “I know where to find you. There is a tracker in your suit.”

“Then, S’rin, my afternoon is all yours.” She stepped toward him, and he offered her his arm.

With a sense of destiny, she wrapped her hand around the fabric that covered him. He shivered and her body heated. There was something between them, and it went deeper than a shared fashion sense.

Chapter Seven

“I did not think you would be so agreeable to joining me.” S’rin’s voice was bemused.

They had made it through the pod in silence, and when they reached the Balance segment of the ship, he had begun to speak.

“Why not? I can see you, and I find you wonderful to look at on both planes. I cannot say that about many men of my acquaintance.”

“You burn brightly as well. I find your urge to run into danger in complete harmony with your compulsion to help those around you. It is an odd balance, but a balance nonetheless.”

Vida laughed. “And balance is your primary point of attraction?”

“Each race has their own points of interest. Balance just happens to be ours.”

“What happened with you and Lerinian?”

“He wanted to help you with your search. I could not allow him to blend his energies with yours. It would be an intimacy that would bind you whether you knew it or not.”

“Ah, and you are willing to bind yourself to me?”

“In a heartbeat. You are the brightest star I have ever seen, and you simply walked into my lab by chance. That has to be the design of the stars.”

She cleared her throat and fought her blush. “Where will we run our first test?”

They had crossed the Balance spaces and were walking along the outer edge of the ship. He pointed to a platform that was raised and separated from the walkway by a small metal barrier.

He opened a gate with a small catch and closed it behindthem. “I believe that this will work if you stand in front of me and I place my arms around you.”

“I can see why you thought Lerinian and I would get too close. It is a rather intimate position without adding in the mental connection.”

She knew she was babbling but staring out into space was making her a little dizzy. She swayed and his arms came around her, offering her support and an anchor to the world where gravity still held sway.

“Open your senses and look at the world beneath you and the endless space stretching in front of you. I will keep you safe.”

He held her tight and breathed slowly until her breathing matched his.

Vida leaned back against his chest and closed her eyes, letting her vision soar. She could see traces flying from the planet to the mother ship, but beyond the mother ship, there was nothing.

“There isn’t anything.” Depression gripped her.

“We are going around Gaia every few hours. Keep looking and you will see something. I will keep you supported. You need not fear.”

She could feel his energy wrapping around her, and the balance of hot and cold, calm and passion, almost made her dizzy. It also made her feel more powerful, and she extended her vision far beyond her normal range.

He was right, the world was turning under them or they were spinning over it. Either way, the five-and-a-half-year-old traces left by the Tokkel soon became visible. She could follow their paths from space to the ground.

Anticipation burned in her as she caught a trail leaving the planet and entering space. It broke up, and she howled, the connection broken.

S’rin stroked her hair and murmured in her ear. “We will find the path again. We just need a different vantage point.”

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