Page 108 of Return of the Nine

“Then, you will have to convince her that she needs to take a tour of our facilities. I believe that the opportunity will enticeher. She can have full run of a design station and access to all our tech. That has to be tempting, even if she is in retirement.”

Deniir looked at his father. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am very serious. A mind like this needs to be encouraged, not allowed to hide in the darkness. Bring her into the light.”

He straightened and made a formal bow. “Yes, Master Engineer Darthuun. I will bring this woman into the light, whether she wishes to be here or not.”

“Are you sure this is her home?” Deniir turned to ask the woman who had escorted him up the mountain.

Niika smiled. “It is where she lives. This is as far as I will take you. Whether you succeed or fail, you do it on your own.”

He frowned. “You don’t visit her?”

“Of course I do. The third day after the second moon is full. We have a schedule but that isn’t suitable for your timeline, and she can see us from here, so you had better stop looming over me.” Niika grinned at him and crossed her arms over her chest.

Deniir snorted and turned to Niika’s mate. “Cavos, can’t you do something?”

He grinned. “I am doing something. I am letting you take my mate away from our restoration of the underground Stone Folk city. We have a life to begin, Deniir, and while I respect your mission, it is yours and not mine.”

Deniir stared up at the small door set into the side of the mountain, and he nodded. “Thank you for your assistance. I will take it from here.”

He shifted his cloak around him and made his way up the narrow path that led to the door in the stone. To his shock, he caught the gleam of small monitoring cameras as he progressed toward the entrance.

He stepped on the doormat laid out and knocked on the door in the cliff face. He heard rustling inside and the top half of thedoor swung open, and a woman with pale skin and crimson hair faced him. “What do you want?”

“Greetings, Ularica. My name is Deniir, and I am an engineer of the People of the Light on the Nine mother ship.”

She stared at him impassively and blinked slowly.

“Uh, well, you are invited to the mother ship in an effort to get you to tour the engineering department.”

She nodded. “Not interested. Please leave.”

To his surprise, she shut the upper half of the door, and he could hear her footsteps receding inside.

“Damn.”

He heard a noise that was familiar. Birds. He followed a narrow path around the corner of the stone wall until the path ended. Sighing with curiosity, he removed his cloak and fluffed out his wings.

He flexed them a few times and then launched himself into the darkness of the space between mountains. His wing beats were heavy, but it eased as he worked out into the light and the warmer air lifted him until he was facing an entire flock of absolutely huge raptors.

The giant birds watched him warily as he settled on a thick jutting branch. He looked at the birds carefully, and he spotted two of them wearing what appeared to be saddles. The way the woman had been heading to the back of her home, she had something distracting on her mind, and there was nothing more distracting than flying. He simply had to wait, and perching in the tree was second nature.

She would come out to ride one of her birds, and he would make his pitch in the air.

Ula felt a little guilty about closing the door on the man from the Nine, but she was so tired of folks wanting to use her talent for military purposes that it was a reflex she now regretted.

She sighed and quickly braided her hair. She knew just the thing to clear her head, and the flock was right outside.

A quick change into riding gear and she was ready to go for one of her personal pleasures and fly through the Gaian sky.

The rocs were nice birds and large enough to carry a human without difficulty, but they were impossible to domesticate. She didn’t have any issue with domestication; she rode them wild.

Ula clicked her tongue rapidly, and one of the birds screeched in response. Outside her balcony was a rock suitable for a landing site, and her favourite bird came at her call.

“Good afternoon, Bertrum.” She clicked her tongue again, and he settled onto the perch she had built for him. “Ready for some exercise?”

Bert settled and let her mount. She slid her feet into the stirrups and latched her flying belt into the saddle. Bertrum and his mate Eleth wore her saddles constantly. They were the only rocs that didn’t fight her every time. Ula suspected that the two birds actually thought of the harnesses as some kind of mating bands. They certainly clung together and preened when they were wearing them.

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