Page 75 of Return of the Nine

Em frowned. “He can do all the fishing. I will look for medicinals in the tide pools as far from him as I can be.”

There was a smile on her mother’s lips as Em stared down at her from the balcony. “Why are you smiling, Mom?”

Emaline Baker made her way to the door to the lab hall. “Oh, nothing. Take a shower and get changed. You may want to keep your distance, but you will be joining us for dinner.”

Chapter Three

The greenhouse had been arranged to accommodate the guests and the doctors working at the research lab.

Emharo was dressed for dinner, her hair was up and she was politely serving the guests the food that Weelar had prepared. It smelled great.

Rivvin was dressed formally, as well, wearing a deep blue shirt the same colour as his hair and dark trousers tucked into military-style boots. His hair was braided away from his temples, and the rest of it flowed loose down his back.

Morro and Weelar were dressed for dinner, as well, but they were barely noticeable to Em, who kept her gaze as averted from Rivvin as possible. She wanted to stare at him, but it would have been glaringly obvious during their little dinner party. Instead, she did rounds with water, wine and trays of food kept warm on the sideboard.

Morro commented, “This is an amazing range of foods, Harold.”

Em’s father smiled, “We are fortunate in our child and our niece. Our niece Neeka is away from the lab for now, but she is as skilled at hunting as Emharo is at collecting what we need for any given project.”

Emharo paused when everyone at the table turned to look at her. “What?”

Rivvin cocked his head. “Have you always had this skill?”

Em looked to her parents and nodded. “It is one of my mother’s favourite stories.”

Emaline lifted her wine glass and smiled. “The first time we noticed it, Em was five. She and Neeka were playing on thebeach, and Neeka cut herself. Instead of running for help, Em ran to the shoreline and picked up a fish, opened it up with her fingers and took out a nasty-smelling gland. She pressed it to Neeka’s cut, and then, they walked back to the lab together. When we wiped the residue away from the cut, it was gone, only a wide line remained. The gland she had found had the ability to knit tissue. The only perplexing thing was how she had found it to begin with.”

Harold smiled, “She explained how she found the fish and it glowed and the inside glowed brighter than the outside, so that is what she used. We tested the fish and have now crafted a coagulant for use after surgeries.”

Em continued to eat her meal while keeping an eye on everyone at the table to make sure they were not missing anything she could provide.

Morro asked her parents, “Do you harvest the fish for the product?”

Her mother smiled. “No, we have protein synthesizers that are used to provide basic ingredients. Once she brings something to us, it is our job to copy it for use in the city.”

Em finished her meal and got to her feet, picking up the water and wine pitchers and making a swift round of the table.

Rivvin looked up at her while she refilled his cup. “Does your cousin share this skill?”

Emharo frowned, “Not precisely. She is a hunter. Her skill lies in tracking and dispatching her prey. I like the sea, she prefers the land.”

Morro cleared his throat. “Is she nearby?”

Em smiled, “No, she will be gone for a few weeks. She is taking some of the city folk on a trip through the wilds. Ever since the Tokkel raids, more people have been interested in learning how to live away from the city. Neeka teaches a crash course in survival.”

She poured Morro a glass of water and finished her rounds before resuming her seat next to her parents.

Rivvin looked at her directly, without any subterfuge. “Emharo, are you engaged or have a gentleman caller of any species?”

She blushed and squirmed in her chair. “Um. No. Aside from the Gaians, the only compatible species here are those of the Nine, and you are the first that I have met.”

Her mother piped up. “She isn’t seeing anyone. The last eligible male in the area left after the summer training session here at the lab, and she managed to ignore him the entire time he was here.”

“Emaline, what are you doing?” Harold Baker was curious.

Emharo buried her face in her hand and leaned on the table. “Well, Rivvin, as you have heard, the answer is no. I am not socially seeing anyone.”

He had his shark-like grin in place once again. “Good.”

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