Amid her childhood memories Taren recalled what she hoped would still be a safe haven for her in Esponisa. On the rooftop of the penthouse apartment where she had been raised, there had been a large greenhouse, which had been her greatest sanctuary when growing up.
It was both sad and heartening to see that the greenhouse had fallen into ruin — all of the beautiful garden survived, as it was completely artificial, but everything was coated in a deep layer of dust. The lack of upkeep gave Taren hope that her father had not sold the apartment after she’d abandoned it to live in MSS-assigned quarters thirty years before. Anselm had promised Taren that this place would always be here for her, but as her father had also deceived her many times before today, she was not entirely confident he’d kept his promise.
Taren willed herself inside the apartment below her and, following a short dropping sensation, she was standing inside a dark room. She pushed the button to draw the blinds, and was rather shocked that they parted and sunlight flooded the room. ‘The power is still on.’ She grinned. ‘Very clever, Father.’ She made a note to use her psychic will to make all the appliances work, lest her father get sent a larger than average power bill and become wise to the fact that she had taken up residence.
All the furniture and bookshelves had been covered, and of course most of the appliances were decades old, but Taren would make do. For the present, this would prove the perfect hideout for her.
The place awarded excellent views over the modern, high-rise city of Esponisa and even at this early hour the streets and airspace were clogged with traffic and smog hung heavy over the city skyline. ‘What a shit hole.’ After seeing Chailida on Kila she feared every city would pale by comparison — Esponisa most of all.
She thought back over what Jazmay had said about being unable to reach Kila, now that the tear between universes was not existent, and Taren’s heart sank to consider that the claim might be true.
‘Test the theory,’ she told herself before she fell into a depression about it. ‘It’s not as though you don’t have time on your side.’
The thought of visiting Kila right now was very inviting indeed. Taren closed her eyes to block out the great metal and cement nightmare that was her hometown and turned her thoughts to the beautiful splendour of the city she’d left behind on Kila. When Taren thought of Chailida, Rhun was the first person to come to mind and she willed herself to join the governor.
When Taren opened her eyes, she was sadly disappointed to find that she was still in the high-rise apartment, gazing down at the city that she’d studied for ten years to escape from; she missed AMIE already.
‘Jazmay is right.’ Taren gasped at the pain this truth caused her. ‘How am I to warn Kila now?’ She looked to the heavens hoping her guardian spirit was listening. ‘Why did you let me come back here? You must have known I’d be unable to return to Kila if I prevented the universal tear from erupting?’
Taren slid down the wall to take a seat on the floor — the knowledge she could not keep her vow to the Chosen tore at her chest, along with the loss of her love and her space family — the distress reduced her to tears.
‘I hate my life!’ She protested her lot, stomping her feet on the floor like a spoilt child. ‘How can any one person be expected to make decisions of such magnitude? Every move I make affects the future of entire star systems, and people’s lives … the pressure is too great!’ Taren wept and wept, until, exhausted, she fell asleep on the floor where she lay.
It was disorientating to awake in the bedroom of her teen years. For a second she had to wonder if she’d gone back in time again, but could only laugh at the ceiling covered in images of movie stars and musicians that she’d fancied in her youth.
‘You had some seriously crap taste in bands.’
Taren was startled upright and was relieved to find Zeven slouched in the doorway with a big grin on his face.
‘What’s the big idea of leaving me behind to face the captain’s inquisition?’ Zeven watched Taren clamber off the bed and head towards her dressing room.
‘I’m sorry about that …’ she disappeared into the walk-in wardrobe, ‘… but I didn’t want to assume you were ready to follow me here —’
‘You know I was —’
‘— without saying goodbye to anyone,’ Taren spoke up and silenced him, as she emerged with a handful of clothes.
‘Well.’ He shrugged with a cheeky half grin. ‘There is that.’
Taren suspected Zeven had taken advantage of Aurora when saying goodbye — the truth was written all over his contented demeanour — and Taren hoped he hadn’t done it just to spite her over seducing Lucian last time around. ‘I thought you said you weren’t interested in Aurora any more?’
‘You do care,’ he insisted sarcastically.
‘I’m concerned about Aurora being used, not —’
‘Ha!’ Zeven scoffed her to silence. ‘Like you used Lucian?’
Taren’s jaw gaped open at the accusation. ‘I did not!’
‘How is it different?’ Zeven challenged.
‘I love Lucian, that’s the difference.’
‘And I love Aurora —’ Zeven’s passion level dropped, ‘— when she’s around.’
‘Exactly, and when she isn’t, you’ll go for anything young and attractive in a skirt.’ Even Taren was a little surprised by how vexed she sounded about that.
‘What is this, pick-on-Starman day?’ Zeven held both hands high in truce. ‘I’m about the only friend you’ve got right now, why are you trying to piss me off?’
He was absolutely right; what the hell was she doing? Taren embraced Zeven to apologise, quietly thanking the universe for not making her endure this alone. ‘I’m so sorry, and grateful you’re here … I’ve totally lost the plot, so please just forget I spoke.’ Taren stepped away, but Zeven maintained a firm grip on her upper arms.
‘You sounded almost … jealous?’ He put the observation to her and it struck fear into Taren’s heart.
‘No.’ She denied it unconvincingly.
‘You are … we’re starting to make sense, you and I.’ The realisation brought a huge smile to Zeven’s face, and his excitement was catchy.
‘Oh no, we don’t.’ Taren, try though she did, couldn’t repress her smile — the truth was she adored Zeven and yes he was very attractive, charming and fun to be around.
‘So why was I given the power to follow you and not Lucian?’ Zeven was eyeing up her lips.
‘Because he’s not a relative.’ She finally hit on the only argument that was sure to stop the seduction and Starman backed off and punched a hole in the wall alongside her.
‘Damn it! You’re wrong!’ he insisted. ‘And I am going to chase up my lineage and prove it to you! Then will you cut me a break?’
Taren’s heart was pounding in her chest because she knew how much she did desire him, but she forced herself to see the reality of their situation. ‘Zeven, you’ve just left Aurora’s bed and now you want to jump into mine, and if it doesn’t work out, then what? I lose you! I don’t need another nemesis.’
‘You haven’t lost me yet,’ Zeven defended himself.
‘Because I haven’t slept with you yet!’ Taren finally stated what she felt to be his primary motive for being present.
‘You think that is what keeps me here?’ He sounded insulted. ‘Don’t flatter yourself! It’s the action that keeps me here.’ He softened his tone to admit, ‘But then, adrenaline makes me horny, so … I apologise if I hit on you a lot. You just always seem to be around when I’m pumped.’ He shrugged at last. ‘Oh … and I didn’t seduce Aurora. I just told you that to make you jealous.’
Taren shook her head, not knowing what to believe. ‘I’ll trust you with anything, Starman, but not my heart. If you can accept that, this partnership will work.’
‘Okay,’ Zeven conceded, ‘you keep your heart and I’ll have all the other bits.’
‘Zeven!’ Taren scowled, as he refused to take her seriously. ‘If you cannot keep it professional I’ll be far better off without you. In this line of work, business and pleasure don’t mix … it just gets people killed.’ Taren’s voice broke over the statement, as Yasper came to mind.
‘Sure, I can keep it professional.’ Zeven attempted to be serious. ‘But can you?’
‘I’ll try and control myself.’ Taren rolled her eyes and headed for the washroom.
‘Make sure that you do … all this hugging has to stop,’ he stated in her wake.
Taren closed the washroom door without comment and then leant against it. ‘Oh my stars, he’s exhausting!’ Ten minutes in his company was an emotional roller coaster, and it was a ride she kept allowing him to take her on — but no more. It was time to withdraw into the cool, calm and collected shell that she had learnt to cast around herself during her time as an agent. No more tears, no more tantrums, no more distractions — it was time to focus on the mission at hand.
When Taren joined Zeven in the kitchen, washed and changed, he appeared rather surprised. ‘If they are your old threads, your fashion sense was way ahead of its time.’
Taren grinned; she’d learnt a new trick. ‘It’s just some old gear that I modified with my mind.’
‘Well, if you ever get sick of the spy game, you could make a fortune in recycled rags,’ Zeven suggested, but Taren was more interested in the breakfast he was laying out.
‘Where did all this come from?’
‘The café down the road,’ he replied and Taren freaked.
‘You went to the café down the road?’
‘Just long enough to pick up the order,’ he replied. ‘No one saw me, no one knows me. I didn’t speak with anyone.’
‘Then how did you place an order?’ Taren queried and sat down at the big kitchen table to eat — the apartment was rather large as besides herself there had always been at least a nanny, a governess and two bodyguards living with her.
Zeven shook his head and grinned. ‘You really do think I’m a bit new, don’t you? I know how the secret service track people, I’ve worked for them too.’ He took a seat opposite her.
‘It’s not the secret service that I am worried about per se,’ Taren clarified. ‘I’m much more concerned about Jazmay. She is as powerful, and more versatile, than we are. To escape our detection she need only touch the closest person … she could be anyone, anywhere.’
Zeven felt very put in his place. ‘I admit … I did overlook her.’
Taren nodded to agree that he had and then shrugged off the incident. ‘But thank you all the same, I was starving!’ She finally hoed in and as she ate she pondered her new concern. ‘Jazmay was right about not being able to get back to Kila, you know.’
‘Well, Kila, pretty as it was, wasn’t exactly a barrel of laughs for me,’ Zeven commented, none too eager to return there.
‘How am I going to deliver the information about the Orion weapon defence system?’ Taren pushed her concern. ‘I don’t know whether preventing the tear is such a good idea now.’
‘What?’ Zeven was shocked to hear her say so. ‘Have your Powers gone to your head? Fallon will warn the Chosen of the threat if you fail, you know that! The tear was not meant to happen. We caused the tear, so we prevent the tear, end of story!’
‘And if I cannot get back to Kila?’ Taren argued.
‘You were never meant to warn them,’ Zeven stated, ‘did that thought ever occur?’
Taren, although she didn’t want to abandon Kila, had to concede. ‘You’re absolutely right.’
‘Don’t sound so surprised.’ Zeven grinned, glad she’d seen reason. ‘And don’t scare me like that … I don’t need another nemesis either!’
Taren shook her head. ‘I think we can safely say that we are on the same side … we’ll stick to plan A.’
‘So you have a plan for getting into where the sample is being housed?’ Zeven queried.
‘Not exactly.’
‘And how are we to protect ourselves from being found by Jazmay?’ Zeven was only now considering the full potential of their adversary in this affair. ‘She could find us with a thought at any time!’
Taren cocked an eyebrow to state, ‘Well, I got the vibe that she intended to wait for me to chase her.’
‘She didn’t exactly strike me as the patient type.’ Zeven didn’t trust it.
Taren frowned, as she tended to agree, yet her memory served to remind her that it was not impossible to shield oneself from the psychic sight of others; they had seen it done before.
Zeven clicked his fingers. ‘What about those amulets your uncle used to shield himself and the Viceroy of Phemoria from —’
‘Zeven!’ Taren was amazed. ‘I was just wondering exactly the same thing myself. Still, the protective power of those amulets was drawn from a seething pit of murdered souls, much as the cursed crown my mother wears is protected by the tortured souls of our persecuted foremothers. Both these protective spirit sources have their own dark and twisted agendas and are not to be trusted.’
‘But surely there is a collective good energy spirit somewhere in our universe?’ Zeven reasoned, and Taren’s heart leapt for joy.
‘There is, and AMIE is floating above it as we speak … we have to go back.’
Zeven cracked half a grin. ‘That hot-spot of goodwill is not real happy with us at present, and neither is the captain for that matter.’
‘We really don’t have to involve AMIE, I can go straight to the surface of Oceane.’ The realisation made Taren a little sad.
Zeven frowned, feeling she’d overlooked one small point. ‘Don’t you need a telepath to communicate with the being on Oceane?’
‘No.’ Taren was fairly confident about that. ‘I have communicated telepathically with Azazèl-mindos-coomra-dorchi before.’
‘The what?’ Zeven felt she’d broken into another language. ‘Never mind.’ He waved off an explanation, eager to return to the steamy little planet where they had once nearly fallen in love. ‘Let’s go then.’
‘Oh no.’ Taren remembered their last adventure on Oceane all too well. ‘I’ll go alone.’
‘And what if Jazmay comes for me while you’re away?’ Zeven posed and Taren was frustrated by his argument. ‘Besides, my psychic abilities could always use a boost. This is our opportunity to get the psychic jump on Jazmay, and acquire a shield in the bargain.’
‘Oceane will be a very different experience this time around,’ Taren insisted, knowing the fertile, virgin planet had a tendency to bring out an individual’s reproductive urges, which was exactly why she wished to go alone.
‘Last time we crash-landed and discovered a corpse,’ Zeven raised both brows to emphasise his hope that she was right, ‘which really kinda killed the romance for me.’
Taren just rolled her eyes and whacked him in the shoulder for being a smart arse.