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Returning from his briefing in Commander Hamilton's office, Yaden had to keep a tight rein over his growing frustration.
The investigation by the Ruby Guard into how Doctor Lachlain had managed to get onto Emperor's Island unchallenged and how he had escaped had been thorough, he couldn't complain in that regard. They had reconstructed his path from entering the island with a group of tourists on a guided tour. He had slipped away by subtly manipulating the guard who led the tour into seeing him as a messenger on his way to deliver an important notice. He had behaved naturally and as though he had a right to be there, occasionally reinforcing that notion with more subtle manipulation. Basically, he had just walked in and could have walked out with Myriam in tow had Yaden not showed up in time to stop him.
The emergency teleport off the island had been properly registered by the Psions Guild on Lagoona, but due to so many psions working together within the guild, sharing their powers and attention, the doctor had been able to hide everything else behind several layers of proxies. Maybe Ulysses would be able to find out more, but as far as the Ruby Guard was concerned, it was a dead end.
He had covered his tracks well.
And they had no idea where he had fled to.
Now Ulysses was his only hope of finding the man. Like in Hagermarsh, sitting on his hands, waiting for a clue, was making him itch all over. Would the Doctor abandon his attempts at getting to Myriam, or would he come for her again? As obsessed as he had been with finding her and her father, it seemed unlikely he would give up. How long could they guard the girl with their full attention? What if a more important mission came up for him and Ivan, leaving Colin, Darios and Myriam unprotected?
The Commander had assured him that measures would be taken to make sure she was safe, but that didn't help ease his restlessness. He would only be able to relax again once he had dealt with Lachlain and found out why he was after Myriam in the first place.
Yaden briefly considered putting in another training session to distract himself, but in the end, he went home. What he needed was a hug from Colin.
As usual, he found his fiancé in the kitchen, only he wasn't baking. Instead, he had a large holo display pulled up from his data pad, thumbing through a wide selection of different beds. The moment Yaden walked in, he bounced to his feet.
“Yaden!” Colin gleamed happiness and instantly wrapped him in the hug he had been hoping for. “I think I have found our new home!”
So far, everything Yaden had heard about the subject had been a long string of failures and dead ends, so the sudden change was a little startling. After all, he had only been away for about an hour.
“That was quick.” It didn't come out nearly as happily excited as Colin deserved, but his lover didn't notice.
“Well, not really. But it looked like it wouldn't pan out so I didn't tell you about it. It's an island off the coast of the southern continent. It belongs to Lagoona Vertex and I was told she didn't allow anyone to live there because it is close to the island she lives on, but this morning, she contacted me, and we went over and had a look at it, and ... it's amazing. It has everything we need. It's pretty, the weather is wonderful, and the kitchen is to die for. You can throw rocks the size of a house around and the kids can make all the fire they want without anyone being close enough to be bothered.”
Of all of Colin's excited stream of words, only 'Lagoona Vertex' stuck out. Why was such a powerful telepath suddenly interested in his little family? “Vertex Ciel contacted you? Personally?”
Colin instantly caught his sharp tone. “Yes, she did. And no, I don't think it has anything to do with Myriam. She didn't ask about Myriam at all. She was polite and even though that sounds weird, talking about such a powerful psion, I think she is sweet.” He smirked at Yaden. “Though I seem to have a thing for powerful psions, so...”
“How do you know she didn't make you feel that way?”
“I don't. But, first, why should she go through the efforts of being such a nice person if she wanted to use her powers on me. And second, she wouldn't be able to manipulate you, would she?”
In truth, Yaden wasn't sure about that. His mental shields were good, but Ciel's powers were immense. She might be in his head right now and he wouldn't know it. But if she was, why was he feeling so suspicious? Or was she making him second-guess himself? With a shake of his head, Yaden abandoned that train of thought as it wouldn't lead anywhere constructive. If she was manipulating him, he had no way of knowing and no way of countering it either.
“It feels off that she would suddenly make contact,” he tried to explain to Colin, who nodded.
“I actually tried to contact her about the island before. I was a little suspicious, but she is sweet and vulnerable, and the only reason she contacted me at all is you. She says the way you use your powers feels big and calm to her and that she can use it as a shield to hide behind when the constant pressure of hearing everyone's thoughts gets too much. That is the main reason why she would agree to let us live on that island. Having you close by and doing bigger things.”
That did make sense, he had to admit. Generally, telepaths were known to be sensitive about too much interaction with other people, and someone as strong as Ciel would have to be particularly cautious. While he had no idea how exactly his powers helped her, the expression 'solid as a mountain range' had come up more than once when describing his style. So just as he could always connect to the planet to gain some measure of calm and stability, maybe that was what Ciel could do through him.
“I think you should meet her in person before you form an opinion,” Colin added, “and I also think you should see the island.”
He sounded genuinely smitten. Yaden looked up and at the sight of Colin's starry eyes, he realised that he had been too preoccupied to realise that the man he loved had found something that made him happy. Yes, finding Doctor Lachlain was important, but so was paying attention to Colin. There was nothing he could do about the Doctor right now, so he had better not fail on making Colin happy. Maybe getting distracted by looking at real estate would let him come back to his other problem with a fresh eye.
“You want to show me?”
Colin grinned. “Thought you'd never ask. Ciel has given us permission to be ported there any time we like.” He couldn't have looked more eager if he had been bouncing up and down.
“Let's go.”
Contacting the Psion Guild teleporter on duty on Emperor's Island took only a thought. Explaining where he wanted to go took a little longer, but when he mentioned that they wanted to go to the same place Colin had visited earlier, the psion immediately knew what Yaden was talking about. Their port wasn't as smooth as Ulysses', Yaden noted with a smirk. There was that tiny moment of feeling stretched from one place to another, even though the distance was comparatively short. Ulysses was a master of his craft.
But all that was forgotten as soon as he took in their new surroundings. Colin was right. It was beautiful. The rocks beneath his feet reached deep, the proverbial solid rock in the ocean, unmovable and strong, with the surprisingly pleasant sensation of the water's incessant motion against it. His senses spread further along the roots of the island, automatically searching for fault lines in the seabed and finding none. This was a safe place. Stretching upwards, he was greeted by the stable, tropical climate. In this region, it was late autumn. It would get a little colder in winter and a bit hotter in summer – perfect weather to run around in nothing but shorts. Lagoona wasn't prone to violent storms, and in the rare case of a hurricane building up, he was sure he would be able to tame it easily.
“We are obviously not going to live in the mansion,” Colin said next to him, pulling his attention back into his tiny body. “But it would be great if you could do something about the colour anyway.”
What?
Maybe he should also pay attention to the parts of the island that Colin could see. The moment he did, he almost wished he hadn't. The mansion they were standing in front of looked as if someone had read about a Grebenstein villa and tried to build one without ever having seen the actual thing, with more of everything attached. Though he had to admit that it was solidly built. He guessed that it was at least a hundred years old and it didn't show much wear. A few shingles out of place, some minor fissures in the wind-side walls, nothing that wouldn't be easily fixed.
Colin had asked about the colour, he reminded himself. A quick check showed him that the large bricks of the house were painted over. It took just a minor quiver of the surface to shake off the paint on a piece of wall nearest to them. Underneath, a much more pleasant, sandy colour appeared.
“Oh, nice,” Colin exclaimed. “I know why I'm marrying an earth whisperer.”
“So if we are not going to live in the mansion, where will we...?” Yaden started to ask while his senses spread further through the island and found several smaller buildings further up the hill to their left. “I see what you mean,” he corrected himself. “Those feel nice and sturdy.”
Colin chuckled. “There is no way of surprising you when it comes to things made of rock. Come on, I'll show you.” He grabbed Yaden's hand and led him first around the main house and then up a path behind it to where Yaden sensed the other houses.
He managed not to examine them any closer until they came into view. His first impression had been correct. They were sturdy, solid, and suited the island much better than the ostentatious mansion. Like with the main house, he only found a few faults in the roofs, nothing he couldn't fix with a few gestures.
“We can put a table under the overhanging tree in the courtyard,” Colin said, gesturing animatedly, “in this weather we'll be spending most of our time outside anyway. Can you imagine sitting here, having a glass of wine while the sun sets?” He snuggled closer against Yaden.
Seeing him so happy made Yaden's heart glow in response. He kissed the tip of Colin's nose. “Don't you think all the sunshine will drive you insane?” he joked. “This doesn't look like a good habitat for a Leichnami at all.”
Colin snorted. “Like I have ever been a good Leichnami.” He pulled Yaden forward again. “You have to see the kitchen.”
He led Yaden towards the largest of the buildings. Yaden automatically checked its build but stopped dead in his tracks when his mind touched the structure behind it. He knew that shape. “Love, did you look behind the kitchen?”
“No?”
“You will want to see this.” Now it was Yaden who eagerly pulled Colin forward. When they had rounded the corner and Colin spotted the large earthen dome behind the house, his steps became hesitant, almost reverential.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he whispered, untangling his hand from Yaden’s. “Do you know what this is...?”
“It felt like a bread oven to me, and from your reaction, I'm guessing I was right.”
Colin slowly walked up to the oven, almost as if he were approaching a skittish animal that might bolt. “It's beautiful,” he murmured. “I have seen some good ovens in my journeyman years and my oven back in Hagermarsh wasn't half bad either – if you ignore that it was also a gateway to some sort of demon realm – but this...”
He walked around the oven, his fingers trailing over the top, pushing aside vines that had crept up onto it. “Look at all the details. The way they have placed the ash chute away from the oven door, the curve of the hatch. It's a masterpiece of craftsmanship. I can't wait to fire it up...” He stopped as his fingers came to rest on a seal that had to have been pressed into the outer plaster when it had still been wet. “Yaden, look at this. This is a Moradi craftsman’s seal.”
That explained Colin's stunned awe. Craftsmen from Del Morad were renowned all over the Empire for their expertise and devotion to quality, but they rarely left their homeplanet. Whoever had commissioned this oven had invested a lot of money.
Colin tried to open the oven door, but it remained stuck. Rusted, Yaden noticed.
“Here, let me get that,” he said and stepped next to Colin, brushing away the rust and evening out the metal of the hatch with a few strokes of his fingers.
This time, the door opened smoothly, and Colin peered inside curiously.
“Oh my God. Yaden, do you see this?” he said, pointing at the honey-coloured stone that made up the oven’s interior, reverentially stroking the faint blue swirls glistening in the material. “Real Moradi chamotte.”
Glowing with happiness, he looked much more attractive to Yaden than the stone. “Whatever you say, honey. I take it that’s a good thing?”
“The best. I've only seen small plates of it on Leichnam, to be used as heat buffers for delicate cakes, but this...” Turning around, Colin faced his lover, his face beaming with excitement. “So, do you ... I mean...”
Seeing Colin so happy about the oven would have been enough to convince Yaden of moving to this island, powerful psion neighbours or no. But Colin was right. Yaden could easily see all of them be happy here. He and Colin could take one of the houses just for the two of them. Darios could have another one to himself. He'd be glad to occasionally be able to close the door on their antics. And maybe Ivan would agree to share a house with Myriam for a while. He didn't like to be alone and she clung to him like a barnacle, feeling protected by his presence. And they would have room for more. Not that Yaden planned to bring home more people from his missions, but he had to admit that the trend was undeniable.
And he remembered well how fondly Colin had talked about adopting children back in Hagermarsh. He wasn't sure he was ready to be a father, he felt like he still had a lot of growing up to do himself, but the general idea of giving an orphan a home felt just right.
An orphan like Myriam.
The realisation hit him like a cubic metre of brick. How had he not seen the obvious before? It would give Myriam permanent protection from being harassed by the Psions Guild. She would be a noble. Of course, they would have to ask her about it, maybe she had relatives she would rather live with. Though it wasn't an option until she learned how to control her powers. How did one tell if one was doing the right thing for a child? It felt right, but maybe that was wishful thinking.
“Love, how would you feel about adopting Myriam?” he blurted out before he could get scared of his own courage. Colin was usually much more sensible about matters of emotions and family, surely he would be able to sort this out.
Colin blinked at him in obvious surprise and Yaden had a moment to worry that he shouldn't have ambushed his lover like that.
“I thought that was the plan?” Colin seemed utterly nonplussed.
“I hadn't thought about it yet...”
“I have.” Colin smiled at him warmly. “I think we should. What other family would be able to protect her and at the same time set the boundaries she needs? We can give her a home where she will never feel like the weird one.”
“Are we ready for that? I mean, raising a child? Especially one with such a troubled past. Are we good enough to give her what she needs?” Above all else, Yaden wanted Myriam to be happy and well-cared for, no matter how much he didn't want to let her go again.
“I don't think any parents are ever prepared or qualified enough not to fuck up occasionally. But we have one unbeatable advantage.” Colin put in a dramatic pause before he continued. “We have Darios. He'll firmly set us back on the right path, and I hear he is an expert at raising difficult psion children.”
His words made Yaden feel a bit stupid. How could he have forgotten about Darios? He had taken Ivan under his wing, as he had done with Yaden, and he was already looking after Myriam as well. Maybe he and Colin wouldn't be perfect fathers at first, but they did have a perfect role model to aspire to.
“I'm a bit of an idiot, ain't I?” he muttered.
“You have a lot to deal with right now and the drive to be the best at everything. You're doing great.” Colin kissed him. “So, are we moving here?” he returned to his original question. “Or do you want to talk to Vertex Ciel first?”
Yaden looked around again. This was a place of peace, a place where he could take root and rest, where his family would be safe and happy. “No, I trust your judgement. We're moving here.”
“Perfect. I love you so much right now.” Colin did a quick, happy pirouette. “I'll let Ciel know, and start making arrangements with Simon. I'm sure he'll be able to get us a technician who can check out the generator in the mansion to make sure everything is in working order and some furniture to start out with. And we'll need a glider, and I'll have to learn how to fly it.”
“Can we afford all that? I mean, the Order said they would help with funding, but this...” It was moments like these when Yaden wished he came from a richer planet than Erys. Unlike other Dukes, his mother couldn't afford to pay him a huge monthly grant allowing him to live in luxury and the Lotus Knight position came with a lot of perks, but a great salary wasn't one of them.
“Ciel is renting it to us for one heron a year. As long as you occasionally do some very noisy psionics when she needs distraction from some especially emotional TV event.”
“Oh. Okay.” It made sense, though Yaden wasn't sure how he felt about only renting the island. If he put down roots here, he wanted to own the land. “I'll have to talk to her about that, I guess. But I should talk to her anyway, now that we are going to be neighbours.”
Yaden allowed his senses to flow outwards, this time not looking at anything specific, just spreading himself. The neighbouring island, where Lagoona Vertex lived was easily found. Not because it was the only one with buildings on it, but because Ciel herself was a sea of warm energy. She felt unlike any other psion Yaden had ever sensed. She was as wide-spread as Ulysses, but where he felt like an endless spider web, she was soft, ambient light that shone as steadily as the sun but so much more subtle – fine threads of her mind reaching across Lagoona and the entire empire like roots. She felt pleasant, he realised with surprise. Suddenly, it didn't seem so unlikely that she might be as nice as Colin said. She didn't react to his presence, and Yaden didn't disturb her. She probably had more important things to do than chatting with him.
“I'll ask her when it would be convenient for her to meet you,” Colin offered. “And I think I'll enlist D'rina to help with the move. She will be so happy to hear that we got the island after all and she would be miffed if I didn't include her...” His excited expression suddenly turned to a frown. “But when can we move? On Emperor's Island, Myriam is well protected, but out here? If you and Ivan have to go on a mission, I don't know whether Darios and I could keep her safe if Doctor Lachlain shows up again.”
“Right now, my mission is to find Doctor Lachlain and take him out. Should I not be able to find him, you can always go back to Emperor's Island while Ivan and I are gone. At least until you have learned how to shield your mind properly. And once you can do that, you are whole-heartedly welcome to shoot the good Doctor in the face should he dare to show up on our island.”
Colin grinned. “I like that plan a lot. So... will you make a table to go under the tree? Doesn't get sturdier than good old rock.”
Creating something useful for his family? Yaden nodded. He loved the rare occasions when he was able to use his powers for something constructive.
“Oh, you bet I – “
—Sir Yaden?—The question in his mind came with the equivalent of a polite knock.
He held up his hand to let Colin know that he was telepathically talking to someone.—Yes?—
—Sir, I have Vertex Ulysses wishing to contact you. May I put him through?—
Did that mean Ulysses had found Lachlain?—Yes, please.—
Compared to the mental voice of the telepath, Ulysses' sounded razor sharp.—Lachlain went to Shang Zhou.—he said without preamble, his thoughts so precise and compressed, they were less actual words than neat packs of focussed information.—I've located the teleporter he used. He doesn't remember, but the long-range port has taken a toll. And now, I could use a Lotus Knight's authority over here.—He sounded as hungry as a bloodhound on the trail, something Yaden could suddenly understand only too well. Finally, something to work with.
—One second.—He turned to Colin, who was watching him curiously. “Ulysses has found where Lachlain went. If you don't need me here right now...?”
Colin's smile was feral. “Go get him. And don't be gentle,” he said and kissed Yaden fiercely.
Yaden kissed him back just as fervently. “I will.” He turned his attention back to Ulysses.—Ready for port!—
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