Justice Keepers Saga - Books 10-12

Chapter 6-2

“Confirmed, Denabria,” the Gate technician replied. “Authorization code accepted. Our Gate is open. You can send her through.”

Thin grooves along the triangle"s surface lit up, growing brighter and brighter until they seemed to blaze. A moment later, a bubble seemed to expand from a point until it was large enough to hold several people, but there was only one person inside.

When it popped, Keli stood in front of the Gate with the strap of a gym bag over one shoulder and a suitcase in the opposite hand. As usual, she was dressed elegantly in a sleeveless blue dress.

“That wretched feline of yours,” she said, striding forward, “has been delivered to Harry Carlson"s residence.”

A burst of laughter escaped Jack, and he shook his head slowly. “Wonderful,” he said. “Maybe Harry can turn him into a telepath. That"ll make him easier to deal with.”

himThat"ll“It would serve you right.”

Outside the SlipGate chamber, they found a wide hallway with white bulkheads. There were very few people on the lower decks – every now and then, they passed one of the ship"s crew – but they never crossed paths with any other passengers.

Being a gentleman, Jack took Keli"s suitcase, which earned him a small smile of thanks. Well, at least that was an improvement. A year ago, he would have gotten a glare for his trouble.

When they were alone, Keli paused and set a hand on his shoulder. That brought him to a halt. “Do you think Slade will make good on this plan?”

Wincing at the thought of someone assassinating the Prime Council, Jack drew in a breath. “Why not?” he replied. “It"s not the craziest thing he"s done. A year ago, he turned an entire city into a war zone.”

“Can we stop him?”

“What kind of question is that?”

“The kind that deserves an answer.”

Biting his lower lip, Jack felt his eyebrows rising. “Can we stop him?” He started forward again without waiting for Keli, forcing her to catch up. “I don"t think it matters if we can, "cause we"re gonna put our asses on the line for it anyway.”

For some reason, that brought a grin to Keli"s face. She really was becoming a more cheerful person. “That"s what I like about you, Hunter,” she teased. “You can face grim death with a song in your heart.”

“Well, that"s not the least bit ominous.”

that"s“It"s not my fault that it happens to be true.”

Clack, clack!

Clack, clack!Wooden swords struck each other with a sound that echoed through the ship"s gymnasium as Anna and Rajel sparred. She watched the man standing before her with his eyes closed, watched as droplets of sweat rolled down his face.

In gray shorts and a purple tank-top, she faced him with her blade up in a guarded stance. Hot and sticky, just like he was. She had never sparred with Rajel before. Oh, she had seen his prowess on the battlefield – there was no doubt in her mind that Rajel could hold his own – but seeing it was not the same as experiencing it. Not by a long shot.

Rajel swung at her legs.

Anna jumped, back-flipping through the air. With a grunt, she landed and lifted her sword again. Heartbeats only, but Rajel was already coming at her, swinging his sword in a vicious, downward arc.

Sidestepping, Anna turned her blade over her right shoulder and caught his on the downstroke. Once again, they met with something like a clap of thunder, but this time, Anna pushed forward. Her opponent retreated.

Rajel slid out of her field of view, swinging at the back of her neck.

Anna threw herself forward, somersaulting over the gym mats and coming up on one knee. In the blink of an eye, she was already back on her feet and sprinting across the length of the room.

Rajel was right behind her.

His silhouette was there in her mind"s eye, a misty figure always just beyond arm"s reach, struggling to keep up and never quite making it. Anna kept it that way, letting him think he might just close the distance and then adding an extra burst of speed at the very last second. Get his blood good and hot. The wall was coming up fast. In less than five seconds, she would be cornered. Good.

Anna ran up the wall on nimble feet, then pushed off and back-flipped over Rajel"s head. She landed just behind him. He was already spinning around to face her, swinging that sword in a smooth, horizontal arc that would take her head off.

Anna bent over backward and felt a soft caress of air as the wooden blade passed over her nose. She popped up and thumped him on the noggin with her weapon. “Ow!” Rajel growled, falling back against the wall.

Standing before him with the tip of her blade pressed into the gym mats, one hand closed around the hilt, Anna smiled and shook her head. “Not bad,” she said. “You really had me going for a moment there.”

“For all the good it did. You still got me.”

“That"s because you"re too predictable.”

He arched one dark eyebrow, waiting for her to explain that. It was all she could do not to sigh. Once again, her big mouth had gotten her into trouble. Now…How to put this diplomatically…

Grinning sheepishly, Anna bowed her head to him. She felt a warmth in her cheeks that had nothing to do with the sweat she had just worked up. “You fight as if you"ve got something to prove,” she said. “You get a little bit obsessed with winning. That can cloud your judgment if you let it.”

“Point taken,” he grumbled. “Any advice?”

Anna turned around, marching back to their starting point with her sword in hand. Her answer to that was a shrug of her shoulders. “Never mind what your opponent thinks of you,” she said. “In fact, let them underestimate you. It will only give you an edge.”

letRajel was coming up behind her with teeth bared, hissing with obvious frustration. “I suppose you"re right,” he muttered. “Though I don"t have to like it.”

“Well…If you want an assessment of your abilities.”

“Yes?”

“I need a second in command,” Anna said. “Want the job?”

Before he could answer, the gymnasium doors swung open, allowing Jack to enter. Melissa was right behind him, and then Keli and Cassi. Good! They were all here. It was time for her to be all leadery.

Tossing her sword aside, Anna stepped forward and faced them with a smile. “Glad you made it,” she said, nodding. “We will be arriving at Alios in four days, and we"re going to make the most of that time.”

“What did you have in mind?” Cassi asked.

“I want you all to train for at least two hours a day. Rotate partners so that you get used to multiple fighting styles. This isn"t about perfecting your technique. You"re all very good at what you do. No, this is about expanding your mind. Slade is constantly hitting us with surprises. I want you to learn to expect the unexpected.”

“Even me?” Keli asked.

Cocking her head to one side, Anna raised a thin, red eyebrow. “There some reason why you shouldn"t take part, Kel?” she asked. “In fact, you most of all. It"ll do you good to learn combat skills outside of your mental abilities. And I want the others to practice against a telepath.”

“Welp,” Jack said. “You heard the lady.”

Sword fighting.

It was ridiculous.

Panting, struggling to fill her lungs, Keli stood on the mat with her sword gripped in both hands. She watched her opponent with some trepidation. Melissa had not hit her even once with a practice sword, but she had won every engagement thus far. The child would stop when her blade was only half an inch away from Keli"s skin. It was not fear of pain that made Keli apprehensive. It was the fear of losing. What could she do? The girl was faster and stronger, and that damn alien she carried within her body blocked the only thing that might give Keli an advantage.

Melissa came forward, swinging.

Keli barely got her weapon up in time, and the jolt nearly knocked the sword out of her hand. She backed away as the girl pressed her attack. Melissa leaped, twirling in the air like a figure skater, her sword coming around like a propeller blade.

Keli backed away, but a feather-light cut on her thigh told her that the child had scored a hit. Melissa kept coming.

“Stop!” Anna yelled.

Face drenched in sweat, Keli shut her eyes tight. “This is pointless,” she hissed. “I will never be able to keep up with any one of you.”

“So, don"t,” Anna advised. “Use your own advantages.”

Keli let the tip of her sword drop until it touched the floor. A growl rumbled in her throat. “If I do that,” she snapped, “I will inflict harm on the girl! I could push through her mental defenses, but not without harming her.”

At the edge of the mat, Anna stood with her arms folded, watching them spar. “You can push a little, Keli,” she said. “They"ve got to learn how to defend against a telepathic attack.”

So, Keli listened. She really listened. There wasn"t much coming from Melissa. Not with the fog of the alien"s mind shrouding her thoughts, but if Keli strained, she could pick up a whiff of…something. Intent. Focus. The girl was about to attack.

Keli moved first, charging forward before Melissa could put her on the defensive. She could feel the girl"s surprise even with the Nassai"s obstruction. Keli slashed at her.

With a quick twist of her body, Melissa brought up her own weapon to deflect the cut and nearly tore the sword out of Keli"s hand in the process. That produced fear; so, Keli used that fear. She hurled it all at the girl. Penetrating the fog was nearly impossible, but the sudden jolt of emotion was enough to make Melissa hesitate for half a second.

Half a second was all Keli needed.

She poked the girl"s belly with the tip of her blade. Melissa stepped back, blinking in surprise. “Nice,” she said. “Do that again. I want to practice.”

“If you insist,” Keli replied, backing away from the girl with a smile on her face. This was going to be fun.

The instant he walked through his front door, Harry let out a deep sigh of relief. He collapsed against the door. “I need a shower,” he whispered to himself. Jack"s dumb, orange cat came over to sit his big rump on the floor and stare up at Harry with his huge green eyes.

“What do you want?” Harry grumbled.

Spock just blinked at him.

Ignoring the cat, Harry lifted his left hand and ordered the N"Jal to project a signal into SlipSpace. The Leyrian Radio Authority might pick up a blip, but it would sound like noise to them. The Overseers had gotten good at hiding their transmissions.

A second later, his ex-wife was standing at the foot of the stairs with her head bowed. It wasn"t really Della. This was just the form the Overseers took when they chose to communicate with him. Until today, Harry would have said that it was just a telepathic projection, but that theory went to s**t when Spock arched his back, poofed out his tail and hissed. The big tabby scrambled backward, but he never took his eyes off the spot where Della stood. Could he actually see her? The Overseers seemed not to notice his reaction. Or they just didn"t care. Harry couldn"t tell which.

Della looked up at him, and her mouth quirked into a chilling smile. “Nicely done, Mr. Carlson,” she said. “As always, we are impressed by your ingenuity.”

“So, you"re pleased?”

“Yes,” she replied. “Very pleased. Continue your good work.”