Chance of Stardust

Stardust (ch 20)

The wind ruffled around the ship, the faint vibration under her feet letting her know that they were still moving. Cassie picked at the food on her plate, knowing she should eat but too lethargic to actually do it. Llyr tucked himself back under her arm and nibbled at her remaining food.


“Brat.”


He grinned and ate more. “Am I really?”


She grinned back. “A little. Around the edges. All the best ones are, you know.”


He wagged his head. “Is Revelin a brat?”


“He does like to get his way.”


And he did. Sneaky man. Keeping her petted and fed and pampered until she didn’t want to get out of bed, wanting to just lay there and snuggle into the heat and strength of him.  As long as she stayed where he wanted and ate when he wanted her to, he cuddled and petted and indulged her as much as she wanted. It had taken a bit of sweet-talking and pleading on her part to get out of bed this morning including a few pitiful looks, but he’d finally given in.


Whatever the tube had done, instead of it taking weeks for her to replace the blood she’d lost, it had taken only two days for her to be able to walk without help. She was still weak but she was healing faster than she’d expected.


Llyr gave her a hug and stole another small piece of sweet bread off her plate. She didn’t mind. She’d eaten all she could hold for now.


“Where are we going?” she asked. They’d been moving for days now, never stopping anywhere for more than an hour. Revelin was worried, but he wasn’t talking. Not to her at any rate.


Llyr shrugged. “Just moving around, I think. We don’t know your world well enough to know where we are.”


That made sense—sort of. They knew north and south well enough. Revelin knew why they were constantly moving. He was being too close mouthed about it.


“Are you finished with my food?” She arched a brow at the little prince who nodded, oblivious to the sarcasm. “Let’s get this cleaned up and see if we can find out what’s going on.”


Llyr helped her dispose of the plates and utensils. One of these days she was going to have to ask where they went and where the food came from. She thought about that for a moment and then shook her head. On second thought, maybe she didn’t want to know. There was food she didn’t have to cook and someone else did the dishes. That was good enough for her.


Llyr slid a hand into hers and led her from the mess hall to the control room. Three sets of eyes looked up as they stepped inside. Ari and Kyall sat at the control panel, Revelin standing behind Kyall as they went over something on the readouts. Ari rose and gestured her into his seat.


Cassie sank into the seat without argument. She could walk without falling on her face, but her distance was still limited. Llyr climbed into her lap and Ari knelt beside her. She rubbed his shoulder in absent thanks, trying to puzzle out the symbols on the screen.


“Where are we?”


Revelin moved behind her to curl his hands over her shoulders. She looked up, noting the stern expression. He was worried and hiding it the way he always did.


“Cold and uninhabited, but the place has a strong magnetic field that is helping conceal us,” he told her. He pointed at the screens. “Kyall and I have been going over the sensors, trying to figure out how the Gurot keep finding us.”


“It’s possible they tapped into the external signal we found for you and followed us to the museum,” Kyall added. “But there was no signal, no trace that could have led them to where you and Revelin were attacked. You weren’t outside the shielding long enough for them to lock onto you, travel there, and then find you.”


Cassie considered that as Llyr snuggled closer. “So, there’s no exhaust that would leave a trace or something about your shielding that they can lock onto?”


“The exhaust from our engines is retained within the shielding and is recycled back into the systems,” Kyall explained. “The shielding itself is undetectable. You have to understand, the Gael had no space craft until eight years ago. They were, in fact, a proscribed world themselves when the Gurot came. When Arno escaped from the mines, the first thing he did was steal several of their craft and learn to fly them. He overthrew them using their own technology.”


“This is a Gurot built craft?” Cassie blinked at him. “But doesn’t that mean that they are more likely to be able to detect the shielding or something?”


“No.” Revelin shook his head. “They built the shielding to be undetectable, and if there’s one thing the Gurot do well, it’s build stealth warcraft.”


It still seemed the most likely explanation, but they were adamant that no one was detecting the shielding. Cassie dropped an absent kiss on top of Llyr’s head, eyeing the screens.


“Well, if they didn’t track my Universal and they can’t track the ship itself, the only logical explanation left is that there is some kind of…” She hesitated at the word bug. It would probably translate as an insect and that would just confuse matters. “…Some kind of listening device or spying device that sends a detectible signal?”


“Who would spy on us for the Gurot?” Ari shook his head. “No one in their right minds would want to help those—” The Universal inserted a blank over what was inarguably a swear word. She gave his hair a tug in reprimand but got a quick, wicked smile in answer.


“Father has been approached to open trading with the Gurot,” Llyr interjected. They all looked at him and he shrugged. “They are the largest consumer of the crystals we get out of the mines which is why they invaded Gael to begin with.”


“And money is a great motivator,” Cassie finished for him. “People have sold out their own families not to mention countries all for a few dollars. It’s not really a stretch to think that someone might see trading information about you guys for money as an opportunity.”


Revelin leaned down and nuzzled into her hair. “If you don’t remove your hand from Ari, I will not be held responsible for what I do.”


Ari had arched into her touch and she was rubbing his shoulders without realizing she was doing so. She pulled her hand away but curled it over Revelin’s neck, holding him in place as she turned her face and kissed him. She could taste his surprise as she pulled back, smiling up at him. He hadn’t expected her to touch him in front of the others.


“We’ll discuss that later,” she promised. “Right now I’m more curious if there is some kind of device on board and I want to know where we’re at.”


“There’re no landmarks.” Kyall sighed as he reached for the controls. “I don’t know how you think you’ll know where we’re at.”


The screens shifted, symbol disappearing to show a flat tundra. Like glared off the snow, glittering in the ice crystals. Cassie sat up, all thoughts of Gurot and traitors vanishing.


“Can we stop? Just for a little bit?”


“Why?”


“Davi needs to see this.” She tilted her head back to look up at Revelin who looked perplexed. “I asked him if he remembered his home. He said he remembers white where you guys remember green.” She waved a hand at the snow covered view. “This is why. This is what he remembers.”


Revelin shared a look with Kyall, Ari looking between them expectantly.


“Please?” she pressed. “You said the magnetic field is messing up your readings. We should be safe for an hour or so.”


Revelin met her gaze and she knew what he was thinking.


“I’ll stay on the ship. I’m not the one who needs this. Davi is.”


“You give your word?”


“I promise.” She tried a smile. “I’m not feeling up to a romp in the snow just yet.”


His fingers curled around her braid as he thought that over.


“An hour. No more.”


Ari shot to his feet. “I’ll get Davi.”


“Get your coats and warm gear,” she called after him. “You’ll need it.”


Kyall shook his head, watching Ari vanish through the doorway. “I’m going to stay here and see if I can sort through the sensor readings and see if there is anything that shouldn’t be here. I’ve tried everything else.”


He didn’t think he would find anything. That much was clear. Cassie hoped for his sake that they hadn’t been tagged somehow. Being sold out to the Gurot was not something the hirrient would take well.


Llyr slid from her lap. “I’m going to get my coat.”


“You’re staying on board.” Revelin cut him short. The curt tone brooked no defiance and Llyr’s shoulders slumped. “You’re staying here for the same reason Cassie is.”


The boy snuck a glance at her, but she shook her head.


“Don’t even think about saying you’re not banged up and sick. Our Universals outside the shielding is just a bad idea right now, and it would only add another signal to the mess Kyall has to sort through.”


Revelin lifted her from the seat, cradling her against his chest. Cassie curled an arm around his neck with a sigh. He arched a brow at her.


“Are you going to argue with me?”


“No. As much as I need to walk and rebuild my strength, I can’t deny that I’m a little tired of falling on my face.”


He grunted at that but headed out of the control room and down the hall toward the hatch. “I worry when you don’t argue.”


Cassie hid her smile against his chest. Llyr trotted beside them looking disgruntled, hurrying to keep up with Revelin’s long strides.


“Why did you kiss me?” Revelin asked abruptly.


“Just now?”


He nodded, not looking at her.


“Because you were getting snarly with everyone and because I wanted to.”


“You were touching Ari.” The snarl was back.


A frission of nerves went up her spine. He was jealous. This could get very bad, very fast. The only way to handle this was head on. She took a deep breath and steeled her nerves.


“As a friend.” She lifted her head and met his gaze. “You know better than anyone that you’re the only one I’ve ever given permission to touch me as a lover. But friends touch, too. They hug. They comfort each other. That’s all it was.”


He pondered that for a few steps. “I don’t like it.”


“And I won’t stop being a friend to the rest of them just because you get cranky.” She pressed a kiss to the stern line of his jaw. “But you’re the one I kiss, Revelin. Do you think they didn’t see it? That they don’t know I’ve made my choice?”


He said nothing to that as they entered the short hall that ended at the outer hatch. Llyr stopped at the dead end and waited for them. Revelin knelt and set her on the floor, his hands gentle.


“For every time you touch one of them, you owe me two kisses.”


“No.” She kissed his glowering mouth but refused to back down. “This isn’t something we can bargain over. Either you trust me or you don’t.”


He opened his mouth to argue but shut it again as Ari appeared around the corner, a slow moving Davi at his side. Leiv took up the rear, an extra jacket in hand. He tossed it at Revelin.


“Are we doing this or not?”


Revelin caught the coat, sliding into it as he rose. “We are. Release the hatch. We have a short window so make the most of it.”


Ari looked excited and Davi looked pained but curious. He had healed enough to walk unassisted, but he still moved with caution. Ari apparently hadn’t told him what they were doing. Leiv looked irritable. She was beginning to think his features were just cut that way because no one could be that sour all that time.


Ari pulled the handle and the hatch lowered in silence, a rush of cold air snatching her breath. Beside her, Llyr shivered and moved closer. She wrapped an arm around him, intent on Davi.


The pale hirrient moved toward the hatch, intent on the white world beyond.  He glanced down at her, a question in his eyes and she nodded.


“Go on.”


A smile curved his mouth, a sweet, silent thanks. She smiled back. A moment later, he was gone. Ari stared after him.


“He’s gone crazy.”


Davi was rolling in the snow, a happy mound of snow dust and pale hair. Cassie laughed.


“He’s playing. Go on and join him.”


“I don’t know. It’s cold out there.”


Leiv moved past him without a word. He paused on the end of the ramp to test the surface of the snow, first with a booted toe and then crouching to touch. His expression intent, he stepped out to join Davi. Not to be outdone, Ari joined him, walking into the snow as if he expected it to leap up and bite him. A thin flurry danced in the air—whether blown from the top of the ship or whether the gray cloud sky was responsible, she couldn’t say—and Leiv reached out to capture a flake on his fingertips. Ari twisted, startling as if he thought he was being attacked.


“What is it?” Llyr asked from under her arm.


“It’s snow.” Cassie snuggled him closer, shivering. Ari hadn’t been exaggerating about the temperature. “Basically, it’s frozen rain.”


A warm coat dropped over them and she glanced up to find Revelin still hovering. He wore his own coat, so he must have fetched another while she was talking with Ari. She smiled her thanks and tugged it close around her shoulders, making sure Llyr was covered.


“Revelin? Can you bring me some of the snow? Llyr wants to see, too.”


He moved without a word to gather a double handful of snow from the edge of the ramp and carried back to dump it at her feet.


“Thank you.”


Llyr poked at the mass as if he expected it to bite, frowning when nothing happened. “It’s cold.”


“It’s frozen.” Cassie picked up a small bit of the snow and held it to the light. “See the ice crystals?”


Llyr studied the white stuff, his expression dubious. With exaggerated caution, he pinched a bit between his fingers, testing it, watching as it melted over his fingers. “If it’s frozen water, wouldn’t that hurt when it hit you?”


“No, that’s hail. Snow isn’t hard chunks but light flakes. It falls so soft and quiet, it’s like being kissed by the sky.”


On a whim, she gathered more of the melting snow and packed it into a ball. Eyeing the three hirrient outside, she held it up to Revelin.


“Throw this at Davi.” That gained her a puzzled, wary look. “It won’t hurt him. It’s a game we play in the snow. We throw it at each other.”


He took the snowball and gauged the distance to Davi who was kneeling in the snow, laughing at Ari. A quick flick of his arm and the ball hit the pale hirrient in the side, splattering in powdering spray. Davi jerked around, his eyes wide. He must have seen Cassie’s grin because a wicked smile blossomed.


Gathering snow, he made another snowball. Leiv was the target this time, taking a hit in the back. He spun to find Davi laughing silently at him.


Chaos ensued.


Leiv aimed a return missile at Davi but Ari swatted it out of the air. Davi’s second snowball went high of Leiv but the big hirrient managed to leap to catch it and send it back the way it had come. It became a game of distraction and interception where Ari and Davi ganged up on Leiv.


Revelin edged toward the ramp. Cassie laughed and shooed him into the melee. It was obvious that Davi and Ari worked well as a team and adding another player to Leiv’s side of the game would even things out.


Snow flew with increasing speed as Ari acted at guard, leaving the offensive to Davi’s powerful accuracy. Revelin and Leiv flanked the pair, doubling the attack with quick strikes and lightning fast moves.


Cassie laughed until tears ran, her heart full. Hirrient at play was a thing of beauty, a dance of grace and power. She lost her breath as Ari leaped to intercept a high target, his body twisting with feline precision to send the snowball back the way it had come. Within minutes, all four hirrient were covered in snow, laughing like children as they played.


“They’re so beautiful, Llyr,” she whispered.


Llyr shivered, huddling deeper under the coat and pressing tight to her side. Cassie wrapped her arm closer around him. She frowned. He didn’t feel chilled, but his slender body trembled.


“Llyr? What’s wrong?”


Outside, the game came to an abrupt halt. Revelin was at her side a breath later, tugging the boy from under the coat and lifting him in his arms. Cassie rose, reaching to touch the little prince. His shivering only grew worse until his whole body shook with the tremors.


Revelin turned away and hesitated, glanced back at her.


“Go on,” she urged, understanding the unspoken question. “I’ll go back to the room and rest for a bit. You take care of him.”


“We’ll take her back, Rev.” Davi’s rasped promise seemed to reassure him and he left with the boy, moving quickly.


Cassie found herself surrounded by three snow covered hirrient. They stared down at her, waiting. She met Ari’s dark gaze.


“Snow.” He cocked his head, a sparkle of his usual laughter curving his mouth in a small smile.


“Snow,” she agreed, trying to find an answering smile when worry over Llyr eclipsed the laughter of a moment before.


“How do you know who won?” Leiv wanted to know as he moved to close the hatch. The sudden death of the cold wind was a relief.


Leave it to Leiv to make a competition out of it. She rolled her eyes.


“Did you have fun?” They all nodded and she found she had a smile in her after all. “Then you won.”


“Leiv didn’t win,” Ari argued. “He doesn’t know how to have fun.”


The big man eyed him, his faint smile not very reassuring. “Breaking your bones is fun.”


Davi ignored them. Taking Cassie by the shoulders, he turned her and bent to nuzzle his face into the curve of her shoulder.


“Thank you.”


It was the most natural thing in the world to lay her hands on his head, cradling him gently.


“You’re welcome.”