Hidden Talent: StarLords, Book 1 Read online

  She tightened her fingers against Micah’s as she sought his power, meshing so tightly with her own. He let her direct the power, not quite knowing what she was planning, but willing to follow her lead. After all, she knew more about the Wizards of her home planet than anyone on the Council.

  “Jana, my sister, I’ve been searching for you everywhere.”

  Jeri directed her thoughts and their combined energies at the stone in the scepter, so close but yet so far away on the neighboring ship. She felt it resist her first pushes and she knew she needed to focus more, her thoughts a tight laser of energy with one intent.

  “Jeri? Little Jeri? Where are you?” The voice of the woman was confused and lost as she fought against the collective control in her mind. Familial love was the one thing the collective could not completely destroy, it seemed.

  “I’m here for you, Jana. I’ve come to free you. I need my big sister.” All the while Jeri concentrated, sweat breaking out on her brow as she felt the stone begin to tremble in the scepter at her sister’s side.

  Blindly she saw Jana reach for it and the moment she made contact with the scepter the stone settled down. Jeri redoubled her efforts.

  “I need you, Jana. I’m so alone. I want my sister back.”

  Micah watched what she was doing with interest. Once he realized the focus of the fight—the shiny blue stone—he joined his energy to hers, silently pulling Darak into their alliance against the enormous power seated in that stone.

  With Darak’s added power and the way he could mesh his energies with Jeri’s and his own, they were stronger than the protections around the stone. He just knew it. Analyzing the problem with one part of his mind, Micah shaped the energies they sent, guiding Jeri’s raw Talent silently, communing with her on a soul-deep level.

  With a last effort he threw every bit of his power into the stone, battering at it, keeping nothing in reserve. Either they would stand or fall in the next few moments. He pushed and pushed until the blood pounded in his ears and then finally, he felt the stone crack with a decisive shiver.

  Once started, it crumbled quickly, exploding outward and releasing a wave of pent-up energy that rocked every person on the Circe and every Talent on the ships all around.

  “She’s hurt. Jana’s down.” Micah was hardly aware of Jeri’s hand slipping from his grasp as she ran to the ion transport console.

  Under normal circumstances the enemy ship would have countermanded any translocation order sent from his ship to theirs, but nothing was normal now among the enemy fleet. Every commander of every one of their ships had been connected through that scepter and was now adrift, left to their own devices. Without the collective will of the Wizards to direct them, most of them turned and ran for sectors unknown. Micah watched the retreat unfold with glee.

  But he was transfixed when the ion transport rematerialized Jana, still in her resplendent red robes splotched with her own blood, directly in front of his chair. Darak moved swiftly from behind his console, down but not out apparently, while Micah felt his own head spinning from the huge wave of energy that had poured over them when the stone had shattered.

  Darak cradled the woman in his arms as gently as a child, using a pulse of his power that Micah could feel in his unshielded state to send her to sleep, his hand over her eyes, closing them peacefully. He then wasted little time in shredding her robes, looking for the injuries that caused so much blood to pool beneath her on the deck. Jeri helped, silently praying as she moved with disjointed coordination. They were all suffering the effects of that enormous wave of psi energy released when the stone shattered.

  “Will she live?” Jeri’s voice was parched, croaking as her energies pulsed unsteadily.

  Darak spared a moment to look at her. “I will ensure it. Leave her to me, sweet Jeri. I won’t let her leave you again.”

  Jeri leaned forward to place a kiss of thanks on Darak’s lips, comfortable enough with him now that they’d joined to show her appreciation in a way he would readily understand. Micah smiled to himself as he watched the surprise on his cousin’s face, but his thoughts grew speculative when Dar returned his full attention to the enemy commander. Jana was no doubt cast adrift without her collective, a strong Talent with no direction.

  Sending her to sleep had been the smartest thing he could do. They were in less danger from her unfocused Talent. Micah thought he would set Agnor to training Jana how to shield at the first opportunity. But first he had his woman to comfort. He stumbled to Jeri and took her in his arms, kneeling behind her on the decking.

  “You saved her, Jeri.” He kissed the top of her head as she relaxed against him. “Seta, how goes the battle?” Micah spared a glance to his shaken navigator. She was recovering her station after the psi wave had knocked her nearly unconscious.

  “The enemy fleet is disbanding.” Her voice was weak as she checked her readouts. “Even the command ship has turned tail and run. They’re running, but a few of the others seem to be running at random.”

  “Freed of the collective control, I’d bet a few of those ship captains are making a break for freedom. Mark their positions. Agnor, when you feel up to it, maybe you could try comming them? Some might be willing to seek shelter with the Council.”

  Agnor was already using his gift of communication to seek out some of the Talented captains now freed from the collective’s control on the ships that were fleeing in all directions. He felt a change in his power that he couldn’t quite believe. Sure, they’d been hit by a dangerous wave of psi energy and lived to tell the tale, but never had he been able to so easily contact multiple unknown minds in such short order.

  “Three of them are returning. They will seek refugee status with the Council. Or so they say. I’ve already commed the Valiant. They’ll see to the disarmament of the enemy ships in short order. All three are smaller than Valiant and shouldn’t pose a threat, even if they’re lying, which I sincerely doubt.”

  Micah tilted his head in question, but Agnor had no real answers for the incredible increase in his already strong Talent. It was a matter for study—something Specitars truly relished doing—and he would study this odd circumstance thoroughly as soon as he had a moment to spare.

  “Comm from planetside, Captain. They want to know what’s going on. They see the ships scattering on their remaining satellites. Shall I fill them in or would you rather?” He raised an eyebrow at his friend Micah, a small smile on his face as he realized how deeply that massive psi wave had affected everyone on the ship. He’d touched the youngsters’ minds without their knowledge, just to make sure they were okay. It was something he did from time to time in his role as teacher and guide. But what met his newly expanded senses was surprising. Both Kirt and Welan had been knocked unconscious as the wave passed over them, but they were waking, shaky and with expanded senses.

  Agnor also sensed Trini feeling her way through the darkness of the hold on rubbery legs, fear in her heart as she felt her Talent pulsing in a way she’d never before experienced. Agnor spared a thought to communicate directly with her mind. He didn’t do it often, but she needed to know she wasn’t alone.

  “Trini,” he sent gently, a whisper of comfort in her mind. “You’re all right. Come up to the bridge. The danger is past.”

  “Agnor?”

  He nearly jumped in his seat as the loadmaster used a skill she’d never manifested before, speaking directly into his mind. Her voice was soft and sweet, much like the woman herself.

  “Bright stars! Can you hear me, Agnor?”

  He shook his head to clear it a bit. “I hear you, Trini. Come to the bridge, sweetheart. We’re all feeling the effects of the psi wave.”

  “Sweet goddess in heaven. I’m ’pathing to you.” The flavor of her thoughts was tinged with awe. “I’ve never been this telepathic before. I tried and tried in training, but I couldn’t do it with any real power.”

  “It’s always been inside you, Trini. It took this trauma to bring it out, perhaps. Don’t be afr
aid. It’s a natural part of you.” He could feel her fear and uncertainty, and it touched his heart. This small woman was such a good friend to him in times of need, he was glad to be here for her when she felt doubt.

  “I’m out of the bay now. I see Kirt and Welan stumbling into the hall. They don’t look too good.”

  “I don’t doubt it. The poor boys passed out when the wave hit. Can you help guide them to the bridge?”

  “I’ll take care of them.” She chuckled in his mind, tickling his senses. She had a beautiful mindvoice. “We’ll be with you in about five minutes. I’m going to stop in and check Tendil. He probably slept through the whole thing. Kirt and Welan are moving kind of slow, and I’m still shaky as hell.”

  “So is everyone else. Including me.”

  Darak reached out with his hands, now covered in Jana’s blood, and sent his power seeking outside himself. It flowed more freely than it ever had before, but he took little notice of it at first. After a while though, when he healed wound after wound on the badly cut woman with no diminishing of his own power, he began to wonder.

  “Micah?” His voice was uncertain, his eyes questioning as he raised them briefly to his cousin, continuing to treat the woman in his arms. “Are you noticing anything strange about your Talent right about now?”

  But Micah was too involved in holding his woman to answer. It was Agnor who turned to meet Darak’s questioning gaze.

  “I’m noticing something, Dar. I’m comming ships and foreign minds well out of my normal range with no strain. And Trini is ’pathing with no effort.”

  Darak’s eyes widened as he sought the rest of Jana’s wounds. The shards of stone were embedded in her body, in some cases the shiny blue crystals were fused directly into her skin in a way he had never seen. He didn’t know what to do for those odd wounds. His primary focus was to stop the bleeding. She’d lost too much blood and was still bleeding from a dozen different points. He worked methodically as he stopped one bleeder after another, ignoring the glints of sparkling blue stone fused to her flesh. He’d figure out what to do about that after he saved her life.

  “Trini’s ’pathing? No way.”

  “Way,” Trini answered from the hatchway, the two young yeomen following shakily behind her as she entered the bridge. She was somewhat steadier on her feet than she had been just moments before.

  “Kirt? Welan? Are you two okay?” Darak felt his healing gift swell and nearly spill over, but it wasn’t draining him like it usually did.

  Both young men nodded, making way for another young man who no one had seen on his feet yet.

  “Your brother?” Agnor asked, clearly surprised by the young man’s remarkable recovery.

  Trini beamed as she put her arm around her little brother’s shoulders. “The wave woke him, he said.” She prodded him forward. “Tell them, Tendil.”

  He ducked his head a bit, but faced them all squarely. “The psi wave broke over me and filled me. At least it felt that way. I was mostly fine physically, thanks to your healing, sir.” He nodded his head respectfully at Darak. “I remember that. But my energy was so low. When the psi wave hit, I was suddenly renewed and now I feel stronger than I ever have.”

  “Amazing.” Agnor shook his head, deep in thought.

  Micah straightened with Jeri in his arms, sitting in his chair and depositing her on his lap.

  “How is she, Dar?” Micah nodded toward the unconscious, nearly naked woman on the deck. She was covered in blood, but she was looking better than she had just moments before.

  “She’ll live.” Darak continued to work on her, less urgently now, but still with great care. “I’m going to seal up these last few bleeders and then we can move her to a bed.”

  Jeri sobbed, turning her cheek into Micah’s neck, wrapping her arms around him for support. She was falling apart now that the battle was over. Micah stood, lifting her in his arms and headed for the hatch.

  “We’ll be in my quarters. Agnor, you have the bridge.”

  Agnor nodded then looked over at each member of the crew in turn, taking stock. “Trini, it wouldn’t surprise me if you were now at Authoritar level, at least. The way you were ’pathing back there was nearly flawless.” He liked the open-mouthed surprise on her face, and he smiled at her reaction. “I’m going to retest everyone once things settle down. I want to know if this is a temporary thing or if we’ll all be…elevated a bit after this experience.”

  “It has been known to happen,” Darak speculated as he worked on Jana. “I know I’m doing stuff that I would’ve had to really struggle to do just a few hours ago.”

  Agnor nodded sagely. “I wonder what the Council will make of you, Dar?”

  “The Council? Why should they care?”

  “Well, when you take your seat as a Mage, I imagine there’ll be quite a stir.”

  Darak sat back on his heels, his patient stable for the moment. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

  “’Fraid not, my friend. I know a Mage when I see one, and you’re it. Possibly even a Master. You were close enough to Mage level before that wave hit us.” Agnor enjoyed the look of dismay on his roguish friend’s face, but he wasn’t through with his speculations yet. “And if I’m not much mistaken, we’ve just witnessed the birth of a Vizier. Maybe two.”

  “Good goddess in heaven.” Trini couldn’t hold in her surprise. Viziers were few and very far between. To even see one in your lifetime was a big deal, but to know and work with one—or maybe two—was an honor that was nearly unheard of.

  “What do we do?” Darak was all business as he lifted the unconscious woman into his arms. “Viziers are precious. We have to protect him—them—at all costs.”

  Agnor nodded. “With your agreement, I’m going to contact Vizier Brandon. He should be able to hear me, even across this distance, and he’ll probably have sound advice for us.”

  “They’ll order us back, Ag. You know that.”

  Agnor sighed. “Yes, I think you’re right. Micah won’t like it, but, Dar, we really have no choice. You said it yourself. We have to protect him. Even from himself.”

  In the dimness of the Captain’s cabin, Micah laid Jeri on his soft bed. The past moments had frightened him badly, and he wasn’t a man who took fear well. He’d been so afraid they would lose the battle, and that he would lose this precious woman in the process. Hell, the battle didn’t even matter next to the possibility of losing Jeri. She was that important to him. And that scared him as well.

  He knew now beyond the shadow of a doubt, that he loved her and he wanted her in his life for all time. But he wasn’t sure of her heart. She was so innocent, so new to the delights the Council worlds would hold for her as a woman of immense power. He feared he alone would not be enough to keep her interest.

  “Do you want me to invite Darak to join us?” He was practically snarling as he thought she might want another man on a permanent basis.

  Jeri looked at him and the confusion in her eyes made him feel slightly better. She was embarrassed. He could tell by the blush staining her soft cheeks.

  “Well, that was a nice experiment, but it’s not something I’d like to do all the time, if you don’t mind.” Her voice was shy, but it reassured him enough to expose a little part of his own soul.

  “Are you sure, baby? Am I enough for you?” The answer to that question mattered too much.

  “Are you kidding?” She entangled her arms around his neck, drawing him close for a leisurely kiss. “You’re almost too much for me, Micah. I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of you.” Her words were whispered against his lips as she pulled him down for a long, deep, hot kiss.

  He loved it. He loved the fact that she would initiate this intimacy and felt comfortable enough with him now to tell him these things. But he wanted more. He wanted it all.

  “I know I’ll never have enough of you, Jeri. I realized something that I should probably have known all along.” He sat back and she tracked him with her eyes, smiling but intrigued by the
change in him.

  “What’s that?”

  He held her eyes with his, laying it all on the line.

  “That I love you.”

  She was silent a moment, her little mouth opening in shock as tears gathered in her eyes. He took it as a good sign.

  “You love me?” Her voice was breathy, her emotions running high as the tears started to spill over. He hoped they were tears of joy as he nodded, taking her hands in his.

  “I love you for all time, Jeri, and if you’ll have me, I want you to be my bride, my life-bonded mate.”

  “Oh Micah.” She threw herself into his arms, placing little, joyful kisses on any part of his face and neck that she could reach. “I love you so much. I love you too.”

  She dissolved into incoherence as he captured her words with his lips, worshiping her and sharing the joy in his heart. He felt a lightness in his soul he never would have imagined, a completion as their energies started rising and joining together, as their passions increased.

  She was panting, her hands everywhere as he undressed her with equal haste. She freed his cock, bending low to take him in her mouth even as he rid her of the last of her clothing. She didn’t bother removing his pants, he thought with a last trace of humor. She was apparently in too much of a hurry.

  Well, so was he. He had to get inside her before he exploded. The pressure built between them, demanding completion. He lifted her by her shoulders, gentle but firm as she struggled to return her mouth to his cock, but he wanted an even better pleasure. He needed to come in her luscious body, joining them together in body as they would be in soul.

  He stretched her out on the bed, not bothering with preliminaries as he covered her, staking his claim, filling her channel with his hard cock. He slid home easily, her wet excitement welcoming him into her body as her precious love welcomed him into her heart.

  He stilled just for a moment, enjoying the feeling of knowing the one he made love to loved him in return. It was something he’d never quite experienced. Something he’d always wanted that had been just out of his reach.