Avert by Viola Grace Read Free Book Online Page B

Nameless.”
    “What have you done to me?”
    Sky shook her head. “Nothing that was not also done to me. In you resides the seeds of power that will remain silent until they are activated. Do not fear it. You will never be affected by the energy again during your lifetime.”
    “How did you know that I was here?”
    Sky bit her lip. “I saw you in a dream and I came to comfort you.”
    “Did the gods punish me?”
    “No. You have been blessed.”
    The woman looked at her in surprise. “Why did you call me, Mother?”
    Sky blushed, “Because I did not expect you to understand me. The power that you were given is making it possible for our languages to be understood.”
    “That does not explain the reference to Mother.”
    “If you believe in time, then I am the current end result of your lineage. I have brothers and sisters who will carry the same seeds that you do and eventually, another of your line may take my place.”
    The woman lifted a fur from her shoulders and draped it around Sky’s pale and shivering body. “You should not have come out without dressing properly, Daughter.”
    With her hair loose, Sky smiled at the bright white hair that contrasted with vivid blue eyes in her ancestress. “What is your name, Mother?”
    “Cai. I am the skinner of the Black Deer clan.”
    “Do you make clothing?” Sky was smiling again.
    “I do. It is my true skill and while it has given me plenty of suitors, I had not thought to accept one of them yet.”
    Sky and Cai turned to look at the small community with its flaring fires down below. “What brought you out here today, Cai?”
    “The night called me. I cannot say why or how, but it summoned me to this place and now, I know why.”
    Sky’s skin took on a pink hue. “I am being summoned elsewhere, Cai, but please, keep an open mind. One thing that I do know is that my ancestors were gifted with true affection in their mated lives. Be well and I will come again if I am able.”
    Cai quickly kissed her on both cheeks and smiled, “Be well, Daughter.”
    As the power enveloped Sky, she felt the smile on her face and it was almost brighter than the energy that transported her to another place and time.
    There were perks to being a Nameless after all.

Chapter Ten
    Hot, arid air blasted her as she took her first few steps onto the new world.
    The images that she was getting were of a tiny creature that was facing extinction. Sky just had to find it and then not gag as she lifted it to safety.
    “If I was a disgusting bug, where would I be?” Her out-loud musings were answered by the whir and chugging of a badly maintained skimmer overhead.
    “Oy, woman! What are you doing here?” The man was wearing goggles and what skin she could see wore smears of grime.
    Sky shrugged, the fur around her shoulders sliding against her skin. “I have no idea.”
    He landed his vehicle. “Get in here, the desert will kill you within the hour.”
    She stepped into the bed of the skimmer and it lifted the second that she was onboard. “Where are we?”
    He shook his head, “So sad, you must have been out in the heat for a while. We are on Kasirica, the dying world. Where do you last remember yourself being?”
    He was watching her closely, so she shrugged, “Prison, then on an ice world, then here.”
    His expression lightened. “Ah. That explains it. Minders are truly bastards, are they not?”
    She shrugged. “I wouldn’t know.”
    That seemed to be the funniest thing he had ever heard and soon, they were moving through a ragged settlement.
    “You arrived just in time. We have caught an Alliance spy. He is posted in the forecourt and the third sun is on its way up. This is going to be good.”
    The skimmer driver was almost rubbing his hands together. He set his vehicle down and turned off the engine. “You can find some work inside until the last of the evacuation ships get here.”
    “Thank you for your kindness…”
    “Makkos. This is a time for kindness.