Eyes in the Sky by Viola Grace Read Free Book Online

the major one was the alteration of the course of the nearby river. It encroached on their living quarters and on the fields that supported their people.
    They needed a clean source of water, room to plant and a safe stone-based plateau to move their settlement to. The speakers looked at her hopefully. “Do you think you can find us something?”
    Vision smiled. “I have a few places in mind, three days walk from here. Stone can fly me there and back in a few hours. I should have an answer for you this afternoon.”
    They smiled and a strange purring murmur went through the community gathered around the platform where they were holding their discussion.
    “Go and seek with our blessing. Thank you.”
    She inclined her head and got to her feet. Climbing up from the floor took some getting used to, but she managed to get upright in time for Stone to take her in his arms and lift off.
    Once in the air, she tucked her head against his so she could talk. “They are a community consciousness.”
    He replied, “Yes. They need a world of their own as their minds expand.”
    “Right. Head north. There are a few sites there that are likely based on what I saw from the planetary scans.”
    He nodded against her ear, and she shivered.
    She turned in his arms and focussed on her job. She had to seek out something that met the specific requirements of the Geelaw citizens.
    She focussed on the approaching ridge of hills. Deeper sight showed her the water table and the substrata. It felt good to be using her vision for something beyond seeing semen stains on the walls and furnishings of the Citadel.
    “How long can you fly?”
    “How long do you need me to?” He chuckled as he climbed and then glided down, over and over until they reached the spot she pointed to. He landed, and she put her hands on her hips and scanned the area.
    “There is a substrata of stone for stability. Hills for shelter, the open plain for the fields and a plentiful water supply just beyond those rocks.”
    “And it is close enough to their current location that the weather patterns will not be a traumatic shift. They can begin the transition for their settlement immediately.”
    “Do you wish to check out the other sites?”
    She nodded. “Yes. That ridge over there is the second candidate. The third is on the other side of that ridge.”
    “Shall we?” he raised his eyebrows and stepped toward her.
    “Why are you so eager for extra flying?”
    He laughed and picked her up. “It isn’t the flying; it is the very soft and charming burden that I have the privilege of carrying.”
    She blushed and turned her mind to the task at hand, finding a space for the settlement that could hold the current five thousand with room to double.
    The second spot wasn’t quite as pleasant as the first. There was less shelter from the surrounding hills, but the water was still nearby. She kept in mind that they would be digging through the rock with picks and shovels.
    “This spot is good, but the first one was better. Better drainage and soil content.”
    “Then, I suppose that it is time to seek out the next one.”
    She stepped toward him and put her arms around his neck. “Up and away.”
    He wrapped himself around her, and with a strong shove of his legs, they were in the air with his wings beating heavily to gain altitude over the hills.
    She whispered in his ear, “So, are we physically compatible?”
    They dropped a hundred feet before he caught his balance and propelled them up once again. He growled, “You are asking that now?”
    “I am working, you are working, there is no better time.” She chuckled.
    He took them over the hills without answering her.
    The third site was nearly better than the first. It even had a heavy treeline to reduce soil erosion. The problem was in the extra week that it would take to walk the citizens over the hills.
    She gave a steady assessment and scowled. “Damn.”
    “What?”
    “This is a better site. There is going