Helix by Viola Grace Read Free Book Online Page B

see why not. You were injured, not dead.”
    “Good. Do I have any clothing here?”
    He chuckled. “I will fetch you one of my tunics.”
    When she was wearing the dark scarlet tunic, she smiled. “She says I can fly, but I am going to try to go from the ground up and not the roof down.”
    He blinked. “Flying? No one mentioned we would be able to fly.”
    She saw a bit of boyish enthusiasm in him as they walked out to the path next to the river. The star gave her instructions, and in a moment, the tunic flared and ruffled at the hem, and the next moment, she was in the air, climbing at a rate that should have made her dizzy but instead filled her with riotous glee.
    Directions were difficult, speed was amazing, and she didn’t need to breathe as she thought she would. The star was right. She was now capable of withstanding anything.
    She swirled through the sky and finally returned to stand next to Nero, though she did land ass first on the ground.
    He grinned. “I would help you up, but there is heat coming off you in waves.”
    She grinned back. “You have got to try that. Can you wear something to disperse the heat of my grip?”
    “There is a metal harness in the retriever building. I can use that.” He waited until she was on her feet. “This way.”
    She pattered along with him, finally gliding a few inches from the ground. With the rift so close, it was too easy to pull and use the power.
    He looked at her and did a double take. “You are flying even now?”
    “I don’t have shoes on.”
    “Fair enough, I suppose. This is going to be news.” He smiled and opened the door to the retriever building. The interior was a museum of sorts. All the different techniques used over the centuries to get the fallen out of their ships were displayed on the walls. Some of them were a little barbaric, but it wasn’t like they were hauling living and breathing beings.
    Four of the retrievers were sitting in the common room, and they sat up when they saw Nero. “Restorer, what can we do for you?”
    Harmony recognized the man as Steklin. One of her early courters.
    “The catcher and I require the Masden harness, immediately.”
    They looked past him to where she was hovering above the floor in his tunic and bare feet. They jerked in surprise when they realised what they were seeing.
    She put her hands on her hips. “Come on, Steklin. Point it out and I will get it myself.”
    His hand shook as he pointed to a metal structure mounted on the wall. It was designed to close around the torso but had grips extending from the shoulders for ease of handling. It would be harsh for a fallen but would work fine for Nero.
    She grinned and flew up to examine how it was fastened to the wall. She freed it with a jerk that sent bits of rock tumbling. “Oops. Sorry. I don’t know my own strength yet.”
    Nero laughed.
    She carefully descended, extending the harness to him. “Here you go.”
    He took it with his shoulders shaking. The retrievers were staring at Harmony as if she had grown another head.
    Nero explained. “She is the Avatar for half the rift. Her body has undergone alteration.”
    Steklin nodded. “That appears to be an understatement, Restorer.”
    Nero was calmly opening the harness and putting himself inside it.
    When it was firm, the men asked him, “What are you doing, Nero?”
    “Oh, didn’t I mention? I am the other half. Come on, Harmony. I have a date with a dark star.”
    She waved farewell and flew off like a giant brown-skinned pixie. Keeping her hips lowered so that they couldn’t see up her tunic took up all of her concentration. Even giant pixies needed underwear.

Chapter Eight
     
     
    Carrying a grown man took some doing. Hoisting him into the air was easy. Flying with a burden and a sense of decorum was a dichotomy that she found annoying. Once she was high enough, she said to hell with decorum and simply poured on the speed.
    Even though she was expecting it, it was surprising when he went