She wanted to dance, but knew she’d only done half the drill. I don’t even know if I can repeat what I’ve done.
Shaking out her hands, she dug deeper into her memory of Tiffany being burnt by her coffee. What she’d felt, her fear and her need for that moment not to happen. I need to undo the thing.
Trying to relax into her magic, Viera pushed out a bit of her will.
She watched, slack-jawed, as the ball flew back towards the wall, exactly how she’d hoped it would, flying back in time. I did it! Oh, my God above, I actually did it! I can’t believe I stopped the ball in time and reversed it!
As her eyes widened in shock and pleasure, her joy morphed to horror as the ball hit the far wall, splatting with a sickly sound, looking like it melted into the wall. Viera gulped, disgusted with what she saw. “What the actual fuck did I do?”
Even the ven seemed to vibrate with questions as Viera leapt up to investigate her failure. The ball slid slowly down the wall, deformed. When Viera brought her hand close to it, she felt heat radiating from it. Fuck, I must’ve doubled up my magical push. I need to get a new ball, and food. I'm feeling dizzy as well as defeated.
Disappointed, Viera walked out to the main area and ordered up a bowl of mac and cheese and another ball—green, ten inches in diameter. Then, after some consideration, she asked for a glass of red wine.
She considered feeding the ven, but knew they were on a strict diet. Scout and Thorn knew all the details.
Once she’d eaten and finished her wine, she headed back to the room. As before, Fezzik followed her.
Fezzik flew around. Stopping the ball in time felt easier. This time, she only used one hand—two felt like overkill. She knew what she needed to do; it was a skill she felt was in her bag of tricks. Clearing her mind, she focused on moving the ball back in time without heating it up. Just before she reversed time, Fezzik dropped down to play with the ball. Both he and the ball flew in different directions, being dragged back in their own timelines.
Her heart dropped as she watched the ven, making sure the spell hadn’t heated him or harmed him in any way. A small manic laugh echoed the relief she felt when he squawked and flew towards her.
His reaction made sense as the ball slammed into her head. Viera fell back on the bed, laughing. She felt both happy with her success, and glad to be done. She followed Fezzik as he chased the ball. I think I can do a lot more of this stressful level magic if I have a ven helping me out!
Chapter 14 - I Need A Vacation From My Vacation!
Thorn
“Major Shifts, please update us on Abritos.” Thorn thought the Major, her leader in this quadrant, looked tired. Had he slept much since she spoke to him last?
Thorn sat at a table in a conference room in one of the lower levels of Torville Station Number Six. The previous day, she’d found Viera in the guest room asleep, a silly ven on her hip, a melted bouncy ball smeared on the wall. She wasn’t sure what had happened, but she hoped the training session had ended successfully.
She knew her lover would spend time fine-tuning that time spell again today. She insisted Viera have a pile of food with her. In the conference room today, Thorn was joined by the Major, Flower Prancer, and Betsy. Yesterday, Thorn had sat and reviewed reports from all of the satellite leaders on their plans to bring the chanzii back home to Abritos. Today, she needed to figure out when their plan would be ready for fruition.
Both Flower Prancer and Betsy wanted to join in on this meeting for their own reasons. Flower Prancer because he had been the Elder representative who agreed that the Elders would stick their collective noses into other races’ business. Betsy, because she was interested in staying on top of what the damn bugs were doing. The Earth Pillar was nervous about her own planet.
So far there wasn’t any indication that the krottel were heading to Earth, but any information on those creatures was important.
Major Shift rubbed the back of his neck, his dark purple hair shifting over the back of his hand. “That’s just the thing, Commander Firoza. Like I told you before, I don’t think there are any of the krottel on Abritos. We’ve waited for you to get here, but we think they’ve already evacuated.”
Flower Prancer’s head snapped first to the Major and then to Thorn. “Commander Firoza? Is this true? And you haven’t told me?”
She grumbled low. “Elder, I didn’t have any facts. Until I knew one way or another, I didn’t feel comfortable bringing anything to your attention.”
His violet eyes narrowed. “And what is your plan, Commander Firoza?”
She sighed, unhappy with him dominating the meeting. “If you don’t mind, Elder Flower Prancer, that is the point of this meeting. To discuss and decide our next move. Please give us a few minutes and you’ll learn our decisions as we make them.”
His tail swished with his annoyance. “Very well.”
Thorn worked to not let her smirk show. “Major, how many ships do we have monitoring the planet?”
He consulted a digital pad, tapping it a few times. “We have six ships in and around the planet and its three moons. But we have more nearby, if we need them. Two have been more active in monitoring the krottel retreat.”
Betsy’s head tilted. “They didn’t notice when the planet had emptied of the bugs or when all the krottel ships had left?”
Major Shift’s hand continued to tap on the digital pad. “Well, that’s the thing. There are still a few of their ships on the ground. The last ship left only a few days ago. The threshold for evacuation hasn’t been met. We only checked our sensors because of the bug found on Earth.”
“Ah,” Betsy said, nodding. “That makes sense. But since the one bug was so hard to find, I’m assuming you need to do a closer inspection of Abritos?”
A smile took over Thorn’s face as warmth bubbled up from her belly. Home. I have an excuse to go home! “Yes. I’ll be taking a group to Abritos to check out the planet. We’ll see if we can find any bugs, search the main cities they attacked, and the surrounding area. If the area is clear, we’ll begin moving in groups to rebuild and then the rest can come home.”
Flower Prancer snorted. “Do you really think that surveying a small area of the planet will be enough, Commander Firoza?” Contempt and disapproval dripped from his words.
Major Shift’s body stiffened, and his mouth tightened. “Sir. Our sensors show the planet clear of the krottel. Our next step is rebuilding. What the Commander has planned is for us to check over the planet as we rebuild. I know you weren’t implying that Commander Firoza, or any of our leaders, were negligent in their duties, Elder.”
The yonat’s violet eyes swung to Major Shift. “Yes, Major. I am implying that one as young as she, or you, will make silly mistakes.”
Betsy snorted. “For fuck’s sake, Flower Prancer, just because you’re an Elder, doesn’t mean you’re old, do you forget that? I’m older than you, and you’re barely older than these two. Major Shift is over two hundred years old.”
“Two hundred and seventy-one, ma’am.”
“Exactly,” Betsy said, pointing at the Major. “You aren’t even three hundred and fifty, Elder. So, get off your high horse and either be helpful or get out. Being judgmental of everyone is getting old … older than you!” The Pillar of Earth glared at the yonat. Gods, she is in no way intimidated by the Elder who scares everyone else.
Thorn wanted to cheer.
With a swish of his tail, Flower Prancer snorted. “If you’re quite done comparing our ages, Pillar Doeth, then we can move on. I do not know what horse you’re talking about. I am a yonat, not a beast of burden. I am also not judgmental. Yonat only judge when asked.” Thorn saw everyone in the room press their lips together, trying to hold back their reactions to his statement. “I try to help by asking the important questions. As for being helpful, I’d suggest bringing young Ms. Kor along. She may be in her infancy in her magic abilities, but her sensing is probably the best I’ve seen. If anyone could pick up on a krottel presence, it would be her.”
Before anyone else could say anything, Thorn took control of the discussion. “That is a great idea. I was planning on taking her anyway. She doesn’t know anyone else here and this gives her something to do beyond practicing language and her magic.”
