"And I shook her hand," Shift added. "She's a natural. Comes through clear."
Really? The Lieutenant's voice slid into her mind. How?
I don't know, sir. I just hear it.
And you just think back? How do you know what to do?
I don't know. She looked down, unable to hold his eyes.
Arctic broke in. "She's not leaking at all. She's locked onto her channel but receptive to all of them. I don't know how she's doing it. If I wasn't looking for her, I probably wouldn't even know she's here." He tapped his head. "Pretty sure she's piggybacking without knowing it."
The Lieutenant dragged his hand across his mouth. "But you can't shut her off?"
"Dunno, never met anyone who could do it before. I've only heard about it. But it might help to put her into the link. That would at least let me moderate her access." Arctic shrugged. "Tethering her will be easy enough."
A deep baritone asked in her head, So, do you have to touch each of us, or can you just hear us? He sounded like he was talking from a distance.
Sal cocked her head slightly. "No. I hear that, but it's muffled."
Razor offered his hand and Sal touched it lightly. How about now? he asked.
As clear as if you used your voice, Sal told him.
"Yep, touching clears it up, but the lack isn't stopping her any."
"But I didn't need to touch the Lieutenant to hear him." She looked over to Arctic, hoping for an explanation.
He shrugged. "LT's been doing this his whole life. He sends better than the rest of us."
"I had no idea this was even possible. I assure you, I had no intention of causing you problems."
LT laughed. "I'm pretty sure you didn't." He turned to Arctic and nodded. "Do it."
She felt a strange shift in her head, but nothing else. Beside her, the men sighed, obviously experiencing something as well. "She's in," Arctic said.
Slowly, the Lieutenant held out his hand, palm up. "Let me show you something."
She didn't want to touch him but knew it's what he expected. Meekly, Sal reached over and lay her hand against his, hearing him inhale as if surprised. Instead of the slick, disturbing feeling she expected, his skin was warm and soft, the calluses from hours of sword work comfortable and reassuring. He closed his eyes and let his fingers wrap around the back of her palm, holding her to him. For a long moment he didn't move, then his eyes snapped open.
My mother had eyes like yours, he thought, followed with a picture of an iliri woman. There aren't many like you left.
Do they know? She meant the other officers.
Yes. We don't keep secrets from each other, but we also don't share them with outsiders.
I understand. She shuffled the image far back in her mind.
"Anything?" LT asked suddenly.
"Nope." Razor shook his head.
"Not a hint," Shift said.
"I got every word, and the location she stored the memory," Arctic assured him.
LT nodded, "And?"
"It's put back about as tight as she can. I can show her how to do it better, but I've never seen a novice with such control."
Sal looked back and forth between them, barely keeping up with the new line of talk. "You mean that was a test?"
"To some extent," LT said. "We can't keep you out without more work than I want, so we might as well see how far we can trust you. And if you're wondering, it's impossible to lie mind to mind. That really is my mother. I'm one of the few here who has met a pure iliri female."
"Oh."
"Now that you've seen how it's done, can I see what happened earlier?"
When she nodded, a tickle in her mind brought forth a memory. She didn't try to hide her shame, anger, or how hard she worked to control her beastly instincts. She lived each second of the encounter, hoping the memory would explain her actions better than words could. Every detail of her disagreement with the recruits Odi and Bardus flashed behind her eyes, her fears, disgust and concerns relived in seconds. The memory complete, the Lieutenant nodded his head slowly.
"Dismiss them. They would never work with our unit, not with that much hate for us."
"Zep asked for the pleasure," Arctic said.
Razor chuckled. "That'll make a few things easier."
"Just don't let Cyno help," the Lieutenant told them, still holding her hand. "Ok, men, we're done here."
They stood, tossing back their drinks, but Sal stayed, his grip holding her in place. As the door closed behind the last man, her heart beat faster. She was alone with him. He could order her to do anything and she couldn't refuse. Being part iliri, he had to know that she was beholden to him now, whether she liked it or not.
