Whispers From Exile (Corwint Central Agent Files Book 2)
Corwint Central Agent Files
Book 2:
Whispers from Exile
By C.E. Kilgore
3rd Edition
Copyright ©2014
Tracing The Stars
All Rights Reserved
Recommended Reading Order
Ghost in the Machine
To Even Have Dreams
According to Plan
Whispers from Exile
Awake My Soul
Unbound Instinct
Tracing the Stars
Violet Haze
Breathe into Existence
Promise the Stars
Acknowledgments
This book is dedicated to all those who have continued to offer me encouragement and to the dreamers of science fiction. Write and dream from your heart and people will listen to your story. I am inspired daily by the boundless creativity of the human spirit.
For updates, information and bonus content,
visit me at cekilgore.com
Foreword
Love is the most powerful force in existence. Love can burn our hearts asunder when we deny it, or lead us to pure unbridled joy when we open ourselves and take up the courage to follow it. It can move legions to war, men to madness, nations to stand up for what they believe and children to hold out their hand and reach for the stars. Love is undefinable. It is without logic or guidelines. Every individual both experiences and expresses love in their own unique way, and love cannot be bound by the rules a society attempts to futilely govern it by. Love will never be held back or allow itself to be categorized into being only for those of a certain race, species or gender. Love, no matter the breadth of the opposition against it, will find a way.
As I write Whispers from Exile, the world around me still finds itself struggling to understand these most basic concepts of love. The world is changing, even if slowly, and for that I am filled with hope. I hope that you can accept the story of Larx and Torque, who are both male, with open arms and an open heart. Their story shows what can happen when you deny the Love of your heart for the sake of approval from those around you, and it shows the power Love can give to your spirit when you choose to embrace it.
Veltu’azi o’sa brunnai. We harvest only what we have planted.
We are, each of us, individually responsible for either supporting the growth of Love in our universe or trying to trample it beneath our feet. May Love find you, no matter who you are, and may you have the courage to hold on to it and share it with those around you.
Adonae tu. Solukae noyai.
C.E. Kilgore
Table of Contents
Foreword
Prologue: Skipping Stones
1: Exiled
2: Whispers
3: Solukae Noyai
4: A Promise To Remember
5: Truiskya
6: A Ruisk In Musk
7: Breaking Point
8: Enough
9: Hear Me Roar
10: Jaded
11: To Vratza
12: Genuine
13: The Forgotten
14: The Found
15: Like Her Sister
16: The Bounty
17: Wormholes
18: Farsighted
19: Vratza
20: Eye Of The Storm
21: Hound
22: Larxkatza
23: Nu'anae
24: Vestrasa
25: Adequate
26: Luck
27: Adonae Tu
28: Ruiskatsa Truva
29: Blue Sky
Epilogue: Heart Of Jade
Prologue: Skipping Stones
“What do you see, Orynn?”
The voice faded in and out as Orynn’s mind edged between consciousness and memory. Her body felt weightless and numb, and her fingertips were cold. The world around her seemed far away as hazy visions passed by her closed eyelids. She'd been on Jarren’s ship, but now she was uncertain of her location. The more she tried to focus, the deeper her mind sank back into the thoughts from things past.
The collar around her neck burned, but her spirit persisted. There was something she needed to recall. Something important. Something…
“What do you see, Orynn?”
The questioning voice of her dead mother broke into the silence, beckoning her to let go of reality and follow. She could feel the heat of her own breath as it passed by her chapped lips, and she delighted in the way the snowflakes fell against her eyelashes and nose. Snow?
With a slow exhale, the collar around her neck was forgotten as the image of her mother’s face transfixed her. It had been so long since she'd seen those eyes; eyes that were forever filled with a mix of appreciation and disappointment. Orynn was grateful that her mother was not alive to see how far her daughter had fallen.
“Orynn, are you listening?” Tersai’s exasperated sigh filled Orynn’s ears.
Orynn blinked as her silver irises focused in the overcast gray light that was typical of Berian Two. They were seated on a park bench next to a geothermal heated pond and Orynn’s attention had been taken over by the playful actions of children nearby. Once again, her mind had wandered away from what her mother was trying to teach her. Glancing to Tersai, she gave a small nod. “Yes, A’kai. I see that there are many different auras in this place.”
Tersai let out a frustrated breath at her daughter’s vague answer. “Look at that woman, there, and tell me what you see.”
Following her mother’s gaze, she took notice of a woman dressed snugly in a winter jacket. The woman was pacing near a walking path and her aura was a jumbled mix of blue and green. “She is nervous, and she is anxious. There is a slight anger there, but also a growing worry. I think she is waiting for someone who is late.”
“Very good,” Tersai nodded. “You read others well, when you pay attention to them.”
Orynn cast her eyes downward at her mother’s subtle reprimand. “I am sorry, A’kai.”
“What about that man?”
Orynn raised her eyes again and looked to the man sitting on a nearby bench. His foot tapped against the gravel stones beneath it as his eyes darted about the crowd. His aura had hints of blue, but it was jaggedly outlined in red and black. The apprehension permeating the air around him was palpable.
“He is trying to decide something important. He is angry, but the anger is directed inwards. He has failed at something, and he is desperate.”
“What do you think that desperation may lead him to do?”
“I…” Orynn tilted her head as she continued to examine the man. She was about to answer that she didn't know, but she didn't want to disappoint her mother by giving up so easily. Auras were one thing to read; trying to read the physical cues of people and tie them to the hints in their auras was a different challenge entirely.
Before Orynn could think on it any longer, the man stood away from the bench quickly, turned and headed for the woman who was still pacing the walkway. Orynn thought perhaps he'd been the person she was waiting for, but that assumption died as she watched the man brush against the woman, steal her purse and run off into the woods surrounding the park.
A frown set across Orynn's lips. “I did not foresee that action, A’kai.”
Tersai nodded. “I knew that one would be hard for you. You always try to see the best possible outcome with people, instead of the harsh reality of this universe. You believed he was the person she had been waiting on?”
Orynn nodded. “Yes, I had hoped so.”
“You must be cautious, my daughter. Because you see the good over the bad and assume for the better, you must tread more delicately. I know that it is your father’s heart that leads you to look at the universe that way, but it is dangerous. Most in this universe will take advantage of that, and most in this universe will disappoint you.”
“I understand, A’ka,” Orynn sighed. The reality of this universe that her mother was always trying to show her was depressing.
Her father’s heart beat strongly against her chest in that moment as if to remind her that there was more to this universe than purse thieves. Even that purse thief had a story, and Orynn was able to see the regret shimmer into his aura as he ran away. There was more to this universe than what was on the surface. She wondered if perhaps her mother simply could not see it.
“Good,” Tersai continued. “Now, look at that young boy there and tell me what you see.”
Orynn’s eyes moved to a boy wrapped up in a hooded jacket, thick scarf and bright blue mud-boots. She had to fight the giggle rising in her throat as she watched him teetering along the shoreline with the weight of his snow-apparel. Gathering her emotions around her and focusing on what her mother really wanted her to see, Orynn peered past the bright blinding joy that most children’s auras were filled with.
A loud gasp escaped her control as she took in the boy’s true aura. “What is that, A’kai? His aura is so strong. It is like a great ocean moving around him, and it touches all that is near to him.”
“Very good,” Tersai nodded softly. “That boy is a Vestrasa.”
Orynn tilted her head the other way as the beauty of the boy’s aura filled her mind. The Vesparian word her mother used only heightened her confusion. “Wind in the grass?”
“That is the basic meaning of vestrasa, yes, but when we refer to the aura of a person, a Vestrasa is much more. It is not something we teach
our daughters until we can find one in the world to show them. It is easier to show the aura of a Vestrasa than to explain it with words.”
Tersai paused for a moment as they watched the boy try to skip a stone across the pond's surface. “Every race has a word for them. Even though they cannot see their auras like we can, each race knows that such people exist. The Orellians call them aergossi-torgathen, or story-weavers. Tharsans call them foundation stones and Corwints call them skipping stones.”
“I have never heard these phrases before, A’kai. What do they mean?”
“Look at the pond, my daughter. See how its surface is smooth and unmoving? Think of that pond as the universe, and each drop of water within it represents the life of a person. Though they meld together with those immediately around them and all lives are connected, they do not affect any part of the pond but their own small drop of water.”
Tersai stopped, picked up a rock next to her foot and tossed it into the pond. It made a small splash and ripples appeared from where it had landed. “Some lives in the universe are like that rock. They cause ripples that affect the lives around them, but as you can see, the ripples occur in a predictable pattern and are short lived.”
Orynn watched as the circular ripples moved across the pond. The ripples died quickly and the pond became still again. “That is a Vestrasa?”
“No, that is just a rock,” Tersai gave a small laugh. “Rocks are a common thing in this universe, my daughter. Some are good rocks, and their effects that ripple into the lives of others are of benefit. For example, a woman who chooses to open an orphanage and take in children needing a home. Her decision in that moment will affect the lives of all the children she decides to take in. The effects of her decision are predictable, however, to an extent. Other rocks are not good, and unfortunately, bad rocks far outnumber the good ones. But, I digress.”
Tersai picked up another stone, this one flat and smooth. Instead of tossing it into the water, she angled it to the side and it skipped and danced across the water’s surface. “That, my daughter, is the effect of a Vestrasa.”
Orynn watched as the stone skipped across the water. With each bounce, it created more ripples, and those ripples ran into one another to create even more ripples. The effect cascaded across the surface of the pond until it seemed as if the entire body of water was moving. The effects lasted much longer than the circular and predictable ripples from the rock, and the ripples from the skipped stone were anything but predictable.
“Vestrasa move through the universe,” Tersai continued, “often unaware of their own gravity, affecting everything around them. They are a necessary part of the fabric of the universe, as they cause the shifts and ripples required for the story of life to continue moving forward.
"See how the ripples continue long after the stone has sunk to the bottom of the pond? Even when the Vestrasa has been placed outside of the path of existence, such as by death or exile, whispers of their previous effects continue to cause changes in the lives they have touched.
"And, as you can see, their gravity is so strong, that they touch countless lives through the actions they have caused in others. The effects of their existence is unpredictable. Sometimes, it can lead to great and wondrous changes in the universe. Other times, it can lead to disaster. We never know which, and despite the efforts of some, it is impossible to control.”
Orynn took in a deep breath and looked back at the boy. She could feel the gravity of his aura drawing her in and the words her mother spoke awakened a new understanding. “So, this boy will cause ripples like those on the pond?”
“Oh yes, I am certain. He does it even now, without knowing it. Part of our mission with Central and the Sisterhood is to locate persons such as these and take note of them.” Tersai looked back at her daughter with a smile for a long moment before leaning in and kissing her daughter’s forehead. “We are not to interfere with the choices they make or tell them that they are a Vestrasa, but Central and the Sisterhood wish to study the ripples they cause.”
“Have you seen many in your years, A’kai?”
“No, my daughter,” Tersai stroked her daughter’s white hair. “They are very rare.”
The look her mother gave her was strange, and she wondered why her mother’s aura had become a glimmering line of sad appreciation. Thinking it must be the presence of the boy, she turned her eyes back to his aura. “I wish they were not so rare. They are beautiful.”
“Yes, my daughter, they are.”
1
Exiled
Vestrasa. Orynn’s mind fought to hold onto that word as the collar around her neck sent a negative current into her aura.
Distant footsteps, clinking glass and hushed whispers broke apart the memory, and the fog of sleep slowly relinquished its hold over her. Her eyes stung, immediately brimming with salty tears as the crust of sleep pulled apart. Everything, from toes to fingertips, hurt with a constant, dull, throbbing ache. The pain made it hard to breathe, and the gravity surrounding her threatened to break the delicately thin structure of her ribcage.
She drew in a ragged breath and tried to remember how she had arrived to the dark spot on the cold, tile floor on which she was now kneeling. The shackles on her wrists held her arms slightly elevated above her shoulders and out to the side. It was an anti-gravity tethering system that was most commonly used to restrain large animals for transport. A matching pair of shackles surrounded her ankles and an invisible gravitational field that tied them to the wall kept her pinned in the current uncomfortable position of her body.
Her tongue ran across her dry, cracked bottom lip but offered little relief. Throat parched, she couldn’t remember the last time she'd had something to eat or drink.
Tea. There had been tea. Perhaps.
Her mind screamed in pain as the Velxkul collar around her neck switched its frequency in response to her awakened state. The collar was ripping into her aura, keeping her from forming coherent thoughts. It had taken away even the remote possibility that she could use her empathic abilities against anyone. She was sure Jarren would have the people working around her implanted with neuro-inhibitors, anyway.
Jarren. My poor, sweet boy. Look what I have done to you.
The first night she'd spent aboard his ship, he'd held her in his arms and cried into her hair for an hour before curling up next her with his head in her lap and falling asleep. She hadn't been prepared for such a reaction from him, but once it happened, she realized it was the most reasonable thing for him to do. Through what little of his aura she could read, she discovered that, where she was concerned, he was still a five-year-old child who was scared and wanted to be comforted. She believed that his own reaction may have surprised or angered him, and she hadn't seen him since.
That had been two days ago. No, three. Or perhaps five?
Time was already starting to become a disconnected concept in her mind, but she was certain that she was no longer on the ship. The gravity around her felt planetary. If that Trexen female, Tavia, had drugged her, then it could be a week later for all she knew. The tea had been good and welcome to her throat, but she really wished people would stop slipping things into her tea besides sugar.
Despite the pain, a smile came to her lips as she thought back to Larx’s club on Chronos. She wanted to skin that damn Ruisk, but she'd give anything to see his wide grin again, or Torque’s friendly eyes, or Ethan looking up at her as he'd held her above the crowd. A tear slid down her cheek at the memory and she shuddered into a sob.
“Jade!” A female, Hedarion accented voice hissed in a quiet whisper. “I think she’s awake!”
“Ataha. Finally,” the heavily accented voice of a female Ruisk sighed. “Go grab the washbasin and a cloth. And the tea. Oh, and the-”
“Yeah, yeah,” the Hedarion gave a harassed laugh. “How many hands you think I got?”
“That depends on which of your clients you ask,” Jade laughed as the Hedarion flipped her off before walking into the other room. Jade turned her cat-slit green eyes down to the dark corner of the floor where Orynn’s naked body was restrained. She approached cautiously and crouched down. Using her clawed finger, she gently poked the Orynn’s forehead. “Hey, woman, are you awake?”