Destiny's Blood by Marie Bilodeau (superbooks4u txt) 📕

Tell me, do you really believe that Layela Delamores holds the key to unlocking the First Star?”

Romero was silent for a moment, and she knew to wait for him to gather his thoughts. Romero Aquilone rarely said anything that had not first been weighed carefully. It was a trait that had annoyed her at first, but in the last few days, with him as her sole companion, she had found her own spirits calming and the wait worthwhile.

“When I first met her, a thief of valuable blooms,” Aquilone began slowly, “she had powers. I don’t know what kind, but activating them proved...interesting.”

Seela could only imagine a Kilita’s touch activating all ethereal connections. She idly wondered what it would feel like for his strong, ungloved hand to caress her body.

“But when we met her on Collar,” he resumed just as carefully, “I touched her, but felt nothing.”

He paused, and the Berganda understood better than anyone else what he was pondering. Had the lack of reaction been caused by her loss of powers, or by his own fading power?

“Is that why you kill?” He surprised her with the question. “To preserve your powers?”

Seela bit back a harsh reply. Anyone else asking would have felt the wrath of her mind-drain, but Romero was simply a friend making conversation. She was not used to that; she had met no one she might consider a friend since leaving her Berganda home five years ago.

“It is, in a way,” she began, knowing that the answer would not satisfy the analytical Kilita. “But, in another way, it is to leave a mark. The only mark I have left to make.”

Romero seemed to ponder this and, true to what she always imagined a friend would do, he let the matter rest. The two walked side by side, avoiding merchants.

He turned to her and displayed a slight smile, a rare sight on the Kilita’s lips. She realized he was trying to remove the sombre mood he thought he had created, and she encouraged him to speak with a smile of her own.

“It’s true what they say, though. Thalos IV does stink.”

She laughed and hooked her arm into his. She wondered if Dunkat Groosh had spoken truth when he had claimed that Layela Delamores was the key to unlocking the First Star — that she was their dwindling races’ salvation.

i

Veruvia was famous not only for its intergalactic dock, but also for its twice-boiled stuffed vulture beaks, a local delicacy that smelled of rotten milk and tasted about the same, only crunchier. It was also reputed for its strong network of information, known as the Dark Knights.

Layela knew that Yoma had made the trip to Veruvia twice, both times to use the Dark Knights’ network to her advantage. The first time, it had been to find her sister, gone missing for three days after disappearing on a sunny day while selling the flowers Yoma had stolen. The second had been to find valid identification and a secure way to get them safely off the planet, to start an honest life elsewhere.

Although Yoma said little of the Dark Knights over the six months while Layela had been in her semi-comatose state, Layela remembered bits of conversation. Enough that she thought she could locate one of their information locales.

She walked for one hour to the east of the hidden mansion where Josmere dozed, away from the filthy, noisy docks and into a quieter section of Veruvia. Her feet were sore by the time she reached the comely neighbourhood filled with little shops, most of them still closed at this early hour. She didn’t mind exploring to find her target, her legs still cramped from days inside small rooms and small shuttles. Besides, she truly doubted the Dark Knights held regular hours of operation.

I hope their fees are sensible, Layela thought as she gazed through the window of a small bookstore, where old bound books were sold. She spotted a volume on gardening techniques, and made a note to come back when the shop was open if she had any money left. She smiled a bit as she thought of what her sister would suggest: just steal it. Of course, Yoma never stole from small merchants for herself, but she would have done it for her sister.

Layela sighed. Stealing had not been her way for years, and she hoped it had been weaned out of her blood.

Besides, Josmere had silently handed her some money as they had exited the ship, shrugging at Layela’s stern look. She didn’t know who the Berganda had managed to pickpocket, but doubted Josmere would lose sleep over it.

She sighed. She hated to admit it, but they needed that money. Sometimes she didn’t know whether to hug Josmere or throttle her. Much the same way she felt about her sister.

She was alone on the streets and enjoying every sight. She passed by a perfume shop, the window littered with small vials and sequined bows, as if perfumes needed to resort to such enticement on this smelly planet. The next shop was empty, its bare storefront lonely on this street filled with beloved shops.

She approached the store window, inexplicably drawn to it, her own reflection staring back at her through the dull, dirty glass. It was for rent, a large yellow sign claimed, and it was a nice space, although smaller than Sunrise Flowers had been.

Sunrise Flowers. Maybe here she could start anew. Maybe Thalos IV, a world of endings, could actually be one of beginnings. Maybe that explained the deep kinship she already felt with this store, lost and abandoned in a large universe, just like she felt at times.

She looked closer at the window and realized that in it she could see the reflection of another store. She turned around, her legs moving before her mind had even read the sign, Starborn Maps.

This was the shop that called to her. Not the new beginning, she realized with some sadness. She reached for the handle and pulled, not surprised to find it