Heart Fortune (Celta) Read online

  Except for one ball that hit and exploded into shards.

  She huddled, gasping, all the exposed surfaces of her skin tingling, unable to move. Shock tears dribbled down her face. Good thing no one was on this study floor except her.

  Her HeartMate was safe . . . and coming out of the darkness of unconscious. And as his feelings, his first instinctive fear at being trapped, filtered through her, she understood, stunned, that the adventurous man she’d had a fling with and couldn’t find later was now at the excavation of Lugh’s Spear in the center of the continent.

  Gently, gently she sent a whisper of caring, of comfort, to him along their bond and felt him settle, thought she heard the same shouts of help he did.

  Even as her own Family and friends began to react to her collapse.

  “Glyssa! What’s wrong? I felt the pull on our bond!” Camellia Darjeeling D’Hawthorn, one of Glyssa’s best friends, ran from the teleportation pad to Glyssa, helping her to her feet.

  What’s wrong? Glyssa’s father demanded mentally, You drew on our Family connection.

  Stick to the truth, sort of. I felt a little queasy. I’m all right now.

  You may be getting the virus going around. Glyssa’s mother’s voice in her mind was cool. Leave work now. We don’t want you infecting any patrons.

  Part of working with the public. Good thing none of the rest of us have it, Glyssa’s sister, Enata, snipped, disgruntled even in her telepathic speaking.

  I think I can stave it off if I take a little of my sick time, Glyssa replied weakly, mind-to-mind with her Family, the FirstLevel Librarians of Druida City. Glyssa hadn’t finished her master program to become FirstLevel yet. Still needed a “field” trip and formal paper.

  I’ll check on you after work, her mother said absently, her mind already veering off into something more interesting. The attention of Glyssa’s father and sister, the pressure of their Flair, their psi power, dropped from Glyssa, too.

  Meanwhile, Camellia had helped Glyssa to a reading chair, gathered the twenty-three recordspheres and put them back in the crate, and said a spell to reassemble the shattered one. Hopeless.

  With a sigh and a flick of the fingers, Camellia gathered all the shards and dust and disposed of it. Lifting the crate from the floor, Camellia also smoothed out the chips in the wood, then placed it on the table next to Glyssa’s chair and tapped it. “Tell me that breaking these would not be a career-ending move.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Your Family’s standards are too high,” Camellia said.

  “We keep all the knowledge of Celta,” Glyssa defended. “These are irreplaceable.” She stroked the nearest orb with trembling fingers.

  “And they’ve all been copied, and more than once,” Camellia said.

  “Nothing like hearing the original colonists’ voice, or seeing their writing, or experiencing the impressions of their memories,” Glyssa said.

  “Huh,” Camellia said. “What’s wrong?”

  Glyssa wet her lips, still feeling pale. No doubt her freckles were standing out against white skin, and her paleness made her red hair look all the more carroty. “My HeartMate needed my Flair and energy. To save his life.”

  “Wow,” Camellia said, absently polishing each of the recordspheres with a softleaf she’d pulled from her tunic pocket. She must have been in one of her teahouses. “Did he demand it?”

  “No. I just felt the need through our link and gave what I could. He asked for nothing. He never has.” Glyssa could tell her friend the whole truth. “This isn’t the first time he’s been in danger. Now and then I could feel a tug on our connection, but not quite enough to find him through our link.” She wasn’t going to let that connection go this time, would strengthen it. Right now the link was just physical attraction showing up in sexy dreams, a shared past of a wild weekend affair, and the potential for a lifelong love.

  She tilted her head as she traced the golden bond.

  “Now you can find him?” Camellia asked.

  “Yes. Now I know where he is.” Determination fired within Glyssa, giving her the energy to sit tall. Determination and extreme curiosity. Her vision sharpened. “Camellia, my HeartMate, Jace, is at the excavation of the starship Lugh’s Spear.”

  Camellia grimaced. “Your HeartMate is there, and my husband and HeartMate wants someone to be there on my behalf.”

  “And your Laev is right,” Glyssa said. “You are a descendant of the Captain of that starship, by law you are entitled to a third of the artifacts, or the proceeds from the sale of the artifacts.”

  Camellia’s mouth turned down. “That doesn’t matter to me as much as him being remembered and honored for the hero that he was.” They stared at each other for a minute.

  “You’re going to your guy, aren’t you?”

  “Yes. And I’ve been wanting to visit Lugh’s Spear, too. I can make it the field trip needed as part of my final process to become a FirstLevel Librarian.” She nearly wiggled in her seat—such an adventure for herself, too! A project of awesome discovery.

  “Your parents aren’t going to like this.”

  “No.” She’d work around that somehow.

  Camellia tapped the empty hole where the shattered sphere had been. “And how much trouble is this going to be for you?”

  Glyssa let out a puff of sigh. “It was the index of the other recordings kept in this crate. Lucky. I can say that a patron of the library wanted to see it and dropped it, and then make a new one.”

  Smiling, Camellia said, “Not a lie. You are a patron of the library.”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “Well if you’re going to the excavation, you can be the source of information Laev and the rest of the FirstFamilies council have on that project. I’ll have him contact you. You can go on our behalf if your Family nixes your field trip and paper on the expedition.”

  A chill slipped through Glyssa at the thought of not making FirstLevel Librarian, failing in the career she’d started at ten years old. She swallowed hard.

  Camellia picked up one of the spheres, read the title and made a face. “Another boring history.” She stared at Glyssa, then perked up. “You could write a paper on my ancestor Captain Netra Sunaya Hoku.” Camellia’s eyes brightened as she put the ball back into its cushioned nest. “Better, you could write something more popular than a paper. A . . . a novel or a play, or something.” She nodded decisively. “Yes, that’s what I want. I want regular people to read about my ancestor, understand how he saved so many lives.” She grabbed Glyssa’s hands. “Say you will.”

  “I don—”

  Glyssa, what happened! chimed in her other friend, Tiana Mugwort, mentally. I was attending a lecture by the high priest and couldn’t respond before now, but felt your need.

  So Glyssa and Camellia shared their thoughts with her.

  “Incoming scry from GreatLord T’Ash, at T’Ash Residence, for SecondLevel Librarian Glyssa Licorice,” said the voice of the PublicLibrary.

  Camellia looked at her. Glyssa shrugged. She didn’t know why the lord would call her. She’d never met the man. “I’ll accept it,” she said.

  The nearby wall scry screen cleared, then showed a large and scowling T’Ash holding a fox kit by the scruff of his neck. Off screen came the hisses of a very angry cat.

  “Glyssa Licorice?” T’Ash snapped.

  “That’s me,” she said.

  “My HeartMate informs me that this one.” He gave the young fox a tiny shake. “Is your Fam Companion. Come get him. Now.” The scry went black.

  Camellia laughed. “Sounds like GreatLady Danith D’Ash has given you a Fam.”

  Two

  Glyssa rubbed her temples. “This isn’t the right time to get a Familiar. I can’t take a young thing out to an excavation.”

  “You shouldn’t,” Camellia agreed. “But do you want a Fam or not?”

  “Oh, I do!” Energy surged through Glyssa. Need for a companion, since she’d be leaving her two best friends, her Fam
ily . . . all that she knew.

  “You should buy one of those automatic teleportation collars that will send him to D’Ash if he gets hurt,” Camellia said.

  “It can’t teleport him thousands of kilometers!”

  “They must have a Healing clinic,” Camellia said. “You can set the collar for that.”

  Glyssa’s mind whirled. “I must leave as soon as possible.”

  “Well,” Camellia pointed out, “T’Ash did say now.”

  Glyssa had meant for the excavation.

  “My Family expects me to be at home . . . sick.” Though a Fam would perk anyone up.

  “T’Ash is not a man you want to cross,” Camellia pointed out.

  “All right. I’ll ’port to our garage and take the glider.”

  Camellia hugged her. “Laev will be scrying you about being our rep at Lugh’s Spear.” She kissed Glyssa on the cheek. “I’ll see you later.” She went to the teleportation pad and left.

  Glyssa put away the recordspheres—with a new index—and headed out.

  A few minutes later the glider pulled up to Danith D’Ash’s offices. She was the animal healer and person who usually assigned Fams and was awaiting Glyssa’s arrival, holding and petting the little fox.

  From what Glyssa could see, the young Fam didn’t need soothing. His tongue lolled out of his slightly open muzzle and his eyes gleamed with wild glee.

  The glider stopped and the door lifted. Glyssa began to slide out when Danith D’Ash hustled up and the foxling jumped from her arms onto the seat. Glyssa winced at the little claw holes in the upholstery.

  You are my FamWoman! The excited telepathic voice was accompanied with a few small barks from the red and white fox. His red fur was about the color of Glyssa’s hair.

  Then he was in her lap, putting his paws on her shoulders, licking her face with a rough tongue and sending fox breath her way. He felt . . . simply wondrous, small and lithe and trembling with excitement.

  In an instant he’d dropped to her lap and curled up, draping a fluffy tail over his nose.

  “I need a programmable collar,” Glyssa said, dazed.

  Danith D’Ash handed her one.

  The fox lifted its head. I do not like that.

  “It will break away if you’re caught on anything,” Glyssa said.

  He snapped his teeth at D’Ash, so she floated it into the glider and to Glyssa. “The collar will return your Fam here . . . I’ll give you the exact coordinates for my son’s office.” The lady’s cheerful smile held an edge of strain.

  “I’m actually leaving for the excavation of Lugh’s Spear for my field trip to obtain my FirstLevel librarianship,” Glyssa said, petting the young fox. “I suppose I shouldn’t take him.” She didn’t want to give him up.

  D’Ash’s brows came down. “No, you shouldn’t—”

  But D’Ash’s husband and HeartMate exited her offices and joined her, towering over her and laying a huge hand on her shoulder. “The kit will be fine.” T’Ash lifted his chin. “We’ve had troublesome animals here before, but that one. He’ll be fine. Good to meet you, GrandMistrys Licorice. Merry meet and merry part and merry meet again.” With a wave of his hand, the glider door snicked shut and they were off.

  “Home, please,” Glyssa said to the Flair-powered vehicle. It picked up speed and exited through the T’Ash spellshields and gates in seconds. The gates clanged behind them.

  Her fox turned and sat on her lap, looking up at her. Adventure!

  She couldn’t deny the glee in his eyes that matched a surge in her heart. “Yes. And now to name you.”

  You are a Licorice of the PublicLibrary Licorices, he said. I asked the T’Ash ResidenceLibrary for Licorice names—He’d done research! Glyssa was thrilled.

  —and the Residence gave me some and I chose Lepid.

  “Oh, clever fox!”

  He licked her on her chin. I am. I am a CLEVER fox. More clever than any old cat, more clever than—

  “Let’s not get into that. And my Family lives in a house across from the library. We don’t have any Fams—”

  I am the FIRST Licorice Fam!

  “Yes, but the PublicLibrary itself has two cats. You must be nice to them.” She looked at the wriggling fox, figured that would tax the kit. “At least until we leave the city. There’s plenty of exploring to be done in our house and the library. Avoid the cats.”

  Of course! Lepid said.

  Glyssa figured that was a promise easily broken by her new, young Fam. “If you get seriously scratched by the cats, I’m not sure you’ll be able to go with me.”

  Not go!

  “That’s right. You’ll have to stay here until you are well. But I will have to go, because my trip arrangements will be made by another GreatLord, Laev T’Hawthorn, whom I can’t deny.” She hoped. But Laev had been wanting to poke his nose into the expedition, and was a wealthy entrepreneur, a gambler. Surely he’d be all right with her plans.

  Lepid grumbled a little in acknowledgment, then hopped from her lap to look out the window at the city as they left the rich noble estates. I think I like running better than sitting in this glider.

  Glyssa didn’t tell him that the trip across the continent would have him cooped up in an airship for septhours. It would be fast as opposed to stridebeast—there weren’t any roads—but confining. Her perscry—personal scry pebble—played the chord she’d assigned to Laev T’Hawthorn, and she slid a thumb across it. “Here,” she said.

  He grinned at her, and yes, the man was rubbing his hands. “Camellia told me of your offer, Glyssa. I’m also working on a satellite communications system from the starship here to the Lugh’s Spear encampment. You’ll be taking out some equipment. Everything is ready. I’ll send you the documents—all the financial information regarding your salary and duties, a couple of other people are interested in your reports—Camellia will send you more copies of her ancestor’s journals and maps, and I’ll keep you up to date on my consortium for putting up a communications satellite. You’ll be traveling with equipment,” Laev said in satisfaction, “and will be leaving in two days.”

  “Thanks,” Glyssa said faintly. Two days! No time to procrastinate telling her parents.

  They’d turned onto the broad city street that the main PublicLibrary fronted.

  “Merry meet,” Laev said.

  “And merry part,” Glyssa gave the formal response.

  “And merry meet again.” The lord’s smile was quick and charming. “I’ll see you tomorrow evening at GreatCircle Temple for a blessing ritual.”

  “Right,” Glyssa said. The scry pebble darkened as Laev ended the call. She drew in a large breath as the glider pulled into the drive before her house.

  Now all she had to do was tell her parents she was leaving.

  EXCAVATION OF LUGH’S SPEAR,

  The Next Morning

  The camp was abuzz with the news that an unscheduled single-zoom airship had arrived and the pilot had headed straight to headquarters.

  It only took seconds for rumors to bound through the encampment. Jace wasn’t close enough to the owners to casually stroll into their pavilion and ask what was going on, and his bump of curiosity wasn’t such that he panted to know. Unlike his friendly rival, Andic Sanicle, who lingered near the main tent.

  Jace headed out to look at the excavation.

  A couple of years ago, an expedition had been put together by the Elecampanes and they’d legally claimed a great amount of uninhabited land. No one had believed they’d find the lost starship, but after some effort, the location of Lugh’s Spear had been determined. Now the project, also run by the Elecampanes, showed the huge outline of the starship.

  The landing on Celta had been hard, the ship had broken with some lives lost, then, a few days later, the ground beneath the massive vehicle had given way and it had fallen and been covered with rockfall.

  The colonists had tried to make a community, some had stayed and died out in a few generations—Celta remained hard on her
new people—but most had trekked to the city of Druida, where the intelligent starship Nuada’s Sword had landed.

  Jace had seen the plays depicting the discovery of Celta and the ensuing journey. Hard not to when GrandLord T’Elecampane was the noted actor Raz Cherry. The man did theater productions even in camp.

  A shiver twitched between his shoulder blades as he scented water in the air from Fish Story Lake and the Deep Blue Sea. No, this time he thought that Celtans not Earthans, would stay. The location was great . . . one of the reasons that the Captain had decided to land here. He’d been right about that.

  Unfortunately, from what Jace understood, he’d also been right to worry about that landing.

  Jace shook off the past and the future and walked toward the hole in the ground where the beam was, stared at it. When he’d fallen, the spellshields had protected him. It had taken a couple of septhours to dig him out, and he’d felt the strain of the lack of air, though he’d fallen into a small air pocket and the spellshields provided minimal air for three septhours.

  He’d landed on an actual metal floor, and though he’d been trapped—and one of his hates was being constrained—he’d had time to check out the hole’s dimensions. Beyond a not-too-deep rock slide to his left should be a stretch of corridor. His mind had danced with notions of what might be there.

  But though the owners of the project, the Elecampanes, had listened to him, since the accident no one had gone back down. Instead they’d been, once again, scouting out the entrances of the ship, to dig near there.

  Frustrating. He yearned to see what wonders the Earthans had left. When the ship had landed so hard and broken, the colonists had only been allowed one large sack of personal items, and that had included the Captain, the immediate former Captain, and his wife. Not many had been permitted back into the ship. Those who had, had brought out things to set up the community.