and sighed heavily, turning her face to catch the first rays of sunlight.
“You appear upset,” Cin noted, studying Lanie’s face.
“You’re gonna think I’m crazy,” Lanie snorted.
“Try me,” Cin countered with a smile.
“I’ve spent my whole life looking for safety, and you’ve given me that,” Lanie confessed with a smile. “I spent more than a decade running, hiding, learning how to use weapons to defend myself, and praying for peace, and now I have that too.”
Cin chuckled when Lanie paused. “You’re bored to death and want more excitement.”
“How did you know?” Lanie sounded exasperated. “What the hell is wrong with me? Now all I want is another battle like the Mulvor ship or Raider’s Moon, and a few days of peace here before doing it again. Only this time, I want it to be our enemies. I want to hunt the minions and the elite, and not just on a computer.”
Cin considered Lanie’s words and could understand her desire not only for revenge against those like Jason and his Senator aunt but the elite trying to enslave mankind. If he were honest with himself, Cin had to admit he enjoyed the thought of having someone, of this world and time, to fight by his side.
The biggest problem he faced was that Lanie would need to be nanite and AI-enhanced a lot more to ensure her safety if she were to fight alongside him. Thoughts and fears of her turning out like Loquan terrified Cin and were the only thing standing in the way of him making it happen.
“How about we start a little slow and work our way up to another Raider’s Moon?” Cin suggested.
“What do you mean?” Lanie was excited and moved to the edge of her seat.
“We’ll finish with your armor and weapon systems until you’re as powerful and protected as Gabe, but only if you allow me to train you in various methods of combat and tactics,” Cin suggested.
Lanie suppressed a squeal of excitement. “Of course!”
“I have to warn you, most of the assassinations I do are just like the gas valves and not like some spy or hitman movie or game. It’s imperative that what we do against the elite is subtle and not overt,” Cin explained, needing Lanie to know that they couldn’t go commando on anyone.
“OK,” Lanie agreed, a little deflated.
“That doesn’t mean we won’t do battle here,” Cin assured her. “Most of the real fighting will be for others, in space, for favors that we will call in on the day humanity decides to stand up to the elite and their minions. Everything else is training for that day.”
That excited the hell out of Lanie. As surreal as it had been to fight beside Gabe, the Elves, Elementals, and the Madean, she’d never felt more alive. She’d done something that mattered. Maybe not for someone here on Earth, but like Cin said, calling in those favors would be epic in the final war against the elite.
“I can accept those terms,” Lanie agreed with a grin. “Maybe one day I can join the Dominion with you?”
“It takes a century of intense physical, psychological, and spiritual preparation to reach Throke, which is the completion of your training,” Cin explained. “I’m not saying you can’t do it. I’m just warning you that it’s an arduous journey to become a warrior cleric.”
Lanie snorted, unhappy with the news. “A hundred years? Yeah, I think I’m precluded from it since I’ll be dead before I finish.”
Cin furrowed his brows when he looked at Lanie. “I thought you understood what you were accepting when you asked me to have the nanites assist you.”
“What do you mean?” Lanie suddenly felt nervous.
“Lanie, your nanites will automatically heal you if you suffer an injury. The likelihood of that happening with your weapons and armor systems is very small,” Cin explained.
He continued when he realized Lanie still didn’t understand. “Lanie, your nanites will never let you get sick and will continually replace your dying cells with new ones. You’re virtually immortal.”
Lanie wished like hell that she hadn’t taken that sip of coffee when she started choking on it. As quickly as it started, she was fine, and she paled, wondering if the nanites had stopped it or if she had.
Cin dropped to one knee in front of Lanie and gently tilted her chin to make her look at him.
“I can stop this if you want,” Cin promised. “But if I do, it will limit your ability to fight among the stars because you’ll be able