years old and looked every year of it. His face was deeply lined, eyes sunken and watery. Not only did he look old, he also looked frail.
“There has been an unavoidable delay. I will—”
“You mean another unavoidable delay? There have been three already!” Impatience and doubt were reflected clearly on his weathered face. “I’m just about out of patience with you. Can you even do this transfer, or have all of your promises been bullshit?”
“I can absolutely do what I promised and I’m prepared to sweeten the deal.”
He folded his arms over his narrow chest and pressed back into his chair. “How?”
“Not only will I arrange for your being to be transferred into the young, healthy body of your grandson but I will empower him with paranormal abilities before the transfer begins. You will be young again, sir. But you will also be more powerful than ever before.”
He just stared at her for a long, tense moment. Nikki thought he would scoff or throw the offer back in Zerna’s face. Instead his gaze narrowed and he asked, “And the cost remains the same?”
“Of course. This concession is to thank you for your patience.”
“Is that even possible?” Nikki asked Jaron.
He paused the memory stream. “Is what possible?”
“Transferring one being into another body? Please tell me she can’t really do such a thing.”
He hesitated, deciding what to tell her. “There are legends of sorcerers who had such powers, but to my knowledge they are just stories.”
“Isn’t Velmar a sorcerer?”
“He doesn’t like labels, but it fits better than most.”
Pieces of the puzzle started fitting together and Nikki cringed at each one. “Zerna was counting on Velmar to do this transfer. This call probably happened right after you rescued him.”
“We rescued him, and I agree. That was likely the reason for the delay.”
“Poor Lance.” Then another horrible connection snapped into place and Nikki went cold all over. “This is why she kidnapped me. Oh my God. I was the trial run. No, Haley, Selina and I were the trial runs.”
Jaron pulled her across the sofa and onto his lap. “All three of you are safe now. Zerna’s in custody. She will never harm anyone ever again.”
She tried to let the fact comfort her, but all she could think of was the greedy gleam in her grandfather’s eyes when he heard about the bonus Zerna was offering him. “What did he promise her? I need to know the other side of the equation.”
“We can search her memories if you like, but it’s pretty obvious. Your grandfather has a lifetime of connections with people in the military, and military support is the one thing Zerna lacks.”
“But he’s retired and has been for years. Where would he get ‘military support?’”
“Mercenaries, rebels. There are all sorts of ways to raise an army. Sedrik told me the battle born have been subduing rebel factions among the human military since they arrived. Not everyone on Earth is thrilled with the battle born. It wouldn’t take much to recruit disgruntled soldiers.”
Nikki nodded. It made since. “What do we do with this information? My grandfather can’t be allowed—”
“Your grandfather is dying. It’s obvious. Time will soon take care of that threat permanently.”
“At the very least, he needs to be watched.”
Jaron nodded. “That is easily arranged.”
She released a shaky breath and expanded her focus. The admiral and Zerna were contained, but what about Lance? “I’m still concerned about Lance. One of them had to have strong enough magic to participate in the kwaris. Maybe he is the real power player.”
May I join you? There was obvious amusement in Velmar’s mind-voice.
Thank you for asking and of course.
She thought he meant telepathically, but Velmar materialized. She gasped and scooted off Jaron’s lap, sitting beside him instead.
“I sensed that you had accessed the memory stream and wanted to find out what you had learned.” Velmar dove right in without bothering with a greeting. “I was not intentionally eavesdropping, but I overheard your last few comments.”
“Do you have an opinion about Lance?” Jaron’s expression and voice were calm, but Nikki could feel his impatience. Despite his frequent defense of Velmar, Jaron resented the intrusion.
“I do not believe Lance is a serious threat. The kwaris is an ancient spell. The magic itself is incredibly strong, but frequently the participants are not.” He strolled over to one of the chairs facing the couch and sat down. “The nature of the spell seems to attract those with little natural ability.”
“Then what should we do about Lance? He was still a