Stolen - Nhys Glover Page 0,3

that unique skill is totally his own. It isn’t genetic,” he told me almost apologetically.

“Do you wish you had his ability?”

I wanted to haul the question back as soon as it left my mouth. I had a decent filter. I was never one of those people who just blurted out whatever came to mind. Yet that’s exactly what I was doing with this handsome stranger.

The oddness of my reaction hit me. I didn’t find Danans good looking. To me, they were aliens, too different to be fully trusted. Yes, they were cute when they were young, but the adult versions, the huge colorful warriors, only reminded me of my degradation and pain.

“No. I see the weight he carries. The burden of his foreknowledge. And his distress when he can’t stop a disaster from happening.”

“He didn’t see the storm ahead of time?” I asked. “I know there are freaks that blow up out of the blue. Lauren said her podmate can usually sense them coming and alert people in time. But this one got by even him.”

“Father is still away helping find your Marissa’s Danans,” he said tensely. “His focus has been on them. Not having known about this storm ahead of time will be distressing him. He and the rest of his pod are on the way home now, though. Marissa and a small contingent are continuing on, to pick up the last of her pod.”

“Disasters like this one are hard to take in. The size of them, the number of dead. But the more news that trickles in, the more I want to do something!” Piety spoke up, her embarrassment over her slip forgotten. “Back home there’s always some crisis to deal with. Fires, droughts, floods and wild storms… But I was never allowed to help, even when the crisis was close-by. We kept to ourselves and let the New Sodomites deal with them.”

I’d heard her use that name for people outside her cult before. I remembered the Bible story about Sodom and Gomorra, those cities of sin and debauchery. Not exactly how I remembered home, I must admit.

“You should go, if that’s what feels right. You and your pod should go. You don’t have to stay here and babysit us. Really, we’ll be fine for now,” I suggested, suddenly wishing I could also join the relief effort.

Sitting around feeling sorry for myself didn’t feel right to me when a huge percentage of these people, who had saved us and given us a place to heal, had lost their lives and their homes. Yet I knew I wasn’t physically up to much. My body was slow in coming back from the trauma it had sustained.

My need to help was an example of the mind being willing but the body being weak. But at least I could take the burden of us off Piety’s shoulders, so she could follow her heart.

Piety looked at me for several heart-beats. “I know my pod want to go… Their family and friends were hit. Not badly, but enough to be of concern…”

“Then go! Seriously! We’re fine here for now. The danger is all in the south.”

I saw hope blossom in the sweet girl’s eyes. “You think…?”

“I know! Go on, make your plans,” I encouraged, feeling the rightness of this decision, more and more.

“All right. My pod will be happy…”

And then Piety was gone, taking to her feet as if they had wings.

RIAN

I stared at the human woman as she watched her friend hurrying away. She was the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen. Maybe because she was human like my mother.

But no, I’d grown up around the human women in this compound. Many of them were attractive, like my mother, but none were beautiful. Not like this one.

I didn’t even know her name!

Suddenly, I felt very young and stupidly shy. It was an unfamiliar feeling for me. Ever since I was the age of the rugrats playing in front of us I’d been the sensible, mature one. Lain was the leader, head-strong and opinionated, Meida was the idiot, and Nial was the pragmatic strategist, always knowing the best way to achieve his goals. That didn’t make his goals sensible or safe, but they mostly worked. If not for me, we would have been in way more trouble than we had been over the years. I was the voice of reason. The fact I could be drowned out by the rest, on most occasions, never stopped me trying.

Example: Going into the most dangerous zones to