Chapter 7

The State of Iowa, Earth

Sara blinked at the brightness of the sun as they stepped out of the spaceport. She shivered as the cold air blew through her clothing. Gazing around, she couldn't help but notice the white substance on the ground. In fact it covers not only the ground but everything! What is this? Is it white ash?

"Mom, look at this. What is this stuff?" Gabriel bent over and touched it. "It's cold and wet! Is this water? Is this what they call snow?"

Sara couldn't help but smile. That's my boy. Always curious about everything around him.

"I'm not sure, Gabe. Perhaps Master Iason could tell us?" She turned as the older warrior exited the spaceport. She was taken by surprise at his attire. Gone were the familiar robes of the vindexicis warrior. In his place he wore what she assumed was traditional earthling clothing.

"Jason Littlebird?" An excited man ran up to them waving a microphone and being chased by a man with a video camera.

"Ah hell." Master Iason straightened up and pushed Clara behind him. Clara, of course, wasn't having any of his nonsense and slipped around him. It was obvious she wanted to see what was occurring.

"Are you Jason Littlebird?" The man waited for his answer.

"Yeah..."

"Good, can you tell me, Sir, what you hope to accomplish with the overhaul of the Institutional Teaching School? Many say the students their deserve their fate. Isn't this a fool's errand? It'll be a hard task to whip such delinquents into shape since most abuse their gifts."

Before Iason could respond to the man's statement, Clara, who'd never been known for her patience with idiots, exploded.

"No young person deserves to be tortured or punished for a gift they haven't learned to control! I've read your archaic laws about gifted children, Sir! They are nothing short of atrocious. I was sent by the King of Venus to clean up this school. It shall become a refuge for the misunderstood children you foolish people discard. Never again will a child suffer the outrages which Queen Katrina suffered!" Her violet eyes were narrowed and the fury in them must have deeply scared the reporter because he hurriedly backed away from the small woman.

"Calm down, Clara!" Iason pulled her closer to him. "I'm sure the reporter meant nothing by it."

"Just cause we're chosens, Iason doesn't mean you've the right to tell me what to do. If some snot nosed reporter is going to smear your name, you bet your ass I'm going to say something!"

Iason planted his hands on his narrow hips and his eyes narrowed. Whatever response he had planned was interrupted by a shout. Turning in exasperation, he saw two protesters harassing Gabriel. The young man was standing trembling as he fought to control his gift. From the moment he'd met Sara's son, he could feel the inherent power the lad had, and it was not just the normal awakening power of a Venusian. It was a call of the old one - which rang true to his vindexicis soul. He was going to have to speak to Sara about the boy's training and very soon.

When Gabriel's hair began to crackle with power, Iason went to protect the child. He was beaten to the punch by Philip. Philip smoothly inserted his body between Gabriel and the protesters. As he joined them, Iason could hear Philip speaking calmly to the boy.

"Gabriel focus on me. Concentrate. Shut out them out, they will not attack you. I will protect you, stand by your side. Nothing bad will happen."

Iason placed a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Take heed his words, Gabriel. I've come to know him and his word is his honor. Ignore the protesters for soon we'll be home."

The boy's body language showed his tenuous hold on his power. He finally nodded and crowded closer to Philip. His words were so low only Philip heard them.

"Get me out of here before I lose it."

Philip nodded and pulled the boy under his arm.

Sara sat in the backseat with Clara while the men rode in the front of the car. Gabriel was passed out between Sara and Clara. His head was pillowed against his mother's chest and he seemed to be sleeping.

"What happened?" Clara asked as she watched Sara stroke her son's hair.

"It's crowds. He just can't handle being around a lot of people. I think he's an empathic but I've never had him tested."

"Why not?" Philip turned in his seat to gaze at his chosen.

"I didn't dare. If he's what I think he is, I can not have my father knowing. He'll take him - use and abuse him until he destroyed or dead."

"We're going to have to talk about this, Sara. He has to have training and the first part of it is that he needs classification. An untrained wizard is much more dangerous than the most powerful one."

"No! I can't risk it. Eventually I'll have him tested, but not until I know he's safe from my father!"

Frustration darkened Philip's gaze. "What happens when he loses control, Sara?"

"He won't. He's a strong boy. He's had to be."

"Really? Such a burden for a boy his age. We'll talk about this later." Philip turned back around.

"Like hell we will."

Iason opened the door to his house, wincing at the coolness. He'd contacted his neighbor when they arrived at the spaceport, and she'd been nice enough to come over and turn the furnace on for him. Evidently he should've called her sooner than that, but he hadn't wanted to spend the credits to make the interplanetary call. He'd lived as a farmer so long he was very frugal with his money.

"Welcome to my humble abode." Iason tossed his keys on the counter. He waited to see what his chosen's reaction would be. This is a far cry from the grandeur of the high palaces on Venus. She chose this, so she'd better not complain.

"Iason, it's perfect. Just as I saw in my vision so long ago. I've seen you standing at the kitchen sink with a cup of coffee, while the sun rose in the east."

Iason relaxed a bit at her words. In the background he could hear the excited chatter of Sara's son. The boy wanted to know if he could go explore the barn.

"Master Iason?" Sara's soft voice held the unspoken question.

"Go ahead. I don't see the harm in it. Just stay away from Lulubelle."

"Lulubelle?"

"The goat. Shirley told me when I called, Lulubelle just had her kid and has been a might testy."

"I can't peek?" The longing in the boy's voice made Iason smile.

"Later son, when I've a chance to go out with 'ya'. But if you want to do something while you're out there, feed the chickens. Inside the barn there's a bucket next to a bin of grain. Fill it up and toss some on the ground outside the chicken coop. Just be careful to not let them out."

"Can I Mom? Can I?" The boys voice was excited.

"Sure why not. I'll go with you. I don't believe I've ever seen chickens before."

"Mom! They're the coolest things. I read about them in the Earthling Animal book you got me last year. They lay eggs and everything. According to the book, everything tastes like chicken on Earth."

Iason shook his head as Sara followed the boy back out the door. Philip followed behind them like a silent shadow.

"He's got it bad." Clara came up behind him and wrapped her arms around him from behind, not caring if she made the first move or not. Back on Venus, she would've been frowned upon for it — here they were alone. He covered her hands with his, enjoying the closeness. The desire to claim her was riding him hard, but he wanted it to be perfect. He'd waited a long time for this day and if nothing else Iason had learned great patience over the past thirty years.

"He's going to fight it until his last breath. I warned Sara years ago the road to happiness with him would be a rough road to travel. She's done remarkably well considering the hell she's been through."

"Clara, how do you handle it. Seeing peoples' futures and knowing they're headed for heart break or terrible pain, even death?"

"I've had to learn to accept the good with the bad. While I've seen many violent things, I've also foreseen my niece's wedding to the King of Venus, and then having her triplets, who will one day go on to accomplish great things. I've even seen the very tempestuous relationship between your granddaughter and Charlie succeed. Charlie was scared to death of being hurt again but Katrina wasn't going to let that fear stand in her way. She got her man in the end and soon will be giving you a couple of great grand babies to love on."

"Babies?" He pulled her around in front of him.

"Yeah. Charlie is a potent man, Iason. His son will be a great warrior but his daughter, she'll be even a greater healer than her mother."

"How is it you've seen this without doing a foretelling?"

"I've my ways, Iason and you best not forget that." She leaned up on tiptoe and pressed her lips against his. A growl worked free of his chest as he took over the kiss.

I can't think of anything that could be any better than this.

Philip trailed behind his chosen and her son. He was on the alert for anything which might be a source of danger. While he didn't think Iason would let them go about unwarned if there were danger, he was still rattled from the close call earlier in the day. Sara and I are going to come to an agreement when it comes to my nephew. She basically told me, if I wanted her I had to accept her son. So in return she'd better expect I'm going to want a say in how the boy is raised. The power I felt coming off him is dangerous if he's not trained. Both for him and those around him, in fact, I'll train him myself if she keeps refusing to have him trained. Iason will help us I'm sure.

He stood next to the enclosed chicken coop and watched as Gabriel coaxed his mother into tossing seed on the ground for the chickens who were milling about at their feet, already pecking at the feed he'd tossed on the frozen ground.

He was jerked out of his thoughts when Sara laughed and pulled her skirt of her robes up to keep the chickens from pecking at it. His groin tightened in response. He'd hoped she'd had given into the desire on the journey here, but she'd steadfastly refused him both nights of the journey. He knew he was skating on the edge. Surely she feels it too. She won't be able to resist much longer. The fire which burns between us burns too brightly. I'll visit her tonight and reclaim what should've been mine for the last ten years.

"No!" Sara crossed her arms over her chest. Philip was standing outside the large bedroom she was sharing with her son.

"There is no need for you to bunk with Gabriel, tarta. Aside from that, your place is in my bed. I warned you if you came with me what I expected. I need you and I can feel your frustration. Why are you denying us?"

"I'm more than a convenient fuck, Philip. I'm your chosen in name only. You've never claimed me and now you're expecting to get all benefits of a chosen without the commitment. I may be a whore but even a whore knows when she's being cheated. Now if you'll excuse me, it's been a long day and I'm going to bed."

"Yes, you are. With me." He reached out and lifted her off her feet. Using his magick, he softly shut the door to the bedroom where Gabriel was already sleeping peacefully, tired from all the fresh air and their long journey.

"Put me down!" Sara squirmed as he carried her to the room across the hall. He opened the door, walked in and tossed her on the bed. She squeaked as she bounced before rolling off the bed. She took one step towards the door before she was stopped by a simple command from him.

"I'm on the ragged edge here, tarta. Don't push me. Tonight I need you by my side. We'll figure the rest out in the morning."

"I'll leave as soon as you slumber," she hissed as she backed away from the door.

"We'll see about that." With ease, he 'magicked' their clothing away. Within moments he had her pinned to the bed with his body. She was very aware of every inch of him pressed against her own skin. Damn him, why must he use the passion between chosens against me? I'm not in the mood for this.