Who cares how it works if it doesn’t help us? I know—let’s kill her! A gratuitous image of my hands tightening around the Seeker’s neck filled my head.

That sort of thing is exactly why my kind is better left in charge of this place.

Get off your high horse. You’d enjoy it as much as I would. The image returned, the Seeker’s face turning blue in our imagination, but this time it was accompanied by a fierce wave of pleasure.

That’s you, not me. My statement was true; the image sickened me. But it was also perilously close to false—in that I would very much enjoy never seeing the Seeker again.

What do we do now? I’m not giving up. You’re not giving up. And that wretched Seeker is sure as hell not giving up!

I didn’t answer her. I didn’t have a ready answer.

It was quiet in my head for a brief moment. That was nice. I wished the silence could last. But there was only one way to buy my peace. Was I willing to pay the price? Did I have a choice anymore?

Melanie slowly calmed. By the time I was through the front door, locking behind me the bolts that I had never before turned—human artifacts that had no place in a peaceful world—her thoughts were contemplative.

I’d never thought about how you all carry on your species. I didn’t know it was like that.

We take it very seriously, as you can imagine. Thanks for your concern. She wasn’t bothered by the thick edge of irony in the thought.

She was still musing over this discovery while I turned on my computer and began to look for shuttle flights. It was a moment before she was aware of what I was doing.

Where are we going? The thought held a flicker of panic. I felt her awareness begin to rifle through my head, her touch like the soft brush of feathers, searching for anything I might be keeping from her.

I decided to save her the search. I’m going to Chicago.

The panic was more than a flicker now. Why?

I’m going to see the Healer. I don’t trust her. I want to talk to him before I make my decision.

There was a brief silence before she spoke again.

The decision to kill me?

Yes, that one.

CHAPTER 8

Loved

You’re afraid to fly?” The Seeker’s voice was full of disbelief edging toward mockery. “You’ve traveled through deep space eight times and you’re afraid to take a shuttle to Tucson, Arizona?”

“First of all, I’m not afraid. Second, when I traveled through deep space I wasn’t exactly aware of where I was, what with being stored in a hibernation chamber. And third, this host gets motion sickness on shuttles.”

The Seeker rolled her eyes in disgust. “So take medication! What would you have done if Healer Fords hadn’t relocated to Saint Mary’s? Would you be driving to Chicago?”

“No. But since the option of driving is now reasonable, I will take it. It will be nice to see a bit more of this world. The desert can be stunning —”