Iris has used her ability to dream her target’s location to gain recognition and to be the most efficient hunter she could be. The psychic knives that appear at the ends of her hands help her to stun rather than kill prey when a death is not necessary. Nothing escapes her, not livestock, not lost people. Anything that runs, she can hunt.
When the Citadel calls on her to help find a lost object in an alien jungle, how can she resist the urge to test her skills on another world?
Venin is a throw-back shifter of the Azon variety. He has the ability to embrace his peoples’ most ancient form and use the instincts that accompany it to his advantage.
Partnering with Iris is not his first inclination but once he gets to know the hunter, he wants nothing more than to sprint with her in the wild and test out both of their basic instincts to the max.
More From Tales of the Citadel
Iris rode Teddi up to the gates of the Citadel outpost Keroa. The two men on guard in their smoke grey and black robes greeted her. “Welcome, traveller. How may we help you?”
She dismounted from her rhesh and looked at them in turn. “I understand that someone at the Citadel has been looking for a morinial. I decided to audition for the position.”
One of the men stepped forward and held out his hand, palm up. “Allow me to lead you inside, candidate.”
“And read my talent at the same time? Certainly. Take my hand, Teller, and determine if I am a freak by Keroa standards.” She put one hand out and kept her other on the reins.
“Harvin will take your rhesh for you and get it something to eat.” The other guard took Teddi and led him into the compound. The gates shut and locked with their guards inside.
Iris was inside the Citadel and she had to find out why folk were looking for her. In her eleven years as an active talent, or morinial, no one had ever come looking for her for anything other than her skill as hunter. Some days, anything new was interesting.
The outpost was small, it held twenty members of the Citadel who involved themselves with the community and used Keroa to propel themselves to the outer planets of the system.
Few Keroans had ever been inside the buildings, so it was fascinating to see them up close.
The guard who had a grip on her hand suddenly looked nervous. She came to the awareness that he had just determined her talent.
“Don’t worry. I have not accidentally discharged my blades in almost a decade.” She chuckled at his small sigh of relief.
“Thank you. When awareness of your talent struck, I was pointedly focused on where your hand was.”
Iris almost hooted with laughter, but she restrained it to a light snigger.
They passed into the main building and the guard took her to an office. He knocked on the door. “Administrator. There is someone here to see you.”
“Come in.”
The guard left her with a bow and she opened the door in front of her. Two creatures were inside and since Iris had never seen an alien before, she had to guess at what they were based on Alliance information streams.
Two men turned to her, one crimson and one bronze, both with savage features. She grinned at them and inclined her head. “Gentlemen, I believe that I am the morinial you are looking for.”
