My Date is a Wild Yeti, page 12
Sariah laughed. “Not overtly physical, but you can manifest it if you need to.”
Ivetha waved it away. “It is exhausting. I don’t even like to think about it.”
Ondine nodded. “I know exactly what you mean, but I am pretty sure that trading being a defender for a mom isn’t going to save me any energy.”
Ivetha smiled. “You will do fine. Now, what can we help you with?”
The beginning of business must have happened because Ondine’s com went off, and the closing on the house was confirmed. The property was hers. “Funny you should say that. Can you swing a hammer?”
Ivetha grinned. “I definitely can.”
Sariah nodded. “Me, too.”
Geero hugged her. “I am at your disposal.”
Yalida gave a thumbs-up.
Amadine rubbed her hands together. “The great reno is on.”
Chapter Thirteen
Ivetha designed a biologically triggered, passive security system while the others got together with patching the roof and expanding the home. Ondine was happy they would have the bones done before the kids got back from school so they could help after the plumbing and wiring were upgraded to something that wouldn’t hurt Amadine. Ondine wanted her to be happy at home.
Sariah was using her light to help level the house. She could cast a band of light in any space.
The morning fixed the structure, and then they stopped for lunch. Having Titan lifting the building and shoring up the foundation made things easier, and when the building was plumb, the work kicked into high gear.
Ondine pulled out what she called her party trip and made herself a smaller suit to work on the ceilings inside the house. She hummed and chortled until Geero came to get her for lunch. The structure was good. After lunch, they would make it pretty.
Ivetha had used some scrap lumber to put a table together for her and her tablet. It just happened to contain nine takeout boxes and a washing station.
Sariah laughed. “You are the best, Ivy.”
“I do try. I have most of the biosensors already programmed. You just need to put them around the house, and you are good.”
Geero blinked. “Seriously?”
“Yup. It will identify anyone approaching the home and display them on bioenergetic displays.”
Ondine asked, “How?”
“I have wired it to all available databases.”
Ondine chuckled. “That sounds about right.”
“I got authorization. Sort of.” She kept working.
“Where did the food come from?” Amadine asked.
“My drones. It’s nice to work in my industry. I have all the nice toys.” Ivetha kept working.
Sariah sighed and got some food for her. “Eat, Ivy.”
“Almost done. There.” She smiled and set her tablet down.
Ondine smiled. “I thought you had finished the project.”
“I did. I was setting up a savings account for your daughter.”
Geero frowned. “You don’t need to do that. My family is more than capable of providing for her.”
Amadine smiled. “As is her family’s side, and her family friends.”
He looked around at the women who had just been building a house with him. “Right. I forgot.”
Ondine patted his arm. “Don’t worry. I will remind you. Daily.”
Geero looked at Ivetha. “Why did your patron cease your interaction?”
“Not a clue. He just stopped, so Arcady told me to go on standby status in case he returned. I declined, and I quit. I was only ever recruited for him, so when he was done, so was I.” She smiled. “I guess he got the calm he was looking for. I do not miss the wardrobe.”
Sariah asked her sister, “What did you have to wear?”
“A flowing skirt, crop top, some weird high-necked collar, and I had to keep my hair loose.” Ivetha chuckled. “It was sparkly.”
Sariah chuckled. “You always liked the sparkly stuff. It sounds like what women wear on the island of Ekovar.”
“Interesting. I am guessing you somehow found your way onto the island with your bike?”
Sariah nodded. “Yeah. That is where I found him, or he found me, or something.”
“Ah. Your husband.”
“In name only.”
Ivetha laughed. “Of course.”
Ondine paused, “You don’t think it is the same guy?”
Ivetha asked her sister, “Can your guy carry on a conversation?”
“Yeah.”
“Not the same guy.”
Sariah blinked, and she thought of something. She started giggling. “Oh, geez. That is too funny.”
Ivetha cocked her head. “What?”
“Never mind. I will tell you after you meet my husband.”
Ondine asked, “When will you tell us?”
Sariah smiled, and her face was gorgeous, as always. “When it is relevant.”
Geero frowned. “Isn’t Ekovar a floating island with banished actives?”
Sariah nodded. “That’s the one.”
Ondine stared. “That is a dangerous island.”
“It was interesting. Fun. Lots of new rules and interesting people.”
Ivetha muttered, “Very interesting if you married one.”
“They have a shortage of active females, so they have a regulation that if you are there more than two days, you have to marry one of the locals. There was a tropical storm, and I was stuck on the island and got married. No one said it had to be consummated.”
Geero chuckled. “Was he blind?”
“No, just patient. He made me promise to introduce myself as married and call him if there is an emergency, so I swore to it, and he brought me back to the mainland.”
Amadine blinked. “I want to write that as a romance.”
Sariah laughed. “Right now, it is more action-adventure.”
“Meh. I can make it romantic.” Amadine flipped her hand in the air.
The table at large laughed, and lunch was consumed. Ondine, Amadine, and Geero made a list of items and paint colours they needed from the hardware store.
Ondine looked at Sariah and Ivetha. “Can you two just hang around and wait until we get back?”
“Sure. We will go see if Clavia has finished those cookies.” Sariah chuckled.
They split up, and Ondine and Amadine headed out with Geero to get some paint and pick out furnishings. The homestead was left in good hands.
* * * *
“So, Ivy, where did you learn to make a table?”
Iveth laughed at her sister. “Here and there. Life isn’t just programming, you know. When you left, I had to learn how to keep myself busy. I took every night class I could find that fit around my work schedule. I learned a bunch of things.”
“So, the BDC came to you?”
“Yeah. Arcady pulled me into a conference room and made the pitch. Then, Zera arrived and did the same.”
“Why did they need you?”
“Resonance. He needed resonance.” Ivetha smiled. “So, we sat together one or two times a month, and I helped him line up his energy waves.”
“Why did it have to be you?” Sariah sounded agitated.
Ivetha started to move her hands in time with her speech. “Because I am fluent in sign language.”
“When did you learn that?”
“Two years ago. I just got fluent enough to take an exam last year.”
“So, you communicated with your patron that way?”
“Yup.”
Sariah chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense.”
“What?”
“Oh, nothing.”
Ivetha got to the guesthouse and checked her security system. She had powered it to a ridiculous degree when Sariah called out, “Ivy, get ready to fight.”
Ivetha looked as four portals appeared in the yard, and men began pouring out of them. She took a deep breath and screamed. Light flared, and shouting started. She really hoped she wasn’t too rusty to do what she had to.
* * * *
Ondine, Amadine, and Geero returned in a rush. There were bodies all over the yard with blood staining their eyes and ears.
Ondine and Geero rushed to the guesthouse, and Amadine went to the main house.
Amadine rushed in, and the door opened. Clavia stood there with wide eyes. “They... they... holy shit.”
Amadine touched her friend’s shoulder. “Where are Sariah and Ivetha?”
“Gone. Taken. There was another portal after the first ones, and someone came and took them away. Big guy. Sariah said everything was fine and they would be in touch as soon as they were able. They insisted that you not worry, and they were sorry about the painting.”
Amadine slumped in relief. “Sariah said all that?”
“Yeah. Ivetha couldn’t speak. She was shot or something. I didn’t know what. They locked me in here until the fight was over.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah. Why would they lock me in the house? I could have helped?”
Amadine rubbed her forehead. “Sariah is immune to Ivetha’s vocal attack. You aren’t. It would have ruptured organs if you were caught at the wrong time. Ivetha is immune to Sariah’s light attack. They are a terrifying team in battle. Their guardian was an excellent tutor.”
Ondine arrived and asked, “Baby is fine. You okay, Clavia?”
“Yes. I am fine.”
Amadine added, “The sisters were taken away voluntarily by another portal wielder. Ivetha was injured.”
Ondine rubbed her neck. “Which is why Sariah called for help. She must know there is access to resonant healing where they are going.”
Clavia frowned. “What’s... is that... I thought only sonic talents needed that.”
Ondine sighed. “You heard screaming, right?”
“Yeah. Rage screaming.”
Amadine smiled weakly. “That is what a sonic attack sounds like when you are protected by a shielded wall.”
“The wall isn’t shielded.”
Ondine smiled. “Sure, it is. Ivetha did it first thing this morning.”
Clavia looked past them and said, “What do we do with them?”
Geero growled, “Do you have a ravine?”
Amadine looked at him, and he was nearly eight feet tall and hairy as hell. “No. We will call the defenders. They will deal with it. They will also need to contact Z-Corp. I don’t think that Ivetha is going to be back to work for the week.”
* * * *
Ondine finished her calls and started laying the dead out in neat lines. No investigator needed to know that there was a massacre there with a fixed point of origin.
The baby was safe. The new house would be done in a few days, and everything lined up.
Ondine was worried about the sisters, but if Sariah had said they were okay, they were okay. She wouldn’t gamble with her sister’s life.
She worked beside Geero and smiled. “Is this what you thought time with me would be like?”
“I thought we would be in more battles, but the body count seems right.”
She chuckled. “They are in larger pieces than they would have been if we were here.”
He growled and chuckled. “You are not wrong there. Ah, the defenders are arriving.”
They finished their four rows of ten and stood back as the defenders arrived. Ondine wanted to get this settled before the kids came back from school and all body parts had to be accounted for.
Clavia lined up with them, and they gave their statements. Ondine grinned as they verified her credentials. It was good to be on the stellar defender team, even if she was on maternity leave. It certainly cut down on paperwork.
Geero was safe, the teens were safe, and everyone at the home was safe. Ivetha’s security system had been activated and recorded it all. The recording was passed along, and the dead were removed.
Ondine got into Titan and burned off the blood traces. She paused when she found a puddle near the door of the guesthouse. Ivetha’s blood. With care, she swept the radiation over the pool and hoped with everything in her that Ivetha was okay. She was going to contact Zera and see if she could find the ladies. Zera had contacts everywhere. Ekovar had to have some kind of informant or something. There was information out there, and Ondine wanted it.
Geero put his arm around her and rubbed her shoulder when she was out of the suit. “She’ll be okay. Sariah said she would be and wouldn’t lie about her sister’s life.”
Ondine sighed and leaned against him. “I hope so.”
Amadine looked at them and nodded. “Yup. You two were made for each other. Knew it. You can thank me on my birthday.”
They snickered softly as Yalida’s van pulled in with all the kids. This was going to be a topic of conversation, but not until the homework was done.
Author’s Note
So, obviously, I am working on the next book right now. The sisters are the last of Aluhara’s daughters. Now, they are all accounted for. Well, they are in my mind.
Bear with me while I get them out of my head.
Thanks for reading,
Viola Grace
About the Author
Viola Grace (aka Zenina Masters) is a Canadian sci-fi/paranormal romance writer with ambitions to keep writing for the rest of her life. She specializes in short stories because the thrill of discovery, of all those firsts, is what keeps her writing.
An artist who enjoys a story that catches you up, whirls you around and sets you down with a smile on your face is all she endeavours to be. She prefers to leave the drama to those who are better suited to it. She always goes for the cheap laugh.
Viola Grace, My Date is a Wild Yeti
