"Do you want more?" Tarris was unable to stop the words.

When Asher reached to touch her cheek, Tarris drove her fingers into Asher's warmth to seek that inner sweetness. Asher moaned. When Tarris's thigh replaced her fingers, Asher moaned again. "No," she breathed.

"No?" Tarris laughed and pushed her fingers in once more, this time using her thigh to add force to the intrusion. "No more?"

"No. I mean yes. Yes. More!" Asher pleaded.

This wasn't supposed to happen like this. But Tarris couldn't stop it. She had lost control of her passion. It had filled her mind with scenarios, dreams from long forgotten times when she still screamed at the world about the injustice of her accident. She had wanted to know what she would be missing in the years to come and tortured herself with images of sex in all its forms. Now she was being tormented with the secret fantasies that had stayed with her all these years.

"Do you feel me inside you?" Another image came to mind where her fingers had been substituted for something more appropriate. Tarris couldn't help the surge of passion that flooded her, unaware of her own physical response to the sordid images that flashed across her mind's eye. A deep chuckle escaped her lips as her hand stilled.

Asher shifted underneath her. "God, Tarris! Not now!" Her fingers dug into Tarris's arm.

"I want to feel that," Tarris whispered as her fingers returned to the warm haven of Asher's body, "to feel you inside sliding against my skin." Asher whimpered again.

Tarris's words invoked a mental image. The sensation was unbelievable, and coupled with the visual image, her libido rose with Asher's anguished gasps. Tarris felt Asher's response down to her very soul.

Tarris could no longer ignore her feelings any more than she could stop breathing. Her thumb circled Asher's small bundle of nerves begging for attention. The scene played out in her head and came to such a tumultuous conclusion that Tarris didn't hear either of them cry out. It took several moments for her to realize where her fingers were or that her hand was wet.

"How... how did you do that?" Asher's voice was filled with wonder. "You've got to remember that move." Asher breathed heavily. She smiled up at Tarris. "You do realize that your legs moved."

"They did?" Tarris looked down at the limbs in question. "But how?"

"Maybe you had some help."

"Maybe."

Asher meant Rya, but Tarris knew better. Her inner urges had flexed their muscle and showed her how much of a slave she really was to her own passion. "Let's get some rest." Tarris shifted her weight to one side and nestled her body next to Asher. She grabbed the blanket and pulled it over their satiated bodies.

"What about Jerad?" Asher mumbled as she relaxed.

"We'll go and find him when the rain stops." Tarris hoped that the search would be enough of a diversion to stop Asher asking questions that she wasn't ready to answer.

Chapter 10.

Rya had been restless while her sister's body twisted and turned. She could feel the heat without the need to expand her consciousness. It had a familiar flavor to it, one that she had briefly touched in Asher. After her initial reticence, Rya wanted that experience again. It called to her and demanded her presence, and she couldn't stop herself from answering that call. Her fears were somewhat allayed by the fact that it was Tarris's body that stimulated her need to find the light. Tarris had always been a comfort, a source of joy, and her home. Not that she had been able to articulate those emotions before her exposure to Asher, but now there was eloquence to the pictures and emotions attached to each and every word she thought.

Her sister was lost in the moment, and Rya took the chance to find the need she so desperately wanted to assuage. It gnawed at her, driving her newly awakened senses to distraction until it became an obsession. Once she found what she was looking for, she latched onto it and suckled like a baby, in an effort to slake her thirst with the life-giving power Tarris offered her.

But to Rya it was incomplete. Something was missing in the mixture, something that had to be added to feed the hunger she so desperately wanted to satiate, and she knew where to find it. Without completely leaving Tarris, Rya bled through her sister's skin and muscle and sought out the feverish body above her. This time she entered Asher without fear and quickly found the wellspring that was her nirvana before it burnt out.

She understood that the blazing inferno that existed in these two bodies was fleeting, and she had little time to indulge herself in the heat and passion before its fury died down. She drank it, bathed in it, reveled in the blistering combustion of the two souls, and rose from those ashes like a phoenix. This was meant to be. Or at least that was Rya's opinion. Not that she had ever had an opinion before, but suddenly she felt she needed one.

Wistfully, she withdrew from Asher to settle back within Tarris to find that part of her sister she considered her home. The two women lay wrapped in each other's arms after it was all over.

Rya hadn't hesitated to leave Tarris without her consent, and she had finally made a decision on her own. She would grab their destiny in her own invisible hands.

Gently she extricated herself from the dozing Tarris and hovered momentarily over her before she moved toward the overhead grate and access to street level. She balked at the fading light, but it was more instinctual than any actual blinding on her part. The realization of her new power was still a matter of acceptance, and it took some prodding for her to proceed out into the light of day.

Drifting along the streets was a heady experience. Rya no longer needed to find the darker places of the lanes and byways she knew so well. Citizens were still going about their daily business, oblivious to her presence, and it pleased her. She was now truly free.

She turned her attention to her mission. She had walked this path before, in a different light to be sure, but a path she had touched previously. When her senses detected the familiar trail, she covered the remainder of her journey quickly and with purpose.

This time she entered the house without fear and took up position in a far corner of the room as Derille stood in front of his large communication screen to talk to the Prime. This was something that Tarris needed to know about, so Rya made sure that their connection was active.

"...such incompetence!" Prime Sholter yelled from the vid screen. "How did she escape?"

Derille held up a tiny box. "She found the tracker."

"That's impossible."

"And yet here it is, sir. It was covered in blood."

"If that were the case, she'd be lying next to it." The Prime's gaze flicked from side to side, as if he were silently having a conversation with someone off screen. "Did she go down?"

"The only path down led to a dead end and a drop of fifty feet," Derille said. "We lost two men to find that out."

"No matter," the Prime said and dismissed the loss. "So where did she go?"

"The second path led to an outlet two blocks away."

"Then why are you standing there? Get moving." Prime was about to terminate the connection when Derille spoke.

"Sir, we had that exit covered. She just... disappeared."

"Then find her..." Prime left the sentence unfinished.

"Or?"

"You know what I'm capable of."

Derille's face hardened. "Yes, Prime, I'm well aware of what you're capable of."

"I want her back alive... or dead," the Prime said with finality.

"And the mediprac?"

"No witnesses, Derille."

"But-"

"No witnesses." Prime stared straight ahead. "If she stumbles across the facility, the guards are ordered to shoot to kill. Is that understood?" The Prime leaned forward, and the screen went blank.

"Perfectly," Derille mumbled. He touched the remote, and another person came onto the screen. "Tell the perimeter guards to be on the lookout for two women. They are to be shot on sight."

Rya waited a moment longer to watch the Administrator's reaction after he terminated the call. He inhaled deeply and let the air bleed out between his pursed lips. He was not a happy man.

You are safe for the moment, sister. It pleased Rya that Tarris had some peace, even if it was only for a few hours.

This was foolish, Rya.

This time Rya understood the nuance in Tarris's voice. It was not a remonstration but a show of concern. But now we know what they know.

Hmmm. What is this facility the Prime talks of? Rya felt Tarris's confusion and concern. Never mind. Please come home.

Please. Rya rejoiced at hearing the word, although she wasn't sure why she should feel the simple satisfaction from a single word. As you wish, sister.

With one final glance, Rya left Derille's house to seek her own safe haven within Tarris.

"What?"

Asher's voice brought Tarris's attention back to the train station. "It seems we're safe, at least for now."

"You seem so sure of that."

"Rya visited one of them, a member of the Council, and caught the end of a conversation about us," Tarris said. "They think we're above ground somewhere." Tarris debated whether to tell Asher everything. It was probably wise not to hide anything at this point. "We have to be extra careful from now on. The guards have orders to shoot to kill."

Asher blinked a couple of times while Tarris waited patiently for her reaction. "So." She popped another piece of freeze-dried fruit into her mouth.

"So," Tarris repeated. She continued to clean her suit. Conversation had been practically nonexistent from the moment they both woke up. Tarris had sat there sullenly and worked diligently to get her suit back to working order, while Asher took some sustenance.

"Now do you wish you'd never met me?" Tarris asked the question again. It seemed like forever since the question had been raised. But their lives were on the line, and Tarris wouldn't blame Asher for leaving the whole mess behind her.

"Imagine the story I'll be able to tell when this is all over."

"That's not an answer," Tarris said.

"Does it matter what the answer is?"

"It's just a matter of saying yes or no. How hard can it be?"

"Harder than you think, my dear Tarris." Asher smiled sweetly at her. She lifted a hand to caress Tarris's cheek. "Some things you're not ready to hear."

"Stop treating me like a child," Tarris said, but she stopped short of slapping Asher's hand away. She leaned into the touch and eagerly absorbed the emotion behind the action.

"But in some ways you are still a child, Tarris. You're only learning things now that the rest of us have known for many years." Asher slid her finger to Tarris's lips. "Now before you speak, listen to me. I'm not pointing out your faults or belittling you. You've been given a gift that none of us can begin to imagine the depth of. Don't be in such a hurry to know it all."

"And you're hijacking the conversation, Asher. You still haven't answered my question. Do wish you had never met me?" Tarris didn't know why she was tormenting herself this way. Why couldn't she let sleeping dogs lie?

"Now? No. And before you ask, I'll tell you why. You have bullied, cajoled, and argued with me to help you. Sometimes you can be a real pain in the ass."

"Geez, thanks."

"But you wormed your way into my heart, Tarris Waite. I care for you, more than you'll ever know." Asher dropped her hand. "And that's all I'll say for now."

"Stop playing word games with me." Tarris put down the frame and lifted herself onto her palms. She winced as she clumsily shifted herself away from Asher. "Nobody ever says what they mean. Derille. Darmen. You." She used her abdominal muscles to steady herself while she reached for her clothes and wrestled with the material. "Shit!" She threw the jumpsuit to the ground in disgust.

"Here, let me." Asher moved next to her and reached for the discarded jumpsuit. Methodically she pulled the sleeves out and reversed the legs before she presented the suit to Tarris. "Do you want me to help you?" she asked tentatively.

"Why? Don't think I can do it myself? Heaven forbid that I've taken care of myself for the last sixteen years without anyone's help."

"Tarris." Asher tapped her shoulder. "What's wrong with you?"

"This is your chance to get as far away from me as possible before I get you killed."

"Is this what it's all about? You're afraid for my life?"

"Of course." But Tarris spoke a little too quickly.

Asher rose to her knees and spread out Tarris's suit, reaching down to feed the material along her legs. She waited for Tarris to lift herself off the ground with her powerful arms before she slid the material over her ass and up to her waist. Asher looked up from her position at Tarris's waist and gazed intently. "And that's it?" When Tarris nodded, Asher continued. "You are such a hypocrite. You're playing word games with me right now."

Tarris snatched her suit out of Asher's hands and shoved her arms into the sleeves roughly. "Everyone who stays with me ends up getting hurt."

"You mean everyone who loves you ends up getting hurt."

"That's what I said," Tarris said defensively.

"No, you didn't. Why is it so hard for you to say 'love'?"

"Because it's not a word in my vocabulary, okay? I can't afford to have someone love me."

"Or for you to love someone back. That's it, isn't it? You're afraid to love me." Asher stood up and reached for her clothes. She dressed quickly in an effort to counter the chill in the air.

"I'm afraid of hurting you, Ash."

"What happened before... it's all right, Tarris. It's what passion is all about, hon. Expressing yourself like that. Don't be afraid of it. Embrace it."

"Not like that," Tarris said. "Not ever like that."

"What' going on inside your head?"

"I was too rough. It's not supposed to happen like that."

"Did you hear me complaining? Passion comes in all forms, Tarris. Don't try to hide from it."

"But I have to. It... it..."

"Scares you? You just can't say it, can you?"

"Fine. It scares me, and it should scare you." Tarris shifted uncomfortably. "We have to get moving."