"Fifty!" Tarris whispered harshly.

"Yeah, I told him it should help a lot with the whole bonding with his mother experience."

"But fifty-"

"Listen to me, Tarris Waite." Tarris winced at the harsh pinch of her arm. "He took us in and rescued us from the guards. Or have you forgotten? If you can't afford fifty, I'll give you some of it."

"No, no. I can do it," Tarris said. "It just took me by surprise."

"Don't turn out to be a cheapskate, just when I was starting to like you."

Tarris's conversation with Asher was interrupted when the Prime spoke from the stage. "The Party has declared a state of emergency. A curfew will be enforced by the Council's militia. Anyone caught out on the streets after dark without proper identification will be arrested..."

Tarris turned her attention back to Asher. Her hand rose and touched Asher's cheek. "Please, get out of here while you can."

"I walk out of here with you, or not at all."

"Why?"

"You have to ask?"

"Yes, I do. I have to know."

"You've gotten under my skin, Trooper." Asher smiled gently. "And after this is all over, I'd like to get to know you even better."

"Yeah?"

Suddenly the lights went out.

Chapter 15.

"This is it," Tarris breathed. She internalized to talk to Rya and found that her warrior was elsewhere, lovingly cupping that part of her that pulsed vibrantly with life. But it was only part of her.

"Is Rya with you?"

There was silence from Asher for a moment. "I think she is. I have this warm fuzzy feeling in my chest."

Rya's presence was in both of them. "I need you, Asher." Tarris wasn't sure where that came from, but her emotions burst into life within her. The warmth that had been there now glowed white-hot. This was the first time she had reached out to someone and didn't have it thrown back in her face, or at least she hoped not. Asher hadn't responded.

"And I need you, Tarris," came the whispered reply. "Why do you think I'm here?"

"For Rya's sake?" Tarris still couldn't believe someone would actually want to be with her.

"For your sake, my dear woman." Maybe Asher heard her harsh intake of breath, she didn't know, but Asher continued, "And yes, you are a woman and not an abomination." She said the last word with emphasis.

Tarris pulled her into a fierce hug and felt her own heart thumping in her chest. She had never felt so alive as she did at that moment. Despite the dire situation, Tarris sought out Asher's lips in the dark and imprinted on them all the emotion she felt. At that precise moment, she felt Rya move and her shadow swelled both in power and size. When she could no longer contain her, Tarris let her go.

"Everyone stay calm," the Prime announced, almost a little too smoothly. "The lights will be back on in a minute."

There was uneasiness in the air, and Tarris suspected it was as much from the nervous spectators as it was from the shadow warriors she knew were out there somewhere.

It pleases me to see you happy, sister.

Rya had passed her message from outside Tarris's body. As if answering her question, Rya said, Your love for each other has made me strong.

"And we give it freely, my friend," Asher said for both of them.

Tarris trembled. Her whole life had turned upside down in the blink of an eye, and she was speechless.

May your love grow, my sisters. Then Rya was gone.

"Did she say 'sisters'?" Asher whispered.

"She certainly did. She's now become her own person and no longer needs my protection." Tarris was heartbroken that Rya was independent, but she couldn't begrudge her the freedom she now had.

"Of course she needs you, just like I do. We're a family."

"Family?" Tarris thought about that and decided it sounded right. "Yes, a family." She grinned into the darkness. "But that's for later. We have business to attend to."

Using Rya's sight, Tarris navigated the obstacles to the large doors to the outside auditorium and caught glimpses of people stumbling about in the dark. Someone was already at the door trying to open it. "Here, let me try," Tarris said in a low tone. But the door wouldn't budge despite all her efforts to activate the electronic eye. She tried brute power to force the doors open, but someone had jammed them shut. "It won't open." It was a stupid thing to say. Even though it was dark, everyone around her knew she hadn't succeeded. If she had, the area would be flooded with light.

"Everyone return to their seats," the Prime said, "or find somewhere comfortable to sit until the lights come back on." But Tarris knew better. There would be no one alive when the lights returned. A twinge hit her in the gut, and she reached out for Asher. "It's begun," she murmured into Asher's ear.

"What do we do now?"

Tarris hated what she was about to say, but there was no other choice. "Hide."

When Tarris had made her declaration to Asher, Rya felt the surge. She enveloped the two souls who were reaching out for one another and brought them together, binding one to the other for the rest of their lives. The two soft balls of pulsing white light exploded like an atomic bomb; their touch expanded exponentially and sent out white-hot shards of energy that Rya eagerly lapped up.

This was what was missing from her existence. Her sister's well-being was her own, and it pleased her that Tarris had finally found some peace. It was something she would jealously guard from any attack. She now understood what an enemy was, and who it was, and she wouldn't allow them to destroy what had happened to her sister.

When the rush of expectation and fulfillment had subsided, Rya left their bodies clinging to each other in the dark. She rested there to observe the two women as they sought solace with one another.

It pleases me to see you happy, sister. Rya knew that was true, despite her sadness that things had now changed forever. Your love for each other has made me strong.

"And we give it freely, my friend."

Rya smiled. Her sister had chosen wisely. May your love grow, my sisters, she replied then left. Rya's newfound self-awareness meant that now, instead of obeying Tarris's commands, she had decisions to make on her own. She didn't object to that or feel any resentment for it; she was only too aware of what her place was. Whether a trick of fate or an extraordinary twist on natural evolution had led her to what she was now wasn't something to dwell upon. She was capable of something none of her kind had ever reached before: she could survive without her host. Not that she would want to test that theory anytime soon.

She moved with purpose to the blocked door and slid herself under it. The foyer she entered was lit with muted sunlight from outside. The power had been cut throughout the building, which affected not only the lights but also the doors and moving walkways.

She shifted her molecular structure and became denser to give her a three-dimensional form. There was little time and even less energy she could waste to open the door, but she had to try. She was only too aware of the importance of darkness to her enemies. Even a little light, and a chance of possible escape, was something worth expending some energy on.

This particular set of doors had been jammed with a metal rod shoved into the overhead sliding joint, and it stopped any possible forcing of the door. It took several precious minutes to wriggle the object free, and Rya let it drop to the floor with a loud clatter.

She resumed her ethereal form and hurried down the walkway toward the main auditorium. She wasted no time to search for the light. These cowards would be in the shadows, preparing to attack their hapless victims without remorse.

But she had something they would never have. She had a soul of her own, earned in the storm of battle and the heat of passion. A soul that let her make her own decisions about what was right and what was wrong. And most important, a soul that allowed her to live in both light and dark.

Rya slid under the main door easily to enter the darkened auditorium. She resumed her preferred form on the other side. It wouldn't take long to find them. Their distinctive ethereal signatures were easily recognizable in the blackness. Their numbers, however, concerned her.

She stopped for a moment and examined that emotion. Was this what fear felt like? A dread of impending doom that made her hesitate? It was a strange sensation, but there was no time to study it or be guided by it. She had a job to do, and much was at stake. Her ghostly lips curved upwards at the thought. It had been so much easier when she wasn't self-aware. Tarris spoke and she obeyed. There was no reasoning or understanding about it.

She moved boldly into full view of the chamber. Her adversaries were out among the gathered crowd, and she wouldn't waste time by covertly looking for them. If they wanted her, they could come and get her. Of course, her fellow shadows couldn't reason that, while their focus was on her, they weren't elsewhere killing humans.

Take me if you dare, Rya cried out to those who could hear her. She had thrown down the gauntlet and waited patiently for their response. Not that she expected a fair fight from those who would scurry around in the dark to hide their actions. She felt the emotion deep within her and understood its message.

It was more a sensation than actually seeing them that caught her attention. Whispered shadows flitted in and out of her peripheral vision, moving toward her with stealth. But it did little to confuse or intimidate her.

They hovered nearby, content to be seen by her but not attacking. What was the plan? In the past, the shadows accomplished their mission and returned to their hosts. This time they were waiting, but for what?

"What's going on?" Asher whispered from the dark.

Tarris had seen everything and was just as confused as Rya was. "I don't know," she murmured. "The shadows have surrounded Rya, but they're not attacking. What are they waiting for?"

"They're waiting for my signal." Corman's voice cut through the blackness. "Lucky for me, Jackton saw you slink into the building. Why won't you just lie down and die?"

"Why don't you do the same?" Tarris looked up into the dimness and saw the muted white of Corman's hair.

"How did you get away?" he asked.

"Unlike you, I have friends."

"And you're with your bitch girlfriend, I see."

She could barely see him, so how could he see Asher? "Like I said, I have friends."

"This time, there's no getting away."

The auditorium door slid open, and the outside light illuminated part of the upper floor. Tarris counted the troopers facing her. Six. Six to one. The odds weren't good, especially when Rya was busy elsewhere.

Corman moved forward, as did his lieutenants, and Tarris braced herself for a fight. In her peripheral vision, she caught swift movement heading for him. A small body landed on Corman's back. It was Jerad. His tiny fists pounded Corman's head. Jackton and Luton grabbed the boy and threw him to the floor.

"I'm not afraid of you," Jerad said.

"Well, little man, you should be." Corman leaned over Jerad and scowled at him.

"What are you doing here?" Tarris asked. Jerad's presence made the confrontation more dangerous.

"You were in trouble, so I'm here to help."

"I don't need your help."

Corman laughed. "You need all the help you can get." He grabbed Jerad's shirt and shook him.

"Leave him alone. It's me you want."

"Why do you care what happens to him?" Corman had a look of disinterest in the boy.

"I'd try to explain, but you wouldn't understand."

"Hear this? She's gone all sentimental on the humans."

"There's your first mistake," Tarris said. "They're not merely humans, Corman. Who do you think you work for, huh? He's merely human, yet he's got your number."

"Not for long. He's just an inconvenience."

"Funny, that's what he said about you." Tarris glanced from Corman to Jerad. "Let him go, or are you so scared of me that you have to hide behind a kid?"

Corman looked around at the others and studied each trooper in turn.

"Or don't you think you can beat a disabled woman?" Tarris continued to taunt him.

"Leave the kid alone," Shark muttered.

"Have you become a human-lover?" Corman said with a sneer.

"I don't hate them as much as you." Shark looked at him uneasily.

"Or maybe you want to join Waite. Is that it? You're taking her side?"

"Are you going to make me wait all day while you bicker?" Tarris didn't want a fight, but her priority was to keep her charges safe.

Corman turned his attention to Tarris. "Are you so eager to die?"

"Are you hesitating because you don't want to get your butt kicked by a woman?" Tarris felt her hand taken by Asher and squeezed gently in support.

Without warning, Corman let go of Jerad and charged. His arms wrapped around Tarris's waist and carried her backward. Her hand was wrenched from Asher's, and the suit shuddered at the impact. She didn't fight the suit's motion. Her back slammed into the wall, and she felt the pain down to her toes. At any other time, she would have welcomed the feeling, but for now her main concern was staying alive.

She locked her fingers together and brought her hands down on the back of Corman's neck. She struck again and again until he let go and dropped to his knees. A quick jab to her belt activated the knee joint in her suit, which swung her foot upwards and hit him under the chin.

"Asher, you and Jerad get out of here."

"But-"

"No arguments. Out. Now." Tarris glanced quickly at Asher and hoped, for once, she would just do as she was told. Would any of the troopers try to stop them? Jackton and Luton were about to move, but Shark stood in their way.