Enlightened Reborn

By V. K. Walker

Not that he wanted to be. Forced to infiltrate the Taha’an as an enemy spy by the leader of a rival commune – who just happens to be his father – Collom had no choice but to become a man he doesn’t even recognize anymore. Hated by all – and after nearly ten years, he thoroughly returns the sentiment – he is counting down the seconds until this nightmare is over. Except, with the end finally in sight, the most gorgeous, sexy, and let’s not forget crazy, woman he’s ever encountered has him rethinking everything he’s ever known.

Where’s a copy of Kidnapping for Dummies when you need one?

First, she’s attacked by a couple of psychopaths in her lab, then taken against her will by the biggest jerk on the planet...with the sexiest eyes she’s ever seen. Surely, things can’t get any worse for Sherryl, right? Stupid question...things can always get worse. Now, Sherryl finds herself imprisoned on a commune – a commune, for crying out loud – where the locals are either psychic beings, or they’ve got a serious poltergeist problem! And, if that’s not bad enough, her own freaky powers have re-emerged from the dormant place she’d shoved them years ago, only she has no control over them. Of course, Collom is usually right in the epicentre of the blast!

• Language: English
• Publisher: V. K. Walker
• Release date: May 4, 2016
• ISBN: 9781310067051

V. K. Walker

Once upon a time – [No, no, no! Far too trite and, let's be honest, it's been done. Hit “pause”, “rewind”...] Many, many, many years ago – [Ack! That's even worse! What's with all the freakin' “many's”? It wasn't that long ago. Jeesh. Hit “stop”, “erase” (and don't ever do that again!)...] Not so very long ago (a piddling amount, in my opinion), a storyteller was born. One might even say, a fantasy weaver (oooh, I like that – kinda rolls off the tongue, dontcha think?). Hand in hand with her most trusted friend, an imaginary boy named Charlie (awww, I miss Charlie), she wove many a tale of aliens and evil clones who impersonated her elder brothers (for certainly she wasn't actually related to those wretched boys who teased and taunted her mercilessly) while growing up in Ontario, Canada. Even when Charlie faded away, she continued to live in her own fantasy world, telling her stories to her stuffed animals, and finally writing them down when she was old enough to know how. Later in life, she graduated from McMaster University, armed with degree in Psychology, with a minor in Anthropology. An avid fan of Paranormal Romances (werewolves and vampires and ghosts, oh my!), it was hardly surprising, then, that she decided to invent an entirely new species - Homo Illuminatus – to weave her fantasies around. Today, she continues to live (on the surface, at any rate – in her mind she's in another world entirely!) in Ontario, with her son (teenaged – need I say more?), an adorable (borderline evil, and most definitely psychotic) Ragdoll cat, and a sloppy (fragile and sensitive, big arsed) Dogue de Bordeau dog (who, sadly, is terrorized by the demonic cat).

Book preview

Chapter 1

Looking down at the tracking signal blipping away on the screen of his cell phone, Collom cursed, wishing all manner of atrocious fates on Ock. Sanctimonious prick. Who did he think he was anyway? Sending him, Collom, son of Mattai, the assured future Mattai, the man who would undoubtedly one day hold the reins of the largest and most powerful Commune in the world, on this ridiculous goose chase like he was some kind of lackey? Like he was some plebe who could be ordered around by his high-and-mightiness?

Not fucking likely.

And of all the damned places to send him, did it have to be a university campus? Collom looked around the quad of the University of Toronto, a grimace of disgust pulling at his mouth. The place was overrun with extremely hormonal, highly excitable, horny-assed Sapien adolescents. All of whom were bombarding his brain with thoughts pertaining to ‘asses’, ‘tails’, ‘knockers’, ‘hooters’, and what in the hell was 'muff diving'? Reaching into the mind of the nearest male student, he accessed the definition of that particular phrase.

Really? Huh. Makes sense, I guess.

Not that the female population was any better. 'Asses' were apparently equally appreciated by both genders of Sapien. Although 'hooters' etcetera were replaced by words like 'hung', and as the size of this particular part of the male anatomy was somewhat less easy to discern than that of the females that were focused on by the males, the females thoughts tended more along the lines of speculation. The one major difference between the two genders being that at least the women took personality traits and intellect into consideration. Not so much that it actually had any influence over their decision, 'too bad he's a moron, oh well, it's not like it's his brain I'm interested in', indicative of the criteria they used to select a potential partner.

Lovely.

Collom shook his head, focusing more energy on trying to block out the barrage of crude phrases and imagery that were assailing him.

It's Sunday night, for crying out loud, don't you pecker-heads have classes tomorrow? Shouldn't you be studying? You know, to earn the degrees that your parents are paying for, you oversexed ingrates?

Collom completely disregarded the fact that almost the exact same thing could be said about him, minus the 'oversexed' part, of course. He was supposed to be Fostering with the Taha'an, similar, in a sense, to the Sapien practice of earning a University degree, only instead of training for one vocation, as the Sapiens did, Fostering involved training for at least three.

Which he'd done, in a half-assed, I'm-putting-as-little-effort-into-this-as-I-can-possibly-get-away-with manner. After completing the absolute minimum required training, Collom had then essentially washed his hands of the whole Fostering business, pretty much doing bugger all for the last three and a half years. So, yeah, he'd heard the word 'ingrate' applied to himself from the minds of the weaker Illuminati on the Taha'an, as well as words like 'lazy', 'useless', 'good-for-nothing', to name but a few. Often times, these words were also paired with the word 'idiot'. All of which he ignored.

He was a Mattai, he really didn't give a shit what the plebes of the Taha'an thought of him. Nor did he care what the only two Illuminati on the Commune who were more powerful than him – who he therefore couldn't read – thought of him either. Although, technically Ock wasn't more powerful, only older, and far more experienced and knowledgeable with the use of his powers than he was. Regardless, as far as Collom was concerned, both he and Kayala could kiss his ass. He had less than three damned months left of his sentence, and then he was out of there. And good riddance to them all.

Collom let out an exasperated breath, looking down at the cell phone in his hands. The green blinking light on the screen, which represented himself, was now directly over top of the red blinking light. Which meant that his mark was within one hundred meters of his location, give or take. Turning the phone off, he opened his senses, while keeping a firm hold on his Sapien neural energy blocks, and searched for any Illuminatus energy signatures. Instantly he located four.

One, a particularly weak and benign signature he immediately discounted. First, the energy reading indicated that it belonged to a male and his mark was most definitely female. Second, this guy’s energy was so weak it was barely above that of a Sapien. Collom doubted the schmuck could even tie his own shoes with his powers. Since the Intel he'd been given indicated that his mark had very strong, though highly erratic energy, this was definitely not who he was looking for.

One down, three to go. The next two energy signatures closest to him in proximity, he also discounted. Although one was female, the likelihood of her being the woman he had been sent here to find was extremely low. Having trained as a Hunter, the first of his required Fostering apprenticeships, he easily recognized the particular stench of the energy patterns these two were giving off. Evil, twisted, Forsaken. They were obviously together, and judging by the buzz of sick excitement emanating off them, they were here on a mission.

Shit.

What were the chances that they were on the same damn mission as him? If his Intel was, in fact, correct, and this wasn't actually a wild goose chase? Pretty damn high.

Leaving a mental trace on the Forsaken couple, Collom turned his focus to the final energy signature. Holy hell! They hadn't been kidding when they'd said 'erratic'. This chick's energy was off the fucking charts. Probing the patterns of her energy, he groaned in resignation. Nope, this was no damn goose. This woman was absolutely, no doubt about it, one hundred percent grade-A Taha'an. A Taha'an, to be more precise. And since there were only three of them known to still be in existence; one of whom was Kayala, another a sick twisted old fuck, and neither of those two were the source of this energy signature, that left only one. And the Forsaken were heading straight for her.

Fuck.

Mentally directing all of the damn horny Sapiens to get the hell out of his way, Collom hoofed it, double time, in the direction of the three Illuminatus energy signatures. He'd just made it to the building where the three were currently located when a jolt of energy, the likes of which he'd never experienced, blasted into him, knocking him on his ass. Reaching out with his senses, he located the source of the blast, marveling at what he found. Good thing he'd been a good distance from the apex of that energy bolt. The two Forsaken, on the other hand, hadn't been quite so lucky. She had seriously fucked them up.

You go girl! he thought with a snigger of reluctant admiration. Unfortunately, although they were down, they certainly weren't out.

Surging to his feet, Collom resumed his pursuit, mentally flinging any and all obstacles out of his way under cloak, as he closed the distance between himself and his mark. A distance that was now closing at twice the rate as it had before, as she too was moving at a considerable pace and heading straight for him. Sensing that she was just around the corner, the two Forsaken now in pursuit, Collom flattened himself against the wall, snatched her arm as she was about to run past, then pulled her inside his cloaks.

Screeching in furious alarm, she whirled on him, her eyes wild with fright. Collom felt a surge of energy amassing in her, and having seen the results of the last time she'd released one of her explosions he threw up an energy barrier around her in order to contain the forthcoming blast. When it came, it rocked against his barrier with such force he had to use every ounce of his available powers just to maintain it. Even then, he was still affected by the eruption.

Quickly repairing the damage she'd done to his cloaks, and shoring up the energy barrier he'd erected around her, Collom pinned her against the wall, pressing his body against hers to further hide her within his own energy fields as the Forsaken drew closer.

I'm here to help you, he hissed, tightening his hold on her as she struggled to get free of him.

The words had no effect on her whatsoever. In fact, if anything, her struggles intensified. Perhaps he should have said 'come with me if you want to live'? That had worked on Sarah Connor, right? Mind you, if all he had to worry about was a cyborg, the point would be moot. He could disable a robot from over a kilometre away.

Get the hell off me, she screamed at him, raking the nails of the hand she'd somehow managed to get free down his face.

Collom didn't care who the hell she was, he was not putting up with that shit. Grabbing both of her wrists in a vice grip, he slammed them into the wall at her sides, added substance to the barrier he had wrapped around her, then tightened it to the point that she was just able to breath. She tried to head-butt him. Okay, fine by me! He adjusted the barrier so that it was now around her head, then tightened some more.

Just fucking calm down, he growled at her as she continued to struggle against her bonds, her breath coming in short pants, her eyes blazing with fury.

Collom was suddenly – at this very inappropriate time – struck by how incredibly gorgeous this girl was. Her amber eyes shooting sparks at him, mahogany hair spilling about her face in disheveled waves, and those lips, the things he wanted to do with those lips. She had almost the same patrician features as Kayala, but whereas Kayala was ice, this woman was pure fire. Too bad she was nucking futs!

Her mouth opened, as if to say something, but all she could do was gasp for air. Good, he didn’t have the time, or the patience, for her bullshit just then. Feeling the two Forsaken practically on top of them, Collom leaned in closer, pressing his cheek against hers, his lips mere millimetres from her ear.

Unless you want the psychos who just attacked you to have another whack at it, I suggest you calm the hell down. Now.

His warning was completely ignored, her struggles ramping up another notch. Hell, he even felt the pressure increase in the barrier at knee level as she tried to ram it upwards, no doubt intending to embed it in his crotch. Crazy bitch. He had half a mind to just cut her loose, see how she fared against two Forsaken on her own. He really didn't need this shit.

Once the immediate threat had passed, the two having run right on by, unable to detect their prey behind his cloaks, Collom started to pull back, shifting his weight as he did so, inadvertently pushing his groin into hers. Two things happened simultaneously. One: the adrenaline erection - when adrenaline started pumping blood throughout your body, it pumped it everywhere - he'd been sporting suddenly morphed into a full body hard-on. We're talking every neuron in his body stood up and took notice, and was now completely focused on this woman as an image of engaging in the newly learned phrase 'muff diving' flashed into his mind. Two: she completely lost her fucking mind!

Despite having felt the intense power surge within her, and having braced for impact, when the blast came she still managed to do some serious damage.

Fucking hell!

He hadn't been able to maintain the energy barrier and his cloaks during the onslaught of energy that she'd just directed at him, and having to choose between the two, Collom had held on to the barrier. Which now meant that they were completely exposed, and wouldn't you know it, the two psycho bunnies were well aware of that fact. Still tracing them, Collom felt that awareness slam into them, causing them to come to a full stop before turning and doubling back.

Dammit, they had to move, right fucking now. Collom quickly assessed his options. Trying to outrun two Forsaken with a crazy, extremely unwilling 'rescuee' who was seriously screwing with his cloaks didn't make for a viable game plan. Option two? Collom probed her mind, found that although she had some exceptional natural shields, nobody had ever bothered to teach her how to use them. Which meant that she'd left her neural pathways exposed.

Reaching around to press his fingers against her spine at the base of her skull, Collom whispered, Sorry your highness, but you've left me no choice.

Her eyes widened in terror just as he sent a pulse of energy into her brainstem, knocking her out cold.

Chapter 2

Sherryl felt nauseous. Or was it nauseated? She could never keep straight in her mind which one was which. Oh, hell, who cared? She felt like crap. Trying to push through the fog that shrouded her brain, Sherryl fought to regain consciousness. What the hell had happened to her? She felt like she had one killer of a hangover, only she'd never had a hangover this bad before. Even that kick-ass kegger she'd gone to her first week of university hadn't left her feeling this bad. And that had been one hell of a party. She swore she'd thrown up stuff her grandmother had eaten after that one!

Forcing her eyelids to obey her, Sherryl managed to get them to flutter open a fraction, groaning in agony as she slammed them shut again when the blinding light pierced her retina in a flash of screaming pain.

Welcome back, she heard a voice say. A voice she recognized. At least, she thought she did?

Memory suddenly crashed into her brain. Being attacked by two psychos. Somehow managing to get away from them, only to be grabbed, held against her will, then felt up by... - Sherryl's eyes flew open, piercing her brain with intense pain - ...him!

Terror engulfed her as she tried to scramble away from the man sitting across the table from her, nonchalantly fiddling with the iPhone in his hands, causing the chair she was sitting in to overturn, dumping her onto the ground in an ungraceful heap.

Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!

You might want to chill for a bit, he told her, not bothering to look up from his phone. At least until you get your sea legs back.

Managing to get her limbs under her, sort of, Sherryl half crab-crawled, half slid across the floor away from him until she crashed into the wall behind her.

Ow!

A slight raising of one eyebrow was the only response her actions elicited from him. Looking around for an escape route, Sherryl spotted large wooden doors, the really old kind with those big-arsed black hinges, - where in the hell am I? - on either side of the room. Both of which requiring her to get past him if she wanted to make good her escape. Determining that she was about halfway between the two, Sherryl began edging her way along the wall towards the one on her right.

I wouldn't bother, if I were you. You won't be able to open it. Still, he didn't look up, just continued to fiddle with his stupid phone. Was that music she heard? Was he playing a game on the thing? In the middle of his kidnapping of her?

What the hell?

What do you want from me? she croaked out. Wow, was that her voice?

He merely shrugged, continuing to play his stupid game.

God damn it! Look at me you son of a bitch. What the hell is going on? Why have you kidnapped me? Now she knew that wasn't her voice. What had just come out of her mouth sounded like a screeching harridan. She never lost her cool. Ever. And she certainly never shrieked at people.

With an annoyed sigh of exasperation, her captor finally put down his phone, placing it on the table in front of him before deigning to look at her.

I have not kidnapped you, he informed her, in a voice usually used to explain things to a dimwitted child. I have brought you here for your protection.

Protection from what? Honestly, what was going on? She just wasn't the type of person that warranted all of the freaky shit that had happened to her tonight. She was merely a nerdy lab-rat for crying out loud. With a Master's degree in Neuro-Psych, she was currently working on her PhD at the U of T, where she spent all of her time in the lab.

Having just moved to Ontario a few months ago, she had no real friends, no connections, no nothing. She had a bit of money, nothing much though, just the inheritance she'd received on her eighteenth birthday from her parents estate. It was certainly not enough to warrant kidnapping her over. And she had no family, her parents having died when she was nine, so it wasn't like he could be trying to ransom her.

Heck, the only person in her life was Curt, another lab-rat at the university that she'd started dating about a month ago. And he didn't have any money either, nor was he anybody important enough to warrant kidnapping her over to get to him. Her life was just so mundane and boring. For crying out loud, last night had been the first time she'd even left the university campus since arriving in Toronto four months ago, having gone out to a dance club with Curt's sister and her friends.

Just then, the two people who had attacked her in the lab appeared in front of her eliciting a yelp of fear from Sherryl. How did they just suddenly appear like that? Enveloped by sudden panic, she tried to edge away from them along the wall.

From those two, for starters, her captor drawled, then the two suddenly disappeared again.

How did you do that? she breathed in stunned disbelief. He'd made those people just materialize out of thin air, then poof, they were gone again. That just wasn't right. How was that even possible?

Again he just shrugged, turning his attention back to his phone, completely dismissing her as irrelevant, unimportant. Sherryl felt that familiar buzzing in her head, that horrible sensation that came right before something freaky-bad happened.

Calm down Sherryl, she told herself, taking a deep breath, don't lose control.

He froze, midway to reaching for his phone, crystal blue eyes blazing as they snapped to hers. Don't, he ordered, those eyes narrowing in warning.

Focusing on her breathing, Sherryl tried to regain control of her emotions, to rein in the fury that had nearly erupted within her at his callous disregard.

Don't. Ignore. Me, she ground out through the breaths.

Lifting his hand from the phone, eyes still blazing into hers, he raised both hands, palms facing her, then sat back in his chair before crossing them in front of his chest. He said nothing, just glared at her with barely restrained anger.

Why did you kidnap me? she asked again, hanging on to her composure by a thread.

I told you... He stopped, eyes narrowing further as she felt the buzzing start again.

Breathe, just breathe.

Why was this happening again? For god sakes, this hadn't happened to her since she was a child. She could still remember the first time. She had to have been around five or six when one of the neighbour kids had pulled her hair. Her head had done that freaky buzzing thing, then the next thing she knew he was lying on the ground, not moving. She recalled bursting into tears then, thinking she had killed him somehow. Fortunately, she hadn't, but the next day they had moved and her mother wouldn't let her play with any of the kids in their new neighbourhood.

Then a couple years later she'd been playing with some dog that’d gotten into their yard when the thing had bitten her. Again with the buzzing. That time she'd taken out all of the windows, not only of their house, but of all of the houses surrounding them, in an explosion of raining glass. The very next day they'd moved again.

The last time had been when she was nine. That one she remembered in vivid Technicolor clarity. It had been the worse day of her life. Hanging over the fence, his arms crossed on her side, the rotten little bully who'd lived next door had begun taunting her. Making fun of the fact that she was never allowed to leave her house, how she was a freak that her parents kept locked in the basement like an animal, how everyone in the neighbourhood hated her, and her parents. On and on he'd jeered at her, until the anger inside of her had reached a boiling point, the buzzing exploding out of her, knocking down the fence and crushing him beneath it.

He'd been taken to the hospital in an ambulance. She never did learn what had happened to him. Horrified by what she'd done, she had already been bawling when her mother had come rushing out of the house to see what had happened. To this day Sherryl recoiled in horror at what had happened next. The mother she'd always thought she'd known had suddenly morphed into a monster. Screaming in fury, this crazy woman with her mother's face had begun beating Sherryl with her fists, then kicking her when one particularly harsh blow knocked her to the ground.

I'm sick of this shit! she'd screamed, delivering another brutal blow, I'm not putting up with it any more. I fucking hate you! You filthy fucking spawn of a whore!

Sherryl had curled into a ball, covering her head with her hands as she had rained down blow after blow screaming something about 'it not being worth it'. At some point she must have blacked out, because the next thing she remembered she was in her bed, alone in the dark, not a soul around to comfort her no matter how loudly she cried out. Hours later, that was where the police had found her, huddled on her bed sobbing, clutching at Bun Bun, the stuffed bunny she'd had since she was a baby. That was when she'd learned that her parents had died in a car crash, making the whole nightmare complete.

Sherryl had blamed herself for their deaths. For losing control like that and making her mom so angry. It had been her mother who had been driving that night, obviously so overwrought by what her 'freak' daughter had done, that she'd lost control of the car. If she had been normal her parents would still be alive. If she had been able to control her anger, they'd still be alive. If only she wasn't such a freak.

So she had learned control. Learned to keep a tight rein on her anger, to push it down and never let it out again. To never let the bad things happen again. And they never had. Until today.

With one final deep calming breath, Sherryl managed to get the cap on the bottle where she kept her anger stashed. Focusing her attention back on the blonde man with the angry blue eyes, she tried again.

Who were those people? She didn't need to expound on that, he knew she was referring to the one's who'd attacked her.

Forsaken, he answered, his voice completely neutral.

Not that it was an answer, considering that she had no idea what he was talking about.

Let's just say, they are bad guys, he clarified, a touch snidely.

Well then, that explains everything. Bad guys indeed. As if she didn't already know that!

And why were the 'bad guys' after me? If he could be snide, she could be snarky.

I can't say.

Can't, or won't? she asked, suspecting she already knew the answer to that.

He shrugged again, causing her eyes to narrow again, causing his eyes to narrow as well in warning again.

Look, he started impatiently. I'm just the errand boy, back to being snide. You want answers? There are two very nice people on their way over here as we speak, this was delivered as if she were an addle-minded child, who I'm sure will be more than happy to give them to you.

Then he did it. Popped the cap right off her anger bottle by reaching for his phone, dismissing her again.

Jumping back as the table he'd been sitting at exploded, his iPhone flying clear across the room and smashing against the far wall, he rounded on her, fury emanating off him in waves.

You fucking crazy bitch! he snarled, taking a menacing step towards her.

Pushing herself up, she faced off with him, the fury buzzing within her. Don't you dare ignore me, she hissed.

Closing the distance so that they were going toe to toe, he got right in her face. Is that what that little temper tantrum was? You want my attention?

Tantrum? Like she was three years old? How dare he! Dammit, there goes the buzzing again.

Slamming his hands against the wall on either side of her face, he leaned in closer, eyes snapping furiously. Don't you fucking dare.

Sherryl stared into those crystal blue eyes that were now just inches from her own as she tried to focus on her breathing, chest heaving with barely contained fury as she struggled to contain the buzzing. Holy crap, those eyes were intense. Burning into her, causing a wave of heat to pulse through her all the way to her toes. She couldn't look away, drawn into their blazing depths. Then they began to move closer, inching in as he bent his head to hers, causing her panting breaths to turn to gasps as the heat intensified within her, her chest tightening, her...

Ahem, a cough interrupted from across the room, causing the man with the amazing eyes to stiffen, pulling back from her as he turned to face the newcomer.

Taking a second to compose herself - oh my god, he'd been about to kiss me, and I was about to let him! - Sherryl took one more deep breath before turning as well to find a man and a woman by the door that she had earlier thought to escape through. The man was glaring at the blue-eyed man beside her, his stance rigid, fury screaming from his every pore. Then she turned her focus to the woman, gasping in shock. It was as if she was looking into a mirror, only to find that someone had changed her hair and eye colour.

Oh. My. God!

Chapter 3

Kayala sighed with contentment, running her fingers through the short crisp hairs on his chest as she basked in the wondrous feeling of being in his arms. She wished, more than anything, that she could just stay right here, forever, never leaving his embrace. If only that were possible. If only she had the freedom to make that choice. But she was Taha'an. Her life was not her own. She was bound to the Commune, to her people, on such a deep level that she would never be able to just be herself, Kayala, the woman. And she could never have this man. Never bond with him. Never give her heart to him, love him the way he deserved to be loved. All she could do was steal these brief snatches of time. Hiding what they shared together in her heart. Hiding him from the world, like a dirty little secret.

Unfortunately, her time was up. Should have been some time ago. She had already been here too long, she knew that, knew that she was pushing Ock past his limit. Right now was not a good time for her to be gone from the Taha'an, especially not for so long. What with the Forsaken uprising, and the situation with the monster who had caused his sister’s death, this was a really bad time for her to be dumping her responsibilities on him like she had. But there had been nothing she could do.

Lately, something had been not right within her. She didn't know what it was, probably because it had something to do with her emotions which were a complete enigma to her. She felt...edgy? Off centre? She just didn't know how to describe it, but for the last several months this strange feeling had had her in its grip, pulling at her, driving her to the brink. And when that happened, she had to be here, needed to be in his arms, otherwise... She couldn't even let herself think of the otherwise. It just could not happen. Not again.

Sighing again, this time with resignation, she snuggled in closer, not ready to give up his comforting warmth. I have to go, she whispered.

I know, he murmured, pulling her in tighter, obviously as unwilling to let her go as she was to leave. But not tonight. They'll still be there in the morning.

She picked up on his use of the word 'they'. He never said the word 'Taha'an'. Ever. When she was here she was Kayala and only Kayala, even though they both knew the truth, that that could never be so, not truly. Nodding against his chest, already making plans for how to spend their last hours together, Kayala looked up to meet his eyes, intending to share some of those ideas.

Pain ripped into her, clawing at her chest from the inside, stealing her breath as a scream was torn from her throat.

Kayala! he cried in alarm, his arms banding around her, holding her close as her body began to convulse.

She felt him reach into the link they shared between them, pushing healing warmth into her as he tried to draw the pain from her into himself. It was too much though, so intense that his efforts barely made a dent. The bond that she had all but excised from existence all those years ago was now tearing into her, shredding her soul as it re-established itself in her heart. Blindly, she clutched at him, nearly choking him as she tried to draw from his strength, tried to breathe, tried to get past the excruciating pain.

She... she managed to gasp, her body stiffening as another paralysing wave of agony ripped through her.

I know, Sunshine, he soothed, holding her tight, letting her choke him without complaint. I'm right here. I've got you.

All she could do was gasp, in short spurts, trying to draw air into her lungs as she clung to him. How could this be? After twenty four years? It just wasn't possible. But there was no mistaking it. The bond was back, in full force, shattering her very soul. Kayala burst into tears.

Okay Sunshine, just let it out. I'm right here, I won't let you go.

He sat up pulling her into his lap so that she could shift her legs, completely wrapping herself around him. After all these years he knew that it was the only way she could feel grounded, the only way she could keep herself from totally falling apart, by completely submersing herself in him.

I've got you, he told her again, repeating it like a mantra to soothe her fractured mind. I'm right here. I'll always be right here.

Those words penetrated her brain, as they always had, bringing her a sense of calm in the unrelenting storm. He was her island, her haven, her sanity. Without him she would have been lost. A long time ago.

Before she heard it she felt it. Through the Taha'an bond. Ock. Kayala? The word was softly spoken in her mind, full of concern.

Biting back on the tears, clinging to him for strength, she schooled her inner voice, allowing no traces of her emotional state to seep through. I am aware, she told Ock through the bond. I will be there shortly.

Though how she was going to manage that, she had no idea. How was she going to let this man go long enough to make it back to the Commune when he was the only thing that allowed her to breathe at this moment?

She tried to pull back - nope not ready - then clung to him again.

Just give it time, he soothed, smoothing her hair down her back.

I have to... she gasped, still not able to wrap her mind around what was happening. What was happening on the Taha'an. She was back. Was, at this very minute, within the boundaries of the Commune. She was home.

And you will, he finished for her. When you're ready.

He was right, of course. Despite her desperate need