CANAISIS ∞ Chronicle One ∞ 2: A Captain's Journey

73 ∞ Her Mission

Day 00010 Mission Nilex

Ayla stared up at Gareth, gasping to catch her breath. He was still wearing his spacesuit, his head framed in the helmet collar. And above... above... butterflies swarmed as if to halo him.

In an instant, the view threw her back to the first time the Gift had taken her. She remembered reaching up to touch his cheek, and her own words echoed within her mind, "She loves you so much."

Gareth had come to help her then—she'd felt his concern. She felt his fear for her now, under his anger. But the wind in her mind was raging. It was futile to fight it, just as it was futile to fight her shortness of breath from being tackled. She looked into his eyes and dove deeper into him, desperate to be saved from the storm.

Ayla sensed two loves within him. One as strong and steady as his Soul Stone, entwined with his Soul Stone. The other was locked away and cold.

A black hole in the heart of a galaxy...

A war of love waged within him. A war locked in time—frozen, but a war nonetheless. The spell of frozen time would break. It was inevitable. The war would renew itself and Gareth would lose. He would lose because he was alone, separated from Humanity.

And he was so tired, tired of going on...

Something deep within Ayla stopped huddling from the storm. It uncurled, rallied her strength, and stood up to face the full force of the cyclone engulfing her soul. The core of her being found a resolve as strong as iron, not for herself but for another's need. Another's pain—she could not deny that call.

Ayla stood tall, challenging the storm, daring it to destroy her as she stared into its heart. Within the fury of wind and ash, an image came to her... Gareth on his knees, his shoulders slumped, his heart filled with the anguish and pain of despair and futility... Yet no tears flowed. An image of his wife's face flashed before her and vanished as reality snapped Ayla back.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" Gareth yelled so close, his breath brushed her face.

Her Gift told her what to do. She only needed a touch.

Lifting her head, she leaned into Gareth and firmly kissed him. He didn't move at first. Then his body responded, and Ayla soaked up the warmth of his mouth. She gave everything to the kiss, and he responded in kind, his hungry lips both tentative and gentle. She felt his fear to hope deep within him and sent her love to him.

But that was not what she was seeking. Her Gift had missed finding the answer—she knew that with certainty. So she called with all her strength and purpose to know the hole that was at Gareth's heart. The Gift answered, taking her into the blackness where the wind and ash could not reach her, and she welcomed it.

She had a mission now.

∞

Scared and absolutely stunned, Gareth drew back and lowered Ayla's head to the ground, taking in her delicate features and damp hair, her state of unconsciousness. His heart had been racing with adrenaline from his spacesuit-restricted dead-run, but it was beating even faster now. His nerves tingled with a different rush of adrenaline. After so much time, so long ago, to be reminded of sensations and emotions he'd long forgotten... He tried to analyze the situation, but confusion from the kiss muddied his thoughts.

He snapped up his gaze to Lina who'd somehow—magically—appeared on her knees opposite him, placing a hand on Ayla's forehead.

How much had she seen? Or not seen? Did she think he'd forced himself on Ayla?