Free Return of the Matka-Zem (The Sorain Chronicles) by Deborah Chanley

door flew open. Thane spun around to face the intruder and saw a woman in a white uniform rushing towards him.
    " What do you think are you doing? Get back into bed," the woman ordered in a stern tone and reached for his right arm in an effort to protect the damaged limb. When she realized his arm was healed, she gasped in surprise. "How?"
    " Where is the princess?" Thane practically growled his question as he towered over the woman. He bit back his laughter as the uniformed woman cowered before him.
    " Your wife left a day ago and hasn't returned." The woman backed away from him until she reached the door, then bolted out of the room. Thane gave another bitter laugh. Expecting the woman to call for help, he swiftly retrieved his belongings. With a smile, he found his sword, glad the princess had retrieved it. Although he carried several dangerous weapons and a few short swords as backup, nothing felt better than having the long steel blade at his side.
    " Damn you, girl. You should have known to stay put." At the thought of his missing charge, his smile vanished. "But no, you couldn't do that! You just had to run off on your own. Must you always give me grief?" He gave a bitter laugh at his own ignorance. No thanks to the Xeral Mlinzi, Princess Valencia had no clue who she was and did not remember the hell she had put him through as her personal guard. He cursed again for his own contribution to her disappearance. "I should have instructed her to stay with me," he muttered. Although completely healed, Thane felt stiff and he groaned as he donned his shirt. If the princess hadn't unleashed her power, cocooning him inside a plant, he could have dispatched the remaining Glauc-tuko instead of suffering a near-death battle wound. As he buttoned his pants, Thane laughed again, amazed by the power of the girl. To wield such power on an alien world was magnificent. In all their history, only one other Matka-Zem had such a gift and she was the one who awoke Sora thousands of years ago. Shoving his foot into his boot, he felt a piece of paper tucked inside. When he read the address, he gave a sigh of relief. "At least you're not running away from me."
    With the hilt of his sword, he smashed the window and was thankful to be only on the second floor. As two security men, followed by the woman, rushed inside the room, he jumped from the ledge. Thane heard their gasps of surprise as he lightly landed on the ground and vanished into the nearby woods.
    ***
    With the elderly couple occasionally stopping to sightsee along the way, it took three days to reach Vancouver. Although the sense of urgency remained knotted in her stomach, Jane enjoyed the time with Helen and Sam. They treated her like a daughter and included her in their outings.
    It was a sad moment when they stopped outside Vancouver and she had to say her goodbyes.
    " Jane dear, why don't you stay with us for a while?" asked Helen with a slight frown on her pale face.
    " A beautiful young woman such as yourself should not be traveling alone these days," Sam stated in a fatherly way that brought a smile to her lips. Nevertheless, the urgency to find the way to her own planet was always just below the surface and she had to take her leave from the friendly couple.
    " I would love too, but I can't." She hated to see Helen's eyes cloud with tears. She gave the elderly woman a hug. "I will always remember your kindness," she whispered into the woman's ear. With a quick hug for Sam, she turned her back on the couple and walked away with a heavy heart.
    The city sidewalk was so crowded with people that she had to press her right shoulder against the building in order to make any progress towards her destination. She had read about the bustle of city life, but she could not have imagined the stress involved in just trying to find the bus station. As she progressed down the street, she felt out of place, apart from the crowd. She was different. Her Gift was proof of that. No human being