Free Shadow Over Avalon by C.N Lesley Page B

deep, dark pools.
    Candlelight rippled over his naked body. Ashira looked at him, all of him, wanting him to stay and do whatever he wished with her. That strange feeling in her belly started. She reached up to touch those mobile lips of his. He caught her hand, kissing the palm and licking each of her fingers while his knee parted her thighs in a gentle way. Then another deep kiss ended in a gasp when his hands roamed.
    “Ashira? Shall I continue?” Uther brushed her lips with one fingertip, tracing the outline.
    She caught his finger, drawing it into her mouth, wanting to taste him.
    “I’ll take that for a yes.”

Chapter 6
Earth Date 3892
    “Shadow survived to join the Elite.” Arthur aimed his defiance at a bank of winking lights in the gray console. He had the great telepathic control well beyond the limitations of any other; if the elders found out about his research of the Outcast, Sanctuary would have a lever to force him into the initiate program immediately. But if he wanted to leave the city, he would need more information from someone who knew how to live on the surface world and in Avalon.
    “Speculation within futile circumstances results in reduction of perspective,” the Archive returned. “The subject lowered expectations to preserve logical thought processes.”
    “Biological intelligence has other resources.” Could Arthur lower his standards to obey Sanctuary dictates? No. He wanted more from life than this sequestered existence.
    Since his time reviewing Shadow, he had begun to question the rules and practices more and more. At the point of playback, logic told him this pleasant young woman didn’t bear any resemblance to the evolved individual under study. So he had to seek out what factor, or accumulation of factors, had caused such a drastic change in personality.
    “Archive, why did she leave her mate? I had the impression they reached an understanding.”
    “This action was not one of her choice.”
    “Did she quarrel with that priest?” Arthur strolled over to the solitary chair. “What sort of power did he have? Can you explain this religion?”
    Another bank of lights winked on at the console. “Harvesters are the same beings known to you as Nestines. The Overworld is their hunting ground, the Terrans, their prey. They control the minds of their ‘herd’ to the point where they are invisible, using priests to communicate their wishes to their victims. It is possible priests are empty vessels for the direction of power, such as you have already witnessed. Do you remember what the discharge of a priest’s stick smelled like, Arthur?”
    He remembered the scent of flowers, the sharp tang of animals, and the image, but not the smell of the calf’s destruction. All the colors and textures served to remind him of what his life currently lacked. How pathetic that he was reduced to sneaking into a tiny room to steal images from another person’s memories. The call of the surface world snagged his soul.
    “The next part of our subject’s life contains a similar situation. Why don’t you refresh your memory? I will not permit any to disturb us.” A port slid open to release the umbilicus. It emerged without aiming toward Arthur, appearing content to wait.
    Arthur hesitated. “I am still not trained for contact, Archive. Am I at risk of addiction?” Maybe he was looking for an excuse not to continue; he didn’t want to see a life destroyed, much less experience it along with the victim.
    “What if you were already addicted? Would we be having this conversation?”
    Arthur drew in a deep breath to smell nothing in the bland air of Avalon, knowing he would have to make his escape from Sanctuary soon if he chose this path. The Archive hinted at the reason the Outcast had begun her new existence. Perhaps this session would be the one to help him understand how to survive on the surface. He brushed aside the hair behind his ear to expose his outlet port for the umbilicus.
    *
    Earth