Free Dance of Time by Viola Grace Page A

would have to go through if she lived. She wasn’t completely sure that it would be a good thing.
     
    Two weeks after they had arrived at Citadel Necridid, Zez went to visit Mikki to see how she was doing.
    The woman sitting and talking with her was wearing the colour of the Minders. Mikki was bright and cheerful. Zez ran to her, the apprentice robes she was wearing flapped around her limbs.
    “Mikki!” Zez grinned and skidded to a halt when she didn’t recognize the mind of the woman looking out at her. She turned to the Minder, “What did you do?”
    The Minder glanced behind Zez’s shoulder and nodded.
    The healer whispered, “Come with me, Zez.”
    Zez followed Healer Vix, and the man led her to an office. He closed the door. “Please, sit down, Zez.”
    She swallowed over the lump in her throat and nodded. “I researched the options for her condition. I know what was done.”
    “She was suicidal. We repaired her body, but her soul was shattered. She was trapped in that attack, and she could not get out.”
    “You scrubbed her.”
    He looked shocked. “No! She was given a mind wrap. It is a calm personality overlaid on her own. Her memories are still there, but she will have to be ready for them. They will come back in time, but we don’t know when. This just enables her to begin to live her life.”
    Zez blinked. “She is still in there?”
    “She is. Your species does not respond well to mental manipulation, so this was all we could do. There was no way to scrub her without killing her. It was discussed and discarded as an option.”
    Zez swallowed. “Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
    “Because you are eleven years old. You should never have had to deal with any of this.”
    Zez lifted her chin. “I am the one in charge. It was my carelessness that let Toniak get to her. It was my fault that this happened to her.”
    The healer looked shocked. “It was not. It was evil that was visited on her. You did all you could. There was nothing that would have changed the outcome.”
    Zez looked at him, astonished that he hadn’t figured out the obvious. “I could have killed them all sooner.”
    He didn’t reply to that.
     
    * * * *
     
    Ten years at the Citadel flew by until the day that Zez and Mikki had decided was their birthday. They shared the day though they were seven years apart. It was just easier to sneak out together to giggle and gorge on pies bought from the nearby village.
    While Zez bit into her pie, she looked at her sister fondly, remembering the day that the dam broke, five years earlier. That is why they shared this day. It was the day that Mikki had come back to her.
    “So, now that you are officially an adult, are you going to start taking on missions?” Mikki mumbled around some pastry.
    “Yeah. I am officially cleared as a Specialist. I feel all grown up and stuff.”
    Mikki chuckled. “Excellent. Do you have a partner yet?”
    Zez shrugged. “I have no idea. I know how to fly a shuttle, so I might be going out alone.”
    “Doubtful. They tend to pair up males and females that they think are good matches. You might be in line for a permanent match.”
    Zez looked at her sister. “Would you mind?”
    Mikki waved her hand. “I have a life, a job and even a relationship. It is time for you to enter the real world and become a full-fledged person. You have been living to take care of me, and it is time for you to strike out on your own.”
    “I want to make sure you are taken care of.”
    “Penross takes care of me. The Citadel annuity that I get takes care of me. You don’t have to anymore.” Mikki grabbed her hand and squeezed it.
    Zez sighed. “He’s a good guy.”
    “I am glad you think so. We are having a baby.” Mikki reached for another pie.
    Zez thought of a thousand things she could say, but she went with. “I am going to be an aunty?”
    “You are. A very good, very powerful aunty. So, when you finish your missions, feel free to shop for baby presents. I hope