Free Balm by Viola Grace

Quinn’s own life after death comes as a bit of a shock, and taking on a new life with the one man she thought forever gone leaves her in need of some hands-on consoling. His hands .
    Quinn went from Enforcer to Balm of Death in a matter of years. With her life locked into taking the pain of death from those entering the void, she had no choice in where or when.
    As death claims Quinn after a sudden attack, arms she has dreamed of for the last two years lift her and take her Home.
    Iskanu has been waiting for the moment that Quinn breathed her last, while mourning the pain she would be in before she released her energy and ties to her universe. He sweeps her Home to bring her back to him and then has to explain the hardest thing in his life.
    Two of her years ago, Quinn held his hand and comforted him while he died. He was now holding her hand as she woke with the power of the Orb inside her. How would she take the reversal of their positions and would she agree to her post as his partner and Sentinel of Time?

    The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.
    Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
    This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
    Balm
    Copyright © 2012 Viola Grace
    ISBN: 978-1-77111-303-8
    Cover art by Martine Jardin
    All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
    Published by eXtasy Books
    Look for us online at:
    www.eXtasybooks.com

    Balm
    A Terran Times Tale
    By
    Viola Grace

Chapter One
    Quinn Lios made her way out of the medical bay and sat in one of the few gardens left untouched on Recodan IV.
    Her soul was numb, and she buried her head in her hands as she ran through the final thoughts of those she had just eased into death. Ninety percent of the population of Recodan IV had died immediately from the pathogen dropped on their world by the U’kadi, five percent were immune, and the other five percent were dying at a slow and painful pace.
    The U’kadi were being interdicted while the Sector Guard tried to help the population of Recodan IV deal with the bodies of their loved ones. Scorchers were taking care of the dead, counselors were helping the living, and then, there were balms, or easers, like Quinn.
    She could take the pain, ease the panic, but not stop the inevitable march to death once a living being was headed that way.
    Tears crept through her fingers as the pain-filled sighs of her patients echoed in her thoughts. Three years as an Enforcer had put her on the active side of disasters, and when her talent for helping the dying had surfaced, it meant training in a job she had no interest in pursuing.
    “You have helped many today.”
    Quinn jumped and pulled her fist back in a reflex from her battle-ready days. A tall figure in swirling robes was standing a few feet from her bench.
    “Helped them? There is nothing left of them. I took their consciousness and let it drift into the afterlife. How is that helping?” She sniffled.
    “If they have any surviving family, their family members will know that they did not die in pain and fear. It means a lot to know that.” His tone was low, but the shadowed interior of his hood kept her from seeing his features.
    She analyzed what she could of his clothing, but she