Free Fade by Viola Grace

 
     
     
    Chapter One
     
     
    Rhoda finished her sketch and handed it over to Drehl. “It is as clear as I can make it.”
    There were four strange Guardians in her studio and they looked closely at the image of a Terran woman wrapped in the arms of a male dressed in the formal robes of the Ledriko people of Rai.
    Torch lifted the image and nodded. “Scan this and send it to Blade. She is our Ledriko expert.”
    Rhoda looked back to the image on the screen of Amethyst Decker, one of the most recent additions to Janial Prison. Her crime was not even listed, attesting to the power of the Nyal nobles on the untethered Terrans in their midst. “There is no crime, no hearing date, nothing listed on her.”
    Drehl leaned down and whispered, “Can you send a message to the Alliance to find out what she could be?”
    She nodded. “I will scan this onto a crystal, and you can send it wherever you like.”
    Running images of destiny for the Guardians of the Nyal Imperium was not something she had considered as a job option, but it wasn’t like they could easily find their mates in the population. Narrowing down a world to start on was definitely an attractive perk that the Guardians had decided to test.
    Working from an image was a new trick that Rhoda was trying to perfect, and while the drawings were not as clear as she would like, they contained a hint that identified the female or male destined for the subject of the sketch.
    After handing the crystal to Drehl, she gestured for Torch to take the sitter’s position. It was time to draw his destiny. She would check Janial for more Terrans tomorrow.
     
    * * * *
     
    Blade looked at the image and raised her brows behind her mask. She questioned the other Guardian on the opposite end of the call. “Is she sure?”
    “She is positive. This is the match for the Terran known as Amethyst Decker. Do you know him?”
    Blade looked down and a smile curved her lips. “I do, but he will not be happy about this. Where is she?”
    “She is being held at Janial.”
    Blade scowled. “Why? What has she done?”
    “She is being held without charges. None are listed nor is the person who brought charges against her. I believe her release can be secured on that basis alone.”
    Blade nodded. “I am due for some vacation. I will get her into custody and deliver her to her intended. I only hope that he doesn’t object.”
    Charm chuckled behind his faceplate. “I am sure that he will get used to the idea. Terran women have a certain charm that few can withstand.”
    Blade disconnected the call and looked at the image that had been sent to her. Her uncle had been a happy bachelor for over seventy years. The woman didn’t seem strong enough to deal with the Lord of Rai, but who was Blade to judge.
    Chortling, she keyed in a request for leave before telling the rest of her team. Raucous was amused by the idea, and he decided that they needed to go on a short mission. Retrieving a woman in distress was right up his inclination.
    Harbour nodded and authorized them to leave on a mission of retrieval for the woman who was destined as the bride for the original Blade.
     
    * * * *
     
    Amy shivered in the thin bodysuit she had been provided when they chucked her down the hole and into the Janial women’s detention area. The men were held separately, and it was a damned good thing. In her current state, it was hard enough keeping the women at bay.
    She didn’t want to become a thief. She wanted to remain a boring mechanic and live on the maintenance station in the centre of the trade route Traffa. She was a good mechanic and had a natural resistance to radiation that made her a high-earning employee of the station.
    Her ability to phase through objects was an asset in her business, but it was hardly her only skill.
    Darfuli, the Earl of Jaorka, had learned of her skill, and he decided that he wanted her working for him. When she refused, he had her sent to Janial to be held there until she