Free Tracking (Return of the Nine) by Viola Grace Page A

amenities while she was hiking.
    The hot water was so welcome that it swept the tears away for the years she had spent hiding from the reality that she and her sister were all that was left, and no matter what she said, her sister would not listen.
    They had been close until the attack. Her sister saw psychic traces while Ianka saw everything else, and neither of them could stop their parents from being taken.
    Rescuing and gathering survivors, hiding from the incursions, had been the first step in atoning for their inability to find their parents. Vida had seen the path that they took, and it reached skyward before it ceased entirely.
    She had stared at that trail through eyes closed tight until Ianka couldn’t stand it anymore and left the guilt of her inability to save their parents behind. Now, she was back in the thick of it.
    Once she had sat on the floor and scrubbed at the bottoms of her feet, she carefully stood upright. Sighing with regret, she turned off the shower and wrapped herself in a thick towel, putting another around her hair. A little digging around turned up a hairbrush, and she crept out into the bedroom to sit on the bed and work at the mess that her scalp had become.
    There was a dress and shoes sitting on the bed, and she reached out to touch them. Dresses had never been her favourite, but she was looking forward to this one. First, though, she had to tackle the neglect she had enforced on her once-pretty golden locks.
     
    It took her an hour and her arms had started to ache, but she finally had her hair hanging straight and clean. Her fingers moved awkwardly but got her hair into a loose braid held by strands of hair scavenged from her brush. Once her hair was settled, she slipped into the dress. It was tight across the bust, but it fit everywhere else. She slipped into the shoes and got to her feet. With a nervous air, she headed for the mirror in the bathroom.
    A lump formed in her throat as she saw the old her for the first time since she had left. It was time to become herself again, and in the process, she needed to figure out who that really was.
    Through their connection, she could feel Vida and the calm satisfaction that now marked her once-frantic mind. Vida had found her balance, so now, it was Ianka’s turn to search and find her true self. She could track any living being anywhere, but she couldn’t find herself. The irony was not lost on her.
    With straightened shoulders, she headed out to find Daphne. Her track was clear, and after two sets of stairs, a hallway and three offices, Ianka cleared her throat. “Hello again, Daphne.”
    Daphne had been sitting in close conversation with her husband and she turned in surprise. “Eek!”
    Ianka smiled at the childhood name. “I suppose. Ambassador, it is good to finally meet you. Travellers have given me briefings on your presence on the surface. It has been interesting to hear versions of your description from a dozen mouths. If I may say, they all got it wrong.”
    He stood up and stepped toward her but stopped a few feet away.
    Daphne must have seen her confusion, because she said, “The Nine don’t shake hands. Their mating senses link with contact, so it is a habit not to touch the opposite sex if they are not mates to begin with.”
    It left the question of how they finally got around to making contact, but Ianka simply inclined her head in formal greeting.
    “I am pleased to meet you. Your sister is a whirlwind, but you are a force of nature yourself. Your parents must be very proud.”
    She jolted. “My parents were taken in the first raids.”
    He nodded. “So Vida mentioned. According to the report she sent in, there is every reason to believe that she has found them.”
    Ianka swayed in shock and Daphne jumped to her side, leading her to a chair. A glass of water was pressed into her hand and she gulped at it blindly. “They are alive?”
    Daphne knelt in front of her and smiled. “They are alive, and she finally found