Faring Soul - Science Fiction Romance by Tracy Cooper-Posey Page A

you will from it.”
    This time the reaction from the two
hundred plus Board members arrayed before him was uniform. They
were indignant.
    Let them be. He was suddenly tired of
it all. “Bring me a solution when you arrive at one. In the
meantime, no one leaves this room.” He glanced at the guards, who
moved silently from their ceremonial positions to stances that
barred the many doors leading out of the chamber.
    Then he turned and moved out through
his private door.
    “But, Your Honor…!” someone cried, just
as the solid, sound-proof door slid shut behind him.
    Kare picked up guards like an asteroid
tail as he moved fast down the corridor, heading for his private
study. As he passed the drawing room, Verna lifted her head from
the book she was reading, her eyes opening wide. He should stop and
explain to her why he had left the Board meeting so early and
abruptly, but he knew he would not be able to deal with his wife
with any fairness or gentleness, so he kept moving.
    Once the study door was locked behind
him, he drew in a calming breath and leaned against the back of it.
He was alone in here, one of the few places in the entire city
where he could arrange such solitude.
    He neutralized the windows, so that the
harsh white sunlight faded to a deep twilight, making the room a
calm, dim retreat.
    Then he went to his desk and called up
the images.
    There weren’t many. They arrayed
themselves in the air in a pleasing arrangement. The one he liked
the best was in the middle. The camera had caught her looking back
over her shoulder, while a breeze lifted her red hair up and out of
the way, revealing the strong jaw and the sharp chin.
    Her blue eyes seemed to be looking
straight into the camera, as if she knew the image was being taken.
It felt like she was looking right at him.
    Kare let his gaze rove over the other
images. She was in each of them, sometimes alone, sometimes with
other people. Most often, her current crew were in the images,
especially the tall one with the golden brown hair. They had
learned his name was Bedivere, but no one seemed to know anything
else about him despite intensive scrutiny. The other two were more
familiar to him now—Fareed Brant, the former Staff of Ammon
enforcer, and the young girl, Lilita Washmaster, who was working
her way across the galaxy like so many young ones did, hoping to
see sights and have adventures before settling to a more sedate
next profession.
    But his gaze came back to
Catherine.
    Katie, she had called herself then.
    He closed his eyes. If he relaxed
enough, he could sometimes convince himself he could smell her hair
and once, he felt it drift across his shoulders as it had when she
had lifted herself over him.
    A sharp alert from the door broke the
spell. Only Jarek had the necessary codes to break through the
privacy shield on the door and he would not have done so without
cause.
    Kare put the images away and brought up
the lights, then let the door open.
    Jarek stepped inside and shut the door
gently. “It actually worked. They’ve moved on from recriminations
now and are talking about next steps.”
    Kare held in his irritation. “That is
why you disturbed me? For a status update?”
    Jarek’s eyes narrowed. He gave a short
bow, as if to take away any offence. “I came to see if you needed
anything.”
    So Kare’s anger and abrupt retreat had
not fooled Jarek.
    With a sigh, he turned and looked out
the window. Now it was transparent, he could see the private
gardens below. There were children playing on the manicured
greenery. Some of them may even be his. The College ran a nursery
and school within the Ivory City for the offspring of staff and the
Primary Family, so that the children raised by them would be marked
by the privilege of their location.
    The yearning to be far away from all
this, to be truly free , gripped his throat and stole his
breath. Kare swallowed, as panic fluttered in his chest. Sickness
swamped him.
    “Your Honor?” Jarek