Triad (Ebook) Book 6

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Chapter 1
Quoxor Province, Pavlovan.

Rain Datta eased her heavy kit bag over her shoulder and approached the ticket booth, sliding her I.D. card across the counter.
“Good morning.” Rain said politely.
The male leaned as far away as possible as he swiped her card.
“I need a ticket to the Neveks region in Quoxor Province,” Rain continued. “I should have credits in place from the military. My number is—”
He pushed the card back using one fingertip. “I can’t help you.”
Rain frowned. “You do operate a service out there?”
“Yes.” He glanced briefly at his screen. “Once a month. You just missed it.”
“It was supposed to run today.” Used to the vagaries of transportation outside the major cities, she tried again. “If I’ve missed the direct bus, there must be a way to get to Neveks using other routes, right?”
“Nothing that I can offer the likes of you.”
His sneer this time was loud and obvious.
“Hang on a minute,” Rain said, holding on to her temper by a thread. She’d already had a long day and was in no mood to make it worse. “Are you discriminating against me because I’m from Neveks? What century are we in?” She jabbed at her uniform. “I’ve served in the Pavlovan military!”
He still wouldn’t look directly at her. “There’s no point getting annoyed with me, female. I don’t make the rules. Due to new regulations regarding native tribes in this region, I’m not allowed to sell you a ticket without prior authorization from my manager, your current employer, and the Neveks authorities. According to my systems your name isn’t on any of those lists.”
Rain let out a long slow breath. “This is ridiculous. What am I supposed to do now?”
The clerk shrugged.
“I’ll buy her ticket.”
The voice came from behind her, and she swung around to stare up at the unknown male. He was tall and had striking pale blue eyes and a hard face.
He nodded at her briefly, and then returned his cold gaze to the ticket seller. “No member of the Pavlovan military should be denied a seat on a public bus. I’ll buy two tickets.”
“You can’t—”
“Get down!”
In a blur of motion, Rain was swept off her feet and rolled to the ground. From within the cradle of the man’s arms, she watched as a large vehicle careered off the side of the road and came spinning down the bank toward the bus station, brakes squealing, horn blaring. It swung around in a slow, perfect arc, almost as if it was a vidmovie, and took out half the building as well as the two empty buses waiting for passengers to board.
“Wow.” Rain breathed through a mouthful of dust.
There was a horrendous crashing and tearing of metal, and then everything shuddered to a stop. Rain pushed herself free and stood up, coughing in the smoke, and tried to assess the damage. It was early in the morning so there weren’t many people around, and she could see no obvious casualties who needed help. She cautiously lowered her telepathic shields. No one appeared to be hurt.
The clerk leapt to his feet and pointed straight at Rain.
“You did this! You caused this, Thought Stealer, Mind Thief!”
Rain didn’t bother to answer, but grabbed her pack, turned away, and headed out. It looked like she’d be walking, so she might as well get started before it got really ugly around there. Gradually the smoke and the dust settled behind her, and she breathed clean air. She could hear sirens and emergency vehicles and wondered whether the clerk would be dumb enough to send the authorities after her.
It wouldn’t be the first time someone from Neveks was arrested for simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“Hey.”
She’d known someone was following her, so she wasn’t surprised at the shout. It was a shame the military hadn’t allowed her to bring her favorite weapon home, but she was trained in hand-to-hand combat so she could still hold her own. She didn’t stop walking, but slowed enough to let the tall male come alongside her. It was the guy who’d offered to buy her a ticket and thrown her to the ground like a real hero.
“You still planning on going to Neveks?”
During her military service she’d met people from all over the planet, but his accent was unfamiliar and his mind…was like nothing she’d ever encountered before. She slowed down and faced him.
“Of course.”
He studied her carefully. “How are you planning on getting there?”
“I’ve got these things.“ She pointed at her feet. “I’ll walk.”
“You don’t want to share the cost of a rental?”
“A what?”
“A hired vehicle.”
“No one in this town would rent me anything.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Why’s that?”
This time she stared at him for quite a while, but he didn’t appear to be joking. “Because I’m from Neveks.”
“The ticket guy called you a mind stealer. Does that have something to do with it?”
“Are you super slow or what?” She jabbed herself in the chest. “I’m from Neveks! We can read people’s darkest thoughts and sub thoughts and bonded-Triad thoughts. Nothing is safe from our horrible, devious minds.”
He regarded her impassively. “So what am I thinking right now?”
“You…are just weird.” She started walking again.
“How?”
She spoke over her shoulder. “I don’t have time to play games.”
“I can’t sense you in my head, so you’re obviously not that powerful.”
“You can’t?”
He shrugged. “Nope. I have excellent shields.”
“That usually doesn’t matter.” She stopped again. She couldn’t sense him, which was remarkably soothing. “You’re not from around here, are you?”
“I’m from planet Earth.”
She gave him her best don’t-fuck-with-me look. “They don’t have telepaths there, Earth man.”
“It’s hu-man, and let’s just say it’s an emerging talent.” He hefted his backpack higher on his shoulder, his expression calm. “Are we walking or not?”