Balm Read Free Page A

ceased to speak.
    Quinn walked the spiral path back to Iskanu and smiled. “How do my eyes look now?”
    He grinned and inclined his head. “They have a striking beauty.”
    Unable to resist, she made a fist and punched him in the gut. He bent over satisfactorily, and she snickered as she swept past him and up the stairway to get her new knife.
    Laughter spilled out of her as she sprinted back to the main hall. Quinn felt lighter from the inside out.
    Ravikka was right behind Iskanu, and she was laughing at him as she came up the stairs.
    The woman giggled her way right through the minute ceremony of giving Quinn the knife.
    Iskanu was not smiling as he approached her. He gruffly announced, “Hold tight.”
    The light surrounded them again, and when it faded, they were in an apartment that was decorated in soothing blues and soft yellows.
    Quinn blinked. “Where are we?”
    “If I answer, will you punch me again?”
    She sighed and patted his cheek. “You said my eyes were striking, so I struck you. Cause and effect.”
    It wasn’t a convincing argument but he narrowed his eyes at her.
    “You always were very literal.” Amusement crossed his features.
    “I do try. So, where are we?”
    A new voice sounded behind them. “You are in the tower of the Sentinels. Welcome, Quinn, Iskanu.”
    Commander Dahl put his arm around her, turned her and smiled at the couple who were standing in the living room. “Kali, Odin. Thank you for coming.”
    “It is my job as Avatar to the Orb to greet all new Sentinels. That includes you and your new companion.”
    To Quinn’s shock, the woman was definitely a Terran. “You are…”
    The woman with the long red hair and black eyes grinned. “I am. Call me Kali.”
    Inspired by the smile on the woman’s face, Quinn stepped forward, and they hugged. Immediately, Quinn felt the power nestled within the other woman, and she recognized it. “You are the Avatar.”
    The woman retreated to arms length and smiled. “I am. Iskanu has been waiting eagerly for you.”
    Quinn looked to her commander, and as she stared at him, memories flashed in her mind involving strange adventures and long nights with their bodies connected in a variety of poses.
    Her cheeks felt hot, and she quickly turned back to Kali.
    Kali’s expression was lightly pitying and amused at the same time. “You will get used to it, Quinn. You will now see things that have not yet happened as well as things you are not comfortable with. You will learn to use what you have seen to your advantage and know a moment to act when it is upon you.”
    “Will I be acting alone?” Her words were as quiet as she could make them.
    “You will never be alone again. The Orb will be inside you until you cease to walk these worlds, and Iskanu will be at your side.” There was certainty in Kali’s tone.
    Quinn paused at the look in Kali’s eyes with their dark universe spinning within. “How much do you see?”
    Kali’s lips quirked up on one side. “I see too much. The beginning of all things and the end of others. When I pass, there will be another Avatar and another after that. The Orb will not be alone and that is what matters. For now, let me tell you about our war.”
    Odin brought them tea while Kali briefed Quinn on the situation with the Vorwings, the first attempt at Nameless and the regret of the Orb.
    “So, since the Vorwings and the other Firsts of the Orb decided to breed as quickly as they could, we need to find and remove all traces of the Orb of Time from the worlds. Since the descendants tend to run to madness, it makes them easier to spot. Those are the missions that the Orb has chosen for you, because your talent helps you spot the unusual.”
    “My talent lets me see the dying.”
    “The premise is the same, and the Orb has refined your talent to look out for signs of its energy. The person carrying it will be either a Vorwing or a dangerously insane Vorwing descendant or both.”
    Quinn nodded. “What is