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  Sheyna was a healer and an empath. She understood feelings, healed emotional scars as well as the physical.

  Now she merely acted the hostess for this small gathering.

  “Thanks, SheShe.” Tim set his glass on the table and stopped Sheyna with a touch to her arm. Carly barely heard him whisper, “Thanks for packing the condoms.”

  “You're quite welcome.” Her voice was soft, distinctly feminine and filled with laughter. Carly wondered if Sheyna had been aware of Tim's prior lack of experience. Obviously, she'd now know that had changed.

  Everything has changed.

  Sitting here in Malachi and Sheyna's comfortable living quarters drinking chilled apple juice, Carly might have been in any living room on Earth. Her own Earth. The one she was familiar with in her very own century.

  The conversation ebbing and swirling about her felt surrealistic. Talk of empaths and kinetics, telepathy and matter transformation belonged in a science fiction novel, not her life. This is my life, popped into her head. Along with, be careful what you wish for.

  “Do you agree, Carly?”

  Tim's soft request dragged her back into the conversation. “Uhm, to what?” She took a sip of her juice, suddenly aware all eyes in the room were focused on her.

  Tim laughed, grabbed her hand and squeezed. “Tired? Sorry. Considering what you've been through in the past twenty-four hours, you've every right to be.”

  His unintended double entendre made her blush. Her mind filled with images of their lovemaking, the erotic excesses of their past hours together. She felt the heat rising along her throat, recognized its mate in Tim's ruddy flush.

  “I mean…”

  Thom cleared his throat. “We all know what you mean,” he said, laughing. “You're projecting like a damned big screen vid.”

  “Oh, crap. Carly, I'm sorry, I…”

  Projecting? That means they see… Mortified beyond anything she'd ever felt in her life, Carly turned and stared at Tim. He flushed deep red and clutched her hand with a desperate grip. She dipped her head, wondering what rock she could crawl under. Everything she and Tim had done last night, every kiss, every sensual touch, all of it in their minds, all of it shared with every other person in the room.

  Sheyna leaned over and took her hand. “Nothing will ever leave this room, Carly. You are among friends. You do, however, need to learn to shield your power, just as Tim needs to control his newfound powers of telepathy.”

  Waves of compassion washed over Carly. A gift from the empathic lioness? Carly clung to Tim's hand, blinked back embarrassed tears and tried to smile.

  Malachi nodded in agreement. “Sheyna's right. You're not a natural telepath, Tim, but it's obvious you're so closely linked to Carly right now that you're using her synergetic powers. The scary thing is, neither one of you appears to be aware of it, which is exactly what we were discussing, Carly.”

  Carly nodded. She slanted a glance at Tim. His flush had faded and he gave her a quirky little smile, then squeezed her hand. “I'm really sorry, Carly.”

  It was too much. She burst out laughing. “Well, they might not have known much about me before, but they certainly do now.” Warm laughter took away some of the humiliation, filling her with a sense of total acceptance. She turned to Malachi. “I don't understand. I don't feel Tim inside my head at all, at least not the way I did yesterday when he contacted you.”

  “That's because the two of you have formed a synergetic link,” Mal said.

  “One so in tune you work together without even realizing it,” Thom added. “Tim's mind recognizes what it lacks and draws that power from you. You complement one another, sort of a yin and yang of the subconscious.”

  “Which is a fantastic thing,” Malachi said, “once you learn to control it.”

  “And restrict it.” Thom's voice echoed Mal's solemn warning. “I tried tapping in to your mind when you first arrived. Did you notice my intrusion?”

  Carly stared at him. Shuddered with a sense of violation. It was one thing to have Tim in her head, but another altogether to have a complete stranger crawling around inside her mind.

  Using her.

  She scowled at Thom. He held his hand up in apology. “I had to know,” he said. “The way Tim described you sounded almost too good to be true. You have even more power than he initially realized. Enough to make you a predominant force.”

  “Also a very dangerous one,” Tim said. “Should the wrong person use you.” He took both Carly's hands in his, stared deeply into her eyes.

  She heard his voice in her mind, a warm caress across her thoughts.

  You need to learn to block, to shield your mind, to protect your power, just as I need to learn to channel my thoughts directly to you without broadcasting to the world how much I love you.

  She was vaguely aware of Tim severing some sort of link. “Did you hear what I just said to Carly?”

  Both Malachi and Thom shook their heads. “No,” Mal said. “I sensed a surge in mental power, but not the words. I wish Jenna were here. She'd be able to help Carly with the block. I don't think any of us has the training to—”

  “I do.” Sheyna touched her mate's shoulder with one broad, paw-like hand. “As an empath, I can feel what Carly is feeling, sense the type of block that will work best for her, and hopefully teach her to use it.” She turned her feline gaze on Carly. “It will require a mindlink. You will have to feel comfortable enough to allow me access to your innermost thoughts. There will be no secrets between us.”

  “Like I've got any secrets left?” Carly snorted, throwing off the lingering shreds of utter and complete mortification.

  Malachi's resigned comment interrupted her. “Are you certain, my love? There is much…”

  “I have no secrets from my friends.” Sheyna leaned over and nuzzled Mal behind the ear, then turned toward Carly. Her velvety ears pricked forward, her amber eyes twinkled with merriment. “First things, first, though. Carly, why don't you come with me and we'll get some more clothing for you. My skinsuit appears to be a perfect fit, so I'm sure there are other items you can wear.”

  She turned and practically glided into a back room. Carly glanced quickly at Tim, who merely smiled back. She set her glass of juice down and followed Sheyna.

  Definitely surrealistic.

  I've just disclosed details of the best sex of my life to a room full of total strangers, I'm following a full grown African lion, only she's a Miratan lion walking on her hind legs and we're going to try on clothes, probably swap girl stories, and then she's going to crawl inside my head and teach me how to keep her out.

  With a quick glance back at Tim, Carly stepped into the bedroom behind Sheyna.

  * * * * *

  “I had no idea.” What else could she say? Carly slowly removed her hands from their position at either side of Sheyna's face, stared into the lioness's amber eyes and saw a woman totally unlike the creature she had followed into the bedroom. Now, after a deep link with the young lioness, Carly understood Sheyna on levels beyond speech.

  Before linking, they'd spent about an hour looking through clothes, talking, getting to know one another. They'd discussed the curious resemblance between the cab driver in Carly's time to Tim, but had found no explanation other than serendipitous happenstance. By the time Sheyna suggested they attempt a link, Carly knew she was as ready as she'd ever be.

  Sitting on two small chairs, foreheads touching, hands pressed to one another's temples, Carly let Sheyna's soft instructions wash over her mind.

  She knew Sheyna had protected her from the worst of her memories, but Carly still glimpsed the pain of years of abuse, the sexual assault Sheyna had endured in the waning days of the Rebellion, the final rift between the lioness and her father. She now understood the deep and abiding love Sheyna and Malachi shared, comprehended fully why the human and alien were so perfectly mated.

  The moment Sheyna placed her broad palms against Carly's temples, Carly knew her world had truly and irrevocably cha
nged. It wasn't merely the past she would never return to, it was the woman she had been—the woman she would never be again.

  Suddenly she understood her power, the ability her mind had to increase the Talent of other Sensitives. A power that could easily be turned from good to evil without the proper shields and blocks—a power that would be coveted by many in this unsettled post—Rebellion period.

  By Tim?

  Tim is young. Sheyna didn't speak aloud, but Carly heard the words in her mind. Understood clearly the concept of telepathy, now, after her link with the lioness. He is young but I sense his love is true and binding, that he loves you very much.

  “How young?” Not that it mattered that the young man who had shown her so much, changed her world, changed her life, be too young…be unsuitable.

  Sheyna tilted her head as if confused by Carly's swirling thoughts and questions. “You don't know? Tim is twenty-five Earth years. On Mirat, we would be peers.”

  Twenty-five? Carly's skin went hot, then cold, a stark reminder how close she was to hot flashes.

  Suddenly his age mattered very much. “He can't be. He's got to be older, he's just…”

  “He is what he is. Why does it matter?”

  “My God, Sheyna. I'm old enough to be his mother!” Carly stood up, paced across the small room, flung her hands in the air. “I'm sleeping with a child. No wonder he was still a virgin. He's practically a baby, he's—”

  “He's a man who has fought a terrible war for seven long years. A man who has seen more in his twenty-five years than many who are older. He has killed, he has lost family and friends, he has suffered many lives beyond his own. This has matured him beyond the number of days he's lived. Carly, my new friend, Tim is an old soul in a very handsome package.” Sheyna touched Carly's shoulder softly with one hand, tilted her head in question and asked, “Why would his years make a difference?”

  “They do. I don't know why, or how I can explain it, but they do.” She flopped down on the edge of the bed. “He wants me to come live with him. I had no idea I was so much older. I can't live with him. It wouldn't be right.”

  “It would be wrong not to. He loves you. You love him. I feel it in both of you. I'm an empath, remember? His emotions are open to me. As are yours.” She smiled and shook her head in dismay. “I am convinced you are sexually compatible—no one in that room would dispute that. Why would you want to hurt yourself?” Sheyna sat down on the bed next to her. Carly felt the waves of compassion and concern wash over her.

  Felt the power of that compassion increase as her newly learned shields slipped. She stared at Sheyna, found a target for her anger. “You just tapped into me to increase your Talent, didn't you?”

  Sheyna jerked as if she'd been slapped, then ducked her head. “Not on purpose. I'm sorry. I didn't realize what was happening until I felt the surge in my Talent. I didn't mean to do that. It's a violation of every ethical standard we live by, yet I had no control.” She tilted her head, studied Carly for a heartbeat. “You act like a magnet, I think. You draw the power to you, make it bigger, more than it should be, and give it back.”

  “Tim made love to me shortly after he brought me to this time. That's how he discovered I was what I am—a Synergist. How do I know that's not the only reason he loves me? For the power, for what I can do for him?”

  “That's possibly one of the things he loves about you. You may never know,” Sheyna said, frowning. “Love has many qualities, many facets. It's what we can do for others as much as what they do for us. You give Tim the strength to love you physically. Your power certainly won't affect his emotional desire for you. Is that so bad?”

  “It's…” Carly bowed her head. Was it so bad? Her entire world had twisted, warped, wrapped itself inside out. Suddenly, she felt completely overwhelmed by change. “It's too much, too soon.” She looked into Sheyna's eyes, saw herself reflected back in their amber glow. “I can't deal with this, not right now. I need more time. May I stay here, at the clinic? Just for awhile, until I learn to block more effectively, learn to control something I never knew I had.”

  “Of course you may.” Sheyna stood up, then turned to stare at Carly for a moment. Her cat's ears tilted back, not quite flat against her skull, but enough for Carly to sense her displeasure. “You will not hurt him.”

  Carly nodded, but her mind was suddenly clouded and gray. What about me? she wanted to scream. What about me?

  Chapter 8

  “Carly, I don't understand? Why aren't you coming with me?” Tim held her hands in his. The abject misery in his eyes made him look even younger. Carly blinked away tears and shook her head.

  “Twenty years, Tim. I had no idea. I'm twenty years older than you. A lifetime. I'm old enough to be your mother, not your lover. If I'd known how young…”

  His voice cracked, making him sound even younger, then took on a belligerent, sarcastic tone. “Years, Carly. Just years. Units of measurement…what's the problem? Did my conversation bore you? Oh, maybe we don't like the same music. Why don't you dig up something from over a hundred years ago and see? Or weren't you satisfied with me? Don't I know enough in bed?”

  “Enough, Tim.” Malachi stepped up behind Carly. “She's been through a lot. This isn't helping. Go home, get some rest. Both of you are exhausted. Give Carly time to adjust to all the changes in her life.”

  Carly took a deep breath, then let it out. Malachi was right, almost. She wanted to go with Tim, really. Didn't he know how painful this was, this matter of choice? She wanted to tell him she loved him, wanted to throw her arms around him and tell the world to fuck off, she didn't care, she could make him happy, keep him happy…but she knew she'd always wonder.

  Does he love me, in spite of my age? Or does he love what I can do for him? Tears thickened her throat and she couldn't speak. Sheyna put her arm around Carly and walked her out of the room. She felt Tim's pain long after the front door had slammed shut, long after the sense of him was gone.

  * * * * *

  “We're going to the rec center for a beer, Carly. Do you want to go with us?”

  Malachi wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. Carly looked up from the history book she'd been reading on her handheld. She'd always hated history, but reading about what had happened over the past one hundred years was fascinating.

  Besides, it took her mind off Tim. Helped her not think of how terribly she missed him, how awful she felt. “I think not, Mal. Sheyna just gave me some new stuff to read and…”

  “And you can only absorb so much. It's been two weeks and you haven't left the clinic. All you've done is work on your blocking techniques, build up your shields and read history books. Don't you think it's time to get out?”

  “What if Tim's there?”

  “Then you tell him hello.” Malachi straddled a wooden chair and looped his arms over the back. Sheyna stood patiently off to one side. “Carly, he's miserable. You're miserable.” Mal stabbed the air with one blunt finger. “Why are you doing this to yourself? To Tim?”

  “He'll find someone else. It's going to happen sooner or later, anyway.” Damn the tears! Carly felt her eyes stinging, knew she'd be crying before long.

  “Why do you say that?”

  Sheyna's soft question startled Carly. “I…I can't imagine him staying. What if he wants children? He's young. I'll be old and gray in a couple of years and he'll be just hitting his prime. He says he loves me, but what if it's just my power? What if he only wants me for what I can do for him?”

  “I don't believe that in a heartbeat, but what if that is the reason he loves you?” Malachi snapped his fingers, his frustration obvious. “Get dressed. I don't care how miserable you are. I'm your doctor and I say you're going with us. Think of the beer as medicine.”

  “He is a very good doctor,” Sheyna added, her whiskers twitching with suppressed laughter. “And you are most definitely in need of a beer.”

  Carly chuckled. She couldn't help it. Whining and moping were definitely not
her style. She turned off the handheld and set it on the table. “Give me a few minutes to change my clothes. You win. I haven't got a chance when I'm double-teamed.”

  * * * * *

  The bottle of beer catapulted from the table, bounced off the ceiling and landed in a crescendo of splintered glass and splattered brew in the middle of the empty dance floor. A few surprised shrieks around the rec center, then a scattering of applause met Jan's look of absolute shock. “I did that?” She shook her head. “I'm not a strong kinetic. I'm lucky if I can just make the damned things wobble back and forth.”

  Malachi held out a handful of napkins. “Yep. That's what we were trying to explain. Carly's Talent, if you want to call it that,” he rolled his eyes in her direction, “works like a catalyst to increase whatever power you've got. Now go clean up the mess.”

  “I'll help.” Laughing, Carly grabbed more napkins and stood up. “C'mon, Sheyna. It's always the women who clean up the messes.”

  “In this case, it's the women who made it.” Malachi glanced toward the spreading pool of beer. “Better hurry. Our jovial waiter doesn't look too pleased.”

  “He is a grump, isn't he?” Jan kissed Thom on top of his head and the three women followed the waiter with the mop bucket.

  Thom nodded in Carly's direction. “Tim's a wreck, you know. What happened?”

  Malachi just shook his head. “She suddenly discovered she's twenty years older than he is. I guess, in her era, that's an unacceptable age difference for a relationship. Give her time.”

  “Wonder what she thinks of Jan and me? I'm more than twice Jan's age, but she didn't hesitate when I proposed. She doesn't seem to mind.”

  “Jan doesn't mind a bit, and neither would Tim. Convincing Carly is the hard part.” Malachi leaned closer to Thom. “Off the subject…I'm getting more precogs, something to do with the rec center. Carly's involved, though I'm not sure how. Have you noticed any dissension, any strange behavior around here since Shing busted that group of troublemakers last week?”