Page 7 of Tamed By Her Touch

It felt absurdly naughty, breaking her lab-partner’s rules, but it wasn't as though she hadn't crossed over to Kaelus's side before. In fact, she did it at least five or six times a day, usually because she needed something he had and didn't feel like asking permission. But she had never touched the MRA–mostly because every time she got within three feet of it, Kaelus appeared like an enormous, growling guard dog.

But he’s not here right now and what he doesn’t know can’t hurt him, Clair reasoned with herself.

She hurried over to the machine and looked at the controls. She’d watched him work it often enough that running a sample shouldn’t be a problem.

“All right, sweetie, let's see what you can do,” she muttered.

The display brightened at the sound of her voice and Clair blinked in surprise.

“Oh! Voice activation. Aren't you fancy?”

She hadn’t even known that was a function of the MRA, since Kaelus was always wrapped in silent contemplation whenever he used it.

A low chime sounded, and several options appeared across the viewscreen. Fortunately, they were in English. By now Clair had gotten her translation bacteria injection, but she was still relieved not to have to navigate unfamiliar Kindred technical terms.

She selected FULL MOLECULAR ANALYSIS and inserted the specimen tube…but nothing happened.

“What now?” she muttered, staring at the machine.

The screen flashed.

SAMPLE TYPE?

“Botanical,” Clair said.

Another menu appeared and she selected LIVING/ACTIVE SPECIMEN.

The machine chimed.

WARNING: ACTIVE BIOLOGICAL SAMPLES MAY CAUSE CALIBRATION VARIATION. CONFIRM?

Clair hesitated.

“Well…how much variation are we talking about?” she asked.

The machine, annoyingly, did not answer.

She looked toward the door again…still no Kaelus.

The star-vine's luminous veins were fading fast–her time really was almost up.

“Oh, for God's sake.” Clair pressed CONFIRM. “You can recalibrate a machine. You can't make a flower bloom again on command,” she said out loud, justifying herself.

At once, the MRA hummed to life and a pale blue beam passed over the specimen tube. Then, a complex molecular structure appeared above the viewscreen, hovering in three-dimensional space.

Clair's breath caught in her throat.

“Ohhh…” she whispered.

She leaned closer, watching as the molecular model turned slowly before her. Carbon chains and amino groups glowed in different colors while the machine separated the various compounds contained in the star-vine petal. Most were familiar from her earlier analysis.

Then something new appeared—a tiny cluster of molecules began flashing gold.

“Yes!” Clair whispered. “There you are!”

She reached for the controls, wanting to isolate the compound but at that exact moment, the laboratory door slid open behind her.

Clair froze. Crap—she was in trouble now.