Page 38
Hazor shook his head. “She has work in the morning, and I am pretty sure her parents would release her from any research you had in mind. Did you get what you needed today?”
“Yes. She’s guardian class. She already has the self-control; she just needs access to a team, and she can be global as soon as I get her a suit.”
“She won’t leave.”
“What?”
“She’s emotionally attached to this continent and this city, in particular. She’s not going to travel.”
He heard a soft whisper from his arms. “You do pay attention.”
He looked down at her features that were grey with silver and green. “Shockingly, I do.”
Dr. Winthrell looked at them and must have seen the seriousness in Hazor’s gaze. “Well, she can power you up. Whether you keep the power or not will be up to you.”
Hazor nodded. “So she’s consort class?”
“Consort class, guardian class, a community leader. My daughter does it all,” Thunder Merryweather spoke softly. “Why is she unconscious?”
Chapter Six
Her father’s voice pulled Cloudy out from under her fatigue. “Hey, Dad. Not unconscious. Just resting against a guardian, as one does.”
He snorted and eased his tone. “I haven’t seen you this burned out since Nargaway.”
“That takes me back.” She chuckled.
“So you have been outed?”
“All the way.” She sighed. “Why aren’t you at the pub with Mom?”
“She wanted to see how hard you had to hit him to make a hole.”
“Ah.”
Hazor chuckled. “So violent women are in the family?”
“Stubborn and direct. It is worse than violent.” Thunder touched her wrist and took her pulse. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I just dumped a week’s worth of accumulation on this guy, and he caught fire.”
Hazor caught it. “Accumulation?”
Thunder smiled. “She’s people-powered. That is why she takes work close to people yet not touching them. She consumes goodwill and turns it into stun blasts. It was a light zap when she was a child and became stronger when we were in the caravan.”
Hazor frowned. “Caravan?”
“The survivors travelled from scattered encampments toward the pickup points. Cloudy kept us fed and strong, and together, the rest of our community and we arrived here with minimal losses.”
Cloudy winced when her father ruffled her hair. “This little one kept our spirits up and managed to find some food for everyone every day.”
She looked at Hazor and shrugged. “It became a habit when I learned that I could get energy from them.”
Hazor looked to Winthrell. “Run that as well.”
Winthrell nodded. “Of course. It is the first thing we should have done.”
She blinked.
