Ghosting the Hero Read Online Free Page B

levered herself upright.
    Instead of commenting on her disability, he simply offered her his arm.
    Leodar looked as if he would comment, but she glared at him and he backed away.
    She curled her hand around N’kad’s bicep, and she gestured to the room around her. “This is the dining and common area. There are common areas on each floor, as well, for group vids and that sort of thing.”
    “You seem to have a fair selection of food items here.” He walked slowly, and she kept her balance with his help.
    “There are a wide variety of species here. Some can’t digest certain foods, others eat seasonal foods only. They have to make sure that all of us thrive and survive.” She smiled.
    She showed him their medical center. The gym. The gardens that were just beginning to take shape and the lecture halls where the optional education was always offered to any who wished it. They walked slowly, but her limp was barely noticeable.
    When they were in the gardens and sitting on one of the benches near the new fountain that was being constructed by the stone-manipulation class, he finally asked her. “Why do you use a cane?”
    She sighed. “Sorry. Habit. When I use my talent too extensively and don’t take the proper precautions, my body remembers that it spent over a decade with a malformed leg. The damage isn’t there but the memory is, so I pick the cane up on those days.”
    “So, when you overtire yourself?”
    “Yes, or when I ghost while angry.”
    “You did that today?”
    “I did. I was irritated by a friend’s comment, so I threw myself into my work, which left my body and mind tenuously connected. That is what causes my body to go into old patterns.”
    He took her hand. “Did it happen while you were with me?”
    “No. I had friends giving me massages to get all the nerves and muscles to line up. They took good care of me while I was coming back to myself.” She smiled.
    “I will be honest. I didn’t think you were real.”
    She chuckled. “To be frank, I doubted that you were as handsome as I see now. Folk have funny views of themselves and the physical seldom matches the astral.”
    “Thank you, I think.”
    “You are welcome.” She winked at him.
    “So, what do you do here?”
    “I run security scans on unmanned vehicles, on satellites, anywhere that has no atmosphere but can be taken over by those who are unscrupulous or predatory. I have walked through more silent hallways than anyone I know.”
    “Do you enjoy it?”
    “It is all I have. I am not physically capable of being out in the field without special equipment and I haven’t saved enough money for it yet.”
    He frowned. “You have to pay?”
    “For my own equipment? Yes. If it isn’t a life-support matter, Citadel Specialists and Masters have to pick up the tab for all incidentals. Even rations are deducted from our pay.” She smiled.
    “Oh, I thought that the Sector Guard and the Citadel were the same.”
    Simry laughed. “The Citadel is a school and employment center with occasional forays into being a refuge. The Sector Guard goes in for rescues and natural disasters. More law enforcement and emergency services.”
    “I heard you mentioning teaching when I arrived.”
    She blushed and rubbed the back of her neck. “Ah, yes. I do teach from time to time. Tomorrow, I am teaching a class on why a psychic would use astral projection and how to protect yourself from exterior interference when you are away from your body.”
    “Are there spaces available?” He quirked his brow and gave her a charming smile.
    She had to admit, she was charmed. She had been in dozens of bodies, but his was the only one she had wanted to explore.
    “Um, you would have to check the registration. I just show up, and if there are folks to speak to, I talk.”
    He inclined his head. “I shall look into it. I have a few weeks off and would enjoy learning what I could about the Citadel and its people.”
    There was much more in his tone than a