Liquid Compassion Read Online Free Page B

the blue of her eyes.
    Turnari nodded and made some more notes. “You will need to check in with the healers daily and make a concerted effort to regain the lost weight. If you don’t have biological resources to call upon, control of your talent will suffer. You can put your restrictor back now.”
    She replaced the metal band around her hairline. “I have regained three pounds since I have been out of the suit. I believe that as I am able to resume a normal eating routine, I will recover quickly.”
    He checked the flat pad in front of him. “Well, as it is meal time, I believe that I can give you the tour of the dining area.”
    She wasn’t hungry, but forcing herself to eat was a habit she was getting used to. At the base, she had set a timer and eaten like clockwork. Apparently, here, she was going to have to continue that habit.
    He gathered his data pad and came around the desk to offer her his arm. She got to her feet and slid her hand in the crook of his arm. The muscle flexed under her hand, but he was otherwise unmoved.
    On the way down in the lift, he gave her the tour lecture that Kalo had been too afraid to give her on the way in.
    “You aren’t afraid of me touching you?”
    Turnari chuckled. “Of course not. You don’t have any reason to try to manipulate me, and frankly, you are too weak to do much at all.”
    Bits gave him a sidelong glance. “You read all that?”
    “No. My eyes work just fine. Your hands tremble, you move like you are made of glass and you look like you are about to fall asleep. Physically, you are no threat at all. Psychically, you are a rock tumbling down a hill. You have plenty of power but no control.”
    She touched the band at the back of her neck. “The restrictor is going to hold it in, right?”
    “If Fixer says it will do, it will hold. However, I know she told you that it is a temporary measure.”
    Bits wrinkled her nose as they left the lift, and he gave her a brief introduction to the Citadel.
    As he described the amenities, she looked around to see everyone in similar clothing to the base. The amount of exposed skin was minimal, usually confined to head and hands for most species. Some of the members of the Citadel wore robes over their bodysuits, which provided more protection. Bits relaxed. The chance of her accidentally affecting someone was minimized.
    “So, who first called you Bits?”
    She grinned. “My sister. She started calling me that when I went to school for the first time. Abitika is a little bit of a mouthful, even for Jrinka.”
    “Does it have a meaning?” He was casually steering her toward the dining area.
    “It translates into something like fight the mind and bring compassion. I don’t know. My parents studied dead languages, and I guess this sounded good.”
    He nodded and smiled, his horns gleaming in the light coming in through the wall of windows. “It is rather prophetic.”
    “My mom was good at that type of thing. She constantly told me to stay out of my sister’s love life, but I didn’t, and so, I ended up in the suit.”
    “And then here.”
    “Well, I already had a talent, so it is likely that the Citadel would have recruited me anyway. I just would have started my time here without ill health.” She chuckled.
    He nodded and showed her the food selections. Because of her muddled genetics, she could eat nearly everything on the buffet. Nineteen generations of the Jrinka colony had blended into sector-wide omnivores.
    She released Turnari and wandered around picking out tidbits and selections that were on her most wanted list. She had to start with greens then have soup, and after that, she could eat as much as she could. Her stomach was slowly accepting something that approached a normal serving.
    Turnari appeared at her side again, and he led her to a table in a section slightly separate from the rest of the diners.
    He looked at her tray. “Is that all you are eating?”
    She arranged it in the order she was going to