Lost Identity: Eloria Series Book 1 | ✓

44: Tau City

7/25/3028

We made it to New Incus station with ample time to board our connecting ship for Tau City. I was a bit paranoid that someone would be looking for us as we reentered the station, but fortunately for us that wasn't the case. Maybe word from Ien City hadn't traveled to Incus yet, or perhaps those in the position of power didn't want soldiers finding a Sye-Liene that was also the Ruhamun in a public place.

Our cabin was much nicer and larger than the one we boarded from Ien. We even had our own private bathroom.

A hot bath is exactly what I need.

"Guys, mind if I use the bathroom first?" I asked.

"Go ahead," said Martin.

The bathroom was small and had the residual scent of a strong cleaning agent.

To my right was a dark gray tub with a faucet but no lever or handle, only a black panel against the wall a foot above the faucet. I waved my hand over the panel and a transparent screen appeared. My first thought was to call Elossai over to help me, but I heard Martin and Elossai laughing and decided against it. There was no need to disrupt their fun when I could figure it out on my own.

I followed the simple instructions and the water from the faucet spout flowed out and stopped by itself when the tub was a little more than half full. I grinned with satisfaction and stepped into the tub.

As I soaked, I couldn't help but ruminate over the Mórese girl. Martin, Ilta and Elossai insisted that I couldn't have killed her because I wasn't Sye-Liene. I understood that. What I couldn't figure out was why I still dreamed as if I was her? Could it be that my desire to be her was that strong? No, that was silly. Why would I dream about a place if I'd never been there before? I had to have been there at some point, hadn't I?

I shut my eyes for a minute, and it helped me relax a little. Shutting my eyes was always a good way to calm myself and escape from things that bothered me. But when I opened them again, I wasn't in the bathroom. I was standing in water up to my shoulders and Sye-Liene stood in the water in front of me.

I groaned. "What do you want?"

Sye-Liene shook her head and pointed to her throat.

"You can't speak again?"

She nodded. I opened my locket and touched the corin like I had before.

"Thank you," said Sye-Liene.

"You keep showing up—what do you want?" I asked.

"I want to know how things are progressing."

"Why does it matter to you anyway?"

"Why are you questioning me?" Sye-Liene maintained a calm composure, but I could see that she didn't like that I wasn't answering her. "Was it not I who instilled the knowledge of how to use the locket so that you could make contact with your friend's little sister?"

"Yeah," I said, reluctantly. She was right about helping me contact the Ras and indirectly, Katie, but I didn't forget about what happened to the Mórese girl. I decided to ask her about it. "The Mórese girl; did you push her into the Ora?"

"I beg your pardon?"

I was deadpan. "The girl on Mór Mountain."

Sye-Liene blinked and her expression became cold. "What are you talking about? Why would you ask me something like this?"

"You hiked up Mór Mountain and met with the Ras and a teenage boy. Then the Mórese girl..."

"Oh, you're speaking of that..." Her eyes drifted to the side.