The warrior halted and turned toward her. After a long moment, he said, “I believe it is true.” He nudged her forward, guiding her to the hall. “But he cannot keep her if she can’t be trusted.”
“But she saved his life? Does that count for nothing?”
Seke made a grumbling sound. “The Zandians are an honorable species. It counts for everything. But our prince’s continued safety is paramount to all else, even love. If you care for your daughter’s happiness, you will convince her to speak the truth.”
The warrior stopped in front of a door and pressed his palm to the screen there. The door slid open and her heart skipped a beat.
“Lamira!” she cried and ran to her daughter.
~.~
Zander stalked down the corridor and replayed the interview with Leora in his mind. One thing she said struck him as odd.
There is nothing special about my daughter.
Was it a human turn of phrase? Something he did not quite understand? Or did it mean there was, in fact, something special about Lamira? If so, what? In what way would she be different?
Different.
His skin crawled as a realization struck him.
Human slaves had been bred by the Ocretions for certain qualities. Docility, obedience, physical strength. Those who were found to be too intelligent, too resistant, too special were eliminated.
Is that what Leora had meant? Did her daughter carry special traits? Perhaps that was why Daneth’s program chose her as his perfect mate. Perhaps the system had picked her, not because of some human trait, but because she had some superhuman trait. Something special. And she kept it hidden because her life depended on it. Lamira’s defiance had surprised him. Did she carry other aberrant traits?
For the first time in ten planet rotations, the heaviness surrounding him lifted. He changed direction and walked briskly toward Daneth’s lab.
“My lord, how did you find the new slave?”
“Her name is Leora.”
Daneth took the correction in a stride. “Of course, my lord.”
“Daneth, it occurred to me perhaps your program selected Lamira for me because there is something special about her genes.”
“Certainly,” Daneth said, as if he, too, had considered the possibility. “Her father’s warrior genes would be considered out of range. If her relation to him had been known, she would have been killed.”
“What if there was something else? Some special sensitivity, perhaps? An ability to predict the future? Or know things she hadn’t seen?”
Understanding dawned on Daneth’s expression. “A psychic ability, you mean?” He stroked his chin. “Some humans once possessed such gifts, it’s possible for a recessive trait to resurface.” He flicked on a holograph which projected an image of genes into the space before them. “I don’t know how to search for such a gene. I would think if it was known, the Ocretions would have already found it and killed her at birth.” He tapped his finger to his chin. “Show brain scan.”
An image of her brain floated in the space between them.
“Compare with normal human brain activity.”
An area of Lamira’s brain lit up with a purple hue. “Above average activity noted,” the program reported in a clipped, female voice.
“What is this area of the human brain used for?”
“Unknown.”
Daneth rotated the brain image in a circle. “Show brain image of a Venusian.”
The Venusians were a humanoid species with extra-large eyes and many extrasensory abilities including telepathy and energetic healing.
The Venusian brain hologram popped up. Daneth spun it around and enlarged the area that had more activity than normal in Lamira’s scan. The physician’s lips stretched into a grin. “Look how much this area is used.” He pointed at the normal human brain scan. “Here, it is not used at all, like most of their brain mass. You were right—she has extrasensory receptor activity.” His voice rose in pitch with excitement. “It makes perfect sense to breed with a female with these abilities. Think of the increased power of your offspring!”
He didn’t care about his offspring at that moment. All he cared about was reclaiming Lamira.