Power Unbound by Nicole Murphy

Author:Nicole Murphy [Murphy, Nicole]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-7304-9406-5
Publisher: Voyager
Published: 2011-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

Stephen paced up and down the loungeroom of the Coiremir. It was easy to walk a good route—the Coiremir’s apartment was even more sparsely furnished than his place in Austin. This room had just one lounge and a coffee table in front of it. The only sign it had ever really been inhabited at all was the book on educational theory that sat on the table.

As in most gadda kitchens the cupboards and drawers were empty, but so too was the refrigerator. The last Coiremir either bought food as she needed it or ate out a lot, Stephen decided. In the bedroom was a double bed and a cupboard.

The laboratory was clearly the only place that the murdered Coiremir had spent any time, but even it was clean and orderly and held nothing but the most considered of texts and materials.

Only in the bathroom was there any sign of personality in the presence of a bottle of hair dye.

It wasn’t the lack of furnishings that had Stephen pacing. His parents were on their way, being brought to him by the Sabhamir.

The door to the office which linked his apartment to the main building opened, and Liam and Elizabeth walked in. His mother took one look at him and burst into tears.

‘No.’ She rushed over and flung her arms around his waist, pressing her face to his chest. ‘No.’

Stephen frowned at his father, who gave a shrug. ‘Your mother is—’

‘We are,’ Elizabeth snapped out.

‘We are concerned about this, Stephen. Being a guardian isn’t an easy thing.’

‘Why can’t you be normal?’ Elizabeth wailed. ‘Why can’t you just be normal, and have a wife, and have kids?’

Stephen wrapped his arms around his mother and pressed his lips to the top of her head. ‘It wasn’t my choice.’

‘But you can say no.’ Elizabeth pulled back to look up at him. ‘You must be able to say no. You can’t be forced to do this, can you? Can he?’ She spun around to glare at the Sabhamir, who stood in the office doorway behind Liam.

‘Stephen is free to choose,’ the guardian said calmly.

‘There.’ His mother swung back to him, her face lit up with triumph. ‘Tell them no. Tell them they have to find someone else. And come home with me.’

Stephen kissed his mother’s forehead. ‘There isn’t anyone else,’ he said softly. ‘It’s just me.’

Elizabeth began to sob again, and Liam came forward to take her into his arms. He looked at his son.

‘Stephen.’

With what was happening to him, what he was about to face, the fight didn’t seem important any more.

‘It’s OK. We’re OK.’

Liam held his hand out. Stephen pressed his against it and felt his father shaking.

‘I want to know you’ve considered this carefully, that you’re not being railroaded or blinded by the glamour. Tell me that you understand the risks, the responsibilities, and that you believe you’re capable of it,’ said Liam.

Stephen nodded. ‘I do.’

Liam smiled. ‘I always knew you were remarkable, but this time you’ve surprised even me.’

‘So much for wanting to be sixth order, right?’ Stephen said.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.