Waking Dream [Tales of the Citadel 23] by Viola Grace

good instructor, and from her position in back, she could still see the expressive features that gave life to his topic.
    The following day, she retrieved her armoured suit from Hydel and proved to him that she knew how to turn the nodes on and off that he had wired in. She could leave her body like normal if the suit was passive, but when she activated anyone of the twelve nodes he had installed, the rest of the suit was activated, and she was locked in her form.
    “The nodes are set up so that if someone is using your suit to confine you, you can still turn the suit off on your own with deliberate pressure. This is not a prison, it is a tool.” Hydel was very proud of himself.
    She twisted and moved in the suit, pleased with the mobility. She jumped in surprise when she felt an impact near her waist, and there stood Hydel with his blade broken against her suit.
    He grinned. “It gives out contrasting harmonics that shatter a piece of metal. I just thought of it yesterday.”
    Delighted, Wiyra hugged him and was treated to a hug in return. He let go, flustered and said, “It is also wired into your com system, so once you set your frequency, you can be located within ten thousand kilometres of your shuttle.”
    “Thank you, Hydel. It feels wonderful.”
    “It should. It is fully insulated, has a water recycler and will keep your body warm when you are not in it.”
    “All this and safety too? You are truly a master craftsman.”
    “Thank you. It is nice to be appreciated. I grow all these suits from scratch, so incorporating the armour and wiring is the most complicated part of the procedure.”
    “You grow these suits?”
    “Each Citadel has their own secrets. I am the secret of Citadel Reevish.” Hydel smiled shyly.
    “You are an excellent secret. I promise to report to you every adventure that your suit has.”
    “It is your suit now, Wiyra.”
    “It will always be your suit, Hydel. Now, I must meet Burin for lunch. He had a tricky class today, so I have to be on my way. Thank you again, Hydel.”
    She waved farewell and sprinted back to the Citadel with her old suit wadded up under one arm.
    Burin met her in the courtyard. “We have an assignment, Wiyra.”
    She blinked. “So soon?”
    “Apparently, the place we are going does not enjoy alien visitations, but they need help finding someone. They fear that they won’t locate them in time to stop them from suffocating.”
    She nodded. “Of course. To the shuttle.”
    He looked delighted. “To the shuttle.”
     
    She opened the door and watched the sand of the beach that she knew only in her memory as the surrounding coastline framed it. Burin had seen the tracks left by the lost couple, and he had given her the information she needed to find them. The urge to look at the embankment that framed her parent’s photo with her own eyes had been irresistible.
    “Back away from the door, Wiyra. There is a bit of a wind kicking up.”
    His words followed her as she pitched out the door as the shuttle wobbled. It was a fifteen-foot fall to the cliff, and she thudded to the sand with a complete lack of grace.
    “Ow.” She waved at the shuttle then used the com. “I am fine, Burin.”
    “Good. Now, go find those missing people. The entry is up and to the left.”
    She slogged to the door in the cliff face and pressed the code. As the door slid upward, she beckoned the couple inside to emerge. “Get out of there.”
    The couple ran forward, and their clasped hands led to forearms with the same vines and scripts that marked Wiyra.
    “Burin, we have a problem.”
    “What is it? They are free.”
    “Yeah, but they are Prishkin, and unless I miss my guess, I just stuck my foot in the temple of the gods. That isn’t allowed.” She sighed. “Park somewhere safe while I deal with the elders.”
    The couple was pale and shivering, blubbering gratefully at her as she walked them up the beach to the path that was so often in her field of vision. Her parents had