Harry's Sacrifice Read Online Free PDF Page A

equals? You give them rights within your enclave?” Davin asked quickly.
    The Patriarch nodded. “They are valued members of my clan. From interacting with them and observing their emotions, I have learned much. One thing I’ve come to believe is that our race has suffered great harm by erasing emotion from our genetic codes. Although my sect was one of the first to fully embrace the genetic protocols put in place generations ago on Alvia Prime, we are now set on a course of reversing those protocols and perhaps advancing our evolution to the next logical step given our habitation of Earth.”
    “The next evolution being?” Rick prompted.
    “Combination with humans. A next evolution for both our races resulting in a blended race of beings with a multitude of psychic gifts.”
    “Bold words,” Davin commented after a tense silence.
    “And an even bolder idea,” Rick said. “There are hard feelings on the human side of the equation after the way your people have treated us. I hope you’ve taken that into consideration.”
    “I have, and it’s one of the troubling aspects of our goal, but not insurmountable if your mating is any indication. My sect is strong, but we need allies. I also need to gather more data about the recurrence of resonance mating among Alvians with emotion. I don’t want to advocate mass genetic alteration if it will send a large number of my people into madness and death. That’s why I’ve come to you, Davin. I was hoping you would speak freely with me about the effects of your own mating and the dangers you faced prior to finding your mate.”
    “I’ll speak about my experiences prior to finding Callie. It’s well documented that I was clearly on my way to madness. Only knowing she lived and would one day be mine allowed me to go on as long as I did.”
    “You knew she was your mate for some time?”
    “I first visited her family’s ranch when she was a teenager. The moment I saw her, I knew—I hoped—she would be the one for me. Her family allowed me to touch her that first time, just to see if we could Hum. We did, and the memory of that sound sustained me for the years it took her to grow up. She and I communicated over a secure crystal I gave her and got to know each other in that time as friends. Her voice, her words, her open emotion steadied me when I otherwise would have descended into hopelessness.”
    The Patriarch grew concerned by his words. The very real pain that showed on Davin’s face at just the memory of what he’d endured in those years was palpable. Ronin didn’t like the idea of subjecting his people to such uncertainty and despair, even though he didn’t quite understand it. He’d observed his human followers enough to know such things could be crippling. An otherwise sound body could be destroyed by emotions like fear, anxiety, sadness and all the other things that might come out of a return of feelings without the temperate companionship of a Resonance Mate.
    “I performed the other tests when she was old enough,” Davin continued. “When the Council found out about her and tried to capture her, I was closer than I have ever been to losing it completely. Nothing and no one would stand in the way of my keeping her safe. I got to her first and put her in a safe location where we consummated our resonance. That was when I fully understood for perhaps the first time, what it meant—what it could mean—to resonate so perfectly with another being. The energy from that first union still flows through many of the crystals that were in the chamber when we joined.” The Chief Engineer gave a lopsided smile. “It probably wasn’t the best idea to hide away in a chamber full of untuned raw crystal.”
    “I remember the power spike,” Ronin confirmed. “At the time, we had no idea what had caused it, of course. Not until you showed up in front of the Council days later.” He turned to look at the human. “I assume you are the same man who healed the