“It’s so big…so grand.” Her lovely blue eyes were wide as she stared upwards while he climbed the steps. “And so different from the buildings around it.”
“Are the buildings where you live—lived—not different?” Trey asked with interest.
She shook her head. “There is a belief in the People’s Republic that in order for everyone to be equal, everything must be the same. So all the buildings look exactly alike and everyone wears the same kind of clothes and no one has anything too nice—well, except for those in the higher rungs of government or the officers of The EYE,” she added.
“The EYE? What’s that?” Trey asked.
But Mia seemed to think she’d said too much. She gave him a quick, frightened glance and looked away hurriedly.
“Have you worked here long?” she asked, her voice high and nervous—clearly she wanted to change the subject.
“About six solar months,” he said, not pursuing the other topic. It occurred to him that he could ask Lydiah’s mate Teela at a later time to explain this “EYE” business to him. Maybe she could also give him some insight into what Mia was going through since their experiences of escaping from the People’s Republic seemed to be similar.
He carried her through the lobby and straight back into the imaging suite where the new equipment he had given the Ormyulians was already installed.
“Oh, Healer Treygar—what are you doing back here?” Yorn, one of the imaging techs looked up at him, surprised.
“This female has hurt her ankle—I believe it’s just a bad sprain, but I want an internal image of the bones and ligaments to be sure,” Trey told him.
“Oh sure—of course. Room three is open right now, I think.” Yorn ran ahead and got the equipment set up. By the time they got into the room, Trey had only to deposit Mia gently onto the imaging table and then step back.
“What is that? I’ve never seen an imager like that before.” She eyed the sleek sliver head of the imaging equipment nervously as Yorn arranged it over her swollen ankle.
“It’s new tech the Kindred gave us,” Yorn informed her, smiling. “It’s great because it shows all the internal structures—not just bones. We can see ligaments, muscles, blood vessels—you name it. And all in color and 3-D—it’s amazing!”
“Oh,” Mia said faintly. “That…sounds wonderful.”
“It really is. Okay, let’s get you ready to go here. I’m afraid I’ll have to take off that shoe.” He gently removed her little black shoe, shaking his head over the state of her ankle. “Wow, that’s bad! How did you do it?”
“Some bastard stole her purse and pushed her down on the rails at the transport station,” Trey answered for her, since Mia still seemed a bit overwhelmed by everything.
“What?” Yorn’s brown eyes widened. “Man, what an asshole! I mean, sorry for cursing, Healer Treygar but some people just suck, you know?”
“I agree,” Trey said dryly. “Unfortunately he got away.”
“You rescued me, though,” Mia said, looking up at him. “If you hadn’t pulled me out of there—off the rails—I’d be dead right now.” She bit her lip and said in a softer voice, “Thank you for saving me. I…I should have thanked you before.”
“You’re more than welcome, Mia,” Trey murmured. “I’m just glad the Goddess put you in my path to save.”
She frowned. “The Goddess?”
“Oh, all the Kindred worship a Goddess—the, uh, Mother of All Life, right?” Yorn looked up at Trey for confirmation.
He nodded. “Yes, that’s right. We believe the Goddess protects and defends us. And brings us together with our mates when the time is right.” He didn’t know why he had added that last part—he didn’t want to frighten Mia. But somehow the words just slipped out.
“Oh,” she whispered, looking at him uncertainly. “And…do you have a mate, Healer Treygar?”
He shook his head. “No. I have no one—no female I am close to.”
“But that’s not for lack of trying on the part of half the healer’s aides in the Care Center,” Yorn joked, grinning at Mia. “They’d be all over him if he’d show them even a little bit of attention.”
“What?” Trey looked at him, startled. “Be serious, Yorn.”
“I am being serious,” Yorn protested. “Big guy like you with that hair—I heard one of the girls call it a ‘mane’ the other day.” He laughed. “Don’t tell me you didn’t know.”
“No, I didn’t.” Trey frowned. He had been honestly unaware that the female staff of the Care Center looked at him with desire. It had simply never occurred to him to have more than a professional interest in any of them because none of them was the female he was dreaming of—none of them was Mia.
“Well, it’s true—take my word for it.” Yorn spoke with the distracted air of someone concentrating on something else. He was adjusting Mia’s ankle very gently on the imaging pad. “Okay, let’s just make sure you’re in the right position,” he murmured.
Trey frowned. Were the tech’s hands lingering too long on Mia’s flesh? His beast growled jealously inside him and he had to quiet it.
It’s all right—he’s only doing his job. Just making sure the image comes out right.
But even though it was obviously true, he couldn’t stop the feeling of possessive protectiveness that rose inside him as he watched Yorn’s tan fingers on Mia’s creamy brown skin.
No one should touch her but us, his Lei’on pointed out with some asperity.
I feel the same way but we have to let Yorn take the picture so we can see how best to heal her, Trey answered silently.
The thought of healing their female quieted his beast considerably. He liked the idea of taking care of Mia as much as Trey did. He pointed out that in addition to her hurt ankle, she had scrapes and bruises on other parts of her delicate little body as well.
We’ll take care of all that, Treygar promised. Just as soon as we find out what’s wrong.
“All right—ready.” Yorn ran around to the small booth inset and pressed the imaging button. A soft beeping sound came from the machine and then a 3-D holographic image of Mia’s lower leg from the knee down to the heel of her foot appeared, floating in the middle of the room.
“Hmm…” Treygar pulled out one of the imaging manipulator gloves he always kept with him and put it on. He turned the glowing, colored light image this way and that and then carefully pulled the muscles aside to see the bone. “As I thought,” he said at last, looking down at Mia with a reassuring smile. “It’s just a bad sprain.”
But she was looking up at him with wide, uncertain eyes.
“I…I’ve never seen images like that,” she whispered at last. “Back at my Care Center we have to impress the images on film and then dip the film in chemicals to develop it and even then the images only show the bones.”
“Oh, that’s what we had too before the Kindred came along,” Yorn told her, coming back into the room. “And the chemicals in those dip tanks smelled! I was so glad to see the end of them!” He grinned at Mia and then looked up at Trey. “Should I take her to a treatment room for you and find one of the healer’s aides to treat her other injuries?”
Though he struggled with himself, Trey found he couldn’t deal with the idea of anyone besides himself treating Mia—not even a female.
“I’ll take care of her myself,” he told the imaging tech, trying not to let his beast’s possessive growl creep into his voice. “She’s my patient—I’ll treat her.”
Yorn shrugged. “Suit yourself, Healer. I’ll go get a room ready for you.”
“Thank you, Yorn. And please bring in the healing cast as well.” Trey nodded at him and then went over to the imaging table as the tech left. “Are you ready to take another ride?” he asked Mia, who was looking up at him with wide eyes.
“You don’t…really don’t have to keep carrying me around,” she protested weakly. “I know I’m not very light—I mean, I’m not the ideal.”
Trey frowned, wondering
what she was talking about. She seemed perfectly light to him—she wasn’t even a tenth as much as he lifted for strength training on a daily basis.
“You’re not heavy at all. And what do you mean, ‘not the ideal’?” he asked.
“Well, I mean I’m not blonde and my skin isn’t pale enough and I’m not tall or thin enough. I…” She shook her head. “I’m just not ideal.”
“Who told you that was the ideal way for a female to look?” Trey demanded. “Whoever it is, he’s an asshole, to borrow Yorn’s word.”
Mia hung her head. “It’s the Republic’s ideal—what they tell us. They put people together looking for certain…physical characteristics and I don’t have any of them. Well, except for my eyes.” She looked up at him. “I never expected to get paired with a male for reproduction because of that—because I wasn’t the ideal. No one would want to make more babies that look like me.”
Trey was so angry at the way she’d been hurt, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. He wanted to tell her that she was his ideal—that she had been from the moment he started Dream Sharing with her.
But he was afraid to talk about that right now. Maybe later he could bring it up very carefully and be certain that she had been dreaming of him as well. She might not have—Dream Sharing took different forms for different people. Right now he just didn’t want to scare her off.
“I think the Republic’s idea of the ‘ideal female’ sounds ridiculous,” he growled at last. “You’re beautiful just as you are, Mia. Never let anyone tell you different.”
“Oh…” She twisted her hands together in her lap. “Thank you…I guess.”
Trey took a deep breath, trying to calm himself and his beast, who was also upset.
“Anyway, I think you were trying to ask me in a round about way if I was tired of carrying you. The answer is no.”
Never! added his beast emphatically.
“Thank you,” Mia whispered again. Her blue eyes were wide and uncertain but she made no move to resist when he scooped her up off the imaging table. She even leaned her head against his chest in a gesture of trust that squeezed Trey’s heart.
Goddess, he prayed silently. She’s been hurt—been told she isn’t good enough. Help me show her how wrong that is—help me show Mia her worth.
He carried her into the treatment room and reluctantly sat her back down on the treatment table. Yorn had thoughtfully brought a wound-care kit as well as the healing cast Trey had asked for and placed it on the rolling tray beside the table, so he was able to get right to work.
“All right—ankle first,” he said, picking up the blue cast which was built especially for ankles. It was shaped to cover the entire calf and foot as well—to heal any pulled ligaments or tendons that might have been affected in the injury.
“What is that?” Mia’s eyes were wide again. “We don’t have anything like it in my Care Center back home!”
“It won’t hurt,” Trey hastily reassured her. “It utilizes a kind of healing energy to knit torn tissue back together and repair any small fractures you might have sustained. It will also take down the swelling—and all you’ll feel is a gentle warmth, I promise.”
“Is this more Kindred technology?” she asked as he fit it onto her leg.
Trey nodded. “The Care Center was eager to adopt it—it’s much more advanced than what they had.”
“I can see that.” She was biting her lip again, looking troubled.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Trey asked as the cast started to glow, working its healing. “Don’t you like new tech? I promise it will make your job as a healer’s aide a hell of a lot easier.”
“I just…don’t see why anyone would want to hire me here when I don’t know any of the procedures or how to use these instruments,” she blurted at last. “I feel so far behind and I don’t even have my certificate with me.”
“Don’t worry about that—I told you, I’ll have a talk with Lydiah, the head of the healers’ aides,” Trey told her. “And remember, none of them had ever worked with our tech before six solar months ago. It’s very new to your people but I promise it’s easy to pick up.” He frowned at the healing cast which had stopped glowing. “All right—this should be done.”
Taking off the cast and setting it aside, he examined her bare leg critically. The swelling had gone down almost completely.
“Can you move it?” he asked, sitting beside her on the table and taking her ankle and foot in his lap.
“Yes, I…I think so.” Her voice was slightly breathless and there was a rosy blush on her cheeks as she wiggled her ankle for him. Was his presence affecting her? He was probably putting out his Bonding Scent like crazy—surrounding her in clouds of male pheromones—though he couldn’t smell it himself. It wasn’t something he intentionally did, but a Kindred warrior’s body always started making the scent when he got near the female he wanted to tie to him for life.
Trey put the palm of his hand flat against the sole of her foot, noticing as he did so that his hand was longer, from wrist to fingertips, than her foot was from heel to toes.
“Now push,” he instructed. “Try pressing against my hand and tell me if it hurts.”
She did as he asked, exerting pressure and he didn’t see any sign of pain on her delicate features.
“Feels okay?” he asked, and she nodded.
“Doesn’t hurt at all anymore.” She shook her head. “That’s amazing. Almost like magic. I didn’t believe you when you said you could bring down the swelling and have me walking again right away but you were right.”
He grinned at her. “Told you I’d prove myself to you, Mia. Stand up and walk on it—see how it feels.”
He helped her off the table and she took a few tentative steps, testing the now-no-longer-injured ankle. Then she looked up at him and nodded.
“It feels perfectly fine—all back to normal.”
“Good.” Trey slapped his thigh in satisfaction and stood up. “Then get back on the table, please. Let me just wash my hands and we’ll look at those cuts and bruises on your side and back.”
Mia went a little pale, he thought.
“Oh, uh…that’s okay,” she said quickly. “I’m a healer’s aide after all—I can tend to myself.”
“Not your back, you can’t. You can’t reach it,” Trey pointed out. “Come on now,” he added, making his voice softer. “I promise I’ll be gentle.”
“But…” Mia seemed to shrink back from him. “But will…will I have to take off my dress?” she asked in a small voice. “And…and be naked in front of you?”
Trey frowned. What kind of medicine did they practice in the People’s Republic? Had someone made her undress unnecessarily for an exam before? Perhaps taken advantage of her vulnerable state to hurt her?
The thought made his blood boil and his beast roared angrily. He had to take a deep breath to calm both of them down.
“I don’t know how they do things in the People’s Republic where you’re from,” he said, striving to keep his voice even and neutral. “But here we give the patient a gown to wear when the examination warrants it and we never, ever take advantage of their trust to touch inappropriately.”
Her eyes widened.
“Really?” Her voice was so low he could barely hear it but the uncertain yet hopeful expression on her face nearly broke his heart.
“Really,” Trey told her firmly. “Did that happen to you, Mia?” he asked gently. “Did someone…” He cleared his throat. “Did someone take advantage of you?” He couldn’t bring himself to say the word “rape.” He prayed she hadn’t been hurt like that.
“They…they almost did.” She raised her head and he saw that her big blue eyes were filled with unshed tears. “I…if someone hadn’t stopped him, he…he was going to…to…” She shook her head, clearly unable to go on.
Trey’s beast roared again, demanding that they go find the bastard who had hurt their female so he could eviscerate him—rip his guts out and tear out his throat.<
br />
“Your eyes…” Mia’s own eyes were wide as she looked up at him. “They…they turned gold for a moment.”
“Sorry.” Trey took another deep breath. He couldn’t explain about his beast right now—she was already upset enough without him adding to it.
“Is that a Kindred trait?” Mia asked, saving him from a round-about explanation.
Trey nodded gratefully.
“Of my particular type of Kindred, yes. My eyes change color sometimes when I experience strong emotions. I was just so angry when you told me that someone had tried to…to hurt you that way.” He shook his head. “That should never happen—a male should use his strength to protect females, not hurt or abuse them.”
She looked at him wonderingly, her tears forgotten.
“I was told that Kindred were protective of females. I guess…I didn’t understand it before.”
“All female life is precious,” Trey said firmly. “I just want to keep you safe. And hearing that someone hurt you makes me angry.”
“But…you don’t even know me,” Mia protested.
Oh yes I do—I’ve been dreaming of you for months!
But Trey bit back the words, knowing they would only scare her further.
“That doesn’t matter,” he said gently. “We believe that every female has a little spark of the Goddess inside herself—so every female is worthy of worship and protection.”
“All right.” She gave him a long look and then lifted her chin and squared her shoulders. “If you really feel that way about women—that they should be protected and not hurt—then I’ll trust you.”
“I do,” Trey said quietly. “Thank you for your trust, Mia. I swear it isn’t misplaced.”
She met his eyes for a moment, then looked shyly away.
“You’re welcome,” she said softly. “Do you have the gown you talked about?” she asked.
“Oh, of course.” Trey opened one of the cabinets and took out a pale blue hospital gown which tied in the back. “Put that on open to the back please,” he instructed, in his best professional voice. “And while you do, I’m going to step outside and get a female healer’s aide to come and sit with me while I treat your wounds.”
Hitting the Target Page 6