by Ines Johnson
He’d pledged to help them return home, to help Beulah to get back to her mate. But now that the time was upon them, he wished he’d had more time to spend with her. Despite their discussions about her sister, he found Beulah to be a delight to converse with.
She had been so anxious when they had first met, but now she was full of peace and light. He looked forward to each revolution when she would enter the doorway to the rooms where he taught the younglings. He thrilled each time he looked up, and she stood there with a hesitant yet hopeful smile on her face.
Each visit there was less hesitancy and a warming sense of belonging. He had hoped that sometime soon she would no longer hesitate in the doorway but walk in and take a seat beside him. She was quickly becoming a kindred spirit. And he knew that Niao felt the same about little Eva.
Pakua stopped his forward motion and Yehfe nearly crashed into his brother.
“If you want to mate and have a bond, that is your decision. But you will leave me out of it. It is not my wish.”
And with that, Pakua disappeared down the path to where they kept the ill Grey they’d rescued. His brother shut the door and Yehfe out.
Yehfe trudged back to his schooling room. Shanti and Hsing had departed and Beulah was seated and speaking with Lung and Chang.
“But why would you bring an arbor inside of your home to celebrate the birth of a child?” Chang asked.
“I do not understand what it all has to do with a rotund man sneaking into your domicile to give gifts?” said Lung. “Would that not be trespassing?”
It appeared they were continuing the conversation from the previous lesson about a ritual known as Christmas. It had confounded Yehfe as well. But little Eva insisted it was the best thing in the whole entire world.
Beulah twisted her lips as she reached for an explanation. Then she caught Yehfe standing in the doorway. She excused herself from the younglings’ incessant questions and came to him.
“I am glad that you will be reunited with your mate,” he said once she reached him. “He must be worried sick.”
“Yes,” she said. “He must be worried by now.” Her expression appeared torn. It wasn’t as jubilant as he would have expected it to be after hearing such news.
“If I were him, I would turn over the Earth and the Heavens to ensure my loved ones were safe.”
Her eyes looked at him. “You would, wouldn’t you? You all would.”
“We have all had the unfortunate experience of having to walk that talk. I half expected a human ship to come after us. We have heard reports of some orbiting the planet from time to time.”
“No, Josiah wouldn’t do that. It’s too expensive.”
“What does expense have to do with the safety of your mate and child?”
She didn’t answer.
“In any case, you will be returned to him soon and your bond will be whole once more.”
She nodded and smiled at him.
Yehfe had only known this female for a short time, but something was off in her smile. He couldn’t fathom what it could be. He didn’t have time to answer because he had an urgent hail from his brother. Yehfe turned inward.
“Get down to the keel of the ship. The Marred One has attacked the child.”
“The child?” Dread crept up Yehfe’s spine. Pakua wouldn’t call any of the Eloh younglings a child. Child was a human term.
Yehfe’s eyes snapped to Beulah’s.
“Yehfe? Yehfe, what is it?”
Chapter Nine
“Yehfe? Yehfe, what is it?” Beulah put her hand on Yehfe’s forearm. What she saw nearly stopped her heart.
With her hand on his arm, Beulah tapped into the connection Yehfe had to his brother. They both saw the Marred One reach for Eva. Nse put his staff to his father causing him to let the girl go. She fell hard but was instantly grabbed by Niao.
The Marred One grabbed for Nse next. But before the crazed male could get his poisoned hands on his son, Pakua leaped into the fray. Pakua subdued the Marred One, but not without meeting his poisoned touch.
Nse grabbed his staff. The child struck his father hard. The male fell and did not move again.
Beulah broke from Yehfe as the downed man howled in pain. The pain of his poison reached out to both of Bealuh and Yehfe across the bond Yehfe held to Pakua. It took both Beulah and Yehfe a moment to straighten from the blow.
Yehfe swept Beulah into his arms. The hall flew by as he sped them both down into the depths of the ship. She felt his heart beats match hers, amplified in double time. The pounding of both their hearts sounded like drum beats. Finally, they reached the scene.
Eva was cradled in Niao’s arms. She was sobbing. Golden light emanated off of Niao and her sobs slowly died down.
Nse stood stalwart before the two, his staff raised defensively. His chest heaved. Tears streamed down his grimacing face.
Beulah reached for her child. When he reached into the golden light, the peace assaulted her.
Niao turned to her. There was more understanding in his young eyes than she’d seen in most adults. He placed Eva in her arms. Then put his hands on Beulah’s forearms, including her in his peaceful energy transfer.
All of Beulah’s worries faded in the bubble. Her mind traveled back to the first time she’d held Eva in her arms. She’d opened the door to her home to find her husband on the other side. He’d forgotten his key again. It had been nearly a week since she’d seen Josiah. A week later, there he was. He stood at the door with a child in his arms.
Beulah had taken one look at the brown-skinned baby with knotted hair and the same light hazel eyes as her husband. Eva had spoiled milk on her chin. Her soiled diaper sagged off her small body. Eva had reached out her arms to Beulah. Without a second thought, Beulah picked up the child and never let her go since that day.
Beulah looked into Niao’s eyes which saw more than she cared to show. She wondered how much the child actually understood.
Niao’s eyes moved away and narrowed in concern.
Beulah turned and saw why. The sickly creature who’d taken them was still on the floor behind the barred enclosure. Nse stood trembling over the male’s prone form, his small body trembling.
“He is no more.” Nse’s lips barely moved. His voice was cold.
On the other side of the bars lay Yehfe’s brother. Yehfe pulled his brother's robes open. Beulah caught sight of the other man’s toned bare chest, his abdomen, and… Beulah looked away and hid Eva’s eyes. Beulah looked away from his genitalia, but not before she saw the angry gash at his hip.
The wound did not bleed red. It pulsed dark and angry, like a living, spitting, writhing thing.
Yehfe spoke to his brother in their own language. In her short time knowing the man, Beulah never heard anything but calm utterances pass his lips. His tone was urgent now.
“It is my fault.”
Beulah turned her attention to Niao.
“Eva was sad about her father,” Niao continued. “I told her that our father was imprisoned. She wanted to see him. Nse warned me against it, but I thought if he saw us he would remember that he loved us. I thought he might be cured. I was wrong.”
Niao turned his face to the still body.
Beulah had seen madness in the dead man’s eyes. She had trouble reconciling that madness with these gentle children. Then she looked at Nse’s trembling body. The tremors decreased and an eerie stillness settled over his small frame.
“She got too close,” said Nse. “I was too slow. She has a bruise from her fall. I am sorry for that.”
The child had just killed his own father. Yet, he was worried about a bruise on Eva’s hand.
“He would have killed her,” Nse said. “He would have killed her because… Because she is Niao’s friend. I could not let that happen.”
Niao stood and wrapped his arms around his brother. The darker child heaved in a deep breath. He held still for a second, maybe two. In the next instance, he shrugged out of his brother’s embrace.
<
br /> Nse trudged off down the hall on stiff legs. As he made his way, more Eloheem rushed onto the scene, crowding Beulah and the young ones, and spilling out around Pakua and Yehfe.
Beulah turned her attention to Yehfe and his wounded brother. Concern wretched Yehfe’s face. Were they to lose another living soul?
“His injuries are severe,” said Yehfe.
Pakua opened one eye. It fell on Beulah. Beulah couldn’t read his expression.
His gaze slid to Eva. Pakua’s chest heaved, and then his eyes closed. His limp arms flung to either side as he was lifted up and carried away.
Chapter Ten
Yehfe held Pakua’s hand. It was the first time his brother had allowed him to touch his person in many revolutions. Since their parents’ deaths, Pakua had retreated into himself. The loss had shown them all how vulnerable all their kind were to an attack on just one.
When brothers were wrenched from each other, the one left alive was weakened without his counterpart. When a mate was snatched from the brothers, the blow could prove lethal.
Yehfe felt his spirit weaken as pain swept through his brother's body. The wound festered, not responding to any healing attempts. They’d even tried the algae plant that Shanti had brought to them from her home planet.
Nothing worked.
“I don’t understand?” Shanti’s voice was quiet as she whispered to Chen. Hers was the only voice speaking aloud in the room. The rest of the Eloheem reached out silently, offering their strength.
“From what we can tell,” said Chen, “the Marred energy infects the system, like a malignant growth.”
“It sounds like cancer,” said Shanti. “Does that mean Pakua will go crazy?”
Chen didn’t answer.
“Can’t we cut it out of him? That’s what doctors do to patients with tumors. Or can we give him some kind of radiation treatment?”
“It doesn’t work that way, my only. The energy has mingled with his own.”
“Then why don’t we replace the energy.”
“We’ve tried. His body rejects the ship’s energy.”
“No, I mean… When we’re together, there’s energy that comes between us.”
“You mean sexual energy?”
“Isn’t love the opposite of being marred? Is there a way we can gather that energy from us and transfer it to him?”
Chen thought on this. Yehfe turned and regarded them. Just then Beulah walked into the door. She paused at the crowd. Then she caught sight of Yehfe. But still, she hesitated.
That made Yehfe’s hearts sink even lower. She was just starting to feel welcome on board, at least with him. Now, with all of the tribe gathered, she hung back once more.
Yehfe reached to her mind. “How is Eva?”
Beulah startled. It was an invasion to speak to her so directly, but Yehfe needed a connection. His brethren were all tapped into him. But Beulah was the soul he wanted to reach out to.
Beulah took a deep breath, and she came into the room. “She’s resting with my sister,” Beulah said out loud. “Niao and Nse are sitting outside of our door.”
Beulah reached for him. Then pulled her hand away. Yehfe knew humans did not feel the same about touch as his kind. Right now he wished she was allowed to touch him. When he’d raced down the halls with her in his arms, she’d been the only thing tethering him to this plane of existence. With his brother in pain, he could use an anchor now.
Beulah looked into his eyes. “How are you?” she thought at him. Her inner voice was shaky inside his mind.
Yehfe reached out his hand to her. He felt the other Eloheem’s eyes on him, but no one said anything.
Beulah took his hand. Her fingers wrapped around his large palm. She brought her other hand up to cup what her first hand couldn’t hold. Though she only held the one hand, Yehfe felt surrounded by her.
He closed his eyes and held onto her. In his mind, he heard her reach out to the image of what she held as divine. Yehfe inhaled, and he held onto her. In his hearts, he felt her compassion flood into his very soul. He exhaled but did not let go. He held onto her.
“What can I do for him?” Beulah asked out loud. “Your brother saved my daughter’s life. I’ve been praying for him. Is there anything else that I can do?”
“I don’t understand that word; praying.”
“I’ve been asking God to save him.”
Yehfe frowned. And then he remembered. He had heard Chen-Na and Hsing-I’s mother, who had been human, talk about the gods of the planet Earth. Yehfe knew the creators of mankind to be real beings and not the idol images that humans thought they were. They were the Neterians; the elders of the universe. The same governing body that had deemed his tribe unfit to touch down on any womb rock.
“Thank you, Beulah. I understand that your prayer is full of kind intentions. I will accept your prayers on behalf of my brother.”
Beulah grabbed Yehfe’s other hand. She laced her slender fingers with his. She pressed the palms of their hands together. The very second their palms touched, Yehfe’s entire being felt centered. As she spoke, he felt is spirit lifting.
“Lord of Mercy, You are the One I turn to for help in moments of weakness and times of need. I ask you to be with your servant in this illness. Send out your Word and heal. Dear Lord, I ask you to turn this weakness into strength, suffering into compassion, sorrow into joy, and pain into comfort for others. As your servant, I trust in your goodness and hope in your faithfulness, even in the middle of this suffering. Let him be filled with patience and joy in your presence as he waits for your healing touch. Please restore your servant to full health, dear Father. Remove all fear and doubt from his heart by the power of your Holy Spirit, and may you, Lord, be glorified through his life as you heal and renew your servant, Lord, may he bless and praise you. All of this I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.”
Beulah went to unravel her fingers from Yehfe, but his hands were locked like a vice around hers. He couldn’t straighten his fingers to release hers. Beulah didn’t appear bothered. She smiled and rubbed her thumb over the backs of his hands.
“All will be well,” she said. “It’s in God’s hands now.”
She whispered a few more prayers over Pakua, some out loud, some quietly in her mind. She sat with him for an untold amount of time.
Yehfe felt his brothers coming and going. But Yehfe’s entire being was focused on the center of his palms where he was connected with this woman. He tried to push these sensations down his link with his brother so that he might feel the same sense of center.
All too soon, Beulah began the process of untangling her hands from his. Against his every instinct, Yehfe allowed the unraveling. She rose. Without hesitation, she ran a gentle hand over Pakua’s brow.
Yehfe opened his mouth to stop her. He knew his brother would detest the touch. But Pakua pulled in a deep breath, the first in a long time. It may have been Yehfe’s imagination, but it looked as though the festering of his wound halted for a moment. As soon as Beulah took her hand back, the anger in the injury returned.
“You’ll tell me if there’s anything else I can do?” she asked.
Yehfe assumed he nodded his head because a second later she disappeared out the door. Yehfe was left alone with his brother and the wound that came between them.
Chapter Eleven
Beulah had prayed for others' health and recovery before. She’d sat in prayer groups. She’d sang in pews. She’d donated money she didn’t have to help fund medical bills for someone on death’s doorstep in an effort to buy them more time or a bit of comfort at the end.
Holding Yehfe’s hand and sitting in prayer with him, she’d felt like she’d seen the face of God. That was the only way she could describe it. It had felt like a bright, warm light of truth had washed over her while her fingers had been entwined with Yehfe’s.
She’d bared witness to the quiet strength of this gentleman who delighted in opening the minds, hearts, and spirits of children. When she’d wal
ked in that room and saw him on his knees, it had nearly broken her. When she took his hands in hers, she felt his strength multiply. She felt his certainty grow. She felt peace blossom in the palm of his hands.
She hadn’t wanted to let go. She’d wanted to stay connected to Yehfe forever. But that was impossible. It was also selfish. He had to tend to his ailing brother, and she had to get back to her child, back to her sister, back to her planet. Back to Josiah.
“Is Mr. Pakua going to be okay?”
Beulah heard Eva’s voice before she saw her child. She was sitting outside their room alongside Niao. Niao was inspecting the bruise on her hand, waving his gold-shimmering hands over the fading spot. Beulah marveled at the miracle of these beings. What did they need her prayers for if they had such healing powers?
“I don't know?” she answered Eva. “But I believe in my heart that his healing has started.”
Eva turned to Niao. “Can’t you heal him with your magic?”
“It is not magic,” the child said, his focus intent on his work. “It is my life force. Yehfe has tried to give Pakua his own life force. They have all tried together. But it will not work against the mara energy.”
“Why not?” asked Eva.
“We do not know,” said Niao. “The mara energy originated with the Draconians.”
“Dragons?” Eva gasped, her eyes going wide.
Niao nodded. “They are an often maligned race of beings. They are not bad. They simply have different agendas than most. Because their aims are not favored that pits them against many other races of beings.”
“They’re the ones that hurt your mama?”
Niao nodded. “I do not hate them. There is no room for hatred in my heart. I wish they knew what peace and Zen felt like. Then maybe they would have a different agenda.”