Rayne's Return (Hearts of ICARUS Book 3)

by Laura Jo Phillips

  “I need to get my things from the Ugaztun,” she said, tugging the t-shirt down, secretly relieved that the new shirt smelled like the first one had. Like him.

  “I’ll mention that when I speak with your parents,” Landor said as he lifted her off the counter and carried her into the bedroom where Ari and Con were waiting.

  “Do you want to rest now?” he asked, stopping beside the bed.

  “Yes, I do,” she said. “I know I haven’t done anything but I’m really tired for some reason.”

  “Your body has been through a lot,” Con said, watching as Landor lowered her to the bed they’d turned down for her. “It needs rest to get better.”

  “While you were bathing Con set up a meeting for me to speak with your parents,” Landor said once she was settled. “I’ll transport over to the Ugaztun now, and Con and Ari will watch over you while you sleep.”

  “I appreciate that, but I’m sure you have more important things to do than stand around and watch me sleep all the time,” she said. She was still afraid to be alone, but they didn’t need to know that. And besides, she wasn’t as afraid as she’d been the night before. “No one knows I’m here, so I should be okay alone, right?”

  “Probably, but we’re not taking any chances,” Con said.

  “That reminds me,” Landor said, “you have a choice to make. You can either stay here, in the master suite, or you can have the room directly between mine, and Con’s, and across the hall from Ari’s. Whichever one you choose, we’ll install an alarm system and weave a shield around it so you’ll be able to sleep without us watching you.”

  “I’d prefer the smaller room,” she whispered.

  “Good, that’s settled then,” Con said. “We’ll prepare it for you later, but for now, you’re stuck with us.”

  “Thanks, guys.”

  “You’re welcome,” Landor said. “Is there anything in particular you’d like me to say, or not say to your parents?”

  “No,” she said, then covered her mouth with her hand as she yawned. “I suggest you speak with my Dads, without Mom. Otherwise they’ll probably get angry with you for upsetting her. Plus, they’ll be able to break the news to her themselves, in private, which they’ll appreciate.”

  “Good advice,” Landor said. He leaned down to kiss her gently on the forehead. “Rest, Kisu.” She was surprised by the kiss, and smiled up at him before she could stop herself. Then she closed her eyes and sighed tiredly. Moments later her breathing evened out, and they knew she was asleep. Landor gave each of his brothers a long look, a silent reminder not to leave her alone for a single moment. Then he turned, and left.

  ***

  “Do you know why Landor wants to speak with us?” Trey Dracon asked his eldest brother.

  “No idea,” Garen replied. “I know only that it’s important, and extremely private.”

  “Sounds like they’ve finally decided to tell Rayne that she’s their berezi,” Trey said with a smile.

  “About damn time, too,” Garen said. “I don’t know why they waited this long.”

  “I don’t know how they waited this long,” Trey said. Then he frowned. “On the other hand, if that’s what he’s coming to tell us, why is he coming alone, and why is it extremely private?”

  Garen’s head tilted to one side, listening. “We’re about to find out,” he said just before the door opened. A young man stepped inside with Landor just behind him. He opened his mouth, but Garen raised a hand to stop him. “It’s all right, Timothy, we don’t need an announcement.”

  The young man bowed, then turned and left the small, informal conference room, closing the door as he went. Landor bowed politely. “Greetings, High Prince, Prince Trey,” he said.

  “Greetings, Landor,” Garen said. “Please, sit. We can do away with the formalities.”

  Landor released a pent up breath and took a seat at the small table. “Is this room secure, Highness?”

  “That serious?” Garen asked as Trey got up to turn on the security field that would prevent sound from escaping the room and jammed every known form of monitoring device.

  “I’m afraid it’s more serious than you can imagine,” Landor said. “I’ve been trying to think of the best way to break this news to you all night long, but I’m afraid there is no such thing.”

  “You’ve got our curiosity sharpened, if that’s what you intended,” Trey said, studying the man across from them carefully, noting the dark circles beneath his eyes and the rumpled state of his clothing.

  “It wasn’t, I assure you,” Landor said. “First of all, I should tell you that Rayne is our berezi.” Neither of the Dracon’s looked surprised. “How did you know? We’ve never told anyone.”

  “She’s our daughter,” Trey said simply. “Of course we know.”

  Landor nodded. He still didn’t understand how they knew, but it really didn’t matter. “Last night, around midnight, Rayne was abducted,” he said abruptly. The Dracons instantly stiffened, but Landor held up one hand in a silent request for patience. Garen nodded and he continued. “Three minutes later, she returned. But, the Rayne that returned looked nothing at all like the Rayne we’d seen transport away minutes earlier. She was emaciated, her hair was gone, she was so weak that she couldn’t stand unaided, her body covered with wounds raging from a fresh cut to fully healed scars, and her voice was but a whisper that we had to strain to hear.”

  “Wait,” Garen said, frowning in confusion. “What are you saying, exactly?”

  “I’m saying that Rayne was abducted, and that she was gone for one year. One year and three minutes, actually. By means she has not yet been able to remember, she was sent back in time one year, to last night, just after the time of her abduction.”

  Garen and Trey stared at Landor for a long moment as they struggled to accept what they’d just been told. Finally, Garen nodded. “Tell us the rest, please.”

  Landor told them the little they’d learned so far. When he was finished, he stood up and began pacing. “Rayne wants you to know because of what you’ve just gone through with Tani’s disappearance. But her existence here and now must be kept a closely guarded secret. If whoever abducted her finds out that she’s here, in this time, there is no telling what they’ll do, or how much that will change whatever is in Rayne’s past. I’m afraid that you’re all going to have to pretend that she’s missing.”

  “She has no idea who took her, or why?” Trey asked.

  “Not yet, no,” Landor replied. “But, Con and I went over the reports filed regarding Garza, and we found some disturbing similarities. Rayne’s hair has been removed, as I mentioned, and she is extremely thin. We don’t know what they fed her, but whatever it was, it was not enough. And, of course, with all of the Jasani ships currently in orbit around Garza, it makes no sense that none of us spotted an alien vessel. Our guess is that whoever took her has Blind Sight.”

  “You think Nomen had something to do with this?” Trey asked.

  “That, or whoever created the Nomen. It’s all speculation of course. We have to wait for her to regain more of her memory to know anything for certain.”

  “Of course,” Garen said. “But I agree that the similarities are suspicious. Do you have any images of the Nomen?”

  “We have those included with the reports, yes. When she regains some of her memory, we’ll show them to her.”

  “We’ll send you more,” Trey said. “Those included with the report are fine, but we have some with the Nomen walking and talking in a more natural setting that may make him more easily recognized.”

  Garen stood up and approached Landor, placing one hand on his shoulder. “We thank you, Landor, for taking care of our daughter, and for telling us this in private so that we can break it to Lariah in our own way. Please give us an hour. Then we’ll speed travel over to the Armadura.”

  “Of course,” Landor said. “Please speed travel directly into the master suite. That way no one will know you’re there.”

  “You
have her in the master suite instead of the infirmary?” Trey asked in surprise.

  “Aside from you, she’s refused to allow anyone else to see her for any reason, and we gave our word to abide by her wishes,” Landor said. “She won’t agree to being placed in a healing tank, or even to let Tani see her even though she’s very ill and weak. We put her in the master suite this morning because it’s the only room we have that’s large enough for all of us, and still allows her to remain in bed. She agreed to ask you for advice on the matter of her health when she speaks with you.”

  “Very well,” Garen said. “We’ll meet you there in one hour.”

  Landor bowed, then left the room, anxious to get back to Rayne. Garen and Trey stared at each other, then sighed reluctantly. It was time to tell Lariah and Val that yet another one of their daughters was in trouble.

  Chapter 4

  361 Days in the Future

  Even though Wolef had warned her ahead of time, Rayne still got nervous when several of the short blue men she thought of as little blue thugs began bustling around her, disconnecting her from the machines that had fed her, monitored her, and kept her alive and paralyzed for eleven months. She pretended to be unconscious so that she didn’t have to look at them, or their eyes. She hated their eyes. In an effort to distract herself, she called out to Wolef. “May I ask you some questions, Wolef? I know we talked a lot last night and you’re probably tired of me already, so don’t hesitate to say no if you want.”

  “On the contrary, I find you to be very agreeable company, and I have no desire to refuse you. Ask what you will.”

  “How long have the little blue thugs kept you prisoner here?”

  “Little blue thugs,” Wolef repeated slowly. “How very apt that is.”

  “They never told me who they are, what they are, or where they’re from, so that’s what I call them.”

  “They call themselves the Doftle, but I like little blue thugs ever so much better,” he said. “I’ve only been here, in the Facility, for fourteen months. However, if your intention was to ask how long I’ve been a prisoner, the answer is just a bit over five hundred years.”

  “How is it that you’re still sane?” she asked, appalled.

  “Unfortunately, dragons do not lose their sanity, no matter how much they might wish otherwise.”

  “Why didn’t you speak to me before now?”

  “I was…hibernating.”

  “Hibernating?”

  “That’s the best word I can think of for it in Standard, yes,” Wolef replied. “When I was first brought here, to the Facility, I attempted to communicate with the other prisoners as I am now communicating with you. Since none of them responded with anything close to sanity, I chose to hibernate. It passes the time, you see. I awoke yesterday and reached out again, surprised to find brain waves that matched those of Tanjelia Dracon, who I’d heard of some time back. Even though you are not Tanjelia, I must say that it’s very refreshing to speak with someone who hasn’t gone completely ‘round the bend.”

  “Um…thank you,” Rayne said uncertainly. “How did you hear about Tani from here?”

  “Information important to dragons is put out into the universe for all to find,” he said. “And before you ask, no, I can’t call for help in that way. Such messages can be sent only by dragons who no longer reside upon the living plane, and even then, only when the message affects all dragons.”

  “What sort of dragon are you?”

  “Does it matter? No offense Rayne, but you’re human. I doubt you know anything about dragons that isn’t human folklore which is, frankly, anything but reliable.”

  “It would be more accurate to say I’m humanoid,” she corrected. “My parents are dracons, and of course Tani is now a dragon. They’re all shifters, so they’re still humanoid most of the time, but their alter-forms are very much a part of their natures.”

  “If your parents are shifters, then why aren’t you?”

  “Females aren’t usually born shifters. We have to wait until we find our soul mates, and then they change us so that we can shift into whatever clan they belong to.” Sadness filled her as she thought about the Bearen-Hirus’ rejection, but it was worth it just to have someone to talk to.

  “I am, much to my surprise, inordinately interested, something that hasn’t happened in more years than I like to contemplate,” Wolef said. “Would you mind telling me more? If it’s too personal, I will understand.”

  “No, I don’t mind at all,” Rayne replied. “But I’d like you to answer my question, first, if you will.”

  “Ah yes, I’d nearly forgotten,” Wolef said. “I am a golden dragon.”

  “I’ve never heard of a golden dragon.”

  “That’s not surprising as there are very few of us,” Wolef said. “Only one in every twenty generations or so is born golden. We are the largest of all dragons, and we each have one extraordinary magical ability in addition to the usual. In short, we are different from our brethren.”

  “Different isn’t always a good thing to be,” she said gently.

  “No, it is not.”

  “Thank you for answering my question, Wolef,” she said, the sadness in his tone convincing her that a change of subject was in order. “Now it’s my turn.”

  She began to explain all of the different aspects of Clan Jasani physiology, and the changes they’d undergone over the centuries, glad for the distraction from the Doftle still buzzing around her. She even managed to forget about them for a few minutes.

  “Fascinating,” Wolef said when she was finished. “Might I ask who it is that you call out to? The impression I’ve gotten from your calls was not of dragons, but of another type of creature.”

  Everything within Rayne stilled in shock and embarrassment. After a time she said, “I’m sorry, Wolef. I didn’t know that anyone could hear me.”

  “Your apology is accepted, though not necessary,” Wolef replied. “In return, I apologize if my curiosity is untoward.”

  Rayne hesitated, then figured it didn’t really matter what she told Wolef. “I was calling to the Bearen-Hirus, the male-set destined to be my mates. What we Jasani call Rami.”

  “Bearen-Hirus?”

  “They’re the third highest ranked male-set of Clan Bearen,” she explained. “Hiru means three. The alter-forms of Clan Bearen are much like bears.”

  “I don’t know where Jasan is, I’m afraid,” Wolef said. “But I do know that it’s very difficult to send or receive calls such as yours over great distances.”

  “I know how slim the chances are that they’d ever hear me, but I can’t seem to make myself stop trying. My sister, Salene, has a gift for feeling people she’s connected to across enormous distances, but she hasn’t responded to my calls, either.”

  Wolef heard the sadness and the worry in her mental voice, but had no idea how to help her so instead he changed the subject. “Were you taken from your home world? When the little blue thugs abducted you, I mean.”

  “No, I was on Garza at the time. Tani got married and a number of Jasani attended the ceremony. I was taken the night of her wedding, actually.”

  “I know Garza. It was once a beautiful world filled with dragons. Then the Xanti destroyed it.”

  “Yes, I know,” Rayne said. “It was a dry, dead world the first time I saw it. But, from the moment Tani unlocked the magic of the dragons buried deep within the planet, it began to live again. It was amazing to witness its transformation as, day by day, it became more and more beautiful.”

  “Garza lives again,” Wolef said softly. “I thank you, Rayne, for telling me that.”

  “You’re welcome, Wolef. Do you know where we are now?”

  “No, I’m afraid not,” Wolef replied. “From the information I’ve gleaned from the Doftle’s conversations, the Facility has been orbiting a moon they call Rigus Xen for the past two decades. They prefer to keep their space stations in the least populated regions of the galaxy, so I suspect that wherever we are, it’s so
me distance from the nearest inhabited world.”

  “I had no idea that we were on a space station. I’ve never heard of Rigus Xen, either.”

  “You wouldn’t,” Wolef said. “It’s a Doftle name, and I’ve yet to hear them refer to it by its Standard name. If it even has one.”

  “Do you know of any other worlds nearby?”

  “Why so interested?”

  “If I don’t know where I am, how am I to find my way home, or back again, if I do manage by some miracle to escape? I cannot fulfill my end of our bargain if I can’t find this place.”

  “Finding your way home will not be an issue,” Wolef said. “However, you make a good point about finding your way back. I will concentrate on listening to those Doftles who operate the Facility and see what I can come up with.”

  “All right,” Rayne said. “It feels like they’re about to move me now.”

  Wolef heard the fear in her voice and tried to think of a way to abate it. “Have you considered how best to present yourself to the Doftle once the paralytics wear off?”

  “No,” Rayne replied. “You have though, haven’t you?”

  “I confess that I have,” Wolef replied. “I believe it would be wise to behave as though you have some level of mental impairment. Enough that you don’t react to anything they do, but not so much that you’re incapable of performing minor tasks, such as feeding yourself.”

  “You want me to put them off guard,” Rayne said thoughtfully. “To make them think I’m the absolute least of their problems.”

  “Precisely,” Wolef replied. “Would you be willing to do that?”

  “Why do you sound doubtful?”

  “Because I’ve heard the Doftle mention that you have a history of being somewhat unpredictable,” Wolef replied.

  “I’m not sure I deserve that,” she said with just a trace of irritation.