“Three.”
“Do you know if they were male, or female?”
“No, I’m sorry, but I’ve told you all that I know.”
“I’m grateful that you came back to tell us this, Wolef,” she said.
“You’re welcome of course,” Wolef said, then shifted his gaze to the Bearen-Hirus who stood beside her. “Are you not curious as to why Weeble has metal legs like a Xanti?”
“Yes, we are,” Landor said. “Very curious, in fact.”
“I suppose you could say that the Xanti were Weeble’s pets,” Wolef said, shocking all of them. “He was quite attached to them, and was extremely disappointed when he failed to resurrect them. He created the Xanti legs for himself and sacrificed his own legs for them. By law, a law Weeble wrote, of course, only four Doftle will be allowed to have Xanti legs, and the other three must be selected by him.”
“The biggest question all thinking people have about the Xanti is, and always has been, how did they manage to do what they were not meant to do,” Landor said. “Are you telling us that the answer to that question lies with the Doftles?”
“Yes, most assuredly,” Wolef replied. “This knowledge is my gift to you, Landor, Condor, and Aridor Bearen-Hiru, for your roles in today’s events.”
“It is a gift worthy of great thanks, and more,” Landor said. “If there is anything further that we can do for you, please name it.”
“All I can think of to ask is that you love and protect Rayne as she deserves,” Wolef said, tilting his head slightly as he looked back to Rayne.
“That is an easy promise to make,” Landor replied. “We will honor and cherish her exactly as she is for all of our days.”
Wolef bowed his head, accepting Landor’s promise. “My time runs short, so I must get on with this.” He raised one foreleg and waved it toward Rayne. A moment later she held four golden scales in her hand. One was as large as the palm of her hand, but the other three were tiny, barely an inch across.
“Are these your scales?” she asked.
“But of course,” he said. “Why would I gift you with the scales of another?”
Rayne rolled her eyes, and Wolef chuckled. “Place the large one over the back of your right hand, then cover it with your left hand and hold it in place for a few moments.”
“All right,” Rayne agreed readily, offering the three small scales to Ari to hold for her. Landor wanted to ask Wolef what would happen, but held his tongue, knowing without a moment’s doubt that Wolef would never do anything to cause Rayne the slightest harm.
Rayne stood with her hands together as Wolef had instructed for several moments. The back of her hand grew warm, then almost hot before cooling again. “Now,” Wolef whispered in her mind. She lifted her hand away slowly, and smiled when she saw that the scale had melded with her skin, becoming a part of her own flesh.
“The scale will remain a part of you for the remainder of your life, Rayne,” Wolef said. “Never again will Doftles, or anyone else, transport you against your will. Never again will technology or magic be used against you without your willing consent. It has other properties as well, but I’ll let you figure those out on your own. That’s the fun of it, right?”
“I suppose it is,” Rayne said, running her fingers over the golden scale that now felt like her own skin. “What are the smaller scales for?”
“Those are for your daughters,” Wolef said, shocking them all.
“Um, Wolef, we don’t have any daughters,” she said.
“Of course you don’t,” he said, rolling his large eyes in imitation of her. “However, since there is a limited time frame in which I’m able to manifest these scales from my physical body, I thought it best to give them to you now.”
“Good thinking,” Rayne said, grinning up at him. “Do you happen to have any idea when these daughters of ours will arrive?”
“I know exactly when they’ll arrive,” he replied. “But again, I think it best that you find that out for yourself. That’s the fun of it, right?”
Rayne laughed. “Thank you, Wolef.”
“You are most welcome,” Wolef said, dipping his head. “Know that your name will be added to your sister’s as one to be honored by the souls of all dragons, wherever they might be in time and space.”
Rayne’s eyes blurred as they filled with tears. Before she could think of a response, Wolef faded away, leaving empty air behind.
“I think it’s time to take you to the infirmary,” Landor said after giving Rayne a moment to compose herself. She wiped her eyes and nodded, suddenly feeling very tired. But she wasn’t done yet.
“Yes, I need to see how Salene is doing,” she agreed, then gestured to the table where the objects she’d brought from the Facility lay. “We need to put these things somewhere safe. And the scales, too.”
“I’m more concerned about making sure you’re all right at the moment,” Landor said. “You’re looking quite pale, and it occurs to me that we haven’t checked to see how badly Weeble injured you.”
“I’m fine,” she said, waving a hand dismissively. “You showed up before he could do any real damage. Let’s go, please. I want to speak with my sister before they put her in a healing tank.”
“They won’t put her in until you’ve had a chance to try to talk with her first,” Landor assured her.
“Ari and I will take these to the master suite and meet you in the infirmary,” Con offered.
“Thank you,” Landor said, his eyes narrowing as he watched Rayne walk toward the door. He caught up with her and scooped her up into his arms. “I will carry you.”
“Yes, I noticed,” she said with a sigh, unwilling to admit how relieved she was. She was growing weaker and weaker for some reason, but she wasn’t going to admit it yet because she didn’t want Landor’s overprotective nature to get in the way of her need to speak with Salene.
When they reached the infirmary he put her down gently, but it took her a moment to get her balance. She looked up to find Landor staring intently at her and sent him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. Then she crossed the room to the healing tank that was lying prone on a low table with Salene inside of it.
The med techs had already put her in a thin leotard embedded with hundreds of tiny sensors that would transmit every possible bit of data from Salene’s body to the tank’s computer. Even though her body was covered, Rayne had no trouble identifying the burns through the fabric, sad to see that one of the worst was a three inch long, one inch wide diagonal that cut across Salene’s left cheek, just missing her eye. Luckily the wounds were fresh, and she’d be in a healing tank in plenty of time to prevent scarring. Her hair was gone of course, as was usual with the Doftles, but that was easily remedied once she was removed from the tank.
Rayne leaned over the tank and froze for a moment as her vision swam, making everything blurry. She blinked several times and although it didn’t clear completely, it cleared enough for her to place one hand gently on her sister’s shoulder. “Salene, wake up if you can,” she said softly. “It’s Rayne. You’re safe on the Armadura now. Please open your eyes for me.”
“Rayne?” Salene whispered so softly that if she hadn’t been so close, she’d have missed it.
“Yes, it’s me, I’m right here.”
Salene opened her eyes slowly, as though she didn’t quite trust her ears. Rayne understood that completely. “It’s really me, Salene, I promise.”
Salene blinked, then let out a soft sigh when she saw Rayne leaning over her. “Hi,” she said, trying to smile. “What have you done with your hair?”
“That’s a story for another time,” Rayne replied.
“I felt you, in that place,” she said. “Didn’t I? Or did I dream it?”
“No, you didn’t dream it,” Rayne said. “I was there, and so were the Bearen-Hirus.”
“Thank you for getting me out of there.”
“I’m sorry we didn’t arrive sooner,” Rayne said. “They’re going to put you in a
healing tank now. When you get out, you’ll be your old self again.”
Salene’s eyes widened suddenly and her face turned white. “The Gryphons. Did you get them, too?”
“What?”
“My Gryphons, Talus, Jon, and Kar,” Salene said urgently. “They were there, in that place, where I was.”
“Are you sure? All three of them?”
Yes, I’m positive,” Salene replied, grabbing Rayne’s hand and squeezing tightly. “We have to go back, Rayne.”
Rayne looked up, her heart in her eyes. Landor knelt down beside her and brushed her cheek lightly with his fingers, reassuring her. Then he turned to Salene.
“Please tell us what you remember,” he said, keeping his voice gentle even though Rayne saw the worry in his eyes.
“There’s no time, we have to go back now.”
“We can’t go back, Salene,” Rayne said. “We destroyed the Facility.”
Salene went completely still for a long moment, not even breathing as her eyes glassed over. Then she blinked and shook her head. “I feel them. They’re getting further and further away by the second but they’re alive. All three of them.”
“They must be the ones Weeble took with him,” Rayne said.
“Yes, of course,” Landor said, then turned to Salene. “Please tell us what you can remember about what happened.”
Salene looked at Rayne, who understood the silent question. “Trust them as you trust me, Salene.”
Salene nodded. “Mom, Ata, Dede and Popi told us what had happened to you, Rayne, so my guys wove a shield around me, to protect me from being transported away like you were. Then we left Garza for New Ugaztun. The second day out we were sitting in the cafeteria when all of a sudden Talus, Jon, and Kar felt a pull on the shield they’d put around me. They immediately began strengthening the shield. While they were doing that, they vanished, one at a time. First Kar, then Jon, then Talus. A minute later they got me.”
“How is that possible?” Rayne asked Landor.
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Maybe they left themselves open somehow while working on her shield, but that’s just a guess. I’ve never heard of anything like that happening before.”
“I’m sorry, Salene, please go on,” Rayne said, turning back to her sister.
“I landed in a room with five or six short blue men with big heads surrounding me. I could feel Talus, Jon, and Kar, but I couldn’t see them anywhere. They were furious and frustrated beyond anything I’d ever felt from them before, but I didn’t know why. There was one blue man with metal legs, like spider legs. He gave an order for the ship to be destroyed. When I protested, one of them gave me an injection and I passed out.”
“They destroyed the Razor?” Con asked, surprising Rayne since she hadn’t realized they’d returned while Salene was talking.
“The order was given,” Salene replied. “That’s all I know.”
“It will not be difficult to confirm either way,” Landor said. “We’ll send messages to your parents and the Gryphon consuls right away.”
“Can you still feel them, Salene?” Rayne asked.
“Yes,” she said. “They’re moving away from us, and they’re in distress, but they’re definitely alive.”
“Do you think you could you lead us to them?” Con asked.
“You’ll go after them? Now?”
“Absolutely,” Landor said. “As long as you can guide us toward them, we’ll follow.”
“I can do that,” Salene said, nodding quickly as tears overflowed her eyes. She ignored them as she turned to Rayne. “Help me up, please.”
“No, Salene,” Rayne argued. “They’ve just prepared you for a healing tank.”
“No, no healing tank,” Salene said firmly. “We must find my men and free them. That’s all that matters.”
“Your health matters,” Rayne argued, then blushed when Landor, Con and Ari all arched brows at her. “I know, I refused a healing tank too, but this is different. Salene is in much worse shape than I was.”
“That’s categorically untrue and you know it,” Landor said.
“How bad am I?” Salene asked quietly.
“You have a lot of burns all over your body, and some of them are very deep. But you shouldn’t have any scars when you get out of the tank since the wounds are fresh.”
“I can live with scars, Rayne,” Salene said, her golden eyes filling with more tears. “But I cannot live without Talus, Jon, and Kar.”
Rayne looked at Landor, then Con, and finally Ari, trying to imagine herself in Salene’s place, and her men in the hands of the Doftle. Her stomach rolled. “I understand,” she said. “Let the med techs dress your wounds and give you something for the pain.”
“Of course,” Salene said with relief. Rayne started to help her up, but Landor got there first.
“You are still recovering your strength, Kisu,” he said. “Let us help our future sister.” Rayne nodded and moved back out of the way. She watched Landor gently lift Salene from the tank and carry her to one of the medi-cots on the other side of the room.
“We will wait outside for you,” he said to Rayne. She rose up on her toes to kiss him, then did the same with Con and Ari before they left the room, shocked by how much effort it took though she was careful not to give her weakness away. She’d make sure that Salene was all right, and then she’d tell them how badly she was feeling.
Three med techs were already working on Salene’s numerous wounds by the time her men left, so she walked to the other side of the medi-cot and stood near her sister’s head. She swallowed hard as a fresh wave of dizziness washed through her, followed by intense nausea. She closed her eyes and breathed through it, glad that her men didn’t seem able to pick up on how sick she felt. Otherwise, she knew they’d have her in bed already.
“You love them,” Salene said, surprising her. She opened her eyes and smiled down at her sister.
“So much,” she replied, nodding.
“You haven’t linked yet.”
“No, not yet. I had things to do, first.”
“They love you, Rayne.”
“It’s that obvious?”
“Yes, it is,” Salene said, then reached over and grasped Rayne’s hand tightly. “Don’t waste a single moment, Rayne. Not one.”
“I won’t, Salene,” Rayne said, seeing the pain and regret in her sister’s eyes. “I promise.”
“Good,” Salene said, releasing her hand. “There’s no need for you to watch this. Why don’t you go see your men?”
Rayne frowned and caught the eye of the head med tech after reading his name embroidered on the pocket of his tunic. “How long will this take, Blake?”
“An hour, maybe,” he replied. “After we dress the burns we’ll give her an injection to help speed up the healing process. That’ll probably put her to sleep for a few hours.”
“You won’t do that until after I’ve spoken with the Armadura’s Commanders,” Salene said, using her best Dracon Princess tone while meeting the med tech’s eyes and holding them.
“Of course not, Highness,” Blake replied with a faint smile. Salene nodded and relaxed.
“I’ll ask them to come back in an hour,” Rayne said. “In the meantime, try to relax and do what they tell you, all right?”
“I promise,” Salene said. “Now go.”
Rayne bent down to kiss her sister on the cheek and the room spun around her so fast that she had to grab hold of the medi-cot to stay on her feet. “Rayne?” Salene asked uncertainly.
Rayne swallowed, then opened her mouth to speak, but words refused to form. She couldn’t quite decide what she wanted to do most. Breathe. Throw up. Or lie down. While she was still trying to make up her mind her vision grew dark, and she collapsed.
“Rayne!” Salene exclaimed as she immediately attempted to get off the medi-cot to help her sister. The med techs held her back just as all three Bearen Hirus entered the room in a blurring flash.
“What happened?” Con a
sked while Landor knelt down to pick Rayne up.
“She got really white, seemed to lose her balance, then passed out,” Salene said quickly and succinctly, never taking her eyes from her sister’s face.
“Over here,” Blake said, leading the way to a medi-cot beside the one Salene occupied. Landor laid her down carefully, but didn’t step away, and Blake didn’t waste time asking. He reached up and activated the overhead scanner, then turned to the computer beside the bed to check the data being fed into it by the medi-cot.
“Her blood pressure, heart rate, and temperature are all low and dropping rapidly,” he said. “If you have any ideas about what might have happened to her, I need to know right now.”
“She was kicked by a creature with metal legs,” Landor said, watching an image from the scanner appear on the vid screen. “We don’t know how many times, but we suspect three. She said she felt no pain.”
Blake studied the scans for a few moments, then turned to look at Landor. “I don’t know how that’s possible. From what I can see, the pain should be excruciating. I don’t know how she even walked in here.”
“How is that possible?” Con asked, his face going white. He reached out with his senses. “Her shield is not up.”
“No, it’s not,” Ari confirmed. “But I scent no pain at all from Rayne.” They both looked at Landor who had a shocked expression on his face that probably matched their own.
“I feel her, I smell her, there’s no pain,” Landor said. “I’ve checked several times. Her shield has not been up since we returned to the Armadura. I’m certain of it.”
“Oh hell,” Con hissed.
“What?” Landor demanded.
“I understand, I just wish I didn’t.” He squeezed his eyes shut, then met Landor’s terrified gaze with his own. “We thought she had some level of pain dissociation, but we were wrong. It’s absolute. She doesn’t feel pain at all.”
Landor wanted to kick himself but Rayne didn’t have time for him to indulge his temper. “How bad is it, Blake?”
“Very, I’m afraid,” Blake replied. “She has a small tear in her right lung, some bleeding and extensive bruising. Her right kidney is bruised, and her left kidney is almost destroyed. But the worst is that her liver is ruptured in several places and her spleen is shattered beyond any hope of repair.”
Rayne's Return (Hearts of ICARUS Book 3) Page 26