Storm of Arranon Fire and Ice

by Robynn Sheahan

  “What are you trying to do?” His voice invited her to talk and share her pain with him.

  She didn’t. She sighed and signaled to the bartender.

  “Is it the dreams?” Nev watched her face.

  Erynn glared at him. “What do you know about my dreams?”

  “I’m the senior medical officer here. It’s my job to know what may affect a pilot’s, or any other personnel’s, abilities. Cale told me about your visions, your dreams. Like he told me of his. He trusts me. I wish you would.”

  “It’s not that easy for me.”

  Nev turned away. “I understand.”

  The bartender set two bottles on the counter.

  Erynn glanced at him and smiled. “Thanks.”

  “It must have been hard for you growing up, never able to talk to anyone about—things.”

  “I had my dad,” she snapped.

  But not any more.

  She gritted her teeth against the grief and stared at the dark wooden counter.

  Nev took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I don’t know how to help you, Erynn. And I want to.”

  “I’m fine,” she said through clenched jaws.

  “You keep saying that, and yet here you sit, getting drunk.”

  She spun in her chair and glared at him. “I am not.” Only her head kept spinning, going round and round. She reached to the edge of the counter, missed, and slid forward.

  Nev reached, putting his hand out to catch her. “Sure, you’re fine.”

  She pushed away. “I am…” She never finished. The tears choked out her voice.

  He wrapped his arms around her, pulled her into him, and steadied her. “Let it out, Erynn. It’s okay. It’s okay.” He held her for a while, letting her get the tears out of her system.

  Erynn pulled away, squeezing back her sorrow, her eyes dry. “Sorry. I should get back to my quarters.”

  “I’ll walk you,” Nev said, standing. “And you have nothing to be sorry about.”

  Chapter 8

  ERYNN MADE HER WAY TO the Medical Unit the next morning. The man behind the desk gestured her in without question, opening the doors behind him. People dressed in pale blue jumpsuits walked with purpose across the clean white space. Some carried trays of food, the bright overhead lights glinting off shining forks and spoons. Others, smiles on their faces as they entered cubicles and greeted patients, held medical instruments or small computers.

  She edged around the open door to Nev’s office and stood leaning against the frame, watching him. He studied the screen before him on his desk with intense concentration, eyes narrowed, mouth turned down. The fingers of his right hand lay calmly on the one clear spot of the cluttered surface.

  Nev was all light and open sky, so different from Jaer’s dark lines and quiet power. Jaer wore his emotions on his face and expressed them through his body language, rarely speaking his sentiments aloud. Nev voiced his thoughts and feelings. She always knew what was on Nev’s mind. There was no mystery about him.

  Erynn frowned.

  Have I ever sensed Nev’s emotions?

  She opened the tunnel of light, fixed the beam outward, and…

  Nothing.

  Zander’s words came back to her. “Sometimes nothing is all there is. Sometimes, nothing is a good thing.”

  She turned her face to the open hall. A slight woman with long golden-brown hair in a snug fitting pale blue jumpsuit walked toward her. Happiness flowed from the woman, showering Erynn like warm, gentle rain. The woman continued to the other end of the corridor, humming. Erynn dropped her gaze and grinned, glancing back to Nev.

  He watched her. That crooked smile lit up his blue eyes and spread across his features.

  She didn’t need to read his emotions to know what he felt. He was glad to see her.

  Erynn straightened. “Is this a bad time? I could come back later.”

  “You can stay now and come back later.” Nev stood up and moved around the cluttered desk. “Cace has been beyond excited all morning, waiting for you to visit him.” He put his hand on her back and directed her down the wide hall, gesturing to the right. “His room is here.”

  Erynn paused outside, not entering. She glanced up at Nev and winced. “I…Last night…I was…” She inhaled deeply, staring back the way they had come. “I don’t usually. I mean…” Nev stood there, watching her with an amused expression. Jaer would have stopped her rambling by now, telling her it wasn’t necessary. She frowned and bit her lower lip.

  He reached out and brushed a strand of curls from her eyes. “What are you trying to say, Erynn? I saw you at a vulnerable moment. Does that upset you? Thank you for trusting me.”

  A voice echoed from the cubicle, “Byan Nev, is Captain Yager here?”

  From down the corridor, the same pretty woman called, “Nev, there’s a case that needs your attention.” The woman glanced at Erynn. “Sorry.” Her large green eyes darted between Nev and Erynn.

  Nev nodded at the woman. “Thanks, Maire. I’ll be right there.” He glanced at Erynn and shrugged. “Duty calls. Go. Visit Cace.” He spun and hurried away.

  The room smelled of disinfectant and had an underlying scent of illness. Cace sat supported among large pillows in a bed with the head raised. She could tell he was tall for his fourteen years, but too thin, all sharp angles and pale skin.

  The DVSL on the wall across from the foot of the bed was the only light and showed the hangar bay. Interceptors gleamed in the sunlight pouring in through the open bay doors. His large brown eyes widened along with his smile when Erynn entered the small dim room.

  “It’s really you,” he whispered, his young voice quiet, weakened by illness.

  From a chair in a shadowy corner, a woman stood up and stepped forward. She was taller than Erynn. Her dark hair hung long and straight, clasped at the back of her neck.

  She took Erynn’s hand between her fine-boned cool fingers and glanced back at her son. “Thank you for coming. Cace has talked of nothing else since Byan Nev told him you would visit.”

  “I’m glad to visit with Cace. I hear we share a love of Interceptors.”

  The woman released Erynn’s hand. “You two have a lot to talk about. I’ll leave you to it.” She smiled, wiping at a tear with trembling fingers, and hurried from the room.

  Cace sighed, staring out the door. “They’re having trouble making me better this time. It worries Mom.”

  Erynn sat on the bed facing Cace. “Nev is a great byan. He’ll sort it out.” She opened the tunnel of her awareness. A fierce will, strong and confident streamed from Cace. So much energy, it made Erynn dizzy.

  The room filled with the sweet, spicy scent of the Anim Blath.

  Erynn closed her eyes. A vision of the future flashed in her mind. She recognized Cace, a handsome and powerful man with a family of his own. He would become a great leader of his world one day as the people of Arranon and Korin reach out to the stars and welcome civilizations from other planets.

  “The child must live,” the Anim Blath sang in many high voices.

  Bright points of blue, green, and purple danced under her lids and replaced the scene of Cace’s future. The colors paled, changing to a white-hot flame that burned through her. Erynn shuddered.

  “Captain Yager, are you all right?” Cace reached out, touched her arm, and gasped.

  In a brief flare, a blinding explosion, Erynn experienced Cace’s pain, his constant struggle to endure, and his pure determination to beat the evil disease tormenting his body. His respirations quickened and his pulse raced as the fire within her blazed and burned into him. Like shadows chased by brilliant sunshine, darkness fled Cace’s body, leaving only light, purity, and a sense of newness to his being. The white wildfire that swept from her into Cace smoldered and died. The intense radiance retreated, and the heat cooled. Blue, green, and purple firelight once again swirled through her consciousness.

  Alarms from a monitoring room down the corridor alerted the staff of Cace’s wildly
irregular vital signs. They would come to see what was wrong, and quickly.

  The Anim Blath receded. Their points of flashing colored lights dimmed and disappeared. The familiar sweet scent faded, and the room chilled.

  Erynn opened her eyes.

  Cace stared at her. Sweat plastered strands of dark hair to his face. “I feel…different. What did you do?” His face was no longer ghostlike. His cheeks had a high, healthy color, and his breathing was even and smooth. She sensed the erratic rhythm of his heart skip and then steady, slow and strong.

  She smoothed hair back from his forehead and smiled. “I didn’t do anything, Cace. I think that medicine of Nev’s is finally working.”

  He shook his head slowly, his eyes bright and wide. “No. There’s way more to it.”

  “Maybe.” Erynn glanced to the door. Hurried footsteps sounded, coming closer. “It was you, Cace. The power is in you. It’s in all of us, if we believe.”

  He nodded vaguely, grinning. “I understand. It’s our secret.”

  Erynn stood up and stepped away from the bed.

  Nev rushed into the room, followed by Maire and Cace’s mom. Nev’s expression promptly changed from one of reserved dread to pleasant surprise. “Hey, pal, you look pretty good. Are you feeling better?”

  Maire began examining Cace before he could answer.

  “I’m fine. Captain Yager and I were just talking.” Cace grinned and winked at Erynn.

  Maire glanced up from her exam. She took in a breath and stared at Nev. “All vital signs are normal. I mean normal for anyone, not just normal for Cace.”

  Nev reached out and took the readings Maire handed him. He smiled. “Well, young man, it may be that this new medicine will be the answer for you.” He handed the readings back and glanced at Erynn. His smile faltered as his gaze met hers. “Would you wait in my office, Erynn?”

  “Sure.” She nodded at Cace and grinned. “I’ll see you later.”

  Cace pushed himself up straight in the bed. “Promise?”

  Erynn nodded. “I promise.”

  “Ah, the healing powers of a pretty face. Much more of that, and you’ll put me out of a job. And that’s not a bad thing.” Nev stood in the door, arms crossed. He wasn’t smiling.

  Erynn rose from her chair. “What do you mean?”

  Nev hooked his thumbs in the pockets of his jumpsuit and shook his head. “You aren’t going to tell me, are you? Not anymore than Cace did.”

  She frowned. “What do you want to know?” Her voice cracked and she cleared her throat. Nev’s light brown hair had streaks of gold that shone in the light, sparkling. She noticed the clasp at the back of his neck, his cocha, silver and blue.

  Like his eyes.

  He stepped in and closed the door, walking around her to fall heavily into his chair. He rubbed his mouth with the back of his fingers. “Erynn. Trust me, please. There is more to you than just dreams and visions. Or being able to fly an Interceptor like no one else I have ever seen. Or finding a way to save us all when we had given up hope.”

  “I told you, I had help. It wasn’t me,” Erynn snapped, glaring down at him. She bit back her anger and sorrow. “Faylen was the one. He saved us.”

  “Was it you just now, with Cace?” He put his feet on the corner of the desk and laid his hands over his stomach.

  “I didn’t do anything.” Her eyes narrowed, and she held his gaze.

  He didn’t back down.

  Would he if he knew about me? Would he be afraid?

  A light tap at his door broke the impasse.

  Nev leaned forward, his feet hitting the floor with a smack, and he stood up. “Yes.”

  The door opened. Maire’s gaze darted from Erynn to Nev, and she winced. “I’m sorry, Nev. We’re ready for you.”

  “Thanks, Maire.” The door slid shut. “I have to go.” He stepped in front of Erynn, close.

  His clean, medicinal scent mingled with something musky and powerful. His energy drew her and she leaned forward, eyes closed.

  He swayed into her at the same time, resting his chin on the top of her head. His hands lightly slid from her shoulders down her arms.

  “I have to go,” he whispered again, his breath warm against her. In a swirl of cool air, he was gone.

  Erynn stood a moment collecting her thoughts. She sighed and left Nev’s office to enter an empty corridor. She should find Kira and learn what she remembered. Erynn couldn’t go poking her head into each cubicle until she found Kira, though. Erynn glanced up and then down the hall. She decided to go back to the main desk. The man there would know where Kira was.

  “Erynn,” Nev called from a partially curtained cubicle without glancing at her. “Give me a moment, and I’ll take you to see Kira.” His expression was again intent. He leaned over a small form. Blood tinged the edges of a clean material drape.

  Erynn stayed back, watching as Nev closed a wide, gaping wound.

  When he had repaired the main damage, Nev stared up at Erynn and smiled. “Young Kent here thought he could walk through glass.”

  A small voice came from behind the drawn curtain. “It was an accident. I didn’t really try to walk through the glass.”

  Erynn came closer. A blond boy relaxed on a narrow bed as Nev expertly sealed the thin line of the injury.

  The boy smiled up at Erynn, his face red. “My brother pushed me. We were wrestling.”

  “Oh, well, I guess you shouldn’t do that anymore, at least not around glass.” Erynn smiled down at him.

  “All done,” Nev called, tossing the drape on a small tray. “Good as new. I want you to rest here for a little while.”

  Kent frowned. “Okay. If you say so.”

  “I do. I’ll have some juice brought in for you.”

  “I’d rather have Kree.” The young boy grinned.

  “I like Kree too, with lots of ice,” Erynn said, smiling.

  Nev glanced at Erynn and then back to Kent. “Then Kree it is.”

  “Thanks.” Kent’s grin widened as his gaze darted from Nev to Erynn.

  Nev went to a sink, stripped off his gloves, and then washed his hands. His long hair fanned over his back. It shone, streaks of sunshine reflecting in the overhead lights. Jaer’s hair had a shine, too. A dark brown so deep it seemed to have depth. She sighed and turned away.

  Where was Jaer? Was he with her? Stop it!

  Her hands fisted. She shouldn’t think about such things. Jaer was gone to her.

  Wasn’t he?

  Nev stepped in front of her, staring down at her fisted hands. “What’s wrong? Did the blood bother you?”

  “No, I’m…” She shook her head. “The blood didn’t bother me.”

  He gazed sideways at her. “Want to see Kira?”

  “Yes.”

  Kira sat propped up in bed, holding a reader. The holograph pages filled with words, and bright colorful pictures changed to the next page as her eyes reached the bottom line. She appeared as if nothing had ever happened to her. The gash on her forehead had completely healed.

  “Nice work,” Erynn whispered to Nev.

  “Why, thank you.” That smile again, all light and charm, burst over his face.

  “Erynn,” Kira squealed. “Thanks for coming to visit me. I am so bored.”

  “How are you, Kira? You look great.” Erynn moved to stand at the bedside.

  “Thanks. I’m good.” Kira frowned, and it gave her face a pouty expression.

  I bet men just love that look.

  “I don’t know what happened. I’m no help.”

  “No, that’s a good thing, Kira. It’s better you don’t remember.” Erynn glanced around the room. “I’m glad you’re going to be all right.”

  “I’m getting out of here tomorrow.” Kira adjusted a pillow behind her head. “Would you come see me again before I do?”

  “If I can. My schedule comes out this afternoon, so—”

  “Oh, I’d love it if you would.” Kira pulled her fingers through her blonde hair and tosse
d her head. She gazed at Erynn from under long lashes. “Your Jaer was here earlier. I had to tell him I couldn’t give him a description of the man.”

  Erynn stiffened. “Jaer’s not mine.” Her voice was harsh, and her hands fisted again.

  Kira drew back, blue eyes wide.

  Erynn took in a breath and let it shudder out. “We’re just friends, nothing more.”

  “Seemed more than friends to me,” Kira said, picking up her reading.

  “Yeah, well, things change. I’ll see you later, Kira,” Erynn lied. She knew she wouldn’t come back.

  Nev stood just outside the room, waiting. “So, that’s it.”

  “What?” Erynn asked, frowning up at him.

  “Why you don’t come here to see me.” He grinned. His expression made him appear young, boyish.

  “What are you talking about?” Erynn asked as she continued down the hall.

  “Go to dinner with me, then.” His features sobered, turning serious.

  Erynn stopped and faced him. “What?”

  “Dinner, you, me. Want to?” He glanced down the hall. “I like being around you, Erynn. I’ll even cook.” He smiled. “I’m pretty good.”

  Am I ready for this? For what? What is this? I shouldn’t even be considering this, but then…It’s just dinner. Why not?

  “I guess we could.”

  Chapter 9

  ERYNN’S BROW WRINKLED. SHE BIT her lower lip while the idea formed in her mind. “It could work,” she whispered. She smiled and hurried to the hangar bay. With Cale’s approval, she and the computer technician on duty spent the rest of the day equipping her Interceptor with live cameras. From inside and out, her helmet to the wing tips, everything was covered. Then they integrated the incoming video to one feed, accessible by DVSL. Anyone watching would be able to experience what it was like to fly an Interceptor. Every stomach-dropping, head-spinning, adrenaline-rushing, non-stop moment of speed could be felt as if actually in a fighter.