by M. K. Eidem
"No one is going to believe her; she's crazy. The Commanders were incapacitated when I arrived. They'll never know I was here."
Realizing that was plausible, he handed her the shirt he'd gathered the vipers in. "Then take this and get out of here."
Cali looked back at Jamis and Taarig. She was exhausted and just wanted to curl up between them where she knew she'd be safe and protected. But that wasn't reality because they weren't hers. If tonight proved nothing else, it proved that. Stiffening her spine, she forced her unsteady legs to move.
"I owe you for this, Xanto."
"You do," he agreed, "and I expect a full explanation as payment. Now get out of here before you fall down."
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Cali staggered into the secret lift, not sure how she'd gotten there unnoticed since she hadn't looked before stepping out of Jamis’s quarters or when she entered the hidden corridor. Never in her existence had she felt so drained. The weight of the bag she carried had her listing to one side, so she dropped it and leaned back against the wall closing her eyes.
Yet she could still see Jamis and Taarig sprawled out on that bed, naked, defenseless, and dying from the viper venom running through their veins with bites covering their bodies. Reaching up, she touched the vicious bite that still hadn't healed on her neck. She didn't have enough power remaining to heal it and eradicate the venom. It was all she could do to stop the venom from spreading through her body and stay upright.
The specially designed lift she was in not only moved quickly and silently but stopped so smoothly, you barely felt it. Still, Cali's knees nearly buckled when it reached her quarters, and the door slid open.
Using the wall as support, Cali made her way down the corridor. It seemed to take an unusually long time to reach the door of her resting chamber and for it to slide open. When it finally did, she looked to her rejuvenation tank. What was she thinking putting it that far away? Pulling on the last of her reserves, she stumbled across the room. Dropping to her knees, she swept the pillows out of the way and placed a trembling hand on the centered emblem. The lid and sides retracted, revealing the life-giving, glowing, blue liquid, but it was too late for Cali. Her energy ran out, and her world became as dark and cold as the universe outside her viewport.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Taarig struggled against the dark emptiness trying to overtake his mind, body, and soul. He could hear snippets of conversation but couldn't make sense out of them. His body was racked with pain, but he didn't know why. Each new meteor strike drained a little more of his soul.
Then slowly, ever so slowly, a power began driving away the dark, cold numbness that was taking over his body. It entered his damaged soul, repairing and filling it with light, warmth, and life.
His mind began to clear, but he still couldn't decipher anything around him.
The hissing he'd heard had to have come from the Si female they'd brought back to Jamis’s quarters, but then something strange had happened. He knew it, but what?
His mind told him he'd heard Cali's voice, but that was impossible. Wasn't it? After the way, they'd treated her.
"He's beginning to come around."
Taarig recognized Lead Meddyg Ra's distinctive low-pitched voice. What was he doing here? Suddenly his entire body jolted. He had control of his body and jackknifed up, only then realizing he'd been lying on a bed.
"Easy," Ra urged, placing a steadying hand on his shoulder. "All the poison hasn't been counteracted yet."
"Poison?" Taarig asked after peeling his tongue off the roof of his mouth. He wanted to shrug off the Meddyg's hand but found he needed it to stop from toppling over. Taarig desperately wanted a glass of water. When one suddenly appeared before him, he greedily gulped it down with Ra’s assistance.
"You and the Base Commander both ingested Sion Viper venom," Ra told him.
"What?!" Taarig looked to his right, and his friend and bond mate was lying next to him, unnaturally still, extremely pale, and completely naked. Looking down, he realized he was naked too. "What the ruk?!"
Being naked in front of others didn't bother Taarig. Being found naked in bed next to Jamis didn't bother him either. What bothered him was he didn't have a rukking idea of how it had happened.
"You and the Commander are fortunate. If Pandit Xanto had not discovered you when he did, we couldn’t have administered the antidote in time."
"Who?" Taarig didn't recognize the name.
"Me, Sub Commander." Xanto stepped into his line of sight.
Taarig's eyes narrowed as he recognized the Elevsìs male that had full access to Cali's quarters. It still made his blood boil even though he and Jamis had agreed not to have a relationship with her. "What business did you have coming here tonight, Elevsìs?"
"I found out some information concerning the explosion. I wanted to inform the Commander."
"That doesn't explain how you were able to gain access to the Commander’s office and quarters?" Taarig demanded, moving to stand as more of his strength returned.
"I pressed my hand against the panel, Sub Commander," Xanto said drily, "and the door opened."
Confusion teased Taarig's senses because he knew that shouldn't be possible, but he didn't comment. Instead, he looked to the Meddyg. "Why hasn't the antidote worked on the Commander yet?"
"My readings show he ingested a larger amount of venom than you, Sub Commander."
"Ingested?" Taarig's eyebrows drew together, a light trying to shine in his still hazy memory. Before Taarig could question Ra further, Jamis groaned, and all attention turned to him.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Xanto silently watched the Commander lift a hand and rub his newly-healed throat. Cali had healed him so completely that Xanto was the only one who noticed the four pinprick scars left from the viper's bite. He watched as the Lead Meddyg assisted Jamis with a glass of water and repeat what he had told the Sub Commander regarding the fact they'd both ingested Sion Viper venom.
"How?!" Jamis demanded, swinging his legs over the side of the bed as he sat up.
"It appears to have been in your glasses of skotsk, Commander," the Meddyg informed him. "When we tested the bottle, there was no venom."
"In the glasses… Tecumseh!" he growled, his gaze searching the room for her as he stood. Finding her restrained and unconscious in a corner, he looked to Taarig. "You?"
"No, it was Pandit Xanto." Taarig gestured to where he stood.
Jamis took in the Elevsìs male. "You are an acquaintance of Cali's."
"Of her family, yes," Xanto told him, not commenting on his casual use of Cali's name.
"What brought you to my quarters, and how did you enter?" Jamis’s tone started calm and controlled but ended on a deadly growl.
"I came into some information concerning the explosion outside The Brink that I thought you should know," Xanto replied, unfazed by Jamis’s outburst. After all, he regularly dealt with the Paramount. "As for entering your quarters, as I explained to Sub Commander Ynn, the door opened when I placed my hand on the panel. I assumed you had granted me entry, so I entered. When you weren't in your outer office, I went in search of you. The state of your living quarters caused me concern, so I continued into your resting chamber. I was instantly attacked, so I defended myself." Xanto looked to the Si female. "When I realized you and the Sub Commander were in distress, I immediately contacted the Meddygs then restrained who I believed responsible."
With a snarl, Jamis pulled on the pants Taarig handed him and then the shirt. "Move her into my office. I'll interrogate her there. Don't revive her until I get there."
"Yes, Star Base Commander." Ra nodded to his assistants, and Xanto followed them as they carried the female out.
Jamis waited until the door closed before releasing his rage. "What the ruk happened, Taarig?!!"
The last thing he remembered was swallowing the glass of skotsk Tecumseh had handed him in one gulp. It had had a strange taste, but he'd attributed that to it being warm, not
something sinister. Now he knew better. It was poisoned. He wanted answers, and he wanted them now!
"You expect me to know?" Taarig gave him a disgusted look before scanning the floor for his shirt. "My skotsk was poisoned too, although I never finished it."
"Why?"
"I don't know. I remember it tasted funny, but my entire body went numb before I could say anything, and I blacked out. Where the ruk is my shirt?!"
"Just wear your jacket," Jamis told him, pulling on his own. "I want to know why this rukking bitch tried to kill us."
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Xanto leaned against a wall as two Meddygs secured the Si female in a chair in front of the Commander's desk. The female was still unconscious; her head slumped to the side at an uncomfortable angle. Xanto was beginning to wonder what Cali had done to her. The Paramount was able to immobilize a being, so he was the only one able to revive them. Had Cali inherited this gift too? If so, how were they going to explain it?
It wasn't long before the Commander and Sub Commander entered the room. Jamis settled in behind his desk while Taarig stood behind him. Jamis nodded to the Lead Meddyg, who placed an injector to Tecumseh's neck and pressed the trigger. Tecumseh's body spasmed uncontrollably for a moment, then she stiffened, and her eyes flew open.
Xanto watched as she didn't seem to know where she was or what was going on until her gaze settled on Jamis. Then crazed insanity filled her elongated eyes, and she began pulling on her restraints.
"You! You ssshould be dead!" Her gaze shifted to Taarig. "Both of you."
"It takes more than a little Sion Viper venom to end two Apre warriors," Jamis told her.
"It wasss more than a little," she hissed, her gaze searching the room. "Where are my bey-beesss. What did ssshe do with them?!"
Xanto stiffened against the wall. Ruk, she was going to reveal that Cali was here.
Jamis raised an eyebrow at her. "There are no bey-bees here, Tecumseh, and you are the only female. So, tell me, why did you try to assassinate two Coalition Commanders. You had to have known the punishment for such an act would be imprisonment if not being ended yourself."
"For Taini!" she screamed, trying to lunge at him even though restrained. "For what you, both of you, did to her."
Xanto saw the Commander stiffen at the name while confusion crossed the Sub Commander’s.
"Taini?" Taarig questioned. "We haven't seen her since she returned to Sion over three standard-years ago."
"Liesss," Tecumseh spat out. "He," she jutted her chin out toward Jamis, "sssaw her a year ago."
Xanto could tell by Taarig's suddenly blank expression that he hadn't known that.
"He approached her," Tecumseh continued, "even though he knew ssshe was mated. "He ssseduced her into betraying her mate, then left her. The ssshame of what ssshe'd done wasss too much for her to bear and ssshe threw herssself into a viper pit."
That explained the use of the vipers. What Xanto still couldn't understand was how she'd been able to keep them alive without their dame being nearby.
"Taini approached me," Jamis responded after a moment.
"LIESSS!"
Xanto frowned as Tecumseh denied the Commander's words. Not because he believed Jamis but because as Tecumseh moved from side-to-side in denial, the thick, decorative band along the bottom of her dress began to move up and down as if there was something alive in it, and it was trying to get out. A horrifying thought suddenly occurred to him, and he pushed away from the wall.
"Commander," Xanto tried to gain the Commander's attention.
"I don't lie," Jamis said, ignoring the Elevsìs male.
"Commander!" Xanto shouted.
"What?" Jamis demanded, furious at the male's interruption.
But it was too late. Before Xanto could respond, a mature and fully-enraged Sion Viper exploded from Tecumseh's dress. It landed in the center of Jamis’s desk and immediately coiled up tightly, its fangs bared.
Chaos reigned in the office as everyone tried to get out of the viper's strike range. Everyone but Tecumseh, who couldn't because she was restrained, but it didn't seem to bother her.
"There'sss my bey-bee," Tecumseh cooed in a loving voice, undulating from side-to-side in perfect sync with the viper. "It'sss time to get revenge for my sssessstra and your bey-beesss that bitch killed."
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Jamis’s mind raced, trying to think of a way to take down a mature Sion Viper that had a strike range that encompassed nearly the entire room, especially when his weapon was sitting useless in a drawer of his desk. Realizing there was only one way, he caught Taarig's eye so he'd be ready.
Taarig's eyes narrowed, and with the barest movement of his head, told Jamis he disagreed. They'd been fighting side-by-side for so long that Taarig immediately realized what Jamis had decided to do as neither of them had a weapon. It would get Jamis killed. No being, Apre or not, could physically overpower an adult Sion Viper. Even if you were able to immobilize its head without being bitten, the rest of its body would coil around you, crushing you to death. But Taarig could tell Jamis would do it anyway and that he expected Taarig to retrieve the weapon from the desk and end the viper before it finished him.
Ruk!
But before Jamis could act, the viper struck.
Tecumseh!
It was sinking its rows of razor-sharp teeth behind its fangs into her neck.
Because of Jamis’s years of training, he wasn't paralyzed by the viper's sudden and violent move. In the time it took the viper to remove Tecumseh's head from her body and turn to face the movement behind it, Jamis had retrieved his weapon and fired multiple times.
The viper hissed and destroyed the room as it withered in its death throes. While Jamis, Taarig, and Xanto ducked and dodged the contorting body, the Meddygs got knocked off their feet. Jamis’s desk shattered, and the viewport behind it automatically secured after being violently struck. Finally, the viper stilled and dropped lifeless to the floor.
Chapter Seventeen
Xanto quietly slipped out of the Commander's Office as others rushed in, responding to the alarm that sounded from Jamis firing his weapon. There was nothing for him to do here, and he wanted to check on Cali. He hadn't liked the way she'd looked when she left.
As he entered the lift, his link pinged. "Yes?"
"Xanto, this is Mae."
"What can I do for you, Mae?" he asked.
"I'm worried about Cali. I've been pinging her link, but she isn't answering. Is she with you?"
"No." A sick feeling began to grow in his stomach. Links were made to be used anywhere, even in a rejuvenation tank. Cali would have answered Mae if she was able. "I'm sure it's nothing, Mae," he reassured her even though he didn't believe it himself. "I'll check on her when I get back to The Brink."
"But…"
"I'm sure she's fine, Mae." Xanto quickly disconnected the transmission, then impatiently waited for the lift to reach the market level. As soon as the doors opened, he exited with the rest. Instead of heading toward The Brink's doors, as most of the beings were, Xanto went in the opposite direction. He couldn't risk Mae demanding to enter Cali's quarters with him when he didn't know what the situation was. Stepping behind a column and into an alcove no one ever noticed, he pressed his palm against a scanner embedded in the wall. The panel in front of him slid open.
Moving down the hidden corridor, he immediately knew something was wrong. The scret lift doors were still open, and the shirt containing the viper remains lay open on its floor. Rushing into Cali's resting chamber, both of his hearts missed a beat at what he found. Cali slumped against her rejuvenation tank, with one arm submerged from her elbow down.
"Cali!" Rushing to her side, he hesitated for a moment, unsure of where or if he should touch her. Slowly he tipped her chin up and was dismayed to see that the wound on her neck hadn't healed at all. In fact, it looked even worse. Her shallow, shuddering breath told him just how dire her situation was. Shoving his concerns aside, he lifted
her up and carefully placed her on top of the renewal liquid, fully clothed. He knew it wasn't the preferred way, but he wasn't going to waste time stripping her. As he watched, shimmering tendrils reached up and pulled Cali beneath the surface.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
"Where did that Elevsìs male go?" Jamis demanded once his office cleared of all the debris and viper carcass. It would take time to repair the damage, so he and Taarig had moved into his living quarters, which were thoroughly cleaned after samples and the glasses had been collected.
"I assume back to The Brink." Taarig returned to the chair he'd used earlier, his elbows resting on his knees as he stared down at the still damp spot in the carpet. He and Jamis fought in hundreds of battles together, had known there was a chance one or both of their life spans could be ended. They'd prepared for that and accepted it, but to have come so close now and not even realize… It had him rethinking what was important to him and what he would do to get it. "Is what Tecumseh said true?"
"That when I was on Sion, Taini and I spent two standard-days together?" Jamis asked, sitting in the chair across from Taarig, the glass in his hand containing water. "Yes, but it is as I said. She approached me. I even asked about her mate. She denied having one, stating they had both decided not to bond."
"She lied to you."
"So, it would seem."
Taarig roughly rubbed his hands over his face. "Why didn't you ever tell me about it?"
"When I returned, we had that Zibion incident to deal with, and by the time it was resolved, I'd forgotten all about it."
"It would seem her sestra didn't." Taarig drank from his glass of water.
"I never even knew she had a sestra. Taini never talked about her nest with me."
"I can't believe she'd throw herself into a viper pit."
"Neither can I." Jamis absently rubbed where his throat was still sore. "It had to have been an excruciating way to be ended."
Jamis’s action had Taarig's chest aching, and he reached inside his jacket to rub it. Touching bare skin, he remembered he never did find his shirt. Rising, he went into Jamis’s resting quarters.