by R. R. Banks
Pyra gestured toward Rain's hands and a hushed moment fell over the room.
"If the Covra are able to weaponize anything that they want to," Bannack said, "Why didn't they just do that right along? What happened that they weren’t able to make the Light Ones fight each other? What could have weakened them so much that they couldn't fight, but that they could still lock the entire settlement?"
The other men shook their heads and Lynx glanced down at Rain again.
"I guess if they weren't locked by the same type of poison that the Covra use to turn people into their own personal killing machines, then you can't just use the same tool to draw out the poison and it will make them better."
"I think that would be a bit too simple," Ciyrs said, reaching forward to gingerly move Rain's gown so that he could better see her damaged skin through the cut in the fabric, "I could try it if you want me to, though. I guess it wouldn't hurt to try every option that we have. I just can't imagine that the Covra would have their last ditch effort of a war be something that could be resolved so easily."
"I don't think so, either," Lynx agreed, then took a shuddering breath to prepare himself for the next statement he was going to say, "but I think that we should try everything. I don't want to leave her locked for any longer than we have to just because we didn't try something that we thought was too simple."
Ciyrs nodded and stepped up closer to the edge of the bed. Lynx reluctantly got out of the way, moving closer to the head of the bed to allow Ciyrs to get nearer to Rain. Without taking his eyes off of the injury in Rain's stomach, Ciyrs lowered the bag from his shoulder onto the mattress. He reached into it and withdrew the same tools that he had used to heal Lynx, Ty, and Vax. Lynx couldn't remember what it felt like for the healer to use the strange instrument to draw the poison that the Covra had injected into him out of his body, but it still made him shudder to look at it. It looked painful and invasive, two things that he never wanted Rain to experience.
"This isn't going to hurt her," Ciyrs said as if he could sense the discomfort and worry that Lynx was feeling.
"What's going to happen when they do wake up, though?" Lynx asked.
"What do you mean?" Pyra asked.
"What's going to happen? If we can figure it out and we do unlock them, what will happen to them? They've been this way for decades. Are they going to wake up and be violent and aggressive and think that we are trying to fight them like the Covra were? Will they be able to understand us when we talk to them so that we can tell them that everything is going to be alright and that we want to help them? Will they even be able to survive? They are locked now and that is keeping them in this suspended state, but if we release the lock are they just going to shrivel up and die because all of these people should probably have died long ago?"
Everything poured out of him with greater emotion than Lynx had intended, but he felt like he couldn't hold back all of the questions and concerns any longer. As desperately as he wanted to look into Rain's eyes, hear her voice, and complete his bond with her, it terrified him to think about what could go wrong when they finally figure out how to unlock them. As horrific as it was to see her that way, and as heartbreaking as it was to think about never actually getting to be with her, at least when she was this way he knew that she was safe. For as long as she was locked the way she was, she was alive and he could be with her. It was a terrifying balance between wanting to preserve and destroy the same moment.
Chapter Four
Loralia was again running through the compound, feeling the ground pushing way beneath her feet as she rushed back from the moss-concealed entrance to her mirror realm in the forest toward the bakery where she hoped that she would find Samira. She was beginning to feel like running was the only thing that she was doing since the men had left. Rather than spending the time that they were gone settling into her new surroundings and helping the other women take care of the compound and prepare for the men's return, she had been running around desperately trying to help her mate even though he was far away. In her heart, though, she knew that there was nothing else that she would really rather be doing. Being close to Bannack, even if that meant helping him fight a battle through the power of her mirrored compact and the one that she had given him, was what mattered to her most.
"Loralia!"
She heard her name and skidded to a stop in the middle of the wide dirt road that led to Ty's bakery. Her thick braid swirled and hit her hip as she whipped around, trying to find the source of the voice. She was still learning the women who shared this new home with her, and when she was so lost in her thoughts about Bannack it was incredibly difficult for her to try to decipher which of them it was just through that one word.
When she turned around for the second time she saw all five of the other women coming toward her, Zuri out in front charging ahead with all of the intensity and commanding of attention that she always exuded, and Eden falling slightly behind as she tried to contend with the large, round belly that cradled Pyra's child.
"What do you need?" Loralia asked.
She surprised herself with the ire that came through in her voice when she spoke to them, especially considering she had been seeking them out just as much as they were seeking her out now. Seeing them again, however, only reminded her of the comments that they had made when they last spoke, and the feelings of frustration and anger toward them returned. She had done nothing but be helpful and welcoming to these women since they had first entered her home, but they had admitted that they have a difficult time trusting anyone new, particularly women. Though they had tried to reassure her that they hadn't meant her, that they were only talking about the flight attendant who had betrayed all of them by assisting the Klimnu, Loralia had felt like it was one of those comments that people make that they do not even realize what they have said, when they are revealing what is truly inside them even though they had been trying not to say that particular thing.
The five women stopped a few feet from her, all of them carrying expressions that showed that they were embarrassed and regretful about the conversation that they had. Loralia tried to remember what it had been like between them on her first night in the compound. She had such a horrible experience with Bannack and they came to her, offering their friendship and their comfort. They told her that they were happy that there was another woman in the compound with them and made her feel, at least for a moment, that they were going to be her friends. Loralia fought within herself to reconnect with how that felt and to keep her mind focused on the benefits that would come from forming relationships with the mates of the other warriors. This was her life now, and she would either assimilate, or be miserable.
"We have been trying again to contact the men, but haven't been able to. We want to ask if any of them remember being told about this new professor who is supposed to be coming."
Loralia tensed.
"You are still so concerned about that?" she asked, "Could it not be possible that you simply forgot about this professor? That you put it out of your mind because you were thinking about other things?" She looked at each of the women, "Why is it so much easier for all of you, so much more natural, to question and be suspicious about everything than it is for you to trust? You pretend that you are so loyal to the Denynso, but you have heard from the king himself that the professor is coming and that he received formal word of it directly from the program and you are still so convinced of your own knowledge of what is going on in the world around you that you will not even believe him."
She hadn't meant to say all of that, but it had just come out of her. Loralia expected the other women to be angry and yell back at her, or at the very least to storm away from her. Instead, they all looked even more embarrassed as if what she had said finally gotten through to them completely.
"I'm sorry," Zuri said, offering the words with true, pure emotion that Loralia knew meant she was saying it truly from herself and was not trying to speak for the other women.
"It's unl
ikely that any of you are going to be able to get through to your mates. They have been in a battle."
The five women gasped and Elianna stepped up to Zuri's side.
"Did Ciyrs not make it to Lynx in time?" she asked, the words sounding as though she had to fight with herself even to get them out of her mouth.
"No, he did," Loralia answered and watched the tiny woman relax, "but the Covra are vicious and persistent. Even though they are far weakened from when they first encountered the Light Ones, they still hold a grudge. They want to come back and see them, and they are not happy that the men are there."
"Wait," Samira said, "these are the same creatures? The ones that locked the Light Ones in the first place?"
"Yes. This species is ancient. They have extremely long lives and it can take many decades for a new generation to be born. The time when they are reproducing is often the most dangerous time for them because the offspring have yet to be born, but the existing generation is getting weaker. That's what I fear is happening now."
"What do you mean?" Leia asked.
"The Covra are so old at this point that they have to be close to a new generation or the species would die off. They are also getting weaker, though they are still strong enough to fight the men. I helped them lure and defeat as many of the Covra as they could, but if they are close to their reproductive cycle finishing, there could be thousands of young, strong creatures about to be born."
"You helped them defeat the ones that were already there?"
Eden asked this as if it hurt her slightly that Loralia had the opportunity to be involved with the men in this way and the rest of them didn't, but that at the same time she was happy that there was still some connection to them when the other women were unable to use their thoughts to connect with their mates.
"Yes," Loralia answered, "Bannack and I reflected the structures on the floor of one of the caverns in my home so that the Covra would puncture their eyes on it. That is the only way to kill them."
"Are they all alright?"
Loralia looked at Samira regretfully.
"Ty was injured," she said, "but he's fine now. Ciyrs was right there and he and Pyra and Gyyx were able to get Ty and Vax under control so that Ciyrs could heal them. I'm sure that they are awake by now. That's actually why I was looking for you."
"Why?" Samira asked, obviously shaken by the news that her mate was hurt in the battle against the Covra.
"The Covra will be back. I have absolutely no doubt about that. But it isn't just the men who are at risk. They could leave and continue on their journey and likely never encounter them again. The Light Ones, however, are at very serious risk. If they don't figure out how to unlock them very soon, they might run out of time. My grandfather was always cryptic with his stories, but he did mention that when the young ones come, enemies fall. If I'm right about the new generation being born soon, the Light Ones' time might be up."
"But what does that have to do with you looking for us?" Elianna asked.
"The men don't know how to unlock them. Ciyrs tried the healing that he did to remove the toxin that caused the infected warriors to try to fight the others, and it didn't work. They read back through all of the information that they found when they went into the prison and found out about the settlement and the Light Ones, and there's nothing in there about the specific way that they unlock them. They need help."
The women exchanged glances and then Elianna nodded.
"Let's go to Ciyrs' shop. I've never heard of the Covra so I don't think that there is anything in any of his books about them, but it wouldn't hurt to look through them again. Being close to the supplies and healing ingredients might also help to trigger some ideas," Elianna said.
The women hurried to the shop and as soon as they stepped inside, Loralia took the compact from around her neck and placed it on the counter.
"Everyone come around here. You'll be able to see your men and they'll be able to see you."
The women gathered tightly around her so that they could all look into the mirror and Loralia opened the compact. She reflected the chain in the top mirror and the silver around the glass started to glow. It gave off the same pearly luminescence as her skin, growing in intensity as the compact reached out to link with the one that Bannack had. She knew that just as hers did when he reflected the braid of her hair that she had attached to it before giving it to him, her father's compact would now be pulsating with light on Bannack's chest.
An instant later the glow faded and Bannack's face appeared in her mirror again. It hadn't been long since they had last spoken and he told her that she should go talk to the women without the compact activated and then reconnect with them when the women were ready, but she still felt the upward surge in her heart that she always did when she saw his eyes looking back at her. They were still so close to the beginning of their relationship that she could remember what his eyes looked like before they shifted completely to orange after their first bonding experience. She could remember the flickering when they would shift from their original shade to the bright orange and back again, a feature that she found so strange. Now, however, she knew that she much preferred the orange because it was an outward, inarguable sign of their unbreakable connection to each other.
Chapter Five
"Hello, my love," Bannack said.
"Hi, darling. I have the other women with me."
"I can see that," Bannack replied with a smile, "Hello, everyone."
Loralia could hear all of the women chiming in around her to say hello to Bannack and she smiled.
"How is everyone doing?" she asked.
The compact shifted suddenly and Pyra's face appeared in the glass.
"Pyra!" Eden gasped, pushing closer to the compact.
She reached out and ran her fingers down the side of the reflection of Pyra's face.
"Hi," he said softly, "I miss you."
"I miss you, too."
"How's the baby?"
"Everything's fine."
"Good."
"I wish I could connect with you."
"I know. It's just too hard right now."
"It's like I can feel you with me."
He seemed to be starting to say something else, but Gyyx's face appeared beside his as the other warrior tried to push Pyra out of the way.
It continued like this for the next several minutes, each of the men forcing their way into the reflection so that they could spend a few moments with their mates. Finally Lynx appeared in the reflection.
"I'm sorry to be the one to break all of this up, but we really need to start figuring this out."
"Lynx is right," Ciyrs' voice came from behind Lynx and a moment later he appeared in the reflection.
Elianna reached forward and touched the image of his face. Loralia could see the tears in her eyes and had a pang of feeling for the tiny woman. Elianna and Ciyrs had been together for far longer than she and Bannack, and Loralia could only imagine that the bond grew stronger with time. As with the other women, she couldn't begin to understand how painful it was for them to be away from the men who they had spent months with rather than the mere days she had been with Bannack. Being without him felt like her heart was coming out of her chest, and in that moment she found herself in awe that the other women, or their mates, were still functioning.
"Do you have any ideas?" Elianna asked, her voice lowering as if she had forgotten the others were around her and was just talking to him.
"I've tried everything that I can think of. Do you want to look at her?"
Elianna nodded. The reflection in the compact mirror moved as Ciyrs carried it over to the bed and held it up so that the image of a beautiful woman appeared in the glass. Loralia looked at her delicate but distinct features, the flow of hair in a color that she had never seen, the soft peacefulness that made her face look relaxed and calm without a hint of knowing what was coming in the moments just after she laid down to rest.
"She's like Sleeping Beauty," Zuri s
aid.
Loralia didn't know what she meant by that, but the other four human women nodded in agreement, so she figured that it must have some sort of meaning behind it.
"Who is Sleeping Beauty?" one of the men asked and Loralia was relieved that she wasn't the only one that wasn't familiar with the phrase.
"It's a fairy tale," Zuri said with a small laugh, "A story that we tell our children on Earth. It's about a woman that gets put into a deep sleep by an evil fairy. She sleeps for so long that her fairy godmothers put everyone in the entire kingdom to sleep. She can only wake when her true love comes and kisses her."
"How long does it take?"
"One hundred years."
Loralia heard Lynx's sharp intake of breath.
"Maybe you should try kissing her," Pyra said to Lynx, only partly sounding like he was kidding.
"It worked for me," Gyyx said.
Loralia saw Leia blush.
"You might have done a little more than kiss me," she said and Gyyx grinned.
Loralia remembered the story they had told her about Gyyx waking Leia up out of her sleep after they rescued her from the Klimnu by stimulating her. She had come out of her sleep in the middle of an orgasm, but it wasn't until she had convinced him to bond with her completely that she had really started to heal and regain her strength.
"I don't think that would work," Loralia said, "She might look like Sleeping Beauty, but she wasn't singled out. The Covra locked the entire settlement, not just her."
"That's true," Ciyrs said, "This is an ability of the Covra, not magic. There has to something, something specific, that will unlock all of them."
"We're going to go back to the other men and tell them what we found out about Rain," Pyra said.
"Rain?" asked Eden.
"That's her name," Lynx said.
Loralia could hear the tenderness in his voice and she wished there was something that she could do to reassure him. Even just hearing those few words from him, she feel his emptiness and loneliness, and if there two emotions that she understood clearly, it was those.