“What if we run into Naran?” Khurda asked.
“If he has something to tell us about where Tani is, we’ll listen,” Steel said behind clenched teeth. “Otherwise, he is no longer Khun, but one with the Nomen, and should be treated as such.” There was a low, quiet murmur of approval that saddened Steel, though it no longer surprised him. He’d done a much worse job of leading his people than he’d imagined.
He turned around and led the way up to the observation post at the top of the hill overlooking the compound. He looked down in time to see four Nomen carrying a portable hibernation pod between them enter the mine. He knew with absolute certainty that Tani was in that pod.
Without wasting another moment he shifted and spread his wings, but stopped when Marbic put a hand on his arm and said, “Wait!” He looked down at his friend impatiently.
“Their ship is gone,” Marbic said. Steel looked over to the small pad where the Nomen kept their ship and saw that it was, indeed gone. He wasn’t sure what that meant, but after giving it a few moments of thought, he decided it didn’t matter. He shrugged, then jumped up, his wings pushing hard against the air as he fought for a little altitude. He coasted down to the nearly deserted compound, shifted again and drew his weapons. He waited just long enough for another hundred or so of his men to join him, then he led the first ever attack of the Khun against the Nomen.
The men were so angry by the time the attack began that it took but a few short minutes to find and kill the twenty one remaining Nomen, not counting the four that had gone into the mine. They’d expected to find half a dozen more, but since Brutus was also missing, they assumed they were all in the ship. Steel let his men take care of the Nomen while he waited outside the mine entrance in his mahrac form for the four he’d seen enter. When they came out, he grabbed the last of the four with his enormous claws, lifting him up and away from the group. His men made short work of the other three, then Marbic shifted into his human form and Steel dropped the Nomen on the ground in front of him.
“Controller, stop movement,” Marbic commanded, and the Nomen froze midway between the ground and standing. The men who watched were shocked, even though Tani had told them this was possible. Steel landed and shifted behind the Nomen.
“Controller, stand.” The Nomen obediently stood.
“Controller, state the location of Princess Tanjelia.”
“Princess Tanjelia is located in the ore chamber,” the Nomen replied in a flat voice. Steel turned and started walking toward the mine.
“Steel, no, wait!” Khurda called. He stopped and turned around, frowning.
“Controller, list security measures in place for the ore chamber.”
“If the door is opened by unauthorized personnel, the ore chamber will be flooded with Vartrex nerve gas.”
“Controller, list all individuals who can safely open the door,” Khurda ordered.
“Foreman Brutus.”
“Controller, are there gas masks or any other device in the vicinity capable of protecting the user against Vartrex gas?”
“No.”
“Controller, how long will it take the nerve gas to kill a human?” Steel asked quietly
“Two minutes.”
“I can have her out of there in less than a minute,” Steel said, then started to turn away again. Khurda placed a staying hand on his arm. “Controller, explain what you know about the effects of the nerve gas,” he said.
“The gas will burn its way into the body through the skin,” the Nomen said. “Dizziness, confusion and nausea will follow. Senses will cease to function. Muscles will lock up, paralysis will set in, consciousness will be lost and brain death will occur. Physical death follows shortly thereafter.”
“Controller,” Marbic said, “is there an antidote?”
“No.”
The flat delivery of that single word silenced everyone for long seconds. Khurda broke the silence. “Your mahrac form will last a little longer than a human’s, but it will still kill you, and there is no cure,” he said to Steel. “You will die.”
Steel looked at Khurda, then Marbic, and then he looked around at his men who’d all gathered around now that the remaining Nomen were dead. “How many times must Tani Dracon offer up her life for the Khun?” he asked loudly enough for everyone to hear. “She faced two Nomen, unarmed, to save Astra. Without her expertise and skills, our men and women would still be enslaved here, in this compound. She healed Astra, Naran, Ruya, and Dirk. She taught us battle skills that we would not have otherwise learned. She leapt in front of me, taking a shot that should have been mine, and lived only because of Wily’s magic. She summoned her parents, the Royal Princes of Jasan, and an ICARUS ship, to aid us. And she allowed herself to be tranquilized by a madman in order to save Dirk’s life, knowing that in doing so she would end up with one of these controllers in her own brain. She did all of this and more for the Khun, and what has she received in return?
“I have insulted her, and hurt her, at every turn with my foul temper and refusal to accept the truth about a man I believed to be a friend. She does not deserve to lose her life because I am a blind fool. I owe her this. The Khun owe her this.” Steel’s voice softened, vibrating with emotion as he said, “But more importantly than all of that, I love her. I am going in there to get her, and I will kill anyone who tries to stop me.”
Steel looked around, surprised when every single one of his men bowed to him. He nodded deeply in return, pleased that they agreed with him. At least he’d made one right decision as king.
“In mahrac form, you’ll be able to withstand the gas longer than in human form,” Khurda said, giving in to the inevitable.
“I’ll go in, shift at the door, enter the ore chamber and drag the pod out,” Steel said.
“As soon as you exit the mine we’ll remove Tani from the pod so she can try to heal you,” Marbic said. Steel heard the doubt in Marbic’s voice, and understood that it was unlikely that even Tani would be able to save him from the effects of the nerve gas. He’d already accepted that he was going to die. But in doing so, he would save Tani. That was a good enough reason for him.
He looked at Khurda, then Marbic, and nodded to each of them. “I leave the care of the Khun in both of your hands,” he said. “Rule together, and more wisely than I have done.” He smiled faintly at their surprise, then added, “You might want to ask this controller addled Nomen where Brutus is, and why the ship isn’t here.” Then he reached up and plucked Wily off of his shoulder and offered him to Marbic, who held one hand out for the tiny wyvern. “Watch over Wily, Marbic. Tani would be devastated if anything happened to him.”
“I will,” Marbic said tightly, but was unable to say more. Wily sat on his palm staring up at Steel with sad eyes.
“You can’t go with me, little guy,” Steel said. “Watch over Tani for me.” Wily mewled softly and nodded once. Steel turned around and headed for the mine entrance. Khurda followed and stopped him before he entered.
“Steel, wait,” he said. Steel stopped again and looked at his friend impatiently.
“Take off some of those weapons,” he said. “Lighten your load.” Steel nodded and began unbuckling the belts holding the lasers. “Don’t try holding your breath,” Khurda said as he helped with the guns. “It’ll just slow you down, and it won’t help. The gas is absorbed into your body through your pores.”
Steel nodded, dropped his gun belt, and clapped his friend on the shoulder. Khurda opened his mouth, then closed it. There were no words to express his feelings. Instead, he just nodded, then watched Steel turn around and enter the mine.
The moment Steel stepped into the dark, cold confines of the mine, a shiver of dread ran through him. This was the first time he’d entered a mine since he was nine years old, and he hated it. He hated the low ceilings, the dim light, the smell of cold earth and desperation. He’d sworn years ago that he’d never willingly enter a mine again, but breaking that promise now didn’t trouble him. He’d brave a thousand m
ines for Tani.
He followed the tunnel straight in for about twenty feet, then turned right. This mine had been less than a year old when it was abandoned, and though he’d been a small child, he’d worked in it beside his father and his friends. So, when he came to a wide area with three tunnels leading out of it, he entered the one on the right without a pause and hurried down the tunnel about twenty yards until he came to a very wide door.
There was nothing special about the door other than its width. It wasn’t fortified, extra heavy, or made of metal, nor did it have locks on it. It was kept open during operation hours so that the Khun could bring the metal here to be stored in large heavy cylinders. The cylinders were too heavy for any three men to lift, so there was no real concern that anyone would steal them. The nerve gas was meant to prevent outsiders from stealing the metal.
Steel took a few deep breaths to steady himself, then shifted before opening the door. The sound of hissing gas filled the air immediately, but Steel didn’t pause to look for it. He entered the chamber, spotted the hibernation pod lying on top of a dozen or so canisters, and grabbed hold of it. He put it on the ground, grasped the handle at one end, and started running as fast as his mahrac form would allow, his skin already beginning to burn as though he’d dived into a vat of acid.
He had to struggle not to hold his breath, remembering what Marbic had told him. The pain intensified as the gas burned through his skin and entered his bloodstream, causing the nausea and dizziness the Nomen had mentioned. By the time he reached the wide area a few seconds later, he could barely see well enough to find the tunnel leading out of the mine. He headed toward it, stumbling as he went, realizing that he wasn’t really running any more at all. He pushed on, the light from outside the tunnel beckoning as he began to lose control of his body. He slammed into the wall, then straightened, only to run into the wall again. The light was close, so close, then it vanished along with his eyesight. He dragged the suddenly heavy pod behind him, putting one foot in front of the other.
***
Naran landed on the ledge in front of the women’s cave and looked around warily. There was not a single person in sight anywhere. Not a man, woman, or child was on the mesa, in the valley, or out on the face of the cliff. He didn’t understand it, and he never trusted what he didn’t understand. But then, this entire day had not gone quite as he’d expected it to.
He’d drugged the Dracon princess and delivered her unharmed to the Nomen, as he’d agreed to do. It wasn’t his fault that the drug had worn off too soon, and he honestly didn’t see the problem anyway. She hadn’t been able to do more than open her eyes before they stuffed her into a hibernation pod, so really, no harm done.
But, even though he’d done everything he was supposed to do, they hadn’t delivered his promised reward. He smiled to himself as he remembered telling Ruya that he expected to get Shela back. How could anyone be so stupid as to believe that nonsense? His sister had been dead for almost a year and he damn well knew it. But then, Ruya didn’t have much of an imagination.
No, his reward was to have been a rather large sum of gold. Instead, they’d tried to kill him. It wasn’t a complete surprise, though. He’d always known that his arrangement with the Nomen would eventually come to a sudden end. He’d just hoped it wouldn’t happen until after he’d been paid.
After a few moments he shifted into his human form, biting back a gasp of pain. Shifting while injured always hurt like hell, as he’d recently discovered. He looked around again, then shrugged. Apparently all of the men had gone running off to save Tani. That was fine with him. It gave him time to do what he needed to do before they got back.
He looked down at himself, grimaced at the dirt and blood that stained his clothes, and shrugged. Then he turned and boldly entered the women’s cave.
“You enter the women’s cave without an invitation?” Drya asked archly.
He gave her his best smile. “I apologize, Drya,” he said. “I’m just a bit confused. Some Nomen attacked me on the mountain and left me for dead. I just got back a minute ago only to find that the entire place is deserted. What happened?”
“Princess Tani was kidnapped,” Drya said. “The men went to rescue her.”
“All of them?” he asked as though shocked, even though he’d already assumed as much.
“I suppose,” she said with a shrug. “I’m afraid you’ll have to settle for my meager skills as a healer. How bad is your injury?”
“Not bad,” he said. “Nothing to worry about. “Where’s Ruya?”
“Tani’s kidnappers drugged her,” Drya said with a sad expression on her face. “We aren’t sure if she’ll awaken this time.”
“Where is she?” Naran asked again.
“In the clinic,” Drya said. “Astra is there with her.”
Naran’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked around the cave. The women were too quiet, he realized suddenly. Too still.
“Thank you, Drya,” he said, smiling. “I’ll just go down and see her.”
“All right,” Drya said. “Do you want me to come with you?”
“No, I don’t think that’s necessary,” he said. Then he turned and stepped outside the cave. He shifted into his mahrac form and activated his Blind Sight, then remained there, just outside the cave, waiting to hear whatever the women had to say about him. To his surprise no one said a thing. The cave remained silent. Apparently their silence had nothing to do with him. He shrugged, then shifted back into his human form, but left the Blind Sight on, considering his options.
***
Tani heard voices. Frantic voices. She tried to focus on them but she was surrounded by a thick layer of fog that muffled sound and feeling. She wondered where the fog had come from, then decided she didn’t care as she began to drift away on it. The voices continued, relentlessly calling to her. She wished they’d stop and go away and wondered if there was a way to tell them that. Then she heard one short phrase that got her full attention. Steel is dying!
Every ounce of her being screamed in denial as she began to fight through the fog, uncaring of what it was or where it had come from. All that mattered was Steel. The harder she fought, the clearer her mind became. She smelled the bitter-sweet odor of hibernation gas, and wondered about it as she struggled to open eyes that felt like they were weighted down with lead. When she got them open, everything was blurry but she ignored that and pushed herself into a sitting position. Strong hands helped her, then picked her up.
“I know you’re still disoriented,” Marbic said, his voice strained. “But Steel went through nerve gas to free you and he’s going to die if you don’t help him soon.”
Tani nodded, unable to speak just yet. She could barely see, but sight wasn’t necessary for healing. Marbic set her down on the ground and she immediately reached out, searching for Steel. Gentle hands took hold of her wrists and placed them on Steel’s hard mahrac chest. She leaned over him and focused, willing him to be well, willing the poison to leave his body and leave no trace behind. As she worked her vision began to clear, and she gasped aloud. Steel’s hard, mahrac skin looked as though someone had taken a blowtorch to it. She closed her eyes and focused on healing, putting everything she had into it.
She had no idea how much time passed as she crouched over Steel, his body so ravaged by the nerve gas that virtually no part of him had been untouched. She healed his skin, nerves, muscles, heart, lungs and every other organ but one. His brain. Whatever damage the gas had done, it would not respond to her efforts.
“Tani, that’s enough,” Khurda said softly, one hand on her shoulder. “It’s time to stop now.”
“No, I’m not finished,” she said.
“You’ve been at it for an hour now,” Khurda said. “There’s nothing more you can do.” Tani looked up at him, her heart in her eyes. “He knew he would die, Tani. It’s all right. It was his choice to save your life at the expense of his own.”
Tani looked down at Steel who, at some point, had shifted
back into his human form. He looked as beautiful to her as ever, all physical signs of the gas now gone from his flesh. She sent herself back into him, to his brain, searching for whatever it was that she’d missed, but it was no use. The gas had destroyed something vital, and either she wasn’t strong enough to fix it, or she didn’t know enough to find it. She’d healed so many people over the past couple of weeks, but the one that meant the most to her was dying beneath her hands, and she couldn’t stop it.
She threw her head back and released a primal scream of sorrow, anger, and loss to the heavens. She felt her inner dracon leap forward and realized at once that it had changed. It was stronger now, calmer. It was complete. And it knew something that she did not. Without taking a moment to think it through, she embraced it wholly, seeking oblivion from the soul deep agony that was threatening to overwhelm her.
Her mouth opened wider as her body changed, shooting flames into the sky before she was fully shifted. She was enormous. She was strong. She was powerful. And she knew how to fulfill her promise to Magda, how to complete the change begun centuries earlier, and maybe, just maybe, save Steel’s life.
Her head still back, mouth still wide in a roar, the orange flames changed into…something else. Something cool and white and a little bit sparkly that shot up into the air, then drifted slowly down, touching everything and everyone. When it touched the ground it began to spread and grow, moving faster and faster as it continued to pour from her dragon’s mouth. As the magic flowed through her, she understood that the essence she’d absorbed when Wily’s egg hatched had turned her into a receptacle of sorts for all of the magically hidden life essences of Garza.
When she’d released all of the magic that had been entrusted to her keeping, she closed her mouth and watched as it continued to spread outward across the land. It would cover the entire planet, she realized, healing as it went. In time, plants would spring up where none had been for four and a half centuries. Oceans would fill, rivers would flow, and the natural wildlife of Garza would spring into being. Birds would fill the skies, fish would fill the oceans, and a multitude of beasts would fill the plains and mountains. It would take a little time, weeks perhaps, and then Garza would live again. But what about Steel?
Tani's Destiny (Hearts of ICARUS Book 2) Page 29