by Lucy Kelly
“Hey, you!” she shouted at the tall man.
He quickly ran over to the cage where she was. She now sat with the lion’s huge head in her lap. If the lion became angry, she could easily take a bite out of the woman’s belly.
“What is it? Is something wrong?” he asked.
“In the back is an electric cart. The zookeepers use them to get around. As long as I’m connected to her, I can keep her calm. Do you think you can carry her? We need to get her to the hospital as quickly as possible.”
Jorne looked into her pleading brown eyes and found he could not say no. Before he knew it, he was maneuvering a wounded lioness through a door at the back, not into the enclosure but to another, behind-the-scenes cage. The cart was stationed just outside the cage. The other zookeeper offered to drive the cart. Jorne placed the cat carefully, but her head and hind legs hung over. Jorne stood at the back, supporting the hindquarters while the woman—she must be the Aimeé they were sent to find—supported the lion’s head.
The weight meant the cart couldn’t move very quickly, which was fine because they had to jog alongside. The paths were mostly clear as people had fled from the earlier shooting. A few were scattered here and there. As they rounded a corner, he saw two zoo employees assisting the woman and children he had helped earlier. They were amazed at the sight of them taking an obviously wounded lion through the zoo.
It took about seven minutes to reach the hospital. The place looked as if a tornado had blown through and no one was there. The other vet and techs must be out in the park assessing other hurt animals. Aimeé felt her cell phone vibrating from her hip pocket again.
“You should answer your phone. I think it’s your sister. She’s in Wisconsin; she had a feeling you were in danger and we were nearby, so we came,” he said, making the story as simple as he could.
Aimeé immediately assumed the tall man helping her was an agent like her sister. She gave a fleeting thought as to why he hadn’t identified himself as such to zoo security. She pulled her cell phone out of the pocket and swiped to answer the call.
“This is Aimeé. I’m kind of busy here. Who is this and what do you want?” she said into the phone. She didn’t even notice she was smearing the lion’s blood onto her clothes and the cell...
“Aimeé! Are you alright? Please tell me you’re okay,” her sister Josephine’s voice exploded into the room.
“The guys you sent in saved the day. Gotta perform surgery on a lion right now; I’m fine. I’ll call you later, bye!” she said, and ended the call.
She couldn’t remove her hands from the lion. She was trying to keep her calm. She needed someone else to give a shot of anesthetic. She started directing the zookeeper she’d commandeered and Jorne to different drawers and cabinets.
*****
Back at the women’s retreat, Josephine closed the cell phone. She blew out a breath and sat down, her head and hands hanging between her knees. Her sister was fine. She was saved by warriors from another planet who had come down to Earth to find the descendants of their own people who had crash-landed here ten thousand years ago. She’d never heard such a load of crap in her life and wondered why she was actually starting to believe it.
Chapter Seven
HeVan…
Justyn gasped when Grace disappeared from his arms. He leapt from the bed as if to follow her. He was shouting his grief and anger to the ceiling, when both she and Jalen suddenly appeared in mid-air. They fell down on the foot of the bed. Jett had rolled to the side fast enough to avoid Jalen landing on top of him.
Both of them were covered with blood and blackened burned skin. Justyn ran to the communicator and slapped the medical emergency alarm. Then he went back to the bed.
“I’m afraid to touch them,” Justyn whispered.
Jett could hear the tears in his voice. Jett grabbed a pillow, ripped off its cover, and then used the cover as a bandage. He began to apply pressure to the bleeding wound. Justyn was attempting to see what he could do for Grace, when the door to the chamber opened and three babies floated in. All of them were glowing and throwing off gold sparks.
Bedelia, Addie’s second daughter, had the gift of telekinesis. She’d brought Cara and Dilys, her next two younger sisters, who each had the gift of healing. Bedelia had each of her sisters hovering over Grace and Jalen. Justyn couldn’t see anything changing; it made him worry about any internal injuries, which weren’t readily apparent. He could see they were doing something when, suddenly, they both shut their eyes and went limp. Bedelia lowered all of them to a nearby chair and started crying.
The next thing they knew, Addie appeared in the room with Aelwen. When she saw Grace and Jalen, she gasped and instantly began to glow. She held out Aelwen with her hands, saying nothing.
Jett quickly stood and took the baby from her. After handing off the baby, Addie floated both Grace and Jalen off the bed and then floated herself in between them. Her golden aura surrounded all three of them.
The emergency medicals rushed into the room and stood in awe, as they prepared to help in any way they could. Even through the golden glow, they could see severe damage to both Grace and her Ankida.
The aura started to flicker. Addie was growing tired, their injuries were too much for her. She lowered them back to the bed and then moved herself away just as she collapsed.
Catherine and her Ankida, Rapha, Delpha and Zephyr, rushed in and began scanning.
“Addie is okay; she’s just exhausted herself,” Catherine said, knowing the health of Queen Addie was paramount. Rapha and Delpha were scanning Grace and Jalen while Zephyr had gone over to the chair at Jett’s request to scan Cara and Dilys.
Using the portable stasis beds they’d brought with them, Grace and Jalen were quickly moved so they could be taken to main medical. They were rushed from the room by Rapha and Delpha. As they left, Addie’s Ankida arrived.
“What the hell is going on here?” Arjun shouted when he saw Addie collapsed in Justyn’s arms.
Justyn immediately handed Addie over to Arjun. Rune saw the babies and went over to comfort Bedelia and Aelwen. Zephyr explained Cara and Dilys were just resting.
Justyn and Jett quickly donned some clothing as they explained about the explosion and the sequence of events before hurrying out after Grace and Jalen.
“I’m going to take Addie to our quarters. Kylan, please go to the audience chamber and let everyone know Queen Addie won’t be returning today or tomorrow, due to an emergency. Rune—you, Catherine and Zephyr take the girls back to the nursery. You should check on Grace’s girls too,” Arjun said.
“Do I explain the emergency, if anyone asks?” Kylan wanted to know.
“No, let us not even tell people Grace and her Ankida have returned. Until we know who tried to kill them, I don’t want anyone to know where they are. Let the culprits believe they succeeded for now,” Arjun answered.
With a nod of his head, Kylan left the room, followed by the others.
“I want to go to medical and find out in more detail what happened from Jett and Justyn but I don’t want Addie left alone. Who do you recommend I ask to sit with her?” Arjun asked Catherine, as they left the palace quarters and headed toward the nursery. The rooms Addie and her Ankida were using temporarily were just on the other side.
“Let me talk to Natalie Warner and her Ankida. She’s only a few months pregnant, so she doesn’t have babies to take care of. I’m sure she’d be happy to sit with Addie,” Catherine suggested.
“Good idea, she is a strong and loyal friend. She has already proven herself when she saved us all from that bomb on the ship,” Rune added from behind, carrying Aelwen and Bedelia.
“As soon as I put these pretty girls down in the crib, I’ll contact her,” Catherine said before entering the doorway to the nursery suite.
Arjun passed the nursery going to their private quarters. He was unhappy Addie hadn’t even stirred when the babies were crying. She must have pushed herself to the limit in order to keep
her sister and Jalen alive. They would have to keep her condition a secret. If the council found out, they would move to prevent her from healing others in the future. Part of him understood; the Nephilim would not survive if they were to lose their Nam-Nin again. As it was, they were closer to extinction than he’d like.
After laying Addie down on the bed, he started to undress her so she’d be more comfortable. He’d just finished removing her shoes and outer garments, when Rune entered their room. The two of them finished undressing her and slipped her under the covers.
“How are the girls?” Arjun wanted to know.
“They’re all asleep; Grace’s little ones too. Cassandra is watching over them right now. I called Glynnis, she’ll want to be here for Grace. I didn’t say much because we were speaking on an open channel. She was smart enough to notice what I was telling her without asking questions. They should be here in a few hours. I told them to stick to ground transport,” Rune said.
“Good. Until we know how widespread this problem is, we can’t take any chances. I wonder how long it will take until we receive official notification the arbiter’s transport has exploded,” Arjun mused, and Rune gave him a sharp look.
“It will be interesting to see who reports it,” Rune replied, understanding Arjun’s thoughts. Moments later, Kylan returned with Natalie and her Ankida, Peet and Reeko, in tow.
“Hi, guys, I’ll stay with Addie until she wakes up. Peet and Reeko are going to help Cassie with the babies. They need the practice, anyway,” Natalie said, rubbing a hand up and down Arjun’s and Rune’s arms. “You go and see how Grace and Jalen are doing. Let me know if you need anything else.”
“Thank you, Natalie. I knew we could count on your help. And yours too,” Arjun added, exchanging greetings with Peet and Reeko. They were soon on their way to medical. Addie was in good hands.
Arjun found Jett and Justyn in the surgical waiting room. Grace and Jalen were both being operated on. “What can you tell me?” he asked.
“If it weren’t for Cara, Dilys, and Addie, they’d both be dead. Stasis wouldn’t have saved them; there was too much damage. That’s as much as we know from the initial scans. Both of them have broken bones. They need to set the bones before they put them in the burn tanks,” Jett explained.
Justyn listened to Jett recount what the doctor had told them. He still couldn’t speak, he was having a hard time dealing with this turn of events.
The day had started so well. And then, while we were making love, the transport was attacked. Someone had tried to kill my mate!
Justyn stood up straight, shoulders back, and walked up to Arjun.
“My lord,” he said, interrupting Arjun’s and Jett’s low-voiced conversation.
Arjun turned to give Justyn his full attention. Something told him what Justyn had to say would be important.
“I request permission to go on the Mok-Tar,” he said.
Arjun took a moment to think about Justyn’s request. He couldn’t remember the last time a warrior asked to go on a justice quest. Still, he could hardly deny him.
“Granted,” said Arjun. “What do you need?” he asked.
“Jett had time to download all the ship’s data. I’ll start there,” Justyn answered.
“I would ask that you wait until tomorrow before you start your quest,” Arjun said. He was worried about his friend. Arjun wanted Justyn to be a little more clear-headed when he began his journey.
The Mok-Tar was an ancient quest for justice practiced by warriors of old when their families had been attacked. When Justyn began his quest, he would leave his home and go after those responsible. He would not return home until justice had been served. That justice would be determined in hand-to-hand combat in the Mok-Tar arena. It was winner take all. All honor, all lands, and all assets, were forfeit to the winner. It was believed the battle, itself, would prove who the worthiest and most honest competitor was.
Normally, Nephilim allowed the authorities to go after culprits for their crimes. The laws and history of the Nephilim were peaceful; only those who felt they had endured the worst were willing to risk everything for justice and the ability to personally mete out punishment.
Jett turned to his brother. “I will give you all the help you need. What do you want me to tell Grace? She is the arbiter; and on Earth, she was a police detective. She might not agree with the Mok-Tar. If you lose, you’ll never see her or our brother again.”
“This is something I must do. All of HeVan must know that if they attack our family, justice will rain down, and their honor will be lost. Their families will curse their name, and history will remember them as a pariah. As arbiter, Grace will make enemies. Those enemies need to know that acting against Grace is not something they should contemplate,” Justyn stated emphatically.
“You’re trying to keep her safe,” Arjun said.
“Yes. This can’t happen again. Our daughters need their mother. I will do whatever it takes to make sure Grace is there to watch them grow up,” said Justyn.
“Just don’t forget they need you too,” said Arjun, clamping a hand on Justyn’s shoulder. Before anything else could be said, a medical entered the room, they all turned to hear what he had to say.
“As was explained, the scans showed the damage repaired by the Nam-Nin and her daughters enabled us to have a chance to save them. The surgeries are on-going. There has been a request for whole blood for Grace. If you both could donate for Jalen, it would be very helpful. Is it possible the queen or some of the other females from Earth could be a match for her?” he asked.
“Have you checked the database? I believe Catherine has complete records on all the females. She can tell you who is a match. She’s in the nursery with the babies, making sure they don’t have any lasting effects from their efforts,” said Arjun.
“The Lady Catherine is the only medical with access to those records, for their privacy and safety. I have sent her a request, of course,” he said.
“I understand the urgency. I’ll go now and ask her to come right in. As soon as a match is identified, I’ll make every effort to have them here as soon as possible. I’m afraid the queen is still asleep, recovering from her labors,” said Arjun.
“Thank you, my lord. In the meantime, if Lord Jett and Lord Justyn will come with me?” he asked.
Arjun was kicking himself for keeping the attack quiet. If more people had known, then the waiting room would be full of her friends, and she’d have what she needed so much sooner. Swearing under his breath, he ran all the way to the nursery.
Catherine looked up from where she was changing the diaper for Grace’s daughter, Jordan, whom they had already shortened to Jordi. “Arjun, what’s happened?”
“Didn’t the medical call you?” he asked.
“I haven’t checked my communicator. Is it Grace? Please tell me what’s happening,” she cried out, worried about her friend.
“Grace needs a blood transfusion. You’re the only one who has access to the files and know who the best one is to ask to donate blood,” he explained.
“I’m a universal donor. I’ll go in now and transfuse her. If they need more, it will give us time to have others arrive,” she said.
She put Jordi in her crib with her sisters and headed toward the door.
As she went back toward medical, Catherine opened a connection to her personal DRD, data retrieval device, and put through a voice command asking for the closest matches who were also in the palace. Many of the women had scattered over HeVan to their husbands’ houses or their own. If Grace needed blood, she needed it now. She was also angry she hadn’t realized Grace would need plasma. She had grown complacent with the medical advances the Nephilim had. She’d never forgive herself if Grace’s recovery were stunted because of her negligence.
Things started to move quickly. Within another hour, the waiting room was full. Many of the staff and inhabitants of the palace and the surrounding city had volunteered to be cross-matched for possible blood donatio
n.
When people heard Justyn had claimed the right of Mok-Tar, they offered to help him. By the end of the day, the House of HeVanth was up in arms over the attack on one of their own—Lady Grace.
Chapter Eight
Earth…
“Josephine, we’ve given you a lot to think about, and I can see you’re having a hard time with some of it. We can arrange a visit to our space station, which will convince you. Right now, though, your boss is on his way here so we’ll table the alien issue and concentrate on proving we’re not human traffickers. Okay?” asked Sarah.
“You have a space station? Why haven’t we spotted it?” asked Josephine.
“Because it’s not in orbit around Earth; it’s sitting on the outer rim of our solar system. Currently, it’s nearly on the other side of the sun from where we are. The space station guards the hyperspace gate. No one can enter this solar system without our allowing the gate to open. The gate commander is Suzanna Miller; she used to be a government agent, like you,” explained Kai, from where he was still sitting on the couch.
“Why haven’t you approached the government and opened political talks?” she asked Ishme directly.
Am I really buying into this?
“The main reason was, at first, we thought we’d simply collect the queen and leave. Then we realized two things: the first one was the welfare of those humans who are descendants of our people. The birthmark they all have makes them easy to identify. We don’t want them to become the targets of governments or individuals. Second, is the fact your planet is still wondering about what’s out there. Combine that with the fact your world is so divided and warlike. We don’t think you’re ready,” Kai said.
“You got your queen. Why didn’t you just leave? We’ve gotten along for thousands of years not knowing about our ancestors. You got what you wanted, so why not just leave us to it?” Josephine asked.
Sarah put up her hand when Kai would have answered. She wanted to take this one. “Let’s walk and talk. I got a text and your boss’s jet copter is on approach. One thing about HeVan is that it’s matriarchal. Nephilim men understand female power; they aren’t afraid of it. They don’t try to push women down. When they saw how women were treated here, they felt they had to do something. That’s why we set up this retreat. We help women succeed. If any want to immigrate to a world where women are revered and in control, we make it happen. And just so you know, we’ve done a great deal to stop human trafficking and the sex trade. We’ve anonymously provided evidence for prosecution and freed many women from slavery. We give the women new identities and education so they can pursue a better future.”