by Allynn Riggs
She crossed into the camouflaged surroundings at a run and at the wrong angle. When one of the ship’s supporting legs grazed her head, she automatically slapped her free hand, the injured one, on top of her head. The double shock of pain brought tears to her eyes and curses rolled off her tongue.
“Over here.”
She stumbled into Mroz, who dragged her up the ramp and examined her scalp once they were inside.
“No harm. There’ll be a lump. Now let’s look at the wrist.”
“Later, Mroz. Did you strap Taryn in?”
“Not fully. Renloret told me to watch for you.”
“Let’s tuck my brother in and get out of here.” They moved toward the sleeping alcoves.
“Can I go with you to this Lrakira?” Mroz asked as he tightened the strap across Taryn’s chest. “Not sure I like being here anymore.”
Ani placed her uninjured hand on his shoulder. “Sorry, Mroz. I don’t think we have time to concoct a story to explain your absence so I think we should stick to the plan and take you back to Star Valley. But you will need to be careful. If the milits find out you’ve aided aliens, you won’t be safe.”
Mroz nodded in agreement and tucked her into a tight embrace. “Yah, I know.”
Ani returned the hug. She was thankful they had managed to get Taryn out and thankful none of them had sustained serious injuries. She patted Mroz’s shoulder before running up the central passage to tell Renloret he could head for Star Valley.
“Mags are holding,” Renloret said as she joined him. “The bracing struts have retracted and are locked.”
Mroz joined them, and Ani tapped him on the shoulder and pointed out the front window. The roof maintenance door burst open and soldiers stepped out onto the roof cautiously, preparing a first line of defense. One waved more soldiers onto the roof’s surface and all held their blades ready as they attempted to cross to the far side of the building. Near the center of the roof, the magnetic force holding the ship above the building abruptly pushed their swords and short blades down. Their confused antics were amusing as they looked around trying to figure out why they could not lift up the weapons.
“They’ll never figure this one out,” Mroz said. He tapped Renloret on the shoulder. “Homeward, young man.”
“Buckle up, people.”
Ani’s stomach flip-flopped when the ship rose swiftly into the darkness above the city. The city’s illumination gradually blurred to a singular blob and then disappeared as the star runner moved toward the mountain range that separated the capital city from Star Valley.
On the way to Star Valley, Mroz wrapped Ani’s broken wrist and gave her a large dose of painkilling tablets. It would suffice until the medics on the star cruiser could attend to it. After dropping Mroz off behind the bar, Renloret flew them to the cabin to meet Kela. The canine relayed through Ani that Taryn’s disappearance had been noted and official inquiries were being made. Gelwood and Melli had been informed and were reportedly distraught. The sheriff’s office wanted to talk with Ani and Renloret as soon as possible about the results of their investigation.
Renloret suggested that they stay in Star Valley until some sort of explanation for their departure could be constructed. They decided to keep Taryn in the star runner tucked safely in a stasis bag, but they knew they had some creative storytelling to do with the authorities, not to mention Melli and Gelwood. First they needed to contact the sheriff’s office to report that they had information about Taryn and needed to meet as soon as Ani and Renloret could get to Star Valley. Ani planned to suggest that the acting sheriff get the capital police involved.
What the capital police would find at the laboratory would probably be enough to bring the doctor’s methods of experimentation under scrutiny and government oversight. Ani wondered if they had left enough information to incriminate the doctor for kidnapping and hint that the senator was involved. It would be interesting to see how deep his influence ran. In the meantime, the investigation could be directed by the local deputies.
When Renloret stated that they wouldn’t have to tell anyone, including Melli and Gelwood, that they had actually rescued Taryn, Ani nixed the idea, not wanting to put the couple through that kind of mental anguish. She insisted on talking to them in person. Renloret reluctantly agreed.
Though it was very early morn, Daneeha picked up the call before the second buzz when they called her at home. Ani told Daneeha that she and Renloret needed to talk to her and the acting sheriff, whoever he was, as soon as possible because they had important information about Taryn. And despite Daneeha’s probing, Ani remained firm that details could wait until they got to the sheriff’s office. Though completely flustered, Daneeha relented and promised to contact the acting sheriff and then head over to open the building. Ani lied when Daneeha asked how long it would take them to get to Star Valley by saying they were still a couple of hours away. Fortunately Daneeha accepted that, and Ani disconnected the com-tel before she could pry more information from her.
With a sigh she turned to Renloret. “We still can’t tell anyone that Taryn is my brother. Not only will I not take away their only child when they are under this kind of stress, but Taryn needs to know who he really is before even they are told. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” Renloret said.
Kela barked his assent.
“Now I have to eat something or I’m going to faint. And we have a couple of hours to figure out what exactly we’re going to say.” Ani began pulling out leftovers from the food cooler, wincing as she unconsciously used her injured wrist to keep the cooler door open. She heaved an audible sigh when Renloret gently pushed her to the couch and completed assembly of the meal. The pain tablets had enabled her to function though she was still aware of a deep ache. She cradled the injured appendage, confident that the medics on the waiting cruiser hiding behind the fifth planet could repair it on the way to Lrakira.
So, what are you going to do about Taryn’s physical injuries? Kela asked.
Ani repeated the question aloud for Renloret’s sake and then took a deep breath as she considered her answer. “I am not a doctor, Kela. We bandaged his wounds and made his body as comfortable as possible until we get him to Lrakira.”
No, you have not done everything, Kela whispered in her head.
She responded verbally without translating. “What do you mean I haven’t done everything? What else can I do?”
Use the blade.
“Use the blade? To do what?” Her voice trembled with agitation. She counted the number of cuts she and Renloret had already bandaged before sealing Taryn in the stasis bag. She’d almost thrown up at that point, her claustrophobia tearing at her own lungs at the sight of a living, breathing being closed up in one of the black and silver bags. As much as she wanted to, she didn’t think she could even sit next to Taryn until he’d been removed from the bag.
You could heal his wounds with the blade.
“I could heal him?”
Ani glared at Renloret. He had come from the stove with a plate full of leftover scramble. He took a step back, raising his free hand in surrender as he faced her, the plate just close enough for her to grasp. Fortunately, he wasn’t smiling, or she would have shown him the meal side of his offering in minute detail.
“What makes you think I could heal him?” she asked. Her stomach growled at the enticing smell and she snatched the plate. “I’m going to eat. Don’t talk to me. I have enough on my mind.” She shoveled a portion into her mouth.
Kela sat directly in front of her, his ears at full attention, his eyes locked onto Ani’s. She chewed, swallowed, and tried to scoop up a second spoonful. The spoon stopped just outside her open mouth. She could not blink to break his scrutiny.
“Oh, hells.” She set the plate on the cushion next to her and stomped out of the cabin, slamming the door. She didn’t want to consider what Kela was requesting. She just didn’t.
You know the song. You’ve heard it twice and you’ve sung it at least once
.
His gentle reminder brought tears to her eyes. The first time she’d heard the song was the only time she’d actually seen what it could do. She’d been a mere seven years old when her mother began her blade training. About halfway through her first lesson, Ani had managed to cut her mother’s arm, and though her mother had been calm and praised her for ingenuity, the copious amount of blood had frightened Ani. In fact, she’d been so frightened she’d almost forgotten how her mother had used the blade and a song to staunch the blood and heal the wound to a faint line running the length of her forearm. The memory of causing her mother injury had nearly foresworn her from ever touching a blade, let alone the green crystal blade her mother so reverently spoke of and handled.
She defended her reluctance to try. The blade is just a blade. It’s a tool, not a physician, Kela. Ani sat on the top step, chin in her uninjured hand. Not much discussion had been held in her presence about the second blade healing. From Renloret and Kela’s accounts, as well as what she had gathered from the medical records on Lrakira, her wounds from the fight in the cavern had supposedly been healed by the Anyala Stone’s crystal blade and a song. Supposedly was the catchword. It was too much magic for her sensibilities, though she could not discount the fact that her wounds had healed to a barely discernable ripple in her skin in less than two weeks.
She had, of course, not witnessed this healing because she had been incapacitated by the poison and coma device at the time. She’d been told that Renloret and Taryn had used the green crystal blade and an ancient Lrakiran song of healing to rid her body of the poison and heal the physical wounds. Evidently, the song and blade combined to keep her alive, but it was unable to remove the tiny machine lurking at the base of her brain.
When she had awakened on Lrakira upon removal of the device, the lack of contact with Kela had terrified her. It had taken her singing the remembered healing song to break through the lingering effects of the device.
She rubbed the back of her head where the Lrakiran surgeon had said the tiny machine had lodged. The scientists and doctors on Lrakira were still studying the device, amazed that such an advanced piece of technology had come from the backward world of Teramar. She had seen it, once. Now she shivered, though she hadn’t then when she was just curious about how such a minuscule item could bring about coma. Merely thinking about the impact of that thing on her — including its ability to suppress her mental connection with Kela — angered and frightened her. What would it do to Taryn? Could it enable Treyder to manipulate Taryn in some way? Could the Lrakiran physicians really heal him? Could she?
Ani studied the clearing in front of the cabin. If she looked close enough, she could see the edge of the holographic camouflage hiding the ship, Taryn’s tortured body inside. Could his injuries be healed by the song?
“Ani?” Renloret had followed her to the porch.
Without turning around she asked, “Can I heal Taryn’s body?”
He settled next to her on the step. “I was just thinking about that myself. As a Stone Singer, you have a better chance than Taryn and I had in the cavern. You won’t know unless you try.”
Uncomfortable silence filled the space between them for several breaths.
Kela joined them. He placed a paw on her shoulder. You must believe, Ani. You are the Anyala Stone’s Singer, even here on Teramar. You were healed by the blade after the Stone was damaged and the blade allowed Renloret and Taryn to sing for you. He paused. I believe you can heal your brother’s injuries.
Wiping the tears from her cheeks, she knew she had to try — for her brother, for the Stone. She stood. “Let’s sharpen this blade now, before I can talk myself out of it.”
She marched toward the star runner being careful of where the dawn light shivered around the camouflaged struts. The camouflaging fit the star runner tightly, so she traced her hand across the surface until she reached the boarding ramp pad. After slapping open the ramp, she headed to her sleeping quarters to retrieve the blade. Renloret and Kela trailed after her.
Blade box in hand, Ani led the way to the long-sleep section, and it took them only a few minutes to prepare Taryn’s body. Ani stood opposite Renloret, her eyes shifting from the box in her hand to Taryn and back to Renloret. She was afraid and swallowed against her reluctance to prove her identity as a Stone Singer as she keyed the blade box unlock sequence.
Opening it, Ani sighed at the sight of the bejeweled handle and the faceted dark green crystal blade nestled on the blood-red silteene fabric. She felt a mental call not unlike the telepathic communication with Kela. The blade was expectant, eager to be in her hands. She hesitated. Was it alive like the Stone?
Kela’s voice came as a whisper. May I listen with you?
Surprised, Ani spoke aloud. “You can hear it?”
He barked in assent.
She looked at Renloret, who was standing ready on the other side of Taryn’s body. “Kela can hear the blade through me.”
It is more emotions than words. It knows you and Taryn. It is eager to assist you in the healing.
“He says the blade knows me and why I need it to heal Taryn.”
Renloret nodded. “I assumed you were blade-bonded in some way, though I had not seen the tattoo scars on your arms at the time of your healing. They would have confirmed you were the Singer. I took a great risk assuming you were bonded and the blade would not harm me or Taryn when we sang for you.
“I didn’t know the rules of how a blade healing should be performed, but neither do Diani or Layson. They will need to review the oldest texts. The Singers have been complacent in their communication for too long. They no longer study the past and prepare for the future. It wasn’t until after your father returned to Lrakira with news of your birth that the Singers even asked their Stones about the prophecy. They hadn’t bothered to research it until then, even though the Stones had mentioned it before your parents left Lrakira. The Singers did not understand the importance of that first song.” He shook his head.
“The first song?” Ani asked, rubbing her wrist. The pain relieving aspects of the tablets were wearing off and the ache of the broken bone grated against her ability to concentrate on what Renloret was saying. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could manage but she wanted a distraction, at least for a few minutes, and the first song sounded like a good enough distraction option.
“The first song in the first book of Stone Singer History mentions The Blood and The Balance and how they will each save one. I only saw the words once before coming here but I was able to write it down over a month later, and yet neither Layson nor Diani could place it.”
“Why not? Surely they would be instructed on the history of the Stones when they became Singers.”
“You would assume that, though under the circumstances, I doubt your mother was, and you haven’t had this instruction either.”
“Now wait,” she said. Ani wanted to defend her mother and herself, but his expression and tone of voice said he was not judging, just stating facts. The facts were agitating. “I guess Mother had the excuse that she was doing what the Anyala Stone requested, and my excuse is that I didn’t know until I woke up on Lrakira. I’ve probably been a Stone Singer since Mother died.”
“No one expected you to be the Anyala Stone’s Singer when you’d never been on Lrakira,” Renloret admitted. “We have all these ceremonies around the bonding between the Singer and her Stone. Now they seem to be inconsequential.”
“They aren’t inconsequential to Selabec,” Ani replied. “She still thinks I’m her daughter instead of her granddaughter, and the last time I talked with her, she was actively planning some elaborate ceremony to officially bond her daughter to the Anyala Stone. I’m not sure she even remembers stabbing the Stone.”
Waving his hand and shaking his head, Renloret dismissed her comment. “Let’s keep that blade dull until we’re on Lrakira.”
Ani agreed with a decisive nod. Looking at Taryn now, Ani felt a compelling need to heal all of hi
s wounds, and she did not want to wait even a couple of hours to get him to the medics on the waiting ship before she attempted it. If she could heal him now, that healing would be immediate and complete instead of taking weeks on Lrakira, even with the skilled doctors there. She knew she could not remove the device, but if she could heal his wounds, the device could be removed as soon as they returned to Lrakira. He needed to be healthy and strong enough to pull the blade from the Stone, and the sooner he healed, the sooner he could do that. She turned a quizzical expression toward Renloret as a thought came. “How does a crystal get stabbed? I know what we both saw in the chamber but I still don’t understand it.”
He shrugged. “I don’t either. We can ask the Stones once Taryn does what he is supposed to do. It’s just one of many questions I want answers to.” He pointed at the blade box. “Since we don’t know if he has internal damage, I suggest you start by holding the blade near his chest and begin singing. I think the blade will lead you the rest of the way — or at least that is what happened when Taryn and I used the blade over you in the cavern. I will join in as Taryn did. I think multiple singers, not just Singers, make stronger medicine.”
Ani raised the blade to her lips and whispered, “Though the Anyala Stone is injured and very far away, if I am truly bonded through you, show me the way to heal my brother.”
Inhaling deeply, she searched for the starting notes of the song. Memories flooded in of her mother singing. The half-remembered vision of the green blade glowing in concert with her mother’s delicate alto warmed Ani. The melody came.
Light from the blade bathed the room in a soft green haze.