The Lobos' Heartsong

by Laura Jo Phillips

  Saige opened her eyes and saw Dav's burned and bleeding face inches from her own. She gasped in horror at the sight, unable to comprehend what was happening. She sat up in time to see Faron leap over the burning ground-car, but the flames and smoke were too thick for her to see much after that. She heard yelling and crashing sounds, and saw what she thought was Faron trying to pull Ban from behind the wheel of the ground-car. Though she could not see them clearly, she could sense them. She knew that Ban was badly injured, and that Faron was intent on saving him.

  She was just starting to get to her feet, intending to run around the burning vehicle to help Faron, when an explosion knocked her flat on her back. She squeezed her eyes shut against the blinding flash of fire and turned over quickly to place her face down into the grass as the burning air singed her skin.

  A few moments later she lifted her head cautiously to see that the car was still burning, but not nearly as brightly. She glanced over at Dav, but he was still unconscious, and she had no idea how Faron and Ban were. She tried to stand up, fell, and tried again, the need to know what was happening with all three of them growing in her to the point she could think of nothing else. When she fell to the ground a third time, she desperately reached for them with her mind. She gasped as she sensed Ban and Dav slipping away from her, and Faron beginning to grow distant as though he meant to follow them. Everything in her screamed against the idea of losing them. She did not understand her own feelings, but she knew that if they died, she would not long survive the despair of it.

  Again she struggled to get to her feet, this time determined to succeed no matter what. The moment she was standing up she took off running as fast as she could force her legs to move, ignoring the pain in her knees and ankles, her only thoughts for Faron and Ban.

  She gave the burning ground-car a wide berth just in case it blew up again, so it took her longer than she’d hoped to get to the far side of it. When she did, the first thing she saw was Faron lying protectively over Ban, a large chunk of metal across his back. Saige ran forward and grasped the hot metal with both hands, but she could not budge it no matter how hard she tried. Giving up on moving the metal, she knelt down beside Faron and saw that his eyes were closed, but he seemed to be breathing. She prayed that he was still breathing.

  “Don't you leave me Faron Lobo, don't any of you leave me,” she ordered in her sternest voice. “You just hang on. I will get help.”

  She leapt to her feet, not even noticing the pain in her legs or the tears streaking her cheeks as she ran back around the ground-car, racing towards Dav as fast as she could force her legs to move. She slid to her knees beside him and reached for the vox he was still wearing in his ear. She yanked it off and slapped it to her own ear.

  “Call Lariah Daniels,” she panted into it.

  “I’m sorry, name not found in directory,” the mechanical voice replied. Saige thought frantically, trying to remember if she’d heard either the Bearens or the Lobos mention any names. All she remembered them saying was that they were going to take her to the ranch. But she had no clue where that was, or who owned it, or…wait…the Prince. She remembered Jackson saying something about the Prince ordering them to take her to the ranch, and Faron had said Lariah was the Arima to the Princes.

  “Call the Princes,” she said, and held her breath.

  “Connecting,” the mechanical voice responded.

  Saige let out her breath. “Yes?” said a male voice into her ear.

  “My name is Saige Taylor,” she said, fighting to keep her voice from escalating into incoherent screams. “The Lobos were escorting me to the ranch and the car just blew up and they are all hurt and need medical help right away!” By the time she reached the end of her sentence she knew her voice had gotten too loud and she struggled to control it.

  “Where are you?”

  “I don’t know,” she said, nearly sobbing. “I was asleep when it happened.”

  “Saige, tell the vox to send your location.”

  She rolled her eyes. How stupid could she be? “Transmit current coordinates of this vox to Prince,” she said.

  “Transmitting,” the mechanical voice said in her ear.

  “Got it,” the man said. “We’ll be there in a few seconds.”

  A few seconds? “All right,” she said. If they could arrive in a few seconds, then she sure wasn’t going to complain. And she certainly wasn’t going to waste time asking how it was possible.

  She tapped the vox to close the connection and removed it from her ear, turning quickly when she heard a sound behind her. She saw three huge, identical men with long black hair, wearing jeans and t-shirts running towards her with a small woman in the arms of one of them. Her mouth dropped open when they stopped beside her.

  “Saige, where are Faron and Ban?”

  The man holding the small woman set her on her feet and she immediately hurried to Dav’s side and knelt down, placing her hands over his body.

  “This way,” she said and took off in a stumbling run, leading the men around the still burning ground-car. As soon as they came into view of Faron and Ban the men passed her so quickly she barely saw them.

  One of them lifted the large chunk of metal off of Faron with one hand as though it weighed no more than a sheet of paper. The other two knelt beside Faron and Ban and seemed to be examining them without touching them.

  “I’m sorry,” Saige said when she caught up to them. “I tried to move that thing off of Faron but it was too heavy.”

  The man tossed the chunk of metal aside and knelt down for a few minutes, talking softly with the others. Then he rose to his feet and turned to her.

  “You have nothing to be sorry for, Miss Taylor,” he said gently. “The Lobos are all gravely wounded, but because of you, they have a chance.”

  Saige swiped at the tears on her cheeks. “They cannot die,” she said, trying hard not to sound hysterical. “They just can't. Tell me what I can do to help.”

  Val looked at her thoughtfully for a long moment. “My brothers have some small healing ability. They are doing what they can to help them. Let’s go see how Riata is doing with Dav,” he suggested, taking her gently by the arm and turning her away from the men on the ground. “My name is Val,” he told her. “Val Dracon. My brothers are Garen and Trey. We are Lariah’s Rami.”

  “Rami?” she asked.

  “We are Lariah’s mates, as she is ours,” he explained.

  Saige nodded and set that information aside. Under normal circumstances she would have had a hundred questions, but they would have to wait until later.

  Riata was just standing up as they approached. “I’ve healed his internal injuries and his burns. He still has a few broken bones, but they are not life threatening. I don’t want to do more until I see how badly the other two are hurt.”

  “I’ll take you to them,” Val said. “Ban is the most seriously injured, though I believe Faron has a broken spine.”

  A harsh, strangled sound escaped Saige before she could prevent it. She clapped her hands to her mouth, her heart feeling as though it was trying to beat its way out of her chest. Riata looked at her intently for a long moment. She stepped away from Dav and placed one gentle hand on Saige's shoulder.

  “I will do all in my power to save your men,” she said gently. Saige studied the small woman for a moment, meeting her deep purple gaze with her own. She sensed that Riata was one of those rare beings who was truly good and kind. “Will you stay here with Dav and keep an eye on him?” Riata asked. “I would prefer that he not move just yet, if you can keep him from it.”

  Saige nodded and knelt down beside Dav, fighting to hold back her sobs. If she did not get control of herself she would make matters worse by having a damn seizure.

  Saige watched as Val and Riata hurried away before turning to face Dav. The horrible burns that had covered most of his face, chest and arms just moments ago were now gone. The flesh beneath the charred remains of his clothing was smooth and without blemish
.

  “How are you feeling?” she asked, knowing it was a stupid question but wanting, needing, an answer to it.

  Dav tried to smile at her, but she could see the pain in his eyes. “I am much better, but I am still healing. Now that Riata has helped, it should not take too much longer.”

  “I don’t understand,” Saige said, glancing over her shoulder toward the burning car, wishing she could see what was happening beyond it.

  “We Jasani regenerate very quickly,” Dav told her, capturing her attention as he had intended. “That is why we do not age. Our bodies heal most injuries easily unless they are too severe or too numerous. Then it takes longer and, if the injuries are life threatening, we can die before enough healing takes place to prevent it.”

  Something inside of Saige relaxed a fraction at this information. “So that’s why Riata only healed some of your injuries?”

  “Partially. Riata is an exceptionally strong Healer, but it still requires energy to heal. The more serious the injury, the more energy she must expend to heal it. She must reserve enough strength to help Faron and Ban.”

  That made sense, though Saige could not help wishing there were a couple more Healers there so Faron, Ban and Dav could be completely healed.

  “Do you know what happened?” Dav asked.

  “Not really. I remember feeling Faron land on top of me, then a loud bang and a bright flash of light. After that, nothing until I opened my eyes and saw you lying next to me all burned.” Saige swallowed hard against the lump that rose in her throat at the memory of Dav's burns. She reached out and lightly touched his cheek with one finger to assure herself that the skin was truly smooth and no longer the burned mass of flesh it had been only minutes earlier.

  Dav took Saige's hand in his own and kissed it gently. “We will be fine, Saige, do not worry so.” Saige smiled though there were tears in her eyes.

  “Tell me the rest,” Dav urged.

  “Faron got me out, then you, then went back for Ban. He was able to get him out of the vehicle before it exploded. When I got over there he was lying over Ban, and there was a large piece of metal on top of him that I couldn’t move. I remembered seeing the vox on you so I came back over here and used it to call the Princes.”

  “Thank you Saige,” Dav said. “We are grateful that you acted so quickly.”

  Saige wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater and sighed heavily. “I know this makes no sense when I only just met the three of you,” she said, her voice trembling. “But if all three of you do not survive this, I do not know what I will do.”

  Dav's eyes darkened with fear for her. Could their connection be so strong already? “Do not worry,” he soothed, working to make his voice both gentle and confident. “We will be fine. Riata will make sure that our most serious injuries are healed, and our own bodies will do the rest. There is nothing for you to worry about.”

  Saige nodded, but could not stop herself from reaching out for Faron and Ban again. This time she realized that Ban's spirit was no longer drifting away from her. Instead, he was drifting back. He was very weak, but seemed to be growing stronger. Faron was growing stronger as well. She frowned when she felt them getting closer to her and she turned to look towards the still smoldering vehicle.

  She was surprised to see three prone figures floating towards her, one of the Dracon brothers walking slowly beside each of them. When they reached Saige and Dav, the bodies lowered gently to the grass beside them. Saige rose as quickly as she could and hurried to check first Ban, then Faron. Both were still unconscious, but breathing evenly. She noticed that though much of their clothing was burned away, neither of them appeared to have any burns on their bodies. She knew she had Riata to thank for that.

  She rose again and moved to the third figure, kneeling down to stroke the short orange feathers on Riata's head. “What is wrong with her?” she asked the Dracons, horrified at the idea of the woman causing serious harm to herself in an effort to save others.

  “She will be fine,” one of the Dracons said. She did not know which as she could not tell them apart. “She drained herself to heal their life threatening injuries. She needs rest and nourishment. We will see to that as soon as we are able. For now, she is only in a deep sleep.”

  Relief swept through Saige. She did not think any of the Lobos would be happy to know that the Healer had endangered herself on their behalf. One of the Dracons knelt down beside her.

  “I am Garen,” he said. “It is nice to finally meet you Saige Taylor, though I am sorry for the manner of our meeting. I would thank you for your quick actions. Without you, we would certainly have lost Dav and Ban, and probably Faron as well. However, because of you, and Riata, they will recover fully.

  “We must now transport all of you back to the ranch for further care and rest. I will take Riata, and if you will allow, Trey will take you.”

  Saige could not prevent herself from glancing quickly at Dav for assurance. He nodded solemnly, instantly understanding her. “The Dracons are to be trusted above all others,” he said. Saige knew that he was speaking to her alone, though the others could hear.

  “Of course,” Saige said to Garen as though she had not asked for, and received advice before agreeing. Garen frowned and looked at Dav.

  “Excuse me,” he said politely. He rose to his feet and walked over to Dav, kneeling down beside him, his back to Saige.

  After a moment he stood up and returned to where Riata lay and bent down to lift her carefully into his arms. Saige noticed that he was smiling, but decided not to ask why.

  Trey approached Saige, offered her a smile, and picked her up in his arms. Saige felt an odd turning sensation and blinked, feeling a bit disoriented to suddenly find herself standing in a living room. Trey lowered her feet to the floor, and studied her carefully before releasing her to stand on her own.

  “Please have a seat and relax,” he said. “We will be back in a few moments.”

  Saige could only nod, but it hardly mattered as Trey was gone the instant he finished speaking. She looked around her, suddenly feeling exhausted. She decided to do as Trey suggested and sat down on one of the big sofas. Moments later she was sound asleep.

  Chapter 9

  Lio wandered back and forth before the two toys kneeling before him. He admired the technology that he himself had inspired, and funded, that allowed for the slick, shiny polymer skin to be applied to human bodies without harmful effects. It lasted indefinitely and could be removed with a simple deionization tool that would cause it to simply fall off. While in place, it acted as real skin, even to the extent of scarring, with no reduction in sensation to the wearer. It didn’t wrinkle, sag or peel. It was, for all intents and purposes, real skin.

  One toy was red, dressed in a tiny skirt and top, with eight inch high heels on her feet, all in a bright, shiny blue. The other one had blue skin, and was dressed the same as the first, only in a bright, shiny red. They looked like a pair of plastic bookends, each complimenting the other.

  Lio sighed. His toys were beautiful. The blue one had once been a human woman named Lisa Tepping. She had made the error of refusing his request for a date many years earlier in college. He had never forgotten her rebuff, and, when he had finally earned enough money and power to purchase his first controller, he had known instantly that she would be the one he used it on. It had taken much effort to track her down, but in the end, it had been worth it.

  Now, the long blonde hair and flawless skin she had once been so proud of were gone. The hair had been removed, as had all of her body hair, and her skin was now a perfect, bright and shiny blue. His eyes caressed the multitude of long, thin scars in the toy’s blue skin with fondness. It had taken Lio a very long time to work out his anger with the conceited female. Now, she was a toy, no more, no less.

  The other toy was not one he had any prior knowledge of. She had always been no more than a toy to him, even when he’d selected her from the slave pens a year earlier when she still had the skin
and hair of a woman. He had thought that his growing boredom with the blue toy would be rectified by adding another toy to his collection. For awhile it had been amusing, but there was something lacking. Something he had not been able to put his finger on.

  Until yesterday. When the silver case containing the prime controller had appeared in his office from Za-Queg, Lio had instantly understood his problem with his toys. The older model controllers installed on his toys had erased their minds. They were toys both inside and out and as such, had no feelings or thoughts other than what he gave them. That had been fun for awhile, but there was no challenge to it. No real suffering on their part, and he did enjoy the suffering of others, particularly women. It just wasn’t the same when he had to tell the toys to feel.

  He wondered if there was a way to exchange the controllers in his toys for the newer, upgraded model, but immediately discarded the idea. Though they were beautiful, he was tired of these toys. He wanted a new one.

  As soon as the thought entered his mind, his imagination ran with the idea. Yes, he thought, a new toy made from a new woman. A special woman. One with certain qualities that would not be easy to find. And once he found her, he would find a way to procure a prime controller for her.