The Healer's Garden

by Nina Pierce

  * * * *

  "Computer, dim the lights.” Brenimyn stalked through the kitchen. He wasn't completely healed, but Kiladryn had done a passable job of repairing the damage heaped on him by the guards. “Jahara.” Calling her name, he made quick work of searching the small residence, not really expecting to find her here. Grabbing breeches from the bedroom closet, he hopped into them, nearly colliding with Xylice in the dining room.

  "Brenimyn, anyone watching will know the feed isn't real.” Xylice waddled after him down the short hall toward the office.

  "It doesn't matter.” He tied the strings together at his waist. “I won't be here long enough for them to discover the loop has begun.” Stopping, he turned to look down at his twin sister. “You should have gone with Lukiam and Kiladryn back to the barn. They'll know what you've done for me.” He dropped his hand to her belly. “It's not safe for any of you now.” The babies moved beneath his fingers.

  "You'll need my help to find Jahara. I'll stay with you until we locate her. We've known for a long time ours would be a difficult journey.” Xylice covered her brother's hand. “It's why the Creator of this Earth placed us together in the same womb. We have more strength together. We will see this through to the end."

  He saw the love glisten in her eyes.

  "Hurry, there's not much time.” She pushed on his stomach, breaking the emotional contact between them. “I'm sure they've cut your communication lines, it'll take me a few minutes to rig another line to the outside."

  She was right of course. The video communicator was dead. Xylice was undeterred. Standing back, Brenimyn watched his sister pull wires from the back of the communicator, hauling them to the broken camera. Standing on a stool, her fingers pulled and twisted at the countless wires hanging from both devices until the communicator sparked to life.

  "It's not my best work, but you should be able to get through."

  Brenimyn pressed the buttons, praying he would find her at home. Relief flooded through him when her grainy face smiled at him. “Brenimyn, such a pleasant surprise."

  "Merenith..."

  * * * *

  She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but it had been several hours at least. Though she lay on the stretcher, Jahara's muscles had grown stiff. Her hands and feet prickled from the bindings cutting into her skin. She craned her neck to look at the guard standing by the door. She caught the woman with her mouth gaping open in a wide yawn of boredom.

  "Time would pass faster if you'd talk to me."

  The guard started at her voice, but didn't respond.

  "Whatever, suit yourself.” Jahara began to sing again, preferring her off-key tune to the heavy stillness of the brightly lit room.

  "Has she been doing that all night?” Bresilee's booming voice reverberated off the walls.

  "Yes, director."

  "I'm sorry you had to endure it. I have had food and spirits sent to the isolation complex. The rest of the guards are there save for the two I just sent to recapture the breeder. We will have him shortly. The fool returned to Jahara's residence.” She looked over at Jahara. “Very clever of you to loop the camera feed. But we were pretty sure you weren't with him copulating when the head of security watched the two of you in bed this time. She just called to inform me of the deception."

  Jahara let out a sigh of relief. Brenimyn had escaped and now he was looking for her. Hope blossomed.

  Bresilee addressed the guard. “When Mykilai arrives, you can join the party with the other guards. This woman will be no threat to me with this in my possession.” Bresilee pulled a small gadget from her dress, waving it over Jahara's face. “Do you know what this is, oh, honorable healer?"

  The curved metal of the contraption fit snugly in Bresilee's palm. Elaborately carved wooden inserts decorated the handle. A small loop with a piece of metal protruded from the round cylinder and curved up from the grip.

  A boom sounded in the distance. Bresilee turned her head toward the ceiling. “The pyrotechnic display has begun. The timing could not be more perfect. It will disguise the sound of your death.” She rubbed the cool metal of the small device against Jahara's breast. “I hate to miss a celebration, but killing you will be so much more fun. Have you guessed what it is yet?"

  Jahara shook her head, trying to keep the fear of death from consuming her thoughts. Something unnatural had snapped in Bresilee. Her eyes held the glazed look of a trauma victim.

  "It's called a gun.” The words came out on a seductive whisper. “A weapon used by the ancients.” She pointed the relic at the guard and squeezed the small metal hook. The noise was deafening as it bounced around the room. Jahara saw only the smoke rise from the weapon. It wasn't until she heard the guard's body crash to the floor that she cocked her head toward the door.

  The woman sat motionless, her eyes staring blankly at Bresilee. Crimson fluid oozed from a gaping hole in the guard's right shoulder.

  Jahara fought the restraints. “Release me, I can heal her. She has done nothing to you."

  Mykilai ran breathless into the room, her gaze sweeping the scene. Without asking permission, she knelt in front of the guard, digging her fingers into the hole in the shoulder. Evidently it wasn't the first demonstration she'd seen of the gun. Pulling something from the gaping wound, it bounced on the tiles of the floor.

  "That's a bullet.” Bresilee whispered into Jahara's ear. “Mykilai is getting very good at healing gun wounds."

  The white light glowed strong from Mykilai's palms. Jahara watched as the blood clotted and the cavernous hole healed. The guard's eyes fluttered open, her confusion evident in the lines creasing her forehead. Outside, the booming display of fireworks continued.

  "Leave us now.” Bresilee spoke over her shoulder to the guard still nursing the tender spot on her shoulder. “Mykilai will help me with the prisoner. I don't want any other witnesses to the healer's death. Tell no one what you saw here tonight."

  The guard stood on wobbly legs, running from the room as fast as her feet could move.

  "Untie her, Mykilai. She won't try anything now.” Bresilee held the gun in two hands as Mykilai moved to the stretcher to remove the restraints. “You have seen what this little toy can do. I won't hesitate to use it on you, Jahara. I understand the pain is quite substantial. Mykilai has no desire to save you. We will gleefully watch as your blood drains the life from you."

  Jahara swung her legs over the side of the bed, rubbing blood back into her feet and hands. “You won't get away with this, Bresilee. I know what you've been doing. I've sent word to my Dame about your unsanctioned experiments. Even if I die, there will be a full investigation."

  Bresilee's smug expression faltered. “You lie. Your video communicator is offline."

  She was right of course. Jahara had tried to contact her Dame before the meeting, but the video communicator would not work. She'd intended to have Xylice fix it tonight. But Bresilee couldn't be sure of all those facts. They had rigged the cameras after all.

  "Ha, you think sabotaging my communicator would keep me from telling the world about your clones?"

  Bresilee's face deepened in color by several shades. The gun shook in her hand. “Who told you?"

  "Jacinta's child.” Jahara put her feet on the floor, her confidence growing as Bresilee's weakened. “I am a healer, Bresilee, unlike you.” She spat the words out with venom. If she was going to die tonight, she would die having proven her hypothesis. Bresilee hadn't felt the baby in her womb, because she had no power.

  "You know nothing."

  "Oh, but I do. You did not save Jacinta because you couldn't. You rely on Mykilai to heal. You have studied and know the old ways, but you have no gift. You can deliver babies, but you can't save them."

  The gun went off, sending another shock wave of sound through the room. Both Jahara and Mykilai ducked, but the bullet was not intended for them.

  "Shut up, you insipient woman. I have my intelligence. How else could I have risen to be leader of the Garden? And what
do you know of babies? You are not a Dame yourself."

  "I know you have cloned yourself and implanted the embryos in the youngest breeders. I felt your genetic essence in Jacinta's baby and several of the pregnant women I examined at the lake. Their infants carry your life being, not the mother's. I know you clone yourself because you believe you're better than all of us."

  "That is a lie!” With the gun still pointed at Jahara's head, Bresilee ripped open her flowing gown. “I clone myself to make a better copy.” Her hand swept the length of the wrinkled flesh of her burned torso. “No one could truly love this."

  Pity swept through Jahara for the woman no one had properly healed. There was no reason for her to carry those scars. Evidently they ran deeper than the ones she could see. No amount of physical healing could cure Bresilee's emotional pain.

  "I wouldn't have these scars if it weren't for men. They are vile creatures that should be eradicated from this earth."

  "Why would a man do that to you?"

  "The scars they left aren't visible.” Bresilee breathed out a derisive laugh. “I lived at one of the schools when I was young until a wonderful woman came and took eight of us into her home. She told the elders at the school she wanted to be our Dame.” Bresilee's eyes focused on a distant vision only she could see. “It was wonderful at first. She loved us and we were happy.” Her voice grew hard. “Then they came."

  "Who?"

  "The men, you stupid woman. At night, when no one knew. They worked the mines in the nearby village. Dirty men with only sex on their minds. They had no desire to procreate, but they fornicated with us over and over. They paid the old woman to make us do things—unnatural things. We complained and begged to go back to the school, but she beat us and threatened our lives if we ever told.” Her voice was hollow.

  "Finally, I'd had enough. I made myself sick with herbs in my food. No man wanted me that night and that's when I knew I'd rather die than endure a life of sexual slavery."

  It was ironic she used that term.

  "So, while they were all occupied, I started the fire under the house. It was wet under there and took much effort with the flint, but when it caught, it traveled along the floorboards rapidly. I wanted to see them burn, the woman and the men. I felt bad for the girls, but it was a horrible life. They'd thank me in the next world for saving them from a life of sexual servitude.” Her hand absently ran up her torso.

  "I went into the building, knowing the flames would bring me peace. It was hot and I felt the fires of Hades join the blaze to swallow the evil. I walked through the house that wasn't a home and heard the crackling of the fire, pleased it was consuming everything. Everyone was busy on the second floor, even the old woman. They never knew until it was too late. The smoke became thick, blotting out even the bright light of the flames. I heard their screams of terror replace their cries of pleasure. It was too late for all of them.” Bresilee's mouth curved in a frightening smile. “They all perished that night."

  Bresilee looked at her and for the first time Jahara saw the gentle features of a woman, not the hardened visage of a bitter leader. Tears pooled in Bresilee's eyes, softening the deep roads of pain. As quickly as it had come, it disappeared, replaced by the shadow of anger.

  "Except me.” The words were hard, spoken through clenched teeth. “Someone came into the house and pulled me out. The idiot didn't let me die. The young healer they found did the best she could, but she had not been trained. She left ... this.” Once more Bresilee looked down at her body.

  "When I was healthy I went back to the school. I told them I had the gift of healing. No one questioned because I survived. I studied the ways of the ancients and learned to heal with my intellect and cunning. The fire damaged so much. I am unable to bear offspring. I came here as an apprentice healer and look what I have made of myself.” She held up her hands, modeling for Jahara.

  "Healers have offered to fix my body, but it is too late. I wear the scars to remind me why I must continue the experiments. All men should be eliminated. With cloning, we will no longer need their life essence to create woman. It is the only way to keep bloodlines pure.” Her lips pursed into thin lines of hatred.

  "You speak of new world order and it shall come, but not as you dream. Men will never stand with women as equals.” Bresilee attempted to cover herself, but she'd ruined the clasps of the dress. “Mykilai, hand me some scrubs."

  Without ever moving Jahara from the path of a bullet, Bresilee shimmied out of the dress and into the cotton tunic and breeches. “Let's take a ride. The fireworks will be over soon and I wish to be available for my guests.” Bresilee slipped into her usual poise as easily as she'd slipped into the clothing. “Mykilai, I require your help driving us back to the well-check where all this began this evening. I have some special plans for Jahara."

  * * * *

  "Xylice, it's taking too long."

  "Bren, stop pacing. You're making me nervous.” Her fingers flew over the keyboard. “Do you have any idea how many cameras there are in the Garden? They're all rolling twenty-four hours a day. I can't even begin to tell you how much footage the computer is going to have to search through. Even when I put in the time parameters, it's going to take awhile."

  A picture of Jahara standing in front of the government building filled the wall monitor. Brenimyn's heart nearly stopped at the image of her. She looked lost. He knew he couldn't have saved her from that moment, but guilt knotted his gut. He hadn't told her how things would go today. The vision his sister had shared with Brenimyn made him the scapegoat. No one had known how the Government would accomplish it, but he was here only to pave the way for the true warrior. The battle was Jahara's to win or lose. He was never meant to stand at her side while she fought.

  "It's all such crap.” He slammed his fist into the wall.

  "What is?” Xylice kept her focus on the screen. “My program? It really isn't, I've worked..."

  "No, Xylice, not your program.” His voice softened. He suddenly felt very tired. “I let you talk me into trying it didn't I?” He watched the computer draw green lines across Jahara's brow and down her cheeks. “I should have taken her from here. What in the name of Hades was I thinking? A new world order? Right now I don't give a damn about some friggin’ revolution. I want Jahara."

  "We'll find her, Bren.” Xylice's fingers ran circles on the keys. He watched as one side of the monitor ran dizzyingly fast through computer footage, the other showed Jahara's face imploring him to find her.

  Walking to the window, he watched the first bright colors of a pyrotechnic display light the dome of the Garden. He carried his helplessness like a heavy weight pressing the air from his lungs. “I should've told her, Xylice. But I was afraid she'd talk me out of it.” Swallowing hard, he worked to control the emotions threatening to spill out of him. “Who was I to keep things from her?"

  He didn't turn around, but the persistent clicking of the computer keys stopped abruptly.

  "She knew."

  "What did you say?"

  Xylice came to stand with him at the window, her eyes fixed on the explosions sprinkling lights down on the Garden Proper. It was amazing how much you could see from Xylice's plush office on the sixth floor of the computer complex.

  "I said she knew. I saw the conviction in her eyes the day I rigged the cameras at your apartment. But that was nothing compared to the determined strength I saw in her today when I left the government building. All around her pandemonium reined, but she held her head high and walked with pride even though her mate had just been sentenced to death.” Xylice turned her head up to him. “Don't beat yourself up, Bren, she knew what the vision asked of her and she accepted it."

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  Chapter Twenty-Three

  She wondered if anyone even knew she was missing. Jahara hadn't told Attika where she was headed. Nazaret had left long before she'd run down the sidewalk. And Brenimyn might be in custody, or he could be free, either way he wouldn't know where to
search for her. No one had seen the trio leave Bresilee's lab with Jahara at gunpoint. The only person she could depend on to save her life was her. Jahara's mind raced through possible scenarios, but all of them left her with a bullet hole in her body.

  What she needed to do was distract Bresilee and trust the bond she shared with Mykilai would be enough to disarm the maniacal woman pointing a gun at her head. But the automaton blindly following Bresilee's orders didn't look like the healer who'd been elbow deep in Lukiam's blood or the same woman who'd begged Jahara to save her lover. Steering the vehicle through some underground tunnel system between Bresilee's mansion and the hospital, Mykilai stared mutely into the darkness. Illuminated only by the feeble headlights of the electric vehicle, her face was planar and vacant. Jahara wondered if Mykilai had been drugged.

  "Is this how you got me from the well-check to the mansion?” Jahara looked hopefully at Mykilai. “I only remember the piercing noise, but nothing until I woke in the lab.” Still, there was no reaction from the healer. Was she to be the only other witness to Jahara's passage into the next realm? She shook her head, clearing the unproductive thoughts. She couldn't think like that.

  "Shut up.” Bresilee's voice startled Jahara, but Mykilai didn't even flinch. “I'm tired of your whining. You've been a thorn in my side since you arrived. But that will all be over tonight.” Bresilee rubbed the cold cylinder of the gun against Jahara's cheek. “The breeder is in custody by now I'm sure. And soon he will join you in the next world, Jahara.” Bresilee's hacking laugh made her sound like she'd taken a dive into a deep pool of insanity.

  * * * *

  "We've got something.” Xylice waddled back to the beeping computer. They stared down at the screen. “Well, that can't be right."

  "Xylice, I can't make sense of that mess on the screen, what is it?"

  "The computer should have kept going."

  Brenimyn was growing impatient. Though it had taken less than thirty minutes for the computer to search the film archives, it felt like hours had raced by. With every tick of the clock, his hope of finding Jahara alive slipped. No one knew how events would unfold. Visions were never that clear.