Shifting Isles Box Set

by G. R. Lyons

  “She taught me,” he said.

  “Who?”

  Graeden gently pulled himself away from his parents and rose shakily to his feet.

  “My wife.”

  A second of silence passed before he heard his parents both exclaim, “Your what?”

  Ignoring them, Graeden hurried over to Zhadeyn, then frantically searched the scan Jase had started above her.

  “This is the most uncanny thing, Grae,” Jase said, reaching over and squeezing his arm by way of greeting while still getting right to the matter at hand. “All readings indicate that she's dead. No pulse, no respiration, no response to stimuli. But her brain still shows a very faint hint of activity. I can't account for it.”

  “May I?” Benash asked.

  Graeden looked at him and nodded, still feeling his own mind coming back to order, and watched as his grandfather stood at the head of the table, letting his hands hover on either side of Zhadeyn's face, and he closed his eyes in concentration.

  “She's alive,” he said after a moment, lowering his hands and opening his eyes. “Grae, this woman is incredibly strong. She's keeping her bodily functions on the borderline of death and redirecting all her energy to healing herself. Her mind is incredibly secure. I've never felt anything like it.”

  “Healing herself?” Graeden asked, looking over the cuts on her body again.

  His grandfather nodded. “That was the sensation I got. I couldn't get in any deeper to see precisely why. Her mental blocks are remarkably strong.”

  Graeden frowned, looking up at the scan, seeing so many red areas throughout the blue hologram, then back down at his wife. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and opened his mind toward her.

  Deyn? Honey?

  He slammed into a mental block, stunned at the intensity of it, then shook his head and tried again.

  Deyn?

  Graeden!

  Zhadeyn lurched up with a sickening gasp, her body going into convulsions while the scanners went haywire, turning on alarms and warnings as readings changed second by second.

  Graeden tried to hold her down while her body flailed on the table, trying to keep her from falling off, and just as suddenly as it had started, all motion stopped and Zhadeyn collapsed back and lay very still.

  “Oh, shit, Grae!”

  Graeden looked up and saw Jase pointing at a new marking on the scan.

  The area around her heart now glowed red, with a tear halfway through one of her arteries.

  “Prepping for surgery,” Jase called, spinning away from the table and shoving the scanner aside while he ran over to grab gloves and a sterilized set of tools.

  “No, wait!” Graeden said, putting out a hand toward him while he looked down at Zhadeyn.

  “Grae, we have to start now or–”

  “Let me in,” he murmured, closing his eyes and resting his hand on Zhadeyn's forehead. “Come on, honey, let me in.”

  He felt a weak response from her mind, and an attempt to open her mental barriers while she struggled to keep herself alive.

  “Gods damn it all, I am not losing you, too!” Graeden shouted, slamming his other hand down on the table. “Let me in!”

  A small crack opened up in her mind, and then her barriers fell away entirely, her energy redirected elsewhere. Graeden threw his consciousness inside her mind, barely aware of his hands clenching into fists as he moved down to the deepest parts of her being, trying to remember everything she'd taught him.

  After what felt like an endless search, he found the perforation in her artery and moved all his concentration to that, eliminating all of his own senses so he could neither hear nor feel anything in his own body while he focused on commanding her body to heal.

  He saw the cells, saw the necessary arrangement of them, and while his own body shook with effort, he saw a new cell form, connecting two others that were separated.

  Come on, Grae, he told himself. You can do this. Keep going.

  Redoubling his efforts now that the pattern was visible while he felt Zhadeyn simply trying to keep the rest of her body alive in the barest sense of the word, Graeden used everything he had to keep commanding cells to regenerate, watching as, one by one, they replicated and split and moved into place, the perforation in the artery slowly disappearing as the cells knit back together.

  The gap closed, proper blood flow was restored, and Graeden heard the warnings and alarms slow and then stop as he pulled himself out of Zhadeyn's mind and regained his hearing.

  Honey?

  I'm alright, she said, even her inner voice breathless. Thank you. I couldn't…have done that…on my own.

  What are you doing?

  Healing, she gasped.

  What do you need? Tell me what to do.

  Food. He felt her inwardly cringe as she struggled to keep herself going. So tired.

  “Jase,” he said, pointing at him without looking. “A vial of protein…and vitamins. Quick.”

  In his peripheral vision, he saw Jase run to a cabinet and back to the table, grabbing an injection gun from its holster on the scanner and loading the vials into it. He pressed the device to Zhadeyn's arm, making a faint click as the fluids were injected into her body.

  Graeden closed his eyes, keeping in contact with Zhadeyn's mind, and though she was completely still, he felt her inwardly sigh with relief.

  Gods, that's good.

  Does that help? he asked.

  Yes, thank you.

  Tell me if you need more, alright? Is there anything else I can do?

  No, she said, and he felt her slowly pushing him out as she concentrated on her internal work. Need rest.

  Alright, he murmured, brushing her hair back from her forehead. I love you.

  Love…you…

  With that, she forced him completely out of her mind, and Graeden straightened up with a sigh of relief.

  A beep sounded on the scanner, and then even Jase finally sighed.

  “About time she started showing a heartbeat,” he said, watching the scanner. A full minute passed before another pulse showed, but at least it was there. “What is she doing?”

  Graeden looked at the scan, still showing an array of cuts and bruises, and said, “She's starving, dehydrated, and exhausted. She's somehow managed to shut down her body to the barest subsistence levels while she heals herself. Saving and redirecting energy where it's needed.”

  “How can you tell?” Jase asked.

  “Look here,” Graeden said, pointing at the scan. “There's no response to audible stimuli.” He circled a finger around the ear and the auditory portion of the brain, seeing no indication of activity. “She can't hear us right now. She's shut off her hearing to push energy elsewhere.” Graeden reached out and touched her arm, then lightly pinched her, and saw no response from the nervous system reflected in the scan. “She can't feel anything, either.”

  “Good gods, Grae,” Jase breathed, staring at the scan. “Do you realize how much we could learn from this?”

  Graeden looked up. “Please tell me the recorder is on.”

  Jase's eyes went wide as he momentarily panicked, turning toward the scanner, then heaved another sigh.

  “Yes, thank the gods. I have a feeling we'll be going over this one for a while.”

  Jase walked around the table, looking at the scan from every angle.

  “Uh, Grae, look at this.”

  Graeden looked up and saw Jase reach toward the scan, duplicating a portion of it and dragging it closer. He turned it around and expanded it.

  “She gave birth,” Jase said carefully.

  “What?”

  Graeden ran around to the other side of the table and looked closer at what Jase was examining.

  “Look here,” Jase said, turning the portion of the scan around again. “Her organs are all displaced, consistent with a full-term pregnancy, or nearly there. And there's vaginal tearing here…”

  They both looked at Zhadeyn, and before Graeden could say anything, Jase asked, “
So where's the baby?”

  Graeden took a few breaths, memories swirling through his mind, and tried to keep calm. “I don't know, but…” He saw a tear slip from Zhadeyn's eye, leaving a track through the dirt on her face.

  “Shit,” Jase muttered. “Do you think she heard that?”

  Graeden took another breath and said, “We'll deal with that later. Right now I–”

  Then the memories came to him full force, and Graeden froze.

  “Oh, gods. Elli.”

  “What?” Jase asked.

  Graeden panted, bracing himself against the table, and tried not to panic.

  “Gods, it's been so long…”

  “Who's Elli?”

  Easy, Grae, he told himself, squeezing his eyes shut. One thing at a time. One thing at a time. It'll be alright.

  He took one slow, deep breath, letting it out in a huff, and focused.

  She said everything was fine, he reminded himself, thinking of his last visit to Mrs. Newar's apartment. Easy, Grae. It'll be alright.

  “Alright, one thing at a time,” he said to himself, then cleared his throat. “Jase, would you do me a favor and get her admitted if you haven't already? I'm going to get her cleaned up and then under monitors for the night, and–”

  He cut off, suddenly remembering his family. Graeden turned around and found them all still there, watching silently with restrained curiosity on their faces. With a quick look at Zhadeyn, he hurried over to them and held out his hands apologetically.

  “Mom, Dad, I…Granddad, I just…”

  “Grae, sweetie,” his mom said, giving him a quick hug. “There'll be plenty of time for explanations later. Why don't you go take care of whatever you need to do, and we'll talk later, alright?”

  Graeden looked from one face to another, seeing questions and concerns on their faces, but also unspoken support of him no matter what. He breathed a sigh of relief and nodded.

  “Thank you,” he said, starting to walk away, then he rushed back and grabbed his mother in a firm embrace. “I love you, Mom. I know I don't say that enough.”

  He felt his mother choke up for a moment before she said, “I love you, too, sweetie.”

  “Dad,” he said, going to his father and giving him a quick, firm embrace, then the same with his grandfather.

  “Go on, Grae,” his father said. “We'll come back later and talk.”

  Graeden nodded his thanks and went back to his wife, wheeling the table out of the room while the others left through the opposite door.

  He moved Zhadeyn to a large washroom, with different sized tubs and harness assemblies for moving the handicapped in and out of a bath. Graeden carefully lifted Zhadeyn from the table and lowered her into a tub, rinsing and scrubbing the dirt and blood from her skin so he could better assess the condition of her injuries.

  After draining and refilling the tub three times, the water finally ran clear. Her skin was clean, but her hair was still a tangled disaster, so he cut off most of the length, and filled the tub again to scrub what remained of her hair, picking out twigs and debris and running his fingers slowly through to remove the tangles.

  Once she was clean and dry and back on the table with a fresh sheet beneath her, Graeden returned her to the exam room to apply ointments and bandages as needed, even stitching up one large gash on her arm. Her feet were almost completely wrapped in bandages, the soles so badly torn that he could only imagine how far she'd traveled barefoot.

  Her hands and knees weren't in much better shape, and he cringed away from the idea of her crawling on all fours in sheer exhaustion.

  With all her wounds attended to, he ran a fresh scan and saw a little less red in the hologram, the ointments healing her skin from the outside while Zhadeyn healed herself from the inside.

  Satisfied that he'd done everything he could, Graeden pulled up the admission file Jase had created for her in the hospital database, found the room she'd been assigned to, and wheeled the table there, turning on a monitor and shutting off the lights before he left the room so she could rest.

  He closed the door and found Jase, Leni, and Quinn waiting in the hallway.

  “So, you're back,” Quinn said.

  Graeden nodded. “I'm back.”

  “Good,” Leni said, slapping him on the arm. “Let's get to work.”

  Laughing, Graeden followed them, and slipped right back into routine as though nothing had changed.

  Chapter 34

  AT THE end of the day, Graeden went back to Zhadeyn's room to check on her, relieved to see that all the scans showed slow but steady improvement.

  Deyn? Honey?

  He repeated the question every few seconds until he got a response.

  I'm here, she said, still sounding slightly breathless.

  How are you doing?

  Better. Hungry.

  I thought you might be, Graeden said, loading a couple of vials into an injection gun and shooting them into her arm. Better?

  A few seconds passed, and she inwardly sighed. Ah, yes, thank you.

  Do you need anything else?

  Rest. Time.

  Alright, he said, tucking the sheets around her. You'll be safe here. I'm gonna go home and get something to eat, and then I'll be back.

  He felt a slight inward nod before she shut him out again, concentrating on her healing. Graeden pressed a kiss to her forehead, even though she probably couldn't feel it, and left the room, heading straight toward the elevator.

  The doors closed, and Graeden went to press the button for the top floor, then hesitated with his hand hovering around the button labeled 6.

  No, not now, he thought, forcing his hand away. You need to get your head in order first, Grae.

  Taking a deep breath and praying for patience, Graeden rode the elevator all the way up to the top floor, rushed around his apartment as he showered, changed, and scarfed down the first thing he put his hands on for dinner, then went back down to Zhadeyn's room.

  He pulled over a reclining chair, sat down beside her, closed his eyes, and focused on deep breaths.

  Graeden?

  I'm here, honey.

  He felt her inward smile, and took her hand. She couldn't return the pressure, but sensed her awareness of his hand there anyway.

  Wake me if you need anything, he told her.

  She mentally nodded and went back to her healing, while Graeden meditated his way into sleep.

  He woke early the next morning, long before sunsrise, and pushed the chair aside while he bent over Zhadeyn's bed. How are you doing?

  Much better, she responded almost immediately.

  More nutrients?

  Yes, please.

  He gave her another injection, and asked, How's it going?

  Almost there, she said, sighing inwardly. Graeden, can…can we go home?

  Are you sure? I'd really like to keep you under observation until you get through this thing–

  This place feels strange, she told him. Please?

  Graeden smiled at her, even though she didn't have her eyes open to see it. Alright, he agreed. I'll get you discharged and move you up to the apartment.

  Thank you.

  He ran one final scan, relieved to see almost no red remaining, and went to the wallscreen, closing out her file and marking the room ready for cleaning before he shut off the scanners and wheeled the table out of the room.

  The hospital was quiet, the patients all still asleep and the night staff moving around silently. Graeden nodded at a few fellow doctors and nurses as he made his way to the elevator, moving the wheeled table into it and riding up to the top floor.

  In his apartment, he got Zhadeyn moved from the table to his bed, tucking the sheets around her so she'd be warm, then grabbed a quick breakfast and got dressed for the day.

  I'm going to work, but I'll be back at lunch to check on you, he told her.

  Alright.

  The door will be locked, so no one can get in but me. He paused, squeezing her hand. Deyn, I'd feel be
tter if you were down there where I could get to you quickly.

  I'll be fine, she assured him. I'm almost there. I just need rest now.

  Alright, he agreed. I'll be back soon.

  He returned the table to the exam room and went to his office, checking his schedule for the day and jumping right back into work. At lunch, he resisted the urge to go to Mrs. Newar's apartment, knowing he still had things to take care of before he could visit there again, and went to check on Zhadeyn instead. A quick check with a pen scanner showed all the red areas gone, the hologram representation of her body glowing perfectly blue.

  Graeden pulled the bandages away from her skin and his jaw dropped. There was not a single indication of injury anywhere on her skin.

  Almost there, she told him.

  I can see that, he said with a laugh. This is incredible. He paused, checking her over again, and shook his head in amazement. Her feet and hands were back to normal, the gash in her arm was gone, the protein-based stitches absorbed into her skin, and not a single other mark remained on her.

  Except one.

  Would you do me a favor? he asked.

  What?

  While you're at it, he began, tapping his fingers on her collarbone, would you make this go away?

  He felt her unspoken question, and then sensed her turn her awareness away from him, and watched in awe as the scar of his name on her skin sloughed away while new skin formed in its place, leaving her looking unblemished and whole.

  Why? she asked once it was done.

  Because you're not my property, he said. You're my partner.

  Inwardly, she gave him an answering smile, and Graeden squeezed her hand.

  * * *

  THE REST of the day passed in a blur for Graeden. He went about his afternoon rounds and appointments, then met his mother back at his apartment when she brought over a suitcase full of old clothes for Zhadeyn to try on once she woke.

  “She's lovely, Grae,” his mother murmured, keeping her voice down while Zhadeyn still rested. “I must say, your grandfather was shocked at the news—hells, we all were—but if she makes you happy…”

  Graeden nodded. “She does. I know the transition will be rough, but I think she'll be happy here, once she gets used to it.”