Mating Flight

by Mating Flight (lit)

  For the first time since coming to this planet she saw weapons being carried openly instead of being holstered. The looks on the guards' faces were menacing and she was grateful for their alertness, although she wished it had come sooner. Much sooner. Their heir had been attacked and in the aftermath they were protecting him from a second attack. She was reminded of the adage of closing the barn door after the horse had escaped. Or was the horse gone?

  "Is there still a known threat to Kleet?" she demanded of the guard captain.

  "The city is restless today. There were three acts of violence so far this morning."

  "And yet you allowed us to go to the cliffs where we were the most vulnerable," she exclaimed.

  "No one interferes with a mating flight, my lady! You're an alien and it's common knowledge that the heir is having difficulty binding your alien self to him." Sheleigh flinched. "But the heir has chosen you, so if it takes years of mating flights to bind you, we'll take the two of you to the cliffs for as long as it takes, no matter what. And each time we'll hope he succeeds."

  She was completely flabbergasted by his view of her relationship with Kleet. Although it was emotional binding that Kleet was building with her, not physical binding, as the guard thought. Still, the guard said it was a commonly held opinion that she and Kleet had separateness between them. She wondered if Kleet had heard this rumor, and then realized that he must have. What a blow to him it must be, like rubbing salt into a wound, to know his people thought he had failed to completely bind his mate. Did his people think him weak that he'd failed? Did they lose confidence in him? Did they question his sanity or mental reasoning in choosing an alien to be his mate? What had she done to him by not loving him, and done to the way his people thought of him? Even though she hadn't chosen him, and had had no say in the choice, she was ashamed that she had brought Kleet to this.

  "My lady, if you'll go with this other doctor, she'll see to your injuries." An older, distinguished-looking gentleman--clearly an important man by the aura of confidence surrounding him--tried to pry her from Kleet's side. It was too much for her.

  "If you think you're separating me from my mate, you'd better not plan on touching him. Because if you do, you'll be removed from his care so fast your head will spin. I'm staying with him, no matter what. So accept it or get out of my sight." This last was said with a deadly hiss.

  The doctor hesitated, clearly rattled. It was probably the first time anyone had ever questioned his authority. "My lady, I understood you weren't bound to him."

  "Clearly you were misinformed. Kleet bound me tightly to him in our first flight together. He has some trouble handling a woman with an independent mind, but you seem to have the same trouble, doctor. Perhaps it's a species failing. But if you think I'll move away from Kleet so that a second attack on him will succeed where the first seems to have failed, you're wrong. The next projectile will have to tear through my flesh to get to his. Had I known what was happening this morning, I would have moved to protect him with my body. I should have moved ..."

  "My lady," one of the guards objected.

  Sheleigh reigned in her emotions. "Well, doctor? Time is getting away from us. What's your decision?"

  His shoulders sagged. "Come with us."

  Sheleigh held Kleet's left hand as he lay on his left side. She watched the surgical team repair the damage to Kleet's right side and then work began on his wing. It was tedious and very stressful to the surgeons and staff, most of who were winged. Masks covered their mouths so she couldn't see whether they were frowning. But their foreheads were furrowed and their eyes held concern, resignation and pity. This last emotion told her the horrible, unpalatable, unacceptable truth. The wing was more than likely crippled, unsalvageable, and Kleet would not fly again.

  She must have made a sound as her grief for Kleet moved over her and her eyes overflowed with tears that spilled down her cheeks. The chief surgeon looked up at her. "You should go now, my lady. You're imagining the worst."

  "If it can be reality for Kleet, then I can stand here and accept the truth head on. I won't hide from what all of you know to be true."

  He didn't deny her words, just went back to his work. Sheleigh felt a pain deep in her abdomen, but she forced knowledge of it from her mind. Nothing else could happen to her and Kleet today.

  Finally the wing was bandaged and bound to Kleet's body. The staff then went to work on his numerous scrapes and abrasions. One of the female staff washed Kleet while checking for damage. Sheleigh watched the hands touching her mate's naked body and noticed they were slightly less clinical in their perusal. When they moved to his genitals she knew a violent jealousy. The woman stayed too long in what was Sheleigh's legal territory. Sheleigh stepped forward to grip the offending arm in a painful vise.

  "Get your hands off my mate," she hissed lethally for the woman's ears alone. She gave the woman a killing look and she shriveled under Sheleigh's glare. Quickly the woman moved to another part of Kleet's body. Sheleigh made sure the rest of her ministrations were kept strictly clinical. Obviously this woman had heard the same rumor the guards and the doctor had.

  One of the doctors had noticed the byplay and his eyes widened. Well, the word would be out now that she was possessive about her mate. Perhaps the stories that spread from today would do much to restore Kleet in his people's eyes. She moved restlessly under another pain low in her abdomen. Be calm, she told the babies in her mind. Your father will be all right. She dared not touch her abdomen to comfort the babies while so many observant eyes were watching.

  Kleet was transferred to a clean gurney, his lower body covered with a sheet, and she walked with him out of the surgery. In the corridor they met Kelfer and Lefair. She was immediately enveloped in their concern for her and Kleet. Kelfer stared down helplessly at the pale face of his unconscious son. Here was the most powerful man on the planet and the grief on his face told of his frustration at not preventing what happened to Kleet.

  "The guards told us what happened. How bad is it, Dr. Nelarn?"

  The important doctor now had a name, because he was the one who answered. "The heir will fully recover from the wound to his side. He'll be months rebuilding muscle tone, strength and tendon control again and he'll be in pain, but he'll recover." He took a deep breath. Here it comes. "The damage to his right wing was extensive. Several main vanes and muscles were destroyed. The first bony arch was shattered. I don't think he'll ever be able to fly again."

  Lefair's cry tore at Sheleigh's heart. How painful it must be to see your child crippled in some way. She didn't think of Kleet as being crippled, because to her, flight was an unnatural addition to being alive and able to walk, talk and function. But to these people the loss of flight was like losing an arm or leg, or an eye. They mourned the evolution to flightlessness. They thought of those without the ability to fly as lesser, as without something fundamental. Therein lay the conflict that had exploded and wounded Kleet today.

  Kleet would be just as devastated as his parents clearly were now. Sheleigh would have to understand something she had been unable to grasp for the four weeks she had been mated. They thought of themselves as ordinary, while she thought of them as extraordinary. If she failed to understand Kleet's grief, she could lose him. After she had discovered her heart's desire today, she couldn't risk losing him.

  Another pain stabbed her and she turned her gasp of pain into an offer of sympathy for Lefair. She hugged the older woman and accepted the comfort of caring arms around her. If not her mate, then her mate's mother would have to do.

  "Were you injured, Sheleigh?" Lefair wiped her eyes as she inquired.

  "Scrapes and bruises mostly. My knees took the brunt of it." She chose her words carefully to minimize the danger in the story and edit out the word "wings." She caught Kelfer's sharp, incisive look over his wife's head and knew that he knew there was more she wasn't telling. He probably had the entire story from the guards anyway. "I need to shower and dress. I'm filthy with dirt and bl
ood and I'm tired of wearing this robe. I don't even have anything on my feet."

  Here was something Lefair could take care of. She took charge immediately. "Those things are easily remedied. Dr. Nelarn, I assume Sheleigh can use the facilities in Kleet's private room?"

  "Of course. We need to get the heir out of the corridor. His room is just down the hall."

  The entourage of guards, ruling family and medical staff moved down the hall, gathering stares as the family was recognized. Sheleigh was glad to see the concern on people's faces as they looked at Kleet. His family had been fairly good rulers for generations. Except for the unhappy radical fringe, the populace as a whole had been happy and prosperous. Now things might change.

  Kleet was carefully transferred to the bed and the doctor fussed with IV lines until he was satisfied. Kelfer took him by the arm and the two older men went out in the corridor, undoubtedly to discuss the grislier aspects of Kleet's medical procedures and condition. Fortunately none of the medical staff remembered to treat her. She didn't think she could pass intense medical scrutiny right now, what with the pains coming more frequently. She feared a miscarriage almost as much as she feared being examined for it. To lose Kleet's babies when he might never be able to fly again might mean they would remain childless their entire marriage. Logically she knew that babies were created by the act of sexual intercourse, no matter how it was performed. But the mystical part of her that had been born the first time Kleet flew her told her that fertility would only happen for her and Kleet during a mating flight.

  Now was not the time for another loss. When Kleet awoke he would be told of his condition. Were he also to be told that his children were dead he might not survive the double blow. The platitudes pronounced by unthinking people, like, "You'll have other children," did not take into account the love and connection parents already felt for the baby that had died. Kleet loved his babies and wanted them very much. She had every intention of giving them to him in eight months' time.

  A guard brought her clothes from the air transport. She closed herself in the bathing room of Kleet's room, away from her mother-in-law's prying eyes. She stripped off the hated robe and stepped under the heated water of the shower. The heat felt good on her bruises and her back, but stung her abrasions. She scrubbed several times with soap, until she felt clean and human again.

  But no amount of scrubbing would make the pains stop coming. She doubled over finally and cried her despair out into the wall. Despite their unorthodox and painful conception, she now wanted her babies. They were the physical manifestation of Kleet's love for her, part of both him and her. She wrapped her arms tightly around her belly, trying to comfort the babies and keep them in her body.

  "Don't leave me," she begged them.

  "Sheleigh, what's the matter?" Lefair's voice came to her through the shower glass.

  No! Kleet's mother couldn't handle this. "Nothing." She tried to sound carefree, but the words came out through her clenched teeth.

  "Sheleigh, I'm coming in there."

  "No! I just need to cry a little. I need privacy."

  The water snapped off and Lefair placed a towel around her shaking body. "Is it the babies?"

  "No, there's nothing wrong with the babies. Please, I just need to be alone."

  "The doctor might be able to stop what's happening if he has enough time." Sheleigh looked at her mother-in-law with grudging hope. "You're not bleeding yet, are you?"

  "No. Just pain."

  "Then let the doctor help you. He can stop the contractions."

  "All right."

  Lefair no sooner left the bathing room then what seemed like an army of medical personnel invaded the room and surrounded her. Her towel was stripped away. The female doctor demanded, "How long have you been having pains?"

  "Since Kleet's surgery."

  "A couple of hours. How often are the pains coming?"

  "Every few minutes."

  "No bleeding?"

  "No."

  "Did you strike your abdomen when you hit the ground?"

  "No. I fell on my knees and on Kleet."

  "I need to examine you, my lady. Please come with me now."

  "I don't want a miscarriage." Sheleigh allowed them to lay her onto a stretcher. Outside the bathing room they placed the stretcher onto a gurney. Kelfer was standing with his arm around Lefair, his face white. She had a moment to realize she was naked in front of her in-laws. "I don't want to be naked!"

  A blanket was thrown over her and she welcomed its warmth. She felt strangely chilled. "I don't feel well ..." It was the last coherent thought she had for a very long time.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Through a murky nightmarish hell, huge raptors came out of the sky to tear at her flesh while she fell from the cliff. They tried to cut Kleet's babies from her belly. They screamed at her, "Non wingeds must die! Non wingeds must die!" while their sharp claws scored painfully across her abdomen. She screamed and screamed for help, for Kleet, but he didn't come. No one helped her fight off the raptors. Over and over they attacked her, until she lay shredded and bleeding on the canyon floor. She cried pitifully for Kleet.

  "Shhh, he's sleeping, dear," a female voice soothed.

  "Why won't anyone help me? It hurts!"

  "They can't give you a lot of painkiller because of the babies."

  "The babies are gone! They took them!" Sheleigh began to cry huge wrenching sobs that tore painfully at her abdomen. The pain made her cry all the harder.

  "No one took your babies. Stop crying like that before you rip out the sutures." Kelfer's stern voice made her subside to gulping sobs. "You had an aneurism that burst. You hemorrhaged. A result of hitting the ground this morning. The doctors had to do surgery to save your life, but you and the babies are fine. Do you understand?"

  "The babies are still inside me? Then why does it hurt so much?"

  "I told you. You had surgery to stop the hemorrhage. You've been ranting and screaming about being attacked by something, but none of that was real. You were having a nightmare. Anesthesia has that affect on some people."

  "Where's Kleet? I need him. Please help me."

  "You can't be moved right now and neither can Kleet."

  "Where is he?" She looked around wildly, but didn't recognize the room. This wasn't Kleet's room. Remnants of the nightmare and whatever drug they'd given her remained to muddle her thinking, making her doubt what was real and what wasn't. "What aren't you telling me? Is Kleet dead? Tell me!" Her voice edged toward hysteria.

  "Calm down and be reasonable. Kleet is asleep in his room. You're reacting to the anesthesia. As soon as you're stable, you'll be moved into Kleet's room. Then you'll be able to see him."

  "You're lying. He's dead. Dead, because he had wings. My babies are dead. Dead because they didn't have wings. Now I have nothing. No mate, no babies!" She sobbed harshly, her heart breaking.

  She heard Kelfer's harsh voice barking commands to someone. "Get the doctor. Have her bring a sedative."

  She felt Lefair's smooth hand in hers and she tried to beg her forgiveness. "I didn't kill the babies. It wasn't my fault. I wanted Kleet's babies. I wanted Kleet. What they're saying isn't true--don't believe them. He bound me before he died, he did. I was his. But he'll never fly me again." Sheleigh broke down completely, sobbing in despair. She would never be happy again. There would be only loneliness and emptiness in her future without Kleet. A prick on her arm sent her spiraling down into oblivion, hoping to find her mate there.

  When she awoke the room was dim and she was confused. There was a jumble of strange dreams in her mind. She'd dreamed she'd married a man with wings. A dark-haired woman was sitting in a chair beside her bed.

  "Momma?"

  "No dear, it's me." Lefair's gentle voice soothed across her mind and the smooth hand took hers in a warm grip. "Is that what you call your mother?"

  "Yes. I thought you were her for a moment. Your coloring is similar to hers. I had the strangest dreams and I feel all
fuzzyheaded. Where am I?"

  "You've been ill, dear. Now stay calm. Do you remember what happened this morning?"

  "Kleet was almost killed. So was I." She wouldn't hide the truth from Lefair any more. Her mother-in-law was stronger than she looked.

  "Yes. You must have hit the ground harder than you thought. You ruptured one of the blood vessels surrounding your womb and you hemorrhaged. That's why you thought you were having a miscarriage. The surgeons had to open you up and drain the internal bleeding and repair the blood vessel. The pain in your abdomen is where they cut you open to save your life. You'll have pain there for several weeks and you'll be confined to bed for at least a month. You won't be allowed to stress that area of your body. It must have taken a tremendous shock when you landed."

  "It didn't seem that hard a landing, but I know we were going far too fast. So the babies are safe?"

  "Quite safe now. You frightened us nearly to death. Don't ever try to hide something as important as a possible miscarriage ever again."

  "I knew we couldn't handle losing the babies today, not after Kleet ... anyway, I couldn't face a miscarriage, so I tried to will it away."

  "It was the wrong thing to do, especially in your case. You could have bled to death from the hemorrhage."

  Sheleigh swallowed hard. Death had stalked her twice today, eager to claim her life. Was it still stalking her? "I'm going to be well, though?"

  "Yes. The babies are well, and Kleet is resting comfortably."

  "Has he been awake at all?"

  "For a few minutes a while ago. He was very disoriented. His father spoke to him but isn't sure if Kleet understood or not. He asked for you. Kelfer told him you were asleep, which was true enough at the time."

  "I'd like to see him."

  "The doctors won't let you be moved until tomorrow. They're taking no chances after all that's happened to you today."

  Sheleigh was disappointed. She would have to lie here alone until tomorrow. She was used to being active, although she didn't have the energy to do anything right now. She'd been used to sleeping alone, but a month being in Kleet's arms every night had changed her permanently.