His brother chuckled. “My baby brother can kill a mountain of men in a blink, and fart through his fingers. I like you more every year.” The smile slipped from his lips, quickly. “You know I have to inform the Monarch about this. New abilities don’t come about that often.”
Kallian pursed his lips and nodded.
His brother went back to his leather chair and settled in. “You might want to go back to the royal compound until you get your head on straight. We don’t know what you might unconsciously do with all those unknown powers. I’ll stay here and run things—”
“Absolutely not,” he said. “I know you think you’re my babysitter, but you don’t need to be here. I can run things on my own.”
Malachi leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers. “You’re breaking a dozen human laws, and you know the royals would shut us down. You don’t know all the hoops I’ve had to jump through to keep your little project under wraps.” Kallian glared at him, and he dropped his hands. “Look, you know I believe in what you are doing. Finding a cure for rampant human illness is a very noble deed. But it won’t bring back those men you killed. You were a fledgling, and it was an accident.”
Kallian rubbed his chin. “Easy for you to say, every creature you killed deserved it. The men who attacked us only wanted help. They wanted a cure for their illness, and I’m going to give it to them.” His voice dropped. “It’s the least I can do.”
The leather chair his brother sat in squeaked as he crossed his legs. “You can’t save everyone, baby brother. And you can’t save Miss Simmons, either.”
Kallian slowly turned around and buttoned his Armani jacket. “If there’s nothing else—”
“Actually there is.” Malachi cleared his throat and tilted his head toward the testing area. “The spider monkey escaped earlier. She’s somewhere in the facility. I’d appreciate it if you went to the lab and assisted the animal handlers.”
Kallian shook his head. “Cinnamon escaped again? Glad to hear she’s doing so well. Is the new strain working?”
Malachi shrugged. “We won’t know until we see the monkey’s reaction to you.”
“Huh.” Kallian turned to leave. “If it is working, we may never find her.”
As Malachi opened the door, a small noise drew their attention to the floor where a little brown and white monkey stared up at them. Cinnamon promptly scurried up Kallian’s leg until she came to rest on his shoulder.
Kallian stroked her fur as he headed to the animal center. “I don’t think the new strain is working, Malachi.”
Chapter Three
The doctor couldn’t have just said I was gonna be dead next month. As Hailey looked into his empty eyes, she suddenly wished she hadn’t fired the last several oncologists.
“I’m sorry,” her heartbeat raced. “What did you say?” She struggled to sit up in the hospital bed.
“Miss Simmons,” he cleared his throat, “you informed me from the beginning you didn’t want me ‘pussy-footing’ around the truth. You wanted me to tell you flat out what I know. And by these scans here,” he held up black and white films to the light, “I predict you have about six weeks to live. Maybe eight.”
He was right. She had hired him for his candor. The other doctors kept saying things like “We’re not sure.” Or, “Let’s wait and see what develops.” Some would even discuss the truth with her parents, but not with Hailey. Did she look like she was twelve or something? If they’d shared their thoughts immediately, she would have been out doing all the things she’d always dreamed of sooner.
Now she could barely walk as her body endlessly racked with pain. Her parents had gotten her the nicest room at the nursing facility, one in the corner with an extra window and no roommates.
“How could you be so cruel?” She lifted her heavy eyes to see her baby brother face to face with the doctor. Well, at twenty, he wasn’t really a baby anymore. But his heated voice sounded like it came from a distant tunnel. The crying of her mother whispered from beside her. Hailey refused to look at her. She always cried at these appointments, yet she demanded on being there anyway. But if Hailey looked at her now, she wouldn’t last.
“Brian, it’s okay.” She couldn’t look at him either. Instead she stared at the men’s squared shoulders. “Dr. Timms is only doing what I asked him to do.” Her voice was as void of emotion as the doctors eyes.
Brian glared at the doctor a moment longer before retreating back to his usual seat next to the IV drip. His blue eyes melted from stone to as deep as the sea. Her mother leaned into him, and their matching sandy blond heads rested against each other. She was practically a carbon copy of the two, except for her hazel eyes.
Hailey didn’t want to be responsible for their pain. She wasn’t ready to leave them yet. “What about the study, Dr. Timms? It doesn’t matter how much money my dad has, I’m at death’s door here. I must qualify now.” She had been just a breath away from qualifying for that medical research. Several of the patients had gone into remission, while she now had six weeks left.
Hailey swallowed at her doctor’s placid face. “Am I right? Can you get me back in?”
Dr. Timms uncrossed his legs and set his tablet on the sterile counter. “Miss Simmons— may I call you Hailey?”
She nodded.
“Hailey, it’s important not to disillusion yourself. You’re stage four, BS. You are too far along to qualify for any studies.” He tapped his tablet and a series of charts appeared. “Your lymphatic system is riddled with cancer. Your bone marrow, liver and spleen are all suffering. Compounded with the fever and night sweats, you must understand how serious this is. I know you’re young. No one thinks they can die at the age of twenty-three, but the simple fact is you need to prepare yourself, not grasp at straws.”
Her mother grieved louder. She wanted to tell her brother to go ahead and hit Dr. Timms now, but she couldn’t. Her mind had gone blank.
Brian’s broken voice rang out. “What about that medicine you’ve got her on? I thought you said that stuff was supposed to slow it down?”
Dr. Timms stopped typing and slowly set his tablet down. “Yes, well, I informed Miss Simmons that the drug may help. But this is a particularly aggressive disease.” He pulled the rolling stool up to her.
Hailey’s face, her skin everywhere, had a strange, painful tingling as she looked down at him.
Dr. Timms folded his hands and lowered his voice. “Hailey, I’m going to take you off the medicine. I think it would be best for you to spend this next month with your family, not going through multiple medical procedures that won’t work.” He pressed his lips together as he waited for her to make eye contact. “Now, the symptoms you’re experiencing are only going to get worse as each day goes by. I want you to take it easy. I’ll set it up so that a hospital bed and hospice come out to your house by tonight. I’ll order an in-home morphine drip to make you more comfortable. If you need anything else don’t hesitate to call.” He pulled out a business card and scribbled something on the back. “This is my private number. Where ever I am, I’ll answer.”
Her fingers trembled as she took the card. “Thank you Dr. Timms,” she whispered. She couldn’t think. She couldn’t even react. All she could think about was putting one foot in front of the other. That was her motto this last year. Baby steps.
Walking at her college graduation.
Making herself get out of bed in the mornings.
Smiling as if there was hope.
But baby steps seemed momentous right now.
Her mother’s warm hand slipped into hers. Brian draped his bulky arm around her shoulders as they tried to talk about other things.
She stared straight ahead, not seeing the room, the flowers or the balloons. Like a robot she forced herself to participate in their conversation about the latest movies, babies and friends. But the news finally sunk in, and she couldn’t pretend anymore. She was going to be gone soon. A part of her was still denying that this was her reality. She drew her kn
ees to her chest, wrapped her slim arms around her legs, and cried.
Chapter Four
George Simmons rubbed his face as he watched the sun rise from the cushion lined window of his daughter’s bedroom. His all-night vigil seemed worthless. No matter how he prayed for his daughter’s health, she continued to deteriorate.
Why did his little girl have to be so stubborn? She could have been cured weeks ago, if only she’d considered Markham’s proposal. She was suffering so much. The morphine didn’t seem to help anymore. She’d wake up delirious, writhing in pain and then she’d collapse again. It was almost too much for him to handle.
A soft knock came from the rich maple door. Simmons cleared his throat, but was too exhausted to stand. “Yes?”
The maid entered with a lowered head. “Forgive me, but Mr. Markham is here and has requested to visit your daughter.”
Simmons’s brow drew together. Maybe there’s a chance the fool changed his mind? He motioned the maid to let the guest have entry.
Simmons watched the young man’s face as he knelt at his daughter’s side. It melted from worry, to distress, to guilt.
“Mr. Markham,” Simmons said low, “I am a proud man. But I beg you, please, let my daughter live.” He knew there was no medicine in the world that could help her at this point. But he couldn’t give up, it was his job as a father.
Kallian reached out to touch the skeleton of a hand that belonged to Hailey, but he pulled back at the last moment. George knew the feeling, as if his touch might break her.
The young man turned toward him, still on his knees. “Please accept my apology for the proposal last month. I didn’t mean for it to sound as chauvinistic as it must have to her. But the tonic has side effects. Those side effects would have plagued her for the rest of her life. I needed her to choose that life. It would have been dangerous for her to be away from me as she learned to deal with the difficulties.”
George leaned forward. “So she doesn’t need to marry you for the medicine? She only needs to be monitored?”
Markham shook his head. “There’s more to it than that. The side effects will make her hormones go out of control. She will not be able to be around any males for at least a year, maybe longer.”
George stood up, his eyes wide. “So it’ll be like a convent? She can do that.”
Markham’s brow furrowed. “It’s much worse than that. If she overreacts she may, uh, spike a fever that can be dangerous to everyone around her.”
George shrugged. “So she’ll learn patience. She needs that anyway.” Could it be true? Is Markham folding?
Mr. Markham stood and looked at George long and hard. “I’m sorry, this cannot work. If word of the tonic got out it could put my entire family in danger. If she had come willingly—”
“We will not let your secret out, I promise!” George lunged at Markham and grabbed him by the shoulders. “I’ll give you any kind of collateral. Anything at all. I’ll even give you my company, just save her.”
Hailey let out a soft moan in her unconscious state.
Markham stiffened under George’s grasp. His eyes narrowed as he slowly removed George’s hands from his shoulders. A mutinous glare lit up Markham’s features. “I don’t want your company. But if it will keep you in line you can put me on as a leading partner holding the most shares. That way, if you double cross me, we’ll bury the company and you with it.”
George’s fingers dug into the window sill for balance as the young man glared down at him. Markham was certainly formidable, but if he could save his daughter he’d agree to anything. “My daughter will do everything you say.”
Markham looked from George’s desperate face to the girl on the verge of death. “Okay. I’ll do it.”
Chapter Five
“Are you insane?” Malachi growled. “Trying to make her your wife was bad enough, now you’re just going to lock her away? What if the others found out? Can you do nothing right when it comes to this girl?”
“And what is the right thing to do, brother?” Kallian hissed under his breath. There was a pause over the phone as he watched Hailey on her white hospital bed, being rolled up the ramp to his jet.
“You should have let her die, Kallian. The torture you’re about to put her through…”
Kallian gripped the phone tighter. “She’s strong. She can handle it.” The roar of the engines brought the plane to life. “I expect you to be there, Malachi. I don’t want a repeat of what happened to the princess.”
Though muted by the engine noise, Kallian heard his brother say “I will be.”
~***~
Kallian regretted dismissing the nurse as soon as the plane landed. They had been waiting over an hour in the titanium reinforced room, and Hailey was starting to stir. He paced back and forth as the seconds ticked by. The morphine was wearing off, and she was making agitated, though incoherent, sounds.
Where was his brother? He needed the plant. He couldn’t do anything without those stupid leaves. His already discarded suit jacket slipped from the back of the chair and fell to the floor. He ignored it. Instead he unbuttoned and rolled his sleeves to his elbows. The muscles tensed in his forearms as Hailey’s sounds grew louder.
Chewing on the inside of his cheek, he continued pacing. “Please forgive me, Hailey. Just a few more minutes and it will all be over. Just hang in there.”
He had the main part of the tonic on him. Heck, it was him. It was flowing through his veins. But the human immune system usually crashed before the antibodies had a chance to work. That's why he needed that plant, to suspend the immune system so his blood could do the work. Throughout time, only fifty percent of humans survived the transformation the old way. He squeezed his eyes, trying to push away the memory of the Princess of York. That would not happen this time.
He didn't dare give her the medicine straight in this condition. She was so fragile she'd die before his antibodies could rewrite her system.
The door handle turned and Kallian froze mid step.
Malachi quickly strode into the room brandishing a briefcase. His jaw set as he locked the door behind him.
"Did you bring it?" Kallian held his hand out, not waiting for a response.
Malachi knelt on the cold titanium floor and popped open the case. "I can't believe you're making me do this." He handed over the plastic bag of fresh herbs.
"I'm not making you do anything. You can go if my choice disgusts you so much."
Kallian unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it on the chair with the plant. He grabbed a syringe strapped to the lid of the case and checked the diameter of the needle. Once satisfied, he pumped his fist a few times and looped his belt around his bicep. Pulling the leather tight with his teeth, he slid the needle in the crook of his arm. His brother set the rest of the contents on the steel counter mounted to the wall. He lit the beaker and waited until Kallian had a full vial of blood.
Malachi held out his hand. “I'll do it. I'm more experienced in this phase—”
Kallian shook his head. “You know the tradition. I chose her, I'm responsible for the outcome. I'll do it.”
A frown turned Malachi's lips. “But she's not going to be yours. You' re just going to keep her locked in here.”
Kallian ignored the remark and began mixing sedatives and sterile water in the beaker. Once the temperature was right, he retrieved the herb and tossed it into the mixture.
As he added two dropper-fulls here and an ounce there, Malachi went to check on Miss Simmons. He removed the bed sheet and stared down at the grim sight.
"I've seen death in all phases, in all kinds of creatures." He shook his head slowly. "But humans are always the most difficult to detach yourself from."
Kallian heard the remarks, but ignored them. He needed complete focus for what he was about to do. Everything he’d saved had four legs. Changes they'd made to the tonic due to their research helped ease the transition in a variety of animals. Hopefully it eased Hailey through the process, too. At the very least,
if they failed she shouldn’t suffer.
He removed the mixture from the heat source to let it cool. His gaze fell on Hailey as he waited. She had almost no color, and had stopped making noise. She’d probably passed out from the pain, but he had to make sure. His fingers pressed against the inside of her wrist ever so gently. His brow furrowed as he located her pulse. The vein throbbed faintly. If he hadn’t decided to visit when he had, she wouldn’t have made it through the night.
He wondered how she would react when she recovered. Would she be thankful, or hate him for keeping her locked up? He sighed. Probably the latter.
The vial of blood turned the mixture pink as he stirred it. Malachi handed him another syringe, which he filled with the finished tonic. Malachi backed away as Kallian knelt at Hailey’s side.
“Make sure you plant it at a good angle. Her veins will probably collapse at this point.”
Kallian patted and pinched at her arm until the vein became more prominent. The needle hovered over her arm as he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Please forgive me, Hailey.”
The needle sank in exactly how he hoped, and his finger pushed the plunger slowly.
Once Kallian removed the needle his brother traded him a cotton ball for the syringe. Kallian pressed it to the bead of blood over the puncture site. “Do you have a thermometer in that case?”
Malachi nodded and handed over an old glass thermometer. Kallian wiped it down and tucked it under her arm. They waited patiently as the numbers crawled from ninety-eight point two to one hundred-three point five.
“We should remove her clothes before it begins,” Malachi said quietly.
Kallian removed the thermometer and handed it back to his brother. “You clean up.” His tone was non-negotiable. Malachi got the hint, and turned around to put the instruments away.
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