by Mikayla Lane
He watched for only seconds as they sat around a table, drinking beers and grilling what smelled like steaks. Then he whistled loudly to get their attention. When all four men produced an interesting array of weaponry in his direction, he stood with his hands above his head.
“I’m Traze, David’s protégé’ and Grai’s brother. We need to talk really damn fast,” he said as he took tentative steps towards the men.
“Damn it all to hell!” the man in the wheelchair muttered as he put down the shot gun he’d trained on Traze and grabbed his beer. “I’m guessing I’m not getting a damn steak tonight.”
“With all due respect, sir, if you guys will help me out, I’ll personally do a fly-by of the best steak restaurant on our way,” Traze offered with a grin of understanding.
“Talk fast, soldier! I’m already thinking of what to order,” another man said, putting his weapons away.
Traze moved to stand in front of the four men and turned serious.
“Since you helped us so much at Ft. Huachuca, we kept an eye on things to make sure your part in what happened wasn’t discovered. We just found out that your cover is blown. I need you to help me implement a once in a lifetime operation, but the result will be your permanent death,” Traze said solemnly.
*****
Emily felt as if she was crawling through darkness, trying to force herself to awaken. By the time she opened her eyes, she had to blink them several times to make sure that they were working correctly.
A stone ceiling? She wondered as she tried to move her head.
“Hey, don’t try to move. You’re really weak,” she heard a deep voice say before a face came into view above her.
She sucked in a sharp breath and began to hyperventilate in her panic, her hands reaching out towards the familiar face.
“Whoa! Calm down, calm yourself, breathe,” another voice said, and she turned to the beautiful voice, surprised to see a large man who appeared to exude a muted golden light.
“Joey? Koda?” she whispered weakly.
Suddenly Tom and Elmer came into view, and she burst into tears when she saw that Tom was carrying her sister.
“She’s going to be perfectly fine again. Koda is being treated now, so rest. My name is Tristan. This is my father, Grai. You are all safe.”
Tristan gave Emily a brilliant smile while he sent her calming energy. Her body was so weak and fragile that he was worried the stress of her emotions would cause her to deteriorate.
Emily looked up into the all too familiar face while tears filled her eyes.
“I saw you before, when I was talking to Mikey. I thought you were Koda . . . I thought he’d died and was with the angels,” she whispered brokenly as the tears streamed from her eyes.
Grai didn’t understand what she meant, but after hearing what she’d done to keep his brother alive, he couldn’t leave her so upset. He reached down and gathered her frail and emaciated body to his chest and held her until her tears stopped.
“I promise you on my life, we will get you and Joey well,” Grai whispered hoarsely, his own tears falling as he held his brother’s mate.
Emily slowly nodded her head, the effort sapping her already depleted energy.
“Gibly?” she whispered softly as her eyes closed.
Grai choked up, forcing himself not to hold the selfless woman too tightly. She’d never even asked if she was OK, only if Joey, Koda, and Gibly were, and he couldn’t help but be affected by such a beautiful spirit.
“He’s well, and I’m sure he’s arguing and fighting to get here to make sure you and Joey are all right. I will have him brought here as soon as he is fit to travel,” he said hoarsely, unsure if the exhausted Emily had even heard him.
He lay her gently back on the bed, assuming she’d succumbed to her exhaustion until she tried and failed to grab his hand. Grai gently took it in his.
“Rest now, Emily. You are no longer alone in this world. We’re your family now, and we will take care of you and Joey like our own,” he whispered as her hand went limp in his as if she needed the reassurance before she slipped back into a healing sleep.
Grai didn’t bother to wipe the tears tracking down his cheeks as he stared at the woman who’d came as close to death as a person could for the sake of his brother and the sister she adored.
He was more than grateful when Tricia wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed him tightly. He needed her loving embrace more than ever as he watched a weary Lauren and Amun step away from his brother and let the medtechs take over.
Everyone gathered around the doctors and waited to hear what Koda’s prognosis would be.
Amun looked at Lauren, and when she looked away and shook her head, he faced Grai.
“His beast is barely alive. If Lara doesn’t have something to try, we may not be able to bring it back. His back is broken in four places, and a complete spine will have to be made to replace it. Along with eight ribs, a new leg, and his arm,” Amun explained, trying to judge how Grai was taking it. Seeing the shock on Grai’s face, Amun decided to go another route.
“Grai, we can heal his body, but the brain damage was extensive. He suffered a traumatic brain injury that has destroyed chunks of his brain. Right now, we can’t begin to determine the extent of the sensory and motor problems he may face until we have a chance to begin neuro regeneration and see what can be rewired through the functioning areas,” Amun admitted, wishing he’d had better news.
“What are you saying?” Grai’s voice broke as he asked.
Amun closed his eyes for a moment, praying for Grai and his family.
“Grai, there’s permanent damage that even we cannot fix. Right now, we don’t know if he’ll ever walk, talk, or even feed himself again,” Amun said softly, as others in the room began to cry.
Grai shook his head, refusing to believe that his brother had held on so long only to remain trapped in his body.
“No . . . No!” Grai roared in rage and pain. “There has to be something you can do! Look at Jax! She was fixed, and she was almost completely brain dead!”
Amun shook his head sadly.
“That was different; Lara got to her in time. She gave her a prime beast to replace her deceased one, and it took weeks for her to regain any kind of mobility. He was out there for almost two months,” Amun explained.
Unknown to Grai, Tristan and Mikal had already planned what they would do if the news was this bad, and before their father could explode, Mikal disappeared as Tristan grabbed his father and flew him out of the medlab and high into the night sky.
Grai was too stunned to speak as Tristan took him up through the waves of color in the sky and stopped within the greenish hues, his wings flapping leisurely to keep them airborne.
Tristan looked lovingly at his father while Mikal popped up beside them.
“We will get through this, father,” Tristan said. “All is never lost, and he’s more of a fighter than you think. But we all need you calm, Dad. Now more than ever.”
“Just breathe, Dad,” Mikal added. “Lara’s coming. We’ll know more soon. Now where’s Traze?”
“Traze!” Grai said with concern. “Get us down.”
Tristan grinned and nodded before he wrapped his wings around his father and dropped like a missile towards the ground. Grai was just beginning to get seriously worried when Tristan opened his wings and they drifted the final few feet to the ground.
Grai shot Tristan a dark look.
“That was . . . pretty awesome. But I don’t think I’d like to try that again,” Grai said with a small smile as he pulled out his comm.
He read the message he hadn’t realized he’d received while Amun was explaining Koda’s condition to him and he shook his head.
“What’s wrong?” Mikal asked.
“Your uncle Traze has left a ship in hover over a place called ‘Ella Mae’s Truck Stop’ in order to keep a promise to some new friends,” Grai explained, then thought for a moment. “New friends that apparently
aren’t done helping us out.”
With that cryptic sentence, Grai strode determinedly back into the medlab. He ignored the way everyone stopped speaking when they saw him, and he faced Amun and Lauren.
“Traumatic brain injury? Like the human soldiers?” he asked.
The doctors looked at one another before both nodded.
“You can help with re-routing things so that some functions can possibly be returned, right? And all of our technology works on the humans as well?” he asked.
Grai sucked in a sharp breath and allowed his mind to work through the possibilities, potential pitfalls, and his ever-present back up plans as everyone wondered what he could be thinking.
When he finally thought he had it planned out, he contacted Traze through the Shengari’ and changed his plans before he looked around the large room.
“The beds with Emily, Joey, and Koda remain. Indrid, I’d like you to remain close by Emily in case she awakens. She knows you and trusts you, and all of this is going to be hard on her. The rest of you, I want four more beds prepared,” Grai ordered then turned to Amun and Lauren.
“In approximately 30 minutes, four humans are going to come through that door. They risked their lives to get Mikey out of Ft. Huachuca, and the military set out to kill them tonight. Traze is bringing them here, and they will be classified as deceased by morning. You’re going to heal them,” he said, causing both doctors to panic and look around the room to make sure they had everything they needed for four more patients.
“Where’s Ivint?” Grai asked, looking around the room for the Valendran leader.
“He’s on his way with Gibly,” someone replied.
“Grai,” Amun said, interrupting Grai’s thoughts. “What are their injuries?”
Grai looked at Koda’s broken body lying still on the medbed.
“They have his injuries. Missing limbs and traumatic brain injuries. But they are still functional with crude human devices. They’re warriors; they fight. They don’t know how to quit. The four of them and Koda can heal together and support one another,” he said, his voice only cracking once.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Lauren asked softly, wondering if he was expecting far too much of Koda considering his condition.
“Do you have a better idea?” Grai suddenly growled at Lauren, causing her to take a step back.
“Dad, calm down; it was a valid question. But I agree, it will take all of the men time to get used to using their new limbs and to retrain their brains. They are warriors, and we like nothing more than a challenge,” Chris said with a grin and clapped his father on the back.
Many of the others in the room cheered in agreement with the sentiment and continued working to empty the room of the additional beds and tables.
A half hour later, more than two dozen people waited for Traze to arrive with the wounded human warriors. Most of them were medical personnel sent from the medship orbiting with the Adaria.
By the time Traze led them into the room, they looked like they’d been hit with a brick. Four pairs of eyes took in every detail of the room before finally settling on Grai, Ivint, and David who stood in front of the others.
David strode forward with a huge grin on his face.
“Man, you guys still know how to make an entrance!” he said as he shook hands with them and bumped fists.
“You still know how to find us the best rides!” the man in the wheelchair said with a smile of his own. “That baby was sweet! What are the odds we can get us one of those?”
Grai and Ivint stepped forward and Grai bowed before them as David cleared his throat.
“Let me introduce you to everyone. That’s Grai T’Alq, leader of the hybrid forces of the Alliance,” David said as he gestured to Grai. “And Ivint Torenson, the leader of the Valendran forces of the Alliance.”
David then turned and grinned as he gestured to the smiling, bearded man in the wheelchair.
“This lazy bastard is Sergeant Kit Mumford, A.K.A. Saw Man. He was the biggest, toughest master of the saw machine gun that you’d ever find.”
Kit waved and smiled at the aliens like he did it every day as David gestured to a tall, black man using braces to walk.
“This is Lieutenant Jamal Washington, A.K.A. Method Man. This crazy, brilliant son of a bitch,” David began, ignoring the gasps around him at what they thought was an insult, “can find you a way out of sealed box. He once found us a way off a mountain while surrounded by a hundred Taliban. He’s the best.”
“G . . . glad to b . . . be here,” the man stuttered and nodded in respect.
David moved to the next man who stood almost defiantly in a pair of shorts, his prosthetic leg and the severe burns covering his other leg startling some of the medtechs in the room.
“This guy,” David said as he put the man in a friendly headlock for a moment. “This is Sergeant Rick ‘the Dick’ Baker and probably the best pilot, outside of Koda, I have ever seen. He managed to save every man on his downed chopper.”
Rick snorted.
“Yeah and almost burned to death in the process.”
“Good thing I was there,” the last man said with a laugh, using his elbow to nudge Rick since the hooks he used for hands could be sharp.
“Last, and certainly not least,” David said, putting his arm around the young man. “This is the baby of the group. Private First Class Bart ‘The Dart’ Dobson. He got his name for running out of a crashed and burning chopper only to run back inside to drag out Rick over there. Kid’s got more courage than brains.”
Grai bowed again before the brave and physically broken men, whose spirits were obviously intact.
“It is my brother you risked your lives for. I am sorry that you were forced to give up your lives because of it,” he said with admiration and regret in his voice.
“M . . . man, d . . . don . . . t, sw . . . sweat it,” Jamal stuttered, his head jerking periodically of its own volition.
“Traze gave us the lowdown. Can’t say I’d be sorry to spend the rest of my life fishing in that big pond out there with a few beers,” Kit said with a chuckle.
“I have a different idea,” Grai began, trying to judge how the human warriors would take his offer. “Come, I’ll introduce you to my brother, Koda.”
Grai held his hand out and the four men managed to get over to where Koda lay in stasis.
“Oh my God . . .” Kit said with a sad shake of his head. He put his hand on Koda’s arm. “No man should go through what you’re facing ahead of you, bro.”
“Man, is he going to be OK?” Rick asked as he placed a hand on Koda’s shoulder and leaned down. “You hang in there, brother; you got people who love you.”
“Re . . . real b . . . ba . . . bad,” Jamal said as he rubbed his hand over the scar that ran from his right eye socket over his head to the back of his neck.
“It is bad,” Grai agreed with a nod. “We can heal his broken back, replace his leg through cloning, but his head injuries are severe, and we need to help him retrain his brain to create new pathways to help him walk and speak again.”
“You can do that?” Kit asked in awe.
Grai nodded his head.
“Let me introduce you to our two best doctors. This is Lauren Campbell and Amun Nassur.”
Grai couldn’t help but feel a spark of hope when he saw their interest. At least he hoped like hell it was interest, otherwise he wasn’t sure how he was going to keep Koda from giving up when he found out some of the damage was going to be permanent.
Chapter Sixteen
Emily knew something was different long before she actually opened her eyes. She’d first awakened to whispering voices and she kept silent, trying to figure out where she was and what was going on. Sadly, she no longer knew what was real and what wasn’t since she and Joey had gotten so weak.
“Emily, you are safe and among friends. It is all right to awaken.”
Emily’s eyes flew open when she heard Indrid’s voice, and her
heart began to pound out of her chest in fear for Joey and Koda.
“Where am I?” she whispered when she saw the massive room they were in and the people scattered around.
“Hello, sleepy one,” Indrid said with a beautiful smile that showed his gleaming teeth.
Emily looked from the strange activity going on in another corner of the room to Indrid.
“Am I dead? Where is Joey?” Emily asked as she looked around for her sister. That was when her eyes lit on something else.
She pushed the blankets off and slid her feet to the floor, hoping they would hold her weight. Indrid caught her when her knees buckled and held her until she could stand.
“Calm yourself, Emily. Joey is very safe and well. She is having breakfast with Tristan and will return soon,” Indrid assured her as he helped her make a slow journey to where Koda lie.
“Where are we?”
Emily’s voice shook only a little as she looked around nervously at all of the people in the large room.
They were almost to Koda when two men sitting beside him with their backs to her stood up and turned in her direction. Emily dug her heels into the floor and stopped as she stared. The large man only smiled while the younger looked at her in interest.
“You must not remember that we met when you were brought here. I am Koda’s brother, Grai, and this is our brother, Traze,” Grai said gently, trying not to startle the already scared woman.
The three men looked horrified when Emily burst into tears, ran forward, and threw herself into Grai’s arms.
“You came . . . I thought he was going to die. But you came like he said you would,” Emily said brokenly as she sobbed on Grai’s shoulder.
“I am so sorry, Emily. So sorry that it took me so long,” Grai barely choked out. Traze turned away to hide his own tears.
Emily controlled her tears and pulled away, looking up at the brother who looked so much like the man she loved, and she placed her hand on his cheek.
“Thank you . . .” she whispered. Emily turned to Koda and choked on a cry when she saw him.