“I can’t,” the AI said before Jill could speak. “I can’t shut down while she’s in the matrix. She has to terminate the message, as the others did.”
Jadrian prowled the edges of the purple light, studying Taura. She still wore a blissful expression but he thought she looked thinner, with hollows in her face, as if the fastlink was visibly draining her body of its reserves.
“I know my mate is a strong-minded woman, but how can she continue to send after two men bigger and healthier than she is had to stop?” Fangs and talons pricked him, instinct insisting his mate was in danger and he must fight for her.
“I may have erred in not setting a time limit.” MARL ‘s voice was pensive. “And her implant did have several differences from either of the two military units. I made the upper tolerance adjustment to her implied specifications.”
“What are you saying?” He let his fear show in the vibration of a growl.
“She may have become intoxicated on the brain wave feed,” MARL said. “Unable to cut off the activity until she’s completely consumed. Until she dies. I have the power to maintain this activity for hundreds of your years so she won’t exhaust me. It’s all on her.”
“No!” Jadrian moved with the full power of the deadly speed he possessed, but the Alpha and Mateer were there first, holding him at the periphery of the purple curtain and preventing him by brute force from going any further.
“If you wade in there, you don’t know what it might do to her,” Aydarr said, holding Jadrian in a rock solid, unbreakable grip. “And you have no implant. Think, soldier.”
Even though he knew it was useless to fight the Alpha, he struggled nonetheless. “I have to reach her, tell her to come back.”
Mateer jerked Jadrian around to face him. “You have a mental link with your mate, use it now, or we may see her die in front of our eyes.”
His packmates were right. He stopped resisting, stood at attention and gradually his two superiors released him and backed away. Jadrian sank onto the ground, sitting cross-legged and staring at Taura. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and concentrated on the golden link the Great Mother had constructed between the two of them. The glimmer of their bond stretching away from him, entering a purple and gray mist, only the glow visible as it wound away deeper into the obscurity.
Taura?
There was no answer, but he felt a tug on his heart, as if she was trying to pull further away.
In his mind’s eye, he rose to his feet and followed the sparkling golden trail, moving more and more quickly. The fog swirling in his path became a nebula the further he advanced, with stars dancing around him in brilliant pulsing bursts of multi colored energy. He heard faint voices, unintelligible to him, but then he heard the sound of Taura’s voice far ahead. Moving more quickly, he flew past the celestial obstacles. Her voice became louder, and he realized she was singing the words of the message, set to a tune he didn’t recognize. Her song was hypnotic and he shook himself. Must not get caught up in her dream.
Suddenly there she was, facing the other direction; poised as if to leap across a portion of the space they moved in.
Taura, it’s time to come home.
She made a graceful, sweeping movement, bring herself to face him and her eerie smile grew more natural for a heartbeat as she focused in him versus the overwhelming surroundings. Do you hear the voices? The signals? It’s all there for us, Jadrian. I just have to try a little harder, send the message a few more times, and I know they’ll hear me and respond. We’ll be saved!
I hear them, but there’s nothing there for us, no one trying to talk to us. You’ve done your duty, you and the others. The message has been sent, I give you my word.
She frowned and seemed torn between paying attention to him and continuing her trip deeper into the galaxy. I’m doing my duty, sending the message. You understand, don’t you?
Mate, I need you to come home to me. He put all his love for her into the plea. You’ve discharged this duty to your people.
He held his breath, and she took a step toward him before shaking her head. Holding out her hand, she said in a pleading tone, Come with me! It’s so beautiful out here, talking to the stars, dancing to the song. Share the experience with me.
I can’t. This isn’t a thing of my people. I can’t stay. He made the statement in perfect truth. There was a physical pull on his body summoning him to hasten to his starting point, and only the golden cord was keeping him close to her in this strange space MARL had created. You said you were done with your work for the Sectors. You said your life was what we two share now. As he uttered the reminder, he touched the mate link, which vibrated and thrummed in a discordant note, assaulting his ears.
Taura shivered and wrapped her arms around her chest in an attempt at self-comforting. I—I’m stuck. I need your help.
Like the night we were swimming in the lake? The memory of her struggles in the water before he reached her still had the power to terrify him.
Yes. Now her voice held a note of panic, and her eyes widened in distress.
He launched himself toward her once again, going hand over hand along the golden cord, praying it was as unbreakable as his ancestral memories suggested, or they’d both die here. As soon as he got close enough, he made an extra push and grabbed her to him, holding her close. Taura wound her arms around his neck and kissed him.
Take me home, please, mate. Her mental voice sounded weak, unlike her usual confident tone.
I’ll do my best. Keeping her locked in his embrace he spun one way and then the other, but now his surroundings were a dizzying blaze of colors with no landmarks or indications of how to exit and he thrashed in confusion. His own strength was ebbing and, to his astonishment, his heart skipped a beat, then another and stuttered to find the proper rhythm. What the hell kind of device is this abomination? Aydarr! He didn’t know what else to do but appeal to his alpha for help.
Here! Follow my voice. Aydarr’s tones were as strong as the man himself and a pulse of strength came with the admonition.
Jadrian wasted no time in heading toward the direction the Alpha’s voice had come from. He heard Mateer’s voice as well then Timtur’s, followed by others, and he understood his pack was uniting to call him and his mate home to safety. He and Taura moved faster and faster, drawn by the pack’s magic until there was a flash of violent crimson light. Weightless no more, he realized plush, fragrant grass now cushioned him and Taura’s soft weight lay draped across his body.
“Thank the Great Mother,” Aydarr said aloud.
Jadrian grabbed the Alpha’s arm in gratitude. “Thank you for getting us out of there.”
“Never have doubts, my brother.” Aydarr helped him sit up, while Jadrian cradled Taura in his arms.
Timtur and Megan moved in as the Alpha stepped to the side. Taura moaned and her eyelids fluttered. The Badari healer pressed his hand to Jadrian’s left temple, resting the other above his heart and chanting a few words under his breath. Jadrian recoiled as the jolt from Timtur’s power sizzled in both spots like an electrical charge and his heart settled into its normal rhythm.
“She’s in better shape than the men were,” Megan said as she administered an inject. “I saved the actual adrenaphix for her, gave them a close equivalent but not as potent. Don’t be alarmed if she has a few spasms as the stim hits her system. We’ll get you two into litters and head for the clinic.”
“No litter for me—I can walk.” Leaning on Aydarr, Jadrian rose to his feet, holding Taura. Feeling stubborn and reluctant to relinquish his mate, he held her close while he faced off with the human doctor.
“Well, you can’t carry her all the way to the clinic. I don’t care what Timtur did for you, you’ve been through an ordeal. Now, place her in the litter and let’s stop wasting time.” Hands on her hips, Megan was adamant. “She’s presenting as dehydrated, as if she lost muscle mass again. What the hell did that fastlink do to her?”
Jadrian glanced over his shoulde
“Agreed.” Aydarr rested his hand on Jadrian’s shoulder as the men started moving in unison with the litter and the doctor. “Do you have any idea if she got through to the Sectors? Walt and Gabe both said they were sure they’d transmitted but only in the blind, no contact.”
“We didn’t expect to make contact,” Jill said.
“I don’t know. I heard voices, speaking in Basic I think but the words made no sense to me.” Jadrian rubbed his forehead as he entered the brightly lit clinic and rushed toward an examining room.
Taura woke up slowly, her head heavy, as if she had a cold. Tremors ran through her body. She took one rapid glance at her surroundings and shut her eyes tight. “Do not tell me I’m back in the moon-damned hospital,” she said to her mate, who was seated by her side, holding her hand as he had so often before in these circumstances.
“Well, you are, sorry to say, but this time for a different reason.” He kissed her gently. “Do you remember the fastlink session with MARL? The message?”
“I sent it,” she said instantly.
“Yes, you did. No more nightmares on that issue.”
“I remember dancing in the stars.” Eyes widening as she recalled more details of the fastlink session, she said in surprise, “With you. It was all too much. I felt swamped, trapped…it was sucking me under, wasn’t it? But then you came to save me.”
“I’ll always save you or die trying. I promised as much.” He touched her shoulder, where the mate mark was, hidden under the hospital gown. “When you aren’t saving me.”
“Yeah, we’re a fine pair, perpetually in trouble, I guess.” Her skin tingled as his fingertips rested on the thin fabric of the gown, his body heat transferring to her skin. Raising her own hand with an effort, she tugged him closer, then pulled the neck of his T shirt away from his body, pleased to see a perfectly circular mark on his shoulder, like a golden tattoo. She rubbed the mark gently, delighted by the way his eyes flared more brightly at her touch. “You used our bond to find me?”
“The Great Mother blessed us indeed,” he said. “Then Aydarr and the pack used my pack bond with them to call us home from that strange place. “
“How long have I been here?”
“Six hours or so. It’s midmorning.”
“Too long. I want to go home and sleep in my own bed, with you. This bed is too small for a Badari and a human.” She blushed. “I’d also like not to wake up in here again, ever.”
“I’ll bear that in mind.” He handed her a cup of nutrient drink. “Although if we have a child, the clinic is the safest place to be for birthing.”
She paused in the middle of raising the mug to her lips. “Whoa, either you’re getting ahead of yourself or you know something I don’t.”
He shook his head. “Neither. We aren’t parents yet, but I have hopes someday we will be.”
“Me too. But not until we’re safe and the enemy has been defeated.” She set the drink aside and gestured toward the pile of clothing on the other chair. “Hand me my clothes, will you? I also hate these hospital gowns Dr. Garrison insists on using.”
Jadrian passed her the stack of her own garments. “Walt and Gabe are fine after their initial physical difficulties upon exiting the fastlink, by the way. They wanted to see you, but since you were asleep, I said we’d catch up to them later. No rush.”
“Thank you. I just want to be alone, at home, with you. No emergencies, no calls from the Alpha, let the world exist without our direct involvement for a day or two.”
“I think that can be arranged,” he said. “You and I are in total agreement. Aydarr did want to know if you made contact with anyone.”
She paused and frowned. “I…might have. I vaguely remember voices. But I know I sent the damn message over and over. I sang it, in fact. Towards the end.”
“Yes, I heard it for myself. You did all that anyone could expect.” His voice was reassuring.
“My last official act for the Sectors, I devoutly hope. Now I want it to be all about us. Maybe later we could go swimming at our private fishing hole?” Vivid memories of their enchanted evening together on the bed of moss ran through her mind’s eye, and she realized she was broadcasting them to Jadrian along the link.
“We can definitely find time for those activities.” He caught her in his arms for a big kiss. “But you need to be well rested first.”
“I don’t disagree. I want a long nap, spooned tight with you and no nightmares or flashbacks.” Hand in hand they walked out into the corridor and headed for the door.
Megan met them in the corridor but was smiling and waved them on toward the door. “Don’t worry, I’ve no intention of detaining you for a single second. My only instructions are to rest and rehydrate. The rest I leave to your own discretion. All your readouts were normal, other than a few electrolyte imbalances as a result of dehydration. Com me if you need me.” The doctor continued on her way toward her office.
The valley and lake looked beautiful to Taura in the bright sunlight as they strolled away from the clinic in the direction of their own den. “I hope we did some good last night,” she said.
“All three of you swore you sent the message over and over. MARL confirmed the facts as best he could from the feedback he received while he was running the matrix.” Jadrian shrugged. “Now it’s up to the Sectors.”
“And us, here on the ground. We have to keep fighting the Khagrish, keep pushing for ways to keep the Chimmer at bay. Maybe help find Gabe a ship.”
“But not today,” he reminded her. “Today is for us. How long has it been since you took a day just for yourself?”
Taura stared at him. “Forever, I think. And you?”
“The same. Remember what I told you about Badari and the concept of fun?”
“Well, let me begin by explaining the concept of a honeymoon to you.” Grinning, she rubbed her hand down his arm. “I think you’ll find it fun.”
He gazed into her eyes. “I’m sure I will.”
***
Thank you for reading JADRIAN (SECTORS NEW ALLIES BOOK 3)! I hope you enjoyed the adventure (and, of course, I’d love a review if you have time and the inclination to write one – even a few sentences would be wonderful. Authors relish reader feedback).
DARIK, Book 4 in this new series, is coming soon in 2018 and will continue with the Badari story and the quest to defeat the Khagrish enemy. We’ll find out what happened to Megan’s friend Nicolle after she was separated from the other humans at one of the labs.
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Author Bio and Links:
USA Today Best Selling Author
“SciFi Encounters” columnist for the USA Today Happy Ever After blog
Veronica Scott grew up in a house with a library as its heart. Dad loved science fiction, Mom loved ancient history and Veronica thought there needed to be more romance in everything. When she ran out of books to read, she started writing her own stories.
Seven time winner of the SFR Galaxy Award, as well as a National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award, Veronica is also the proud recipient of a NASA Exceptional Service Medal relating to her former day job, not her romances!
She read the part of Star Trek Crew Member in the audiobook production of Harlan Ellison’s “The City On the Edge of Forever.”
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