by Regine Abel
“Please, stop!” Valena’s muffled voice said through the door.
“Come out,” Whil responded, “or he’s getting an even bigger one next time.”
Don’t open. Please, don’t open.
The silence stretched for a few more seconds.
“Hit him,” Whil said loud enough for Valena to hear.
“No!” she yelled, as the Guldan brought the wand towards me.
The door opened with a soft click.
Nooooo!
Valena took a frightened look at us through the narrow slit of the door she’d kept slightly ajar. Her hand covered her mouth as she noticed me on the floor. I probably looked as bad as I felt. Eyes misting, she shook her head in denial.
Whil shoved the door open, forcing her to stumble back into the room.
“Don’t let her touch you!” the Guldan shouted, raising his blaster towards Valena.
Touch? I thought they feared the claws she didn’t have.
For a moment, Whil looked as confused as I felt. Valena had raised both hands towards him but stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of the weapon trained on her.
“Why?” Whil asked. He frowned but kept a wary distance from her. “She’s just a helpless female.”
The Guldan snorted. “No, you stupid Xelixian. She’s a fucking Veredian. They’re all psi. And this one is particularly nasty. She’ll mind-control you with a touch and turn you into a mindless puppet.”
WHAT?
Whil took two quick steps away from her. “You’re shitting me, right? There’s no way she’s got that kind of power.”
“We don’t shit people,” the Guldan said. “Didn’t you see how Amalia unlocked the Convention Center’s doors with her touch? That one’s a hacker. Why do you think her master valued her so much?”
Images from the news report flashed through my mind of Amalia slapping both hands on the face of the security doors. The look of concentration on her face hadn’t been praying but hacking. And indeed, in seconds, the doors had obeyed her command. The battle with the Guldans a year prior also came back to mind. It had been strange how she’d helped the Tuurean free herself from the smart net that entangled her. No one quite understood how she had done so with a mere touch. Now it all made sense.
My eyes drifted to Valena. The look of guilt in her eyes was like a blade stabbing at my heart.
You betrayed me. Lied to me. Used me.
Goddess, had I been her puppet this whole time? Did she mind-control me from day one? That would explain so much. I’d never felt such an insane attraction to any female before. With her, it had been instant, overwhelming, all consuming.
I’m such a fucking idiot.
Searing pain sliced through my chest. I couldn’t breathe, my throat constricting so tightly it hurt. To think I had allowed her into my heart, planned a future and offspring with her. I even fucking let her con me into exchanging mating vows.
They’re not valid.
Indeed. Without them officially registered in the Hall of Records, they were null and void. That was a small consolation. I shoved away any tender feelings the lying bitch had ever stirred within me and let my fury and contempt shine through my eyes. Hers misted and she wrapped her arms around her midsection.
Nice acting. You won’t fool me twice.
“Put your gloves on, Valena,” the Guldan ordered. “Make it quick.”
Sniffling, she complied.
The Guldans dragged us back to their shuttle. I cast a heartbroken look at Zhenax, lying in a pool of his own blood. To think the loyal creature lost its life protecting a deceitful female. Hatred rose in my heart as I cast a venomous glare towards Valena. Her sobs of sorrow as she took in the spectacle felt like an added insult.
After shackling us to our seats, the Guldans went back to recover the corpses of their fallen comrades. Whil got into his own shuttle and we took off to Gharah only knew where. My last thought as the estate faded from view was to thank the Goddess Lelah and my father hadn’t returned from their ride to witness any of this.
CHAPTER 15
Lhor
I traipsed through the fog that clouded my mind, led towards the light by Amalia’s soft sobs. My eyes fluttered, but I closed them again. The light, too bright, felt like blinding daggers. My body closed around me in a maelstrom of pain. Had someone taken a hammer to my chest and scraped my skin raw? Every bone in my body felt twisted or broken.
A delicate hand closed around mine.
Amalia…
I reached for Khel through our bond. Silence.
No!
I forced my eyes open. The light stabbed at them, making them water. A blurred image of Amalia entered my line of sight. My lips felt sewn shut, but I tore them open.
“Khel?” I croaked.
Amalia’s hand squeezed mine reassuringly. “He’s fighting.” Her voice was full of tears.
But why can’t I feel him?
I reached for him again and a giant void greeted me. My breathing shortened and my pulse raced.
“Calm down, son,” Minh’s voice said. “We’re not going to lose him. How are you feeling?”
“Hurts…”
The sting of a hypospray bit the side of my neck. Intense relief followed. The pain dulled to a distant echo, releasing its tight grip on my throat and clearing the haze in my head. I sat up slowly, taking stock of my body. I looked unharmed, confirming the pain wasn’t mine but Khel’s. Minh had given me a neural inhibitor to block him out.
A quick glance around the room informed me we were back at the estate, inside Khel’s military compound. I didn’t recall the trip back home. Coming here rather than to one of the Capital District hospitals made sense. After Amalia came into our lives and miraculously cured us, Khel expanded the medical bay within the compound with state-of-the-art facilities. This allowed our family doctor, Minh Volghan, and the First Division’s chief medical officer, Whil Murkhin, to pursue research here. They focused on a cure for the Taint and analyzing the enhancements Amalia’s oxytocin gave Khel and me.
A dozen cryo chambers lined the walls of the ward. Blinking lights indicated they were all active. They no doubt contained the other grievously wounded soldiers that had accompanied Khel on the raid. Three other males stood inside vertical healing tanks, completely submerged in a green fluid. The burns on their bodies were extensive. The nanites in the liquid worked diligently to rebuild the damaged flesh.
Next to my bed, great-mother Maheva leaned over a shallow lab bath. Ghan’s massive frame towered on the other side. The grim look on his face told me things were even worse than I imagined.
With Amalia’s help, I got to my feet. My legs wobbled but I was otherwise fine. The opaque sides of the bath prevented me from seeing Khel. Heart pounding, I took a couple of hesitant steps towards him.
And then I saw him, or what was left of him.
My knees buckled as a keening rose from my constricted throat. Minh and Amalia rushed to support me. Tears filled my eyes again as my gaze roamed over Khel’s body.
How can he still be alive?
No one should survive the extent of these injuries. Khel had been right when he said his body was damaged beyond repair. From the way his limbs collapsed, it was clear most of the bones in his body were broken or shattered. Some bones even peeked through the skin. What skin? There was no skin left. Every inch of his body was burnt, charred to a crisp. A series of tubes entered his body in different locations, on his arms, legs, chest, and neck, while a large mask covered his entire face.
The beeping sound of the machines hooked into him proved his body somehow managed to live, but I increasingly doubted his soul survived.
“I can’t feel him, Minh. He’s not there.”
“I’m not surprised. I’ve put him in an induced coma and given him a neural inhibitor to keep his cerebral functions to the strictest minimum. He wouldn’t survive otherwise.”
Fair enough, I guess. Yet, I couldn’t help thinking I should still be able to feel his sou
l. Without him, I was stripped bare. Without my Anchor, I was a frail leaf in a tempest.
Snapping and crackling sounds drew my attention. I watched with fascination as Maheva’s hands moved over Khel’s broken body. Wherever she paused, the tortured flesh seemed to pop back into a more natural shape as the bones beneath mended.
Not fully…
After observing her for a moment, I realized she was fixing him in stages, only partially repairing each part of the shattered bones throughout his body then repairing further on the next pass. This would be a long and strenuous process for both Khel and Amalia’s great-mother. I wanted to hug and kiss her with gratitude, but I didn’t dare break her concentration. I sent a silent prayer of thanks to the Goddess that she should have blessed us with the presence of such a powerful healer.
“Will he make a full recovery?”
Minh lowered his eyes and my stomach knotted.
“Maheva can repair his body, but it will take a long time,” Minh said with a heavy sigh. “If it had only been fractures, cuts, and piercing wounds, he would be back up before the end of the day.”
“But?” I asked.
“But, the burns are extensive. The skin, flesh, and muscles all but melted off his bones.”
Amalia sniffed and I pulled her into my arms. She cried softly, her face buried in the crook of my neck, while I stroked her hair.
“Maheva can fix it but she can’t rebuild muscles and skin out of thin air. She must use the resources from his body to replace what was lost,” Minh continued. “Right now, she’s repairing his bones. The cost for that is minimal since it’s just a matter of sewing them back together and will lessen the pressure on his internal organs. Then she will start rebuilding and repairing all of his organs and soft tissue, but it will take weeks.”
“At the end of which he will be back one hundred percent, correct?” I asked again, not liking that he was dancing around the question.
Minh sighed again. “I don’t know, Lhor, but I doubt it.”
I recoiled. “Why the fuck not?”
“There was a chemical compound included in the bombs,” Ghan said.
My head jerked towards him.
“The toxin was meant to mess with the victims’ DNA. The bastards were ready for us. They knew if we freed the females, DNA tests would reveal the identities of the customers. They made sure none of the females survived and any DNA taken from them would be unusable.”
His eyes roamed over Khel, a look of sorrow etched on his brutish face.
“That toxin is fucking with Khel.”
“But can’t Maheva…”
“No,” Amalia said, shaking her head against my chest. She lifted her face to look at me, her eyes red and puffy. “Nana can’t cure sickness or poison. She can only return wounded body parts to their original state or reconstruct them.”
“The biggest issue,” Minh said, “is that the toxin will prevent Maheva from properly healing him. The bones aren’t affected, but his tissues, organs, and muscle mass will be. The Goddess only knows what they may look like when Maheva repairs them.”
This couldn’t be happening. There had to be a solution. Maybe the Tuureans…
“Have you reached out to the Admiral? Isn’t there a Veredian—”
“Lee is coming back here as soon as he can,” Ghan said. “Unfortunately, he confirmed the only known Veredian with the ability to cure poison is still in one of the breeding compounds. However, there is another Veredian aboard his ship who will be able to drain the remaining toxin from his system, but not undo whatever damage it’s already caused.”
“When do they arrive?”
“It will be a couple of days,” Ghan said.
“As soon as Maheva is done mending his bones,” Minh said, “we will put Khel back in cryo stasis to prevent the toxin from doing further damage until the Veredian gets here.”
This was all my fault. I let Zhul fool me into thinking he was innocent. Like an idiot, I bought that whole act about losing his Core and helping us against the motion to use Amalia and our children as lab rats.
I’m going to fucking kill him.
“I’m going to skin Dervhen alive,” I said, looking at Ghan.
His eyes hardened and he nodded slowly.
“We need to go nail him before he runs.”
“Detective Gravhin is getting the warrant as we speak,” Ghan said. “He will contact me as soon as he has it, and we’ll meet at Dervhen’s estate. In the meantime, I’ve already issued a no-flight order for Dervhen and his relatives. He’s not getting off-planet.”
* * *
Ghan and I were enroute to Dervhen’s estate when Detective Gravhin commed us. The Xelhen Police Department received an emergency call from Zhul’s father. As this wasn’t his department, he didn’t have any details yet. He would find out once he was on site. We exchanged a confused look, not sure what to make of it. After what happened at the Convention Center, we couldn’t trust that this wasn’t another setup.
The long flight from the estate to the Xelhen District normally took two hours. Ghan ignored speed regulations and got us to our destination in forty minutes instead. As we began our descent, the flurry of activity on the ground indicated something serious had happened. Some officers from the XPD seemed to be gathering evidence. Medical responders surrounded a large mass on the ground. An orgy of blood sprawled in front of the estate.
What the fuck happened here?
“The bastard better still be alive. I intend to kill him myself,” I said through my teeth.
Ghan grunted his assent, but the slight frown marring his forehead told me his concerns rivaled mine. The officer in charge of the investigation marched up to us as soon as we got off the shuttle. Having recognized us, he went straight to the point.
I was grateful.
“Greetings Councilor Kirnhan, First Officer Delphin. I am Detective Kromlhen,” the officer said. “We received a call twenty minutes ago from Sehr Nhed Dervhen, Councilor Dervhen’s father. He and his daughter had just returned from a cavas ride when they found this bloody mess outside his son’s house.” He waved at the multiple pools of blood and splatter.
We followed in his wake as he headed towards the medical shuttle. It blocked our view of the large mass we had seen from the air.
“Councilor Dervhen is missing and his personal cavas is hanging between life and death.”
Ghan and I exchanged another glance. As we cleared the shuttle, the gruesome image before us knocked the wind out of me. The beast, a mature male cavas, was an impressive specimen. Despite the blood soaking them, the shine and thickness of his scales indicated he had been healthy and strong. In battle, he should have been a fearsome opponent. The number of blast wounds and the extent of the damage implied there had been more than one attacker.
But more importantly, a cavas never attacked its master.
Whatever went down, the beast more than likely tried to protect Zhul from something… though more likely, from someone… plural.
“We’re not sure if the cavas is going to make it,” the detective continued.
Two medical responders worked frantically on the beast, trying to stop the bleeding and stabilize it. The creature’s shallow breaths were halfway between a growl and a hiss.
“One thing is for certain, it attacked a couple of people.” He pointed at the beast’s snout. “The first scans indicate he has bitten at least one and injected him with venom. The DNA analysis from the blood around its mouth confirms the victim was a Guldan male.”
“What?” I asked.
Ghan muttered a curse under his breath.
“But that’s not the worst part,” Detective Kromlhen said, leading us away from the cavas. “These blood splatters over here belong to two different Guldans. Most of it comes from a single one of them, and by the amount of blood, it is doubtful he survived.”
“So there were at least three Guldans here,” Ghan said, a pensive look on his face.
“I’m thinking more li
ke four or five,” the detective said. “There are some small blood splatters at the entrance of the house. They belongs to Councilor Dervhen.”
The scenario that was emerging before us was very different from the one we had come here expecting. I didn’t know what to think anymore, but I wouldn’t allow myself to be fooled. Khel’s broken body burned bright in my mind. Someone would answer for it.
“Where is Nhed Dervhen?” I asked.
“Inside the house, with his daughter and their family lawyers,” Kromlhen said.
“Lawyers?” Ghan asked.
“Yes,” the detective said. “The father’s and the son’s respective lawyers. They are expecting you. Nhed Dervhen refused to speak to anyone without you present, Councilor.”
This was getting more bizarre by the minute. We walked up to the house and the door opened before we even knocked or rang the bell.
A male in his late thirties, formally dressed, opened the door. He introduced himself as Sahm Marthen, Zhul’s lawyer. After the usual greetings, he led us to the family room. A pretty young female huddled against Nhed Dervhen. Despite her red and puffy eyes, she exuded undeniable strength, comforting her father as much as he was comforting her.
As soon as we walked into the room, Nhed rose to his feet. He performed the traditional Xelixian greeting, to which we responded in kind.
“Councilor Kirnhan,” Nhed said, “it is unfortunate we should meet under such circumstances. But I am relieved you came here so quickly.” He cast a nervous glance at the other male in the room. He gestured towards him. “This is my lawyer, Jhac Burghen. I should specify that he strongly advises me against speaking to you. I do so of my own free will and accept the consequences of my confession. This is no longer about me. I fear my son and Seha Valena are in danger.”
“You know of the Veredian?” I asked, my eyes bulging.
“I not only know of her, but I have also met her,” Nhed said. “Please have a seat, Sehrs.”
We took a seat, now more confused than ever. How in Gharah’s name did Nhed Dervhen get involved with all of this? What could he have to confess? The recent filing of his bond dissolution had already caused a bit of a shit-storm in the fancy circles. A male repudiating a Prime female was essentially unheard of. But Nhed involved in a slave ring?