“Vari?” Declan called softly. His voice seemed to remind her what she was supposed to be doing because she immediately pulled herself the rest of the way in. A moment later Declan was pulling himself through the window as well.
“Well,” Vari said as they both stared at the wall. “Good thing it was just a hand laser.”
Declan nodded. Hand lasers weren’t powerful enough to go through a ship’s hull, but if it had hit her…he pushed the thought away. Turning to the Doftle he had wrapped in Air, he checked carefully to be sure he was still fully immobilized. Then they both looked down at the two dead Doftles on the floor.
“I notice you like to aim for the neck,” Declan observed.
“Tani always says if in doubt, remember that nothing with a brain lives long without a head.”
Declan chuckled softly, surprising her. “I’m looking forward to meeting these young cousins of ours.”
“You are?”
“Yes, I am,” he said, smiling faintly. “A discussion for later.”
“Yes, definitely,” Vari agreed. “I forgot, we need to tell Jay not to let them release the fire foam.”
“It’s done, Vari, don’t worry.”
“How are Jay and Kai doing?”
“Kai returned to the Bihotza after the containers were transported off the ship. Jay took care of the three Doftle in the Atmosphere Chamber and at the moment he’s working his way to the remaining two in Transport. He’s a little angry that one of them took a shot at you so I hope you don’t want to keep any more of them.”
“No, I think one is plenty,” Vari said, relieved to know how close they were to successfully retaking the Leaper. “Do we know for sure that there aren’t any more Doftle sneaking around?”
“Yes, Kai just finished another full scan of the ship. They’re all accounted for.” He raised one finger to the vox in his ear and listened. “Garder reports that the tech engineers are now free. They’re going to do what they can to get the internal and long range comms back online. The crystals need to be replaced, so it’ll take them a while to get them installed.”
“I wonder if one of them can explain why the crystals in my jammers shattered,” she said. “They aren’t the same type of crystal at all, and I had no trouble using my hand terminal after the jammers quit, so I don’t think the Doftles did it.”
“Um…, me do be thinking do being my fault,” Zaza said worriedly.
“Your fault?” Vari asked in surprise.
“Me do being at place of many foods and being feel signal not being feel before. Do being think Doftle device so me being break.”
“Why would you think it was a Doftle device?”
“Do being feel Doftle for all night but not do being can find. Zaza do being scared. Do being act before thinking.”
“How did you know about my backups?”
Zaza’s skin darkened in what Vari recognized as a Jotunn blush. “Me do being break all rasjic crystals on ship.”
“That would explain how weak you are,” Vari said. “Well, Zaza, if you hadn’t broken my jammers I would have still been on this ship when the Doftle took over. So I’m kind of glad you broke them.”
“Do being true?” she asked, her voice rising to a surprised squeak.
“Absolutely, so stop worrying about it.” She turned back to Declan. “There’s no one onboard who can pilot this thing, is there?”
“Garder just finished a conversation with some of the tech engineers on that subject and the consensus is that, no, there’s not. I’ll ask Captain Finch to select a skeleton crew to come over and get this thing turned around as soon as possible.” Declan touched the vox in his ear. “Jay just finished with the last two Doftle in Transport.”
“That’s fantastic news,” she said with a relieved smile. Declan nodded his agreement, then called the Bihotza to speak with Captain Finch off the open channel.
While he did that, Vari approached the remaining Doftle. Even though she’d already listened to his thoughts, she was nervous about doing it again and she didn’t know why.
Rayne was right, she thought as she looked into his solid black, oval eyes. Their eyes do look soulless. “We won’t harm you so long as you don’t attempt to harm us.” The Doftle looked surprised, then nodded slowly. “Are there any Doftle ships nearby?”
“No,” he replied. “Several small groups were sent out to these big ships for new slaves. Our communication devices are non-functional, and we’re not yet close enough to our Tentacle to signal our approach.”
While he spoke Vari had listened to his thoughts and knew he spoke the truth. “Why are you different from other Doftles?”
“I do not know,” he replied without the slightest attempt at evasion. “I was the same, and then I was the same no longer. I will soon die. Perhaps I will find understanding in the After.”
“We’re not going to kill you unless you attack us.”
“I believe you, but I will die anyway,” he said matter-of-factly. “It cannot be helped.”
“I don’t understand.”
“We are not solitary as your kind are. We require connection. Alone, we die.”
Vari felt an odd tightening sensation begin in her scalp and travel slowly down her spine. “How much time do you have?”
“No more than two of your minutes. Maybe less.”
Her heart began to pound as the tightening sensation increased. “Is there anything you can tell us that will help us stop what your people are doing here in the Thousand Worlds?”
The Doftle was silent for a long moment, but Vari was still in his mind. She caught a blur of thoughts and images moving so fast it was difficult to follow them. He finally settled on an image of a massive organism that seemed vaguely familiar.
“You must find the Colony,” he said, his voice weakening. “It’s the only way. The Colony will do what otherwise cannot be done.”
“What is the Colony and where can we find it?”
“You are in my mind.”
“Yes, I am.”
“I freely offer my mind to yours, including that which cannot be told. My time is at an end, so you must accept all at once, or none at all. Your mind is strong, and your heart holds no deceit, but the risk will still be great. It may cause pain. It may cause harm. It may cause death. The choice is yours, but you must decide quickly.”
The tightening sensation faded away and her heart calmed as understanding and acceptance filled her. This was what she’d been preparing for her entire life. She knew it. And it terrified her.
She also knew that if she refused the Doftle’s offer, if she let her fear rule her, the chance to change what was coming would be lost forever. Then she would have the blood of billions on her hands.
Vari almost smiled. This was the ultimate crossroad. Too bad Pandora wasn’t here to witness it. She took a slow, deep breath, and made her choice.
“Will you tell me your name, please?”
“I am called Rodnil.”
“I am Varia Lobo.” She swallowed hard. “It is my honor, Rodnil, to accept that which you so generously offer to share. On behalf of all the peoples of the Thousand Worlds, I thank you.”
The Doftle dipped his head in a solemn nod.
“What do I do, Rodnil?”
“You must place your hands on my head, Varia Lobo.”
Vari’s eyes widened but she didn’t have time to ask questions, to worry, or to hesitate. She raised her hands and followed his directions.
***
Declan had just finished speaking with Captain Finch on the vox when he heard Zaza gasp sharply. He spun around and saw Vari standing in front of the Doftle who remained wrapped in bonds of Air. Her hands fell away from the Doftle’s head as she turned toward him, her eyes clouded with pain. A trickle of blood from her nose gleamed starkly against the white of her face.
“Declan,” she whispered so softly he barely heard her. He rushed forward, struggling to understand what had happened. Her body went limp just as he reached o
ut for her, but her eyes never left his. He caught her gently in his arms, then laid her on the floor so he could check for injuries.
“Yes.” Her lips formed the word though there was no sound.
“Yes what?” he asked, his voice shaking.
Her throat worked as she tried to swallow, her eyes pleading with him, though he didn’t know for what. His dracon wanted to roar with fear and frustration.
“Answer…yes,” she gasped, her entire body tensing with the monumental effort required to form the words.
He nodded, blinking away the sudden stinging sensation that blurred his vision. The relief in her eyes, and the way her body relaxed told him more than words ever could how much it meant to her that he understood her meaning.
Then her lips silently formed three more words, her eyes pleading with him once more. This time he understood right away what she meant. “Don’t worry, Miraku, I’ll tell them,” he said hoarsely before he leaned down and kissed her gently on the forehead. He pulled back and saw that she was fading away from him. “Do not go far from us, Vari. We love you, and we need you.”
Her lips trembled, but speech was beyond her now. Her eyelids slipped slowly down over eyes that never for a moment left his own. When they finally closed, they did not open again.
Fear unlike anything he’d ever experienced held him frozen in place. He was unable to move or breathe or look away from her too pale, too still face.
They could not lose her. They’d only known her for a few short days, their mating fangs hadn’t even descended yet, but what did that matter? They loved her, and love wasn’t something that came along every day. It was rare, and precious, and they’d waited nearly three hundred years for their one and only chance at it. If they lost her, they would not go on without her.
But he wasn’t ready to give up yet. Whatever had happened to her, she was still alive, and he intended to keep her that way.
He straightened up and completed his search for injuries, but found nothing. He remembered Zaza’s gasp and turned to look for her. “What happened?” he asked when he spotted her standing back, her eyes on Vari.
“Me do being not know,” she said, wringing her tiny hands together. “She do be staring at Doftle, then she do being look badly.”
Declan’s fingers gently examined Vari’s head and scalp while he listened to Zaza. The blood coming from her nose was less than what he remembered from when the crewman had touched her, which didn’t make sense. The crewman had only touched her for a brief moment, but he’d seen both of her hands falling away from the Doftle’s head. Shouldn’t her reaction be more severe instead of less? It didn’t make sense, but then, it didn’t make sense that’s she’d willingly do such a thing, either. Unless the Doftle had somehow gotten control of her mind.
He looked up at the Doftle, ready to do whatever was necessary to force it to tell him what had happened, but it was already dead. Had she been in the Doftle’s mind when it died? The very idea made him shudder.
He tapped his vox and before he could say a word Kai’s voice was in his ear. “What happened Declan? Is she all right? Please tell me she’s not dead.”
“She is not dead,” Declan said gruffly. “Give me fifteen seconds, then transport us over. Alert Dr. Jula that I’m on my way.”
Declan closed the connection before Kai had a chance to respond, then slid his hands beneath Vari’s limp body and stood up. “Do you want to come to the Bihotza, Zaza, or remain here?”
“I do being stay, but do be asking to know how she be when know. She do being save self’s life.”
“When I have news, I will share it,” Declan said. A few seconds later the disorienting sensation of transportation engulfed him. He pulled Vari tighter against his body and for the first time in many years, he sent a silent, heartfelt plea to the Creators.
Chapter 11
Declan, Jay, and Kai left the infirmary, their faces set in identical, emotionless masks that might have been carved of stone, their eyes dark and seemingly cold. Several hours had passed since Declan’s return to the Bihotza with Vari, and it was past time to report to the Ugaztun.
Using Air, it took only a few moments to reach the conference room and seal the door behind them. Jay started toward the vid terminal, but Declan stopped him.
“Before I activated my mission cam, right after transporting to the Leaper, I apologized to Vari for our behavior this morning. I thanked her for showing us what we hadn’t seen ourselves, and I promised her that we would change. Then I asked if she would ever consider giving us another chance.” Jay and Kai stared at him in surprise which quickly became hope. “We were interrupted before she had a chance to answer.”
“Is that what she meant when she said yes in Control?” Kai asked.
“Yes,” Declan replied, nodding. “She didn’t say so, she couldn’t say so, but I know she wanted me to tell you. It was important to her.” He shook his head. "It was everything to her. And then, before she lost consciousness, she said she loved us.”
“I didn’t hear that,” Kai said, his voice thick.
“She had only enough strength to move her lips but I had no trouble reading them. Her words were love you all. I promised to tell you both.”
“That part I heard,” Kai said.
“I’m glad to know you apologized to her for all of us, Declan,” Jay said after a long silence. “I knew, in the engine room, that she’d forgiven us. She didn't say it, but I knew. It was bothering me that we hadn’t even apologized to her.” He turned quickly and went over to the vid terminal to make the call to the Ugaztun. Then he joined Declan and Kai where they stood facing the vid screen, waiting for it to flicker to life.
“Where is Vari?” Faron asked immediately.
“In the infirmary,” Declan replied.
“What happened?” Garen asked, reaching over to squeeze Faron’s shoulder.
“She was speaking with a Doftle who was bound by Air,” Declan said. “She said he was different from the others because he’d argued against killing the children on the Leaper.” Declan paused as his emotions began to slip past the iron grip he had on them. After a few moments he continued.
“My back was turned to her so I didn’t see what happened. I know that she placed her hands on the Doftle, but I don’t know why. Within moments she was unconscious and the Doftle was dead. I transported back to the Bihotza with her immediately.”
“And?” Faron asked when Declan paused again.
“Vari is in a coma. Dr. Jula found several areas of bleeding in her brain, as well as a great deal of swelling. The damage is serious.”
“Why would she put her hands on a Doftle?” Garen asked.
“I’m sorry, Highness, but we don’t know.”
“Did you vid the mission?”
“Yes, we did,” Declan replied. “We haven’t had time to review the recordings yet. Unfortunately, as I said, my back was to her, so whatever happened wasn’t recorded.”
“I understand, but it might’ve picked up whatever was said between Vari and the Doftle.”
Declan glanced at Jay who hurried over to the vid terminal in the corner. “I apologize,” Declan said. “I hadn’t thought of that. Jay is checking the vid files now.”
“You’ve been worried about Vari,” Faron said. “I will not fault you for that.”
“While we’re waiting, can you tell us whether or not the mission was a success?” Garen asked.
“Yes, it was,” Declan replied in a flat monotone. “The Leaper is on course back to the shipping lane with us as rear guard. The Doftles are dead, as are the Captain, and all of the high ranking officers. Aside from those we told you about last night, there were no casualties among the passengers.”
“That’s good news,” Garen said wearily. “We’ll pass the information along. What about communications?”
“Most of the tech engineers are still alive. They’re working on replacing the crystals as quickly as they can.”
Before Garen could ask anothe
r question a section of the vid screen in the bottom corner went black, then displayed an image of the Leaper’s control room.
“Can you see that, Highness?” Jay asked.
“Yes, we can,” Garen replied.
“This is a short portion of the scene in Control from Declan’s cam,” Jay said before starting the playback. He then returned to his place beside Declan so he, too, could watch.
They all saw the relief on Vari’s face when Declan told her that Jay had killed the remaining two Doftle. Then Declan turned away and they heard his half of the conversation with Captain Finch, then Zaza’s gasp a minute or so later. They saw the image blur as Declan turned to look at Vari, and then the nearly silent, but highly emotional interaction between them. Moments later Declan transported back to the Bihotza and the vid ended.
“I heard her, of that much I’m certain,” Faron said, his voice hoarse and choked. “But I couldn’t make out what she was saying.”
“Nor could we,” Declan said, glancing over at Jay who was already back at the vid terminal working on it. It took three more tries but eventually Jay was able to filter out Declan’s voice so that they could hear the brief conversation between Vari and the Doftle.
“It seems as though the Doftle’s mind was too much for her,” Garen said after a long silence.
“Too much in what way?” Declan asked.
“The Doftle wanted to comply with Vari’s request for more information, but he had only moments to live, as he said. He had no choice but to offer it to her in one lump. He did warn her of the dangers ahead of time. It was her choice to try.”
“I agree, Garen,” Faron said.
“You’re saying that her brain isn’t physically capable of handling the influx of so much data,” Declan said. “Is that right?”
“We cannot be sure, but it appears that way, yes,” Garen replied.
“Just before we made this call, Dr. Jula told us that her vital signs are weakening,” Declan said. “She wants to put Vari in a healing tank, but we wanted to speak with you about it first, Faron.”
“I appreciate that, Declan,” Faron said. “A healing tank will have a limited effect on her, but if it can hold her in stasis until we reach Jasan. Then either Jareth or the Tigrens might be able to heal her.”
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