I hope it is you reading this. The virus is simple. Get it into the air, and the disease will do the rest. Trust me.
Sincerely,
Roger.
Well, if he meant it sincerely.
“So?” Finn asked.
“I don’t think we have a choice.” “We could talk to Texxak.”
I shrugged. “We did what he said and he sent troops. They shot at us.” I felt like the more I learned, the less I knew. There was something else going on here, but no matter what it was, the Fost were still at risk. Nothing changed that fact, and I had to save them. My new home, my love, Marin. It all came down to him.
The thought made me blink. Isn’t that what Xade said? It was all for Selmay. Was I becoming like him?
“What is wrong?” Finn put a hand on my shoulder.
“What?”
“You looked ill.”
“Am I like Xade?”
Finn raised his eyebrows. “What makes you think you are like him at all? He did not care. The fact that you do in itself separates you two.”
My shoulders relaxed. True. Isn’t that what they always said? The omniscient we, the all-wise people, that if you felt you needed to ask the question, it meant you already had your answer or some such?
I could do this. I had to.
“How are we going to spread the virus?”
“I do not know, but we need to head to Center. Regroup with everyone.”
Marin.
We took off for home. Marin met us on the stairs. He wasn’t alone either. A bear-like creature followed close behind him, wielding a knife. We backed up and pulled Marin into the safety of the labs, closing the panel.
“What is going on?”
He panted, even with his power. “Troops are everywhere.”
“Are they attacking?”
“Looks like they are herding everyone to the ships.”
Slaves, just like the other races Texxak had described. I had to do this.
“We need to get onto a ship.”
“Let them take us?” Finn sounded incredulous.
“I don’t know.” Or. Hmm. “What about the Avaresh. Did you see Rael, Prog?”
“No, but I know they are there. There is a whole crew of extra fighters in town, protecting it from the air. Since Selmay showed us how to see the ships, the winged warriors are more effective.”
“We need to get to those fighters,” I said.
“How many are we facing here?”
“I did not see. I just ran back to you.” Marin pulled me close into his side.
I met his eyes.
Aww.
“That does not help us right now, Marin,” Finn said sharply.
“I can’t even tell if they are attacking the door. This is great material.”
Marin’s arm tightened around my waist. “We have to try, or else all my people are dead or gone.”
“Yes.”
I glanced at Finn. “Ready?”
He winked at me. “Always.”
We pushed open the door. Finn darted left, Marin pressed to my right.
Nobody.
I paused a minute, stumped. Marin was undeterred. “Run.”
He grabbed my hand and dragged me up the steps, through the lobby, and into the clearing.
There’d obviously been fighting. Black marks scorched the dirt all around the entrance, but everyone was done. No clones, no people. No Texxak fighters.
Finn panted as he joined us outside a minute later. “Next time bring me.”
I loved Marin’s speed.
“Go,” I said.
Marin grabbed my and Finn’s hands and we were gone.
In a few minutes we were outside the empty valley. The only activity I could see was overhead. The Avaresh swarmed the ships. I could see bright wings in all colors and sizes and knew that was Rael. Rael. I had an idea. We wouldn’t need the ships if we had the Avaresh.
He folded his wings and fell at speed toward me. Pulling up and fluffing out his wings at the last seconds, stopping quickly. He dragged me into a quick hug. “Beta. I am so glad you are well.”
“You as well. Can you help us?”
“What do you need?” he asked.
“Can you take this up and distribute it in the air?” I held up the vial.
“What is it?”
“A virus Roger made.”
Rael’s face closed. “Did he not make the hepatitis?”
“Yes, but this is our only chance. Please.” I put my hand on Rael’s. He grabbed the vial. “For you.”
With a flap of his wings, he flew into the air, high, high, higher.
“How far up does he need to go?” Finn asked.
“I don’t know. I thought it would be obvious. Roger didn’t really leave any directions.”
“Where is Roger?”
“He took off as soon as Texxak’s ships arrived,” Marin said with a curl of his lips.
“We have to trust him. This is our only shot.”
“This will only affect the E’mani, not the new troops that Texxak has,” Finn said.
“True, but Texxak strikes me as the type of guy who has to lead his own troops. It is the control freak in him.”
Rael continued to climb until he didn’t. He banked and flew straight down. Blue dust flared and drifted behind him. It was oddly pretty. It spread out for miles in every direction, a light blue crystal in the air.
I reached out for one and as soon as it touched my skin, the color changed. The crystal turned black and dissolved into my skin in seconds. Too quick to wipe it off.
Shit.
I glanced up and looked at Marin.
“What is happening?” Marin asked and rubbed at my skin. Finn held out his own hand and black lines spreads across the palm. “It appears that we are not immune to this virus of Roger’s. He did warn us.”
“What!” Marin whipped around to stare at Finn then me. “You did not tell me that. What do we need to do?”
He ran his hands down my face. I loved when he did that. I could already feel the virus. It shouldn’t work this quickly, but what would I know. My skin felt tight and hot at the same time like I needed to rip it off like a cocoon.
The world spun around me until the only center I had was Marin’s face with his fierce green eyes staring at me.
“Tell me what to do.” He shook my shoulders when I continued to stare at him. “What?”
It was so damn unfair how sexy I found him.
“I love you, Marin.”
Tears leaked slowly from Marin’s eyes. “This is not over, Elizabeth. I will not let this be the end.”
I smiled grimly. “It was always meant to end this way.”
“No!”
“I am sorry Marin.” I fell to my knees.
Marin guided me onto my back with my head in his lap. He leaned over me. “There has to be something I can do.”
I held my hand up. He placed his palm against mine. The black lines spiraled out and liquid dripped from my nose. My chest ached, matching the continued throb in my side. More heat streaked under my skin. Sweat dripped off my fingertips mixed with blood, pink droplets that fell into the dirt.
“No,” Marin sobbed. “No.”
“I am sorry.”
He pulled my fingers to his mouth and kissed the tips. “Do not be sorry. We will fix this.” His voice hardened and he lifted me up into his arms.
“No, Marin.”
“The tubes will heal you.”
“No, Please.” I held my hand on his face.
“Yes.” He turned his cheek and kissed my palm.
“Please, I don’t want to die in a tube.”
Marin’s eyes held mine, agonized. He gave an abrupt nod and pulled me tight. I glanced at Selmay over his shoulder. Blood dotted her face. Her mouth was open and panting.
Finn sat next to her, his breathing labored. “Do you feel it?”
“Yes.” I pointed to the cloud in the sky. “We did it.”
Selmay smiled.
My chest hurt. Each breath became harder and harder as Marin took me to sit next to both of them. I laid my head on Marin’s shoulders. “It does affect us.”
Finn panted and bent backward. Selmay hugged him close.
I held my hand out before me. Dark lines formed underneath my skin. Cries reached me from the clones, and I glanced their way.
One by one they fell to the ground, writhing. Black spread across their bodies. Screams tore from their throats, making me even sadder. They were just as innocent as the rest of us. I’d done this, we had done this, and I couldn’t make myself regret the decision. As long as Marin was safe—the people were safe—that would be enough.
I closed my eyes.
I felt the world moving around me and then no more.
Epilogue
My head hurt. A groan slipped out, and my eyelids fluttered open. A star was directly overhead and blindingly bright.
What the hell?
When I lifted my head, the room spun, but I saw familiar fierce green eyes staring down at me through amber glass.
Marin.
It didn’t matter what happened, I was where I wanted to be, in his arms.
His eyes teared and he pulled me close. “We won.”
“Yes, we did.” I glanced around for Finn and Selmay and saw only translucent walls in a bare room. “Where are we? What happened?”
“The Remains. They took command of a ship and came to help us. They found us. You were sick and dying. All of you, Finn, Selmay, you. They brought you here.”
“The tubes?”
“Yes.”
I closed my eyes. “I never wanted to be in the tubes again.”
“I could not let you die.”
“Everyone else?” Hana, Thorn, The rest of the town.
“I haven’t had time to check. When you were sick, we came back here and took off. Dela is running the computers, the twins are working on the quarum, and Erin is down on the planet surface, helping the injured.”
So in the end, I wound up in a ship of my own with the Remains as my crew. Isn’t that exactly what my grandfather wanted? What did this mean? Had this all been one long con by him? Where was he? And Zachary. Were they circling, waiting to fight us? “What happened to his armies?
“What happened to Texxak?”
Marin pulled me close. His hand drifted down my cheek. “We don’t know. There was a quick brutal attack of clones versus Texxak’s troops but after the virus was deployed. Nothing. They retreated.”
“So they are out there somewhere?”
“Most likely” He cradled me close. “But we are here and safe.”
My eyes teared. “I never thought I would see you again.”
“I was never going to let that happen.”
He kissed me softly, sweetly, and I let myself hope for the very first time. Marin, male, mine. Maybe this was the end. Maybe we were safe. No matter what, my enemy was dead, and we’d won the day this time. Maybe it was enough. Maybe.
About the Author
Colleen plays many roles. Not only is she a veteran, a mother, and a practicing physician, but she is a writer of science fiction and contemporary romances. Colleen’s dreams include surviving her son’s teenage years, exploring every continent on this planet, except Antartica, cause that’s way too cold, and winning the Nobel peace prize. Dream BIG! Currently, she is working on Distant Memory, the third in her SciFi Romance series.
In the meantime, look for her at https://www.colleensmyers.com
Read All…
The Books in the Solum Series
* * *
Must Remember, Book 1
Can’t Forget, Book 2
Distant Memory, Book 3
And…
Find all of Colleen’s titles HERE
Distant Memory: She remembered everything (Solum Series Book 3) Page 16
