The sound of the battle began to lessen as more of the hybrids lay dead or dying at their feet. Soon the intensity with which it had raged reduced to an ember. Eden had reached the end of the hallway and leaned against the wall in front of her, catching her breath. She turned slowly to survey the carnage scattered on the floor, praying that she would see all of their group standing. As she let her eyes travel across the shadowy hallway she saw some of their number crouched or lying across the marble. Jem was sitting leaned against the wall, his large hand clutched against his chest. His breathing was ragged and his eyes were closed.
Eden rushed to Jem’s side and dropped down beside him.
“Jem,” she said. “Jem, open your eyes. Ciyrs!” She shouted for the healer, then looked for Angela. Their eyes met and Angela ran over. “Jem, Angela’s here.”
Jem’s eyes opened enough that he could see his mate kneeling beside him and then closed them again. Ciyrs came to him and touched his hand to Jem’s chest above the warrior’s hand.
“Jem, is this the only place you’re injured?” the healer asked.
Jem nodded.
“Yes,” he said. “Glass.”
Eden looked up at the tremendous window that stretched across the front of the administrative offices and saw that it was shattered. One of the hybrids must have used Valdician powers to throw Jem into the glass, splintering it. Ciyrs took Jem’s hand and carefully moved it aside. Eden could see a large shard of glass protruding from the wound in Jem’s chest. Her hand flew to her mouth and she closed her eyes briefly.
“Alright, Jem,” Ciyrs said. “We’re going to get that out and I’m going to fix you up. We already lost you once. We’re not doing it again.”
Jem managed a meager smile and weak laugh as he shook his head.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “Dying once was enough for me for now.”
Ciyrs stood and called out to Pyra.
“We need to get Jem down to the medical ward,” he said. “There isn’t time to try to get him to the shuttle. I need to get that glass out of him and start the healing right now. I’ll check the others here and bring down anyone else who will need healing. We’re going to have to spend at least the night here.”
The idea of spending another night in the laboratory sent a chill through Eden. She had spent enough time there when she was on Earth. She wanted to put it behind her and never think of its corridors and doorways again. If they were going to be strong enough when they made it to Penthos and the others, however, she knew that the warriors would need their injuries healed. For now, the hybrid forces had been pushed back and it didn’t seem that more were on their way. They could spend some time recuperating and then escape to the shuttle bay and head to Penthos the next morning. As the group began to make their way back through the closet wall and down the stairs, Eden evaluated the bodies lying on the ground. If they did return, she was confident they’d be ready.
She waited as those who made it through the battle uninjured helped the wounded out of the corridor and down into the abandoned medical unit. It seemed Jem was the most grievously injured. When only Zuri, Ariella, and Jacob were left in the corridor, she headed toward the door. She was nearly at the closet when she felt a hand clasp around her ankle. Eden gasped and clutched Lysander closer to her chest as she tried to pull out of the hybrid’s grip.
“Please.”
The voice was weak and raspy, startling Eden enough to make her look down to whatever had her in its grip. The hood of the creature lying on the ground beneath her had fallen away, revealing a bloodied face and close-shorn black hair. Beneath the veil of oil-like blood along one side of its face she saw what looked like a tattoo etched into its skin.
“Please,” the creature said again. “Downstairs. Help them. Please. Help them.”
Chapter Fifteen
Maxim walked through the main chamber of the shuttle in the faint early morning light, trying to keep as quiet as he could as he made his way toward the infirmary. The others had only laid down to sleep a couple of hours before, but he had been unable to rest more than an hour after feeling Ivy fall tenderly to sleep in his arms. There was so much on his mind that it wouldn’t let his body rest. He didn’t want his movements to wake Ivy, so he climbed carefully out of bed, dressed, and started toward the infirmary to check on Kyven.
“Good morning, Maxim.”
Elise’s voice in the hazy corridor between the main chamber and the kitchen startled Maxim and he whipped around to see her standing in the kitchen stirring something in a tall cup. She was fully dressed and looked as polished as she did when they first entered the shuttle, telling him that she hadn’t been able to sleep well, either.
“Good morning,” he said. “Is everything alright?”
She let out a sigh and shook her head.
“I still haven’t been able to communicate with Azra,” she said. “I haven’t heard from him since we first got redirected to Uoria. I’m really worried about him. What do you think they’re doing? Why hasn’t he communicated with me?”
“Have you tried to communicate with him?” Maxim asked.
Elise looked down into the cup that she was stirring as if whatever as inside was going to give her the answers to all her concerns.
“Yes,” she said. “Many times. He just isn’t responding. I didn’t even know that I had the ability to communicate with him like this, but now that I can’t I feel panicked all the time.”
“I’m sure that there’s a reason he isn’t communicating with you,” Maxim said. “He needs all of his concentration and focus right now. You heard Ryan just as well as I did. What we’re going through here isn’t the end of it. He drew the others to him there and has them at his mercy. The Denynso wouldn’t just allow that to happen, though. They are fighting and they will continue to fight.”
“What am I supposed to do?” Elise asked. “Am I supposed to just sit around here and wait for him to show up or to find out that he’s dead? How do I even keep going? What am I supposed to do if he dies?”
“You can’t think about that,” Maxim said. “You can’t worry about him. He is a Denynso warrior. This is what he is made for, Elise. It is his life. Now that you are his mate, it is your life, too. What you do now is honor him by being courageous and giving yourself to the same cause that he has given himself to.”
“How do I do that? I can’t fight. I’ve never seen anything like what’s going on here. I’ve spent my whole life sheltered, and then when I started my career I thought that I was choosing something that would be adventurous. I wanted to see more and explore the galaxy and other planets. What I didn’t know is that I was still completely sheltered. I wasn’t seeing reality. I was seeing what these planets and travel companies constructed for their customers to see. Then I met Azra and everything changed. Suddenly it was like my world expanded. It had been watercolors and pastels and then it was vibrant and full. It wasn’t until all of this happened, though, that I realized just how much everything had really changed. I’m never going to be able to go back. I’ve seen it. I’ve witnessed this and I know, at least partially, what’s happening, and I can’t pretend that it didn’t happen or that it isn’t out there. My life won’t ever be the same.”
“Of course it won’t,” Maxim said. “My life isn’t the same since I met Ivy. The moment that I found her, everything was different, and I wouldn’t change it for a single second. Even though we’ve struggled and had to face things that I never would have imagined, knowing what I do now, I would never go back to the life that I had before the Denynso came into the kingdom and brought us back to the Earth settlement. Even more, I know that I never would have been able to do any of this without Ivy. What you are going through is hard, and I promise you that it is only going to get harder. You’re a part of this now, though. From the moment that you met Azra and realized that you were his mate, you became a part of something so much larger than you can imagine. Probably much larger than any of us can imagine, even those
of us who have been in it since the beginning.”
“Aren’t you scared?” Elise asked.
“Yes,” Maxim admitted. “But there are things worth being scared for. Even if I don’t live through this, what I’ve done is worth it.”
“Why?”
Her voice was quiet and strained, as if she was reaching out to him desperately, needing for him to tell her something that would make what she was facing make sense and reassure her. She looked smaller and more frightened than she had the day before. It was as if she had been filled with adrenaline and anger when she confronted the crew that had abandoned her, but now it had all drained away and only left the uncertainty. He took another step closer to her so that she could better see his eyes in the glow of the sun that was rising behind him.
“Because this moment and this world aren’t yours alone. If you pretend that they are and keep your eyes covered to what’s going on around you, you are just existing. To live is to honor the past, serve the present, and craft the future for yourself, for those who have already come, and for those yet to arrive. Even if I had to give up my life for it, it would be worth it, knowing that I didn’t just sit by and allow Ryan to disrespect the past and try to steal the future.”
“This is really happening, isn’t it, Maxim?” she asked.
Maxim nodded.
“It is. There’s nothing that you can do to stop it. All you can do is look inside yourself, find the strength, and hang on.”
Elise held the tall cup out to Maxim.
“This is for Kyven,” she said. “You can bring it to him.”
“He’s awake?” Maxim asked, feeling a boost of hope.
Elise nodded.
“I checked on him when I first woke up. It seems like the healing has really set in. You can go ahead and see him.”
Maxim took the cup from her hand and rushed toward the infirmary. He stepped inside and saw Emerie sitting on the side of Kyven’s bed, her hands pressed to his chest. Kyven looked over at her and a smile crossed his face.
“Kyven,” Maxim said. “Are you alright?”
“I’m getting there,” he said.
Emerie nodded and took her hands away.
“He is,” Emerie said. “He should probably rest a little longer, but the healing ointments worked. The effects of the toxins have ended and his wounds are mending well. The sutures haven’t been rejected and I don’t see any signs of infection.”
Maxim walked to the edge of the bed and offered Kyven the cup.
“Elise said that this is for you,” he said.
“Drink all of it,” Elise said, stepping into the room. “It will help keep infection at bay.”
Kyven took a swing from the cup and Maxim saw his face clench and contort. He made a gagging sound and pulled the cup away from him as fast as he could, holding it out to Elise. She glanced down into it and shook her head.
“What?” he choked out.
“All of it,” Elise said. Maxim saw Kyven clench his lips and shake his head. “All of it.”
Maxim laughed as Kyven let out a groan like she was asking him to undergo torture and pulled the cup back so that he could swallow down the rest of the cup’s contents. Kyven coughed as he pushed the cup insistently back toward Elise.
“What was that?” Maxim asked.
“Medicine,” Elise said. “It’s part of the supplies that Elon brought with us.”
“That stuff might be worse than the toxin,” Kyven said, his face still contorted. “I don’t understand how you humans handle it.”
Maxim laughed again. The happiness that he felt from seeing his brother back to himself was indescribable. He felt strengthened and revived, ready to face whatever the day was going to bring. Suddenly he remembered Nylek. He turned and looked at the bed across the room. Nylek was still lying still, his eyes closed. Elon was standing beside him evaluating the lines and symbols appearing on a screen above his head.
“How is he?” Maxim asked.
Elon looked up at him and the strained look in his eyes told Maxim that he hadn’t slept much the night before, if at all. If he was anything like Ciyrs, Elon was too committed to watching over the patients that he was trying to help to think about himself. The thought was reassuring, but Maxim had to admit that the methods Elon was using were intimidating. The doctors in his own kingdom were far more like Ciyrs, though even the Denynso healer had more complex and advanced healing techniques than the Mikana. All of the machinery and medicines seemed to put a separation between Elon and the man he was trying to save, though Nylek did look stronger than he had the night before. The thought made Maxim wonder if he would ever really understand the humans and if Ivy ever felt the same way about him and the Mikana.
“He’s showing improvement,” Elon said. “Whatever got to him last night did some pretty serious internal damage and he was nearly frozen. I’m trying to stabilize his body temperature and regulate his vitals before I attempt surgery to repair the damage.”
“Surgery?” Maxim demanded, standing up from Kyven’s side and stalking across the Elon. “You didn’t ask if you could perform internal surgery[sb3].”
“I didn’t know that I needed to,” Elon said. “This is my infirmary. You are passengers on my ship and when medical decisions need to be made, I will make them.”
“We are not your passengers,” Maxim said. “We’re hostages. As we’ve already established with Avery, you have no power over us.”
“Nylek is Denynso,” Maxim said. “If he needs further healing, he should be given the healing that he is accustomed to. The healing of his kind. Ciyrs trained both Lynx and me to use the ointments and herbs that we packed to handle injuries.”
“This man is severely injured,” Elon argued. “I need to perform surgery to see the full extent of the damage and repair it effectively. I have access to advanced medical technology that will make it safer and easier, and give him a chance to survive.”
“He doesn’t need medical technology,” Maxim said, offended by the man’s words. “Ciyrs has been healing his kind since he was barely out of childhood. The herbs and ointments that he sent with us are powerful enough to handle virtually anything that we might encounter.”
“There’s a reason that humans once only used herbs to handle their medical needs and then progressed past it.”
“That’ll be enough, Elon,” Avery said as he stepped into the infirmary. “I won’t have you disrespecting them.”
“It’s not a matter of disrespect,” Elon said. “It’s facts. It’s reality. Their healer isn’t even here, but I’ve seen this man do what he passes as medical care. All the other Denynso did was clean his wounds and apply ointments.”
“It worked, didn’t it?” Avery pointed out. “Kyven is awake and regaining his strength by the minute.”
“Because he’s been taking strong doses of medication and I stitched his wounds. This is different. Nylek was seriously injured out there and we don’t know how[sb4]. Unless we know what is happening inside his body, doing anything else could cause him far more harm than good. I know that man feels that he knows best and that he taught the others how to do things well enough to handle these situations, but we both know that that’s not the case.”
“That man’s name is Ciyrs,” Maxim said, “and he is a Denynso healer. Humans developed tools and technology because the entirety of the understanding of herbs and plants for medical care doesn’t even begin to compare to what only Ciyrs has. What he does is far more than just putting his hands on them. The powers and capabilities that this man has are unfathomable to you.”
Maxim felt like his chest was going to burst with the anger that was causing his heart to pound heavily against his ribs. How dare this man question Ciyrs and his abilities? How dare he imply that because he had machines and complex medications, he was automatically better than the born healer who had been saving the lives of his entire clan for nearly his entire life?
“How do you know?” Elon asked. “You aren’t even Denynso.�
��
“No,” Maxim said, shaking his head, “I’m not. You’re right about that. But I was nearly Klimnu.”
“What’s that?” Elon asked.
“Something more horrible than I can begin to tell you. I would have suffered more than you can ever understand. The only reason that that didn’t happen to me was because of Ciyrs. He kept me as I am. He has saved countless lives, including that of his own mate, who nearly died at the hands of their enemies but was brought back from the brink by his care. We weren’t born to heal the way he was and the only tools that we have might be the herbs and ointments that he sent along with us, but I trust that that’s enough. Even if it isn’t, you have no place questioning it just because we aren’t human.”
Elon looked stung and he stepped back slightly. It was clear he didn’t know what to say. Avery stepped forward and reached a beseeching hand toward Maxim.
“I’m sorry, Maxim,” he said. “I promised to help you and reassured you that my crew was here for you. I’ve already failed at that.”
Maxim shook his head.
“You didn’t fail,” he said. “I still appreciate the assistance you’ve offered.”
A groan from Nylek’s bed broke the tension that had built among the men. Maxim looked down and saw the warrior’s head moving slowly back and forth. He didn’t open his eyes, but his lips parted and he let out a breath before speaking.
“Mhavyrch,” he murmured.
Maxim heard Kyven gasp behind him and he turned to look at Kyven.
“What did he just say?” Kyven asked. “Did he just say Mhavyrch?”
Maxim nodded, confused by the word that had come from the apparently still unconscious warrior’s lips.
“Yes,” he said. “Mhavyrch. Miracle. How does he know an ancient Mikana word?”
Kyven shook his head.
“No,” he said, sounding excited. “No, it’s not a word. It’s a name. It’s a person.”
“A person?” Maxim asked.
“Mhavyrch,” Emerie whispered. “How does he know?”
The Alien's Return (Uoria Mates IV Book 1) Page 12
