Caitlyn gave her a knowing smile. “We understand that sometimes when you are in a tough spot, you can’t see past it. Don’t you worry none. Now we can get to her, we’ll take care of her and Chandler. I just wish that there had been some way for us to step in sooner.”
“Do you have anything in mind?” Faron asked seriously. “We, too, have been aware of a problem, but we did not know what it was, and without a request for help, or clear evidence of wrongdoing, we could not act. If you have any ideas as to how that could be changed, we are more than happy to hear them.”
Caitlyn frowned thoughtfully. “I don’t have any ideas off the top of my head,” she said. “But I will ask the other townspeople and we’ll give it some thought, and then we will let you know. Will that be all right?”
“Yes,” Faron replied. “We are very concerned that the people here in town are taken care of, and not taken advantage of,” Faron said. “We are open to any suggestions you have and are happy to consider your requests.”
“That’s very good to know, Mr. Lobo,” Caitlyn said sincerely. “I will admit that some folks have thought the Clan Jasani had no concern for the Citizen Jasani. But events over the past year have changed a lot of minds on that. I think that’s a good thing.”
“As do we,” Faron replied. “The Citizen Jasani are very important to Clan Jasani, and the Princes.”
Just then someone called Caitlyn and she excused herself. The foursome spent another few moments watching before turning to leave the hardware store. Saige was almost through the door when she felt a small tug on the hem of her shirt. She looked down into Chandler’s big brown eyes.
“Thank you, Miss,” he said, his voice soft and sweet as only a child’s can be.
“You are very welcome, young man,” Saige said. “Chandler, I want you to do me a favor, if you don’t mind?”
“Yes, Miss,” the boy said.
“Promise me that you will call me or come to me, or send someone for me if you ever need help again. My name is Saige.”
Chandler smiled. “Okay, Miss Saige, I promise,” he said.
As they stepped back outside, Saige felt suddenly tired. The incident had dredged up old memories for her.
“Do you wish to do more shopping, Saige?” Faron asked, noting her tired and sad expression. “Or would you prefer to go home now?”
“I think I would prefer to go home now,” Saige replied. “If you guys still have errands to tend to, I can wait in the ground-car.”
“There is nothing left for us to do here of any importance,” Faron said. “We will go home now.”
Saige nodded and allowed herself to lean against Faron when he tucked her close to him before guiding them back to the ground-car. A few minutes later they were in the ground-car and out of town, on their way back to the ranch. Faron watched as Saige gazed blankly out the window at the passing scenery, her thoughts distant. He was trying to decide whether or not to ask her what she was thinking of when she leaned back in the seat, laid her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes. Moments later she was sound asleep.
When they reached home, Faron carefully lifted her into his arms, trying not to wake her. But the moment he stepped out of the car with her, the cool fresh air woke her up. She gazed up at him sleepily and he knew she was struggling to get her bearings. After a few seconds, the sadness on her face told him she had remembered.
He carried her into the house, Dav opening the door for them as Ban stopped to carry a load of firewood inside. The air was chilly and Saige had mentioned she would enjoy the fireplace. Now seemed a good time for one.
Faron set her down on the sofa and went to help Ban, while Dav went into the bedroom for a blanket for Saige. Once the fire was going in the fireplace and they all had hot drinks and were settled in the living room, Faron turned to Saige.
“You are very sad, amada,” he said. “What you did today was a good thing, so we are concerned at your sadness. We would ask that you share with us what is bothering you.”
Saige looked at Faron for a long moment. “Its not a good story,” she said. “You sure you want to hear it?”
“We want to know as much about you as you are willing to tell us,” Dav replied. “We especially wish to know of those things that make you sad so that we can try to alleviate your sadness, even if only by the sharing of it.”
Saige offered them a small, sad smile. “Okay,” she said. She thought for a moment, wondering where to begin. She had told only Lariah the story of her childhood. She’d never been close enough to anyone else to share it with.
“I never knew my mother. She died during childbirth. Of the three daughters she bore, I am the only one who survived.”
“Your mother had triplet daughters?” Faron asked in surprise.
“Yes,” Saige said. “My father raised me until I was almost six years old. He was a chemist and there was an explosion in the building he was working in. He and several others were killed. He was raised on Teira, but had no family on Earth, nor did my Mother. So I was placed in the foster care system.”
“What does that mean?” Ban asked.
“When there are children who have no parents or family, then the state pays other families to take them in and care for them until they are adults. The rules for foster care homes are strict, but many who should not be approved, are. Largely because there are not enough foster homes for the number of children that need them.”
“I was lucky,” she said. “At first. I was placed in a home with a married couple who took good care of the children they took in. There were eight or nine children in the home, and it was crowded, but I wanted for neither food nor clothing. I was not loved, but I was not treated badly, and I never went without. In the foster care system, that is considered a very good situation. I lived there for a long time as such things go, but when I was about ten, the foster parents were killed in a ground-car accident.
“I was sent to live in another foster home after that, the first of many over the next several years. During those years I saw a lot. A lot of abused women, a lot of abused children, a lot of cruel men, and women too. I watched from the inside as women were psychologically manipulated so that they truly believed nobody could ever help them, and should they try to get help, it would only make matters worse.
“I discovered that I had a talent for hiding myself in the shadows, and staying below the radar of adults during those years. The one thing that was most difficult for me was the children. Seeing the damage done to them in those situations was heartbreaking. It was bad enough they’d lost their parents, now they had to deal with fear and abuse.
“As much as I wanted to help, there was nothing I could do. I tried to report the abuse the first time I saw it. I told my case worker about it and she told the man who was the abuser, and of course it only made things worse. Which was why the woman had not reported it herself. I began to understand how that worked, and how horrible it was. The best thing about that situation was that the case worker did not reveal who had reported it. After that, I learned to keep my mouth shut and stay out of everyone’s way.
“When I was 18 and old enough to inherit the money my father had left me, the first thing I did was enroll in self-defense classes. The ability to defend myself, and others, was my biggest dream from the time I was ten years old. There was also enough money for me to get some schooling and I ended up in the security business. I took the job at the library, met Lariah, and here I am.”
Faron, Dav and Ban sat silently as they thought about what Saige had told them. Her story had been short, and not very detailed, but they were able to see more than she had told.
“It must have been very difficult for you to have to stand by and watch others be harmed,” Dav said softly.
Saige flinched at his softly spoken words. Words that had gone straight to the true horror of her childhood. The inability to help.
“I felt guilty because it was so easy for me to blend in and avoid attention,” she said softly. “All I
could do was try to teach the other children how to stay out of the way, like I did. I felt like a coward for not helping them more than that.”
“But you were a child, lorea,” Dav pointed out. “A child younger than the small boy you helped today.”
“No, that was just a little boy,” Saige said. “I was much older than that.”
“You were ten, eleven years old?” Ban asked.
She nodded.
“Chandler is thirteen standard years old, Saige. That boy in town today was older than you were by several years. Even if he weren’t, how can a child be responsible for what adults do?”
Saige was stunned. She had always thought of herself as much older than the other children, but now she was forced to look back with new eyes. “Wow, I just always thought of myself as being older than that. That boy is really thirteen?” she asked.
“Yes amada,” Faron said. “He is, I believe, a bit small for his age, but he is thirteen. He is yet a child, as were you. You did what you had to do to survive and that is never a thing to be sorry for.”
Saige sighed, feeling as though a weight had been lifted from her. She had felt guilty for so long. Now she realized how very young she had been, and knew she had no more reason to feel guilty than Chandler did.
“You lived a very lonely life as a child,” Faron observed. “After the death of your father, did you never have anyone who loved you?”
Saige shrugged, then smiled, her eyes lighting up in a way that made Faron, Ban and Dav all smile. “Lariah,” she said. “And you three. It may not sound like much, but to me it is. I am a very blessed woman.”
Faron smiled, touched by Saige’s words. Though he did not understand how she could feel so blessed after such a lost childhood, he was thankful for it.
He opened his mouth to tell her so when there was a knock at the door. Dav and Ban instantly lifted their noses in the air, and both smiled as Ban leapt up to open the door for their visitor. “It is Riata,” Dav said.
Faron’s heart skipped a beat, and the expression on Saige’s face turned hopeful. Faron rose as Ban let Riata in and went to greet her.
“Greetings, Riata, and welcome to our home,” Faron said and bowed.
“I thank you for your welcome,” Riata replied, returning Faron’s bow.
“If it is convenient for you, I would heal Saige’s disease at this time,” she said, smiling across the room at Saige.
Ban whooped loudly, then grinned sheepishly. “I apologize, Riata, that was rude of me.”
Riata laughed, a sound like the tinkling of bells that made all of them smile. “There is no need for apologies Banon Lobo,” she said. “It is a joy to me when my efforts bring happiness.”
“I am more than ready, Riata,” Saige said as Faron led Riata further into the room. “But are you sure you are strong enough?”
“I am positive,” Riata said firmly. “May we use the bed in the other room again?” she asked Faron.
“Of course,” Faron said. “Anything you desire we will provide.”
“Ah, that is a dangerous promise to make to a female, Faron Lobo,” Riata teased.
“Only if one makes it to a dangerous female,” Faron replied. Riata laughed again and Saige thought she had never heard laughter sound so beautiful.
A short while later Saige was lying on the bed in the bedroom, once again wearing Dav’s bathrobe. Riata had chased the Lobos out and closed the door, telling them it was easier for her to focus without an audience.
“If you will open your robe please Saige, we can begin,” Riata said. Saige loosened the sash on the robe and opened it, nervous excitement running through her at what was about to happen. That she would soon be healed of the awful disease that had no cure was a miracle to her.
Riata spotted the heart pendant resting against Saige’s skin and lifted a brow. “That is a very pretty necklace,” she commented as she raised her hands over Saige’s body. Saige started to tell her about the stone, but Riata was obviously focusing already so she remained silent. She closed her eyes and waited for the sensation of warmth she had experienced when Riata had healed her before. But the warmth did not come. After a few long moments, Saige opened her eyes to see that Riata was frowning.
“I am sorry Saige,” she said, sounding distracted. “One moment please.”
Saige began to feel anxious but she remained still and quiet. Finally Riata lowered her hands, her expression one of confusion.
“What is it?” Saige asked worriedly.
“There is no reason to fear,” Riata assured her quickly. “The disease is already gone from your body. I am confused because I did sense it before. It was there. Yet now, it is gone.”
“Its gone?” Saige asked blankly. “How is that possible?”
“I do not know,” Riata said. She reached down and began to pull Saige’s robe closed for her. Saige sat up and tied the belt herself as Riata went to open the door and call the Lobos in.
After telling them that the virus no longer existed within Saige’s body, she shook her head. “I am, of course, very glad that this has happened,” she said. “But I do not understand it. The disease was there when I examined Saige the other day, yet it is gone now.”
Faron was both thrilled that the disease was gone, and curious as to how it had happened. As he looked at Saige he noticed the Heart Sight stone gleaming at her throat.
“Perhaps it is a gift of the Eternal Pack,” he suggested.
Riata looked at him blankly. He quickly explained about the Eternal Pack and the heart shaped stone Saige now wore.
Riata considered the story for a moment, then approached the side of the bed again. “May I examine it more closely Saige?” she asked.
“Certainly,” Saige replied. “I cannot take it off though.”
“That is fine,” Riata said. “I will not actually touch it.” She held the palm of one hand a small distance from the heart shaped stoned and closed her eyes for what seemed to the others in the room to be a long time. When she opened her eyes and lowered her hand there was a smile on her face.
“I have been informed that the Heart Sight stone did destroy the virus within your Arima’s body, though I was thanked very graciously for my efforts.”
“You were thanked by...?” Faron asked in confusion.
Riata smiled. “The Eternal Pack,” she said.
They were all stunned by this. “I do not recall ever reading that the Heart Sight stone cured illnesses,” Dav said.
“I do not think it does,” Riata said. “I think that the Eternal Pack worked through the stone to heal Saige after they chose her.”
Faron took a deep breath and blew it out. “I cannot say that I understand such things, but I can, and will, say that I am most grateful. To the Eternal Pack, and to you Riata.”
“But I did nothing,” Riata pointed out.
“You give of yourself endlessly Riata,” Ban said quietly. “I have never known or heard tell of anyone as faultlessly generous as you are. You saved my life, as well as my brothers’ just the other night, at the risk of your own health. You are deserving of the utmost gratitude for all that you do, and for all of the people you help.”
Riata blushed, a faint peach color staining her white skin, though her luminous purple eyes glowed with happiness. “I thank you most sincerely for your kind words, Banon Lobo. However...,”
“We know,” Saige cut in. She glanced quickly at Ban, Faron and Dav and they all grinned, then looked at Riata. As one, they all said, “It is yours to Heal.”
Riata’s sweet, high, tinkling bell laughter filled the room.
Chapter 29
“You look happy this morning,” Lariah said as soon as the Lobos stepped into the house for their meeting with Garen, Trey and Val. Saige grinned as she sat down at the patio table and reached for the coffee pot. She loved being able to indulge her taste for coffee so freely.
“I am happy,” she said. “And excited. Faron is going to ask Garen to help with the mating ritual today
.”
Lariah’s face lit with joy. “That’s wonderful news!” she exclaimed. “Riata told us that the disease is gone now too. It seems a miracle.”
Saige nodded. “It is,” she agreed. “I thought I would have to live with it for the rest of my life. But now it is gone, and soon, perhaps the damage it caused will be gone as well.”
“Perhaps?” Lariah asked with a frown.
“There are no promises, Lari,” she said. “I hope that Riata is right, and that the damage caused by the seizures will be erased by the mating ritual, and also the damage that prevents me from having children. But if it does not turn out that way, I can accept it. I will spend my life being thankful for Faron, Dav and Ban, and the happiness I have with them. I will not spend it regretting what cannot be.”
Lariah smiled again. “Good,” she said. “I am glad to know that you will be happy with them no matter what else happens. That is the way it should be.”
Saige sipped her coffee as she watched Lariah rub her tummy, a small smile on her face. She realized that Lariah looked pale.
“Lariah, do you feel all right?” she asked, suddenly concerned.
“Yes, I’m just a little tired,” Lariah replied. “These three kids were bouncing around in there last night having a party or something. I didn’t get a lot of sleep.”
“Has Riata looked at you today?” Saige asked.
Lariah rolled her eyes. “You sound like Garen,” she said. “Yes, Riata was called in bright and early to tell them what I had already said. I am fine, just tired.”
“Okay, I’ll back off,” Saige said, though she still thought Lariah looked more than tired. Now that she was looking more carefully, she noted that there were also circles beneath Lariah’s eyes.
The sound of the side garden gate caused Tiny to leap to his feet, his eyes and ears pointed alertly toward the garden path where the visitors would appear as they approached, though his tail wagged, indicating he was familiar with whoever the visitors were.
Saige turned to follow Tiny’s gaze in time to see three very tall men step into view of the patio. Saige stared at them for a long moment, unable to help herself.
The Lobos' Heartsong Page 25
