Serra swiveled and pulled her legs up on the table, then eased back until her head rested on the cushion. Draco walked over to a large white machine on wheels and guided it back to where the child rested. He unfolded a mechanical arm with a box on the end and positioned it over Serra’s head.
“Will it hurt?” She stared up at the thing, her forehead creased with worry.
Maddelyn glanced sharply over at Draco, the same question on the tip of her tongue. He shook his head. “No, it won’t hurt. Just lie completely still and it will be over before you know it.”
Draco flipped a switch and the contraption flared to life, the unit on the end of the arm spitting out a bright light that made Serra squint. A steady hum emanated from the machine as it systematically moved down Serra’s body, bathing her in the yellow-orange light.
Draco stepped to the side and laid a hand on Maddelyn’s shoulder for reassurance. He leaned over, his lips brushing her earlobe as he whispered quietly. “CAIT should be able to use this scan to determine if anything can be done. But there may be too much damage to help significantly.”
Maddelyn nodded in understanding, but still couldn’t quash the hope that maybe her niece’s life would be spared after all. She watched in silence as the machine scanned its way back up Serra’s body to where it began. Draco moved in and turned the scanner off, then helped Serra back to a sitting position. She coughed again, struggling for breath with the excitement.
“Well?” Maddelyn questioned impatiently. Too much had happened and her patience was at an end.
“Just one moment. My systems are running slightly slower than normal, due to the resources needed for my healing.”
Maddelyn picked at her already ragged fingernails, fidgeting nervously as she waited for the verdict. Please let there be something that can be done. Please.
“There is significant damage to the child’s lung tissue due to long-term exposure to environmental toxins. Her lungs are unable to effectively process the oxygen she needs from the air she breathes.” There was a small pause while a mechanical sigh filtered through the air. “I’m sorry, due to the extent of the damage and the limited supplies at hand, there’s nothing I can do.”
Maddelyn’s heart dipped to her toes in disappointment. If anyone deserved to be saved, it should be Serra. The little girl was the most innocent of all of them, and one of the last Ternos children alive. The universe was entirely too cruel. A lone tear escaped Maddelyn’s eye and slid down her face.
“It’s all right, CAIT. At least you tried.” Serra made a weak attempt at a smile as Draco helped her off the exam table to her feet. An awkward silence descended upon them while they processed the disappointing news.
Maddelyn glanced over at Draco, the deep sadness she felt more than obvious on her tear-stained face. When he managed to meet her gaze, his golden eyes were bright with his own un-shed tears. He mouthed the words I’m sorry, the phrase only slicing deeper into her heart like a hot knife. She batted the tears away with a swipe of her hand.
The sound of Serra’s wracking coughs exploded in the quiet room, and jolted Maddelyn out of her thoughts. She glanced over to where the child had slid to the floor, her body convulsing with the effort to breathe.
In a flash, Maddelyn was on her knees, rubbing Serra’s shoulders and murmuring. “It’s ok, baby. Just hang in there. It’ll pass.”
Maddelyn’s fingers moved in small circles along Serra’s shoulders and neck. The cold panic that iced her veins every time Serra had a bad attack set in and chilled Maddelyn to the bone. She found herself praying for everything to be all right, though in her heart, she didn’t know who or what she was praying to. What kind of a God would let things like this happen?
With a shudder, Serra took another breath and her coughing ceased. Relief flooded through Maddelyn as it did each time this happened. She hugged Serra fiercely and realized that someday, this would end in a completely different way. And having seen it end for so many people, Maddelyn knew that day was coming all too soon.
Standing up, Maddelyn scooped Serra into her arms and turned to Draco, her eyes silently pleading with him. “We need to get Serra to bed. Too much excitement for sick little girls.”
Draco nodded. “I had hoped all systems would be fully restored, but since they are not, we do need to leave.”
He led them out of the Medical Bay and back to the main control room, pausing at the central core unit once more. After he pushed a few more buttons, the screen returned to its home within the console. “CAIT, please continue restoration of systems, and remain cloaked at all costs. I will return when I can.”
“As you wish, Draco.”
Maddelyn turned toward the door as she heard the whir of it opening and descended the stairs. “We’ll be home in a flash. Just close your eyes,” she whispered in Serra’s ear as she pressed her face into her shoulder to shield her niece from the biting wind and dust of the outside.
* * *
As she watched and felt the humans leave the protection of her walls, CAIT allowed herself a brief moment of self-pity. Though she had just met the two females, she instinctively wished to be of assistance to them, even more so because the life of one so young was at stake. If she had been properly prepared for voyage, instead of being taken away from her space dock in the heat of battle, things might have had a different outcome. Though given the severity of the child’s disease, the probability of another outcome was slim. Still, the fact that there was a probability at all got her neural circuits in an irritated bunch.
CAIT mentally took stock of her systems, re-routing power as needed as she continued her self repair. After making sure once again that her cloaking shield was intact, she re-analyzed the data collected from Serra’s scan. Accepting defeat of any kind was difficult for CAIT to accept, so she needed to be completely sure that the situation was as she originally believed it to be.
Even after processing more than a thousand scenarios in mere seconds, CAIT’s conclusion was the same. Serra’s sickness would undoubtedly end her young life. This detail only fueled the anger and frustration that had been building since she’d landed on this primitive planet. And unlike those with physical forms, she had no way to deal with the conflicting feelings coursing through her system. She couldn’t punch a wall like she’d seen Draco do many times. No fists. Besides, she was the wall, so the point was moot.
CAIT turned her attention back to her internal systems when a small idea popped up in the recesses of her neural core. She quickly moved programs and processes aside and concentrated on the nugget of information, even dedicating a few more circuits to this new byte. Data scrolled past in vast streams as she pursued the idea, excitement replacing her frustration with each new calculation. Though she had concentrated on Serra’s lung function with the biometric scan, CAIT had taken a complete and thorough data blueprint of Serra’s entire body, which included brain function and mapping. And with that kind of information at hand…
The excitement of her discovery made CAIT work with even more fervor as she divided her systems between this new project and her system repairs and really buckled down to work.
****
The trip back to their ramshackle home passed quickly, and in silence. Draco tried to carry Serra himself, but Maddelyn refused, unable to relinquish the little girl from her grasp. Feeling the child’s heartbeat against her own was one more reassurance that Maddelyn needed.
Draco hurried ahead and opened the door for them to duck rapidly inside. Maddelyn set the child on her feet. Her face was paler than usual, her blue eyes dim. “How about something to eat before bed, huh?”
Serra shook her head. “I just want to sleep, Maddie.”
The little girl sounded so defeated, Maddleyn’s heart wrenched. “Ok, sweetie. Let’s get your nightgown on and get you in bed.”
Maddelyn helped Serra change her clothes and tucked her tightly in under the covers. “Sweet dreams, baby. I love you.”
“Love you too, Maddie,” Serra whisp
ered. Her labored breathing almost immediately fell into the even pattern Maddelyn had grown so accustomed to.
She walked over behind the curtain where her bed was, Draco following. Anger and frustration heated the blood in her veins. The past twenty-four hours had taken their toll.
She spun and jabbed her finger into Draco’s chest. “We should never have taken her out again so soon after last night! Her lungs are stressed enough already! That attack was your fault!” Maddelyn’s voice came out in a hot angry whisper.
Draco widened his eyes, stunned at her reaction. “I never meant to cause you or Serra any distress, Maddelyn. I only wanted to help you as you helped me. I didn’t plan to crash into your world, or your life.”
“That little girl is all I have left, do you understand that? Everyone I’ve ever cared about is dead. Do you know how that feels?”
Draco brought his hand up between them and grabbed the hand with the offending finger, his thumb lightly massaging her palm. Though Maddelyn didn’t want it to, the gesture had a calming effect. “Actually, things were so chaotic with the attack on my world, I don’t know if any others of my people have survived. I don’t even know if my planet is still there.”
Maddelyn felt some of the anger and frustration dissipate with his words. And his continued soothing touch. “You might be the only Sun Whisperer left?”
Draco tilted his head, his blond locks brushing his collar. “CAIT has been unable to establish contact with any other survivors, or even verify that the planet is still there.”
“But how can a planet disappear? Wouldn’t CAIT be able to locate debris if it had been blown up or something?”
Draco dropped her hand and took a deep breath. “Now you see why I am so concerned about getting my ship back to full operating capacity. I need to go back and see what has happened to my own world, and my people.”
A sigh of defeat left Maddelyn’s lips. “Of all the worlds for you to crash on, why did it have to be this one?”
Draco shrugged and gave a boyish grin. “Serra seems to think that I’m an angel that she wished into existence for you.”
Maddelyn couldn’t help but smile. That sounded like Serra. Still capable of the innocence and wonder of childhood, despite all the horror that her little eyes had seen.
Silence stretched between them, making the small space feel eerily quiet.
And that’s when Maddelyn’s heart stopped.
Silence.
There was too much silence.
Chapter Five
Maddelyn shoved a stunned Draco aside as she stumbled over to Serra’s bed, pure terror slashing at her gut.
Please, no. Not yet. I’m not ready.
Her heart hammered as she knelt down beside the silent child. “Serra, sweetie. Wake up.”
A hand wracked with tremors brushed aside a blond curl from Serra’s forehead. Her niece didn’t stir.
“I need you to wake up, Serra.” Maddelyn’s voice shook almost as much as her hand as she struggled to remain in control. Serra’s chest was still, the familiar sound of her raspy breathing absent from the room. Maddelyn caressed the child’s cheek lightly.
She was still warm to the touch.
“Please, Serra. I need you to open your eyes for me. Wake up.” Maddelyn’s voice cracked with a sob as she pleaded for her niece to open her blue eyes. Those same blue eyes had sparkled as her brother Jared teased her growing up—a trait he’d passed on to his daughter.
A warm presence beside her brought Maddelyn back to the present. Draco kneeled beside her, a finger searched Serra’s neck for a pulse. He cast a stricken glance Maddelyn’s way, confirming what her heart already knew.
No pulse.
Maddelyn fell backward to a sitting position, the room going blurry. At first, she thought it was because she was going to faint. But when she touched her face and found her cheeks wet with tears, she realized she was crying.
Draco swiftly tore the covers off of Serra and brought his ear to her heart. Then he rose up on his knees and clasped his hands, palms out, and placed them over her chest. His arms stiffened and he used his weight to repeatedly press downward.
At first, Maddelyn was confused by what he was doing. But when he paused for a moment and placed his mouth over Serra’s to cause her chest to rise and fall with his breath, Maddelyn understood.
He is trying to save her.
Minutes ticked by as Maddelyn watched Draco struggle to save her niece. The image had played itself out before her so many times before. People trying with extreme desperation to save the ones they loved. But in the end, death always won the battle.
Maddelyn was acutely aware of Draco’s exertion as he continued his lifesaving efforts. His breathing was labored, a faint glisten of sweat on his brow. How long would he try? Would it even make a difference? Could he save her niece?
Draco lowered his ear to Serra’s chest once again. For a split second, Maddelyn allowed hope to wiggle into the cracks of her shattered heart. Surely this was the reason Draco had appeared in her life. He was meant to save them!
But when he glanced over at Maddelyn, the sadness in his amber eyes reached out and kicked her in the gut. “I’m sorry. She’s gone.” His shoulders collapsed in defeat.
A guttural moan escaped Maddelyn’s throat, so full of anguish, she was unsure it had come from her own mouth at all. She lurched forward and grasped Serra’s shoulders, shaking the little girl.
“She’s just sleeping, that’s all! Playing a little game, aren’t you, sweetheart? She just needs to wake up, doesn’t she?”
Draco’s eyes widened in pity and surprise. Maddelyn must have sounded deranged. She had just watched Draco try to save her niece, had witnessed him offering his own breath to make her live again, yet she couldn’t accept that her last surviving family member was gone.
Maddelyn’s heart raced wildly as she continued to shake Serra’s shoulders. It had to be a prank. Serra had just been awake, been talking to the both of them. Only moments ago Maddelyn had tucked her in and wished her good night. She can’t be dead.
A warm hand lighted on Maddelyn’s shoulder. “She’s gone, Maddelyn. Her little body couldn’t fight anymore. She’s at peace, now.”
His words were meant to comfort, but burned her heart like acid instead. “Peace? What do you know of her being at peace? She wouldn’t be gone if you hadn’t dragged us out earlier!”
Draco winced outwardly at her harsh outburst. A small spot of rationality in her brain warned her that she was blaming him for something that wasn’t his fault, but the grief in her heart was more in control. She wanted him to hurt as much as she was. She wanted the universe to know how cruel it was to watch someone you loved die. Someone innocent, that deserved better.
Why have I been tortured with seeing all my family members die one by one? Why?
The tears flowed down her face freely now, the wet trails burning her cheeks. With still shaking hands, Maddelyn pulled Serra’s limp body backwards, cradling the tiny frame of her niece in her lap like a baby.
Draco moved to help her, but Maddelyn flashed him a warning glance that stilled him. She hugged Serra to her chest and rocked their bodies together, smoothing the blond curls away from the child’s face.
Maddelyn should have been more prepared for this moment. Everyone who had contracted this sickness had eventually died. Everyone. Friends. Family members. Lovers. But losing little Serra was the worst kind of pain for her heart to bear. Not only was she the last blood relative Maddelyn had, Serra was the last connection Maddelyn had to her heart. The one tiny space that had not been hardened by war, sickness, and death. The death of Serra was a hole in Maddelyn’s chest that ached, a descending blackness that she was unsure she would come back from at all.
Maddelyn hummed as she rocked her niece, resting her cheek on top of the head of blond curls. Time had no meaning as it passed. Back and forth. Back and forth. Though she still sobbed, no more tears ran down her face. It was as if her body didn’t have the ca
pacity to make anymore, even if the sadness had no end itself.
After a time, Draco gently touched Maddelyn’s arm and she froze. She blinked at him rapidly, her eyes trying to focus. Her brain seemed to be having issues processing information.
“Maddelyn, it’s almost dawn.”
Maddelyn furrowed her brow as confusion swept over her at his words. What did dawn have to do with anything?
“We need to take care of Serra, Maddelyn. And we need to do it before dawn. Otherwise, we will be seen.” His hand moved to the child’s cheek, one finger traveling over it gently.
Maddelyn stared, her mind a blank as a darkened numbness to spread over her. It flooded through her body, cold and sharp, and disconnected her from everything. It was like watching a movie of herself, yet being aware that she was the one who should be experiencing the events.
What did he say? That they needed to take care of Serra?
She licked her lips, her mind racing to allow her to form the words she needed. “Serra is dead,” she croaked. Her voice was flat, emotionless. It sounded alien to her ears.
“Yes. And we need to take care of her resting place.”
Maddelyn licked her lips again, her mouth still dry. “Serra is dead.”
Draco cupped her chin in his hands and looked intently into her eyes. The concern that shimmered in the golden depths faintly registered through her fog. “Yes, Serra is dead. And we need to bury her. Do you understand?”
Maddelyn’s head nodded, though her mind felt unaware of the action. She spoke in that voice that sounded, but didn’t feel like, her own. “Behind the house is a place. Her parents are there.”
Draco reached out towards Maddelyn. She cocked her head, confused, then realized he was asking her to pass him Serra’s body. Reluctantly, Maddelyn relinquished the hold she had on the little girl and clambered to unsteady feet.
She watched as Draco wrapped Serra in a sheet from her bed, swaddling her lifeless form like one does an infant. For an instant, a pang of despair smacked her in the stomach and she doubled over in pain, gasping for breath. Draco started toward her, but she held her hand out to stop him as the black numbness took control once more. With labored breathing, she straightened and motioned sharply with her head for him to follow her.
Burn With Me (Legend of the Sun Whisperers) Page 6
