The mecha never slowed her treatment, hands moving precisely, cleaning wounds, bruises, and abrasions. “Living things or things that were once alive,” she explained, pausing briefly to brush her red hair over one shoulder. “Trees have a substructure similar to a person. There are components of that common structure that subpath radiation can affect. It’s a variation of the same principle that was used to attack you.”
“I think they managed to create a genemar,” he said. “I think it coming into being was what created that huge blast.”
Gaea squeezed his fingers. “Was,” she moaned.
He brushed a hand through her silk fine hair.
“I advised Megan to have it guarded. I knew that’s what that thing must be. It was right where the center of the blast seemed to come from.”
Gaea arched her back and drew a deeper breath. The flat gray of her eyes took on color.
“The blood filtering seems to have stabilized her,” Octavia determined.
He breathed a sigh of relief, then looked to the doorway. “Are Vanidaar and others okay?”
“Mercedes and Wysteri are with them,” Octavia told him. “I just made sure they know that blood filtering is a key treatment.”
Gaea drew a deeper breath, her green face still showing some signs of discomfort. She squeezed his hand again. “Thank you—for staying with me.”
“Of course,” he answered. It made him ache inside to see that exquisite face marred or in an expression of pain. He didn’t care if it was some hereditary conditioning. She was beautiful, and he was a part of her.
He looked up when he sensed a movement in the doorway.
Sarai peeked in. She brushed back her silvery hair. “How is she?”
Gaea waved a weak hand at her in answer.
“Out of danger it seems,” he said, feeling the relief wash through him. “How are the others?”
“Alive, but that’s about it. The only reason they survived is apparently Damay managed to shield them with her nola.”
“That sounds like her,” he said.
“She’s a good girl,” Gaea murmured.
“Is Wren okay?”
Sarai glanced back the way she came. “She’s pretty crazy right now with three of her closest people lying on the table in there.”
“Go to her,” the green-mother said. “I—I’ll be all right.”
“I’ll stay with Mother,” Sarai told him.
He gave Gaea’s hand a squeeze. He met Sarai half way across the room and pressed into her with a hug. She gave him a fierce squeeze and a quick kiss. His hand lingered in hers as he pulled toward the doorway.
Stepping back into the main infirmary chamber he found where Wysteri and Mercedes had set up tables specifically for the treatment of Loric, the other savants, and eternal Czar. Senalloy was not present, so she had either delivered the eternal and left again, or had given his transport into the care of another.
Apparently, Mercedes had access to the same creation ability that had been used to create the equipment that made Gaea’s body in Starholme. He didn’t know where else the tables, which were like the one Gaea was currently being treated on, would have come from. Loric, and the four savants did not look good, their skin had an ugly gray cast. He guessed Gaea, having been designed to be nearly indestructible, had been far less affected by the poisonous gas than the others. Even the eternal had a shadow in the coloring of his skin. On top of their physical injuries, it couldn’t be good. He swallowed. The only thing that gave him hope was that two mecha healers were their using their vast skills and knowledge to treat them.
Wren, her Mother and brother and a host of Felspar family members including Cassandra and Desiray stood around the injured group. The huge form of eternal Czar lay a little apart from the others with Megan, Tal, and Terra near him. Pale Aarlen, still unconscious lay near him with the four twins near her.
Mercedes and Wysteri were moving between each of their patients, applying healing and directing a host of volunteer assistants.
Bannor threaded his way into the group to Wren’s side. The blonde savant was understandably upset and divided in her concerns, with a mentor, best friend, and father all similarly injured. The woman stood back a step from where the three were being treated with her mother and brother near her. Loric’s wife Desiray was just walking up to Wren as he approached.
The white-haired lady reached up to pull the ascendant down into a hug. Wren hugged her back. With sighs they both gazed at the comatose forms of their friends and loved ones. He stepped over and put hand on her shoulder.
Wren looked up at him. She made a little smile. “Hi,” her voice sounded weak and her face was red.
“It looks like Gaea will be okay,” he said. “Sarai is staying with her.”
She nodded. “Good.”
“I’m sorry we didn’t get to them faster.”
“Not your fault, there were a lot of injured people.” She leaned against him. She swallowed.
“I know it’s probably not a good time to bring this up,” Bannor said in a low voice. “But we’re horribly vulnerable right now.”
Wren grimaced and nodded. “I can’t see to use my powers, I’m almost useless right now.”
He made a pained groan. “I was hoping it was only me.”
“My nola sight is gone too,” Azir mumbled. “More than half of the Shael Dal are down, and the Kriar are stumbling around like drunks. If those Baronians come storming in here, we are so frelled.”
“We still have the valkyries,” Wren answered. “They’re our core defense.” Her brow furrowed. She stepped over and touched her mother’s arm.
Euriel looked over, her expression downcast like she was near to tears.
“Mother where’s Nonna?”
The Aesir lady blinked. When she spoke she sounded tired. “I—don’t—know.” She shook her head. Bannor saw it was hard for the woman to focus. Her husband was lying on the table fighting for life. “Last I saw her was last night.”
Wren massaged the bridge of her nose. Her eyes went to her father.
White-haired Desiray put a hand on the blonde ascendant’s shoulder. “Wren, I can’t stay, we’ve got kids missing. I can’t hear a frelling thing with my telepathy. I have to go round them up and make sure everyone is all right. If we get attacked now…” She shuddered.
Biting her lip, Wren looked back and nodded.
Desiray went over behind Cassandra and gave the gold-skinned woman a hug from behind. The Felspar matriarch rubbed Desiray’s arm and nodded. The white-haired woman went to Loric’s side. The Felspar patriarch’s most grievous wounds had already been healed by Mercedes but his face remained twisted in a grimace of pain. She put a hand on his chest and gave him a kiss on the forehead. She looked back to Cassandra obviously pained. The gold sorceress waved her off.
Desiray went over to Cassin and tugged on her arm, and after a brief consult and parting between the twins and their mates, they threaded through the crowd and disappeared into the corridor.
Bannor blew out his cheeks realizing he had to do the same thing. They didn’t know where King Jhaan and Queen Kalindinai were.
“I feel bad Wren, I know I should be here to support our friends, but I think it would be better if I got out and tried to rally everyone around. Also, there’s that thing floating in that lab… I need to make sure nothing strange happens.”
She looked up at him, and gave his chest a light thump with her fist. He put his arm around the woman and pulled her close. “They’ll get through this,” he said in a whisper.
She nodded, glowing eyes on the verge of tears. “I-i-if nothing changes here in a little bit—I’ll come help.”
He gave her shoulder a squeeze and turned back toward the inner chamber. As he went to the doorway to go back in to Sarai, Daena came to him. “Is Wren okay?”
He looked back to the blonde savant then back to Daena’s glowing eyes. “Not really.” He paused and tilted his head as a thought occurred to him. “Is your tele
pathy working?”
“I can feel Jan,” Daena answered. “She can’t hear me though, and she can’t send. I have to make the connection.”
“I contacted Sindra telepathically when I found Aarlen down,” he remarked. Narrowing his eyes he switched to savant speech.
She nodded.
“Yes,” he answered. “Okay, we’re not deaf. What about nola sight?”
She pushed a hand through her tangled auburn hair and shook her head. “That’s frelled,” she told him with a frown. “I can’t see dren. Why are we the only ones that can do telepathy?”
“I think because we weren’t hooked into that shaladen shared rapport. You use your soul speak, and I haven’t been using the shaladen that way. I think also because right as the blast happened I shielded us… or tried to anyway. Got blown on my arse.”
“Then why are we both blind?”
“Deaf and blind are different things,” he answered. “They might be from different causes.”
“Okay, I follow. You think that thing in the lab is making us blind?”
“That and more,” he replied looking down the short corridor to where he knew Sarai and Gaea were. “I understand being temporarily deafened by a loud sound. This goes beyond that…”
“I heard you say Gaea was recovering. Maybe we should talk to her.”
He gestured her in. “Let’s go.”
Daena moved ahead but glanced back to where the other savants were. She let out a breath. “I know Wren and I have had our differences, but I think her Dad is good company. Her mom is nice too in her own thorny way.”
Thorny. That was good word for Euriel. “Yes. I respect them both.”
They stepped into the private infirmary just as Sarai and Octavia began struggling with Gaea.
“Mother,” Sarai growled, trying to hold Gaea’s shoulder down. “You need to heal more!”
“I do not,” Gaea snapped, trying to brush both their hands away. “We have an emergency, and I need to attend to it!”
“Mother,” Bannor said.
Both Octavia and Sarai looked up at his voice.
Gaea did too. Her eyes did not yet have the powerful glow that he had become accustomed to, but it was clear that she’d recovered a fair measure of her strength.
“Good,” Gaea said. “Bannor, tell them to unhand me. I have to—”
“No.”
The green mother blinked. “What?”
“Sarai, Octavia, please let go of Mother,” he said.
The two of them did as asked. “Mother, it’s very dangerous right now. Our defenses are down, if we’re attacked we don’t have any strength to defend you.”
“I know that!” Gaea growled, slapping a few strands of black hair away from her eyes. “I have to fix it, before they manage to get in here.”
Bannor frowned. “You mean you know there’s a threat?”
“Of course there is!” the goddess snapped. “They will know we’ve created something dangerous to them. They’d be on us already except the genemar is in isolation mode.”
“Was it supposed to blow up?”
“Don’t ask silly questions,” Gaea growled. “Get me down to that lab before Marna or someone else does something foolish and gets themselves erased.”
“Erased?” He did not like the sound of that.
Sitting there on the examination table naked, green legs dangling over the side, Gaea huffed and folded her arms. “Well?”
Bannor let out a breath. “Octavia, make her some clothes. Daena and I will protect her.” As the mecha moved to do as he asked, Bannor frowned at the all-mother. “Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?”
“I was barely conscious earlier.”
He gritted his teeth. “Star, anything from your parents?”
She shook her head. “Jan and Rye told me they would look for them after the guards were in position.”
Octavia had Gaea lay back on the table. The artifice hummed and band of light played over the goddess’ body. A black body stocking shimmered into being, coating her copious figure.
Gaea sat up and pulled at the skin-tight fabric. She ran hand down over her full breasts and stomach. She started to push herself off the edge of the table and pursed her lips.
He stepped over and lifted her down off the table. He held her waist until it was apparent she could stand on her own. The goddess held onto his shoulder.
He glanced over his shoulder to Daena. “You don’t have any clue as to where they might have gone?”
Brow furrowed, Daena shook her head.
He felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He wasn’t ready to panic yet though. “Damn,” he said, rubbing his forehead.
“I’ve been wracking my brain,” Sarai said. “I don’t remember anything on their itinerary.”
Brushing back her long black tresses, Gaea focused on Octavia, nodded to her and said, “thank you, Octavia.”
The mecha inclined her head. “Of course.”
“Okay, let’s go,” he looked down to Gaea. “You good?”
The goddess acknowledged by gesturing to the door.
He put the green-mother’s hand on his arm and they walked back out to the main infirmary area, Sarai, Daena, and Octavia following.
“Let me stop by my children before we leave,” Gaea said.
Bannor walked Gaea over to Wren, who came and hugged the green mother. Gaea looked at the three savants for a few moments. She put a hand on each of their chests. She glanced back to Octavia.
“Octavia,”
The mecha raised her chin.
“It’s Marna’s bodies,” Gaea said.
“Pardon?”
“Their tao force is being blocked. That’s why they are not accepting treatment.”
Wysteri looked over, eyes widening. “Rejection?”
“Yes,” Gaea said. “They lost consciousness before they could free their taos. However, the body lock makes it look to the tao as if the body is dead. So, they are not rebinding.” She rubbed Wren’s shoulder. “I would tell you to get their old bodies and rebind them, but with them unconscious, there’s no easy way to do that. I would make the adjustments you did on Bannor’s ascendant body, and remove the locks. You should at least be able to improve their condition.”
She walked over to Loric, the circle of his family parted to let her close. She placed a hand on great mage’s head. After a few moments she pursed her lips and looked back to Cassandra. She stepped over and leaned close to the gold mage, putting a hand on her back. “I am sorry Cassiopia, he has fled this body.”
The woman’s ebony eyes opened wide. “What?”
Gaea let out a breath and nodded. “That is just a shell, there is little more than a monitor spirit left within that husk. Just enough to keep it alive should that form somehow survive the threat it was under.”
Cassandra’s jaw dropped. She looked at Loric. “Where is he then?”
Gaea shrugged. “I know not, but there is still a strong enough binding that you can follow his spirit thread to wherever it is he has gone. You do know magicks that can accomplish this, yes?”
The gold woman swallowed and nodded.
“I recommend you do so quickly before you cannot trace him. I think he will respond to treatment much better after you have rejoined spirit and body.”
Tears welled in Cassandra’s eyes. “Yes!” She threw her arms around Gaea and hugged her. “Thank you! Thank you!”
The goddess hugged the Felspar matriarch, patting her on the back. “Hurry now.”
“Yes, yes, of course.” Cassandra pushed back and wiped at her eyes.
Gaea turned and walked gingerly back to Bannor and took his arm. “Let us see Czar, and then we shall leave.”
He walked her over to the eternal. She placed a hand on his chest. After a few moments, she looked up. “It is the same with Czar, this body must be returned to eternity’s heart and his host crystal. It is the only way he can be reanim
ated.”
“Spankin’ great,” Tal muttered. “We can’t move spit right now.”
“I will lift the etherlock in a short while,” Gaea said. “However, our enemies will no doubt be waiting to pounce as soon as I lift it.”
Megan rubbed the bridge of her nose. “More good news.”
The green mother sighed and patted the winged warrior on the arm in sympathy.
“I don’t understand,” dark-haired Terra demanded. “If we weren’t attacked, what the frell happened down there?”
“Walk with us,” Gaea said. “I will tell you on the way.” She looked up to Bannor and put a hand on his arm.
He nodded and escorted her out of the infirmary and into corridor. Tal, Terra, Megan, Daena, and Sarai trailed after them. With more space in the broad corridor, the husband and wife shaladen team flanked them on either side.
The all-mother was slowly regaining her strength, Bannor saw her steps becoming firmer and more sure. The resiliency and recuperative powers of the body Octavia designed continued to prove themselves.
As she walked, Gaea tilted her head back. She let out a heavy sigh. She glanced first at Terra, then Tal, and back to Megan. “I must apologize. The accident and fault are mine.” She rubbed her face. “I knew the enchantments, but I am not versed in doing things as a creature of flesh.” She closed her eyes and shook her head, obviously remembering the moments before the accident. “They were looking to me for guidance. I am the eldest, I should have known.”
“Spit it out, Ma,” Tal said. “What happened?”
She let out a breath. “The final bindings require a great deal of energy. I had everyone secure the ishtite-isotopes that the recovery team brought from Starholme. They were placed as far from the coven circle as possible, but I didn’t have them taken out of the lab. I under-estimated the subpath interactions. When we started the final sealing, the magical reflections caused some of the volatile casting materials to react. The explosion of the catalytic magic was interpreted by the genemar as an attack and it reflected the power into the surrounding subpaths, and performed a phase shift—which when done underground affected the entire citadel structure.” Her hand tightened on Bannor’s arm. They walked a ways in silence as the whole corridor seemed to grow cold to her mood. “It happened so fast, there was really no way to stop it; especially as slow and clumsy as I am now.”
Reality's Plaything 5: The Infinity Annihilator Page 30
