“In a manner of speaking, yes,” Doc said. “The knife blade was coated with a poison unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It entered her blood stream and began acting like an acid, eating away at everything it touched. Her heart is all but destroyed, as are the veins and arteries that the poison got to before I slowed down her circulation. I’ve got her on a machine right now that’s pumping new blood into her, bypassing her heart. The poison is still working its way through her, though I’ve slowed it down some. She doesn’t have much time left.”
“Will transforming her save her?” Gray asked.
“To be honest, I don’t really know,” Doc said. “If she could regenerate the damage the poison is doing, that would help, but whether or not a Jasani body is capable of neutralizing this poison, I just don’t know.”
“Test it,” Tristan said. “Test it on me. Right now.”
“Don’t think I wouldn’t,” Doc said. “But there isn’t time, Tristan. She’s got minutes, not hours. I’ve bio-electrically isolated most of the pain centers in her brain and neutralized the medications we gave her to keep her unconscious. She’ll wake up in a minute or two. You have about that much time to talk to her, then she’ll slip into a coma. She won’t wake up again. If you’re going to do anything, you best do it quick.”
Tristan nodded. He felt his brothers’ shock, grief, and fear, but he blocked them from his mind as much as he could. Faith did not have time for their emotions. He stood up and left the waiting room, moving as fast as he could. If Faith had only minutes left, he didn’t intend to waste a single second of it.
***
Faith opened her eyes slowly, the confusion in her mind so thick it made her dizzy. She blinked, trying to focus. At first all she saw was bright light, then she realized she was looking up at a white ceiling. She heard humming, and focused on it. Machines? She frowned and started to raise her head. The pain that had been floating at the edge of her consciousness, vague and distant, was suddenly very sharp and very real. She gasped softly, tears springing to her eyes. She was no stranger to intense pain, but that didn’t make it any easier to accept.
“Don’t move,” Tristan said as he bent over her, a dark shadow. She focused and his features slowly began to clear.
“What happened?” she asked, her voice coming out in a whisper.
“You were attacked, stabbed,” Tristan said.
Faith struggled to remember. It took a few moments, then the memories came back to her in reverse order, as though she was watching an old entertainment vid backwards. “Eric,” she breathed.
She didn’t notice Tristan’s start of surprise.
“How bad?” she asked.
“Bad,” Tristan said, his voice tight. “Very bad.”
Faith thought about that. She’d avoided death so many times that she’d often wondered if it was her fate to die young, as Grace had, and she’d been keeping one step ahead of it by pure luck. Apparently, her luck had run out.
She saw the fear in Tristan’s eyes, and felt tears sting her own in sympathy. She didn’t want them to be hurt, and tried to tell herself this would be better for them. Maybe one day they would find a woman that was whole. One who could give them children.
“It doesn’t have to be this way,” Tristan said, reading the acceptance and resignation in her eyes.
“Don’t worry,” Faith said. “I’m okay with this. I’ve been shot, stabbed, burned, raped. I’ve had enough, Tristan. Honestly.”
“You haven’t had enough good, Faith,” he argued. “Let us give you that. Don’t give up.”
“It’s too late,” Faith said tiredly.
“No, it’s not, not yet,” Tristan said. “There’s still a chance.”
“What chance?” Faith asked, only mildly curious. Her body was beginning to feel light, almost transparent. It was an interesting sensation and her attention kept drifting toward it.
“We can transform you,” Tristan said.
“Transform?” she asked, confused.
“Make you our Arima in truth,” Tristan said. “It will change you, and save your life.”
“It’s too big of a sacrifice for you if it doesn’t work,” she said, her attention now almost entirely focused on the floaty, bodiless sensation. “I can’t let you take that risk.”
“Please, Faith,” Tristan said, begging now. “Let us do this. We love you. We need you here, with us. Give us permission to do this, Faith. Please.”
Faith forced herself to focus on Tristan this one last time. “I’m so tired, Tristan. So tired of running. Of being scared. Being hurt. But I’m not afraid of this. Not any more. It’s all right. You guys will find someone else.”
“If you die, we will die,” Tristan said. Faith smiled sadly at him, and he realized she didn’t believe him. He wished they’d just told her about themselves rather than giving her that damned book to read, but it was too late now. She truly did not know what would happen to them without her.
“Take care of Bubbles for me,” she said. “Promise?”
Tristan nodded, unable to speak around the lump in his throat.
“I love you,” she said, her voice so low now that he heard it only because of his falcoran hearing. “All three of you.” Her eyes closed gently and her body relaxed.
Tristan looked up at Gray and Jon who stood on the other side of the bed, then he turned to see Doc and Darlene near the door. “If you will excuse us, Doc, we’d like privacy for what we are about to do.”
Doc let out a relieved breath. He understood what they were going to do, and approved wholeheartedly. “I’ll be outside if you need anything,” he said before leaving with Darlene at his side.
“She refused,” Jon pointed out.
“Not specifically,” Tristan argued. “She didn’t say no.”
“She didn’t say yes, either.”
“You told me once that you would never give up on her,” Tristan said. “Did you mean it?”
“Of course I meant it,” Jon replied, his eyes never leaving Faith’s face.
“I don’t plan to give up either,” Tristan said.
“You would do this against her will?” Gray asked in surprise.
“It’s not against her will,” Tristan argued. “She just doesn’t understand. She hasn’t read enough of that damned book yet, and thinks it will be too big of a risk for us if it doesn’t work. We have one chance at happiness, all four of us. I’m taking it. If she refuses to forgive us, fine. Better a world in which she hates us than a world in which she doesn’t exist at all.”
Gray and Jon looked up and met his gaze. He felt the exact moment each of them decided to go along with him, but set his relief aside. They had no time. Faith had no time.
“Get over here,” he said to Jon as he shifted closer to the head of the bed. He slid his hand beneath Faith’s neck and raised it up, causing her head to tilt back, baring her throat. He looked to see that both Gray and Jon held one of her wrists to their mouths. He nodded, then bent down and slid his mating fangs into the thin, pale skin of her throat and released the serum that he hoped would save her life. At the exact same moment his brothers slid their fangs into her wrists, and suddenly Tristan sensed them in a way he never had before. He felt the serum leave their fangs as clearly as he felt his own, and knew exactly when they’d injected enough. He felt his brothers sense his decision and withdraw when he did. They flicked their tongues gently over the tiny pin pricks in her skin to close them, then stood up and looked at each other in surprise.
“Is that what it’s like to be soul-linked?” Gray asked.
“I think that was a small taste of what it’s like,” Tristan said. “Only through this woman will we ever experience it fully.”
“Do you think she will forgive us for doing this?” Jon asked.
“Yes, I do,” Tristan said. It might take a while, but eventually she would forgive them. She was too soft hearted to hold a grudge for long. “Jon, why don’t you go call Doc back in. Let’s see what we can expect from he
re on.”
Jon left, returning a moment later with Doc, Darlene, Loni and Ran Katre. “They know more about the transformation process than I do,” Doc said, explaining the Katres’ presence.
“We’ve read all the reports,” Tristan said. “I’m uncertain if the amount of damage her body has sustained will effect the length of time it will take for her body to regenerate.”
“Maybe,” Doc said. “Lariah Dracon and Saige Lobo were both injured before their transformation. Berta Falcoran was poisoned. None of them were in as bad a shape as this young woman, though. It may take longer for the first stage to complete. It may not. Or, it is possible that regeneration will not be enough to stop the poison. You gotta remember that each clan has different DNA, so each Arima will have a slightly different experience.”
Tristan nodded, accepting that, for the most part, they were dealing with the unknown. “We have enough Water magic to put her into a deep sleep for the second stage, the way the Dracons did for Lariah. My question is, should we maintain that sleep while we perform the final stage?”
Loni, Doc, Ran, and even Darlene stared at him in shocked disapproval. “Why would you consider doing that?” Loni asked, frowning.
“Because she was raped,” Darlene said, her voice calm though she suddenly tightened her hand on Doc’s to the point of pain.
“You fear she will refuse you?” Ran said.
“No,” Tristan said. “I fear she will be further traumatized. Darlene, we must know what you think on this. Please.”
“I’m going to ask you a very personal question,” Darlene said.
Tristan nodded. “I will do my best to answer you.”
“Have you had sex with Faith?”
“Yes, but not in the way that the soul-link triad requires,” Tristan replied.
“I don’t think you should do this without at least discussing it with her first,” Darlene said. “It’s not just the sex, either. Linking her permanently to the three of you must be her choice.”
“Then we will give her that choice,” Tristan said.
“Once the mating fever hits, she will die if you do not complete the ritual,” Ran reminded him.
“We will not allow her to die,” he said. “The soul-link triad may not be the only means of getting her through the mating fever.”
Ran started to object, but a tiny shake of the head from Loni stilled his tongue. It was possible that the Falcorans knew something he did not. He supposed. Either way, it was their decision to make
“By the way, the man who attacked her is Eric Kick,” Tristan said. Gray and Jon were both shocked by that bit of information, but everyone else was only curious.
“It’s a long story,” Tristan said. “Essentially, the man’s sister has spent the last couple of years trying to kill Faith for catching them stealing from a museum. Eric killed a police officer and a civilian before being caught and arrested. He should be in prison. All of his accomplices, as well as his sister, are now dead. That makes the first question, how the hell did he get free?”
“The second question is, how the hell did he get on the Eyrie?” Gray added.
“The third question is, what the hell is the poison on that knife, and where did he get it?” Doc put in.
“I can’t help but wonder if the Xanti have a part in this,” Ran said. “That’s probably a stretch, though.”
“I’m not so sure,” Tristan said thoughtfully. “Though Eric was captured, the rest of them got away with a large number of valuable antiques worth millions. The Xanti have been known to involve themselves in such matters for the right price, and I believe this man had just exactly the right amount of cash.”
“We will take excellent care of him until you are ready to ask him your questions,” Loni said. “On that you need have no concern.”
“Thank you,” Tristan said. He turned his attention back to Faith, then glanced up at the diagnostic panel on the wall above her head. There were so many lights and diagrams he could make no sense of it. He turned to Doc.
“It looks like its working,” Doc said as he studied the panel. “There’s no further damage, and her heart is healing rapidly. We need to remove the bypass, but we’ll have to time it carefully.”
He moved up next to the bed, and Gray stepped back out of the way. Darlene took Tristan’s place and the two of them began working with the different tubes and machines connected to Faith, their eyes intent on the scanner screen. Everyone else stood quietly, waiting.
“Now,” Doc said, breaking the silence. Darlene hit a switch and Doc withdrew a pair of long lines from Faith’s chest. The Falcorans watched tensely, not breathing as they waited to see what would happen. It was a very long twenty seconds before Doc nodded his head and turned to them. “It’s working,” he said. “She’s off the bypass, and her heart is working fine. She’s got a ways to go, but she’s gotten through the worst of it already, and she’s neutralized the poison.”
The Falcorans’ relief was palpable, causing everyone in the room to smile, even the usually stoic Loni Katre.
“If you’d like to take her to a room that is more comfortable for you, that’s fine,” Doc said. “There isn’t anything further I can do for her, and she’s out of the woods.”
“You are returning to the Vyand?” Tristan asked.
“I’d prefer to stay here, just in case,” Doc said. “If you’ve got a room I can use, that is.”
“Of course,” Tristan said with obvious relief. “We’ll have a steward show you to a guest room at once. Anything at all that you need, just ask and it will be provided.”
“Thanks,” Doc said. “Vox me if you need me, or have any questions.”
Gray called for a steward to show Doc to a room, then watched as Tristan lifted Faith from the table after Darlene covered her with a light blanket. As soon as Faith was in Tristan’s arms, Bubbles leapt from Gray’s shoulder to his so she could be closer to Faith.
They left the infirmary, Gray walking in front of Tristan to block anyone’s view of Faith, Jon guarding their backs. Tristan chose not to move fast, determined to be particularly careful with her in his arms. He stopped at the elevators, glancing only once at the car they’d found Faith in. There was an Out of Order sign on it.
“Gray,” he said as they entered the elevator car next to it. “I don’t want that car running again.”
“I’ve already ordered that it be cleansed of her blood, then dismantled and sent through the airlock,” Gray said. “We don’t have a replacement in storage, so we’ll have to make do with three elevators for the duration of this voyage.”
Tristan had no objection to that. If anyone dared to complain, they’d be ordered to use the stairs. The doors opened and they exited, walking up the corridor quickly. They passed Faith’s door, then Tristan’s, stopping only when they reached the door at the far end of the corridor. Gray unlocked it and pushed it open, revealing a room much larger than any other sleeping compartment on the Eyrie. It was furnished with an enormous bed, a larger table and more dressers and closets. It also had a private bathroom with an extra large shower, a jetted tub the size of a small pool, and four sinks. This room was designed specifically for four people; a male-set and their mate, or Arima.
Gray turned on the lights as Jon went ahead to turn the covers back on the bed. Tristan laid Faith down, sliding his arms out from beneath her as gently as he could. They stood watching her for a long moment, then Tristan reached out to her with Water magic. Relieved to discover that she was still healing, he withdrew and tried to decide what to do next.
“I’d like to clean her up a little,” Jon said. “She’s still covered in her own blood.”
“Good idea,” Tristan said. “You get some warm washcloths, I’ll run down to her room and get some of her things. Gray, you stay here and don’t take your eyes off of her. I don’t want her left alone for any reason.”
Gray nodded, and Tristan turned and left the room at high speed. As soon as he entered Faith’s room, Bubbles
leapt to the floor and walked over to her litter box. Tristan opened a few drawers until he found a nightgown, then went into the bathroom for her toiletries. He found her duffle in the closet and tossed everything into it, then went looking for Bubbles’ food. He gathered Bubbles’ bed and litter box together, picked up the duffle and called Bubbles to his shoulder.
“It’s going to be all right,” he said to the raktsasa who seemed sad and droopy. The connection to Faith while she’d endured such trauma was wearing on Bubbles’ strength. He’d promised to take care of her, and so far he hadn’t.
He left Faith’s room, locked it behind him, and hurried back. The moment he opened the door his eyes went to Faith. “Gray, call the kitchen, ask them to send up some food for Bubbles. She hasn’t eaten since lunch and that was hours ago.”
Gray tapped his vox and made the call, tense with the realization that they had not seen to the raktsasa’s care at all. Faith would be angry with them for that, and rightly so.
“It’s coming right up,” he said after disconnecting.
Tristan nodded, taking Faith’s things from the duffle and carrying them into the bathroom. Jon set out Bubbles’ box and put her bed on top of a dresser, then returned to Faith’s side. He picked up a warm wet cloth from the bedside table and began washing the dried blood from Faith’s hands. Gray picked up another cloth, got onto the bed on her other side, and did the same. It took a while since the blood had dried, but eventually they got her clean..
Jon went to answer the soft knock at the door announcing Bubbles’ food. She didn’t eat with her usual enthusiasm, but she ate. When she was finished, Tristan put her on the bed next to Faith. She crawled up to Faith’s shoulder and curled up in the crook of her neck.
Tristan stood at the side of the bed, trying to decide whether Faith would be more upset if they changed her clothes while she was out, or if it would be better to wait. Just as he made up his mind to at least remove her jeans, her eyes opened.
***
Faith was confused. She remembered the conversation she’d had with Tristan. She remembered the pain, though most of it was, thankfully, distant. She remembered the gentle, floating sensation she’d had before the world went dark.
The Falcoran’s Faith Page 29
