Aimee stepped up and hugged Vodu, feeling him pat his hand on her back. She could smell the plant beside his bed. Something sweet. Something citrusy. Maybe it wasn’t so bad. Maybe it would bring him health.
"Take care of him for me," he whispered near her ear.
Aimee hugged a little tighter. "I will."
One last embrace with Chara brought water to the woman's eyes. Seeking composure, she blinked away the momentary weakness. "Stay healthy," she ordered in a quiet voice.
Zak had a hand on Aimee’s shoulder as he urged her out into the hall where Selmak waited with his arms crossed.
"No time for testing," he rushed. "They want you back there NOW."
As they moved brusquely through the Jay-nine, Aimee had the sinking feeling that she would be back to this ghostly satellite very soon.
And it wouldn't be to visit.
* * *
The JOH met them just outside the double-doors, his blue face straining to catch a glimpse between them as the barricades rolled shut.
"Aren’t you allowed in there?" Aimee questioned. "Don't they need computers too?"
"Computer?" Black eyebrows vaulted. "Why do you keep mentioning computers? I have heard of them, but not actually seen one." His eyes volleyed around.
"Ah, never mind."
"What is so urgent?" Zak injected. "I need to get to the deck. I need a status update on the remaining personnel and their capacity to work."
"Salvan said—"
"Salvan?" Zak's voice grew loud. "You hauled me away from Vodu's deathbed to do Salvan’s bidding? I do not have time for, nor do I care about what Salvan says."
They were back in the main ship, moving at a fast clip to keep up with Zak's long stride.
"It's not just Salvan,” JOH pleaded, floating closer to Aimee. “Raja confirmed his request. She said you must get back there now."
"Is it a matter of life or death,” she probed, “or can I go speak with Raja, while Zak checks on the deck?"
Zak flashed her a look of gratitude.
JOH wavered, slowing their progress. "They said to get you both."
"Korons have been in the area." Zak pointed out. "We’re all going to die anyway if a band of their ships are hiding in our wake. I have to get to the bridge, JOH."
JOH's eyes went flat. "There is no positive scan for Koron ships in our vicinity."
Zak tipped his head back in frustration. "That was an example."
"Look," Aimee cut in. "There is no time for debate. I will go see what is so urgent and you can check in on the deck. If anything, at least I will be able to delay them for a few minutes while you get things in order. If it's truly an emergency I'll have JOH come get you."
Zak stared at her. "Would now be an inappropriate time to tell you that I have strong feelings for you?"
In her periphery Aimee noticed JOH spin around to offer privacy.
"I don't want to split up with you,” Zak cut off her response. “With all the chaos going on, I don’t want to chance letting you out of my sight."
"Because you have strong feelings for me?" she grinned.
Relaxing only slightly, he said, "I'm serious, Aimee."
She sobered. "I know. And I'm serious that I will be fine. You need to go see to the Horus, Zak. I will talk to you as soon as I find out what’s happening in the Bio Ward. You know I'll yell real loud if it's critical."
She stepped up to him and without either considering it, his arms were around her and he dipped to kiss her. She wanted to lock out everything and kiss him like this for hours, but he drew back, just out of reach.
"We're going to have a very long talk later," he whispered against her forehead, pressing his lips to the small bruise there.
She felt her stomach go queasy and it had nothing to do with a disease and everything to do with his husky declaration.
"You keep him with you at all times,” he nodded at JOH. “I will contact you through him as soon as I get to the deck."
The JOH spun around and teetered in the air before righting itself.
"Oh good," he prattled. "Something other than blood test results volleying around. I look forward to assisting you, Zak."
Zak frowned at the device and then looked Aimee in the eye. He packed a lot into that powerful gaze.
"Be careful," she whispered, her throat catching as if she had swallowed a sock.
Watching his eyes trace her hair and then dip down her body, lingering before they hiked back up to hers, Aimee had the uneasy feeling that he was committing her to memory. She didn't like that. It reeked of a farewell.
"I'll talk to you shortly." Was all he said before he turned away.
Straining to catch the last glimpse of his broad shoulders as he disappeared into the transport shaft, she struggled to breath.
She missed him already.
Chapter Fourteen
JOH started off, his tinny voice calling, "Come on, Aimeeeee."
"But JOH, the Bio Ward is the other way." She hesitated until he finally slowed and whirled around.
"We are being called to the private science labs."
"By who? Raja said we were needed in the Bio Ward, immediately."
JOH’s eyes flat-lined as he searched for the source. His eyes bounced back open.
"It is Raja. They are conducting some tests in the X-jen lab. They have a lead and they need to confirm that you are still healthy."
"They found something?" Aimee started to jog to catch up with him.
"Yes, yes. That is what she is saying. She says to hurry!"
JOH was flying so fast now Aimee had to sprint to keep up. But if it meant that a cure was in sight, she could understand his enthusiasm. Hah, an enthusiastic computer, who would have thought? Oh right...he wasn’t a computer.
The halls were empty. Murals and rooms sped by her without a chance for them to form a conscious impression in her brain. JOH came to a halt so suddenly, Aimee nearly crashed into him.
"We're here."
She looked up at the wall and had to slow down her respiration in order to phase everything out and bring the images into clarity. There was the door, but the interior must have either had the lock thrown or it was a high security chamber. More likely the latter.
JOH tried to open the room remotely, but was unsuccessful. Aimee swept her arm in the air to draw the panel ajar, but she too failed.
"Is Raja still talking to you?"
JOH's eyes slipped into horizontal lines and then popped up. "She is coming."
Aimee felt a pinch in her shoulder. It felt like a bee sting. There were no bees on the Horus. She slapped her hand over it, but her arm fell limp to her side. Her legs started to buckle and the ground rushed up. Before she hit the floor, she felt arms scoop her up. The chest that her cheek was pressed against possessed a red glow. She tried to look up at the face, but all she could tell was that this was a male physique.
It wasn't Zak. This man was in silver.
"Okay, JOH. You are not needed anymore."
Aimee started. It was Salvan. She struggled in his grasp, but her limbs had numbed to the point of being useless.
"But Zak said I was to stay with Aimee at all times, Raja."
Raja?
“JOH?” Her voice was weak. “JOH, that’s not Raja!”
Salvan juggled her, trying to clap his hand over her mouth. “JOH, she is very sick. The disease has brought on deliria. I have already notified Zak of the situation.”
Aimee could see JOH’s eyes turn into slits as he searched to verify if that was true or not. In that moment of vulnerability, Salvan slipped inside a doorway and locked it. A faint whirr could be heard as JOH attempted to open the door electronically.
“He is going to tell Zak, and whatever it is you are trying to achieve here will be over.” Aimee fought his grip to no avail. There was no sensation left in her arms and legs, and it terrified her. “What have you done to me?”
"You've been given a serum to weaken the muscles of your extremities. If I were
to set you down right now your legs would not support you, so you might as well give up the dream of fleeing. And as far as that JOH is concerned...all he can report back is where he last saw Raja. You and I will be long gone."
Even as he stated this she was aware of him carrying her to the end of the empty chamber and passing through to the next. Her foot clipped a bed, but she knew this fact only by the sound. She couldn't feel it.
"How is it that JOH sees you as Raja?"
"Oh that. That is simple. JOH reads a chemical impression to establish identity, something you call DNA. I injected myself with Raja's DNA. It's extremely temporary. It fades quickly. If he were to see me now, he would be able to establish my proper identity. But he won't see me now," Salvan chuckled as Aimee's free arm slammed into a wall. She may not feel it now, but the way he struggled to carry her, she was definitely going to have bruises later...if she lived to see them.
"Why have you done this? What do you want from me?"
Salvan charged through another doorway. They were not traveling down the main corridors. He was zig-zagging through interior chambers, making it impossible to track him. But they wouldn't be tracking him, would they? They would be looking for Raja. Surely Zak would figure it out. Right?
Salvan grunted when he tried to readjust his hold on her. He didn't have muscles like Zak. Zak had carried her effortlessly through the forest.
Salvan entered a laboratory with diffused light pouring from phosphorescent tubes mounted beneath an elevated aluminum bed. He dumped Aimee on top of that cold surface. Through her suit, her back stung from the icy metal, yet her legs felt nothing. She struggled to sit and to slide her legs off, but her limbs refused to cooperate.
"Save your efforts. You aren't going anywhere. Unlike the chemical veil, your drug will last several hours. That gives me plenty of time."
"Dammit, Salvan, plenty of time for what?" Her heart pumped loud in her head.
Salvan grazed his hand against the wall and the room illuminated, bringing his silhouette into stark contrast. Emotionless eyes darted from her to the table, to the door, to the counter behind him, and volleyed back to her again. His ashen hair was knotted above his left ear as if he had been scratching there repeatedly. And his chest heaved from the effort of carrying her.
"Something interesting has happened, Aimee. It has been confirmed that there are only three cases of resistance to the disease on this ship. You, Gordeelum and Zak. I had a long chat with Gordeelum to ask exactly what contact he's had with both of you. He told me about your tutoring on the Tak wand." Salvan's lips twisted in distaste. "And I'm guessing from the way you and Zak were carrying on, that you have kissed him."
Aimee struggled to lift herself up by her elbows. Even that small feat was impossible. She laid prone and watched Salvan pace before her.
"I blame Vodu for all of this. When you first came aboard the Horus I wanted to dissect you to see if there was anything useful in your genetic composition...but no. He said, She's a mecaw, not a plant. So he let me test your blood and that was it."
Salvan reached up and scratched above his left ear, while staring at the floor. "But alas, it seems your saliva holds a compound that can battle our biggest enemy. Imagine that?"
What scared her the most was that he wasn't even talking to her. His gaze was keen, but introspective. Turning his back on her, he approached the counter and withdrew items from the glass-faced cabinets. Foreign instruments, the likes of which she had never seen, nonetheless, the context of their use could not be mistaken. They were meant to cut.
Salvan approached her with a long prod pulsing with blue light. "So you see, Aimee. Let your boyfriend come. He will be too late. He shouldn't mind you sacrificing yourself for the greater good of this ship."
"If it's my saliva, then can't I just spit in a cup or something?” Aimee's eyes bulged as she saw him approach with the device. It looked like a glowing knife-sharpener. “What is that?"
Glancing at the stick in his hand, he said, "This? This is used in surgery. It's a beam that will slice through flesh and bone seamlessly. Like a laser." He looked back at her with a grin. "Yes, a simple sample of your saliva should be enough for our scientists to create a serum, but think about all the potential treats that lay inside that beautiful body of yours. It is my obligation to the citizens of the Horus to research the possibilities."
Aimee tried to withdraw from the advancing instrument, but she could no longer even wiggle a finger. She used the only piece of her anatomy that still worked. She screamed for all she was worth.
With a sense of pleasure she noticed Salvan wince as his eyes darted towards the door, but his glance returned, along with a smug smirk. "Everyone is in the Bio Ward, Aimee. No one remains in this wing. Scream all you want. You will stop in a minute."
The prod neared her abdomen. It looked like a sharp icicle, and the man who possessed it was a blonde grim reaper. She screamed again as tears started to stream from the corners of her eyes.
Mama. Daddy. I miss you. Zak, I—
Her eyes clamped shut, awaiting that first incision, praying that her stomach was as numb as the rest of her.
There was a loud clatter, like a thunderclap, as a billow of air washed over her. At her side, the sharp point of heat pierced through the fabric of her suit and she screamed again—this time from pain.
Roused by the sound of combat, Aimee could not twist her body to locate the skirmish. She heard the distinct smack of fist against bone as the battle shifted. And then she saw him.
Zak.
Salvan swayed and nearly collapsed forward against Zak’s drawn gun.
A woman cried, “No, Zak. We don’t kill our own.”
Aimee could see Zak’s eyes now. She could read his dark thoughts. I am not one of you.
He holstered his weapon on the black belt at his waist, and instead, settled for the force of his fist. Salvan went down with a thud.
Zak was at her side. "Aimee!”
She had enough feeling to sense his arms slip around her, and his lips trace against her cheek. "If I had been a minute later..." his voice was hoarse.
Aimee searched his face to assure that it was really Zak and not Salvan playing some sort of freakish genetic trick. But she recognized the familiar golden eyes filled with angst. Worry aged Zak, making him look more rugged—a man you would not wish to cross.
"Zak?" She wanted nothing more than to throw her arms around him. "I can't move."
Zak slipped his arm under her knees and then reached around her back, pulling her to his chest. She felt weightless in his grasp.
His grin was tight. “That’s because Salvan is too much of a coward to face you without an advantage. He knew you’d overpower him.”
She let loose a smug chuckle. “Damn right I would.”
“Damn right,” he repeated.
He turned around with her in his arms and now she could see the inert figure on the floor. Raja leaned over Salvan, performing a scan with one of her instruments. She looked up at Aimee with a weary smile. Raja’s face bore a tint of jaundice and her midsection glowed bright. "I'm so glad we made it here in time. He was just about to—"
"Raja, it's my saliva. It can save you!"
Raja stood up and cast a disgusted look down at Salvan. "Yes. We realize that now. Don't worry. I'm not going to drop right here in front of you. I have time. Enough time to work with the other scientists on a serum. Aimee—" her voice was ragged, "you may save us all."
Water welled up in Raja's eyes.
Aimee saw the desperation there—the raw desperation of a woman grasping for hope.
"Take what you need," Aimee encouraged. "Hurry."
Swiping at her eye with the back of her hand, Raja then reached towards the cabinet. Her toe clipped against Salvan’s leg and she stumbled. After righting herself, she extracted an apparatus that resembled a vial.
"Is he dead?" Aimee asked Zak.
"No,” Zak shook his head. “He'll be out for a while. The guards will come
take him away, but we have to wait. There are fewer guards in action than normal."
"Here." Raja approached with the vial in hand. "As much as you can possibly spit up. We only need a little bit." She held the jar out to Aimee.
Trauma had left Aimee's mouth dry. It was a feat to produce any saliva on demand. Clamping her lips shut, she relaxed and felt some liquid pool in the back of her throat. Working it up to the tip of her tongue, she leaned over as if she was in the dentist’s chair. Now spit.
Raja grabbed the vial. Azure eyes widened. “This is going to work. I just know it,” she enthused. “I gave you something to accelerate the sensation in your arms and legs. You’ll be back on your feet shortly.”
She glanced down at Salvan with antipathy. “Zak, you’ll watch him until the guards arrive?”
“He’s not going anywhere,” Zak affirmed.
“Okay.” Raja looked anxious. “I will communicate with you shortly.”
As she watched Raja leave, Aimee thought she should feel awkward just hanging around in Zak’s arms, but his heat and the solid thud of his heart proved reassuring.
“You can set me back down. It may be awhile before I can stand on my own.” Her grin felt strained.
“Maybe I like holding you.”
Aimee looked up into his eyes. “How did you know? How did you know where to find me?”
Zak stepped back to the elevated bed and set her down on it. He swung her legs over the edge and propped her up as he sat down beside her, settling her against his shoulder.
“That JOH that I left with you traveled all the way up to the deck to personally deliver his message. He felt that his system might have been compromised and did not want to share the information via the network. And then he told me that Raja had kidnapped you and that you were very sick.” Zak reached between them and linked his hand with hers. “That image didn’t make sense. I tracked Raja down in the Bio Ward, and with Salvan missing—it didn’t take much to conclude what happened to you.”
Beyond : Series Bundle (9781311505637) Page 18
