cosmicshifts

by Crymsyn Hart

  Herman whispered. “I know you want to get her, but you’re going to have to trust me. Follow and stay behind me. Understand?”

  “Yes.” Phillip flexed his fingers and forced the beast into its cage in his mind. It was like wrestling a bear, but he made sure the beast was in the back and waited for Herman.

  Chapter Six

  Herman glanced once more at Phillip. The other male wrestled with holding his other self back because he wanted to rush in and free the green skinned female lying on the examination table. He had to act quickly to get her out of there while there was only one scientist. Herman stared at the tabletop and shook at the memories that enveloped him: being strapped to that table and enduring the probing of the needles because scientists had to study him to see if he had different anatomy than the other Yetans had because he could switch his form. Cold fear had overtaken him in those moments. Herman had cried out for his mother. The first change had come over him at nine when his friend had been hurt. He hadn’t understood what had happened to him. All he knew was he had a duty to help his friend. Herman had healed Urmaran, but at the cost of losing everything. After that incident, his father had him examined by the scientists. The head of the Institute of Science was a ruthless Yetan who wanted nothing more than to advance his career. When they were done with him, Herman remembered not long after another craft fell from the sky. He had snuck into the viewing room and saw an alien on the table being tortured and studied exactly the same way the green female was.

  It had to stop.

  Her cries filled his heart and sparked the healing instinct within him. The longer he waited, the more Phillip was in danger of transforming back into his other form. He curled his hands into fists and stood straighter. He might have been an outcast, but he was still the prince and that had some weight.

  Herman pushed open the door to the laboratory. The other scientist spun around to confront him. “What are you doing here?”

  “What exactly are you doing to this poor creature? Can’t you see that she’s in pain?” Herman walked over to Alika and flashed her a small smile. He wasn’t sure exactly how much she could see because her eyes were clouded over with drugs and one was milky white where they had blinded her. The agony radiated off her like heat. She had been bandaged in some places, but he sensed she was dying. There had been some internal damage done either from the crash or from what they had inflicted upon her. She didn’t have much time. If her anatomy was the same as Elarna’s then it would take him several sessions to be sure all of her wounds were healed.

  “I-I…I was told to finish the tests before we disposed of her. We are almost done with her. Then she will be taken for vivisection.”

  Herman held in his temper. He rushed around the table and began undoing the metal cuffs that held the alien down. As he undid each restraint, he noticed bruises laced over her flesh. He glanced up at Phillip and saw him shaking. He tried to hurry. The scientist sputtered as Herman took off the last manicle and found a sheet to wrap Alika in. Her long, purple hair spilled over his arm as he held her close to him. His body tingled as he mentally took stock of her injuries. One of her hearts was injured, but both remained beating. One of her lungs wasn‘t working, and there were various drugs within her bloodstream. They had tampered with her reproductive organs.

  “This is inhumane. I don’t care about your orders. I’m returning her to her cell to give her the proper care that she needs.” Herman walked out of the laboratory and back into the viewing room. Sweat dripped down Phillip’s face. They had little time before he transformed back into his other form.

  Phillip reached out to Alika. “Is she…?” He choked up with emotion.

  Herman felt for the other man, knowing he loved the female. He could see it in his pained expression and how he held out his arms for her even. “She needs a lot of healing, and that means we have to get her out of here. Come on.” He slipped out another door concealed in the viewing room he knew wasn’t guarded. He pressed a code into the door to open it and slipped through. Phillip came with him. A small sigh of relief passed over his lips, knowing that they had made it past one small obstacle. There were bigger hurdles still coming. He turned and observed the small room. He gazed down at the viewing room. He held in a growl and stepped into the greater room, his parents’ chambers. He laid the female on the heaps of luxurious hides his parents slept in.

  “We can’t stay here,” he insisted. Phillip knelt beside her.

  “I know, but she’s in no condition to go anywhere. If we move her too much she’s going to die. I have to stabilize her before we head back out into the cold.” Herman laid his hands on Alika and tried to substantiate which were her worse wounds. The most life threatening were the drugs in her system. They were shutting down her organs slowly and compromised her immune system. A virus had been injected into her bloodstream. It left a copper taste on the back of his tongue. The heat flowing through him was something he had to focus into her. Getting the drugs out of her was problematic and dangerous. The only way he could do it was to make her sweat them out. Once he cleared her system out, he could work on making sure she was whole.

  “Can you help her?” Phillip kissed Alika’s left hand. She muttered something in her native tongue.

  “I can try. Go in the other room and let me know if you see anyone coming in.”

  Phillip hesitated, but then he left Alika’s side. Herman closed his eyes and focused on the toxins within her blood. He concentrated on raising her body temperature. It caused her two hearts to beat quicker. She began to pant, but soon she was sweating the poisons out. They turned the hides pale blue. He felt the dirtiness and grittiness of it all within him as well. His body warmed up as he fought through the changes within her metabolism and tried to keep her alive too. Alika cried out. He gritted his teeth from the amount of energy he expended. Perspiration ran down his nose and his hands.

  “Herman, someone’s coming.” Phillip warned, but he hardly heard him.

  The other man thundered into the other room. He tried not to panic, but his heart sped up and Alika’s raced as well. If he pulled out now, he would hurt her. There was nothing he could do to stop working on her now. If he could get the drugs from her body she would have a chance and he could focus on balancing her other systems out.

  “Heragthan, what are you doing here?” The high pitched voice made him look up to see his mother had entered the room. Phillip stood behind her with the cloak thrown back over his head. “What are you doing w-with th-that she alien?”

  “Mother, I’m saving her life. It’s hard to explain. They were treating her horribly. I had to come. I was called here. You know I don’t have any control over it at times.”

  His mother walked over and touched Alika’s face. He saw the sympathy in her eyes. The hair along her crown had been braided with small chevrons. The top of her pelt had been dyed brown to accentuate her eyes. Other trinkets had been woven along her chest into something of a shirt to cover her breasts, and the charms jingled when she walked. Smattered among her fur he noticed the silver hairs, but he also sensed something else. She was pregnant once more. She was too old to be having children.

  “Oh, Mother,” he said.

  Her eyes widened, and she trailed her fingers over her stomach. “It was a surprise. You know your father.”

  “I do.”

  “Then you know he’ll kill you for treason for interfering with the alien. I can’t have that happen to you. Please leave her be before the alarm goes off.”

  Herman shook his head. “You know I can’t do that. She needs medical attention. Did father tell you that she is also with child?”

  His mother’s eyes widened, and small moan slipped from her, her way of showing sympathy for the alien female. He glanced at Phillip who seemed stunned and then anger filled his eyes. Herman saw his skin rippling. He hadn’t known about the child. Herman just realized when he said it that was the anomaly he had felt when he first touched her. She was very early on in her gestation,
but he was not sure if the fetus had been damaged because of all the experimentation performed on the mother. He hoped he could save both.

  “Oh, dear. He didn’t tell me, but it shouldn’t matter. She’s dangerous. Her kind takes our males, spiriting them away in the night to do monstrous things to them. You know this.”

  “No. They only take men who are willing to go with them. They don’t take those with families of their own. Alika explained it to me.” Phillip went to the other side of the bed and took her hand.

  Herman believed him, but he also knew that his mother saw Phillip take her hand and when she saw the expression on his face she would understand there was something between the other male and the green female. He wanted to say something else, but all of a sudden he heard the stomping of footsteps outside in the hallway and knew the alarm had been sounded. The palace was aware the captive had escaped. He had to be sure that they got out safely. He needed to get back to Elarna and be sure she was okay.

  He reached across Alika and clutched his mother’s hand. “Please Mother, we have to leave here.”

  She looked between the three of them and her eyes settled on Phillip. Herman knew she had not understood what he had said. “What’s going on really? Is he one of them? Is he one of the aliens that crashed in the ship? What is your father going to say?”

  “Mother, Phillip is Alika’s mate. They crashed with another female who I have come to have feelings for. She accepts me for who I am. I love her. We need to be able to get them off the planet. We need your help.”

  She turned to Phillip. He prayed she would be able to read his mind or at least understand what was going on with all of them. “Is it true, you are one of the aliens?”

  Phillip looked at him and he translated what it was that his mother had said. Phillip nodded, picked up Alika’s hand and placed it over his heart. His skin wavered as he was trying to hold onto his shape. Herman had an idea that might help his mother understand what was going on.

  “Transform into your other form.”

  “Are you sure?” Phillip asked.

  Herman nodded.

  He sighed and laid Alika’s hand back down on top of her chest and quickly stripped his clothes. His mother gasped at the sight of the naked man because he was different than the others. He was pale, and there were only five toes on his feet. But he still did look like a male. The sight of him again stirred his desire, but he pushed it aside and thought about the task at hand because they had to get out of there. He should be thinking about Elarna and not his own yearnings for the other man. His mother gasped, watching the change. She looked back at him.

  “He is like you?” she asked.

  “In many ways, yes. He is not able to heal others, but he can heal himself quickly, and he can understand what the elementals are saying to him. He’s told me his story. There are things that he can do that I’ve never seen before. These women that came with him can also shift their forms. We can’t just slice them up. He is from another world where all his people are hairless. Wouldn’t it be better to learn from them instead of pumping them full of drugs, cutting them up, and then using their parts for healing tonics? Please. We have to get out of here.”

  She touched her stomach once more. When she glanced back up at him, Herman saw the compassion in her eyes. Once he had her interested, he knew she would be on his side. She sniffled and crooned something at Phillip before looking down at Alika. She placed her hand on top of Alika’s head. Herman heard banging on the door.

  “You’re Majesty, please open the door. The alien has escaped,” a guard yelled through the door.

  “Mother, please,” Herman begged, and grabbed her arm.

  She pulled away and went to the main door. She opened it, and he heard the conversation. “Thank you for the warning. I’ll let you know if I see anything.”

  “Ma’am, can we come in and search your rooms?”

  She lowered her voice and he was not able to hear the rest of their discussion. He glanced at Phillip and he fought to switch back into his other form. He wasn’t having any luck. He held up a hand and gestured for him to come to the edge of the bed. “You need to be here with her. Alika is going to need your strength. Can you understand me right now?”

  Phillip nodded. He trailed his fingers down her cheek carefully.

  Herman squeezed his hand. “I know you didn’t know about the baby. I’m sorry. I hope that I can…”

  The other male growled something, but his mother came back into the room. “Heragthan, your father is not going to be happy about this. I can’t hide the three of you. The guards who saw you, the scientists will talk. Whoever saw you… You can’t stay here. They’ll come to your cave and find the other woman you’re hiding. The guards will go out on another patrol. You won’t be able to stay here.”

  “Where can I go?” he asked.

  She rushed over to a trunk in the corner where she kept all of her ceremonial jewelry and attire and dug into it. She came out with a metal tablet and handed it to him. “This will show you the way.”

  Herman glanced at the tablet and his eyes widened. “You know what this means?”

  “I do. Your father doesn’t know about this. He’s never known. It’s been protected by my line. Go out the back. I’ll distract them the best that I can.” She drew him into his arms and gave him a quick hug. “Never let anyone tell you that you’re not worthy of the gifts you’ve been given.”

  He nodded, unable to find the words to respond. He handed the tablet to Phillip who had donned his cloak and it covered his beast form. He shot him a questioning look, but there was no time to explain what was going on. Herman scooped up Alika and held her close while also taking another fur from the bed and wrapped it around her so she would stay warm in the frigid environment. He gestured to Phillip to go out into the garden next to his mother’s quarters. They sneaked out, and the plants were larger and more overrun than the small courtyard where they had first come into the palace. His mother screamed something to the guards. They clamored toward them. They would have to go around the rest of the palace. Once they passed, he pressed a series of buttons in the wall, and a panel slid back. Herman could see his exit. If they could get around the bend and out of the open before the others noticed, then they would have a chance to get into the caves. No one knew the cave system like he did. He glanced back at his mother but didn’t see her. A pang of sorrow hit his heart because this was goodbye.

  They dashed from the compound and slipped out into the open. As they did, he heard the blaring alarm. They moved as quickly as they could through the snow drifts and into the cave. Above them, Herman heard the distinctive sound of wings cutting through the air from the guard searching for them. They tread further in as he saw the first shadows of the winged creatures fly overhead. Alika’s breathing was shallow, and he didn’t want to put her in anymore danger, but they had to press on until they were out of sight. The guard would see their tracks in the snow, unless another storm had blown in and covered them. So Herman led Phillip an alternative way back. This would give him some time to stabilize Alika without being interrupted. He would have to work quickly so he could get back to Elarna. Phillip knelt next to the female and held her hand. Herman laid a hand on his.

  “It’s going to be okay. Hang onto the tablet and let me know if you hear or see anyone coming. I need you to let me work on her. Once that happens then we can get back to Elarna. Then we can talk about what is on that tablet. Okay?”

  The other man nodded and stood up, keeping the tablet next to him. Once Phillip was out of range, Herman concentrated all his attention on Alika. Moving her had not helped. It had thrown her systems out of synchronicity, so he had to make sure everything was working congruently once more. Her breathing was labored. Her hearts beat erratically. Something was wrong with her spleen. He gritted his teeth against the work ahead of him and let his hands guide him to where she needed to be healed. He tried to get her body back in a harmony with itself.

  Chapter Se
ven

  Elarna lay snuggled in the furs that Herman had left for her after he had departed with Phillip to rescue Alika. She prayed to all the goddesses she knew they would retrieve Alika and get her back safely. She hoped her friend wasn’t beyond helping. I wonder if his ability to heal is passed down through his family. That’s how it is on Rovan with our healers. Sometimes there are things that technology can’t heal. If it is, it would be a great asset to the planet. Although when I mentioned going home and getting off this ball of ice he didn’t seem too happy.

  She hadn’t assumed he would want to go, but maybe he did. He had seemed to share her attraction to him. He didn’t discourage her when she made advances toward him. They had consummated their relationship, but it could have also been in response to the physical need she had within her. Nonetheless, her hearts warmed when she thought about the gentle giant. He had saved her life. It was at least fair to repay him in some way.

  Whenever he was around her, Elarna’s head swam with the sight and the smell of him. His animal scent triggered her desires. Maybe it was something to do with the energy that had passed between them or maybe it was a pheromone. Either way, the Yetan had been kind to her and was risking his life to save her friend. She had traveled to the farthest corner of the universe to some backwater planet to rescue Alika. Not that she minded because her friend had gotten her out of many tight spots in the past, but Elarna never figured that she would find a male in all of this. Or that she would crash land on the hunk of ice that was forbidden because of what they knew about the planet.

  The planet had been put off the list for the procurement of males because many years ago a distress was picked up. A woman had landed on Kraztarn and the Yetis were waiting for her and her partner when she got off. Her partner made it back in wounded, but she sent out a warning that they were taken hostage and doing experiments on them. It wasn’t safe for anyone to come down to the planet. Someone had gotten into the ship and had killed her. Now their ship had been destroyed in the crash. She had no means of getting home. They would be on the run for the rest of their lives. How could she survive on such a hostile world for the rest of her life?