37. Chapter 37
Chapter 37
I guess we’re lying now.
Caleb and Seth sat across from where I lay on the bed in the medbay. Serlotminden was asleep beside me, his head tucked against my neck, breath tickling me. I had an arm wrapped around him, securing him to me. The doctor, whose name I didn’t recall, had given him three injections this morning. Three. Mindy had been sleeping excessively, and from the amount of times someone changed his bandages, I knew something was wrong. But no one had told me exactly what was going on.
I kissed the top of his head, then brushed the rough bracelet I’d made him. The silver wires mixed with shiny bits I’d found on the shuttle and a rock looked much nicer than I’d thought against his scales. After I’d woken up, I gave him the small gift, and he’d been so happy when I slid it on him, beaming and calling me talented, lovely, smart, and all manner of nice things. I finger-combed his hair, hoping he’d wake up soon so I could hear his perfect voice once more.
Refocusing on Caleb and Seth, I noted that nothing had changed. Seth was blushing; he hadn’t spoken the entire time they’d been here. Caleb had continued to ramble about anything and everything, switching topics so fast that I struggled to follow at times; whereas, Seth stared at the floor. I wasn’t even sure why they were here. One of Mindy’s brothers usually remained in the medbay with us, but this was the first time I had been left alone with the other humans.
Though Caleb wasn’t human anymore.
He was massive, even for a drakcol, who all appeared to be larger than humans. He had soft gray scales and short mahogany hair, a long face, and was generally attractive. A metal cane with a soft grip rested against his leg and his large hands waved as he spoke. His English was garbled but understandable. He was human, though not really.
“Anyway, I gave Seth the right words, so he is now the Supreme Human of Earth according to the Maykians,” Caleb said.
“I can’t believe you told them I claimed Earth,” Seth muttered.
“Yeah, I might have given you some pretty words about honor and blood and a claim of utter truth, which means a lot to them, but it was for the best. Trust me.”
Seth crossed his arms. “They think humans are descended from the lost Maykian tribe who went off to some unknown space.”
“We might be,” Caleb protested. He was met with a cocked eyebrow. Even I was fairly skeptical of that, and I didn’t know much about the situation. “Okay,” he relented. “Fine. That lie will probably bite us in the ass later, but hey, we’re alive. They didn’t shoot us out of the sky. All good things.”
I gave a breathy chuckle. “True. I like not being dead.”
“It really isn’t so bad,” Caleb mentioned, “but I’m for living as well. I want to stay next to Fyn, and living is the best way to do that.”
My fingers buried in Mindy’s hair, and he didn’t react. “Well, it does seem like a more substantial lie than the cats.”
Seth flushed, and Caleb laughed, then asked, “You heard about that?”
I nodded.
“It started as a joke,” Seth muttered. “Caleb blew it out of proportion.”
“You had it that humans had a cultural law that we couldn’t move a sleeping cat no matter where they are, and that they’re house gods we worship. I had to make it fancier. It only made sense, and it’s funnier. Like adding shrines for the house gods with catnip, towers, toys, and beds, and, you know, naming towns after cats,” Caleb said. “There are already several drakcol cities named after Lucy, not to mention other famous Earth cats.”
“No one has figured it out?”
“Nope,” Caleb said. “Drakcol have access to information from Earth, but very few have actually researched cats. Besides, it’s taken on a life of its own. Though cats and cat videos are very popular. Besides, it’s a harmless lie. Something for us.”
I had zero qualms about keeping it a secret.
“Don’t think about it in front of Don,” Caleb warned. “He’ll hear your thoughts.”
Mindy had mentioned something about that. I glanced back at him, and he was deep asleep, his breath even against my neck and his tail was coiled around my ankle.
“When are we getting the other humans from Xome?” I had to save Vince, and whatever humans were left. Besides the fact that Vince was my closest friend, I needed to do one good deed to balance out my karmic debt. Maybe it would lessen my guilt? Probably not, but those humans deserved to be saved.
Seth smoothed his fancy blue tunic over his round gut. “Don is finishing removing all the debris from where you crashed, then we’ll return to Coalition space.”
“We need to get them,” I said, voice growing louder. “I can’t leave them behind.”
“We’re not going to,” Caleb snapped, resting a hand on Seth, who’d flinched from my shout.
“I know this is my fault,” Seth said, eyes on the floor. “Because I stayed with Kal. I will never leave any human behind, I swear it, but we can’t rush in and steal them.”
“Why not?”
“Because slavery and indentured servitude are legal on Xome, and they are not a part of the Coalition,” Seth explained. “If we steal them, it could cause an intergalactic incident, if not a war. Don is already getting his ass chewed out by the Cohort for violating Maykian space, not once but twice, to rescue you and Mindy.”
“So we leave them?” I demanded. I refused to leave Vince behind. I couldn’t. I swallowed as panic rose and strangled me. I almost saw his face joining all the ghosts haunting me. I closed my eyes. I refused to let him down. I had to save one fucking person.
“No,” Caleb said. “We told you we wouldn’t. Seth and I, but mainly Seth, are requesting funds from the Cohort to buy all the humans back. Don will negotiate with whoever has them, and no matter the price, we will get them back.”
“We’ll get them,” Seth said. “All of them.”
“If we get the money.” I hated the idea of having to buy Vince and the others, but if they could be freed, it was worth it.
Caleb laughed. “We’ll get the money. The Cohort loves Seth. They’ll give him whatever he wants. And this comes down to honor. They’re honor-bound to rescue the rest of us humans. They brought Seth here, and now they have to clean up the mess.”
“I will get them, Teddy,” Seth said, finally meeting my eye. His voice was firm and allowed no argument. “I promise. I will protect everyone.”
In that instant, I saw the reason why Caleb had nominated Seth the leader of Team Human.
I nodded, believing him.
Before he could respond, Seth yanked a glowing blue stone out of his pocket. “Babe, what’s wrong? It is the baby?”
I heard nothing, but Seth sighed.
“I’ll be there soon.” He shoved the round stone back into his pocket. “The Cohort is ready for us.”
Caleb carefully stood, using his cane for balance, but Seth didn’t budge. Caleb flicked him with his tail. “Come on. I’ll be there.”
Seth still didn’t react.
“Kal will be there,” added Caleb.
Seth perked at that, standing.
“And you can show them pictures of the baby. The Cohort loves seeing the baby.”
Seth smiled, head ducking.
“There we go.” Caleb looked at me. “We’ll be back, and I imagine one of Mindy’s brothers will be along in a few minutes.”
“Do I need to speak to this Cohort?” I asked. Dr. Klars, who appeared human but wasn’t, had said I was allowed to leave the medbay, but I refused. Mindy would panic if he woke up and I wasn’t here, not to mention I was nervous to leave him alone for even a few minutes. With Seth feeding Pookie, though he didn’t seem happy about it, I hadn’t had to leave.
“No,” Seth answered. “If we need you, I will have someone get you, but you need to stay here with Mindy.”
They gave me a quick goodbye and left.
I turned to Mindy, snuggling him. His breath remained even. The winged alien had clawed open his stomach and he had two punctures on his thigh; none of which were healing right.
“Come on, Honey. Make me smile, or tell me another story, or just talk to me. Please.”
He stayed firmly asleep.
The drakcol doctor approached with yet another injection. Before she administered it, I stopped her. “Another? He’s already had three.”
“Bartholomew Reginald Lucian—”
“Bartholomew or Teddy,” I interrupted.
“But,” she started.
“Bartholomew or Teddy,” I repeated. I was not listening to my full name every time a drakcol wished to address me.
She looked horribly disappointed, her eyes going down and her tail falling to the floor. “Bartholomew, Prince Serlotminden is not healing and he is bleeding heavily. His body cannot keep up. I am hoping the inducer will be enough, rather than a transfusion.”
The doctor injected him in the side of the neck, but I waved her off when she was going to massage the site. I did it instead. Mindy was mine. It was my job to take care of him, not hers. Once I was done, I held him close and hoped his beautiful green eyes would open and meet my gaze.
They didn’t.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Muznim. I am female and I use the she and her pronouns. Prince Consort Seth informed me humans like to know exact pronouns, and I quite love the idea of telling people on introduction.”
“What exactly is wrong with Mindy?” I asked.
Muznim pursed her lips, and her tail flicked. “The punctures are not closing. The toxin, perhaps a venom, on the alien’s talons is spreading through his system, not allowing the blood to clot. We are searching for ways to combat this toxin, but so far, we have not made much progress.”
“Do the Maykians have any idea?”
“No,” she replied. “Planet 62, as they have designated the planet you two crashed on, is non-spacefaring. They have left it alone, not studying the species, except for passive scans.”
“So what’s next?”
“We keep testing.” Muznim said, “I will do all I can to save Prince.”
I nodded.
A few minutes later, the door opened and Zoltilvoxfyn, or Fyn as Seth and Caleb called him, came in. “Any change?”
“No,” I replied shortly, tightening my hold on Mindy.
The smallest quirk tugged at his lips before it disappeared. “I will not take him from you. Speedy would want to remain right beside you, where he belongs.”
Fyn might have tried, but he wouldn’t have succeeded. I wasn’t an aggressive person, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to budge from Mindy’s side.
“I am glad you’re alive,” Fyn said, resting an ankle on his opposite knee. “Serlotminden was bereft, and thankfully, only for a few days. That type of pain is indescribable.”
“You’ve experienced that? I thought drakcol only mated once.”
“We do. Caleb was a spirit first. He vanished from my side for over eight weeks. I thought he was gone,” he replied, voice tight.
“I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to apologize for. You survived.”
My fingers worked over Mindy’s scalp. “It’s his turn.”
“Indeed.”
“He can’t become another person that I failed to save, another ghost haunting me,” I muttered.
Fyn tilted his head and looked around. “There are no spirits.”
“What?”
“You have no spirits around you, Bartholomew.”
I did. I could see them even now—burned and broken, blaming me, demanding to know why I was alive when they were dead, begging me to save them.
Fyn stood. “Did Serlotminden explain inner fires?”
“Yeah, he makes fire with his mind.”
With a slight quirk of his lips, Fyn brushed a lock of Mindy’s hair. “He does, indeed. Mine is the ability to see spirits when they linger on this plane.” Fyn met my gaze. “There are no spirits around you, Bartholomew.”
I fought a clawing emotion in my gut, but words escaped my control. “Then why do I see them?”
“Perhaps you are having a health crisis?”
Chuckling, I closed my eyes. “I’m not sick or having a mental breakdown.”
“Then why do you see spirits that are not there?”
“Because I’m the reason they’re dead,” I whispered. I didn’t know why I was telling this virtual stranger everything. The words were slipping out without my permission.
“Guilt is powerful.”
“You’re not going to tell me it wasn’t my fault?” I asked.
“I don’t know what you did. Is it your fault?”
“Yes.”
“Then I cannot absolve you of your guilt or spirits. Only you can do that, Bartholomew. You are the one holding them here. Not their anger, not their pain, not their malice. It is only you and your guilt. You have to let them go.”
I confessed, “I don’t know how.”
“My mate-brother,” Fyn said, “you have to forgive yourself.”
That was something I didn’t know if I could do. I was alive, and they were not. It wasn’t right. Why was it me who’d survived?
Fyn returned to his seat. “I will help you if I can.”
“Why would you help me? You don’t even know me.”
He gave me a slight smile. “Because someone I didn’t know well helped me. Seth helped me and still stands beside me when I need him. I would like to do the same for you.”
I held his gaze for several seconds before looking away. While I had a hard time believing I’d just spilled my guts to a stranger, I also felt a tad better, a bit lighter. Changing the subject, I asked, “What did the Cohort decide?”
“They had not come to an agreement when I left,” Fyn answered. “We didn’t wish to leave you or Serlotminden alone, so I came here. Seth has need of Kalvoxrencol, and Dontilvynsan is still in trouble, so many wished to chastise him. I was unneeded at the meeting, for Caleb shines well without me, and I was needed here.”
I grunted again, and we fell silent. It was awkward between us, at least on my side, but I refused to let that stop me from caring for Mindy. My lips found his forehead again. He wouldn’t leave me. The doctor would figure it out, and everything would be fine.
Klars appeared by my side. A congenial smile was on his lips. In the short time I’d known the Amorian doctor, he’d always been in a good mood. “Prince Zoltilvoxfyn, nice to see you.”
Fyn tilted his head slightly to the side. Drakcol did that. I wasn’t entirely sure why—acknowledgement, or concession maybe.
“How are you feeling?” Klars asked me.
I grunted.
“That is not a cognizant response, Bartholomew,” he scolded like I was five. “Use your words.”
I had several choice words for him, but I didn’t say them. “I’m fine.”
“I doubt that, but you are recovering,” he commented. Klars added more fluids to the tubes connected to me, took a blood sample, then tutted about this or that. I didn’t care what he did as long as he didn’t try to make me leave. “You are going to need a high calorie diet to assist in gaining weight. I have made a slurry of nutrients for you.”
The proffered tube of gray sludge didn’t appear appetizing.
“I made three, and Seth informed me this one was the least vile,” Klars said with a wide grin.
A snort came from Fyn’s direction, but by the time I looked, he’d covered his mouth, hiding a smile most likely.
Accepting the tube, I figured it couldn’t be any worse than other things I’d eaten over the years. Besides, I had to gain weight. It was what it was. I took a sip, and thanked god Seth had tasted the other two first. This one was horrible, the texture slimy and chunky at the same time. I forced myself to drink it all, the mixture landing heavily in my stomach.
When it was empty, I swallowed convulsively.
“Excellent,” he said, putting the tube in a chute on the wall. “You will need to drink three of these a day in addition to your regular meals.”
“The tubes?” I asked, lifting my arm.
“Will remain.” He crossed his arms. “You need vitamins and you have to stay hydrated.”
“Fine.”
Klars gave me a smile before wandering to a monitor on the wall. An old woman—seemingly human—though blue in color, appeared on the screen. Her tower of curls bobbed and her multiple chins jiggled as they talked. The conversation was too low for me to hear all of it, but it sounded nutritional, probably devising more shakes for me.
“Are you alright?” Fyn asked.
“Yeah.”
Fyn looked at his brother who was curled against me. “It’s good Klars has a plan in place to help you before Serlotminden awakens. He’ll worry less.”
I chuckled, combing my fingers through his hair. “My Mindy does love to worry about me.”
“It is a Drakcon quality. We care for our mates.”
Mindy did indeed take care of me. His injuries were a testament to how much. He’d gotten hurt protecting me. “Now it’s my turn to take care of him.”