Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
SLAVIC
Bikar never ceases to amaze me with his ability to multitask as he lands the shuttle effortlessly inside the Zenith . The moment the engine’s power down, I slap the lever for the hatch to open. Before it can slide all the way back, I am trying to squeeze my way out.
Careful not to hit her limbs on anything, I bundle her into a tiny ball as I make our way to Einar and his medical rooms. Smacking the door with my shoulder, I almost bounce off it when it does not open.
“ Einar , what the frack? Open the drayt door now!”
“ Unless you are missing a limb Slavic , I do not have time for you right now.”
“ If you do not let me in and tend to my mate immediately, you are no longer going to be needed. I will personally flush your worthless hide out the airlock. I have my very soul in my arms, and I need you, brother.”
Those last words no longer leave my lips that the door slides open. He stands there looking down at me since he is several inches taller than I am. “ Your mate, Slavic ?” He motions for me to come in and promptly starts preparing a bed next to the other one that is occupied now.
“ Put her right here, quickly. I know not what games our Gods are playing with us right now, or if we are merely being tested, but I have never been so terrified in my life, Slavic . While : Of course, I know what humans are and where they originate from. I lack any real knowledge of their anatomy and treatment. I am at a complete loss. The rumors circulating about their species is that their planet of origin was destroyed by a world ending storm. Bikar is doing his best to track down anything and everything he can on their species that’s left, via the normal back channels, but he’s already warned me that if he stretches his reach out too far, we may inadvertently bring some unwanted attention from the Commanders this way. It’s believed that Commander DaR has put their race under his protection, but he would have to kill me before I would allow him to take her!”
The whole time he is talking to me, he is pulling out things all around the bed.
“ What are you talking about?”
He nods toward the bed next to this one while I am mid-motion, laying my heart on the table. I glance over, instantly seeing the resemblance between the two of them. “ Do you think they are sisters, Einar ? She was distraught when she saw the nest next to her was empty.”
“ That is something I cannot verify right now, but I would bet a sizeable number of credits that they are. The resemblance is too uncanny for them not to be.”
“ I agree, Einar . What games are the gods playing here? This cannot be a simple coincidence.”
“ I have no clue, brother, but I wish they would have watched over them a little better. My mate’s lungs were almost completely collapsed, and she has numerous other injuries, but I have managed to get her stabilized. I have a few minutes I think, so let us see what we can do for your mate while mine is resting. First thing we need to do is get these leaves off and out of her. Whoever did this knew that the leaves would slow down the blood flow, but unfortunately infection has set in. You can already see where her skin is turning red around the edges.”
I stand back for a moment as he scans her from top to bottom. “ I need you to take her to the sanitizer unit. The mixture of bug guts, and your blood combining with hers is corrupting the scan. I will not get an accurate read on her while she is covered in so many viscous fluids.” I look up at him.
“ Will it hurt her?”
“ I have no idea Slavic , but she is unresponsive right now, so hopefully the pain will be minimal. Do not get out until you are positive she is clean. It does me no good to work on her only for her body to be exposed to foreign bacteria that will rapidly reinfect her wounds. And be careful with her leg.”
Gently picking her back up, I turn toward the large sanitizer in the back of the medical room. Dropping my swords, I step in clothes and all, then hit the button. Steam surrounds us and I must make myself hold her body out away from me slightly, so that it can get in between us. Her face scrunches up in pain when the machine hesitates on dirtier areas.
“ Shush , little one. This will all be over soon.” Her eyes flicker open for a moment and even dazed, her dark irises find me.
“ Oh , Big and Ugly , it’s you again. Are we dead? No , I don’t think we are, because everything hurts too much.” The sprayer passes over her face, and she squeezes her eyes closed, a frown upon her pretty lips. I try not to let her words bother me as she is not in her right mind. Nevertheless , I know what I look like and even though I wish it was different, her description of me is not inaccurate.
The sprayers must have hit one of her wounds because she tries to push away from me, only for her wrist to buckle where she was putting pressure on it. A small scream leaves her lips, and I have never felt more helpless as once again she goes completely limp in my arms. The only thing I am thankful for is that I can now move her around to make sure she is as clean as the sanitizer can get her, without causing her any more pain. The moment the machine shuts off, I have to make myself wait for the dryer to commence so that we are both free of moisture before stepping out.
Cradling her tiny form against my larger one, my long steps quickly get us back to Einar who is bent over the other female, adjusting a heating pad.
“ Do you want me to put her back on the bed?”
“ Yes , let me get this heater set on my mate and I should be able to take a breath without fear she is going to die before I ever know her name.”
I end up holding her until he turns around. No matter how many times I tell myself to let go, I just cannot. Einar turns and I expect him to berate me, but instead he gives me the time to fight myself without saying a word. Finally , I unlock my arms and lower her down.
She looks so broken lying there as bruises and open wounds mar her tiny frame. Anger unlike I have ever known has me growling out and Einar grabs my arm. “ She does not need your rage; she needs your love and attention. Lock that shet down for later.”
Einar pushes me away from the bed while he scans her. “ Frack , these two are a mess. Both are dangerously dehydrated and starved to the point that they are nutrient deficient. Their delicate skin has been exposed to the elements and ultimately, that will lead to permanent scarring. I will do my best to reduce it, but saving their lives is more important than a few scars. On top of that, it looks like your mate also has a nasty infection, and by the shape of the wound, it was a Velgriddix that did this to her. Her shoulder muscles are torn, and that was probably caused by fighting back. Not to mention, her wrist is angled wrong, which indicates a broken bone. I have to give these little humans one thing, they are tough. Many times, I have seen lesser wounds bring a male to his knees.”
I run my hand over the top of her head glad that even though still matted, her hair is at least clean.
“ Here .” Einar hands me an odd-looking brush.
“ Use that on her hair; start from the bottom and work your way up. Most females are vain about their hair, and as bright and long as hers is, I would think that’s a safe observation to make.”
“ You are simply giving me something to do.”
“ Yes , you need to focus on something besides how this happened to her. Do not think for a moment that I am not fighting the same battle. Mine is so broken there is not a single piece of skin I can find, not covered in bruises or scars. I am forcing myself to help with your mate while mine is stable.”
Moving closer to the table I gather her long tresses in my hands and do as Einar said. Not having any hair myself, this process is odd at first. But with each stroke, the colors become clearer and soon I find myself entranced in the process of gently working out each knot.
Out of the corner of my eye, I observe Einar as he goes back and forth between the two females. Both of our comm units go off several times, but I trust my brothers to handle whatever issue they are trying to alert us of.
“ Slavic , I am going to give her a sedative. She cannot awaken in the middle of the surgery I need to perform to save her leg.”
“ Einar , I thought you said you were not sure on how to treat them?”
“ We do not have a choice, but I understand your concern. I used it on my own mate and she had no reactions, so it should be safe enough to use on yours.”
My mind drifts off, thinking I have called her everything in my mind. I just could not fathom that what I was feeling is what is truly happening, but when Einar states it as something so obvious, I know it must be true. ‘ She really is my mate .’
“ Do you want me to proceed?”
This breaks me out of my own thoughts. “ Brother , I trust you with not only mine, but all of our lives. If you believe it is safe, then do whatever it takes to heal her.”
He turns from me, gathering a set of tubes and instruments from a hover table nearby. Movement from the bed has me glancing down and instantly drawn to the dark eyes staring up at me. Her body tenses when Einar moves closer and I reach down, touching her arm softly.
“ You are safe little one, and we are going to get you better.”
“ I hope those growls are not telling me how you’re preparing me as a delicacy for your next alien social. I can see the menu now, ‘specialty this evening, a redheaded human being served as the main course’.”
Glancing up at Einar , he actually shakes his head, a smirk on his face before turning her slightly. Her eyes move to watch him as he injects her with a numbing agent. She blinks slowly, fighting against the drug’s effect. Einar waits until her eyes close, then proceeds to insert the hydration fluids and other meds before working his way down her frail form.
Quicker than I would have imagined possible, he straightens up and that is when I notice she is covered in multiple bandages now. “ I believe I got all the spurs out of her leg, but we will have to watch it closely for the next few risings just in case. Her shoulder, I hate to say, will probably always bother her some, but I was able to fully reset her wrist. I put a holding cast on it temporarily until the bones set. I feel like a back-woods medic here, Slavic . Some of these wounds could have been healed instantly, but I am too scared of the side effects that could occur simply because I do not have the data to treat them accurately.”
“ But she will survive?”
“ Yes , I believe they will both pull out of this, just not quickly. Mine has some internal injuries that have me worried. The scans say that I have reversed her lung issues, and it keeps confirming that she is stable. But whereas your mate’s wounds are new, mine were old. From what the scans are telling me, she’s been abused…for a very long time.” Einar growls that last part out.
A ding sounds, and Einar pulls a screen down, scrolling through the data. “ Well , at least one question is answered. They are blood sisters.”
A pounding on the wall has me snarling out and bending over my little mate. “ Here Slavic , put this on her and once she is covered, I will see what the frack they are blowing our comm units up about.”
The moment I have her concealed, Einar opens the door, only to find Ruarc and Falon standing in the hall. Ruarc gets right up in Einar’s face. “ What the frack is going on in here that is so important that neither one of you can take a moment to answer your comms? You are needed out here.”
“ We had pressing issues to deal with, Ruarc . What do you need?”
“ I don’t know, maybe the fact that I have a sick Princess in my quarters and could use some help? Not to mention that Falon and Bikar have both given up their beds for the other three.”
“ Other three what?” I snarl out.
“ Well , if you would grace us with your charming presence big brother, you could see for yourself.”
Glancing down at my mate, I look back up at Einar as he says, “ They will be out for at least half a rotation. I have the monitors set to alert me if they so much as twitch.”
Never in all my rotations has anything been as difficult as leaving her side. Nonetheless , I bite the inside of my lip and make myself follow the others toward the back of the ship. Falon hesitates when we get to his quarters.
“ Well ?”
He hits the entry panel, and I rub a weary hand over my face as three terrified human females stare back at us. Every word out of my mouth is basically making it worse because they cannot understand we are the good guys. Well , not normally, but in this case we are.
“ Get them cleaned up, clothed and provide something to eat, Falon .”
“ I already suggested that, but they cannot understand a word we say.”
“ Gods , they are nothing but skin and bones. Einar see to Kallen , because in the midst of all this confusion, I completely forgot about her, and she was in very rough shape. To the point where she had given up and she thought I was a ghost sent by the gods to take her into the afterlife. … Bikar ?”
“ I am listening.”
“ These females are terrified, so find something on this bucket of bolts that can be used to translate so that they know what we are saying.”
“ I am on it.”
“ Einar , before you take off, if Kallen feels up to it, try to figure out how she got on that bug ship. We need to know where they captured her, and she said she was also looking for ‘ Ruby ’. Figure out who or what that is.”