Chapter Three #2
Chloe watched the bright light, the sand, and then the pyramids. “Damn, I am homesick.”
Skylar laughed and helped ease Gertrude around to a space that was safe to land without getting sand in everything.
Chloe picked up the item that she had made. Her resources were limited. She tucked it into her sleeve, pulled up her hood, and drew her veil over her features. “Right, ready to hike or haunt.”
Skylar chuckled. “Grab your magic stick, and we will get going.”
“You are funny for a horny gal.”
They bickered at each other as they walked toward the pyramid’s main entrance. Two shining statues were near the door, and when they moved, Chloe muttered, “Holy shit.”
“Yeah, that’s Harwin, that’s Ra, and that’s baby Harran Harwin.”
Chloe kept moving and worked her way up the stairs. She fucking hated stairs. When she had wobbled her way up the steps, she caught her breath. She waved. “Hey, gimme a minute.”
Harwin chuckled. “You are Chloe Harwin?”
Still bent over, she gave the golden woman a thumbs-up.
“Can I see your face?”
Chloe stood straight and removed her veil before lowering the hood. “Hiya.”
Ra stared. “You almost have her face.”
She pointed at Skylar. “Also almost her face. We are randomly, genetically nearly identical.”
She paused. “Honourable Ra, I require healing that is made awkward by my power signature. I hear that you have such repair devices, and I am requesting that I be allowed to use one of them.”
He nodded. “Of course. Would you like me to help you?”
Skylar said, “I will do it. We are not quite sure what she would do with direct contact with a Hmrain, but it might be violent lust, so I will do a side lift.”
“Yeah, if she tries to put moves on me, I hit her with the stick. Besides. Cousins. Ew.”
She laughed, and Harwin lifted the baby. “Harran, this is a cousin of Mommy’s. She’s crazy, too.”
They all moved together, and Skylar put an arm around Chloe and lifted her down the steps to one of the lower levels. Ra programmed one of the units and said, “I will settle you inside it. This is an assessor unit. The healing unit is over there.”
He smiled and took her staff. She paused. “Oh, here. Take this. It’s for the baby.” Once it was handed off, she swung into the machine.
The tiny wooden rattle with bright colours on the ball looked ridiculous in his grip, but he handed it to Harwin, and she shook it near the baby, who squealed and reached for it.
“That’s a winner.” Harwin chuckled. “See you in a few minutes.”
Ra closed the unit, it sealed, and light moved over her. Chloe nodded off.
* * * *
Skylar looked at the record of injuries that covered her body, all administered after she had been removed from the station when she handed over the shuttle. “Oh, my god.”
Harwin swallowed. “I see her leg, but what is that other stuff?”
Ra said calmly, “Pinning. It is a torture technique. The person is pinned to the wall with a series of thin rods. It is agony, but it doesn’t kill them, so when you need them to work, you withdraw the pins, and they are free to move, knowing that they will be back on the pins for the smallest infraction. ”
Harwin shuddered, and the baby squeaked and waved the rattle. “Who can I kill?”
Ra shook his head. “I am not bringing you to that station, but I might have it destroyed.”
The lit-up spots showed that she had been pierced dozens of times, and yet she still kept her bright mood. It was amazing.
There was a knocking from the inside of the machine, and Chloe’s voice. “Can you be appalled on your own time?”
Harwin chuckled weakly, and Ra opened the assessing unit. Skylar picked her up. “Where are we going?”
Ra directed her, and Chloe was settled in the unit. Skylar paused, “Can she have her clothing on?”
Harwin said, “No.”
Chloe grinned and stretched her arms. “Uppies.”
Skylar laughed and lifted her out, collecting her clothing as Chloe stripped. “You know, I bet Dytura would enjoy assisting.”
Chloe snorted. “Yeah, well, he isn’t here, you are, so do you want me to drape my veil over your horns or do you want to hold it?”
Harwin paused. “Dytura?”
Skylar grinned. “He’s chasing her ship, and she gave her ship to me so I could be her decoy. Shit. I forgot I didn’t tell you.”
Naked, Chloe settled in the healing unit while Skylar chattered about the situation. The machine started a soft pulse under her, and Chloe slept again. She was so damned tired.
* * * *
Dytura walked through the halls of Aten’s pyramid. Down the steps, one by one, until he heard the humming of the healing machine. There was a figure leaning against the unit, and it raised its head. He chuckled. “Greetings, Skylar.”
She jolted. “She’s not done yet.”
“I know. I wanted to check on her. Is she well?”
“They tortured her. They put pegs through her leg to stop her from running.”
He inclined his head. “I see. Which location?”
“The ship knows. She took me there.”
“She knows about me?” He looked at the unit and paused it, waiting for the unlock before he lifted the lid. He smiled. She had a soft green sheen to her skin, and the eyes that were glaring at him were a vivid green.
He looked down at her and felt the warmth in his heart that had begun the moment she returned to full awareness. He smoothed a scaled hand over her hair and frowned. “You were shorn.”
“Sure. Also punctured, but focus on the hair,” she whispered.
He smiled slightly and trailed his fingers over her cheek, her lips, and over her breasts and belly.
“Perv.”
“Snapping mouse. I have been dead a long time, and I believe you are here to change that.”
“And you waited until I was under paralytics to introduce yourself?”
He chuckled. “It seemed safest. You are very fast, and I might capture you while bringing you to the ground.”
“You seem really excited by the idea.”
He chuckled. “You will see. How are you enjoying your ship?”
“She’s great. Thanks for that.”
He stroked his knuckles over her cheek. “Only the best for you. The name is interesting.”
“It is very much on my mind right now.”
He leaned in, kissed her softly, and said, “Heal and grow strong, and know that I will be with you sooner rather than later.”
“Fine. Close the lid. I have stuff to do.”
He grinned and eased the latch shut, resuming the healing program.
Dytura looked at her friend, who was developing some lovely horns and colouration.
“Take care of her until I can. She does indeed have things to do, but that will not be forever, and I will remain nearby. For now, I have a station to examine.”
“What?”
“They tortured my bride. Anyone involved in that activity will soon learn that death can come in many forms. Mine is particularly effective at demonstrating my displeasure.”
Skylar nodded. “Right. So, you are going to take care of her?”
“I will. She was always for me. Catching a seed before it dies has always been difficult, but she is strong and determined. I admire that.”
“We have to involve ourselves with Birun, Trin, and the Pericoff. We are going to be flying around there a lot. And I am supposed to pick up a ship from Orex.”
He paused and said, “I will contact Lord Orex and have the ship delivered to you.”
“I have to pay for it.”
He waved a hand in the air. “It is nothing. I will take care of it, since my bride is in your hands, you should be travelling in comfort and security. The slip ships deliver both and are large enough to contain the shuttle. How does she sleep?”
“She sleeps in a living mass of moss and plants. Flowers bloom when she touches the stems. Her touch brought the tree of the Pericoffs back to life, and it provided her with the staff she has been using to walk. The damage was extensive.”
“And yet you have been assisting her.”
“She’s my cousin.”
That shocked him. “You’re blood kin?” He pushed Skylar for information.
“And Harwin’s. She is kin to both of us but was raised a distance away and was unknown to us until recently.”
“Her temperament?”
“Psychotically cheerful, and she seems to be having fun, but I think that is a direct result of the pain she has been in. Now that she is out of pain, she might become more sombre, but I don’t think so.”
“I am assigning you to her until our union has been consummated. After that, I will take her health and survival as my personal duty.”
He glanced back at the repair unit. “See if they can fix her hair.”
Skylar blinked. “I think that was on the list, but it requires a different unit.”
He nodded. “See to it. How have you been dealing with the grief of your people?”
“They are better when they can speak to their dead. Even better when they can hug them.”
“Contact? You can make solid projections?”
“I can. It is tiring, but I recover on the ship, and that is enough for the next visit.”
He looked at her. “You are related.”
“Correct.”
“So, she can work with your energies, and you can work with hers. What sustains her energizes you.”
“Apparently. Wait, what is supposed to happen?”
“You are to simply contain the memories of your people and record those that you can focus on. You will join the others and share memories of the last years of your world via your spirits.”
“So, not to run to where humans are in pain and help them ease into their situation? Pity. I am really good at that.”
“Continue as you like until I tell you to stop.”
“Fair enough. Lord Dytura, why did the designers build us into worlds that die?”
“They didn’t. I did. Sudden disasters create a certain detachment that illness and war don’t. I wanted to understand the mindset of those who died prior to the retrieval and those who are surviving now.” He paused. “Why were you going to the Pericoffs?”
“There was a pull. Chloe did great. Why do we have to wear the robes?”
“So that no one can judge you based on your appearance, and so that your species or others do not attack you. There have been incidents when females of your kind were alone and assaulted. The knowledge of how close some of you are to consort class is driving a black market.”