39. CHAPTER 39

Caspian was wounded and weak as he fell into my arms; the tunic he wore was wet, muddy, torn, and bloodstained. He tried to say something but instead slumped like a rag doll. I lifted him in my arms and ordered Connor to get us the hell off this planet.

I placed him on the bed in the med bay, where Cormac was also out, and removed his filthy clothing. I noticed the bandage on his abdomen and the blisters and cuts on the soles of his feet. He looked like he"d been through hell and back.

Connor announced we were in orbit. Another bout of pain hit me, a wave I was not getting used to. My body could filter most poisons in a few hours, but this seemed to linger worse than any I"ve ever experienced. I gave way to coughing and hacking, bringing up more blood than before.

The man Caspian told me to rescue stood at the end of the hall, using the wall for support. He looked weak, but he was also Valisian. That much was certain. The little dark-haired boy ran to the man, his little feet pattering on the floor. He dropped to his knees, his dirty, ragged-bottomed tunic tucked under his knees.

"A God! A God!" He cried and lowered his head. "I"m sorry for not praying every night!"

"Please don"t do that." The man tried to walk past the boy, his voice raspy and strained.

"But why are you not with the Lucani? Are they no more?" The boy crawled along, his large eyes pleading for an answer.

Yet the other gave none. He approached, his steps careful until we were standing face to face. "The Rackni poisoned you. You will die in a few days without the geno plant."

"Dammit!" I spat a glob of blood and mucus. "There"s always something. Where is this plant?" I would smash something if he told me it was back on that planet.

"It grows on the mountains to the east."

Well, shit. "The planet is already vanishing, by the time we reach the location the planet will be almost gone."

"I know. However, the geno plant is the only known cure."

"Only known cure," I repeated with a groan. Of course, it would have to be the only known cure. Of course, flushing the toxins myself wouldn"t be as simple.

I tried to keep it together as I went to the bridge where Connor was flying. The planet still lingered below, but a part of it was already vanishing within the dust cloud. "Don"t leave this planet"s orbit just yet. I need to return."

Was that shock I witnessed his fine features warped to for just a moment? "But..."

"I"m taking the shuttle." I didn"t want to waste time explaining. It would be another precious second gone to waste.

"Sir, that shuttle is meant only for spaceflight. I don"t think it will work under gravity."

"I"ll make it work," I said without a plan. I didn"t want to return to that planet, but I sure as hell didn"t want to die, either. If push came to shove, I could use my jīva to lift the shuttle enough into orbit for Connor to come and get me, but that would exert massive amounts of energy, and I would need a long time to recover. There was no time to think about it now.

I went to the launchpad, the large, near-empty room beneath the cargo bay section. We"ve yet to use this room. However, during my inspection, I noticed the small two-seater craft seated on the launch track. Whether or not it worked, I had no idea.

That man arrived behind me along with the boy who followed him like a lost lamb. "Remember, it grows on the mountain to the east. It"s all white with blue veins."

"There"s no need to tell me. You"re coming with me," I said with a smile.

"I"m already prepared," he smirked.

"I shall come too! I wish to return home!" The child ran over but stopped when the man held up his hand to stop him.

"Kid, I"m not going out of my way to take you home. I will only get the plant." I said, losing my patience.

"But I helped you. You promised to return me to the Lucani!"

"Remember the sacred texts." The man placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "See this journey as a test."

"What will the test reveal?" The boy settled down, but his eyes watered.

"You will figure it out on your own."

He climbed into the shuttle"s back seat while I leaped into the front. "Better get the hell out of here, or your journey is gonna be you sucked into space," I said to the boy, closing us in and turning the little ship on. "Connor, prepare to launch us."

"Yes, sir," he said before giving a Valisian countdown.

We shot out from the bay, and already the damn thing was shaky and hard to control. "Damn thing, do what I want!"

"We must hurry," the man breathed. I could hear the small tremble in his voice. "The planet is being swallowed as we speak."

"You have fifteen minutes," Connor reiterated his sentiments.

"Yeah, I know." I held my hand to my mouth. The stinging in my throat signaled another bout of coughing. I tasted the sulfur of my blood in my mouth and swallowed. The last thing I needed was a glob of my bloody spit to cause a malfunction.

I steered the vehicle through the atmosphere, the vessel rocking the whole way through. The sudden shift in force dropped us like a sack of metal. I heard the other almost whimpering behind me. Hell, I didn"t blame him at all. My feet felt hot; the force turned the outer structure into a ball of red-hot fire.

"Shit!"

"Is there something you can do?!" The man yelled, his composure gone.

"I"m releasing the coolants now, but I"m unsure if it"s enough!"

"Turn more to the left. The mountain area is freezing."

"That"s just what I needed to hear," I said, following his instructions.

We hit an ice barge that slowed our fiery descent but still slid off the edge. I deployed the parachute, bringing us slowly to a mountain cliff.

"We made it," I said, lifting the latch. The cold struck me hard. My armor was gone, and so was the body suit I would wear that would offer some form of protection. But I still wore the chef"s tunic I escaped in, complete with no shoes. While my new companion wore a light cloth and pants with sandals. We were both unprepared for this venture, but I didn"t plan on staying long, and we were Valisians after all. It would take a lot to freeze us, though this planet was giving it its best shot. This was the only other planet I"ve encountered with an aerial ice barge, but usually, those were pure ice worlds.

"Some should be nearby," the man climbed from the vessel and pointed ahead.

We trekked the mountain, leaving a small trail behind us.

"Who are you? Why did the boy worship you and call you a God?" I asked, making ridiculous small talk to keep the focus off my freezing limbs.

"The universe holds many wonders, some great and others small. I am but a minnow."

"If you keep talking like that, I will leave you on this mountain."

The man laughed. At least he had a sense of humor.

"Here!" He stopped and dug into the snow, picked the plant, and handed it to me. "I can extract the cure from this."

"Good!" I said, feeling worn out. "Let"s get out of here."

"Hold on!" He rushed to a batch of white plants and flowers peeking from the snow. "Yes! I knew it!" he celebrated as he took a knife, dug the plants up by the roots, and placed them in a separate container.

"What is that?"

"I can give you the entire dissertation or—"

"Shut up and let"s go."

We rushed back to the small ship and closed ourselves inside, though it was a cold storage container at this point. I flipped the switches. Good, none of them froze yet. Thankfully, the ship had some flight capabilities, but whether it was enough to push us into orbit was another matter. On top of that, the glass partially cracked from the landing.

We took off, rising above the mountains and the thick clouds, and then we reached a stalemate. "We"re not going any higher." I focused my jīva on the vessel to keep us steady.

"I"ll do what I can to help!"

I felt the burden lift, but my heart pounded faster until my head ached and everything spun out of control. We focused and pushed through until we gazed down at the half-planet looming below.

"Connor, come and get us the hell out of here. We"ve just run out of fuel." I plopped back; my nose was wet with blood.

"Yes, sir!"

I climbed from the ship to the launchpad and leaned against the freezing machine, which was now locked into the track. If those doors opened now, I knew I wouldn"t have the strength to fight back. How this man was still standing, albeit on shaky, wobbly legs, was a mystery. His jīva must be immensely strong.

"I will go to your medical lab and extract the cure."

"Yeah. I"ll—"

I opened my eyes, my head feeling like the morning after shore leave. That man stood over me. It pissed me off with how fast he could recover himself after such a massive power drain.

"Drink this. It should help you recover." He held the thin, long tube with the light blue liquid inside, and I took it and drained it before plopping my head back on the vessel.

"If my Caspian trusts you, then I will too," I groaned. My blood might as well be made of lead with how every inch of my body was pinned to the floor.

Connor entered the room, his boots echoing in the space.

"How"s Caspian?" I asked. At that moment, no other news seemed worthy of my attention.

"He"s fine, along with the child. He kept muttering about losing it, and nothing seemed to console him, but I gave him some sedatives to help him rest."

"I never thought I"d be praising the existence of a machine." I looked at the newcomer and stood up so I could look down on him. Not that it mattered. He had already seen me weakened and coughing up blood. I hated that he seemed to be more powerful than me despite his smaller size. "What happened down there?"

"I think it would be better if he told you himself. He would want that. I helped him the best way I could with the promise he would allow me passage onboard your vessel."

"Where?"

"As long as needed until I can find passage back to Ashan."

"This isn"t a cruise ship."

He followed me until I reached the Nav room and stood on the podium to help plot the safest course home.

"I can be of some help. I don"t expect free passage, and I require little."

"What can you do? I"m assuming you"ve never left that planet."

"Herbalism. I can put together some concoctions that can enhance a Valisian"s strength or help you recover your jīva faster, and I"m a fighter... to a certain extent."

Ah, so that was his secret. "You can start by giving me some information. How did our kind get on that planet? How long have you lived there?"

"I imagine they crashed there the same way you did and just never managed to make it off. A communications tower was set up on the mountain where you found us."

"Why was it never used?"

"Some of the plant life there can destroy the mind. I assume that they ate them. if I didn"t have a working scanner at the time I would have made the same mistake."

My mouth gaped open. "And you fed a plant from there to me?!"

"That plant is safe! It"s not good to eat as a meal, but it"s good medicine! I swear."

"Hm…and you are one of those Lucani?"

"I don"t belong to those people." he scoffed.

"Then what were you doing there?"

He hesitated before giving up. "I guess it can"t be helped…I don"t know how much you know of our condition that rendered our kind infertile. Most of that information is classified."

"It"s a virus."

"Oh…then, I suppose this next part will be easy. I"m one of the scientists the King entrusted with finding a cure. My research led me to Rishi."

"That"s insane. You went there willingly?"

He nodded. "My team was meant to be there for only two days as we extract this plant." he held up the container he had placed the white plant in. "But we crashed a long way from our destination and those of us who survived the crash were killed. I was the only survivor. I fear I would have to leave this behind to save myself until you were poisoned. I knew the plant grew near your cure. I confessed, we could have traveled someplace closer, but wanted to take a chance."

"You endangered my fucking life for a plant?" I sneered. "Is it a cure? Will it save our people?!"

"No. it"s not a cure for the virus."

"Then what the hell—"

"But it can still save us!"

"Explain yourself!"

"This plant can wake us from our slumber. Imagine the billions of our kind sleeping peacefully that can finally awaken!"

"Hm, is would be a boon and it would boost our numbers significantly," I said, calming down. it was difficult to stay angry at one of our own doing what they could to save our kind. Especially when they got results. "Those trapped Valisians…they sure had a sizeable number on both sides." I stepped off the podium. According to the nav system, it should be another few days before we"re in Ashan space. I would need to rest and check on Caspian.

"It"s because they were never infected. I"ve secretly collected sample tissue throughout the years and I have it all with me. This is why I need to get back to Ashan and to a lab."

"I have one here, though not as extensive. You can get set up anywhere you feel comfortable. I can"t pretend this is a traditional warship. Lucky for you our next stop is home."

"There is a small observational room on the second floor. I want to look out into space as often as I can."

"It"s yours."

I headed to the med bay; Caspian was naked but covered in warm layers of blankets. He slept soundly, and I didn"t want to wake him. I kissed his forehead and smelled his earthy hair. "Looks like I"m not very good at being a mate. I"m fucking up. I should have turned the ship around," I sighed verbally and mentally, hitting myself. "I can"t have you running around in your condition. You need to be somewhere safe where you can have my child in peace, and I"m not sure if that place is my home any more than you believe it"s your colony. We must make a home somewhere else." I stroked his warm cheek and lifted the sheets to check the wound on his stomach. It was healed for the most part, but I could still make out the small discoloration of the skin. An arrow pierced his abdomen. That"s why he believed he had lost the child. I placed my hand over his belly and rested my head there.

Eros was looking better and better.