Chapter 8

Traze walked back to the hold dejected after speaking with the seers. Najol had informed him that they urgently wished to speak with him, only for Traze to find that not only do they not have a fix for the healing sands, but the sands were diminishing even more rapidly than before. The seers did not know how much longer they would even have any healing sands to work with. They predicted weeks before the stream dried up entirely.

Traze was lost. He had no idea what he could do at this point. He felt he was failing his people—and not just his people but also Veda and the human women staying at the Living Sands. If only he was a more effective leader, perhaps he could find a way out of this.

He walked back to his quarters where Veda was now staying. He was still lost when it came to Veda. More than ever, he had to focus on his people, yet at the same time he was so drawn to her he could not help but spend as much time with her as possible. Holding her earlier created desires in him he could only barely control.

He still had not announced to her that she was his kode. He didn't know how to tell her and was still unsure of how she would react. She seemed skeptical of the Ateran people and their culture, so he wasn't positive she'd be receptive to being his mate. And even if she was, he could not give her the attention she needed as a kode right now.

Veda was sitting on the bed, alert and apparently waiting for someone to enter the room. She appeared excited when he walked in.

"What's going on?" she asked immediately, concern in her voice.

"What do you mean?" Traze asked.

"I mean, clearly something upset you, so you sent me back here. Something must be wrong."

Traze wondered if he should confide in her about the healing sands but he reminded himself the only reason he even rationalized speaking to her earlier that day was because she was a scientist. Though he doubted very seriously that she knew anything the seers didn't, he saw no reason to keep this information from her.

"The sands with which you were healed have not been as effective lately and unfortunately they appear to be drying up. The seers believe we have only weeks before they dry up entirely. This will be horrific for the tribe not only because we will be unable to heal ourselves from injury and disease but because it will greatly affect what we are able to trade. The healing sands have always been our greatest asset."

"The… seers? Is that, like, a kind of scientist here on Atera?"

"Yes, exactly, they are scientists like you."

Veda nodded. "Well, you should let me meet with them."

"You would like to speak with them?" Traze asked.

"Yes, of course! I mean, I don't know to what extent I could help, but maybe if I can interact with them and get their data, I'll actually be able to do something that will make a difference. I don't want to just sit here on Atera and do nothing. I always loved my work as a biologist, and I'd be fascinated to learn more about Atera and do anything I could to help you. You've been so great to me, after all."

Traze nodded. It excited him to hear that she had interest in life on Atera, even if it was as a scientist. He still did not hold out much hope that Veda would be able to learn anything that his own scientists were unable to. All the same, he was willing to try anything.

"If you are ready now, I can take you to them. They will still be working."

"Yes, absolutely! I'm going to be bored to death if I stay in this room all night!"

Traze thought it was nice to see Veda so enthusiastic about leaving his quarters and speaking with the seers, but he also was a bit worried as he led her to them. She might be a knowledge bearer of her own species, but seers were not always receptive to non-seers, even Aterans. So for a human to come in and want to speak to them about their data… Well, it might not go over that well.

As Traze expected, when they arrived at the seers' lab they were immediately standoffish upon seeing Veda.

"Everyone, this is Veda. She is a human scientist. She has a lot of interest in your findings regarding the healing sands, and she would like to help if she can."

"But she cannot help. She is not a seer," Lanut spoke up.

"You do not know that," Traze said forcefully. "You have not spoken to her. Do not judge her before she has her turn to learn and speak. You will all show her respect. I command it as your warlord."

The seers begrudgingly nodded, but it was clear they were not enthused.

"So, what exactly is going on?" Veda spoke up, asserting herself.

Traze had to admire her determination and confidence. She didn't seem to back down to anything. Traze had noticed it back when they were swinging from the vines. She seemed entirely unbothered swinging through the air just as she seemed unbothered now.

One of the seers opened up a map of Atera on a large screen. He zoomed in to the Living Sands and began to explain where the healing sands hailed from and where they pooled. He explained the sudden decrease in sands.

"And you have had no atmospheric changes?" Veda asked. "Nothing in your climate has changed?"

"No," another seer, Wezt answered.

Veda nodded and stared up at the map. "Well, surely, you can do something about extending the life of the sands you have now. Right? Have you attempted to dilute any of the healing sands in water and tested their effectiveness? You may be able to use the sand you have for a while if you make a solution of it with water."

The seers still didn't seem any more receptive to Veda and were irritated with her questions, but she did not back down at all. It was clear to Traze that she was a strong-headed woman. He appreciated this and admired it, but it was odd to watch Veda behave this way. For so long she was unconscious and seemed vulnerable, weak, and fragile. Now she was a force of nature, pushing through to the seers in any way she could.

"No!" Wezt snapped at Veda. "That is blasphemy! The healing sands and waters are a gift from the Goddess Eana! They are not to be tampered with as some kind of scientific toy. They must be left untouched. We respect the goddess's gift."

Traze stood back and let Veda argue with them a bit, merely observing. However, the longer Veda spoke with the seers, the larger the stone pit in Traze's stomach grew.

He feared that the healing sands drying up was a discipline from Eana. Perhaps she was punishing Traze for failing his tribe and his kode. Eana sent the gifts of the human women, including Veda, and Traze thought this meant Eana was blessing him. But Veda only complicated Traze's leadership, so perhaps even she was disciplinary action. Traze didn't know what he'd done to upset Eana, but he was sure she was showing her wrath to all of the Living Sands.

Veda sighed loudly. "Why are you guys even studying the healing sands if you're so against doing anything to preserve them? If you refuse to touch the goddess's gift, why even pay attention to the healing sands? You could just throw your hands up in the air and let things play out however the goddess wishes." The edge of contempt in Veda's voice made it clear to the seers that she did not believe in Eana, which only frustrated them further. Veda could see their anger.

"What? It's frustrating! You have this amazing substance here, and you're not doing anything with it. Next thing you'll tell me is that it's against your religion to simply make a vaccine of the healing property and inject it directly into an Ateran instead of wasting the sands soaking people's entire bodies for days or weeks on end!"

This was not against the Aterans' religion, but they had never considered the idea that before… and the proposal shocked them.

The seers dropped down to their knees, their mouths gaped open, and began to pray to Eana. It shocked Veda, who stared over at Traze. He could only smile at her. He was thoroughly impressed. She had discovered something the seers could not. Traze really did not believe she would have any insight that they did not. She was a greater gift from Eana than Traze even knew.

"They are impressed by you, as am I. They had not considered this," Traze explained.

Veda had to smile. "You are all so advanced in so many ways, and then you surprise me with some of your traditions…"

"Come, Veda, I will take you to the healing sands. You should do one last session within them and I will take you to the streams the seers speak of. Perhaps you will discover more that they haven't."