Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

Lomax

“H uman, open your eyes.”

The familiar voice spoke with firm insistence, but I kept my eyes closed and tried to ignore it. I was exhausted, and even lifting my eyelids seemed like too much trouble.

“Lomax, open your eyes now.”

“Mmph,” I said. The world swayed and bumped, and a sudden drop made me wonder if I was on some kind of roller coaster. Was that what hell was? A ride on a never-ending roller coaster?

“Krono, the storm has hit faster than I thought.” That voice was familiar, too.

“Will we reach the castle before the storm is at its full power?”

“I hope so, Thromi.”

There was a pause and then a low chuckle. “To the end, Aiden.”

“To the end, Thromi.”

“Enough with your ‘to the ends.’ I have no intention of dying on this vroha, for Krono’s sake.”

The irritation in the voice would have made me grin if I wasn’t so tired. Man, Sigan was grumpy.

A hand shook my shoulder. “Human, open your eyes. You must drink more, or you will die.”

I sighed and forced each lid open, feeling like an elephant sat on each one. Sigan’s face swam into focus, and he said, “Drink this.”

A bottle was pushed against my lips, and I drank the sweet, cold juice for as long as I could before it required too much energy.

I turned my head away, and Sigan frowned but set the bottle down. His fingers pressed against my wrist, and a brief look of relief crossed his face. “Better. You are as stable as I can get you without serum, human.”

“Where are we?” I closed my eyes again. It was too much effort to keep them open.

“A Draax ship,” Sigan said. “We will be home soon.”

“If we don’t crash and die,” Thromi said.

The world swayed and tilted, and I would have rolled across the floor if Sigan hadn’t wrapped something long and muscular around my waist to hold me steady.

“For Krono’s sake, Thromi,” Sigan snapped as the ship made another stomach jolting drop.

“I wanna get off this roller coaster,” I said.

“Soon,” Sigan said.

“My ribs hurt,” I said. “Why do they hurt?”

“I have broken a few of them,” Sigan said.

“Dick move, buddy,” I mumbled. My chest was tight again, and I could feel my heart skip a few beats.

“Uh oh,” I muttered, “ticker is acting up again.”

“Drink, human. Right now.” Sigan’s voice was alarmed sounding.

I didn’t want to, but Sigan was relentless with the damn juice. Afraid he would pinch my nose shut or something and then pour the juice down my throat, I forced myself to take a few big swallows.

“How much longer, Aiden?” Sigan asked.

“We are almost to the city,” Aiden said. “But the snow falls so hard I can barely see. And with these winds, landing could be an issue.”

The ship made a groaning sound. We tilted sharply to the left, and there was a heavy thud as something big and warm landed half on top of me, turning the pain in my ribs to agony.

“Krono!” Sigan said. “Thromi, help me. Quickly before he crushes her.”

I tried vainly to gasp in air as, with matching grunts, Sigan and Thromi heaved the heavy weight off of me.

“Krono, he weighs as much as a hartebeest,” Thromi said.

“Move him further away from her,” Sigan said as the ship rattled and shook.

“To where? The ship is too small to move him,” Thromi said.

“Lomax, drink again,” Sigan said urgently.

I drank a few more swallows to appease him before groaning weakly. “No more, Sigan. I’m so tired. Please, I want to sleep.”

“Do not die, human,” Sigan said sharply. “Not when we are so close to home.”

“Yes, sir,” I mumbled before slipping into the warm darkness again.

* * *

Regan

I woke in an infirmary with an IV in my arm and my wrists shackled to the bed. I made a light tug on the red ring that bound my left wrist to the bed railing, not at all surprised when the cuff tightened against my flesh.

The infirmary had eight beds, four on each side of the room, and I studied the small female in the bed directly across from mine. She was also hooked up to an IV, but no cuffs chained her to the bed. Her face was pale, and puffy purplish bruising lined both eyes. She lay as still as a wracken about to strike, and her chest rose and fell with such shallow breaths that, at first, I thought her to be dead.

A body scanner and a long counter were at the room's far end. The door at the end of the counter opened, revealing a lab behind it, and a Draax, wearing a lab coat and carrying a tablet, stepped into the room. He walked toward the female, stopping when he glanced at me and saw that I was awake. He fished a vertex out of his pocket and made a call.

He spoke only one sentence, “He is awake,” before shoving the vertex back into his pocket and joining me at the bed.

“My name is Sigan. Do you remember what happened to you?”

“I was injured by a human while helping that little female.” I pointed to the woman across from me. “He was hurting her.”

“Yes,” Sigan said. “The human male shot you four times. I removed the bullets from your abdomen, and while there was significant damage to your internal organs, the gallberry serum healed them. Are you still in pain?”

“A little,” I admitted. “Why have you cuffed me to the bed?”

Sigan just shrugged, and I glanced at the woman again. “Did the human male injure her?”

“You do not remember what happened?”

I closed my eyes in concentration. After I confronted the human in the alley, I remembered very little: anger that he was hurting the small female, pain in my stomach, and the sweet smell of the little female as she urged me to keep walking. I shook my head. “Not entirely. I remember her taking me to her home, but the memory is unclear.”

“The human male did not injure her, but she has another illness that is killing her,” Sigan said.

I scowled, irritated that I was injured for nothing. “You cannot save her?”

“I am trying,” Sigan said shortly.

A second Draax entered the infirmary. He was tall and muscular, had short dark hair and copper-coloured eyes, and wore a plain cotton shirt and pants. I groaned inwardly. Krono, I recognized him easily and now knew exactly where I was.

“Hello, Galan,” I said.

“Hello, Regan.” He approached the bed, watching Sigan run a finger across the right cuff. It turned green and opened, and I rubbed my wrist as Sigan left and returned with a bottle of juice. He handed it to me, and I drank the sweet juice while Galan watched.

“Better?” Sigan asked.

I nodded as Galan said, “Is he not healed yet, Sigan?”

“Not fully. The human weapon did more damage than I expected, and he was nearly dead when the little female brought us to him. But I expect a few more hours of the serum will be enough to heal him.”

Sigan crossed the room to the little female and ran a pleirdox over her body. He studied the screen before adjusting her IV drip and returning to the lab.

Galan stared silently at me, and I said, “Will your king allow me to heal fully before he imprisons me?”

“Lucky for you, a storm has hit. No one will be leaving the castle for at least a moon,” Galan said. “But even if it had not, Quill would not imprison you. It is your king’s responsibility to punish you for your actions, not Quill’s.”

“Does Eastolf know I am here?”

Quill shook his head. “No. You barely beat the storm here, I still have no idea how Aiden managed to land the vroha without killing all of you, and the storm had already knocked out communications.”

I hid the relief that soared within me, but Galan gave me an assessing look. “Some in the castle suspect you are here because your king desires it.”

“Is that why I am chained like a common thief?” I tugged on the cuff, which immediately glowed a brighter red and tightened around my wrist.

“It would not be the first time your king has planted a traitor in our midst,” Galan said.

“Yes, and from what I have heard, the traitor still lives here and is not only mated to one of the king’s guard but advises your king,” I said. “Tell me, is King Quillan naive or stupid?”

Galan’s nostrils flared, and his hand dropped to a sword that wasn’t there. “Insult my king again, and it will not end well for you.”

I kept my mouth prudently shut. Galan may not have his sword now, but I had no doubt he would happily return with it and skewer me in the guts. I could not blame him. Eastolf and I may not have been as close as we once were, but my loyalty to him remained. I would react the same way if someone insulted him.

“My king did not send me here,” I said.

“How do you know the little female?” Galan glanced at the woman in the bed.

“I do not,” I said. “A human male was harming her, I intervened. Nothing more.”

“You nearly died for a female you do not know?” Galan said skeptically.

“All females are precious,” I said. I felt no need to admit I was drunk on the human’s beer drink and not thinking clearly.

“That we can agree on.” Galan glanced at Sigan as he returned from the lab. “You will remain here in the infirmary until you are fully healed. Then, you will be moved to quarters with a guard outside. You are not to leave your quarters. Is that clear?”

I nodded, and Galan said, “Sigan, notify me when he is healed.”

“I will,” Sigan said.

The infirmary door opened, and a Draax stepped into the room. Unlike Galan, he wore his king’s guard uniform with his sword at his waist. He stood silently beside the door, his face solemn.

“Is that necessary, Galan?” Sigan asked. “He is still weak and cuffed to the bed.”

“Laos will remain in the infirmary,” Galan said.

He turned to leave, and I said, “Where is my sword?”

“It will be returned to you when you leave our province,” Galan said.

“A king’s guard cannot be without his sword,” I said.

“You are not a king’s guard here.” Galan walked out of the infirmary.