Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

Jane

" W ell?" I asked.

"If you'll hold still, this will be done quicker." Urix's brow lowered as he slowly ran a wand with a blue tip around the top of my head. "It's a lot of data."

I was trying to be patient, but I was worried. Terrified, actually. Nervous about this examination. There was a possibility that Urix could find something terrible from his scans.

Siroc had not returned since leaving me this morning. Maybe I was too much to deal with. I berated myself over and over for kissing him. I know, I know , he kissed me back, but I shouldn't have done it. Not after he made it clear that things would not be going in that direction with us.

The healer had been here for over an hour, going over me with all of his devices. He had wheeled a cart full of them into the chamber, having voiced his displeasure at not having the infirmary to do this exam in. However, after being apprised of what I had done during the night, he made accommodations.

I felt as if Urix was on my side, as much as he could be. I thought he was a good guy, but he was first and foremost a medic. And as such, he maintained a level of objectivity that I could see. And I completely got it. He was ultimately in charge of the health of the entire Thrail, even though there were medics under him and a whole staff of techs who dealt with daily medical issues.

He dealt with me because my case was so unusual, but I had no doubt that if he discovered something troubling rattling around in my brain, he would report it, even if the results wouldn't be ideal for me.

"I am seeing activity in several of your implants that were not active before," he said.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"The entity who you say took control of your body last night was able to access them. Whoever this is has the ability to remotely control them," he said. "I'm also seeing tremendous muscle fatigue throughout your entire body. That's something we have not been able to create in the infirmary during exercise."

"I did everything I could to break free of his control," I said. "I felt so helpless. So…overpowered."

"Hmm." His brow furrowed deeper. "This is not good, Jane. Hopefully we will have some answers as to who created these devices."

Without warning, the door opened and Siroc burst in. And by bursting in, he walked in, but I was so sensitized to everything having to do with him that I jerked in surprise at his sudden appearance. "Oh," I chirped. "Hello."

"Jane." He did not look pleased. There was a line between his brows, which were low and drawn together. "Give me an update," he said to Urix.

"I'm not done with my examination," said Urix, unfazed by Siroc's brusque demeanor. He updated the warlord on what he had learned so far, telling him everything he had told me.

Siroc stood there, arms crossed, taking in every word. "These implants that were activated," he said. "Can you remove them?"

"If I could, I would have." Urix set aside one device and picked up another. "I extracted every implant that was not connected to a vital brain system. I had to leave in those that would impact her ability to function. So much damage had been done by the beings who abducted her."

"What about her memories?" Siroc did not look at me. He asked the question to Urix as if I was not even there.

"What about them?" Urix asked.

"Are you certain that she cannot retrieve them or that she truly cannot remember her past?"

It took me a moment, but then I realized what he was asking. I hopped off the bed, where Urix had been examining me, and stalked over to Siroc. I stood right before him, glaring up at him. "Are you implying that I'm lying about not being able to remember my past?"

He met my gaze flatly. "Jane, if that's truly your name, I received some distressing information today. There are many gaps in your history that the human authorities on Earth are now looking into. It's highly possible that you came here under an assumed identity. I'd like to know why."

"What?" How could that be? I stepped away, trying to take in his words. "If I have some secret past, I don't know about it." Worry crept in like a ghost in the dark. What if I was hiding some awful secret that was buried in the recesses of my mind? I had just gotten used to being Jane. But what if that wasn't me at all? I couldn't even fathom that.

"I am ninety-eight percent sure that Jane cannot access her long-term memories," said Urix. "There is an implanted block in her cerebral cortex, likely put there specifically to hide what happened to her during her abduction. Whoever did this to her does not want her—or us—to know who took her. But in the process of blocking those memories, they have blocked everything that came before them."

Siroc held his gaze for a long moment before letting out a sigh and rubbing his face wearily. "That is your medical assessment?"

Urix raised his chin. "It is. I can make a public report on it, if you'd like." He glanced at me. "If Jane has a secret past, this version of her doesn't know it."

Siroc began to pace. "I have dignitaries arriving today from the Eta-8 quadrant to broker a new deal for enhanced tatrak alloy, and I am dealing with growing unrest in the population of this Thrail." He glanced at me once with a hard look. "There is growing pressure for me to incarcerate you, Jane, as the Elders grow more convinced—thanks to Elnok—that you are some sort of otherworldly spy or saboteur." He stopped his pacing and turned, pointing a finger right at me. "And today I learned that your past on Earth is dubious at best. What am I supposed to do with all this information?"

"Maybe you should just lock me up," I said, straightening my shoulders. "How bad are your prison cells anyway?"

"They're horrific," he said, as if that were obvious. "They're for our worst criminals." He began pacing again. "And I do not believe you are one of them. At least, the Jane I know is not. But who were you?"

"If I may," said Urix, placing another device against the front of my neck. "Perhaps spending more time with her friend, Paige, would be a good idea. It's certainly less stressful than spending time with you , Warlord, with all due respect."

He frowned at the healer. "I'm stressful?"

Urix smiled mildly. "Without question. All of her vital signs reacted when you entered this room—increased heart rate, altered respiration, even higher cortisol production. But your role of warlord puts you in a unique position, Pal-Siroc. I'm sure Jane knows that her fate lies in your hands." He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and seemed to prepare himself for what he was about to say next. "And unless I am mistaken, and I don't believe I am, there is something between you two that is more than what it appears."

With that line, the air was sucked out of the room. There was our little secret, laid bare by the medic who had a scanning device pressed to my neck. If it was measuring my heartbeat, the readings would be off the charts right now.

"You are out of line, Healer," said Siroc.

I gave him an exasperated look. "Please. What's the point in denying it? We both know he's not wrong."

Siroc shook his head, sending his brakas swaying down his back. "Koloth broached the same subject with me today."

"What did you say to him?" I was dying to know, even though that question might be out of line, especially in front of Urix.

"I didn't discuss it with him, of course," he said. "But if the people around us can see that I care for you, astute others will as well." He looked at me as if I were a problem with an especially elusive solution. "Apparently keeping you in my quarters was a mistake."

Now that hit hard. I crossed my arms in front of my belly, as if absorbing a blow, and raised my chin to aim a solid glare at him. "Then maybe you should just send me to the prison cell, or whatever it is you call it," I said. "We wouldn't want anyone else knowing that you have these unwanted feelings."

He advanced, stalking up to me and glaring down. "It is more than gossip, Jane. If the people believe that I have been manipulated or badly influenced by you, I could lose the confidence of my people and be deposed." He cocked his head. "Who would benefit from that?"

"Elnok, the seer." Urix sighed and pressed a hand to his forehead. "I am no great strategist, Warlord, but even I can see how this is being played."

Siroc nodded sharply. "He arrived not long before Jane vanished from the very corridor she wandered to last night. I have ordered a quiet investigation into his past, but it will take time. Time we may not have."

My head spun a little bit. This was a lot to take in, and the implications were larger than I had realized. Siroc was right—this had nothing to do with idle rumors and gossip about his love life. If this truly had to do with his very position as warlord, it was more serious than I'd realized.

"Then there's really only one solution here," I said. "You have to send me away."