The Sacrifice (26 page)

The
butler started removing their plates. “
Alpheus,
” Riana said.
“Would you mind escorting us back to our room?”

He glanced toward his boss. Riana
refused to look at Vind, but he must have nodded, because Alpheus replied,
“Yes, madam, it would be my pleasure.”

Cy
and Oz headed back to his office to contact the League of Protectors about Vind
’
s
escape. They would give every chapter throughout the world a description of
Riana and Lily. It was a long-shot, but sweeping the minds of humans had proven
to be a valuable tool for leads in the past.

They
entered through Cy
’
s apartment. The sight of his mother
’
s
body lying on the floor sent Cy
’
s heart into his throat with the speed of a 747.

“Mother!” He picked up her limp body
and laid her on the couch.

Cy
grabbed the phone and called Doc Regan. At nearly eight hundred years old, he
was beginning to slow down physically, but still as mentally competent as the
day he
’
d come to Earth. The doctor answered on the first
ring.    

“This is Cy. I need you to get to my
quarters,
fast
. The
queen is here. I found her on the floor, unresponsive. Please hurry.”

“I
’
m
already on my way,” Doc Regan replied

Oz
had disappeared into the kitchen. He returned with a wet towel and laid it
across the queen
’
s forehead. “Can you tell what
’
s
wrong with her?”

“No.”
Cy wiped her face and neck with the towel, attempting to bring her around. She
looked pale and fragile. But her stillness frightened him most. She normally
moved with the liquid grace of a queen, and was the strongest female he
’
d
ever known. His heart ached at the thought of losing her.

“Is everyone I love going to be taken
from me?” he groaned.

Relief ran through Cy when Doc Regan
came through the door. He watched anxiously while the doctor checked her pupils
and vital signs.

As his hands moved over her scalp, he
glanced at Cy. “Did you see any wounds or blood when you moved her?”

“No, nothing.”

“We
need to take her to the infirmary so I can run some tests. It appears she
’
s
in a deep sleep from some type of sedative. She
’
s exhibiting the same
signs as the unconscious guards found earlier. I
’
ll
know more after a body scan and blood-work.”

Cy
glanced at the tea he had poured his mother earlier. “Hold on one second, Doc.”
He went over to the table and grabbed the cup and his heart sank. It was almost
empty. He handed the cup to the doctor. “If you check this, I believe it will
contain whatever
’
s in her system.
”

Doc
Regan
’
s brows rose. “How did she get hold of the drugged
tea?”

“Vind,”
Cy said bitterly. “It was meant for me. I hope his intent wasn
’
t
to kill me.”

“Me
too. Come along Cy. We must hurry.” Concern etched the doctor
’
s
voice.

“I
’
ll
go make those calls and be right there,” Oz told them.

Cy
picked up his mother
’
s limp body and carried her in his arms like a
sleeping child.

Doc
Regan placed the wet towel across her forehead and eyes so no one would
recognize her. He had known them on Sivadia, and was aware Cy
’
s
mother was the queen.

After
they arrived at the infirmary, Cy laid his mother on an examination table. The
doctor gathered supplies and started to draw her blood. “Doc, I need to make
some calls. I
’
ll be right outside the door. Yell, if you need
me.”

“Okay,” the doctor mumbled, distracted
as he inserted the needle into her vein.

Cy
pulled his phone from his pocket when an unidentified number appeared on the
screen. He started not to click over, but with everything that
’
d
happened in the past hour, he re-thought that idea.

 “
Hello.
”

“Brother,”
Vind said, the word dripping with sarcasm. “I hoped you were awake. I thought
you might like to know how our girls are doing. Well, they
’
re
not really yours anymore, now are they? Let me amend that, how
my
girls
are doing.”

Cy
’
s
body went rigid and his teeth clenched tight. “So help me Vind, if you harm one
hair on either of them, I will rip you to shreds. And, you better pray mother
survives whatever was in that tea.”

“What on earth does mother have to do
with anything? Vind asked.

“Because it was she who drank the tea,
not me.”

“Oh,
not to worry, brother, she’ll be awake before long. I wasn
’
t
trying to kill you. I
’
m enjoying myself
way
too much to end your
life so early in the game.”

“If
you
’
ve done all this as some twisted way to torture
me, then set them free and I
’
ll turn myself over to you. You have my word. You
can torture me all you want, and no one else gets hurt.”

“How
absolutely selfless of you, Cy.” Vind
’
s voice filled with
derision. “You were ever the good son. But, all in good time, little brother,
all in good time.”

“Vind,
this is between us. They
’
re both innocent in this war.”

“No one is innocent in this war.
Especially not Riana.”

“What
do you mean by that? She
’
s done nothing.”

“
Au contraire!
She committed the ultimate sin, by agreeing to become your wife.
However,
now
she will become mine. I only called to let you know we will
be married and expecting our first child long before you even begin to locate
her—which by the way, you never will. Not to worry though, I
’
ll
be sure to send pictures.”

Fear for Riana sparked through Cy like
a flame igniting a fuse. As he realized the reason for this call, he attempted
to control his emotions. Even when they were kids, Vind enjoyed nothing more
than torturing him, physically and mentally. This way, Vind could do it without
laying a finger on him.

“Listen,
Vind, I know how much you
’
re enjoying this, but I don
’
t
have time to listen to your bullshit. But, just so you know, I
will
find
them. And when I do, I
’
m going to end you. You
’
ll
never harm anyone again.”

Vind
broke into a roar of laughter. “Promises, promises, brother. You make promises
you cannot keep. Your little dreams have always amused me.” When they were
children, if Cy had a bad dream, Vind would make him tell all the details
before he
’
d let him sleep in his bed. Even then, Vind wasn
’
t
afraid of anything, and fed off Cy
’
s fears. This phone
call should not have come as a surprise.

“As fun as this is, Cy, I do have to
go. After all, I have a wedding
and
honeymoon to plan.” Vind released a wicked laugh.

Before Cy could respond, the phone
went dead. Cy bent at the waist, placed his hands on his knees and took long,
deep breaths. Anger and fear warred for dominance. He had to control his
emotions and concentrate on finding Riana and Lily.

After Cy called Oz , he went back
inside the infirmary to check on his mother.

“She
’
s
beginning to show signs of responsiveness.” Doc Regan peered into the queen
’
s
eyes with a small light. “She was heavily sedated with amytal sodium, a
barbiturate used to voluntarily induce a coma in the hospitalized human
population. Although it takes more to sedate our species, it
will
render
us unresponsive for a while. Since the dose was intended for you, and the queen
’
s
weight is much less, it brought her closer to a comatose state. I gave her
something to reverse its effects. She will regain consciousness soon, but I
’
d
like to keep her here tonight for observation.”

Cy
’
s
legs wobbled and he sagged against the stretcher.

“Are you all right, son?”

“I
’
ll
not be all right until Riana and Lily are safe at home.” Cy gently gripped his
mother
’
s pale hand.
“I
’
m relieved she
’
s okay. Vind could
have killed her today.” Cy
’
s voice shook with emotion. “I can take him trying
to kill me…just not everyone I love.”

Doc
Regan put his hand on Cy
’
s shoulder and walked him to the door. “Vind has
caused our people and this world enough pain. Your mother is going to be fine.
I will make sure of it. Now you go find those precious girls and bring them
home.”