The Tigrens' Glory (33 page)

“Remove her from it and we shall heal her ourselves,” Kyerion said, sickened by the sight of Glory in a tank.  It reminded him too much of the ones they’d been trapped in, though he was glad to see that, unlike them, she wasn’t naked.  Instead, she wore a snug white garment that left only her face bare. 

“That’s not a good idea,” Doc said. 

“Why not?” Kyerion demanded, his fists clenched tightly with the effort required to stand there and do nothing but stare at Glory’s motionless body.  What he really wanted to do, and would do if he didn’t like Doc’s answer, was reach down, smash the glass top of the tank, and yank her out of it.  She’d freed them.  He could do no less for her.

“Glory has an unusual genetic profile,” Doc explained.  “She’s partly human, but she carries a strong strain of Jasani, too.  We’ve never encountered this before.  Jasani genes always overwhelm human genes completely.  Well, almost always.  Glory is the sole exception.  The bad news is that she has enough Jasani in her to prevent the tank from healing her. The good news is, she has enough human in her for it to keep her alive.”

“She told us she was human, but mentioned nothing about being part Klanaren…Jasani,” Kirk said.

“I don’t think she’s aware of it,” Garen said.  “In fact, I’m certain that she isn’t.”

“That’s a discussion for another time, Kirk,” Kyerion said, casting his brother a stern look before turning back to Doc.  “We are Druids.  Healers.  Remove her from the tank and we will heal her ourselves.”

“Removing her from the tank is a process that takes over an hour at minimum,” Doc said.  “She was very close to death when I put her into the tank.  She won’t live more than a few minutes once I deactivate it.  You’ll never have a chance to heal her.”

“Doc has more experience with our physiology than anyone alive, Kyerion,” Garen said.  “I promise you, he is to be trusted.”

“What if we try to heal her through the tank?” Kirk asked.

“You can do that?” Doc asked.

“Perhaps.”  Kyerion frowned.  “We’ve never attempted to heal a human since we’ve never seen one before today.  Do you have a human with an injury we can attempt to heal?  If that works, then we can try to heal her through the tank.”

“The problem isn’t whether or not you can heal a human, but whether or not you can heal someone who has genetic markers for both Jasani
and
human,” Doc said.  “From what Trey tells me, Jareth was unable to heal Glory because of her unusual genetic profile, and I’ve never seen him fail to heal anyone before.”

“Who is Jareth?” Kyerion asked, the idea of an unknown male laying hands upon Glory making his hackles rise.

“Why did she need healing?” Kirk demanded.

“Jareth is an Alverian Empath Healer,” Garen said.  He cocked a brow at Kyerion before adding, “They heal without touching, so you can stop imagining the worst.”  Kyerion lowered his chin in a brief nod, thanking his prince for the information, but in no way apologizing for his behavior.  He was not ashamed or embarrassed at their possessive and protective feelings toward Glory.  It was their nature.

“She weakened herself to a dangerous degree the first time she Dream Walked with the three of you,” Trey said, answering Kirk’s question.  “She indicated that it was necessary to feed some of her energy to Cade.”

Cade’s face paled.  “I am sorry, my brothers,” he began, but Kyerion held up one hand. 

“Glory did what was necessary, Cade.  She saved your life, and ours, by sharing her energy with all of us.  We can only be grateful to her.  We will thank her most profusely for all of our lives once she is healed.”

Cade nodded, and Kirk clapped him on the shoulder.  Kyerion turned to Doc.  “What is the injury that threatens her?”

“She suffered a severe brain hemorrhage,” Doc said.  “We have two options at this time.  The first option is surgery.  Now, I can do some minor surgery, and the infirmary medi-bot is capable of performing a number of routine procedures as well.  But I’m not skilled enough to tackle an injury such as hers, nor would I risk her life and mind to a machine.  If we go that route, we’ll have to find a skilled surgeon after we return home.”

“What is a
surgeon
?” Kyerion asked.

“It’s a person trained in the art of manual healing,” Garen said.  “Her skull would be opened so that the injury could be repaired.”

The Tigren looked as though they were going to be ill.  They also looked furious.  “No,” Kyerion declared.  “Such a thing will not be done to her.  We shall heal her ourselves if it takes a millennium, but no one shall cut into her head.”

“I understand your feelings,” Garen said.  “We owe Glory an enormous debt of gratitude for all she’s done.  We will not allow her to come to harm, or to die.”

“Agreed,” Kyerion said with a sharp nod.  “What is the second option, Doc?”

“She is regenerating,” Doc said, surprising all of them.  “She appears to have just enough Jasani in her for a minor ability to self-heal.  But, I warn you, it is a very weak ability, and is occurring at an extremely slow rate.  I wouldn’t have even noticed it yet were she not being monitored so closely by the healing tank.  At this rate, it could take years for her to fully heal her current injury, and she’d have to remain in the healing tank for all of that time.”

“If we have to wait years, then that’s what we’ll do,” Kyerion said.  “In the meantime, we shall attempt to heal her through the walls of the tank.”

“Is your magic strong enough for that now?” Garen asked. 

“Maybe.  If we fail, we will wait a few days and try again.  We will continue trying until she is healed no matter how long it takes.” 

“Is Glory your Arima?” Trey asked, finally voicing the question they all wanted an answer to.

“That’s an odd question, Prince Trey,” Kyerion said.

“Why is it odd?” Garen asked.

“Because she’s not Klanaren, or at least, has very little Klanaren in her,” Kyerion said.  “We assumed she was our Arima for a long time.  After she told us that she was human, we continued to believe that, somehow, she was still meant for us.  We still believe that, but we’ve accepted that she can’t be our Arima.  I don’t see how having a tiny strain of Klanaren could be enough to change that.”

Garen sighed and shook his head.  “There’s so much you don’t know.  Before we go any further you must be informed of certain facts.”

Kyerion studied the Dracons’ faces for a long moment.  “Very well, Highness,” he said slowly.  “I would ask one question though, if I may.”

“Of course,” Garen agreed.

“Is there a possibility, however slim, that Glory could truly be our Arima?  That she could become fully Klanaren and Tigren?”

“I’ve no wish to give you false hopes,” Garen said carefully, “but I believe that yes, there is a possibility.”

“Thank you,” Kyerion said as fierce joy lit his golden eyes. 

“We’ll go to our private dining room to talk,” Garen said.  “If you’re hungry, we can order some food as well.”  He turned to Doc and Darlene.  “If you’ll wait here for a few moments, Trey and Val will return to take you back to the
Vyand
.”

Darlene waited for the Tigrens and Dracons to vanish, then turned to Doc.  “Do you think they’ll be able to convert Glory if she’s their Arima?”

“Good question,” Doc said.  “Their genetic profile is different from the other clans, but how much of that is due to the fact that they’re Tigren, and how much is due to the fact that they’re a seven thousand year old version of the Jasani of today, I have no idea.  Since each clan has different DNA and we’ve no Tigren to compare them to, I’d say it’s a toss-up.”

Chapter Twenty Seven

The Tigren sat around the table with the Dracons in their private dining room, trying to process everything they’d just been told.  It was difficult to accept that the physiology of their people had actually changed.  They understood how long they’d been in stasis, but at the same time, it felt like but a few days had passed since they’d last stood on Ugaztun.  Lesser minds would have broken under the strain of all they were attempting to assimilate in such a short time.

Kyerion went over the facts in his mind, refusing to allow his emotions free reign.  “Since our physiology has not changed, does that mean we cannot convert a woman as you’ve done?”

“That’s the big question,” Garen said.  “It’s also one we’ve given much thought to since Glory told us of her dreams of you.  What you need to understand is that we’re living in what is a new era for our people, an era of constant change,” Garen said.  “We simply don’t have very many hard answers. 

“However, going by what we
do
know, I believe that if your Arima were a fully human woman, then no, you probably couldn’t convert her.  But Glory has a genetic code unlike any other.  If she is your Arima, then yes, I think there’s a chance you could convert her.”

“A chance,” Cade said.  “What if we try, and fail?”

“We don’t know,” Garen said.  “That hasn’t happened yet.  But, even if it had, I’m not sure it would signify.  Your situation is not the same as anyone else’s.”

“We don’t actually know if we have a situation, since we still don’t know if she’s our Arima or not,” Kirk pointed out.

“We could take you to her room, allow you to scent her things,” Garen offered.

Kyerion thought about that.  It was tempting.  He glanced at his brothers and saw the same indecision he felt.  “If we do that, and she is our Arima, our physical reaction will be such that it might interfere with our concentration.  We thank you for the offer, Highness, but we will wait until she awakens to learn the answer to that question,” Kyerion said.

Garen nodded, accepting their decision.  “When do you want to try healing Glory?”

“I think we should eat first, then rest for a time,” Kyerion said.  “After that, we will make our first attempt.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Garen said, reaching for the button to call a steward.   

***

A few hours later, the Tigren returned to the room where Glory awaited them inside a healing tank.  Doc and the Dracons remained outside the room where they would watch on something called a
vid screen
.  The Tigren didn’t understand the technology, but they were thankful for the privacy, even if it was just an illusion.

Kyerion took the position at the end of the tank near Glory’s head.  Kirk stood on the right side, and Cade the left.  Kyerion placed both of his palms on the glass of the tank above Glory’s face while his brothers each placed a hand on one of his shoulders, and the other beside his on the glass of the tank.  Kyerion would send Water magic into Glory, while Kirk and Cade lent him their strength.  Through him, they would sense what he did.

Kyerion closed his eyes, focusing on the mental image of Glory floating in the fluid of the healing tank.  Once he was certain he had every detail correct, he sent a thin stream of magic through the glass of the tank, then through the strange fluid to Glory.  It was an odd sensation, and not entirely comfortable.  He had to fight for several minutes to maintain the stream of Water while at the same time preventing it from spreading out when it hit the unnatural substances.  When he was finally able to guide the Water into her chest, he paused a moment to let their combined relief roll through him.  Only when he was completely focused again did he continue. 

Keeping the thread of Water as thin as possible so as not to waste energy, he checked her heart, found it strong and healthy, then moved to her lungs.  When he was satisfied all was well with her cardiovascular system, he moved to her brain.  He worked his way carefully to the injured area, inspecting everything thoroughly.  The seriousness of the injury was such that they were all surprised she’d lived long enough for Doc to get her in the tank at all. 

Banishing that thought from his mind, Kyerion continued to inspect the injured area in minute detail.  When he was sure he understood the extent of the injury fully, he increased the flow of Water magic to create what appeared in his mind to be a cool blue healing light which he aimed at the injury.  He went slowly, waiting patiently for one portion of the injury to be fully healed before moving to the next, accepting power from his brothers as he needed it. 

“This is the price she paid for our lives,”
Kyerion said to his brothers while he worked.  He remembered all too clearly how difficult it had been for him to open his brothers’ hibernation tanks, how stiff the handles had been, how tight the seals were when he pulled the doors open.  Yet Glory had somehow managed to open his tank using her mind and will alone, and then had shared all of her remaining energy with him so that he could save Kirk and Cade.  She was an amazing woman, and he very much looked forward to getting to know her better.  If they could save her. 

“We will save her,”
Kirk said calmly. 
“One way or another.  As she did not fail us, neither shall we fail her.”

“Agreed,”
Kyerion said, drawing more power from his brothers and continuing with his task.  When he was finished he went back to the beginning and rechecked the area meticulously.  Then he inspected the rest of her brain, searching for more injuries or bleeding.  He found some minor swelling and used up the remainder of their combined power to heal it.  By the time he returned to himself, they were all exhausted.

“That went well,” Cade said, his voice thin with weariness.

“Yes, it did,” Kyerion agreed.  “The injury is fully healed and all swelling removed.”

The door behind them opened and Doc entered with a tray holding three glasses of green liquid, the Dracons behind him.  “This will help you replenish the energy you’ve expended,” he said, offering them the tray.  Kyerion glanced at Garen, who nodded. 

“It’s mostly vitamins and nutrients,” he said.  “It helps.”  Kyerion lowered his head in a deep nod of thanks and they each took a glass from the tray. 

“It doesn’t taste wonderful, so you might want to get it down in a hurry,” Doc said.  They emptied the glasses quickly, taking him at his word, then returned the glasses to the tray with thanks.