The Vulpirans' Honor: The Soul-Linked Saga (21 page)

She glanced over toward the Research Center next door and thought of Michael.  If
he’d been offered a position as he hoped, then they’d be staying here.  If they were
going to stay here, Michael had made it very clear that he was done living a lie,
so everyone would soon know the truth about them.  Including the Vulpirans, of course. 
She wondered how they’d react, but she didn’t know them well enough to guess. 

At least she understood the reason for all the tension she felt from them every time
she saw them.  Understanding that was, in itself, a big relief.  But at the same time,
looking at an unknown future was kind of scary.  It had been so long since she’d been
free to make decisions about her own life.

She opened the infirmary door and stepped inside, putting Michael and the Vulpirans
from her mind.  Whether they stayed on Jasan or not, she was here to see patients,
and needed to focus on that alone.

“Good morning, Dr. Davis,” Doc greeted her cheerily.  “Are you ready for your first
day?”

“Yes, I am,” Honey said.  “I’m looking forward to seeing patients again.”

“I know what you mean,” Doc said.  “It’s the people that make medicine fulfilling,
isn’t it?”

Honey nodded as she followed Doc down the hall and into an office.  “This will be
your office,” he said, waving at the almost bare room.  There was a desk, a chair,
a vid-terminal, and a couple of book shelves.  “Do whatever you like with it to make
it yours.  You’ll probably be spending a good deal of time here.”

“Thanks, Doc,” Honey said.  “But remember, I still have to talk to Michael about taking
this position permanently.”

“I know, I’m not forgetting,” Doc said.  “I’m just confident in our ability to convince
you to stay where you’re needed most.

“Thanks, Doc,” Honey said.

“Don’t thank me yet,” Doc said with a wink.  “As I told you, we’ve got four patients
coming in for you specifically.  Two of them are Jasani, two human, all pregnant of
course.  What I didn’t tell you is that they’re coming in this afternoon.  I have
something else planned for your morning.”

“More patients?” Honey asked.  “If they’re human, that’s fine.  Otherwise, my knowledge
of Jasani physiology is seriously lacking.  I won’t have any trouble sensing the babies
either way, but beyond that, I am not prepared to see Jasani patients.”

“That’s not going to be a problem since that’s what I had planned for you this morning,”
Doc said, pleased that Honey wanted to learn about the Jasani.

“Good,” Honey said with relief.  “Show me where to start.”

“It’s all right there on your vid-terminal,” Doc said.  “But first, come on in to
the break room, get some coffee and meet Nurse Tesla.”

Honey put her handbag down and followed Doc out of her office and down the hall.

***

“We’ve just crossed over the ranch border,” Hunt said, the combination of technology
and magic that created the protective barrier causing a sensation that felt like cold
water rushing over his body.  “Won’t be much longer now.”

“How long?” Michael asked.

“Five, ten minutes at this speed,” Lance replied.

Michael turned off his hand terminal and got up to get another drink of water.  For
some reason, he felt nervous about seeing Honey again, though he wasn’t sure why. 
He knew that she’d recovered from whatever had happened to her when she’d healed those
babies.  Not only had the Vulpirans told him so, but he’d talked to her on the vox
and she’d assured him that it hadn’t been a big deal at all.  The Vulpirans had said
different, but since she was well now it didn’t matter much one way or the other. 

He drank his water, disposed of the bottle and headed back toward his seat, still
pondering the problem.  The Vulpirans had offered him a permanent position running
the Research Center on the Dracons’ ranch, and he’d taken it.  After seeing the facility
in Berria, he’d hoped for a spot there, but he’d been assured that would come, in
time.  That was enough for him.  He’d get to do the work he loved, and never have
to see Terien again.  And he would no longer be forced to live a lie. 

That was it, he realized.  That’s why he was nervous about seeing Honey.  It wasn’t
going to be easy for her when he told her, but he was being as fair as he could be. 
She and Nica would be allowed to remain on Jasan for as long as they wanted, the council
had promised him that much.  He’d make sure they always had a place to live and wanted
for nothing.  She’d probably be upset anyway, and he’d be sorry for that, but he wasn’t
going to change his mind.

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his head and he doubled over in his seat, gasping. 
He heard Vikter shout, as though from a distance, and then the dark spots at the edges
of his vision grew, and full darkness enveloped him.

***

Sergio Farnswaite was sound asleep when his eyes opened and his body sat up without
his permission.  He tried to blink, tried to shake his head, tried to lay back down. 
When he was unable to force himself to do any of those things, he decided that he
must be dreaming.  He watched as though from the sidelines as his body stood up, pulled
on a pair of pants and slipped shoes onto his feet before reaching for the light jacket
hanging over the back of the single chair in his cell-like room.  His hand turned
the doorknob, pulled the door open, and his body stepped out into the hall. 

When he realized that his body was walking toward the portion of the detention wing
where the Xanti’s cell was located, he again tried to stop himself.  If he was dreaming,
then this was a nightmare, he decided.  No matter how hard he tried to stop them,
his feet kept walking calmly down the hall.  He decided to try calling for help. 
If he could scream, maybe he could wake himself up before this nightmare got any worse.

***

Honey studied the data on Jasani physiology that Doc had compiled for her, soaking
it up like a sponge.  It was fascinating stuff.  She was so involved that Doc had
to call her name a couple of times to get her attention.

“Sorry Doc,” she said.  “I get a bit carried away sometimes.”

“That’s nothing to apologize for,” Doc said with a grin.  “I just want to let you
know I need to leave for a little while.  There are no patients scheduled until after
lunch, and I’ll be back before that.  If you need anything, Nurse Tesla is up front.”

“Thanks Doc,” Honey replied.  “I’ll see you later.”

Doc nodded and left, pulling the door shut behind him, and Honey turned back to her
reading.

***

“Are you sure you’re all right, Michael?” Vikter asked worriedly.

“Yes, I’m fine,” Michael said, feeling embarrassed.  “I don’t have any idea what happened. 
I just felt like someone ran a spike through my head.  But there’s no pain at all
now, no dizziness, nothing.  I’m great.”

Vikter didn’t like it.  “That’s twice now,” he said.  “Plus, you said it happened
on the way to Berria.  As soon as we land, you’re going straight to the infirmary
and have Doc give you a once over.”

“I don’t think that’s necessary, Vikter,” Michael said.  “I’m fine now.  No pain,
nothing.”

“Michael, I’m your boss now,” Vikter said.  “I hate to pull rank like this, but we
cannot afford to lose you.  So please, humor me.”

“All right, Vikter,” Michael replied.  “Since you insist.”

“Thank you,” Vikter said, clapping him lightly on the shoulder before turning to go
back to his own seat.

Michael turned to look out the window and sighed.  Looked like he was going to have
to face Honey sooner than he hoped.  He was very happy and excited that the Jasani
Council had offered him a permanent position.  But, he was worried about Honey’s reaction. 
He didn’t want to hurt her or Nica, and he really hoped that their relationship would
stay the same.  Either way, he was determined to stop living the lie that the Teriens
had forced on them.  If it hurt Honey, he would be sorry, but he was still going to
go through with it.

***

Sergio felt sweat pop out on his forehead as he fought against his own body while
it sauntered casually through the empty halls.  He knew something bad was going to
happen.  And he knew it had something to do with that stars-damned Xanti, since that
was where his body was taking him. 

That thought...
his body taking him
...made him want to weep with frustration.  He tried to convince himself that he was
asleep, but he knew better.  This was too clear, too vivid, too tactile.  He felt
the sweat running down his face, the brush of his arms against the cloth of his jacket
as they swung gently as he walked, the slight pinch of his toes in the shoes he’d
put on that had never fit quite right but which he wore anyway because they were so
stylish.

He couldn’t stop himself.  He couldn’t scream.  He couldn’t convince himself he was
asleep.  And he couldn’t black out.  His only choices were to either give up and see
what happened next, or keep fighting.  Fighting seemed useless, but for once in his
life, even though there was no one around to see it, no one who would ever know it,
Sergio Farnswaite refused to give up. 

***

Vikter frowned as the transport descended toward the grassy airfield.  Something was
wrong.  He didn’t know what, but the certainty was growing stronger and stronger by
the moment.  Was it Michael’s headaches?  He shook his head.  He’d thought so at first,
but Michael was fine now.  It was something else.

He nodded to Lance and walked toward the back of the cabin.  When they were far enough
away that he was sure Michael couldn’t hear him, he leaned close to Lance.  “Vox the
Research Center,” he said.  “Tell whoever is on duty to check on the Xanti.”

Lance nodded and reached for his vox.  Vikter waited tensely while he asked the guard
who answered to check on the Xanti.  A moment later, he tapped his vox and shook his
head. 

“The guard checked the view screen and said that the Xanti is in its favorite corner,
sleeping.”

Vikter shook his head as the transport set down.  Something was wrong.  His eyes widened. 
He had to get to Honey.  He didn’t know why, nor did he stop to figure it out.  Trusting
his instincts, he headed quickly for the exit, Lance and Hunt right behind him.  
He pressed the emergency bar on the door and it hissed softly and began to swing open. 
As soon as it was open wide enough for them to squeeze through, Vikter, Lance and
Hunt leapt to the ground without benefit of the stairs.  Vikter was already shifting
into his alter-form before his feet touched the ground.  He turned toward the Research
Center and began running as fast as he had ever run in his life.

“What is it?”
Hunt asked, running just behind Vikter to his left.

“I don’t know,”
Vikter replied. 
“I just remembered that Michael said Honey was going to start working at the infirmary
today and I have a bad feeling.”

“So do I,”
Lance said. 
“Something’s wrong.”

Vikter ran faster, wishing for the first time in all the years of his life that they
had strength in Air Magic instead of Earth Magic.  Luckily, the airfield was close
to the garrison. 

Rather than risk interference by going down the main road between the buildings, he
went around, cutting through the parking area behind the cafeteria, the armory, the
inn, a few other smaller buildings.  Then came the wide expanse of grass separating
the main part of the garrison from the Research Center and the medical infirmary. 

“Damn,”
he said, his heart skipping a beat as he ran. 
“That’s the ground-car we gave Honey.  Parked behind the Infirmary..”

“She must be working then,”
Hunt said. 

“I hope....”
  Nobody knew what it was Lance hoped because at that moment, there was an explosion
so big that it seemed to suck the air out of the world around them.  The power of
the shock wave that hit them was such that it picked up the three vulpins and tossed
them backward thirty feet before they slammed into the ground.  Vikter shot to his
feet, ignoring the pain of the impact, and began running toward the infirmary again,
barely noticing the debris raining down around him.  A few things hit him, but he
barely noticed until he heard a sharp yelp from Lance. 

“You all right?”
he asked.

“Yes, don’t stop, we have to get Honey,”
Lance said, his voice as close to panic as anything Vikter had ever heard. 

“
I smell her,”
Hunt said when they reached the nightmare of rubble that had once been the medical
infirmary.

Vikter spun around to face his youngest brother.  Hunt had always had the best nose
of the three of them. 
“Where?”
he demanded.

Hunt’s nose was on the ground as he cast about for a moment, then he leapt into the
rubble, Vikter and Lance right behind him.  They stayed back, letting Hunt search,
though it was one of the most difficult things Vikter had ever had to do.  He wanted
to begin ripping and tearing through the piles of stone, dust, and wood beneath his
feet until he found her.