Salvation (Book Two of the Prophecy Series) Page 5

  One thing was clearer than anything. Failure was not an option.

  Chapter Five

  Nick rose from his chair. Life had gone from crazy to over-the-top insane. Never once had he thought he’d ever go back to Matir after graduating from the Collegium of Healers. He suppressed a groan before it could escape. At least the reason to go was solid, and desperate. He was in it to the end now.

  An arm slipped through his. “How about that coffee now, sobin?”

  He gave Ora the best smile he could under the circumstances. “I have a better idea. Scrambled eggs.”

  “Oh, that would be lovely. I have not had those since Maria made them for us at Camp One. Does this mean she’s back in town?”

  “No. She and Ramon are very happy living in the Los Angeles Basin. And…they’re expecting.”

  “Expecting? Expecting what?”

  “A baby, Ora.” It’d been a while since he’d encountered a language-induced misunderstanding. After seven years they were less frequent, but sometimes they still happened.

  “Oh! That’s wonderful news. I will viscomm them once I am back aboard the Sparta.” They moved toward the now open secret door. “But where will we get scrambled eggs?”

  He gave her a mischievous grin. “Graig.”

  Ora’s eyes went wide. “This early in the morning, and unannounced? He will do no such favor for us, you must know that.”

  “Not for us, but Simone will be there.” He gave her a conspiratorial grin. One unannounced visit warranted other. “She’s not going to let us starve.”

  A gleam sparkled in Ora’s eyes, her expression echoing his. “Excellent strategy. Graig never says no to his lovely wife.” They stepped out the front door and into the sunshine. “I want to see her before we leave anyway...and Graig too. Come on, my personal terrain skimmer is parked behind Ambassador K’nil’s residence.”

  Relief conflicted with a pang of guilt that the skimmer wasn’t parked at Alex’s cube less than an eighth of a mile away. It may be cowardly, but as much as he missed his sister he wasn’t ready for that confrontation yet.

  Five minutes later they were in Ora’s skimmer winging their way to Graig and Simone’s cube nestled in a small valley in the hills. Nick relaxed against the cushioned comfort of his seat, the million dollar question burning inside him. He couldn’t just ask point blank, though. Ora would shut him down before the words were out of his mouth. She could keep a secret better than Fort Knox could keep a gold bar. Subtlety worked best with her. He’d get her guard down with small talk first, then slip in Dante’s wife.

  “So, how’s life on the science vessel?”

  One corner of Ora’s mouth tipped upward and she shrugged. “The Sparta is a work of technical and scientific art. It has longer range capacity than any ship in the fleet, including flag ships like the Atlantis or the Polaris.”

  “Cool.”

  “That’s not the question you really want answered, sobin.”

  Crap. She was already onto him. So much for being covert. “Never could put one over on you.”

  “And you never will.”

  He pushed himself upright in the seat. “Okay, tell me everything you know about Dante’s wife.”

  Ora huffed through her nose and cast a side-long glance at him. “I know nothing.”

  “Bullshit.”

  She flashed him a tight smile and banked the skimmer southeast. “It is not a happy story. I trust that anything I tell you will remain between us.”

  Whoa. She wasn’t kidding. But he was too curious to take it back. “I will never betray your trust, sobin.”

  “I know.” This time her smile was warm, and a little sad. “Dante was twenty-one cycles when he met Zumari. He and Graig saved her and her friend from a Nightshade assassin. Dante was given charge of her healing. They fell in love, but in the end….” She visibly swallowed.

  If Zumari was a Matiran name, he’d never heard it before. He leaned forward in his seat. “She died?”

  “Worse.” Ora blinked her amazing tawny eyes several times in quick succession, but there was no way he could have missed the tears she fought to control. “For all intents and purposes, she is dead. And it is vital she remain so. The reasons are classified.”

  Jesus. This couldn’t be true, but Ora was one of the most honest people he knew. He released a harsh sigh and slouched back in his chair. What a fucking nightmare for Dante. “I’m going to vomit.”

  Ora nodded. “The feeling is familiar.”

  “Does he ever see her?”

  “No. But he tends her one remaining family member. Her great-aunt, from her maternal family.” She swiped the back of her hand across her cheek. “Yes, his cover story for your mission is true. The old woman is ill. She has been for a while, but the end is now inevitable and she is asking for Dante.” Ora met his gaze. “The timing is purely coincidental, I assure you.”

  Nick released his breath, heart thumping in his ears. Of course it’d be true. Something like that couldn’t be made up if they expected to fool the Arruch. God but his chest ached with the weight of this latest development. This morning had been one gut-punch after another. Dissenters dying for no good reason because of politics, leaving Terr and his family, having to tap into a Gift he didn’t want in order to try to save them from a disease that might be incurable. And now this. Son of a bitch. Sometimes life just sucked.

  ~*~

  Sakura frowned at Nick and Captain Solaris’s backs as they retreated from the ambassador’s office. It seemed like they were more than just “cousins” to her. Cousins didn’t walk around arm-in-arm like that, did they? She never had with any of her boy cousins. Was that why Nick had made it clear to the council that they had nothing to worry about? Their healers weren’t the least bit interested in each other.

  Not that his relationship with Captain Solaris was any of her business. The achy feeling in her chest was only because she was leaving Terr, nothing more. Besides, men only wanted one thing from women. She had learned that painful truth at sixteen.

  Never again.

  “Sakura?” Magister Dacian’s voice pulled her back to reality. He had the kindest brown eyes, a lot like her father’s. “May I walk you to the dorm? You will need to pack.”

  Packing. Her entire body seemed to sag under an invisible weight. Yes, she did have to pack. She should also viscomm Yukiko to let her know she would be leaving for the Collegium. Her friend would think it was because she had finished her foundation training early, which was not unexpected or unusual.

  “Are you well?” Worry lines creased the area between Magister’s brows.

  She gave him a nod and tried to smile. “I am all right. Just tired.”

  Understanding settled onto his angular features. “Let’s get you back then. The other students should be at the infirmary, so the dorm will be quiet enough for you to nap first.”

  Nap or pack, it just didn’t matter which she did first, although her body seemed fond of the nap option. She hunched her shoulders and followed him out of Ambassador K’nil’s office.

  ~*~

  What would her mother think? Sakura exhaled against the smooth surface of the interplanetary transport ship’s portal, the fog from her breath on the thick glass cleared almost as it formed. No doubt Mama would be ecstatic to know her only daughter was doing something as impossible as traveling through space to help people on another planet. She, as any loving mother, would also be terrified that the passenger transport might be obliterated by an asteroid. And her father…Sakura could only imagine how torn he would be over this trip. A bitter-sweet ache filled her heart. Before the invasion, her family had been her life. Now….

  The man in the recliner next to her shifted and made a rough, buzzing noise, drawing her attention away from the pin-point lights in the black darkness of space. Nick slept, his mouth hanging open. Now, this was her life. No, that was a very unkind thought. They only had one room between them aboard the transport,
and Nick had insisted she use it. He had slept out here in the common area for two nights now, and for that he deserved her gratitude.

  It would be nice if Magister Dacian was the one over-seeing her registration at the Collegium of Healers, and escorting her to her tem altrous, but Nick was not a horrible second choice for Magister pro-tem. Maybe she could convince him to take the cabin tonight so he could get at least one night of uninterrupted sleep. Otherwise, he would be exhausted when they arrived on Matir tomorrow.

  Her heart fluttered. How would it be to step foot on a new and different planet, one that was not the world of her birth? Once, Alex had told her Matir was a lot like Terr, yet different. A few of the plants and animals were supposedly similar, but most were not and the sky was pale lavender. That would be interesting to see.

  “Diseepula Yah-mah-tah?”

  Sakura blinked up at the compact, hairless Yilla man standing in front of her. His ping-pong-ball-size black eyes peered at her from among the leathery folds of buff-color skin, almost like a Shar-pei. It was a wonder he could see. His hearing, on the other hand, was probably not a problem. With ears fanned like an Anferthian male’s ears, and three times as large, how could it not be? What was his name again? Arrgu’u. That was it. Arrgu’u the ship’s purser, and he had demonstrated how seriously he took his commitments to the passengers.

  “Hello, Purser Arrgu’u. Is it dinner time already?”

  Arrgu’u shrugged his thick shoulders. The Yilla equivalent of a nod—nodding being difficult for a being without a neck.

  “The repast is serving now,” he announced through his translator. “You wake Healer Bock, please come to dine?” He pronounced Nick’s last name as though he had a ball of phlegm stuck in his throat.

  “Of course. We will be there in a moment.”

  She allowed her gaze to follow him as he circulated through the common area alerting other passengers that dinner was ready. Her fellow travelers were mostly Terrian or Matiran, but the crew was an eclectic collection of alien races, most of whom she had never heard of before this trip. Who knew there were so many variations of sentient life forms in the galaxy?

  A small, rumbling vibration in her stomach reminded her of her priorities. Food first, people watching later. She gave Nick’s arm a one-fingered poke, once, twice…. He snorted and opened his eyes. “What?”

  “Dinner time, Magister Bock.”

  Annoyance flashed in his eyes. “Don’t call me that.”

  “But, you are my magister now.”

  “In name only,” he conceded. “The one thing the committee overlooked was that only a master healer can be a magister.”

  “Ah, then you did not hear about your promotion.”

  “What promotion?”

  She gave him a crooked smile. “Check your messages on your data device. You have been made an emergency master healer pro-tem with the stipulation you will return to the Collegium to complete your training after I finish my tem altrous.”

  Nick’s eyes bulged and he sat bolt upright in the recliner. “What? I never agreed to that.” He pulled his data device out of his pocket, tapping it several times before stopping to read the words scrolling in mid-air in front of him. He groaned and sagged back in his seat. “You’re right.”

  “This is not the end of the world.”

  “I have no interest in going back to complete my master healer’s training. I wouldn’t be on this missio…I wouldn’t be filling in for Dante if it hadn’t been an emergency.” He glanced around the now mostly empty common area with a guilty expression. Fortunately, no one was close enough to overhear his almost faux pas. It would be bad if anyone discovered the real reason they were going to Matir.

  His words had stung her pride, though. Did he think he was too good to help her out? She tipped her head and forced her voice low. “Well, you do not need to worry. I will do everything I can to finish tem altrous quickly so you can go back to your selfless job of playing Rock Band with your friends.” She pushed out of her seat.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To eat my dinner, Magister Bock. Alone.”

  ~*~

  Sakura hurried along the pedestrian avenue, sneaking peeks at the pale-lavender Matiran sky while trying not to crash into anyone. It was difficult to walk and not be distracted by all the beauty of Matir’s capital city, Cassia Cae. She had expected only cube structures, and there were some, but most of the buildings where old and in a style that reminded her of ancient Greek architecture. The tallest were only three stories high. No skyscrapers impeded the view of the lavender sky above.

  And the people, they all seemed to walk to wherever they were going. The streets were more like extra wide sidewalks between the buildings. Only an occasional multi-passenger terrain skimmer moved above them like sleek futuristic floating buses. Dante had told her if she ever got lost in Cassia Cae, there were pick-up stations throughout the city.

  “This way, Sakura.” The hint of impatience in Nick’s voice yanked her back to reality.

  Zero improvement in his mood, that was for sure. She readjusted her duffle bag on her shoulder and trotted to catch up with him as he turned down yet another street. “You do not have to snap at me.”

  “Pay attention, then.”

  Was he walking faster? “I...Nick….” He was walking faster. With her duffle, suitcase, and backpack weighing her down, she could not possibly keep up. The least he could do would be to match her pace, instead he seemed intent on leaving her behind. “Nick?”

  He was ignoring her too, the rude jerk. She stopped in her tracks. “Nicholaus Bock!”

  That seemed to get his attention. He stopped and his shoulders rose and fell as if he had sighed. Heavily. Then he turned partway around and glared at her. If only the book on Anferthian anatomy were in her pack, not his. She would take it out and smack him over the head. But, that would be lowering herself to his level.

  Even though they and their luggage had stopped in the middle of the walkway, Matiran pedestrians flowed around them without complaint. “You are speeding along like the Shinkansen train and I am the passenger who was left standing on the platform. You cannot show up at the Collegium without me, so slow down. My legs are a lot shorter than yours.”

  His gaze flickered down and lingered on her grey leggings and black boots. Then he seemed to shake himself and his gaze returned to her face. “Sorry, I was preoccupied. I’ll slow down. It’s not much farther anyway.”

  She gave him a nod. “Thank you.”

  Five minutes later, they walked through the entrance to the Collegium of Healers. The building was huge, and ancient. Like concept drawings she had seen of the Parthenon before it went to ruin. Definitely pre-cube era construction, and the most beautiful piece of architecture she had ever been in.

  “Saku?” Nick had half turned, apparently realizing she was not directly behind him anymore. An understanding smile lit his face. “It’s pretty amazing the first time you see it, huh?”

  Amazing did not capture the wonder and awe filling her at this moment. All she could do was nod her head, just like she had the day she received her grandmother’s Hina dolls from her mother. She could not even be annoyed at him shortening her name again. His chuckle slipped passed the mental wall she had erected, sending a warm fuzzy feeling to her stomach. “Okay, take your time. We’ll register after you’re done playing tourist.”

  Playing what? The warm-fuzzies evaporated.

  Nick made a placating gesture with his hands. “Whoa, that’s not what I meant. No stereotypes.”

  She shot a suspicious glare at him. Was she being oversensitive?

  “I just want you to have time to take it all in. It’s a lot, I remember.”

  “You do?”

  “Sure,” he said, a teasing light danced in his eyes. “And neither one of us had a dozen cameras around our necks to capture the moment.”

  She pushed back hard against the laugh bubbling deep inside. Nick mu
st never know that as obnoxious as he was, she actually found him amusing at this moment.

  The laugh won.

  Chapter Six

  The sweet peel of Sakura’s laughter filled the air like bells. Nick gazed at her as something akin to wonder wriggled in his heart. That was a sensation he hadn’t expected, and it lightened the mood that had dogged him since the meeting with the committee. A mood as grey as the outfit she wore…the standard color of a healer-in-training. The only break in the drab monotony of her sweater and leggings was the Day-Glo pink slash of the strap of her Hello Kitty duffle across her chest.

  “Nick Bock.”

  Nick jerked around to face the man who’d just addressed him. His fingers flexed around the handle of his guitar case, then relaxed. A hooded burgundy tunic and black pants, the uniform of a silent healer. Could this be their guide? “Do I know you?”

  “That depends.” Hands of chestnut brown pushed the hood back to reveal the sharp features and shaved head of a Terrian man no more than two or three years older than him. “How are you, Nick?”

  “You sure do get around, LaShawn.” Nick clasped the pro-offered hand. First New L.A., now Matir.

  LaShawn released his hand and stepped back. “I’m here to escort you to registration.”

  There seemed to be an air of aloofness floating around LaShawn, creating the illusion that he was unaware, but that was probably the furthest thing from the truth. By the way he’d just appeared like that, it was a safe bet he was far more than a silent healer. Dollars to donuts Graig had had a hand in his training.

  “I think I remember how to get there.” The odds that the registration center had been moved since he was last here was remote. It’d been in the same building for four thousand years.

  “And your surface skimmer is ready.” LaShawn lowered his chin and tipped his head. “Unless you know where that is too, I suggest you follow me.”

  ~*~

  Afternoon sunlight slanted through the patoma trees as Nick trudged up a hill behind Sakura, following LaShawn away from the sanctuary’s landing pad. Dry, thick leaves and pear-shaped acorns crunched under his boots. Between that and the lavender sky peeking through the branches, he could almost imagine he was back at Camp One in the Sierra Mountains. If LaShawn shared those sentiments he kept a tight lid on them. Certainly not the talkative guy he had been at Camp One. He wore quiet reserve like a cloak, holding himself apart from everyone else. Not better, just separate. Even when their escort, Storo Somebody-or-another, hadn’t shown up to take them to the main village, LaShawn didn’t show a crack of annoyance. He’d just beckoned to them to follow him into the wooded landscape.