Salvation (Book Two of the Prophecy Series) Page 6

  Something must have happened to LaShawn in the last seven years to set him on this life path. A path he seemed comfortable with. If he wasn’t, or it’d been forced on him, he would certainly harbor some visible bitterness. But, there was no outward trace of anything other than satisfaction in the man he’d become.

  Nick’s gaze was drawn to Sakura’s jauntily bouncing ponytail ahead of him. Their luke-warm relationship had turned cold again. She’d hardly glanced in his direction since leaving Cassia Cae, even when they changed shuttles three different times. It could be that she wasn’t mad at him at all, but at the situation. It had taken almost a full day and four skimmers to get here. At least they hadn’t been followed, or so LaShawn had told them.

  Something long, narrow and lethal looking sliced through the air in front of him, followed by a telltale thunk as the object hit a tree. Instinct kicked in and Nick tackled Sakura to the ground.

  She squirmed under him. “Get off me!” Tightly controlled panic edged her words.

  “Stay down. Someone just threw a knife at us.”

  She stilled, her breaths coming in short, quick pants.

  “Get up, Nick,” LaShawn said. “You’re being tested.”

  Loud, booming laughter erupted from the tree line. Nick rolled to his side and Sakura scuttled away. A towering male Anferthian sauntered from between the trees, smirking. “Did the little man piss himself?”

  Nick gave the translator clipped to his ear a tap with his finger. “Damn thing doesn’t work. It just told me you think I’m scared.”

  “It works fine, then.” The Anferthian strode toward them.

  “Hardly.”

  The Anferthian’s smirk widened to a full-fledged grin as he extended one hand. “Are you incredibly brave, or insanely stupid, little man?”

  “First you try to kill us and now you insult me.” Nick clasped the huge hand and the Anferthian gently tugged him to his feet. “Do you test everyone like this?”

  “Only Terrian healers.” He offered his hand to Sakura, but she shook her head and scrabbled to her feet on her own. “Greetings, Earthlings.” The giant laughed again. “I have wanted to say that for a long time. I am Storo Z’bel, here to guide you to your cube.”

  Testing them was one thing, but what had happened to all the Anferthian formal “Great is my pleasure” stuff?

  Sakura stopped brushing bits of patoma leaf off her clothing and stared at Storo open-mouthed. “Cube? As in singular?”

  “The place, it is large. More room than two small people need.” Storo’s large hand closed over the handle of his labu-ba, or short knife, wiggled it from the tree’s trunk and sheathed it. “Come, then. K’rona awaits your arrival.”

  Storo picked up several pieces of their hastily abandoned luggage. Nick scanned the area and frowned. “Where’s LaShawn?”

  “I do not know.” Sakura shrugged her shoulders.

  “His part here is finished,” Storo said. “Bring your packs and we will go.”

  Nick exchanged a glance with Sakura. “We’re definitely not in Kansas anymore.”

  ~*~

  The cube was larger than any place Sakura had ever lived, and nice, although the human-sized furniture looked like it belonged in a doll house. The presence of Storo and K’rona made it seem even more so.

  “Ah, cube sweet cube,” Nick said as he stepped through the front door to stand next to her.

  “Welcome, Nicholaus of Terr,” K’rona said inclining her head in the less formal manner of greeting.

  Sakura pressed her lips together hard. It would be rude to openly gape at the size differences between the two of them. K’rona towered over Nick by more than three feet, making her at least nine feet tall. Oddly, Nick did not seem intimidated by the size difference.

  Nick returned her nod. “Nir plaz’e u briz kust’e ha, K’rona ui Anferthia,” he responded, in Anferthian.

  Mine is the pleasure to see you again, according to her translator. Had he lied to her about not knowing Anferthian?

  A wide grin softened K’rona’s features. “I see you have practiced. It is well. We can exchange knowledge, teach each other. I too wish to learn your Engleesh while you are here.”

  Deep forest-green eyes that matched the skin color of the face they were set in shifted to her. “Great is my pleasure to meet you, Sakura of Terr.”

  “Mine is the pleasure, K’rona of Anferthia.” Sakura placed her right hand in K’rona’s left.

  “You have a different language than Nick, is this correct?”

  “I speak Japanese.”

  Pleasure seemed to light up the other woman’s eyes. “Will you teach me this language too? I will reciprocate and teach you Anferthian.”

  “I would be honored.” She gave the gentle giantess a small bow. Things seemed to be going better now. At least there was no knife throwing involved.

  “Excellent.” K’rona waved her hand in the direction of the door to the left. “Nick, your room is there. Sakura, with me you come. Your room is next to the laboratory in the back.”

  Way in the back, as it turned out, diagonal and across the compound from Nick’s room. Sakura entered her room behind K’rona, her shoes in one hand and her duffle slung over her shoulder. It was huge, at least as big as her parents’ entire house. The long rugs lining the floor between the furniture looked like pictures she had seen of thick-piled Matiran silk rugs. Would the delicate fibers of variated blues and white really warm up when walked on, as she had read? Her gaze was drawn to the over-sized bed. The shimmering pale-blue plush comforter and the coral, grey, and navy pillows seemed to whisper “nap time”. And the tufted coral lounge chair near the window, she could see herself curled up in it to read. Yukiko would never believe this luxury. Too bad she could not even tell her friend about it. Maybe after the crisis was resolved she would plan a visit home.

  “Is it adequate?” K’rona wrung her hands together. It seemed Sakura’s opinion was important.

  Sakura gave her a smile meant to reassure. “It is more beautiful than any room I have ever seen. Thank you.”

  K’rona’s expression was one of relief. “If you desire to refresh yourself before we go to the laboratory, the bathing room is through that door.”

  “Yes, I do, thank you.”

  Sakura stepped into the bathroom and gaped. All the fixtures were human size, except for the bathtub. It looked more like a small swimming pool. That would be nice later. It might take a while to fill, but it would be worth the extravagance on this daunting trip, and certainly more fun than she had had so far.

  She stepped down into the tub area and a thrill of pleasure went through her at the spigots and bathing paraphernalia outside the tub. Did the Anferthians bathe like the Japanese did, or was this set-up just for her?

  A few minutes later, she followed K’rona to the lab. Like the rest of the cube, it was huge. Not quite as big as her new bedroom and the attached bathroom, but she was not complaining. Especially since it appeared to be well stocked with everything they would need to run tests and analyze samples.

  Nick was already there, rummaging through drawers and cabinets, occasionally pulling out items and tossing them on the long, black lab table dominating the center of the room. K’rona leaned against a wall, arms crossed. Storo was nowhere to be seen.

  “What are you doing?” Sakura picked up a sterile wrapped package from a pile. Syringes.

  “Putting together a test kit before we go meet our patients.” He pointed to the drawers behind her. “Would you look in there? I still haven’t found the sterilator wipes yet, and we need something to carry everything in.”

  Good idea. “I have a bag we can use.” She returned to her room, leaving him to locate the Matiran equivalent of rubbing alcohol wipes. Her duffle wasn’t the most ideal receptacle to carry medical equipment, but it should be large enough to hold everything they would need. She dumped the bag’s contents on her bed and returned to the lab.

&nb
sp; The pile on the table had grown noticeably larger. Scooping up a handful of tubular vials, she began packing the items Nick had gathered. “Did you find the sterilator wipes yet?”

  “Not yet, but I think this is a therm….” He gaped at the duffle. “Are you kidding me?”

  Warmth rose in her cheeks. “I know, it is not compartmentalized or—”

  “Your Hello Kitty bag?” Nick shook his head. “We’re supposed to be professionals, Saku.”

  The burn rose to her ears and she gave him a deep frown. “My name is Sakura. It is not that hard to remember.” He blinked, but she was not finished. “As for the bag, you have not come up with something better, have you?”

  “No. But…Hello Kitty?”

  She gathered the syringes. “Nicholaus Bock, our patients are waiting, and you are arguing over the design on a bag?” Hopefully her tone was frosty enough to end any further arguments from him.

  K’rona raised both of her dark eyebrows and grinned, but said nothing. What must she think of this little escapade?

  “Fine.” Nick placed the thermometer on the pile and turned back to rummage through another drawer. “But I’m going to find something better when we get back.”

  “Of course.” She’d love to tell him what an inane idiot he was, but why waste her breath?

  The memory of him shoving her to the forest ground and shielding her with his body rushed back. Okay, not the action of an inane idiot, but he did test her patience sometimes. Often. Most of the time. And the idiot in that case had been her as she had struggled to get out from under him instead of accepting his protection. She had not seen the labu-ba sailing through the air between them, but she had heard it hit the tree. That should have been enough to warn her they might be in danger, but she had ignored the obvious and reacted instinctively. Even after all this time her fear remained.

  Nick closed the drawer he had been rummaging through with a little more force than necessary. A handful of sterilator wipes landed on the table. “Got ’em.”

  K’rona pushed away from the wall. “If you are finished, I will take you to see Tokki now.”

  ~*~

  Nick followed K’rona through the streets of the dissenter’s village of cubes, fighting the urge to roll his eyeballs. A pink Hello Kitty duffle bag? And guess who got to carry the ridiculous thing? Not that he’d given his feisty little companion the opportunity before grasping the neon-pink plastic handles and following K’rona out of the cube.

  All right, maybe he was being a little too harsh on the kid. She was only trying to help. And he had no idea shortening her name bothered her so much. He’d have to watch himself there.

  Focusing on the layout of the central village was probably a better idea than worrying about the less than professional appearance of their improvised bag. As if the ill Anferthians would even notice.

  “This village is known as Center,” K’rona explained. “Think of our villages being set up like a giant wheel. The other four villages are known by their direction from Center on a compass. They are called East, South, West, and North…creative, do you not agree?” She smirked, her green eyes lit with humor. “As you already know they are all exactly two and a half kilots from Center.”

  That seemed easy enough to understand.

  “Here is Tokki’s cube.” K’rona waved her hand toward the cube they were approaching. “The illness has been slow for her, but she is bedridden and near the end now.”

  K’rona opened the door and called out a greeting in Anferthian, and someone responded from deeper within the cube. A moment later a teal-haired woman appeared. She had to be close in age to K’rona, maybe a year or two older. Dark circles of exhaustion underlined blue eyes dulled with worry.

  “Our healers are here?” The woman’s English was broken and heavily accented, but at least she was trying.

  “Great is my pleasure to introduce Healer Bock, brother of fyhen Allazandra. Also, Disipula Yamata.” K’rona looked back at him. “This is B’iha.”

  Tears gathered in B’iha’s eyes. “The Creators be blessed that you have finally arrived. If only the committee had sent you sooner.” She had switched back to Anferthian.

  Nick ground his teeth together at the reminder of the delay.

  B’iha tapped her ear with one finger. “You have translator?”

  “Doen.” Yes.

  “It is well.” B’iha’s shoulders seemed to relax. “To speak English is very difficult. There are few here fluent enough to tell us when we are wrong. I hope have said nothing to offend you. Despite the delay, we are grateful you have come.”

  The enormity of what lay ahead weighed down on him like a boulder settling on his shoulders. “I hope we’re able to help.”

  “Will you tell us about Tokki’s condition, B’iha?” Saku asked. “How long ago did she contract the illness?”

  Nick delved his hand into his jacket pocket until it closed around a small hard object. He pulled out his personal data device and held it close to his mouth. “Record.”

  B’iha laced her fingers together, her pain evident in the way she creased her brow. “It has been eighteen days. Four days ago, the pain become so terrible she could not get out of bed even for a short time.”

  Almost three weeks of chronic pain. Nick frowned. “Where has her pain localized?”

  The two Anferthian women exchanged a look, then B’iha took in a deep breath. “Her heart and lungs.”

  “Breathing is a struggle now,” K’rona added. “Sometimes I wonder if she will expire before her organs explode.”

  Dread, like jagged ice-chips, trickled down Nick’s spine. Sakura shifted on her feet. The mere idea of shattering organs must creep her out as much as it did him.

  He cleared his throat. “I have to ask, when the victim’s bodies finally fail, is the aftermath…contained?”

  “The organs are,” a new voice said from behind him.

  Nick startled and turned to see Storo. The Anferthian man wore a deep frown. “The bones have the propensity of breaching the skin when they splinter.”

  Holy Jesus. Sakura’s face turned a sickly shade of green. Nick reached out and gripped her elbow. “You okay?”

  To her credit, she seemed to recover her professional demeanor, and this time she didn’t balk at his touch. “Yes, fine.” Her smile appeared wan and forced, but she turned her gaze to Storo before he could suggest she sit down. “Just one more question. How…long are the victims in pain, from the onset of symptoms to their demise?”

  “The shortest, two days,” Storo replied. “The longest lingered for twenty-two days. But, on average, they only survive a week.”

  Sakura nodded, then met Nick’s gaze. “Do you have any other questions, Healer Bock?”

  Nick released her elbow. “Not at the moment. We’d like to see the patient now.”

  Chapter Seven

  A labored hiss reached Sakura’s ears as she stepped through the door of Tokki’s bedroom. It was at least as large as her room, but the few pieces of makeshift Anferthian-sized furniture gave the room the illusion of being smaller. On the bed to the left, a form shifted with jerky movements beneath the blanket.

  “Is she conscious?” Nick asked.

  B’iha shook her head. “Tokki is beyond awareness. The disease consumes all of her attention now.”

  It was hard to believe that the infected woman’s situation could get any worse, but there was no reason not to believe it would not. Sakura moved around to the far side of the narrow bed, which was more like a pallet. It made her over-sized, soft bed back at the cube seem like a luxury she did not deserve.

  Like so many of the dissenters, the unconscious Anferthian woman was young—mid-thirties, by all appearances. Her pallor, though, was anything but healthy. No longer green but a sickly, mottled grey. Sakura’s stomach clenched. “Why is she strapped down?”

  “For her safety,” B’iha said. “In the early days of the epidemic, many thrashed so hard
they fell from their beds and sustained injuries.”

  “Will it help your exam to have the straps removed?” K’rona asked.

  “No, we can work around them,” Nick replied.

  Tokki emitted a high-pitched moan, her back arching against the restraints. Her pain must be excruciating.

  Nick set the bag on the floor between them. “Hands on exam first.”

  Sakura gave him a nod and stepped back to give him room to perform the procedure.

  “No. I mean together, Sakura.” Nick’s gaze pinned her in place while his gentle tone encouraged and supported her. “In tandem. You follow me in and back me up. I don’t want to risk missing anything.” His hands-on real time approach to mentoring her was unexpected, but not unwelcome.

  Magister Dacian had taught her to do medical exams this way. Usually healers worked closely together for a while before partnering in this almost intimate way. It might be easier if she had worked with Nick previously and knew his natural Gift signature. But time sensitive situations did not come with that kind of luxury.

  She gave her shoulders a couple of rolls, the crack of stiff muscles satisfying. This was what she had been born to do; heal people. She straightened her spine and stepped closer to Nick’s side. There was nothing more important than doing what was best for their patient. “All right. I am ready, Magister.”

  Surprise flickered in Nick’s eyes, but he redirected his focus to K’rona and B’iha standing near the door. “This may take a few minutes. We’ll appear detached, but we will be talking together and able to answer your questions, if you have any.” He turned back to her. “Ready?”