Enhanced: Brides of the Kindred 12 (The Brides of the Kindred) (14 page)

“Hey.” She frowned down at his long
fingers curled around her bicep. “You don’t have to do that, you know. I’m
coming of my own free will—I’m not a flight risk.”

“Very well, if you prefer that I let you
stand alone, I will.”

The big Kindred’s voice still sounded
stiff. If she didn’t know he had no emotions, Mei-Li might almost have thought
he was as irritated with her as she was with him. But that was foolish, wasn’t
it?

“Here we go, here we go,” Yipper called.
He pressed something on the pole and suddenly they were dropping so rapidly
Mei-Li felt like the floor had literally fallen out from under her feet.

She gave a gasping scream and grabbed for
the pole with both arms, pressing her cheek to its slick black surface. It slid
through her grasp and her glasses were knocked askew. There was a burning pain
on her face where she was pressed against the pole but she didn’t care—she just
didn’t want to fall.
Oh God, don’t know how long I can hold on…

But almost before it started, the crazy
ride was over. The round, thin platform they were standing on suddenly jolted
to a halt which threw Mei-Li to her knees.

“Oh!” she gasped, and looked up. Yipper
was already scampering off down a long hallway to do something else. Six was
just standing there, watching her impassively. “Is that why you wanted to hold
on to me?” she demanded. “So I wouldn’t fall?”

He nodded.

“Well, you could have warned me!”

He shrugged, his face like granite. “You
did not appear to want my help or my advice.”

Mei-Li struggled to her feet. “Stop acting
like you’re mad at me! I’m the one who has the right to be upset here.”

“I am not angry—I do not have the capacity
to be angry with you,” Six said. “I am, however, concerned. You appear to have
injured yourself.” He reached out and cupped her chin lightly in his right
hand—the non-metal one. Turning her face, he examined her cheekbone and
frowned. “You are not bleeding but your skin is red and raw.”

“I’m fine.” Her heart was suddenly
pounding and she wanted to pull away from his touch but it was difficult.

“Are you certain?” Six had apparently
finished his examination but he showed no inclination to let her go. Instead he
stood there, cupping her face and looking down into her eyes.

With an effort, Mei-Li tore her eyes away
from his and stepped back.

“Positive.”

Trying to break the strange spell that
seemed to have been cast between them, she turned to go the way Yipper had,
down the long hallway. It twisted and curved and soon took them to a pair if
sliding metal doors. Mei-Li wasn't sure if this was they way the Tolleg had
taken but Six strode right through as the doors slid aside, so she followed.

She found herself in a large area with
high ceilings and walls lined with cabinets. Everything from floor to ceiling
was pure white—as white as their landing area had been black. Sitting in racks
and on shelves at the end of the room were all kinds of metal pieces and parts.

What in the world?
Mei-Li straightened her glasses and pushed them up her
nose. Were those really what they looked like?

“Welcome to my Enhancement area.” Yipper
was suddenly beside her, bowing excitedly. “It is well stocked with every
possible enhancement prosthesis, so it is, so it is. I see you are admiring my
collection of mechanoid limbs. There are arms that can punch through walls, or
hands with fingers delicate enough to do the most complicated tasks. I also
have legs that will carry you tirelessly for days and allow you to jump thirty
sectors in the air and land without harm. Feet that can kick through solid
plasti-steel as well.” He tugged at Mei-Li’s sleeve. “Come and see, come and
see.”

“All right.” Bemusedly, she allowed the
hairy little Tolleg to lead her to the rows and racks of shiny, silver parts.
There were, as he had said, all types of arms, legs, hands, and feet. Not all
of them appeared to be made for a human—or a human type person—but all of them
were apparently robotic.

“Now, I realize most of these are much too
large for you, my lady,” Yipper said anxiously. “But they can be customized, so
they can, so they can.”

Suddenly what he was saying sank in.

Mei-Li turned to him. “Wait a minute, you’re
not suggesting that I let you cut off one of my perfectly good arms or legs and
replace it with a metal prosthesis? I mean, you’re not—are you?”

“Not just one,” Yipper said earnestly,
clearly misunderstanding her. “I will be more than happy to give you a matching
set, yes I will, yes I will.”

“What?” Mei-Li looked at Six who had come
to stand beside her. “He’s kidding, right? Tell me he’s kidding,” she pleaded.

“Why would Yipper attempt humor about such
a serious decision?” he asked, frowning. “The selection of an enhancement will
affect you in the long term. Personally, I would recommend one of the arms
Yipper has to offer. It will make you a formidable opponent for anyone, despite
your diminutive size.”

“Look, I’m sorry but there is
no way
I
am doing this.” Mei-Li protested, backing away. “No way I’m letting you cut me
up and turn me into some kind of a cyborg freak.”

“A cyborg freak?” Six raised the eyebrow
over his red searchlight eye at her.

“Okay…Oh, God—look, that came out wrong.”
Mei-Li was still backing away. “I didn’t mean
you
look bad. But you’re a
guy
. You can get away with the evil robot from the future look. I can’t.
I’m a social worker, for God’s sake! Can you imagine what would happen if I
showed up at someone’s door with a hand that could punch through steel?
They’d…they’d…”

Something hard bumped her behind and she
realized she had backed right up against the opposite wall. And both Yipper and
Six were coming toward her.

“I am sorry, my lady. So I am, so I am,”
the little Tolleg told her in his high, piping voice. “But the rules of the
Collective clearly state that no one without an enhancement is allowed to come
down to the planet’s surface. So you must choose one.”

“Then I’ll stay right here,” Mei-Li said
quickly. “I don’t really want to go down there anyway.”

Six frowned. “I told you earlier that
staying aboard the medical barge or the shuttle is not an option. You
must
come
with me to Z4 for our Claiming Period. It is clearly outlined in the contract I
got from High Chancellor Terex.”

“Screw the contract,” Mei-Li said tightly.
“I’m not letting you cut me up and stick on new parts. You keep telling me I
can go back after this is over—but what good will that do me if I look like
something out of a science fiction novel? Absolutely not—I
refuse.
”

“You cannot refuse.” Six was coming closer
and closer. “I do not understand why you are making so much of such a simple
thing. Everyone who visits Z4 gets an enhancement—it is the law.”

“I don’t care about the law.” Mei-Li was
trying to edge away from him but with her back already to the wall, she
couldn’t get far. Still, she tried, sidling to one side.

“You had
better
care about the
law,” Six told her. “If you are not mindful of it, you will be purged. I cannot
let that happen.”

“I don’t know what that means and I don’t
care,” Mei-Li said wildly. “Look, stay away from me. Just
stay away!”

Suddenly she felt a pricking sensation in
her right leg. Looking down she saw that Yipper had stuck her with his long,
pointed tongue again. The moment he withdrew and skipped away, her entire body
below the waist began to feel weak.

“What the…what did you do to me?” she
gasped, grabbing at the wall for balance as her legs wobbled.

“I have given you a mild paralytic yes I
have, yes I have.” The Tolleg was peering at her anxiously. “You were becoming
too upset, so you were, so you were. I did not want you to hurt yourself trying
to run.”

“Of course I’m upset! You’re talking about
sawing off my perfectly good arms and legs and giving me robot parts. I’m not
freaking Darth Vader—I’m a social worker!” She tried to scoot a little further
to one side but to her horror, her legs gave way and she slid down the wall and
landed on her butt on the pure white floor.

She tried to move her feet and legs but
they just lay there like lumps of clay, completely unresponsive. The top half
of her body still seemed to work but what good was that? What was she going to
do—drag herself away? Her stomach felt like she’d swallowed a lump of ice as
she realized there was no way out of this situation—she was stuck.

“All right,” Six said, bending towards
her. “Now perhaps we can talk about this in a rational manner.”

“Rational? There’s nothing rational in
what you want to do to me!” Mei-Li protested. “Stay away from me!
Stay
away!”

“I cannot.” His deep voice was implacable.
“This is something which must be done. You
must
have an enhancement.”

“But…but I…” Mei-Li shook her head, unable
to continue.

Suddenly it was all too much. She was hungry
and tired and scared to death and she’d had an incredibly long and stressful
day. She’d been through a hostage situation with one of her clients, had been
attacked, wounded, abducted and taken to a whole new galaxy. Somehow she had
managed to take all of that in stride. But this enhancement business was one
thing too much. Though she didn’t want to show weakness, Mei-Li could feel the
tears coming to the surface.

“Oh God,” she whispered brokenly as the
sobs shook her. “Please…please no.”

“Mei-Li?” Six had been crouching over her
but now he sat back on his heels, a look of consternation on his face. “Are
you…well?”

“Of c-course I’m n-not well!” She could
barely talk for sobbing. “I d-don’t want to be cut up! My m-mother
died
during surgery. And I d-don’t want to lose my arms and l-legs.” She looked at
Six pleadingly as tears filled her eyes and ran down her flushed cheeks.
“Please don’t do this to me—
please.”

Chapter
Twelve

Six stared at her, his heart throbbing
fiercely for some reason. Moisture welled from her eyes and ran down her
face—tears, wasn’t that what it was called? Six wasn’t completely sure but he
did know that the moisture signaled great distress. Mei-Li was feeling about as
intensely as anyone with emotions could right now and none of her feelings were
good.

I am the cause of her distress.
The thought caused his heart to ache even more though he
did not know why that should be. Or why her tears should affect him so
strongly. When he had seen the Earth girl Tess crying, it had been a mere curiosity
to him. Her negative emotions hadn’t bothered him in the least. But with
Mei-Li, he could barely stand it. He wanted desperately to allay her fears and
calm her but he didn’t know how.

“Please,” she was saying through
heartbreaking sobs, her slight shoulders shaking. “Please, don’t cut me…my
mother died that way.
Please.”

Mother…her mother…
Six had a sudden flash.
Blood caked dark red around
Mere’s mouth, her voice almost too hoarse to hear. “You have to take care of
your sister now, Jax. Pere and I aren’t going to make it. Take care of her—get
her to the medical barge. Save her…you have to save her.”

“I’ll save us all—you’ll see if you’ll
just hold on. We’re almost there. Please, Mamere! Please don’t die…don’t
go…Don’t—”

No!
Six blinked, pushing the old memory away by sheer force.
He looked at Mei-Li again. She was slumped against the wall, her head hanging
low. The waterfall of black silk that was her hair obscured her face so he
couldn’t see her features but he could still hear her crying. Her entire,
slight body was wracked with sobs.

Her distress was too great—Six couldn’t
bear it anymore! He had to help her somehow—had to make the pain she was
feeling stop.

Swiftly, he scooped her up in his arms and
pulled her close to his chest. He didn’t even know why he was doing it, only
that it felt right to hold her to him.

“No!” She beat at his chest ineffectually
with her little fists, her eyes wild with fear. “No! No, you can’t—you
can’t.”

“Be still,” he said, more roughly than
he’d intended. “I won’t harm you, Mei-Li. And I won’t allow anyone else to,
either. This I swear.”

She looked at him mistrustfully. “But I
don’t want—”

“I won’t let Yipper or anyone else cut off
your arms or legs,” Six promised.

“You…you won’t?” Her breath hitched in her
throat. “But I thought…you said I had…had to have…”

“If you do not want a full extremity
replacement prosthesis, you do not have to have one. No, you don’t, no, you
don’t,” Yipper put in quickly. “I am sorry if you thought that was the only
option. Because it’s not, no it’s not!” He, too seemed distressed by Mei-Li’s
tears.

“Well then what…what are you going to do
to me?” she asked, swiping at her eyes. Her oculars had fogged over with the
force of her tears and she had to lift them to accomplish it.

“Nothing tonight,” Six said firmly.
“You’re too tired and are having too many negative emotions right now. You must
rest and recharge. I will take you to the guest quarters and we will speak more
of this in the morning.” He looked at Yipper and the little Tolleg nodded.

“Rest is best. Yes, it is, yes, it is.”

“Good. Then we’ll see you in the morning.
Call down at have them get a room ready for us.” Six turned to go but Mei-Li
sniffed and shook her head.

“Wait—if we’re going someplace else I want
to walk. But I still can’t feel my legs.”

“The paralytic will wear off shortly. Yes
it will, yes it will.” Yipper nodded confidently. “There is a sedative as well
to help you sleep. It should kick in shortly. So it should, so it should.”

“But how will I get around until the drug wears
off?” she asked.

“I will carry you,” Six told her. “It will
not be a problem—you weigh scarcely more than Yipper, I imagine.”

In truth, he would have wanted to carry
her even if her legs had been working. Her distress called to him somehow—made
him wish to hold her close. To comfort her, though he scarcely knew how to go
about it.

She still tried to protest but Six refused
to listen. He took her away from the medical area, taking a different route
from the lift in order to keep from startling her again. The minute they left
the stark white surroundings of Yipper's Enhancement Area, he could feel her
relax in his arms. The tears were not coming from her eyes anymore, either, he
saw with profound relief. He had never felt so helpless in his life as when she
was in such distress and there was nothing he could do to help her.

Oh yes you have,
whispered a little voice in his head.
You know all
about helplessness, Six…or is it Jax?

Six pushed the errant thought away and
concentrated on Mei-Li. She was looking around, her eyes still wide and
uncertain behind the black framed oculars. Apparently the sedative Yipper had
spoken of wasn’t working—or maybe it just wasn’t in effect yet.

Six found himself wanting to reassure her
but he didn’t know what to say. He wished he could tell her that she didn’t
have to have an enhancement but that wasn’t the case—by the ruling of the
Collective if she stepped foot on Z4 without at least one mechanoid part she
would be immediately purged. Six couldn’t have that. He had sworn to protect
her and he wanted to keep her safe.

He wished he understood her fear more. To
him and all the Dark Kindred, getting new enhancements was no big deal—as
simple as putting on a new pair of trousers. Some of them switched parts on a
regular basis, preferring different extremities for different activities.

But for some reason the very idea of an
enhancement bothered Mei-Li greatly. Did it have to do with her mother? Had she
somehow died during an enhancement surgery? Six had never heard of such a thing
happening—the Tollegs were such good surgeons they practically never lost a
patient. But maybe things were different on Earth.

He had no idea how he could reconcile
Mei-Li’s fear with what was a necessary procedure but he was determined not to
speak of it to her any more tonight. Instead, he cradled her gently to his
chest as he walked down a long metal corridor to the guest chambers.

At last he came to one with a double green
bar blinking over the doorframe, indicating that this was the room he had asked
Yipper to request for them. Holding Mei-Li gently with one arm, he pressed his
palm to the hand panel and waited until the door slid open.

Inside was the typical set up—a fresher
room in the corner and a large
sousa
sleeping platform in the center of
the room. It looked like a formless bag but molded to the user’s body for
support and comfort. This one was a deep grayish-pink and the rest of the room
was decorated in the same shade. It wasn’t a color Six cared for but it would
do.

Gently, he laid Mei-Li down in the middle
of the
sousa
which lifted to take her slight weight. Then he climbed in
beside her and put an arm around her to support her head and neck.

Mei-Li looked up at him. “What are you
doing?”

It was a good question. Why hadn’t he just
put her down on the sleeping platform and left her to sleep by herself? After
all—he would have been within his rights to do just that. Their Claiming Period
didn’t officially start until they got down to the surface of Z4 so he didn’t
technically have to hold her tonight. But for some reason he didn’t want to let
her go.

“I am making certain you get some rest,”
he said, because she was still looking at him questioningly. “You need some, I
think. You look very tired.”

“No, I’m no—” The word ended in a jaw
cracking yawn. Apparently the sedative was finally kicking in.

“Yes, you are,” Six said gently. “You
should rest now.”

“I can’t,” she whispered. “I’m…I’m
afraid.”

“Of what?” He brushed a strand of long,
silky black hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear.

Her eyes widened. “Afraid I’ll go to sleep
and wake up with something missing.”

Six shook his head. “I vow to you here and
now, Mei-Li—though you
must
have an enhancement, not a bit of you will
be taken or cut to make way for it.”

“Really?” She looked at him hopefully.
“You’re serious?”

“I give you my word as a Kindred,” he
murmured. “Nothing will be taken—not even a finger or toe. Didn’t I say you
were precious to me, every bit of you?”

For some reason her face became closed.

“Yes but that was before,” she whispered.

“Before?” Six asked.

She shook her head—her hair felt silky
against his side.

“Never mind.”

“Go to sleep,” he advised her again. “I
will stay here with you. Nothing and no one will harm you while I keep watch.”

Mei-Li looked up at him, her eyelids
drooping. Clearly she was fighting to keep them open. “I want to believe you,”
she whispered and yawned.

“Then do,” Six said softly. “Trust me.
Rest.”

“I will. But only…” She yawned again.
“Only because I can’t…can’t keep my eyes open one…one more second. I…”

Her voice trailed off and her eyes
fluttered closed at last behind her thick oculars. Soon her breathing was even
and deep and Six felt her relax completely against him.

Gently he took the oculars from her face
and examined them—what exactly were they for?—before placing them on another
part of the
sousa.
It engulfed them quickly. Six knew it would keep them
safe and give them back the moment they were needed. Then he turned his
attention back to Mei-Li.

She was resting against him but there was
a small frown on her lips as though she wasn’t having very pleasant dreams.
What or who was she dreaming of? Was it him? Did she still fear him? He wished
fiercely that it would not be so. He didn’t want her to be frightened that he
would harm her and he was sorry for the misunderstanding that had caused so
much distress.

“Mei-Li,” he murmured but she didn’t
respond. Unable to help himself, he brushed her soft cheek very gently with his
fingertips. She moaned softly in her sleep and turned toward him, pressing
against his chest.

Six studied her. She was lovely in repose
with her long black lashes like fans against her pale cheeks. Her soft, full
lips were pursed almost like the bud of a flower.

Why did she affect him so? Six wondered
uneasily. Why did he wish to hold her and comfort her? Was it simply a Kindred
instinct…or something more?

He had no answers. There was nothing to do
but wonder and watch her sleep.

* * * * *

Mei-Li woke up with the strangest
sensation of complete and utter peace. She was pressed against something warm
and hard but it was also strangely comfortable.
Some kind of pillow, maybe?
she wondered, her mind still fogged with sleep. If it was a pillow it was the
nicest one she’d ever had—it seemed to cradle her entire body against it in the
most comforting way and it smelled
incredible.
It had a warm, clean
scent that reminded her of the ocean for some reason. But under the first scent
was a second—a dark spice that was somehow completely masculine.

Mei-Li snuggled closer, breathing the
scent in.
Mmmm,
it was amazing. The only thing was, the pillow was
covered in black fabric. It seemed like an odd choice for a pillowcase but she
hardly cared because it smelled so good.
Wonder what kind of fabric softener
they used on this? Whatever it is, I want some—going to wash everything I own
in it as soon as I get home. As soon as I—

Suddenly the pillow moved.

“Oh my God!” She sat up quickly and looked
down at the fuzzy black shape which seemed to be lying on an even larger fuzzy
pink shape. “Six, is that you? Where are my glasses?”

“Don’t fear—I’ll retrieve them.” His deep
voice was a soothing rumble. Mei-Li saw him pat the pink shape and he murmured,
“Oculars.” The bed made an odd ripple which she sensed more than saw since
everything was blurry, and then he handed them to her.

Mei-Li fumbled them onto her face and
breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment she’d been afraid they were gone and
she was blind as a bat without them. If she lost or broke them, where would she
get a replacement pair so far from Earth?

“What are those for—your oculars?” Six
asked, sitting up.

“To help me see, of course. Don’t you have
glasses on your world?” She glanced at the red scope that covered the area
where his left eye should be. “Oh, well, I guess not. Sorry.”

“The ocular scope I wear is not actually
to correct my vision,” he said, apparently not offended. “The scanner inside it
allows me to read heart rate, pulse, respiration and other signs of emotion,
though I confess I never tried to interpret them before I found you.”