The Bond That Heals Us (14 page)

Sara tried to move, to say something, but Davin held her still. They stayed that way for so long she thought he’d forgotten how to move. Not able to take the inactivity any longer, Sara pushed his hand away and reached to the ledge.

“What the hell was that all about?” The words sounded loud after their extended silence.

“Nothing that concerns us. I’m going to try to climb out of here.”

Sara smacked Davin’s arm. “What do you mean it doesn’t concern us? They are trying to get a biological weapon. Most likely to use on my home. We need to do something to stop them.”

“No, we need to get out of here. If you want to tell your Briel security
daeu
and your pregnant friend, fine with me.”

She had to give her head a shake. “My what? What the hell’s the matter with you?”

He tried to pull his body from the water onto the ledge but couldn’t. She could see his muscles shaking from the strain of having held on for so long. Not only that, he was shaking his head, as if there was something stuck there he was trying to get out.

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“There’s nothing wrong with me. I don’t give a fuck what happens on this colony.

I’m not staying forever.”

His words hit her like a slap to the face. The buzzing in her head grew louder and it was becoming hard to concentrate. Davin was going to leave. She hadn’t considered it a possibility until now and it suddenly pissed her off. A lot.

“Davin?” Sean’s voice drifted down to them.

“Donaldson! Down here.”

Sara wasn’t even happy to see him when Sean poked his head over the ledge and looked down at them.

“I’m not even going to ask,” he said with a straight face. “Are you hurt?”

“We’re fine. Can you get a rope or something to haul us up with?”

Sean nodded. “I’ll see what I can find. Sara, are you okay?”

She started to nod but then quickly shook her head. The buzzing had grown so loud it was starting to hurt her head.

“Sara?” Davin reached out for her arm.

Pushing her feet against the rock, she managed to avoid his grasp. The last thing she wanted right now was to get closer to Davin. Not if he didn’t care about the colony and what happened here. Especially not if he was going to leave her.

“Let me get that rope,” Sean said before disappearing once more.

“You okay?” The concern in Davin’s voice was clear.

“Fine. I’m just ready to get out of here.”

“Sara, come here.”

“I don’t think so.”

She ducked her head under the water and swam around for a bit, hoping the tears that were threatening to spill would simply get washed away. Breaking the surface again, she watched Sean come back in with the rope and something that looked like a gun.

“I’m going to spike this into the wall. It should be secure enough to hold your weight.”

“Should?” Davin asked flexing his fingers on the ledge.

“Best I can do. Ready?”

“Let’s get out of here,” she piped up.

Sara was far enough back from the ledge she could watch Sean walk over to the rock wall with the spike gun. He placed it into a divot, turned his face away and pulled the trigger. The small explosion from the cartridge drove the spike into the rock, securing it for their ascent.

In a blink Sean had the rope attached and was feeding it over the side to them.

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“Sara, come out first,” Davin beckoned. “Just in case this thing can’t support my weight for long.”

Past arguing, she swam over to him and took hold of the rope. Before she started to climb, she grabbed her boots and uniform from around Davin’s neck.

“I’m going to need these,” she said without looking him in the eye.

“See you up there.” His words were soft.

Not meaning to, she looked into his eyes and saw his confusion. He didn’t have a clue what his leaving would do to her. Probably never cared that much to think about it. She was another quick fuck he could add to his list.

Pushing those thoughts away, she carefully walked her way up the rocky five feet to the top. Sean was there to grab her around the waist and pull her close. For a fraction of a second, their bodies were close, her wet shirt and taut nipples pressed against him.

Sean quickly but gently set her to the side, far enough from the edge so she wouldn’t fall in again.

“I grabbed you a dry uniform too. It might be a bit big.” Not once did he look at her directly, instead pointing blindly at the pile of clothing. “I set it there.”

“Thanks.” She tried to smile but instead turned and walked over to where the uniform was.

Not that she was attracted to Sean, but his rejection stung after Davin’s. She knew she wasn’t the first person most men thought of when they envisioned a wife, but she wasn’t a hag either. Men either ignored her completely or they turned out to be psychopaths.

“Getting cold down here.” Davin’s voice floated up to them from below.

“Rope is coming now.”

The splash of the rope hitting the water seemed to echo in her head as she got dressed. It took her a while to maneuver her body into the too large miner’s uniform and begin to fasten the clasps. By the time she was half done, Davin was out of the water, dropping the rope to the ground with a wet thud.

“Thanks. How did you think to look for us in here?” Davin asked as he walked over to grab the second, even larger uniform.

Sean shrugged. “I checked the shed first, but it was empty. I figured you’d bring her here soon enough.”

As he spoke, the words started to sound hollow to Sara. She had to give her head a shake, like she had water in her ears and couldn’t get it out. The buzzing was there too, and her skin suddenly seemed to prickle as the uniform rubbed against her skin. To make matters worse, her thigh where she’d scratched it began to burn. She tried to dig at it, but when she bent forward to do it, she stumbled against the wall.

Both Davin and Sean were at her side in an instant.

“Sara, sweetheart, are you feeling well?” Davin whispered.

“What the hell is that noise?” She gave her head another shake.

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Davin and Sean looked at each other for a moment before both of them flanked her sides. Despite still being angry at him, Sara reached out and tried to hold Davin’s arm.

Her vision blurred for a second as she tried to look into his face.

“I’ve got you. You’re going to be fine,” Davin said as he wrapped an arm around her waist.

She tried to answer him but instead felt the pull of unconsciousness and promptly passed out.

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Davin didn’t remember much of the last several hours. When Sara collapsed in his arms, all his annoyances and frustrations vaporized. Even the buzzing in his head had quickly disappeared. He didn’t even remember carrying her, still dripping wet, down the tunnel and back to the shed she’d been using as a base while she was helping the miners. All he could focus on was her overheated body lying on the small bed in front of him.

Sean had disappeared in search of Grit in hopes of getting some medical supplies and fresh water. They’d used what little was left in her medical kit when they’d gotten back. It seemed to help things for a while, but then the fever hit her harder than before.

Davin would have gone himself, but that would have meant leaving her side. And there was no way that was going to happen.

Sara moaned and kicked the sheet that was now bunched around her feet. At least she wasn’t tearing at the uniform anymore. For a while, he was scared she would claw herself to pieces trying to get it off. It had taken all of his strength to hold her arms at her side so she wouldn’t hurt herself for the twenty minutes it seemed to take for her fit to pass. Reaching out, Davin placed a hand on her forehead, her hot, sticky skin burning up beneath his fingers.

He’d taken his gloves off a while ago, long past caring if anyone saw the tattoos that covered his hands. It was doubtful that any of these humans understood the significance of them, of how much more than a simple healer he was. Not that he was acting like much of one right now.

His father’s voice had been screaming in his head, chastising him for just sitting by while Sara was fighting for her life. The internal battle of his emotions—the desire to help her versus the fear of what reclaiming his birthright would mean—raged on. He had the ability to do something, so why the fuck wasn’t he helping her?

Because deep down, he knew this is how it started. This is how his mother had gotten pulled into being a healer. One person, one life that had to be saved. All it meant was giving up everything that made him the man he was. He’d turned away from this and had chosen the life of a warrior. To protect rather than heal. To kill rather than save.

But losing Sara wasn’t an option.

Looking from his hands to Sara’s flushed face, Davin wasn’t sure if he could call on his long-forgotten healing abilities. But he knew he couldn’t just sit by and watch her die. Not when she was starting to become important to him. Davin rubbed his hand down his face and across the tight muscles in his neck. His body had already recovered from the strain of holding on to the rock in the pool. Maybe he’d also recovered from 85

whatever it was that had gotten a hold of Sara. His body could be the key to saving her life.

The creak of the door opening caught his attention, and he looked up in time to see an exhausted Sean walk through the door. Empty handed.

He took a seat opposite Davin. “What little medical supplies we have left won’t do her any good. Best keep them for the miners.”

“The guards?”

“Short of killing them with my bare hands, we’re not getting out of here.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Davin grunted. “At least it would be better than sitting around here doing nothing. Your
buddy,
Grit?”

Sean shook his head. “I can’t find him anywhere. And I even tried to find a short-range communicator to try to get in touch with Kamran or Taber. They’re all apparently busted or have gone missing.”

“
Friken
. Any good news?”

“The miners all love her, so if there is a chance they can help, they will. For now, we have to hope she can pull out of this.”

Davin reached out and smoothed down her hair with his hand. “I don’t think she can.”

They sat there in silence for several minutes. Davin couldn’t stop caressing her damp hair and face. She looked so small, so fragile, it broke his heart.

Sean motioned to Davin’s hand. “That must have hurt. I assume they mean something.”

He almost wanted to laugh. Instead Davin sat back and looked at the other man.

They’d both been running from their personal demons. Sean all the way under a mountain, just as he’d run all the way to the far reaches of outer space. Davin turned and showed Sean his arm. He placed a finger on the
Veran
symbol that covered most of his biceps. The long curves spiraled around the muscle and snaked down his arm.

“This shows me which cast I was born in. While most people stay within their preordained profession, it is possible to move. I was born into the healing cast.”

Sean sat up straighter, the muscles in his jaw flexed. “Healer? Can you help Sara?”

Davin ignored him and pointed to the next symbol that covered his forearm. “This is this
Macha
symbol. It’s from our warrior cast. I joined when I reached the age of maturity. I was a young, angry man who desperately wanted to kill something.

Unfortunately for me, we weren’t at war.”

Sean nodded and Davin knew he understood.

“Anger is a very powerful thing,” Sean said quietly. “It makes you want to do terrible things. Mostly to people who you care about.”

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“I haven’t been that angry in a while. This symbol is a constant reminder to be careful never to let myself get that out of control again.” Davin sat back and crossed his arms across his chest.

“What about the symbols on your hands?”

Davin and Sean stared at each other. Both wounded soldiers of pointless conflicts.

For the first time in a long while, Davin was tempted to tell the truth. With the exception of removing the weight from his shoulders, it wouldn’t help them. Sara’s healing was not in her mind. Sara moaned again, this time coughing harshly. Both men were by her side, holding her still.

“I’ll get her some water,” Sean said and stood up. As he was about to open the door, he stopped and turned back to Davin. “You may have run from the person you were, but she could really use your help right now. If you care for her even a little, you’ll consider moving past your anger and helping.”

Davin swallowed past the tightness in his throat. “Those are wise words, my friend.”

“It’s something Sara said to me not that long ago.” He then stepped out and shut the door softly behind him.

Davin’s heart was pounding in his chest as he stared after Sean. Other than the occasional quick burst of healing he’d do in an emergency, it had been years since he’d treated a patient. It was like asking someone who’d only used bandages for years to perform an operation. He honestly didn’t know if he’d be able to do this, to save her.

And he no longer had the excuse of his mother’s death to turn away from what he could do. Even though he hadn’t spoken to his father in years, had done his best to drop off the edge of the galaxy, he couldn’t say he was still that bitter young man who’d learned to take the lives as a warrior that his father had so desperately tried to save as a healer.

His decision to ignore his ability to heal was for revenge. Nothing more.

Another look at Sara told him he had no choice. Her eyes were flicking madly back and forth beneath her eyelids. At the same time her skin, pale and flushed, told him she was losing the fight against whatever was attacking her body. Regardless of how cynical he’d grown since fleeing his home, he couldn’t sit by and watch her die. Not when she’d given so much to so many people.

Not when his heart had finally let her in.

Davin stood up, his legs and hands shaking slightly as he removed his belt and boots. He needed to feel focused, grounded, if he was going to make this work. He needed to ignore everything in the outside world and concentrate on Sara, on making her better. Rubbing his hands together, he brought the blood to the surface, warming his skin, sensitizing it for what he was about to do. Davin dropped to his knees and moved as close to Sara’s bed as possible. He closed his eyes and let the world around him drop away into the blackness.

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He let out a deep breath and focused all of his concentration on pushing every last molecule of air from his lungs. Then, slowly, he sucked in a deep breath, feeling every particle as it expanded the sacs of his three lungs. The air moved in and out of his body, expanding and contracting, filling his body with life. Mentally, he retreated to that part of his mind that allowed him to connect to the outside world, to the hurts of others. It was difficult, his mind refusing him entry, straining against his attempts. Another deep breath had his body relax more, his mind following suit. Mentally, he stood in front of that large black wall he’d erected to keep his abilities tucked away. A faint glowing light bled from around it, the small currents that allowed him to lightly heal others. He reached out, hand trembling, and touched the barrier. An electrical charge prickled at his skin until it traveled up his arm and into the rest of his body. With Sara’s face floating in his mind, he pushed hard against the mental barrier, as hard as he could.

A blinding white light seemed to explode behind his eyes. The rush of long-ignored power seemed to fill every cell in his body. He was suddenly aware of his hunger, the pain in his arms and the itch on the back of his neck. It was as if his body had been numb for years and only now had come roaring back to life. As he focused his attention on each spot, he could feel his ability explore the damaged area, diagnose the problem and quickly heal it. It was painful for him at first, but as it touched each successive spot, Davin felt it increase in power and ability. The rush of energy was almost too much for him, threatening to overtake his mental control. Faster and faster the healing power surged to various spots in his body, inspecting and healing where necessary, before it moved on. If he didn’t get control over his ability soon, it would overpower him. Davin retreated back to the quiet spot in his mind, just as his mother had shown him as a child. The blackness began to seep out, calming the surging power now flooding his body.

His heart rate slowed beat by beat until it reached a normal rhythm. When he opened his eyes, he could see Sara, but it was if he were looking at her through a vid screen. Her image looked odd, detached and distorted. Like a curiosity that needed to be explored. He was dispassionate and disconnected, the perfect instrument for healing.

A small voice in his head started to scream at him.
This is Sara! You care about her!
Davin squashed that voice, focusing his attention solely on her illness. On how to make her better.

When he touched his hand to her head, he instantly felt her illness. The fever was caused by some sort of parasite in her blood stream. He could feel them eating away at her cells, consuming them from the inside out. They were relentless in their hunger and Sara was an unlimited food source. But when he went to find them, Davin found he couldn’t locate isolate them. The parasites were small, so much so it had the ability to elude him, ducking and hiding in cells and organs. As he went, he was able to heal the damage done by the hungry bastards, but it wasn’t enough. He tried to concentrate, focus his attention, but the more he tried the harder it was to find the tiny beasts. Davin sat back on his legs with a gasp, his body shaking from the effort. Sweat covered his 88

face, dripping down his chest and back. His muscles ached from the tension and the weight of his defeat. He’d lost the them.

Friken!

It was only then he realized he wasn’t alone in the room. Looking up he saw that not only had Sean returned, but he was accompanied by Kamran and Taber. A flash of panic raced through him, at what they’d seen him doing. He didn’t want them to know of his failure. It hit him hard, like a punch to the face and Davin dropped his chin to his chest.

Sean stepped forward and placed a hand on Davin’s shoulder. “Were you able to help her?”

His heart sank as he shook his head. “There are parasites in her, causing the fever.

But it’s been so long… I couldn’t stop it. And they’re multiplying.”

Sean helped him stand, but his muscles felt weak, under-formed and almost unable to support his own weight. Davin fell back onto the other bed and let out a shaky breath. Failure was never an option for a healer. People died—Sara would die if he couldn’t stop this thing from eating her alive. The rising panic threatened to choke him off as his father’s voice began to ring in his ears.

“How long?” he asked, his voice little more than a croak.

“Did you start right after I left?” Sean said walking back to Sara.

“Yes.”

“Forty minutes.”

“Fuck.” He rubbed his eyes with his hand

Kamran walked over to Sara and placed a hand on her head. “You did your best.

Let’s get you over to med bay so one of the Briel doctors can take a look at you.”

“Glad you finally came looking for us,” Davin said as he rose once more to his feet.

The muscles in his legs were shaky, but he could feel his strength start to return. He’d be fine in a few minutes.

“We would have been able to get you out sooner if the guards had believed our communication. It seems someone used an active high-level security code to transmit the order,” Taber said, clearly annoyed.

“I’ve been meaning to visit the mines for a while now,” Kamran said frowning.

“Now that I’m here, I can’t help but wonder how long things have been like this. We have our work cut out for us to get this mess straightened out.”

Davin heard the men talking, but he lost focus on the words. The only thing that concerned him at that time was Sara. His eyes were watching the steady rise and fall of her chest as she drew shallow breaths. There was a little more color in her cheeks, but he knew it wouldn’t last. He needed more time.