The Dracons' Woman (39 page)

Garen ran everything that had happened, everything that Riata had said through his mind at lightening speed.  He reluctantly came to the same conclusion as Riata.  “Very well,” he said finally.

“Hurry,” Riata urged.  “I do not think that she has much time.”

Trey, Val and Garen quickly took their places and, taking a brief moment to extend their mating fangs, they once again bit into her, letting their instincts guide them as before.  When they withdrew they immediately shifted aside so that Riata could get close to Lariah.

Riata raised her hands over Lariah and the three brothers hardly dared breathe as they waited silently.  Finally Riata smiled. “It is working,” she said, letting her own breath out in a relieved sigh.  “Her bodily functions are returning to normal.” 

Suddenly, Lariah’s body arched sharply, then fell back onto the bed, followed by a long, drawn out moan of pain that they all knew would have been a scream had her larynx been capable of producing one.  Garen swore as he immediately reached for her, then hesitated, not knowing what to do. 

Riata frowned, her hands still over Lariah.  “Her body is changing, her organs reshaping…I have never seen such,” Riata whispered.  Her purple eyes sharpened and she pinned Garen with a stern stare.  “This is going to be extremely painful for her,” she said.  “There is no getting around that.  You must make sure she stays asleep.  It is the only thing that will help her.  Do it now.  She is awakening and this is pain she need not bear.”

Garen immediately sent his magic into Lariah, Trey and Val joining him at once. They all focused on nudging her gently to sleep, but it wasn’t working.  Finally Garen brought his will to bear and ordered her to sleep, pushing hard with his magic.  They all felt her slip away even as her body began contorting again. 

After Faron finished speaking with Dav, he returned the vox to Billy and resumed his pacing, trying to come to another decision.  Finally he spun on his heel and stepped up onto the porch.

“Billy, keep an eye on that shed.  Don’t let anyone go into it,” he told the young man.  Billy nodded his head emphatically.  “Yes sir, don’t you worry, nobody will get near it.”

Faron patted the young man on the shoulder and entered the house.  He stepped into the vacant living room, crossed it quickly, and entered Garen’s study.  Normally he would have used the vid screen in the living room rather than invade the Dracons’ study uninvited, but his acute hearing caught the murmur of voices behind the closed bedroom door.  As much as he wanted to know how Lariah and his Princes were faring, he would never deliberately eavesdrop on them. 

He closed the study door behind him, stepped around Garen’s desk, and activated the vid screen.  A few minutes later a council aid bowed to him on the screen.

“I greet you, Faron Lobo,” the aid said.

“I greet you, Talus Gryphon,” Faron replied.  “I am invoking my status as Prime Guardian of the Royal Princes of Jasan,” he said formally. 

Talus’s eyes widened, but Faron continued as though he hadn’t noticed. He had no time for chit chat.  “I request that you summon Eldar Hamat at all speed.”

“At once,” Talus replied.  Faron was relieved to see the young aid turn and hurry quickly away.  He was back moments later, panting from his run.  “Eldar Hamat will patch in from his quarters, Prime Guardian,” Talus told him.  The young male reached out to switch the call to Eldar Hamat’s quarters, and paused a moment.  He looked directly into the screen and raised his left fist to his right shoulder.  “Sharp eyes, Brother Warrior,” he said solemnly.

Faron immediately returned the gesture.  “Brave heart, Brother Warrior,” he replied, completing the age-old ritual.

Moments later an image of Eldar Hamat appeared on Faron’s vid screen.  Faron had to bite back his sigh of relief as Eldar Hamat bowed formally.  “Prime Guardian, how may I be of assistance?” he asked.

Faron rapidly informed Eldar Hamat of the situation.  When he was finished, he immediately asked the question to which he most wanted an answer.

“My first thought was that we were dealing with a shape changer,” he said.  “But from what Dav told me it begins to look like a sugea.  I recall from my school studies that sugeas are temperamental and egotistical, preferring to work alone.  Is it possible that one would work with an adinare?”

Eldar Hamat frowned as he considered everything Faron had told him.  “Before the Dark Time it is true that the sugea would not deign to associate with any below their rank, and they were the highest ranking creature of Narrastia,” he said at last.  “However, who knows what changes the centuries have wrought for any surviving Narrasti?  I’m afraid we cannot depend on old knowledge in this matter.”  Eldar Hamat shook his head.  “This is most disturbing news,” he said.  “I do not wish to intrude upon your authority Prime Guardian, but I think it would be best if I examined this body myself.”

Relief rushed through Faron.  “Eldar Hamat, I would be both pleased and honored for any help you are able to provide.  That you would agree to come so far is more than I hoped for.”

“I will need time to brief the council,” he said.  “While I do that, my assistant will begin making arrangements for an air transport.”  Eldar Hamat frowned.  “I doubt I will be able to get there before morning,” he warned.

“The body of the human male is in a stasis bag,” Faron told him.  “It will keep until you arrive.”

Eldar Hamat gave Faron his personal vox code so that he could be updated in the event of further developments.  Faron thanked Eldar Hamat, wished him a safe and speedy journey, and closed the connection.

Faron was a warrior, both by training and birth.  He could, and would, take whatever was thrown at him and fight back with all of the courage and will he owned.  He would never back down or turn from a battle.

But this was too big for him to handle on his own and he knew it.  He desperately needed Eldar Hamat’s experience and was immensely relieved that he would get it.  Feeling better knowing that the Bearens and Eldar Hamat were on their way, he made his way back to the front of the house and resumed pacing as he waited for Ric to arrive with Pater.

Several minutes later Billy once again approached him with the vox.  “It’s your brothers,” Billy said as Faron took the device and clipped it to his ear.  “Thanks,” he said, then paced away from the young man.

“What?” he said into the mic.

“We got us a mess here,” Dav said calmly, though Faron heard the underlying emotion in his brother’s voice.

“Tell me,” he demanded.

“We’re in the kitchen of the CoffeeSpot,” Dav told him.  “Fera is unconscious but alive.  She’s been beaten.”  Dav paused for a long moment and Faron knew his brother was fighting down a blood-rage caused by the sight of the battered female.  He held onto his patience and waited for his brother to collect himself.

 “There’s blood all over the place,” Dav continued finally.  “I think its Lenno’s.  His clothing is here, but there is no sign of his body.”

Faron frowned, then felt his stomach lurch as he remembered Bearen’s search of the skyport and what he’d found.  This whole mess just kept getting worse and worse.

“Frith’s scent is here, as well as the scent of that thing I smelled outside the gate,” Dav continued. “From what I can piece together, it looks like one or both of them killed Lenno, and Frith beat his sister while the other thing…” Dav hesitated, but Faron already knew what his brother didn’t want to say.

“The other thing ate Lenno,” he finished for Dav.

“Yes,” Dav replied shortly.

“Can you move Fera without causing further injury?” Faron asked.

“Yes, we think so,” Dav replied.  “Ban already called the human doctor here in town and told him that we were bringing her in.  Ban’s going to carry her over there now.  I’ll stay here and make sure the place is locked up tight.”

“I’m going to call Jackson Bearen and tell him to stop there on his way in.  That’s a crime scene and more his territory than ours.  He’ll call the right people in.  Just stay there until Jackson arrives, then you and Ban head on back here.”

“Will do,” Dav replied.  The line was silent for a moment before Dav cleared his throat and asked the question Faron was waiting for.  “This is what I’m afraid it is, isn’t it?” Dav asked.

“Yes.  It is,” Faron replied.

After he closed the call, Faron immediately called Jackson Bearen.  He gave him a quick run-down on events since he’d last spoken to the security chief, including the possible sighting of a sugea.  Faron had not realized how talented Jackson was when it came to creative swearing.  He had to admit to himself that he was impressed.

Jackson assured him that he would immediately call in the appropriate personnel to handle the crime scene.  He also promised to stop at the café to scent it himself in order to determine for sure if it matched what he’d scented on the skyport.  Faron suggested that he also scent the stolen ground-car and Bearen agreed.

Now all Faron had to do was wait until Ric arrived with Pater.  He was both anxious for them to arrive, and dreading it. 

Chapter 19

The next few hours were the longest of Garen’s, Trey’s and Val’s lives as they fought to keep Lariah unconscious and unaware even as the pain in her body fought to waken her.  The convulsions and contortions of her delicate form were so violent they feared her bones would break until finally, unable to help her any other way, they held her firmly to the bed, tears streaking all of their faces.  When at last her body became still, they were almost afraid to believe it was over. 

Riata examined her yet again, and sighed.  “It is complete,” she said.  Never in her long life had she undergone such an agonizing experience.  The pain Lariah’s body had experienced was mind breaking and she could not imagine what she would have done for her without the Dracons’ magical abilities.

Trey went into the bathroom and came back with several damp cloths.  He handed one to Val and they began cleansing Lariah’s body of the sweat that had poured from her during her ordeal.  Garen watched for a moment, relieved that Lariah was at rest now, unwilling to do anything to change it.  But, there was a problem and ignoring it would not make it go away.  He turned to Riata.

“There is an…oddity,” he said hesitantly, “that we are uncertain about.  It may, or may not, be important”

Riata’s brows rose.  “What oddity?” she asked.

“As I believe you now know, after two injections, our mating fangs are shed,” Garen said.

“Yes, I am aware of this.”

“After we gave Lariah the second injection, our mating fangs did not shed,” Garen told her.

Riata stilled.  Her eyes unfocused for long minutes, while Garen, Val and Trey watched quietly.

Finally Riata’s eyes focused on Garen.  “I believe that when your species of female is injected the first time, the first thing that occurs is that her regeneration ability is increased.  This is necessary in order for the body to be capable of shifting from one form to another.  Your females are not born shifters, so this step is vital.  After that step, the genetic code is changed so that the female is capable of shifting into the clan of her mates.  In human women, the potion altered serum stops the process after the regeneration step.”  Riata was pacing as she spoke, her brow furrowed with concentration.

“The second injection, in your species of female, alters the reproductive organs so that the female is capable of carrying children fathered by her specific clan of mates.  It also sets up her body’s requirements to perform the soul-link, which causes the mating fever.  In human women, the potion altered serum changes the reproductive organs, and then stops.”

Riata stopped pacing, then went back to Lariah once more.  “I believe that the oddity in Lariah’s genetic code acted as a sort of…timer, if you will.  Once activated by your serum, it sped up her regenerative abilities, only from human to Jasani.  It then continued to
correct
her genetic code, much as it would in a woman of your own species, making it not just Jasani, but specifically dracon.  The second injection, instead of altering just her reproductive organs, altered her tissues and organs to be Jasani.  Now, a third injection is needed to complete the process, to set up her body’s requirements to perform the soul-link.”

Garen stared at Riata, uncomprehendingly.  “What are you saying?” he asked.

“You must inject her a third time,” Riata said.

Garen shook his head.  “Another risk?  I don’t think we could stand it Riata.”

“Wait,” Trey exclaimed.  “The three,” he gasped.  Garen stared at him, uncomprehending. 

Trey frowned in thought for a moment before reciting, “
Have they faith in the three, by the three shall all be blessed.
”

Garen’s eyes widened in sudden understanding.  He looked to Val, and saw that he, too, understood.  Was that right?  He could think of no other explanation, but what if they were wrong?  Garen felt tortured by indecision.  He shook his head and turned to Riata who was looking at him in mild confusion.

“It is a line from the prophecy,” he explained.  “A line that has never been understood.  It seems to indicate this is the right thing to do, but what if we are wrong?”

Riata smiled.  “You do not fully understand Highness,” she said.  “Lariah is no longer a human female.  She is fully a Jasani female, with all of the abilities of one.  The first known Jasani female in three thousand years.  What is more, she is dracon.”