Vengeance (38 page)

The grasses whip
about madly in the wake of several hover wings that pelt laser fire
from above.  Everything appears to either be burning or
bleeding.

“Get her in
the air, now!” Bastien shouts.  He pauses a second to
grasp my hand.  “I’ll be right back.”

His fingers slip
from between mine and I raise my hand to reach for him but he is
gone.  Eamon lifts me higher and runs full out.  He is not
nearly as fast as my friend Toren would be, but he moves with far
more speed than I have ever known to be possible for him.

I try to shield my
eyes as Eamon rushes straight toward an enormous scout ship.  The
hum of its engines rumbles in my chest as he ducks low, protecting me
from the heat of the swirling turbines and rushes up the ramp.

“Illyria!”
 A familiar face with bouncing curls appears over me.  “Oh
thank god!  We thought you were dead!”

“Not yet,”
I smile at my best friend Aminah.  “Not yet.”

She places a cool
hand against my forehead and glances up at Eamon.  “She’s
burning up.  We have to get her to the healers.”

“No time,”
I groan as another contraction hits.  They are coming much too
fast.  So fast I can barely capture my breath.  “They
are coming!”

“Toren!”
Eamon shouts.  I can hear his boots pounding against the metal
grate floor.  A blast of wind snarls my hair and then Toren is
standing before me, windblown and his face drawn with concern.  “I
need to get Kyan.  Can you take her for me?”

“No!” I
shout and grasp on to his arm.  “You need to stay with
me.”

Eamon smiles.  “I’m
not going far.  I promise.  Kyan will know how to help you
until the healers arrive.”

I nod and slowly let
him pull away.  He turns and runs in the opposite direction and
I look up into Toren’s face.  Although his smile doesn’t
meet his eyes as he looks me over, I know that he is trying.  “Never
could stay out of trouble for long, could you?”

I snort out a laugh
but instantly break off.  I groan and grasp my stomach.  “Run,
Toren,” Aminah says, and he does.

I can feel the ship
rocking, pounded by bursts of laser fire that erupt not far from the
hull.  A constant beeping near my ear draws me from my pain
induced haze.  I look up to find Aminah hovering nearby, deep in
conversation with Toren.  They look worried.

No
one else is in the room.  
That’s
odd,
I
muse.  
I
should have a swarm of healers around me by now.

“Toren,”
I croak and try to clear my throat.  It feels dry, as if I have
been asleep for days instead of a few minutes.

He comes to my side
and kneels down.  Aminah approaches but doesn’t get too
close.  “Where is Eamon?”  His gaze shifts
away.  I clench down on his arm.  “Where is he?”

“He is coming.
 I’m sure of it.”

I glance at Aminah
and see tears in her eyes.  “What happened?”

She shakes her head
and turns away, her shoulders curled inward as she holds herself.  I
look to Toren and feel my chest clench.  “Toren?”

He sighs and presses
a hand against my shoulder in what I assume is meant to be
comforting.  “We lost Kyan.”

“What!”
I try to rise up but he holds me down.  Now I understand why he
chose that place on my arm to rest his hand.  It wasn’t
for comfort but for restraint.  

“I’m
sorry,” he whispers, closing his eyes.

“How…”
my voice cracks and I try again, “how did it happen?”

“Zahra got cut
off from the group,” he explains, his voice thick with emotion.
 “He went after her.  It was a slaughter.  There
was nothing that could be done.”

“And Eamon?
 Bastien?”

Aminah turns at the
sound of his name. “Do you remember?”

I blink, surprised
by her question but the instant she says the words a flood of
memories pours back in. I gasp as the pain envelops me and threatens
to spill over at the memory of each time Bastien and I have been
forced to say goodbye, to deny our love.  Too many times for me
to bear all at once.  “Oh god,” I whisper as tears
well in my eyes.  “I remember everything now.”

Aminah nods,
pressing her hand to her mouth as whimpers rise in her throat.  “Kyan
did this,” I whisper and close my eyes as the pain of his death
washes over me.  He must truly be gone for my memories to have
returned.

“Where are
Eamon and Bastien?” I ask Toren.  My fingers begin to curl
around my bed.  The pain is coming hard and fast but I push it
from my mind as best I can.  “Toren?  Where are
they?”

He looks away.  “We
don’t know.  I’m being commanded to take off but we
have lingered...hoping.”

I push up onto my
elbows and glare at him.  The wall behind him begins to blur in
my vision, as if it is vibrating.  “No.  We are not
leaving them behind.”

Toren looks to
Aminah. I can see fear in his eyes as he nods.  “I’ll
go check on them.”

I collapse back
against the bed as he rises and embraces Aminah briefly before
rushing out of sight.  She sinks down beside me and tries to
grasp my arm but cries out as she tears her hand back, her eyes wide
with pain.  

“What’s
wrong?” I ask through gritted teeth.  The darkness behind
my closed eyes is soothing compared to the blaring lights of the
medical room.

“You shocked
me.”

My eyes fly open
wide.  “I did?”

I look down to see
her holding her wrist, her open palm red and blistered.  “But
that’s impossible.  I can’t--” I cut off as a
shriek rises in my throat.  My back arches as a terrible pain
shreds my abdomen.  The bed begins to quake.  The metal
braces that latch the bed to the ground begin to groan in protest.

“What’s
happening?”  I can hear the fear in her voice but it
sounds hollow in my ears.  I can’t respond.  Can’t
think.  All that matters is the pain.

Illyria.  You
need to calm down.

I am surprised by
the sudden invasion in my mind.  I collapse against the mattress
and stare at her, shocked to feel her in my thoughts.

“That’s
not possible,” I groan, curling in upon myself.  “This
collar blocks my abilities.”

She turns her gaze
onto the tarnished collar at my neck.  Aminah starts to reach
for it but I bat her hand away.  “It’s no use.  We
can’t get it off!”

“Then how are
you able to hear me?”

“I don’t
know,” I shout.  My fingers curl into claws.  My neck
cords as I grit my teeth.  This wave is stronger than all the
rest.  

Eamon!
 Bastien!  Get back here now!
I
wince at Aminah’s shout.  She notices and apologizes for
including me in her message.  

Reaching
behind my head I grab hold of a pillow and press it against my
stomach, curling inward as tight as I can in hopes that the pain will
ease a bit.  It is a futile hope, but I can’t just lay
here and do nothing.

The table beside me
begins to rattle as a scream builds deep within me.  I arch my
head back and let go, my shrieks echoing off the walls.  An
array of medical supplies atop the shelving unit across from me
begins to plummet to the floor.  Aminah cries out as a chair
slams into her leg, its wheels still in motion as it careens off her
side and spirals toward the far wall.

In the distance I
can hear shouting mingled with laser fire.  I can feel anger,
rage pouring in upon me.  I gasp, fighting to breathe, to think
around it.  “He’s coming,” I groan, clutching
my stomach.

“Eamon?”

“No.”  I
grab onto the side of the bed and hoist myself onto my side.  My
good leg pushes against the bed as I curl my fingers around the edge
of the bed.  The metal frame begins to bend to the indent of my
fingers.  “Hendrix.”

The door behind me
hisses open and Toren appears.  There is a great gash down the
side of his face, from temple to chin.  He looks dazed and
barely on his feet.  Aminah cries out as he stumbles forward and
lands hard on his knees.  I can smell the scent of burning flesh
and know that he has been gravely wounded.

“Toren!”
she rushes out of my sight.  I can hear her cries, her pleas for
him not to leave her, but in my heart I know they won’t matter.
 “No!” she wails, and tears slip past my closed
eyelids.

The door hisses open
again and I catch the scent of smoke and death.  It mingles
together with such potency I can feel my stomach beginning to churn.
 A hand falls on my arm and I open my eyes to see Bastien before
me.  His chest is streaked with blood.  His hand curled
inward, his fingers smashed and useless.  He favors his right
side as he leans toward me.

“Eamon?”
I ask, breathlessly.

“He was right
behind me.”

The metal beneath my
grip groans as the urge to push grows too great.  “You
have to help me,” I plead, staring up at him through unbearable
pain.  “Please.”

His face grows grim
as he looks down at my swollen belly.  “I don’t know
what I’m doing.”

“Learn fast,”
I grunt and try to shift again.  He places his hands on my arm
to help me roll but jerks back, his eyes wide with surprise.  

“How did
you--”

“I don’t
know,” I wail as I release the edge of the bed and push,
knowing somehow that being on my back will bring relief, even if it
is not sudden.

Bastien clenches his
one good hand, shaking it out and then moves around to the edge of
the bed.  “Aminah?”  He calls back over his
shoulder.  I can hear her crying, sobbing as she clings to
Toren.  “I know this isn’t a good time but I really
need your help.  Illyria’s life depends on it.”

I see her slowly
rise from the floor.  She wipes her nose with the back of her
hand, staring down at Toren.  “Please,” I whisper to
her, begging her to help me.

When she meets my
gaze my heart shatters for her.  I can see that she has no
reason to want to live.  No reason to go on, and I don’t
blame her.

She wavers in place,
her curls blowing in the breeze that filters in through the open
door.  Never before have I seen such desolation but I know that
I have felt it.  Looking at Bastien now I remember exactly how
it felt to be forced to choose Eamon instead.  To live without
Bastien by my side.

I would give
anything to change that.  To make things right.

Bastien places his
hand on my ankle and tries to offer me a reassuring smile.  “I
remember,” I whisper.

His gaze narrows and
he leans in.  “What did you say?”

“I remember
everything…” I trail off as darkness edges into my
vision.

“Illyria?  Oh
god!  Aminah, I need you now!”

I can feel Bastien
tearing at my skirts and raising my leg. It falls to the side with
nothing to hold it aloft.  I am lost to the pain, barely aware
of him shouting to Aminah.  Barely aware of anything until I
hear a piercing scream.

I roll my head to
the side and cry out as a lighted sword rams through her chest.  Her
eyes are wide with disbelief as she is shoved aside, falling out of
my line of sight.

Bastien whips around
to come face to face with Hendrix.  He has the look of a wild
man.  His hair is singed, some of it cut away in jagged lines.
 His arms, face and neck are coated with splatters of blood.
 His hands have a firm grip on his sword as he turns to face
Bastien.  

“No!”
I scream as Bastien lunges, but it is too late.  

The room begins to
tilt in front of me, everything a blur.  I can hear the doors
rattling, hear glass shattering as I throw back my head and scream.
 I pull my leg up and grip the bed, pushing with all my might.

The clash of
Hendrix’s sword against metal is caught in my thoughts as I
feel rage spiraling through me.  The clasps around my wrists
begin to boil, the metallic surface bubbling.  The heat rises
from my skin as I push again.  

“Illyria!”

I
release pressure and fall back against the bed as Eamon rushes into
the doorway.  
He’s
alive!
I
am panting, exhausted beyond belief as I watch him engage Hendrix.  

“Go help her,”
Eamon shouts as he slams his fist into Hendrix jaw.  The older
man ricochets off the wall and comes right back to ram the hilt of
his sword into Eamon’s nose.  Bastien fills my vision.  He
is bloodier than before but alert.  

“I need to
push,” I whimper.

He nods and moves
between my legs.  I look at him, seeing the fierce determination
in his eyes as I glance behind him at Eamon and Hendrix locked in
battle.  “I swear he will not get to you.”

I nod and grip the
bed, growling as I push.  Sweat beads along my brow, dripping
along my chin to patter against my chest.

“Push,
Illyria.  You’re doing great!”  At Bastien’s
encouragement I gulp in big breaths and prepare for another push.  I
can feel myself weakening.

We
will protect you,
a
tiny voice calls to my mind.

I gasp.  Bastien
raises up.  “Are you ok?”

“I heard
them,” I say in awe.  “I heard my children.”

Bastien’s jaw
clenches as he nods.  “Let’s get this done.”

Mommy
loves you,
I
call back but I don’t know if they can hear me.  Gripping
the bed one last time I shriek and push so hard I begin to feel light
headed.  My vision darkens and then suddenly the pain lessens.

Bastien raises up
and I spy a tiny body in his arms.  His hands are coated with
blood as he turns the baby over and pats on its back.  I shed
tears of relief as the first wailing cry fills the room.  I can
see two tiny legs and two tiny arms.  A small button nose and
small wisps of blond hair that curl.  A perfect match for
Eamon’s.  My heart clenches at the sound of the baby’s
cry.

“He’s a
boy,” Bastien smiles as he holds him up for me to see.

“Illyria.”
 I turn to see Eamon’s gaze locked onto mine.  It
shifts for a split second onto the child clutched in Bastien’s
arms and then goes blank.