“Now is not the time to dwell on that. We must focus on Maddie and get her to safety.”
At that moment, Tesslar, another brother, materialized.
“I just checked on Sharra. She is okay, but still asleep. Telecommuning as a mediator completely zaps her strength.”
Sharra, Rayn’s sister, and Maddie had gone up to the mountaintop so that Maddie and Rayn could telecommune. Sharra had acted as their medium for two reasons. One, to circumvent the orders Rayn had received forbidding him any contact with Maddie, and two, as a human, Maddie had very limited telepathic abilities, so she would need assistance from Sharra. It was after this that Maddie had wandered away from camp when Sharra fell asleep and Darryl Carter caught up to her.
Given Vesturion technology, which was obviously much more advanced that Earth’s, all the property owned by the Guardians was veiled, meaning it was impossible for the human eye to detect. That was what was so disturbing about Darryl Carter’s appearance and him being able to find Maddie
“Tesslar, you have to go home. Right NOW. To Vesturon. You have to tell Julian to prepare the trauma room for Maddie. This is bad, beyond bad. It is critical. Her only hope of survival is with Julian on Vesturon.” Julian was the healer in charge of all medical facilities.
Rykerian gave Tesslar a quick rundown of her condition. Without warning, the three of them were blown away, landing approximately ten feet away.
Tesslar exclaimed, “Damnation! Rayn has to quit doing that. We cannot help Maddie if he will not cease!”
“We know,” Therron replied, “but he is out of his mind right now. I do not blame him, which is another reason you have to go home. Go now! Straight to Julian. Once he has the trauma unit prepared, notify us, and we will bring Maddie. Then go to Rayn. He is going to need one of us when he realizes she is on Vesturon.”
“You realize what this means?” Tesslar asked.
“Yes, we know. We do not have a choice now, do we? Strange, I guess this is what Rayn faced six months ago.” He was referring to the covenant that prohibited any human from visiting Vesturon. They could all be imprisoned for the action that they were about to take, which is exactly why Rayn was imprisoned.
“What about Sharra?” Tesslar was making sure all bases were covered.
“Call Xarrid and tell him to get back here. Let him know where Shar is so that he can teleport her home. I do not want to leave her up here by herself. When she wakes up, they can both go to work on figuring out how that beast got through our veil. Something is not right here. While you do all of that, we will care for Maddie. Go, Tesslar, NOW!”
Tesslar teleported to Vesturon, and Rykerian turned to Maddie. Her one eye was swollen shut, and the other eye was duct taped. Rykerian wondered how much she’d heard or how much she could understand.
He approached her and softly asked, “Maddie, honey, do you know who I am?”
She barely nodded.
“I need to ask you some questions, so just nod to let me know your answers, okay?” At her nod, he continued, “Is your pain better, because I want to take the tape off your mouth.”
Again, she nodded the affirmative.
He reached for the tape, and, as gently as he possibly could, he pulled it off, knowing it was hurting her and hating every minute of it.
He placed his hand upon her face and gently rubbed his thumb back and forth over her cheek. “Little sister, you know we are here to help you. Do you trust us, Maddie?” Rykerian asked. He needed to know she didn’t fear them.
“Yeah.” She responded so quietly that he could barely hear her.
“This is terribly important. You have to remain as still as possible. I have given you a large dose of pain medication, but I know it will only do so much for you. Your wounds…I will not lie to you…your wounds are very bad. They are in two extremely dangerous places, and it is most important that you do not move. Stay as still as you can. We have to take you to Vesturon so that Julian can heal you. Are you still with me?”
She nodded again.
Maddie started to speak, but her voice was so weak and raspy that they had to strain to understand her. “You cannot take me there…big trouble.”
“Do not concern yourself with that, Maddie,” Rykerian said.
Therron added, “We have to cut the arrows so that we can move you. Then we will go as quickly as we can. I am sorry, but there is no other choice, I know this is going to cause you a great deal of pain, and I am sorry about that too. Maddie? Are you still with me?”
“Yeah.” The pain medication thankfully had her in its grips now. She was woozy from it, but mercifully, it had eased her discomfort a bit.
“Good. You are doing well. Everything will be okay. Hang in there, Maddie. You are strong and brave. I know you can do this!”
Rykerian continued to talk to her, trying to soothe her fears. Rykerian was agonizing over it all. His feelings for her were clearly evident in all of his actions. It was killing him to see her like this.
In the meantime, Therron had gone back to Darryl to take care of that part of the equation.
“Unfortunately, Mr. Carter, you have lucked out. I have no time to play with you anymore today, so instead, I hope you enjoy your trip to hell, as I am quite sure the Deity will not grant you any mercy,” he said.
Therron aimed his
shadar
at Darryl and said, “Destroy.”
A beam of energy burst forth, and in a millisecond, Darryl had become nothing but a tiny pile of dust. All that was left of him was scattered away by the night’s wind.
Therron returned to Rykerian and Maddie and said, “Tesslar is with Julian, and everything should be ready in three minutes. That means we need to get to work. How are we going to do this?”
“We each have to cut the arrows so that we can move her. That means we are going to have to get underneath and behind her. Bloody hell! This is going to be bad, Therron. I do not know if I can get through this.” He looked at Therron with unimaginable desperation in his eyes.
“Listen to me, Rykerian. I know you are in a difficult place, but right now, you have no choice on whether or not you think you can do this. If you want to see Maddie alive after tonight, you have to get through this and cut that arrow. Now, I need your strength and focus here. Can I count on you to hold strong for me?”
Rykerian looked Therron directly in the eyes, drew in a deep breath, and nodded. He said, “I will find a way to do this, my brother.”
“Good. Now, what are we going to use to get the arrow tips off?” Therron was relieved, albeit only slightly, at Rykerian’s response.
“The only thing I know of is to use a
shadar
on an ultra low setting,” Rykerian suggested.
“Will the beam not burn her?”
“Most likely, but we can treat the burn later. It will not kill her. The
shadar
will do it quickly, and we need to move her. Can you think of anything else?”
“No. No, I do not think there is any other way. Okay, which one do you want me to do?” Therron asked, letting Rykerian take his choice.
“You take her leg. That is the most critical one, and I will do the other. Remember, Therron, failure is not an option,” he said as they locked gazes.
Rykerian leaned into Maddie, took her face into his hands, and got her eyes to lock onto his. “Maddie, we are going to go to work now. I know this is asking quite a lot, but we need you to brace yourself and try your best not to move. Do you understand?”
As soon as she nodded, the brothers looked at each other with dread, and Rykerian said, “On the count of one—three, two, one!”
They both moved her and cut the arrows. At the same time, Maddie emitted a gut-wrenching groan. Even though they were efficient, blood starting gushing everywhere.
Rykerian scooped her up in his arms, screaming, “NOW!” Therron entered their exact destination information on his
shadar
, and they vaporized.
* * * * *
They teleported in the trauma unit. Maddie was moaning, and blood was spurting out like a geyser. Therron and Rykerian were ashen, visibly shaken, and covered in blood.
As soon as they laid her down on a high-tech gurney, she lost consciousness. Rykerian collapsed, and Julian and his robomedics went to work.
It was an arduous process, and Maddie had sustained so many injuries that Julian had five robomedics working on her. She had lost a tremendous amount of blood, and she had many internal injuries.
They eventually had to make an incision in her thigh and surgically repair her femoral artery. They were pumping artificial blood into her veins as fast as she could take it.
Julian did a complete assessment of her condition and began to treat her other injuries. He and the robomedics would work into the night, as her condition was acutely critical, and he prayed for a successful outcome. If he couldn’t save her, his life would also be at stake, for Rayn would be enraged.
By the time Tesslar reached Rayn, he was barely recognizable. He had all but destroyed his quarters and himself. He was cut and bleeding in several places with bruises already popping out. His arm was twisted at an awkward angle, and his eyes were crazed with fear and pain.
After some serious threats and arguments, Tesslar forced the guards to let him in. He went to Rayn, and it was several moments before he saw recognition in Rayn’s eyes. Tesslar put his arms around him and held him closely, calming him through his Power of Tranquility, another of their supernatural abilities.
“Rayn, she is here with Julian now. They are in the trauma unit, and she is being treated,” he stammered as he continued to comfort his older brother, holding him tightly in his arms.
“Thank heavens! I didn’t know if I was getting through to anyone.”
“No need to say anything. Maddie is family to us, and we would do anything for her. You must know that. Now, we need to go to her. Rayn...” Tesslar said as he released his hold, “...she has been critically injured. You know how skilled Julian is, so all we can do now is hope and pray. Rayn, you are not going to recognize her. She was beaten very badly. I just wanted to prepare you. Do you think you can handle it?”
He was worried about Rayn’s stability right now. The helplessness he had endured in knowing he that couldn’t be there for her had taken its toll on him. Tesslar had never seen Rayn in such a distressed state of mind.
“I am fine, Tesslar. She lives,” he said stoically, pulling himself together. “That is all I need to know. I care not what her appearance is. Knowing that she lives is enough. I wish that I could have taken out the bloody monster that did this to her, though. I need to be with her.”
As Tesslar took a look around Rayn’s quarters and noticed all the destruction, he dryly commented, “You have certainly made a mess of things here. It looks as though a supernova exploded in here!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, their parents took form in Rayn’s quarters.
“What is happening? We heard you had become violent, Rayn. What is going on here?” they questioned him. “Your quarters look like a battle zone! What have you done?”
“Maddie was abducted again and is severely injured. We have brought her here for treatment,” Tesslar replied. “Therron and Rykerian are here as well. We will explain on the way to medical, but Rayn needs to go to her now. Rayn, Julian needs to look at your arm too.” Tesslar still had his arm around Rayn and was steering him toward the door.
“You two are going nowhere until we receive an explanation,” Rowan, their father, stated.
Tesslar stopped dead in his tracks, sending his father a blistering look. He turned to face Rowan and literally got nose-to-nose with him and sneered, “Father, have you not caused your Firstborn enough grief already? The female he has connected with was tortured and is fighting for her life as we speak. Can you not, just for one moment, find it in your heart to understand that Maddie is Rayn’s
amashan
... his soulmate? She has suffered beyond anything you or I will ever experience while Rayn was separated from her. Do you not understand? Will you not even
try
to understand this connection they have?” Tesslar took a deep breath. “You of all people should know. And for your information, the only reason she is alive is that she was able to call Rayn through her thoughts. How would that be possible, I ask you, if she was not connected to him? Now, I am going to take Rayn with me to the medical facility, and I suggest that you do not try to stop us,” Tesslar warned.
“Father, Mother, get out of our way,” Rayn growled.
They went to the door, and the guards moved aside, allowing them to pass, leaving Rowan and Annalise staring after them, dumbstruck.
They entered the trauma unit, and Rayn attempted to barge into the surgical suite.
“My lord, you cannot go in there.” The guard at the door barred Rayn from entering.
“Remove yourself immediately, or I will do it for you,” Rayn roared.
“My lord, they are performing surgery on her, and you will contaminate the sterile field. You cannot enter right now.”
“Then I suggest you tell me what I need to do because I have every intention of being by her side,” Rayn growled through clenched teeth.
“Yes, my liege. First, you must go into the decontamination chamber. When that process is completed, move to the next chamber and don the sterile garments that are available. You must place a mask over your face as well. One last thing, my liege, stay clear of the robomedics. They are programmed to treat the patient and will harm anyone or anything that gets in their way.”
Rayn moved into the decontamination chamber. His impatience was apparent as he paced around running his hands through his hair, waiting for the process to complete. Then he dressed in the garments as he was instructed and entered the surgical chamber.
He had not fully prepared himself for Maddie’s appearance. She was unconscious and barely alive.
“Julian, what is her status?” he gasped.
“My lord Rayn, I do not want to give you false hope. She was nearly dead when she arrived. She had lost most of her blood, and her internal injuries are grave. If Therron and Rykerian had been seconds later, we would not be having this conversation. The robomedics are meticulous in their techniques, so I have hope that they can repair the damages that were inflicted upon her.”