Taming a Healer: 3 (Galactic Lust) (2 page)

Sadie held tight to the young stallion’s flowing mane
despite the bitter cold stinging her flesh. “Hah, hah!” she cried, urging him
to do the impossible and keep running as every breath rattled in his chest.

The
malicitor
on their heels clawed her horse,
Sparrow. He stumbled slightly before bounding in long-legged strides to
outdistance the pursuing beast. Sadie crouched low and held fast with shaking
fists, no longer having control of the speeding animal. He’d been bred for
swiftness and intelligence. She prayed the latter trait would surface to calm
the crazed and terrified horse. At breakneck speed, they approached a bend on
the wide, wooded path.

“You know what’s before us. Easy, young stud. Keep your
footing.” She murmured the words from a throat that’d gone dry.

His gait changed to a jerky lope as his massive hooves dug
into the soft ground, throwing clumps of packed dirt high into the air.

That’s it! Yes! Yes! We’ll make it!

Sparrow squealed, bucked and jumped when the
malicitor
cleaved his hind quarter. Sadie opened her mouth to scream as she flew through
the air, but all that emerged was a strangled, desperate cry.

The thudding impact from the landing would be nothing
compared to flying over the edge of the cliff if she didn’t stop herself from
rolling and skidding along the moist dirt. She grasped and clawed but nothing
stood between her and the raging river a great distance below.

Her arms swung wildly as she closed her eyes. She didn’t
wish to see the jagged rocks and frothing water before she fell against them.
As if by magic, something hard touched her palm and her fingers instinctively
seized the object. A tree root!

She slammed against the side of the cliff, bounced once and
held fast. She’d barely drawn a breath of relief before her wrist was tightly
captured. A second later, the repulsive stench of a
malicitor
assaulted
her. Forcing her eyes open, her gaze rose to discover that she did indeed,
dangle from the claw-like hand of an extremely large predator. It’s flat head,
wide spread eyes and concave chest gave it the appearance of something fragile,
easily defeated. She knew better. Long, muscled legs propelled it at great
speeds. Sharp nails protruding from its fingers and toes gave it the ability to
agilely climb anything. The brain of the beast held one thought, one mission.
Kill. Mutilate. Consume.

“Wo-man,” it said as its lips drew back, revealing serrated
teeth. “Mine prize.”

The growl from the swiftly churning river below echoed up
the sides of the canyon. She wouldn’t be tortured and sliced apart by a
creature. She wouldn’t die as the others had. In mere seconds, she’d made her
decision.

I’ll at least take one of the bastards with me.

“You won’t believe the prize I have for you,” she said,
bracing her booted feet against the side of the cliff.

Its
smile
widened as its other hand extended over the
edge. She took hold of both of its wrists as tightly as she could, bent her
knees and shoved hard with her legs. Despite his bulk, she launched them both
away from the cliff. Her stomach dropped as the freezing wind rushed past.

Ayasha, dear one, don’t let me feel this! Take me before
it happens!

She couldn’t believe what she’d done, because no sooner had
the thoughts evolved, Sadie hit the surface of the glacial waters, experiencing
every painful second before blacking out.

Gabriel jerked on the reins of the massive horse, bringing
it to a sliding, skidding halt beside Nolan. The slashed bodies of monsters
littered the trail behind them. He and Nolan arrived just in time to see a
beast slip over the rim of the cliff. Dismounting and running to the edge with
Nolan close on his heels, Gabriel saw Sadie land in the rapids. Without
hesitation, he bent his knees and propelled himself as far as he could away
from the overhang. He wondered if the healer had learned to swim. Next to
heights, water had terrified her most. If he didn’t reach her quickly, she
could drown. If she hadn’t already died from the impact.

Barely missing a huge rock and plunging into the frigid
water, he breached the surface and swam with the rapids in an attempt to catch
Sadie who bobbed lifelessly fifty feet ahead. The creature thrashed and swam,
trying to capture her first. The beast wasn’t an issue. Nolan jumped seconds
after Gabriel and he wouldn’t hesitate to kill the animal. Gabriel’s only
concern was reaching Sadie.

Once he snagged her coat, he pulled her close to his body.
He wrapped an arm under her breasts and positioned her head on his shoulder to
prop her face above the water.

Breathe, Sadie.

He tightened his embrace and she choked. He needed to get
them to shore and began grabbing at objects rushing by. Many of the overhanging
limbs broke with their combined weight. Kicking his feet while fighting to keep
them afloat, he positioned them closer to the bank. That’s when the river
thrust them into the first set of boulders. The sides were well worn from the
rushing water, making it impossible to find a handhold. Rather than risk losing
Sadie by using his hands and arms to absorb the impacts, he chose instead to
bear the brunt of them with his back by turning and keeping her face out of the
water.

“Gabriel,” Nolan drifted near. The dead beast rushed past
and Nolan yelled, “Waterfall!”

Gabriel glanced ahead and the raging river disappeared.
Within seconds, the three of them shot over the edge. He hugged Sadie’s body,
cupped his hand over her mouth and pinched her nostrils.

The brutal landing nearly dislodged her, but he’d kept hold
as he fought and kicked his way back to the surface. Before any pain
registered, he’d managed to drag her away from the cascading water to a
relatively calm portion of the river. A progressive throbbing laced his sides
and chest as his hold finally faltered.

Nolan grasped her in a one-armed hug and grabbed Gabriel’s
collar with his other hand before working all three of them toward shore. Once
they’d been dragged to the shallows, Nolan released him. Gabriel slowly edged
up the slight embankment.

Nolan laid Sadie on the frozen grass and hovered. “Take a
breath for me, healer.”

Gabriel crawled, bracing his chest with an arm. Nolan pulled
her upright and shook her. She choked halfheartedly.

“Damage?” Gabriel asked.

“Unknown.” Nolan lifted her chin and studied her. “Are you
injured, healer?” he asked.

She gazed at Nolan, a blank expression on her face. Gabriel
wondered if she hadn’t sustained a head injury.

“Nolan?” She coughed and swayed. Nolan held her upper arms
to keep her seated. Her head turned and she gazed as Gabriel crawled bit by bit
toward her. Her lips quivered. “Need to take cover.”

When she struggled once again to stand, Nolan assisted by
pulling her to her feet. “Are you sure you won’t fall over?” he asked.

“Cover—now. Banter’s cave.”

“The hunters’ cabin is closest. We’ll find safety—”

“Caves. Heat,” she muttered before her eyelids closed.

Nolan caught her as she collapsed. “
Shae-shondah
—healer?”

Gabriel forced himself to his feet and stumbled forward.
“She’s too cold. With the hot springs, perhaps the caves would be best. You
could warm her instantly,” he managed between his chattering teeth.

“The cave will take an hour of hard walking. The cabin’s
only half the distance.”

“By the time a fire’s laid and we heat the room, you could
have her in a hot bath. The cave, quickly. She’s not moving and her lips are
blue.”

“Can you keep up?”

“No.”

Nolan gazed at him. “Will you make it there at all?”

Gabriel could do it. The constant weakness and ache
accompanied by the broken ribs from the fall were bothersome, not life-ending
at the moment. “After a time. Go now.”

“Are you sure?”

“She’s not even shivering anymore. She has many years to
live. I have days.”

Nolan paused before saying, “If you don’t make it in two
hours, I’ll come for you.”

“Stay with her regardless of how long it takes me.”

Nolan had taken his oath seriously when they’d been
partnered. When one hunter supervised the death watch of another, only the
direst situation could separate them. Nolan promised to watch over him and make
sure his suffering wasn’t too great or last too long. Sadie superseded most
beliefs and vows in Gabriel’s life. In Nolan’s too. She always had.

“I’ll be there. I won’t deny you the privilege of digging my
grave,” Gabriel said.

“It won’t be a very big hole if you don’t take on food soon.
You’re turning into a corpse.”

“Go!”

Nolan turned and before gaining three strides, Gabriel
added, “Care for her.”

“With my life, friend.”

* * * * *

“Be calm now, s
hae-shondah
,” a mysterious, deep,
lulling voice crooned to Sadie.

She snuggled into the warmth surrounding her and smiled. No
one had referred to her as
gentle healer
in many years. Of late, her
purpose in life tended to focus equally between the demise of creatures and the
healing of her people. After so much recent death and destruction, lovely
memories flooded her mind. If only she could cast herself back in time…

Shae-shondah!

Her eyes opened, her mind woke and she thrashed wildly,
remembering only those in the Governance used the reverent title when addressing
her. Help had arrived!

The man holding her immediately let go. Without his support,
she rapidly sank beneath the surface of the deep pool of heated water.

He grasped her arms and pulled her up. She choked, coughing
water from her lungs.

“After all these years, you really still can’t swim,” Nolan
said in a deep, reassuring voice. She’d know his voice anywhere, even after
years of separation.

Her breath returned after a moment. She stared at the
hunter, trying to remember where he’d come from and how she’d wound up in the
water with him. “What are you doing here?”

“Helping you stay afloat.”

“No, I asked why you came here?” Hunters tended to take most
things quite literally so she clarified her question.

“You requested aid.”

“From the Governance.”

His head tilted slightly to the side, relaying the ignorance
of her comment. Of course she knew the hunters were part of the Serenity
Governance, the ultimate military force reigning over a huge sector of the
universe. She added, “I expected regular army, if they showed up at all. Why
did they send you?”

“We weren’t sent. We came.”

“We?”

He turned her in the water until she felt a ledge beneath
her feet and could stand on her own. “Gabriel and I.”

She jerked from his embrace and took a few small steps back.
The mere mention of his name caused her to tremble. Of course Gabriel would be
near. Where one hunter appeared, another would be close.
Paired for life
.
She thought the hazy image of Gabriel crawling toward her could only be a
dream. She pulled back when Nolan reached for her.

“Forgive me, healer. I hadn’t meant to startle you.”

“Don’t touch me. Ever!”

He remained silent. She used her fingers to swipe wet
strands of hair from her face while keeping her arms tightly against her
breasts. She stole a glance at his expression and immediately turned her back
on him. Most people who encountered a hunter were terrified. It probably
stemmed from their emotionless faces and shining, lifeless eyes. Having been
raised with them however, gave her the ability to detect the subtle signs of
sentiment. The tightening of his jaw and slight downturn of his lips relayed
sadness and regret.

“Healer, either sink back into the water or let me get a
blanket so you can get out. You’re shivering again.” He dragged himself from
the pool and walked away. He hadn’t been naked. He’d worn his pants.

She stood waist deep in water, contemplating what to do. She
never imagined she’d see one of their kind again. A strange combination of
utter unease warred with feelings of total safety.

A few moments later, Nolan appeared outside of the pool, a
blanket spread open for her to step into. “Come, s
hae-shondah
. I won’t
look.”

As if it would matter now.

She took and released a calming breath and pulled herself
from the water. Nolan wrapped the thick blanket around her, covering even her
head. He toweled her hair before folding the cloth back so she could inhale the
crisp, humid air. His large hands slid to her shoulders and rubbed, as if
trying to bring warmth to her skin.

“I told you not to touch me,” she said, stumbling a few feet
beyond his reach.

“I wasn’t. The blanket lay between us.”

The cold sand beneath her feet forced her to move. She
walked quickly to the first antechamber and stopped short. In her haste to get
away, she’d forgotten a torch. The dance of increasing firelight slowly came
toward her. Nolan stood silently behind her with the flame.

Hesitantly, she turned to face him. “Thank you,” she said
abruptly, taking the torch.

“You’re welcome. Can you manage alone?”

Alone!

One word instantly brought back the terrifying events she’d
lived through. Ten of them shared this cave just four days prior. Ten left the
safety and heat on the fool’s mission to summon help. Eight made it to the top
of the mountain, two having died along the way to repair the transmitter. She’d
beckoned for Governance assistance. The response from the battleship
Defender
didn’t promise aid. In fact, they’d relayed regrets.

Only she remained of the original ten.

“
Shae-shondah
?”

“We’d been quiet and careful, traveled only during the day
and took shelter at night.” She spoke aloud, the terror filled remembrances
clouding her thoughts. “They mostly come out at night. We sometimes walked the
horses to keep quiet in the densely infected areas.”