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

“Healer?”

The nightmare unfolded. The memory of what’d happened
earlier that day hit her. Every limb in her body shook. At the time, she’d
concentrated on fleeing and blocked everything else out. She couldn’t avoid
facing what’d happened. Not anymore.

“Moran’s horse went down. The hole the beasts dug had been
carefully covered. The sound of the frightened animal awakened them. They
crawled from the ground like a horde of…”

The pressure of Nolan’s hands slowly rubbing up and down her
arms didn’t warm her and didn’t stop the shaking. Nothing would. Her lips
trembled. “Darshal insisted I stay close to him. It was our turn to lead. Those
traveling with us screamed and fought the creatures when the attack came. They
were taken down quickly. Darshal ran. Sparrow followed his horse and at first,
I couldn’t understand why he’d leave the others to be slaughtered. It occurred
to me later. He’d wanted to keep me safe. We left them there to die.”

“And it worked. You’re alive.”

“At their expense.” Her teeth chattered as a simmering
queasiness steadily built.

“You rotated positions on the journey?”

“Yes. Frequently.” At the time she didn’t question what the
men had done. “Although I don’t know why.”

“It’s a common practice among your tribe. It makes everyone
vulnerable at intervals. Each has an equal chance. The planets aligned and when
the attack came, you were furthest away. It was nothing more than fate.”

They’d switched positions to take the lead only moments
before the attack. Had they not gone to the front… “Two beasts followed. Only
two. One after Darshal and one after me.”

“You’re safe now, healer. We’ll get you dressed.”

“Darshal urged me ahead onto the path in the woods. He
lagged behind. He screamed for me to run as he blocked the trail. I didn’t
think. I ran.”

“You followed orders. You did the right thing.”

“I left him!”

“Easy, small healer. Calm down.”

“He tried slowing them by using himself as a barrier. He
knew he’d die. He hadn’t a chance.”

“
Shae-shondah
, please.”

She remembered glancing back to see Darshal, making sure he
followed. She’d seen his blood squirting into the air. They usually took their
time with their victims. They must’ve been very hungry. “As one took him down,
the other came after me.” Her heart beat as a rush of adrenaline flooded her.

When the torch would’ve slipped from her trembling hand,
Nolan grasped it. “We were following by then. He died quickly, mercifully.” He
glanced around the smaller portion of the cave. “Do you have clothes in here?”

She nodded, trying not to see all the blood and hear the
screams of her people. Darshal hadn’t screamed. He wouldn’t. He knew if she’d
heard him, she would’ve turned back.

While Nolan rummaged an open trunk, she walked to her pile
of clothes. She allowed the blanket to slip away and aggressively pulled up a
pair of pants. She shook out a tight fitting, long-sleeved shirt and slipped it
on before grabbing a dark brown
ballstic
. The overdress fell to her
knees, the sides split to her waist. The dense cloth provided warmth when worn
over normal clothing, while also allowing free movement of her legs. After
sitting on a nearby chest, she wiped sand from her feet before pulling on
extra-thick socks and a dry pair of knee-high, soft, animal-skin boots.

One she’d dressed, her shoulders drooped. How could she have
survived the attack and the fall off the cliff? Why was she still alive? Nolan
crouched in front of her and scanned her face. “Why the caves? You’ve obviously
taken residence here for a while.”

“The heat.”

“I don’t understand.”

She shivered, the clothing barely taking the chill from her.
“As the temperature dropped, we couldn’t keep the fires in the hearths going
without fuel. When we needed to venture beyond our homes to gather wood, they’d
pick us off.”

“It’s not very warm in here.”

“Not in the back portion of the cave, but up front, near the
springs, it stays warm enough that the creatures don’t come in. Although
recently, the springs seem less and less hot. I believe the outside temperature
is affecting Natura deeply. That’s why we went to the mountaintop to summon
help.”

“We gathered information on the creatures prior to our
arrival. It appears all the infected worlds have similar problems.”

“More worlds than this one were invaded?”

“Hundreds.”

The spinning in her head increased and her vision blurred.
Hundreds!
How many millions had died? Most races depended entirely upon technology.
At least her people knew how to defend themselves with more primitive weapons.

“May I help you back into the main cavern? It’s considerably
warmer there with the fire we have blazing.”

Nolan held her arms. Eventually, she focused on something
other than the nightmares replaying in her mind. His long, wet, dark-blond hair
clung to his face and neck. He wore a soaking-wet pair of Governance-issued
black pants and nothing else. How could he stand the cold?

“Please, look through the clothes in here and find something
warm and dry.” She pointed to a particular pile. “Perhaps Darshal’s clothes
would be an appropriate size.”

Would life be possible without Darshal’s understanding and
patience? He’d been her very best friend.

“With the fire blazing in the other section of the cave, my
clothes will dry quickly.”

She couldn’t deal with her friends’ deaths. Not now. She
hugged her midsection, cleared her throat and said, “Please, help yourself. He
won’t need them.”

She turned, walked from the darkened portion of the cave and
found herself standing near a roaring fire. The temperature warmed and soothed
her frayed nerves. Exhausted, she sat wearily down to absorb the heat and stare
at the dance of flames.

Lost in musings and dark memories, she heard someone cough.
She turned. Gabriel lay covered in blankets a mere ten feet away, shivering and
staring.

Her heart sank as tension strained her recently abused
muscles. Although hunters had similarly remarkable eyes, Gabriel’s stood out
amongst all of them. Where a normal person might have a large area of white,
those of his kind had dark gray. The irises were a lighter shade of gray. With
the intensity-laced, quizzical gaze of a hunter, their eyes appeared to glow
with an almost silver sheen.

She studied him as intently as he silently examined her.
He’d aged from nine years of hunting for the Governance. The creases
surrounding his eyes and the hollows in his cheeks, in no way detracted from
his looks. If anything, the addition of the slight wrinkles gave him a more
pronounced appearance of wisdom. She’d always believed him to be extremely
intelligent because of their age difference. At six years her senior, she’d
likely never be as learned or knowledgeable as him. Certainly not in the arena
of killing.

“
Shae-shondah
,” he said, his voice depleted and
rough.

She’d never imagined a hunter could grow weak. Hunters
couldn’t get hurt. Not really. They remained tough, sharp weapons, honed and
ready for battle or they lay dead. It was difficult to comprehend the damaged
man a few feet away to be a lethal and trained killing machine.

She’d purposely never pondered what might happen to Gabriel
in between total health and death. In fact, she’d pushed every detail of her
years with the hunters from her mind. She’d done it to survive.

She couldn’t help recalling the afternoon prior to Handler
Markum’s attack. Her chest tightened and she struggled to take air. Any time
the memory surfaced, she experienced an overpowering assault of anxiety. Instinctively,
she placed her feet on the ground, drew her knees up and wrapped her arms
around them.

Gabriel winced, closed his eyes and turned away from her.
The pained expression he displayed forced her from the mental fog. He’d allowed
Nolan to help her while remaining huddled next to the fire. It dawned on her
how pale his skin appeared. At first, she noticed nothing but his familiar,
penetrating gaze.

She rose and tentatively took a few steps toward him.
“Hunter?”

“He needs rest,” Nolan said from directly behind her.

Her heart raced from the scare. “You’re not stalking
anything in here, Nolan! Make some noise when you move around.”

“I didn’t mean to startle you.”

When the trembling in her body slowed, she asked, “What’s
wrong with him?”

“The rapids took a toll.”

Gabriel had saved her from the river. She couldn’t remember
how, but knew he had. “I’ll tend him.” The words sounded sullen and begrudged,
not the offer of help she’d intended.

“There’s nothing you can do.”

She spun to face him. “How would you know? You’ve kept track
of my abilities as a healer?”

His jaw tightened the slightest bit, probably from the
sarcasm dripping from her voice.

“No? Then I suppose you haven’t a clue what I
can
or
can’t
accomplish.”

He gazed beyond her to his sick partner. “I meant no insult,
shae-shondah
. No one can help him.”

At thirty-two, Gabriel was two years beyond the normal life
expectancy of a hunter. Over time, she’d stopped wondering if he’d lived or
died. She stopped asking herself whether he’d found someone other than Nolan
and the hunters to trust. In particular, she’d tried not thinking about him
finding a
suitable
woman to share himself with.

After so many dire happenings in one day, it again took her
a moment before Nolan’s words penetrated and made sense.

“He’s dying? But he merely looks ill. He’s still big and
covered in muscle, not shriveled and wane.”

“It’s his time. To me, he’s a shadow of his former self.”

“How long ago did it start?”

“A few months.” His expression seldom changed but his voice
deepened. Gabriel’s impending fate bothered Nolan greatly. Of course it would.
They’d been partnered when Gabriel was ten and Nolan was eight.

“And you allowed him a trip down the freezing rapids?”

The corners of his mouth rose slightly, almost forming a
smile. “Nothing’s changed. I seldom dictate Gabriel’s actions. We scanned the
planets requesting aid. Natura was among them. When we learned it was you who’d
placed the summons for help, we came.”

“You sidestepped my question earlier. Your handler didn’t
send you?”

“No.” His chin rose the tiniest bit, clearly relaying he
felt justified in their actions.

“You took it upon yourselves to come here?”

“Gabriel chose. Naturally, I followed.”

“So because of his poor health, they permitted you leave?”

“No.”

Aggressively, she rubbed the ache in her neck, took a breath
and tried very hard not to show the irritation riding her. “Do they know where
you are?”

“They’ll figure it out.”

Her eyes widened as her fingers came to rest over her lips.
She finally understood what he’d been saying. After clearing her throat, she
asked, “You’re a renegade from your company?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Healer, calm yourself.”

“After all these years—why!”

“Natura was placed on the list of worlds to receive aid.
Because no Governance military installations remain here and no one from your
nation serves, its placement on the list wasn’t in a priority position.”

Somehow she’d managed to close her gaping mouth. “And you
thought to remedy that by taking leave without permission?”

“I believe that was Gabriel’s intent. Yes.”

Dear Ayasha! They’ve deserted!

“And you listened to him? Obviously, he’s not in his right
mind. How could you let him do this? Why would you follow?”

“I agreed with his course of action.”

“For the very last time—why? Most of my people are dead.” Heat
cascaded over her in waves as their gazes remained locked.

“Because you were here. We came for you.”

Surely someone had hit her in the stomach. The news came as
quite a blow.

Nolan helped her sit before taking a spot directly in front
of her. “Better?”

“You have a ship we can go to?”

“No. The ship we took hovers in space. With the magnetic
barrier surrounding the planet, landing was impossible. We transported through
the same breach in the atmosphere that allowed your transmission to be heard.”

They’ve stranded themselves
.

“You’ll die here.”

“Yes, but you won’t.”

“We’ll
all
die here! With the field surrounding
Natura, none of our tech works. Even if the Governance locates the ship you
took, they won’t be able to help us. They’re versed in the use of sophisticated
weaponry, not horses and swords.”

“They have a special unit of soldiers trained in the
reclamation of worlds. They use a natural breach in the blockade, just as we
did, send in troops, and eradicate any beasts they come across. Once a great
many of the creatures are dead, the field weakens. It seems as the creatures
grow and mature, they emit a frequency which creates the barrier. Governance
vessels have been equipped to neutralize what remains after enough of the
beasts have been slaughtered. Then the planet can right its climate. When the
field no longer exists, technology begins to work again. Do you follow?”

“Somewhat.” She rubbed her temples. “You said you’d die and
I won’t. If you believe they’ll get through, why won’t all of us live?”

“As you’ve pointed out, we’re considered renegade.”

She had to be wrong in her assumption. The Governance would
not kill them. Exhaustion and hunger obscured her ability to reason things out.
“You’ll receive a reprimand when they find us?”

“Yes. The most severe kind. You know what I’m telling you.”

“They can’t murder you! They won’t!”

“Gabriel will probably live long enough to see you taken
safely from here. That’s the most either of us had hoped for.”