True Believers (30 page)

Jessit shoved the priests out of the way when they laid Rachel on a hospital bed. She was stained in blood and bruises, the brutality of torture carved on her body. Jessit felt a hot streak of tears slide down his face. He sat on her bed and took her limp body into his arms. She lay cold and pale, her thick rose lips cracked and torn like crumpled paper.

A smear of dried blood tracked down her throat from four ugly puncture marks on her neck. He cradled her, rocking her in his arms, oblivious to the men around him. Jessit buried his face into the nape of her neck, whispering his oath of vengeance.

The man he was had broken. And he didn't know how to fix himself, nor did he want to, not if she were gone.

Jessit looked up at Eklan, no longer concerned about his pride or his reputation. The only creature who ever meant anything to him was taken, stolen, her spirit scattered to the winds. Jessit closed his eyes, trying to find that part of her that she had given him. Was it gone? Did it die too? He clutched her to his chest, reluctant to let her go.

“Taelen,” Eklan said gently. “Let the priests do their job. Her body needs to be prepared for the trip home.” Eklan tried to pry her from his arms but Jessit hugged her tighter. With firm tenderness, Eklan took her from Jessit's arms. “Please. We can't let her stay like this.”

Slowly, painfully, Jessit released her.

Wreaths made of ivy and paper flowers lined her bed, while the cloying smell of incense wafted over the heads of her mourning circle of priests.

Jessit, hollow-eyed and silent, stood vigil at the far end of the white sterile ward.

Dahlia, Rachel's young cousin, whose body was still very much alive, was placed in a shadowy corner away from all the commotion. The humans destroyed Dahlia's soul, but they stole everything from Rachel.

Eklan sat as the lone sentinel by Dahlia's soulless body, his head hung in prayer. Did Natol feel personally responsible for not being here sooner?

The priests' chants grew louder and two of the sisterhood, the only two priestesses who had traveled with the armada, cleaned and undressed Rachel. They bathed her body then rubbed scented oils into her still-fresh skin. Tambrez, the shipboard physician, examined her once more before they dressed her in the fine silks the sisters brought with them. The physician took Rachel's hand, experienced fingers feeling up her forearm. He clicked on a sensor and waved a probe over the length of her body.

Jessit fumed, irritated that Tambrez insisted on examining her yet again.
The fool. What is he looking for?

But Tambrez was one of the best physicians in the fleet. His experienced eye often caught nuances that other medics failed to catch.

The chanting grew louder, each song a fertile prayer for the return of the gods and a safe journey for Rachel, now traveling a separate road.
Separate from me,
Jessit thought.

Tambrez relented and finally let the priestesses dress Rachel in her finery. She would travel to Alturis for a proper funeral, certain to be the grandest spectacle ever held on the planet. Jessit knew he wouldn't be there to witness it. He had other obligations to fulfill.

The sickly-sweet aroma of the incense was overpowering, forcing Tambrez to take refuge closer to Jessit.

“What was the point in examining her further?” Jessit grumbled. “What did you think you were going to find?”

“I don't know.” Tambrez rubbed his smooth pate and sighed in disappointment. “I suppose it's related to her godhood. I simply don't understand it.”

“Understand what?”

“The readings. My instruments are sensitive enough to pick up cellular decay, but the sensors are reacting strangely. The numbers are fluctuating wildly. One moment the cells are decaying, in the next, they're regenerating.” He keyed the handheld machine to run another diagnostic.

Jessit straightened up and looked over at the far end of the ward, where the priests and priestesses gathered around Rachel, praying for her blessings. Was it possible? Both hearts pounded in his chest. Jessit didn't want to go there. He didn't want to raise his hopes.

He gazed at her lifeless body. She was dead. Anyone could see that.

“I'm sure it is due to her particular physiology. Perhaps the cells degenerate more slowly or go through a metamorphism.” Tambrez wiped his smooth head again. “Whatever is happening, the body's not decomposing in a normal manner.” He checked his reader again. “More fuel for the legend, I suppose. If her flesh doesn't decay it offers more evidence of her godhood. Not that she needed any proof.”

Jessit sat back in his chair. “She didn't want anyone to know. I should've listened to her. Maybe she'd still be alive today.”

“The humans have paid for their blasphemy. It will take them generations to recover.”

“It won't bring Rachel back.”

“I'm truly sorry, Commander.”

Jessit glared at him. Tambrez immediately understood his mistake.

“Apologies, my lord. I can't see you as anything but my commanding officer. We've worked together for too long.”

Jessit's face softened. Losing command still hurt. It was the final insult to a cursed life. He had lost everything in one day, Rachel, his rank—his pride. Still noble-born, it meant nothing in the grander scheme. The military was his life, the only thing he'd ever loved, until he met Rachel. Now both were stolen from him in one sweep.

He got up and stumbled over to Eklan, still keeping vigil over Dahlia's comatose body. “Where did we go wrong?”

Eklan regarded him glumly. “We didn't do anything wrong. We just didn't do everything right.”

Eklan excused himself from Jessit's company then walked over to Rachel's bed. He should have been back up on his bridge, but like everyone else he wanted to be close to these two women, to know the presence of real divinity.

The priests moved to one side, annoyed at having their prayers interrupted.

Eklan knelt besides Rachel's bed, bowing his head in silent prayer. When he finished, he bowed at the waist to the Lady and boldly touched the hem of her dress.

A soldier approached Eklan and whispered a message into his ear. Eklan said nothing to Jessit but motioned Tambrez to follow him. In different circumstances, Taelen would have been insulted by the slight, but he was past caring.

Jessit watched in envy as the chanting grew louder. Rachel belonged to the priests now. They would take her back to Alturis and preserve her under glass. Bits of her hair would be clipped and presented to select temples as the holy relic of a deity. An entire planet would bow at her feet and ask for her blessing. He could already envision the shrines and temples built in her name.

The frosted door opened once more, and Senit walked toward him. Jessit was glad to see him back. “Did you get it?”

“Yes,” Senit said. He handed Jessit a tall thin vial of blood. “Sorinsen's blood, spilled by your knife.”

“You're a good friend, Senit.”

“You would have done the same for me.” He turned back to an empty doorway. “I brought you something else too.”

“Oh?” Jessit glanced back to where Senit was looking but only medical personnel traipsed between this ward and the next one. “What did you bring me?”

Senit nodded back toward the door as someone escorted Paul Domino in. “I brought you him.”

Paul limped into the room under the guidance of an orderly. His face was bruised and swollen, and the whites of his eyes were marbled in blood.

Jessit dismissed the orderly. “Welcome back, Mr. Domino. May I say, you look terrible.”

Domino smiled wryly. “Obviously you haven't looked in a mirror lately.” Something else was going to leave his mouth when he noticed Dahlia lying in a sheltered cove. He wobbled over to her bed and stared at her for several minutes, muttering something under his breath before falling into the chair next to her bed.

Dahlia looked like a child sleeping. If only they could wake her. Kalya was leaving it up to the high priest Avenar to make a decision on what to do with the body.

Domino picked up her hand and kissed it. He turned to Jessit suddenly and asked, “Where's Rachel?”

Jessit felt angry, though he wasn't sure why. Was it the remnant of an old jealousy? He didn't want to share Rachel with Domino, even in death.

Domino saw the flock of priests at the far end of the infirmary and stumbled to his feet. The poor wretch nearly toppled over Dahlia's body. Jessit helped him up. Paul was far weaker than he expected.

“I want to see her,” he protested.

Jessit huffed at him. “What did Rachel ever see in you?”

Domino raised himself up as straight as he could and looked at Jessit eye to eye. “You know, I often asked myself the same question about you. Are you going to let me see her or not?”

Domino looked like he was ready to keel over and he fell into his chair once more. Sorinsen's people had tortured him well.

Jessit glanced over at the mob of warbling priests and nodded to his one-time rival. “All right, but do not fall on top of her. It will just make the priests mad.” Jessit lifted him up, putting his arm around him to keep him on his feet. They both stumbled over to Rachel's bed.

The priestesses moved away, but the priests hissed their disapproval. Kalya was among them, and he stood up and ordered them away. Jessit pulled out a small shock pistol hidden inside his tunic. “Move away, Kalya. I will gladly shoot you now and do penance later.”

To Jessit's dismay the priests banded together and stood their ground, each taking a spot near Rachel's bed and allowing them to get no closer. Kalya smiled in smug satisfaction.

“You have no authority here, Taelen. And your assistance to Commander Eklan is at an end.” Kalya turned his back on Jessit and leaned over Rachel, adjusting the silky cowl of her dress. His feeble hands slipped and touched her bare skin.

At the moment of contact, a bolt of lightning shot out of Rachel's body, striking Kalya and catapulting him against the wall. He was knocked out cold. The other priests chittered
amongst themselves like agitated insects, milling too close to Rachel's body. One of the priests bumped the edge of the bed, touching her bare foot, and he too was shot with a violent bolt of energy.

Her entourage shuffled away from the bed and Jessit noticed a soft glow of silver-blue light doming around her body.
Glory.
Was she trying to come back?

The other priests in the wing saw it too and rushed to her side en masse, but were hurled away like errant toys.

Jessit staggered toward her, concerned she might be in danger, but Domino held him back. “Wait. Gilgamesh is on the ship. Call him. He'll know what to do.”

Jessit didn't have to utter a word. One of the priests contacted Eklan at once. Within moments, Eklan and Tambrez escorted the mighty Gilgamesh into the medical ward. Priests prostrated themselves and chanted, orderlies bowed and scraped, but Gilgamesh ignored them and went straight to Rachel.

He studied her for a moment then put his hands inches above her body. A bright blue glow emanated between them. Silently, he pulled away.

“You must clear the room. She is harmful to you in this state.”

Everyone stared at him as if he was mad, but Tambrez corroborated Gilgamesh's claim. Rachel was giving off dangerous doses of
glory,
enough to harm every man in the ward.

The medical staff shuffled out unwillingly, while the
valiant
priests scrambled like a mob to the exit.

Jessit lingered near Rachel's bed while Senit tugged at his arm. “We have to go, Taelen.”

Gilgamesh turned to Jessit and snapped his fingers at him. “Not you.”

Senit stood his ground. “You said she was dangerous to us in her state.”

The Holy narrowed his eyes at Senit. “Taelen will stay. That is my order.”

Eklan hurried everyone else out, including Senit. Both men took one last look at Jessit before the door was bolted from the outside.

When the room was silent once more, Gilgamesh turned to Jessit. “Do you know why you are staying?”

Jessit folded his hands behind him. “As punishment, I presume. You mean to see me die of radiation poisoning.”

“If only it were that easy.” Gilgamesh shook his head. “You really don't understand what's happened to you, do you? She gave you a piece of her virginity, a piece of her DNA.” He poked a finger at his chest. “It's inside you, fused with your DNA.
Glory
won't hurt you, Taelen. It's a part of you.”

Jessit rubbed his fingers against his solar plexus. Was that what he felt inside him?

“Welcome to godhood, young man.”

Jessit stared at Gilgamesh in horror. To even think such a thing was sacrilege. It was true he couldn't explain the strange sensations inside him, but that didn't make him one of them. How could it? He was mortal.

“Impossible.”

“Yes, well, I thought so too. But here you are, no longer the man I met in the cave.”

“You are mistaken, sir. I am no god.”

“Perhaps not, but you carry a piece of us in you nonetheless, and it allows you to remain in a place that would kill anyone else on this ship.” He stroked Rachel's hair, a father's sorrow in his eyes. “I must negotiate treaties between your people and the humans. I leave you to care for my daughter in my absence.”

“Are you saying the radiation won't hurt me?”

Gilgamesh scoffed at him. “You are a hard man to convince, Taelen Jessit.” He turned toward a mountain of medical equipment on a nearby table and pointed at it. “No doubt you have machines here that will prove my claim. Check for yourself. You'll find you are now producing the same radiation that Rachel and I emit.”

“
Glory
.” The word tasted like ash in his mouth. What had he done?

Gilgamesh seemed to understand Jessit's raw dread and let out a blustery sigh. “Don't worry, young man. I imagine you'll put your gifts to good use.” His gaze returned to Rachel.

Jessit scooped Rachel's hand in his. “Can I do anything for her?”

Gilgamesh squeezed Jessit's shoulder. “Pray. Only Anu himself can help her now.”

Jessit hung by Rachel's side, but she neither stirred nor breathed, even when he spoke gently to her.

He adjusted her pillow then finger-combed her hair until it looked like a halo around her head. The bruises were fading, and her skin looked brighter. That seemed a good sign, but it wasn't enough.

He curled his fingers around hers, bringing them to his lips for a kiss. “Wake up, Rachel. Please.” He bent down and kissed her lips and something tugged low at his chest. He looked down to see a soft silvery-blue cord swaying just outside his chest.

His
na'hala.
He stared at it, incredulous that this thing had been inside him. It was the first time he had ever seen it, and he wasn't sure whether to be intrigued or horrified.

The soul cord hesitated for a moment before more of it undulated out of his solar plexus and tasted the air. It inspected Rachel, a piece of it nudging her gently on the cheek, as if it were trying to wake her.

Must help.
The words were as clear as if they were spoken aloud.
Must help.

But how?

The ethereal
na'hala
surged forward, stroking Rachel's face and arms.
Must help,
it insisted. It became frantic, nudging her more violently.
Must help.

Once before she had merged their souls, enhancing him with her DNA. Could he do the same for her?

The ugly wounds on her neck where the god-killer had been impaled were beginning to heal, and the lacerations on her wrists and ankles were nothing more than bruises. Somehow she was healing herself, but the process was painfully slow.

What if she needed help?

Must help,
his
na'hala
reminded him.

“Show me how,” he told it. “Help her.”

His soul cord was as clueless as he was. It knew only that she needed them, but it didn't know how to help her anymore than he did.

He pressed his cheek against hers and whispered into her ear. “Tell me how to help you.” A tingling sensation cut across his midsection, and he felt his
na'hala
pierce her body. Rachel gasped a breath then stilled.

Jessit held her in his arms. His soul cord had found hers and in an instant, he relived all her horrors and her fears. The torture. The interrogations. Her murder. All of it surged into his mind at once. He hugged her. “You are safe. No one will harm you.”

Their souls merged, twining themselves like smoke. He realized she was still fighting for life. “I have you, Rachel.” He squeezed her to his chest. “I have you.”

Another gasp, this one longer and deeper. He laid her down gently and felt for a pulse. It took several seconds before he dared to believe it. She had a heartbeat, and she was breathing.

Thank you,
her
na'hala
told him.

It was hard to see past his misty eyes, but he examined her more thoroughly then brushed his cheek next to hers. “Welcome back.”

Rachel's eyes fluttered open. She said nothing, staring up as if she were looking from another place. Her lips moved, but nothing came out. Instead, she reached for his hand and squeezed. In a soft raspy voice, she said, “Thank you.”

Jessit smiled at her. “Did you think I would abandon you?”

Her eyes seemed to twinkle, and she shook her head with some effort. “I should've known better.”

He offered her a little water, which she sipped gratefully.

“The com-web…”

“Destroyed. Along with much of this planet's military. Your father is negotiating terms between our governments now.”

Rachel winced. “Gilgamesh is not a forgiving man,” she whispered. “You might want to mediate.”

“Someone else will do that. I intend to stay right here. You scared me to death.”

“I knew you'd come for me. I could feel you. In here.” She tapped at a spot below her ribcage.

Jessit had hoped for a quiet evening alone with her, but soon the sensors above her bed and the ones located at the locked doorway started blinking. Within minutes, Tambrez and his assistants bolted into the room, a garrison with medi-packs, checking vitals, assessing radiation and accosting Rachel with a flood of questions.

One assistant broke from the pack and waved a sensor over Jessit. “How are you feeling, sir?”

“I feel fine.”

“I'm getting some anomalous readings here—”

Jessit snatched the wand away from him and shut it off. “I am fine, medic. Tend to the Lady.”

Jessit drifted away from the medical personnel and allowed them to run their tests. Rachel was back in the land of the living, and that was their domain.

Despite the flurry of visitors, doctors and priests, Jessit never strayed far from Rachel's side. When the euphoria of her return had ebbed, Gilgamesh ordered them away once more, everyone but Jessit.

Gilgamesh said nothing to them, merely a measured glance before he shut the door behind him.

Jessit pushed a bed next to Rachel's and slept with her in his arms.

***

Rachel woke up in the middle of the night tucked safely in Jessit's embrace. She sighed in contentment. After all they'd been through, it seemed at last the worst was over.

The room was dark, but she could sense another presence nearby.
Apa?

She eased herself out of Jessit's arms and stumbled to her feet. At the far corner of the ward was Gilgamesh, hung over the body of a girl. Rachel drew closer.

Dahlia.
“Is she…”

“Yes. She died trying to save Paul Domino.”

Rachel touched the young girl's face and was surprised to find her skin so soft and smooth, but her
na'hala
was gone. There was no sign of her spirit anywhere.

“I don't understand. Why would she…” First Dahlia condemned Paul's spirit to the mortal plane, then she risked her life to save him. What was she trying to prove?

Gilgamesh looked tired, almost old. It hit him harder than she expected.

Rachel brushed away a single tear off her cheek. “Stupid. That was stupid of her.” Her voice broke over trembling lips.

“She was fond of Paul Domino. She wanted to help him.”

“It should have been me. I should be lying there dead, not her.”

“You did die. I got you back.” He squeezed her hand.

Thin lines trenched across Rachel's brow. “She was just a kid.” Her throat tightened when she remembered how harsh she had been with the girl. “It should've been me.”

Life was more fragile than she expected…and more costly. Rachel had come close to losing her mortal shell several times in her short life, but she had never lost her soul, the essence of who she was.

Dahlia was truly dead. And she was never coming back.

Rachel smoothed the girl's black hair. A lump kept forming in her throat that she couldn't swallow away.
Damn you, Dahlia. I never wished this for you.

“We should burn the body, Apa. We can't let it exist like this to the end of its days.”

“I've already instructed Commander Eklan that he is to remand the body to us. Her parents will want to see it, if nothing else.”

Rachel chewed on her lip to keep herself from bursting into tears. “Silly, I suppose. I guess a part of me really did believe we were immortal. I can't remember the last time one of our kind was killed.”

“I can.” Gilgamesh kissed her on the temple. “But it was long ago. And I promise you, it will never happen again.”

“Is it over then? Will the humans leave us alone now?”

“Yes. It's over. For them.”