| Phase 13 � We�ve come this far . . . We�re friends to the end!� � Speed is everything,� Citan concluded. � We should do this as soon as possible.� � All right!� Bart announced. � Tomorrow!� Sig sighed. � I am truly grateful, Fei . . . Citan.� Bart was getting worked up. � Yeah! There�s no way we can lose! No one will die in vain!� This time, Maison approved. � Well put, Young Master!� Sig looked at me curiously. � Kris, are you feeling all right? You�ve hardly said a thing since we began planning. Will you be helping?� I shook my head. � Can�t.� I showed him my partially mummified hands and wiggled my free fingers, which made my knuckles itch. � Doctor�s orders.� I went to the door. � Anyhow, I suppose I�ll check on Axyl and then go to bed.� � You can�t!� Bart cried abruptly, rushing over to grab my shoulders and shake me gently. � There�s ritual to be followed for something like this! I need you to stay up with me and drink �til we hurl!� I rolled my eyes and smoothly broke his hold on me. � Bart, you know how I get when I drink. Here, you drink and I�ll stay up with you anyway, all right?� � . . . Okay.� The door opened a tiny bit and a knee-high gray dragon tumbled in. A green one entered after it and a black one after that. A lavender one was fourth and then the door was flung open and a woman stood in the doorway. She raised a gun and pointed it at me, then pulled the trigger. There was a near-deafening explosion and something plowed into my upper arm. It took effect immediately and my legs gave out, nearly throwing me to the floor. Fei caught me though and knelt, calling to me fearfully. � Kris?! Kris, answer me!� Whatever it was was strong and I let myself fall into darkness. *>*<* Bart never actually saw what hit Kris. All he knew was that it had and that fact was unacceptable. He spun with a hateful roar and slammed the woman right in the face, sending her back out the door. She staggered unsteadily, but didn�t fall. He started to give chase, but the lavender dragon hissed and then spit a mild acid in his eye, providing distraction and time for the woman to escape. He growled and wiped his eye clear, but by then the woman and her dragon were gone. He kicked the door shut and spun around to kneel beside Kris. � What was it?� he asked, noticing the empty pressure syringe in her arm. � It appears to be a sedative of some kind,� Citan answered. � But from the color, I would say Kris should be all right in a few minutes. It was probably just something to knock her out to prevent any fight she may have given.� Bart picked Kris up and left, Fei trailing worriedly behind. Maison decided to go along just in case Kris woke up in a panic like the first time when they�d found her in the desert. The three dragons remained, still sitting and waiting for a command. Sigurd turned to Citan. � Was that . . .?� Citan nodded. � So she is alive still.� � You had been told otherwise?� Another nod. � I had. And then I began to doubt that. However, the question is not how she is alive now, but why they felt they had to fake her death to keep her existence a secret. She is not particularly powerful, though she makes up for it with speed and stealth. The singular thing that only those strengths would be good for is assassination, but there is no need for them to kill anyone by such a method.� � But who was she aiming for? She missed Bartholomew by a kelt.� He shook his head. � She was not aiming for him. Or if she was, her aim has never been so far off before.� � Why Kris, then?� � That is what I do not understand. Kris has never posed any true threat to them. Not like �him�. Kris is very much in control of herself. There is no need for them to worry. Unless . . .� � Unless . . .?� � Unless they have discovered something that we have yet to. Kris� power is not like �his�. Then again, maybe that is what they fear. Because she has so much control of her power--power equal to �his�--they fear that she will come to realize her full potential and use it on them. They do have a reason to be wary.� � She hates them terribly,� was the agreement. � And it would only be a matter of time for her to figure out how to get to them and then it would be all over. But she was standing right in front of Fei. Do you think that �he� was her true target and Kris was just in the way?� � No. She was aiming for Kris. Pariglox III is much too mild for �him�. They would take no chances. In fact, I would go so far as to suspect that if she had been aiming at �him�, it would have been a bullet in his forehead and not a simple sedative. They do not care if �he� is brought back to them alive or dead; they would kill �him� either way. But Kris . . . They most likely want her alive so they can study her again.� � Should we assume that Kris will be fired at wherever we go?� � No. Not yet. If they sent just an assassin they probably want to keep it all under wraps.� � Why?� � If Kris and/or more Lambs discover and identify her ability, it would mean a possible end for them and they cannot afford that. They believe Lambs to be stupid, but they are not so ignorant that they do not take into account the Lambs� powers of observation. If they actively sought Kris, more and more Lambs would become suspicious and would eventually rebel. That would be the finishing mistake and they would disappear.� � But Kris is still in danger.� � I would say it is safe to assume so. Therefore we must keep a strict eye on her. If she figures out it was more than a freak accident, she will try to leave to protect us. But that will only make it easier for them to catch her.� A nod. � A little earlier Kris made a fuss about Bartholomew�s possessive nature. Funny that it comes into play now.� � I remember. She nearly dropped him from the second floor because of that . . .� A long pause. � We could use this to our advantage. If he is so protective of her and does not overdo it, she may be convinced to stay here. We will somehow have to make it clear to her that if she leaves we will still be in danger, but if she stays, we can all protect each other when necessary.� � Kris isn�t much for group activities.� � She will have to be. Her strength is vital. If we lose her to the land, we will eventually lose her to them. And they may brainwash her to obey them. If that happens, it is our end.� Sigurd looked down at the gray dragon that sat quietly in front of him. He crouched down and picked it up, holding it in one hand and petting the soft head for the first time in over ten years. � Qinon rinn ferr wyis zorv tinc alleiq. Sanisk etil rinn uqov?� (Took you long enough to get here. Where have you been?) It purred and flicked its rough, forked tongue. Its tail waved in a decidedly pleased fashion. Thank you, but you need not do that. I can understand the surface language just as well. And as for where I�ve been . . . isn�t it obvious? I was with Lady Analore the whole time! He looked at the black dragon, who sat and stared at the closed door as if her life depended on it opening and revealing her human companion. Her tail brushed gracefully back and forth across the floor, slowly and patiently. � Devon, ascitu yin rinn?� (What about you, Devon?) Oh, I�m just fine. Don�t mind me, was the tiny-sounding reply. The dragon was quiet, worried. Just sitting here, waiting. I�m fine. � That�s not what I meant.� I can hear you. No need to worry. I understand everything you�re saying. He set the gray dragon down and picked up the black one, who curled her tail around his forearm to hold herself there if she slipped off. � Stop fretting. Kris will be okay.� � Pariglox III is not life-threatening,� Citan reminded the little black dragon softly. In a place where there was no noise, it wasn�t necessary to talk loudly to a dragon. Their hearing was excellent. The dragon twisted her head back. Who told you it was Pariglox III? � No one. I only assumed because of the color.� The little scale-furred head shook. That was not Pariglox III. � Then what was it?� An experimental mixture called Flixsic. Citan frowned. � But Flixsic was discontinued when it gave the test subjects unimaginable strength.� Another shake of the head. It was never discontinued. They only took it back to the formula labs to refine it. Now it kills by destroying the muscular system in the host body. That�s only in a certain dose level, of course, but I am not sure what the dosage was for her. It leaves a little ring where the top of it was so you could find out that way . . . Sigurd and Citan looked at each other, then ran out the door. *>*<* . . . . . . Ow . . . � Kris?� Only then did I realize that I�d groaned aloud. I forced my eyes open and blinked against the hazy shapes before me. . . . ? � Kris, look at me.� I blinked some more and focused as much as I could on one of the blob-shapes. A moment later I was staring into the masculine version of my face. . . . ? � Much better. How do you feel?� Like shit. � Kris?� I blinked again and refocused. He looked kind of panicked now. � Kris, speak to me!� I opened my mouth to tell him to calm down, but all that came out was a low, undignified croak. Fei let out a shriek at a pitch I didn�t think men could attain, especially after puberty. That drew attention right away. � What�s wrong?� Sig asked from the next room. � She can�t talk!� Fei wailed. � She can�t?� He leaned his chair back on two legs to look at me and I shook my head in answer. Bart entered and came over to my bed. He could tell that something was wrong without even asking. � What is it?� I opened and shut my mouth, then shook my head. He placed his hand on my inside shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze. � You all right?� I nodded and pointed at Fei, then drew circles beside my head. He laughed and turned to my brother. � Hey, chill out, Fei.� � But she can�t talk!� � Who says she needs a voice to speak?� Bart shot back. Fei stopped all motion and watched me. � What is he talking about?� I tapped the side of my head. You assume things too quickly, Fei. � Well it would�ve been nice if you�d let me know!� If you hadn�t screamed like a girl and surprised me, I would�ve. � Screamed like a girl?� Bart asked interestedly. You bet. Must�ve been seven octaves higher than it should have. Bart laughed again. � So how long are you going to be like this?� I don�t know. I stood and Bart steadied me. Maybe for the rest of my life. � That�ll suck.� I heard the strain in his voice and knew he liked it as much as Fei did, possibly even less. I grabbed for his braid and pulled it apart carefully. Sit. � Oh no . . . Kris, please . . .� Sit! He sat on the bed and I sat behind him, running my fingers through his hair to comb it out some. I found a few small knots and decided that next time I had the chance I was going to spend as long as necessary on his hair to untangle it and then I�d do something funny, like give him pigtails. As I worked, I noticed Fei watching Bart closely. Locking down a private channel to my brother, I asked, What are you staring at? He blinked and glanced at me briefly. It�s just . . . I�ve never seen him look so . . . so pleased . . . before. He gets that look a lot when I do this. Why? Hell if I know. He just prefers that someone else pamper him. <--Phase 12 Phase 14--> |