"No one listens to me because I'm young." Drova was undeterred. "But they should look past my age to what I can actually do. I'm stronger than any Guardian, faster too, and I'm…very persuasive even with very obstinate people. How many can do that?"
She had a very good point. Compelling immortals was usually something only gods could do, but Drova's father had been genetically engineered to have the ability, and she'd gotten it from him.
"She's right," Esag said. "The girl is an asset."
Drova beamed at him, and for a moment, she looked exactly her age—a teenager desperate for validation and recognition.
Callan let out a breath. "Fine. You can come. Suit up. Finlay, Harrison, and Brodie, you are with me. The rest of you help assemble the equipment. I'm going to ask the captain if he has any diving equipment we can borrow. I don't want to use the Zodiac if I can avoid it."
"Esag." Julian walked up to him. "Do you have any medical training? I might need an assistant to take care of Navuh. With the amount of damage he must have sustained, I'll need help."
"Nothing formal, but I can hold things and follow instructions."
Julian's expression suggested that wasn't quite what he'd hoped for.
The captain, who'd been listening, cleared his throat. "Yevgeny has combat medic training. He can assist."
A pale man with thinning blond hair stepped forward, but he looked like he'd rather be anywhere else. "It's been a long time, but I still remember the basics. I can assist."
"Good," Julian said. "We need to prep the medical bay."
As the two headed toward the clinic, Esag followed for the simple reason of having nothing else to do, or maybe out of some morbid curiosity. As an immortal, he had never required medical care, and he wanted to see what a facility like that looked like, especially on a submarine where every square inch mattered.
It was larger than he'd expected, given the constraints of space.
"We need to get IV lines ready," Julian said. "And multiple bags of saline."
"What about blood?" Yevgeny asked. "He's probably lost a lot of it, and there is undoubtedly massive internal bleeding."
Julian nodded. "I will need donations from my men. I can't use what you have."
The physician looked into the man's eyes, probably thralling him to forget about the subject of blood.
Perhaps it hadn't been the best idea to have a human assisting him in repairing an immortal. The things he was going to see wouldn't be easily thralled away, and he might remember being part of a very strange resuscitation operation.
"On second thought," Julian said. "Your services will not be needed, Yevgeny. One of my other men can assist." He tapped his earpiece. "Aiden. I need you in the medical bay."
When Yevgeny left, Julian shook his head. "The shock of hearing about Navuh's fall must have addled my brain. He can't be here and see me breaking bones that have fused incorrectly so soon after breaking." Julian turned to look at what Esag assumed was a portable X-ray machine. "Thank the Fates, Captain Ramirez keeps his sub properly equipped."
The comms system crackled again. "Backup team, prepare for deployment."
Once Aiden arrived, Esag felt it was okay for him to leave. With his initial fear of being underwater receding, he found himself fascinated by the submarine, especially the way divers got in and out of it when it was submerged.
He watched through the small porthole as the Guardian sealed the inner hatch of the lockout chamber.
"Flooding now," the Guardian announced, and Esag watched as the water rushed in, covering the five figures inside. They looked calm, professional, like this was just another day at the office. Even Drova looked like a badass. Then again, she had probably been born that way.
The outer hatch opened with a mechanical groan that resonated through the submarine's hull. One by one, the backup team slipped out into the dark water, dragging behind them equipment meant for the eight additional evacuees and Tula.
Waiting was the worst part.
Esag had never been good at it, and five thousand years hadn't improved his patience. Pacing, he tried not to think of all the things that could go wrong.
Twenty minutes passed. Thirty. Forty-five.
"How long should it take?" he asked one of the remaining Guardians.
"The backup team should be reaching the cliff in twenty to twenty-five minutes. They will let us know when they are in position."
