“The voicelock activated a self-destruct protocol. It burned through your vocal cords almost entirely. We had to focus on trying to save your esophagus, so you’d still be able to eat and drink, but it’s going to be a long road of recovery.” Eleri stared down at her hands. “I’m so sorry, Cassie. I told Örim to give you some space, but if you want to see him, I can have him come back. Is there anyone else who might be able to help you with your care? Obviously, you’re welcome to stay in the clinic as long as you need, but…” Eleri trailed off.
Cassie stared at the wall. There were no words. Her throat was hollow. She tried to summon up a single, ‘I’m so grateful!’, but nothing would come out. Her fingers reached up for the familiar pulse of the voicelock, but she found only a thick layer of bandages covering blunt, warped metal. Cassie’s eyes began to burn.
No. Not with Eleri sitting right there. Everything was hazing in grey and red. The healer stood up with a sigh. “Let me go get your next nutritional pack, ok? I’ll be back in a few minutes. Think about it. Otherwise, I’ll have S’samph ask around to see if anyone would be willing to help you out.”
Somehow, Cassie managed a nod. Eleri retreated behind the curtain, leaving her alone. There was nothing. She had nothing. She started to scratch. She couldn’t think of anything else to do. She needed something, anything, before her world dissolved into shades of gray and red. Her heart raced away from her as she dug the crescents of her nails hard into her forearms, hard enough to draw blood. The pain was familiar, and familiar was comforting. Machines beeped and whined around her. Even they knew something was terribly, terribly wrong. But she couldn’t stop.
Nail grooves turned to trenches. She still couldn’t feel anything. The curtain opened. Eleri dropped what she was holding.
“Oh. Oh no. Cassie.” Eleri’s eyes had filled with tears, and Cassie hated them. She hated the pity. She hated the sadness on her behalf. And most of all, she hated that Eleri was taking away the only thing she had left. Her pain was hers. How dare Eleri try to tell her she couldn’t have it? Eleri hurried over and held Cassie’s hands still. “Aglao! We need bandages in here.”
They sat frozen in a battle of wills with Eleri’s hand gripped tightly around Cassie’s wrists while unwelcome tears streamed down Cassie’s face, and the monitors voiced their disapproval. But what else was she supposed to do? Even crying was silent now. There was no sound to her anguish.
Aglao appeared eventually with supplies. The zoa’s body glowed a deep purple as they bandaged Cassie’s damaged arms. Cassie disappeared. Eventually, when she resurfaced, Eleri was still there. Sitting on the end of her bed.
“Can we find something to distract you?” Eleri finally asked. “Should I get your datapad?”
Cassie shook her head. She just wanted to be alone. Eleri reminded her of Kestrel, who had been Cassie’s flock leader before she graduated to leading her own group of fledglings. But Kestrel had been sold to an Itarian businessman, and Cassie had never seen her again. Like Eleri, she never knew when to let up. She always wanted to help, but sometimes things were beyond help.
“Okay, I’ll be right back to check on you again. I have to go hand off some medication to another patient.” Eleri gently pressed Cassie’s hands into the thin mattress of the cot. Cassie stared at nothing, her eyes unfocused. This wasn’t how things were supposed to go. When Eleri was gone, she pulled the thin sheets over her head and tucked herself into a ball, bringing herknees under her chin. Her forearms pressed against her thighs, speckles of blood seeping through the bandages. There would be no miracle anymore. She was lucky to be alive. She was unlucky to be alive. Cassie wept until her knees tasted of iron.
CHAPTER 17
Örim
It took Örim several hours of avoidance to finally muster the will to examine the data from Cassie’s voicelock. It was the last thing he wanted to do, but he needed to confirm his suspicions. He pushed himself into clinical distance. His electrical core amplified with fear as he retraced the signal output from the connection. It had pinged someone. Someone off planet.
Someone knew where she was now. Someone who undoubtedly wished her harm. As much as it concerned him to speak to S’samph after their last encounter, he knew he would be remiss in not telling him. Cassie’s safety was more important than his pride.
Late in the day, Örim braced himself to enter S’samph’s office. He opened the door with a quiet click before peering inside. “I’m sorry to intrude.” He rubbed his wrist node. “But I want to make sure no further harm comes to Cassie.”
S’samph rounded on him, clearly displeased to see him. “This had better be important. I also struggle to see how more harm could come to her as long as you’re not involved.”
Örim dug out his datapad with a flick of impatience. “I’m not here asking for absolution. Cassie’s device triggered a homing sequence. I fear it is highly likely someone will come looking for her. Someone who means her harm.”
S’samph’s frill lifted. “Explain this to me. I need to understand all the logistics.”
Örim pulled up the relevant holos on his datapad to refer to the report from the breach. “From what I understand, when I initiated an investigative protocol, the device emitted a homing signal before imploding.”
S’samph stared at him, his tail twitching under the worktable. “I am used to not understanding scientific language from my mate, but as we are discussing a security risk. Explain it to me in practical terms.”
“When I tried to look at the information on Cassie’s voicelock, it triggered a signal. Someone knows where she is now, and the only people with access to that information want to do her harm.”
“I see.” S’samph’s frill raised high along his spine. “And you anticipate they’ll come to Laurus to find her?”
“If what I’ve learned about the Aviary is true, the information she has is, well, damning for a lot of important people.” Örim didn’t say the second part that struck lightning through his core. Cassie was likely too dangerous to be left alive if the people who had created her knew where she was. He was no match for S’samph in terms of physical prowess, but he was not without skills, and he was not beyond using them to do whatever necessary to keep Cassie safe.
“Then we must establish a protocol, so Cassie is never left alone.” S’samph rose from his worktable. “My mate and I would be most distressed if any additional harm were to befall her.”
“If you’ll lift your ban on me seeing her. I’ll make sure she is cared for. There is space in my home. I can start my research on human care protocols immediately.”
“Human care protocols? She’s not a pet.”
Never mind the high possibility that she wouldn’t even want to stay with him. Someone had to take care of her, and he’d feel ill at ease if it was anyone else. “Of course, she’s not a pet. But I intend to do this correctly.”
“I don’t want another incident. If I agree to this, I will have to fight my mate about it.”
“There won’t be another incident.”
