Chapter 4:
The ship hurtled through space. Marik stood on the deck, his eyes automatically scanning the windows for any almost invisible ripples that would signal a cloaked ship tagging along beside them.
There was nothing but darkness and stars, the occasional planet and falling asteroid. The ship hummed with activity behind him, but he didn’t look at it. Flying had never been his favorite thing to do. Back when they had been children, Talon had once dared him to go up on a small two-person ship that had been little more than a bucket of mechanical parts that had failed long since and tilted guidance systems.
Marik had been so afraid he had nearly had a heart attack. Talon had been in his element. Their father had had to bring his ship up and help guide them down. All the way, Talon had stood in the control deck with his face shining and laughter spilling from his mouth as he told his father over the com–call box that he could absolutely fly that old tub even though all evidence pointed to the contrary.
Jenny spoke from behind him, “It won’t be long now, will it?”
He turned to face her. Her long blonde hair had been put into a neat and tight coil at the base of her neck. The rather harsh hairdo emphasized the sharp planes of her cheekbones and the curve of her bottom lip. The tunic and the trousers, however, disguised the very lush, if petite, body that she possessed and he found himself wishing that she had one of her dresses on.
He said, “Yes. Just a matter of hours now.”
Her fingers twisted together as she stared out the observatory window. “Doesn’t look like anything’s out there.”
Their reflections, ghostly and pale, peered back at them. He said, “We’re traveling so fast that you really don’t have time to register what is there unless it’s very large.”
She said, “I absolutely hate ships.”
He chuckled. “You’re not the only one.”
She leaned forward a little bit, her eyes moving over stars and whatever else was visible out there. “Why did you agree to do this?”
He said, “Someone had to.”
She turned to face him, and his body shifted as well. The ship vibrated beneath their feet, sending her forward just a bit. Her hand came up and out and touched his chest, just slightly, just enough for her to gain her balance and then she hastily moved away. She said, “They told me that you volunteered for this. I know you just said someone had to, but why you? You’re not human, and you have nothing that you love down there. You’ve never even been there. So why?”
He could have argued that one point with her but chose not to. “I told you. I’m a healer. I spent enough of my life killing and destroying things. Maybe this is penance for all that I’ve done wrong. The part of me that is a natural healer commanded that I go. That I heal as best as I can.”
Now her face held curiosity. “Is it true that you can touch heal? That, I mean, can you really bring the dead back to life?”
He gawked at her. Then he burst into laughter. “Someone’s been telling you tall tales!”
She flushed, and her eyes dropped. Immediately remorse set in. He put his hand out and touched hers. Her face jerked back up, and there was a startled expression on it.
He said, “I can touch heal, but I cannot bring back the dead. That is beyond the scope of any healer. I have heard that some healers are able to bring back those who are just on the brink, but to do so… To do so would mean their own deaths, so most choose not to. I can’t say I blame them.”
Her finger went to her forehead and rubbed at the small space directly between her eyebrows. She said, “I had the oddest dream. I dreamed that you and a few others came into my chamber and carried me off to the med–bay last night.”
They had. But what happened there had been so terrible, and it caused her so much anguish that she blocked out the memory. Her mind had not been the only thing to block out that memory; he had used a powerful drug to help with that block and he had also used a technique that further walled the memory of it away as well.
He had not necessarily wanted to do such a thing, but the truth was she was a natural healer, and she didn’t know it. Her brain needed to be reminded and awoken to the fact that she could do things she did not yet know she could do.
He had been teaching her while they were on the ship of course. He had taught her all sorts of skills and things, but there had not been enough time during the travel to truly teach her all that she would need to know once on that planet. And nobody could teach a natural healer how to touch heal. They had to learn that themselves. He had to implant in her body and mind the fact that she could do it and it would be up to her to try.
He said, as casually as possible, “Oh? That sounds like a bad dream.”
Her eyes rested on his face. He wondered if she remembered more than she would’ve liked to and if she was actually asking him if it had happened. She would remember eventually and when she did would she be angry at him for doing it or angry at him for lying to her now.
Probably both.
It was better for her not to remember what happened the night before. If she remembered, she’d be stricken by a pain so huge that it would incapacitate her for quite some time. He needed her up and moving right now. There were a lot of hurt people down there and sometimes a healer had to be incredibly strong in order to heal themselves after the process that he had just carried out upon her.
She was not strong enough yet.
Jessica stepped up between them. She said, “We land soon.”
Marik nodded. Jenny said, “Can I ask you a question?”
