Chapter Twenty-Four
***Kyllian***
Kyllian watched as the woman he loved was rushed away from him by many capable hands, ready to save two lives in the coming hours. He told her he loved her in the chaos, but he couldn't be sure she heard him at all. Not being family, even as the mayor's son, he was not allowed back there during such a dire emergency. He understood that they needed to focus on the crisis at hand, but he felt like he was falling apart, like his entire world was hanging in the balance. He had left the only family he had not too long ago, his beloved mother, to answer the call of a father who had never wanted him. He never thought it would lead him on a journey to finding a family of his own, but now that he had them, he couldn’t imagine his life without them.
He was sequestered to the waiting room, which was just too cheery for the situation to put him at ease. He found himself running his fingers anxiously through his hair and pacing back and forth, not knowing what to do with himself.
Then, he realized that there were people that needed to be there, needed to know that Savanah was in the hospital in early labor. He didn’t even know for sure how many knew she was pregnant. She had found out and then waited to tell him for fear it would be a burden on him. Hopefully, he wouldn’t have to explain too much. His best bet was to use a COM link to get a hold of Irene. She would take care of the rest of it. Though, the idea of having them all in town made him feel uneasy. It would easily draw a lot of attention that none of them could afford, but then again, Savanah was worth the risk.
He knew there had to be somewhere in the hospital to use, so he went in search of that, walking the halls until he found a little hallway that led to a restroom, and there was a couch right in front of a COM link: one much better than the one sitting in the servants’ quarters at his father’s mansion.
Taking a deep breath, he began to scan the directory to find Aisaack, who would be the one that had a COM link, the kind that was worn on the wrist. It was his direct line of communication to Irene.
Aisaack’s face soon appeared, and Kyllian could see he caught the both of them still in bed. He hated to just spring this news on them considering they didn’t even know that Savanah was gone.
“I need to talk to Irene, please.” He didn’t even recognize his own voice, so defeated and scratchy. Aisaack wasted no time handing it over to Irene; he could see her wrapped up in the sheets so that he saw nothing he shouldn’t.
“Kyllian, what is going on?” she asked worriedly. “I thought you and Savanah were just at home.” Kyllian could tell she knew something was up, and he didn’t know where to begin. What was more important: letting them all know they were in danger since Tuuleuss was real or that Savanah was in early labor and in danger of losing her life and the baby’s?
“She had another episode; it was very bad. I followed her for at least a mile or more out into the desert. It was like she was being called to or led by someone. I followed her because I didn’t know what else to do to keep her safe. I kept hoping she would snap out of it.” His voice cracked, and he hung his head in shame. He should have scooped her right up and taken her back home without any second thoughts no matter how much she fought. Surely, he could have broken her out of the hypnosis and kept this from happening so that the stress wouldn’t have triggered her to go into labor.
“We were led into this little oasis out there, and that’s when I knew it was intentional for sure, not just her mind going crazy. Someone was controlling it at that moment to lead her there and get her alone. I saw him again He is real.”
He paused and let it sink in. He saw Irene turn to her husband with nothing but pure fear in her eyes and understanding in his.
“So where is Savanah now? Is she okay? God, please tell me she is okay!” Irene wailed.
“I got her away from him, surprised him in my Naga form and took her away, but it jerked her out of the trance so fast, and it all hit her at once. The stress…it was too much. I have her in the city at the big hospital. They won’t let me back there because it’s an emergency. She’s gone into early labor. She and the baby are both in danger, but so are all of you. I thought you would all want to know so you could decide if exposure is worth the risk of coming here and so you could warn the derelicts and other Nagas about what we now know.”
“Of course, I am coming!” Irene screeched, practically throwing Aisaack’s arm back at him as she went to get ready. Aisaak looked into the COM link with serious eyes.
“Kyllian, are you certain it was him?” Kyllian understood why he was asking. He hadn’t realized it, but the whole time Aisaack had believed the monster of his childhood had suddenly become very real and thought he was crazy as no one else had seen or believed him. Now, he would have both a sense of relief and of dread. Kyllian was too focused on Savanah right now to worry about it, but he was sure it would be on everyone’s mind soon. How in the world could they stand against such a large and indestructible creature? And creature he was. He was no Naga, no human; he was what science and magic had twisted him to be, nothing worthy of existence anymore. Kyllian could feel it in his bones.
“I am certain. I have never seen anything like it and hope nothing like it will ever be allowed to exist again. It was not a Naga, not a serpent, and not a man at all, and it was huge, with this psychic pull like I have never felt before. There is no other explanation. It’s going to take all we have, but right now, I need to make sure my family is safe.”
“Understood, I will make sure Irene gets there, and then I will rally everyone. This is going to be war.”
The COM link hung up just as a doctor came into the room, much sooner than what he expected. He didn’t know if this was a good sign or not. At least they would be willing to tell him something, considering he told them the baby was his. He would certainly raise him or her as such, regardless of what anyone else thought. That was, if the child had survived.
Kyllian stood up somberly to greet her. “I am sorry for interrupting, I just had some news and thought this is where you might be since you weren’t in the waiting room. Were you able to get in touch with the rest of the family?” the doctor asked kindly, giving nothing away one way or the other. The doctors here seemed cold, as he had heard about those on many planets. Earth doctors weren’t so good at keeping their emotions in check, but right now he would have taken that because the anticipation of finding out who had lived and who had died was killing him from the inside out.
“No, it’s okay. I am anxious to know what is going on; doctor, can you please tell me what’s happened and why you’re out here so soon?” Kyllian questioned, desperately hoping against hope that some miracle had occurred, and mother and baby were fine.
“Savanah is under sedation right now to handle her pain and stress. She was putting herself and the baby in distress, and so that was the best thing to do. All of her vitals are normal, though, besides her blood pressure being on the high side. I have complete faith in the fact that she will be just fine in a few hours besides being sore and wanting to see her child. The child is being checked over by the pediatric nurses right now to see if she needs any special treatments for the fact that she came pretty early. But she came out screaming and breathing alright with no visible signs of deformations or anything. Her heart rate is normal, and so is her temperature. We just want to be sure there is nothing wrong internally that is easy to miss, so I can’t promise anything. However, you are welcome to watch as they examine her so at least one of you gets to see her right now,” the doctor offered.
“So, it was a girl?” he asked, latching onto the ‘she’s’ the doctor was using to refer to his child. She nodded and smiled, gesturing for him to follow her.
He weaved through the hallways and into the actual working portion of the hospital which was full of the sounds of chaos: new babies crying and women crying out in the pain of birthing.
He was focused straight ahead though, as he was led back into a sterile room, having to pass through a sterilization chamber first to even get there. It was there where he saw three nurses gathered around what he assumed was his daughter. That’s right: his daughter. It already felt true. It didn’t matter that some horrible man had paid for the services of his hypnotized girlfriend in order to create this being; she would always be his.
He walked up to her as close as they would allow. They poked and prodded at her to make sure she was okay so that he could see her. She was so small and delicate looking, and yet, as he caught her eyes, there was a strength there lurking underneath the surface. This was a special child.
Her hair, the little bit she had, was a golden blonde just like Savanah’s, but her eyes were the color of amber, almost instantly warming on sight. Her skin was a perfect pink, lacking the splotches he was used to seeing on a newborn baby, and her cheeks were already a rosy red.
“Did you want to name her?” one of the nurses asked, and part of him wanted to wait for Savanah to wake up, but the other part of him knew that her name was on the tip of his tongue already.
“Yes, I have the perfect name: Bela,” he said, using a word he knew meant beautiful. There was no other way to describe her, no other name that made sense.
