Laura Jo Phillips (40 page)

“Okay, it’s dumb, but how many babies have you two watched being born?”

Garen and Val had to concede that point. 

“Trey, please go inform Sully that Lariah is in labor and ask her to tell you where the items are that have been prepared.”

Trey nodded and left the room.  “Val, you stay here with Lariah.  I must go check on Saige and the Lobos.”

“Please don’t try to keep me in the dark about what is going on with Saige,” Lariah said.  Garen paused to look at her doubtfully but she scowled at him.  “She is my friend Garen.  My only friend.  I want to know how she is doing.”

Garen nodded reluctantly and left the room. 

“Val, would you please get me some ice chips?” Lariah asked. 

Val shook his head.  “Sorry, my heart,” he said.  “I am not leaving you alone for any reason.  It will have to wait until Trey or Garen return.”

“All right,” she agreed.  She stopped walking and leaned one hand against the wall, breathing deeply as the muscles in her abdomen contracted strongly.  The pains really were coming quickly.  It would not be much longer before her daughters joined her in the world.

Garen closed the bedroom door and hurried across the living room and down the hall to the guest room that Lariah had used when she had first come to them.  It was hard for him to believe it had been less than a year.  She was so much a part of their lives now that it was impossible to imagine life without her.

He knocked softly at the door and waited until he heard the low “come in” before turning the knob and entering the room.  Saige lay on the bed, her face pale and smudged with dirt.  The Lobos had removed her shoes and jeans, and covered her with a light blanket.  They stood beside the bed watching her, their faces worried and sad.

“How is she doing?” he asked.

Faron shrugged.  “Her heart is beating more strongly and her breathing is better, but she is still unconscious.”

Garen thought back to when they had injected Lariah after she had been brutally stabbed.  “I think that she should awaken very soon,” he guessed.  Faron shot him a hopeful glance.  “Yes?”

“It is difficult to remember because it was such an intense experience,” Garen said.  “But if I remember correctly about this much time had passed before...,”

He broke off as he noticed Saige’s eyes opening, her hand going at once to her chest.  “Ouch,” she said softly.

All three of the Lobos released a sigh of relief. 

“What happened?” Saige asked.  She looked at Garen and frowned with worry.  “Lariah?” she asked.

“She is fine,” Garen said.  “She is in labor, but doing well. “  He turned to Faron.  “Assuming this goes as it did with Lariah, I believe you will have less than an hour,” he said.  “Enough time for her to bathe if that is her wish, and to tell you what happened, again, if that is your wish, but not much more.  I must return to Lariah.”

“What happens next?” Faron asked.

“Lariah became very sleepy quite suddenly.  She fell into a deep sleep, followed by a light coma from which she could not be awakened.  When that happens, you will have about another hour.  Let me know if anything else occurs.”

Faron nodded. “Thank you, Highness,” he said. 

“Do not worry, all will be well,” Garen said before leaving the room and closing the door gently behind him.  As he hurried back across the house he noticed that the light through the living room door was fading.  It was going to be a very long evening.

“You’ve started the ritual, haven’t you?” Saige asked as she tried to sit up.

“Yes,
amada
,” Faron replied as he reached down and lifted her into his arms.  “I am sorry we had to do so without your consent, but it was the only way to save your life.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Saige said.  “You had already had my consent, and I am glad you were able to save me.  I am not ready to release life, especially now that I have so much to look forward to.”

Faron smiled and kissed her gently as he carried her into the bathroom where Dav was already filling the large tub.  Faron sat Saige on the counter and Ban helped him begin undressing her.  The large bruises that covered her chest where the energy weapon had hit her had them growling softly.  Fortunately, the sonic disrupter had been keyed to the ‘stun’ setting.

“Easy guys,” Saige said, “It’s just bruising and will be gone soon.  No need to get all worked up about it.”

“Sometimes Saige, I am convinced you need a spanking,” Faron said as he lifted her just enough for Ban to slide her panties off of her.

“Oh, now that is something I’d like to see you try,” she said archly.

“Didn’t anybody ever tell you it is not wise to dare a Lobo?” he asked.

Saige screwed up her face as though trying hard to remember such a warning.  Finally she shook her head.  “No, sorry, never heard that one before.”

Faron stepped back and quickly removed his clothing, as did Dav and Ban.  Dav stepped into the tub and nodded to Faron, indicating the temperature was satisfactory. 

Faron picked her up once more and carried her into the tub, not releasing her even as he sat down.  “You can let me go now,” she said.  “I’m okay.”

“No, I cannot,” Faron argued.  “Not just yet.  Now please tell us what happened.” 

Saige scowled at Faron, then Dav, then Ban, giving each of them a good long stare.  “Do not ever attempt to judge a female again,” she said.  “I mean it.  You are terrible at it and cannot be trusted in that department.”

All three men looked at her with surprise, not understanding at all where that had come from.  She reached for a clean cloth from a stack on the edge of the tub and the bottle of lightly scented wash, working up a lather as she waited patiently for them to get it.

“Oh, hell, no,” Faron said finally.  He turned Saige in his lap until he could see her face.  “Darleen Flowers was involved, that’s what you are getting at, isn’t it?” he demanded.

Saige rolled her eyes.  “Duh,” she said. 

Faron wasn’t at all sure what
duh
meant, but he had a feeling that, in this instance anyway, it meant the same as
yes
.

“She deserves to be sent to the mines for this,” Ban said, his voice trembling with barely controlled fury.

Saige snorted.  “The mines?” she asked.  “She deserves to have her head ripped off and put...well, never mind where.  And I intend to do that as soon as I find her.  Riata is dead because of her, and Lariah and I nearly ended up on some creep’s spaceship.”

“By our own laws, we are not allowed to use death as a punishment against humans or humanoid beings living on our world unless, and until, they are first tried in a court of law,” Faron said. 

Saige studied him carefully for a moment.  “As a punishment,” she repeated slowly.  “If they die in the heat of the moment while committing a crime, that is different, correct?”

“Very different,” Faron agreed.

“Well, I do not work for your government.  Nor am I Jasani.  I’m just another human female and I assume that what I do with another human female is beneath the notice of the Jasani council.”

“Saige, when we are finished with this ritual,  you will be Jasani,” Dav pointed out.

“I am not going to let her get away with this,” Saige declared.  “Nor do I think that sentencing her to spend a couple of years mining pretty gemstones is suitable punishment for what she did.”

“Do not worry, Saige,” Faron said.  “We will not allow her to get away with what she has done.  We will find her, and then we will deal with what her punishment should be.  In the meantime, please tell us what happened.”

Saige complied, telling them everything that had happened while she was conscious.  When she told them about Riata awaking from the tranquilizer, she remembered what Darleen had said about how long it should have worked.

“I am guessing that the Heart Sight stone helped me to throw off the tranquilizer faster, and I know why it only worked for a few minutes on Lariah, but why did Riata wake up so quickly?” she asked Faron.

Faron smiled.  “Alverians are not remotely like humans,” he said.  “Their body chemistry is far different.  I am not certain, but I would imagine that the drug was simply less effective on her than on you.”

Saige nodded.  That was much as she had thought but she was glad to have it confirmed.  She continued with her story, but when she got to the part where Riata lay dying she choked up and had to struggle to get the words out past the lump in her throat.

“Are you saying that Riata passed her healing powers to you?” Faron asked in surprise when she was finished.

Saige froze for a moment.  It had not occurred to her that that was what Riata was doing, but now that Faron said it, she realized that must have been what had happened.  “I suppose so, yes,” she said after a few moments.  “Is that possible?”

“I don’t know,” Faron said.  “We must get through the mating ritual first.  Then we can try to figure that out.”

“Alright,” she agreed.  She then told them about the appearance of the beautiful, evil man and how he’d shot her in the chest before she’d had a chance to do more than turn around.

“Did he say anything to give us a clue as to who, or what he is?  Or why he wanted you and Lariah?” Faron asked, his voice a rumbling growl. 

“No,” Saige replied, thinking hard.  “He said that he didn’t like being so close to the Prince’s territory.  He called us
annoyances
, and
little humans
, so I think that probably means he’s not a human.” 

Saige took a few moments to wash her face while she tried to think of anything else that might be of help. 

“By the way, whatever or whoever that man was, he is the one that was in my compartment on the
Cosmic Glory
,” she told them.  “He made it very clear that he was taking both Lariah and I off of Jasan and to his ship, right then, and he pulled some type of device out of his pocket when he said it.  I think it was a transporter remote from the way he talked, but I really don’t know.  If Lariah hadn’t shifted into her dracon and shot fire at him, I don’t think we’d be here now.  How is Lariah? She didn’t get hurt, did she?  She said transforming into her dracon wouldn’t be safe for the babies.”

“She was perfectly fine when we saw her,” Faron soothed, “and Garen made no mention of any complications.  Nor did he seem unduly stressed when he was here to check on you.  She probably did a partial shift, just enough to be able to hold him off with fire for a few moments until Garen, Trey and Val arrived.”

Saige nodded, relieved that Lariah was all right, though still worried about her friend. 

“I know Doc is not here, and with Riata...gone, I’m worried that Lariah will have complications with this birth,” she said, expressing a fear that had been growing in her for days.  Her own mother had died giving birth to Saige and her sisters, and Saige had been the only survivor.

“Lariah is shifter,
amada
,” Faron said.  “There is no need to worry.  Her body will have no problem shifting however it must to accommodate the birth.”

“That’s a huge relief,” Saige said.  “Still, shouldn’t there be a medical person here?”

“Probably, but there isn’t one,” Faron replied.  “You need not worry so much, Saige.  The Dracon’s have some small healing magic, as do we.  And, if necessary, they are able to transport Lariah to a medical facility in seconds.”

 “I’ll try not to worry so much,” she promised.  “I’d feel better if I could see her though.”

“Let’s finish getting you bathed, then if you want to see her and the Dracons agree, you can visit her for a moment,” Faron said.

Saige stood up at once.  “Good idea,” she said.  She climbed out of the tub and hurried to the shower, anxious to see Lariah.  As the water heated she stepped in and let it pour over her head, yawning widely.  Ban stepped into the shower behind her and she yawned again.

“Excuse me,” she said, placing one hand over her mouth, wondering why she was suddenly so tired.  Just as she remembered what Garen had said about her getting sleepy, her eyes closed without her permission.  She fell asleep on her feet so unexpectedly that Ban nearly didn’t catch when she fell.

Lariah dried her hands on the small towel next to the sink and walked carefully across the bathroom tiles, watching each step.  She reached for the doorknob and pulled the door open just as she felt a gush of water flow down her legs.  “Oops,” she said quietly.

Three sets of eyes flew to her face, then the floor, then back to her face again with identical expressions of alarm and confusion.  Lariah smiled.  “My water just broke,” she announced, nearly laughing at the mixed expressions of relief and worry on their faces. 

“Which means what?” Garen asked as he hurried forward to guide her around the slippery puddle on the floor. 

“Which means it shouldn’t be much longer,” she said.  “Can one of you please get me a clean nightgown?”

Trey hurried for the nightgown while Val went into the bathroom to mop up the floor in case Lariah had to go in there again. 

“You’ve been saying it’s not going to be much longer for a long time now,” Trey said as he grabbed a nightgown and hurried over to her with it.  Garen lifted the wet one off over her head and the two men took a moment to gaze at Lariah’s body.  Her breasts were larger now, swollen with milk, her nipples a shade or two darker than before.  Her once flat tummy was now large and round, but lower than it had been a day or two earlier.  They watched as the muscles in her abdomen tightened in a hard contraction that took her breath away even as she struggled to breathe through it.  They reached out to support her, surprised at the strength of her grip on them at the height of the contraction.  When it ended, she panted for a moment.