Eternity Row (17 page)

As the two males continued to talk about the war in low tones, I noticed the nurses were getting some resistance from the other Hsktskt troops, especially when they tried to administer medication.

“Centuron,” I said, interrupting them, “would you be so kind as to tell your men to stop giving my nurses a hard time?”

RrissVar snapped a limb, and the cracking sound made every Hsktskt in the hold stand at attention. “Allow the females to do their work, or submit yourself to me for discipline.”

The big lizards abruptly became as meek as little lambs. I’d witnessed Hsktskt discipline firsthand, and calling it brutal would be a conservative description.

I irrigated RrissVar’s leg and sutured up the wound, then bandaged it, and strapped on a limb support. “You’ll need to stay off this for the next rotation. I’m going to infuse you with some antibiotics, but if you experience increased pain or swelling, let me know.” I glanced at my husband, who was staring off in one direction. “What’s wrong?”

“Who was left in charge of Marel?”

“Darea was going to watch her for me after school, why-” I turned to see what he was looking at, and my heart nearly stopped.

Our daughter was perched on an exam table next to one of the Hsktskt. It had two limbs wrapped around her and was bending its massive head down toward her little face.

“No.” I automatically dialed a lethal dosage of heart stimulant and went after the Hsktskt. Or would have, if Reever hadn’t grabbed me.

“He will not harm her.”

I struggled. “He’ll
eat
her!”

Reever gave me a good shake. “Walk over slowly with me and don’t frighten her or the centuron.”

As if I was the threat here. Reever kept his arm wrapped around me and guided me over to the exam table. The Hsktskt was sniffing my daughter’s blond hair, the way he would a raw haunch of meat for freshness. I gripped the syrinpress tighter and eyed his jugular artery. Two, maybe three seconds, and he’d be dead. But he could easily snap my daughter’s neck in half that time.

No problem. I’d simply have to kill him faster.

“Daddy, see?” Marel held up an odd-looking hunk of metal. “Sendron give me dis.”

The Hsktskt spotted the syrinpress in my hand, saw my face, then wisely removed his limbs from my child. “I intend no harm toward your brood, physician.”

“Yeah.” Genetically altered blood could still boil. “Like you intend no harm toward the kids of every other species you’ve attacked, right?”

His brow ridges furrowed. “Our commander has capitulated to you.”

“That’s supposed to make me feel better about you touching my child?”

“Mama, why you mad?” Marel looked from me to her father to the lizard, then back to me. “Sendron my friend. See?” She held out the hunk of metal again.

It was the Hsktskt’s rank insignia from his uniform. Which, in a moment, was going to be lodged down his throat.

“Cherijo, he will not harm her.” Reever sounded so calm. “RrissVar yielded to us so that his men could have medical treatment. As long as Faction soldiers are on board, they will not harm any member of the crew.”

Marel cried out suddenly, and I jerked. The sharp edge of the insignia had left a small scratch across the tiny palm of her hand. When I saw the blood, something inside me snapped, and I grabbed her away from the Hsktskt.

“Take her home.” I thrust her at my husband. No matter what Reever said, I’d seen firsthand what the Hsktskt did to helpless children. I’d watched a couple hundred of them die of it.

He gripped my collar and yanked me close. “Don’t provoke them.”

I could have killed him, right then and there. “You shut up and get her out of here,
now
.”

My husband displayed his infinite wisdom by taking Marel in his arms and walked out the door panel without another word.

CHAPTER SEVEN Attitude Adjustments

Xonea came down to level eighteen just as we were finishing up with the last of the Hsktskt wounded. I had been working in utter silence, furious with myself for not finding a better way to safeguard my baby, outraged that Reever had even considered allowing our child near one of these killers.

“Cherijo, I would like to have a word with you, please.” The Captain drew me out into the corridor. “Duncan informed me of what happened. Are you well, ClanSister?”

“How many times am I allowed to divorce the same man under Jorenian law?” I stalked off.

He followed. “Cherijo, wait.”

I didn’t wait. He’d have to catch up. When he did, I went off on a rant that I’d been biting back all day. “Maybe I’m not the world’s best wife, but I think I’ve been pretty flexible where Duncan’s concerned. Don’t you?”

“It is not for me to say-”

I raised a hand. “Please. You’re supposed to be my brother; act like one and listen.” He nodded, and I pushed some hair out of my face. “I’ve had to take a lot, being with him. I’ve accepted his past with these lizards. I even forgave him for selling me to them. But this isn’t about me anymore. He’s not endangering my daughter like that. I won’t have it.” I hesitated at the panel to the gyrlift. “Where is he?”

“He took Marel to Medical to have Squilyp look at her hand.” Xonea reached as if to pat my shoulder, then pulled his hand away. “She wished the Omorr to bandage it.”

“It was just a scratch.” Saying that made me feel slightly ashamed, because I was acting as if she’d had a limb amputated. Then I recalled the dying children on NessNevat I’d treated when I’d served on the
Sunlace
before, and my heart hardened. I’d performed plenty of amputations, thanks to the Hsktskt.

Xonea accompanied me to Medical, but wisely refrained from reasoning further with me. A good thing, too, because one more voice of reason would have pushed me over the edge, and he’d end up with his head rammed through a gyrlift panel.

“I must return to Command. I will speak to you later, ClanSister.”

“Uh-huh.”

All was quiet inside Medical, which bothered me until I saw why. Reever, Vlaav, and half a dozen nurses had been gagged and tied to various berths.

I ran to untie my husband, forgetting instantly how ticked off I was at him. “What happened? Where’s Marel?”

Duncan had a number of facial contusions, and when he yanked the strip of linen from his mouth, it was stained with blood. “The League soldiers know about the Hsktskt.” He rolled off the berth and went to release the Saksonan. “They’re on their way to kill them now.”

Dread seeped into me as I looked around. “And Marel?”

“They took her and the Omorr as hostages.”

I went automatically to a setup tray and grabbed a handful of instruments. Almost everything a physician used to heal could also be employed as an effective weapon. “Vlaav, signal security, tell them what happened. Duncan, let’s go.”

“Wait. Cherijo!”

I was already out the door panel and halfway to the gyrlift before Reever caught up with me. “How long ago did they take her?”

“Ten minutes.”

An eternity, considering what they could be doing to my baby. I keyed level eighteen on the gyrlift access panel and slipped through the door panel before it slid all the way open. When it closed, Duncan pressed the stop-hold key.

“What are you doing?” I swatted at his hand. “Come on, let’s go! I want to get there before security does!”

“Vlaav didn’t signal security.”

The words didn’t make sense, but there was a lot of buzzing in my ears. “Excuse me?”

“I ordered him not to signal them,” my husband said. “It would put RrissVar and his men at risk.”

The shock was momentary. The outrage wasn’t. “You’re
worried
about your
lizard
buddies?”

“Cherijo, we cannot charge in there.”

“Maybe you can’t.” I tried to reach around him for the panel. “I can.”

“If the Jorenians learn of this, they’ll kill everyone.”

“Which I will enjoy watching.” I shoved him back, disabled the stop-hold, and rekeyed the lift for eighteen.

He hustled me aside and re-enabled the stop-hold. “Listen to me!”

“No!” I threw a hemostat at him, which smacked into his left cheek and left another contusion. “You son of a bitch. They took
our daughter
. You come with me now and you help me get her back!”

“Through you she is kin to the Torins. As soon as they know, they will declare ClanKill and slaughter everyone on that level.” He didn’t touch his face, but he didn’t let me touch the panel. “Think, beloved. What if Marel is caught between them?”

“No.” I felt the blood draining from my face. “No, they won’t hurt her.”

“The Torins will not. The League will use her. You know they will.”

If the Hsktskt didn’t grab her first. I took out a pair of razor-sharp scissors, and held them pointed at his heart. “You have another idea?” He nodded, and I placed the scissors in his hand. “We’ll do it your way. Let’s go.”

He touched the panel, and the lift began to descend.

“About the Hsktskt.” Despite the pleasure I would have taken in screaming at him, I kept my voice at a reasonable decibel level. “If it comes down to a choice between your pals and my daughter, I won’t hesitate. I’ll even help Xonea rip some intestines out. Yours and theirs.”

Frigid, cutting thought blasted into my mind.
Do you think I would sacrifice our child for the Hsktskt
?

You seem a hell of a lot more concerned about them than Marel
. When nothing came of that, I closed my eyes and felt him edge even deeper inside my head.
What’s the matter? Trying to figure out how you’re supposed to feel about this by using my emotions
?

You’ve already made your anger toward me plain. Allow me the same courtesy.

Instead of sifting through my thoughts, Reever funneled his into my mind. I staggered back and slammed into the interior lift panel as a deluge of savage, homicidal desires poured over me. League soldiers being ripped apart, tossed about like bits of junk, blood on Reever’s hands. Blood everywhere.

I opened my eyes, saw him standing over me, hands on my arms, lips peeled back in a ferocious snarl, superimposed over the murderous fantasies.
Duncan. Duncan, stop it
!

The flux of thoughts abruptly shut off, and he released me as swiftly as he’d grabbed me.
Tell me now I care more for the Hsktskt than our child
.

I didn’t know
. On top of my frantic terror over Marel, his fury proved too much. I started to crumble, and tears welled in my eyes as I remembered how tiny she’d seemed, sitting next to the centuron.
She’s so little, oh God, Duncan, what if
-

She is the daughter of Faction members. RrissVar will protect her with his life
. He paused another moment, as if composing himself.
We have to stop at level seventeen
.

“Why?”

“They will have guards blocking all access routes except one.”

The gyrlift came to a halt, and as we stepped out into the corridor, I heard the sound of pulse fire below our feet.

“No.” My stomach surged up into my throat. “They’re shooting at each other.”

Duncan seemed to concentrate for a moment. “The League are trying to force their way into the cargo hold. The Hsktskt are keeping them at bay.”

I knew his telepathic abilities were miraculous, but this was new. “How do you know that?”

“I will explain later. For now, we must go through one of the maintenance passages.”