Grai's Game (First Wave) (17 page)

“No, I believe my questions about the town have been answered. All that remains are some general questions that can easily be answered by Cristali if you do not mind her working with me for a little while when we get back?” Ivint asked
looking at Grai.

Ivint knew that Grai was probably curious about what he wanted Cristali for since Lagor or Risk could just as easily get him anything he needed from Grai’s computers. Ivint just smiled a
t Grai’s response; he'd truly expected no less.

“She was ordered to tell you anything you wanted to know the moment you arrived at the mine. Feel free to work with her as long as you need.” Grai said with a half grin. He should have known that the leader of the Valendran people would not be so easily swayed.

The High Councilor was just as thorough as, he was, and he would check, double check and keep checking all angles until he knew that he would make the right decision for his people. Grai respected that. It was something he himself did constantly to make sure he never made a decision out of anger or lack of information.

“If we head back now, we can get there in time for dinner…” Grai said looking at the time on his comm.

“Then let us go. The walk and the air has given me an appetite.” Ivint said leading the way to the elevator that would take them down to the port room level.

Once everyone was inside, Ivint placed his palm on the scanner. Once the scanner verified his identity, it displayed a listing of levels available to him to access. Touching the option for the portal room, he waited until the cabin took them to the bottom and the doors opened.

“Portal has been opened and you’re a go for port.” The hybrid at the control center informed them when they stepped out of the elevator.

The group broke up and went their own way once they returned to the
mine; everyone wrapped up in their own thoughts.

Ivint headed to the control center where Grai had said Cristali and Lagor were located. Without
hesitation, he went through the door and directly to Cristali.

“I need access to some very… sensitive information. And I need that request to be kept from everyone. Including Grai.
Can you do that?” Ivint asked the startled woman.

It took Cristali only a moment to answer. “I was ordered prior to your arrival to hide nothing from you and to take your orders as if they came from Grai himself. So yes, I can do that.”

“But if I suspect that what you seek will do harm to him or our people I will not keep it from him.” Cristali said honestly, straightening her shoulders as she stared down the High Councilor.

Ivint erupted into laughter and was still chuckling when he pulled a chair over and placed it in between Lagor and Cristali before seating himself.

“Child, I have no intention of trying to harm anyone. In fact, the information we get may just be the one thing that finalizes everything. Lagor, get me a secure channel to Amun. Cristali make sure it’s secure from your people as well. This really needs to be private; you will see why.” Ivint said with a challenging twinkle in his eyes.

Cristali returned the High Councilor’s look before grinning and placing her hands on the keypad. “Yes, Sir.” She responded.

*****

Grai sent out questions through the Shengari’ before he headed towards the dining hall where Tricia and Tristan were having dinner
, while everyone else went their own way.

He knew something was wrong the
moment; he turned the corner to the hallway leading to the dining room. He saw Maggie running towards the door, just as he heard what happened through the Shengari’.

Hitting a
full-out run, he was able to yank the door open before Maggie reached it and ran through, sliding across the last few feet on his knees, stopping beside his flailing son.

He pulled Tristan’s seizing body into his arms and tried to hold him while Maggie grabbed the syringe that would hopefully help his son. Maggie plunged the needle into
him, and they waited breathlessly for the violent shaking to stop. It didn’t.

“Get him to the lab! Now!” Maggie yelled at Grai. She didn’t have to tell him twice. Using every bit of his beast
abilities, he ran to the nearest MedLab on this level, a team waiting for him the moment he went through the door.

He laid his son on the bed as the tech’s directed
him and stepped back to give them room to work on his son. By the time Maggie and Tricia arrived, Grai was standing in shock as the tech’s tried desperately to stop the seizure.

“He’s going into cardiac arrest! Get them out of here!” One of the tech’s yelled as they pulled out machines and began hooking his little body up to them.

Moments later several of Grai’s team members along with their Valendran counterparts showed up and tried to pull him outside with Tricia and Maggie.

“No!”
Grai growled hoarsely, easily shrugging them off.

“Get him out!” The Relian hybrid med tech yelled, turning pleading eyes to the team members.
Grai saw the look and knew they had little hope for his son.

“NO!!!” He roared tearing at the renewed efforts of the team to take him outside of the room and away from his son.

The room blurred as Grai tried to blink away the tears as he fought the multiple hands pulling him from the room. He roared out his pain, uncaring who heard or felt it.

They were able to drive him to his
knee's feet from Tristan’s bed, his tears and the tech’s completely obscuring his son from his view.

“Put him out! Now!” Grai didn’t recognize the unfamiliar voice
that made that order, and he fought even harder against those keeping him from his son.

He never felt the needle driven into his thigh or heard the grateful sighs of the dozen men and women who had piled on top of him. Or Tricia’s screams.

Chapter Sixteen

Grai woke slowly, the excite
d whispers of the people around him filtering through the fog in his mind. Tristan! Opening his eyes, he sat up too quickly and nearly fell off the side of the bed he was laying on.

“Whoa! You don’t need to embarrass yourself by taking a header there bro!” Traze said with
laughter, catching his big brother just before he crashed to the floor.

Grai allowed Traze to help steady him while he scanned the MedLab until his eyes rested on Tricia. She was sitting beside Tristan, holding his little hand and crying.

“My son…” Grai cried hoarsely, trying again to stand.

“It took a lot to take you
down; it's going to take a little time for it to clear out of your system. Let us help you.” Grai looked up into the smiling eyes of Balduen and accepted his offered arm.

Balduen and Traze took most of Grai’s unstable weigh
t as they led him to Tricia’s side. Dread grabbed a chair and moved it beside hers as Tricia turned to give him a watery smile, her eyes bright from unshed tears.

Grai collapsed hard into the chair when he looked to the bed and saw the beautiful brown eyes of his son staring back at him… swirled with black.

“What…” He managed to say before falling to his knees beside the bed, pulling Tristan into his arms as he did. His tears flowed freely down his face as he rocked his son in his arms.

“Easy… Amun said he needs some serious recovery time.” Balduen said, helping the still weakened man hold his son.

There wasn’t a dry eye in the room, including his own, so Balduen wasn’t the least bit embarrassed when Grai saw his own tears when he looked at him a few minutes later.

“What happened?” Grai asked Balduen before looking back into his son’s eyes and hugging him again, unwilling to let him go.

“It seems my mate made her mind up days ago and had the tech’s send what they needed to Amun. He finished the synthetic enzyme last night… just in time.” Balduen told the shocked Grai.

Dare had done it? His son was going to be all right? Grai turned hopeful eyes to Balduen and using the connection between
them; he asked Balduen privately.

“My son will live? Dare truly saved him?”
Grai’s voice even shook in his mind, although he didn’t care. His only concern his son.

Balduen smiled and nodded his head.
“Yes, she did. And yes, he will. Amun said that Tristan would have to take the synthetic enzyme until he can figure out a way to get his body to produce it on its own. But he is fine.”

“Thank you!”
Grai reached out and hugged Balduen with one arm and his son with the other, uncaring that the two men were both crying.

“Yeah, I hate to break up the bro
-mance, but I think we need to be changing partners here.”

Grai looked up into the watery gaze of Dare who was holding a crying Tricia in her arms.

“You are steady now?” Balduen asked and when Grai nodded he stood up and held his hand out to his mate.

“I’ll see you later. Take care of our boy, the little ones don’t like it when their brother is sick.” Dare said to Tricia before taking Baldy’s hand and allowing him to pull her from the room.

Tricia just nodded and cried even harder until Grai pulled her onto the floor and enveloped her in his arms with their son.

*****

“Balduen and Dare just left them. I’ll give them another few minutes of privacy before I explain the synthetic to them.” Amun said to Ivint.

“Now, to answer your question. I have checked it four
times; the boy’s results are valid. I can keep checking, but it won’t change the outcome.” Amun said, waiting for any further instructions.

“I need you, all of you, to keep this to yourselves for now. We have to do this right if it’s going to work. Do you understand?” Ivint asked Amun, Lagor and Cristali, his tone and stare telling them just how serious he was.

“Yes, Sir!” Cristali was the first to say with a huge grin.

Ivint smiled at the young woman who had joyfully joined in to help him when she discovered what he was up to, then looked over at Amun and Lagor.

“Yes, Sir.” Lagor replied with a lot less enthusiasm than Cristali, but still with a smile.

“Yes, Sir.
I will leave you to… your task and go speak to Grai and Tricia.” Amun said, still confused as to why this needed to be kept so secret, but unwilling to question the High Councilor.

Nodding his head in respect he went out the door of the control center and headed to the MedLab down the hall where Grai and Tricia were with Tristan.

He stopped outside the door and looked to Niklosi, who was standing guard with Decano to give Grai and his family privacy.

“How are they?” Amun asked, knowing that since Niklosi was beast
bound, he could feel the emotions from inside the room.

“They are beyond happy, as expected. But they are no longer quite as emotional and ready to talk.” Niklosi said with a smile before standing aside to let Amun go in.

Amun knocked on the door and waited until he heard, “Come.” Before opening the door and walking over to the bed.

Grai stood and laid his son back on the bed before helping Tricia back into her chair. He quickly used both hands to wipe his tears before drying them on his pants.

He turned to shake the doctor’s hand, but gave up and pulled the man into a tight hug. Amun grinned and hugged the warrior back before pulling away and letting the man get a hold on himself again.

“The synthetic has immediately worked to give the nutrition required to sustain his beast. Once the beast was stabilized, Dread was able to help it fully bond
in your son’s brain.”

“I am working on a way to help your son’s body produce the enzyme, but until I can run more tests and do more research, we will have to rely on the synthetic.”

“The formula and the equipment you need to make it is arriving shortly. For now, there is a month's supply already made, and I’ve trained your techs on how to make more, so there is never a reason for you to run out. Do you have any questions?” Amun asked, looking from Grai’s shining face to Tricia’s.

“All right then.
Give him a few days and he should be as energetic as he used to be. I am just a port away with your brother Koda’s ship, so if you need anything feel free to call me through the Shengari', and I will come.” Amun said with a smile before he headed to the door.

“Thank you. I can never repay what you have done for me.” Grai said gruffly, blinking back the tears.

“There is nothing to repay. All of you need rest. Don’t worry if he sleeps a while. His body needs to heal.” Amun added before leaving the family alone.

Grai looked down at the smiling face of his son, his brown eyes twinkling as he reached up
with one hand to pat his father’s face. Grai laughed and kissed Tristan’s hand, pulling Tricia closer to his side as she openly cried with happiness.

“It’s all right now
, my love. Everything is going to be all right. Isn’t it my little warrior?” Grai asked, fighting his own tears of happiness when Tristan smiled and nodded his head.

*****

When Dare got close to the door to their room, she shrieked with surprise when Balduen picked her up into his arms and carried her into their room, kicking the door closed behind him.