Rayne's Return (Hearts of ICARUS Book 3) (5 page)

“
Yes, I know about the paralytics,”
Wolef said. 
“I also know that tomorrow you’ll be removed from the machines you’ve been connected to for all these months, and placed in a cell not far from the one I currently occupy.” 
Rayne was so startled by that bit of news that for a long moment her mind went blank.
  “Rayne?”

“Do you know why they’re moving me?”

“From what I overheard it’s because their experiments have succeeded,”
he replied. 
“I don’t know what experiments they were referring to, however.  Do you?”

“No, I don’t,”
she said. 
“I know they’ve been performing experiments on me, of course.  There’s no missing that, and believe me, I’ve tried.  I just don’t know the purpose of any of them.”

“Do you want to know?”

Rayne thought about that.  Whatever the little blue thugs were up to, it wasn’t good.  If she had no hope of stopping them, she might have chosen not to torture herself with the knowledge.  But if she could escape, if there was even a chance, then she needed to know as much about what they were doing, and why, as possible.  “
Yes, I want to know.”

“Then I’ll try to find out,”
Wolef said. 
“In the meantime, remember not to cause any trouble when they move you.  They’ll keep you in case they need you again, so there’s no need to worry that they’ll kill you.  But if you’re uncooperative they’ll put you back on the machines, and if that happens, escape will be impossible.”

“Death would be better than this,”
Rayne said. 

“You wish to die?”

“No, I don’t wish to die,”
Rayne said. 
“I just want to be able to live.”

“In that case, I believe that we can help each other gain what we want most.”  

“What is it that you want most, Wolef?”

“Unlike you, I
do
wish to die.”

Rayne had no idea how to respond to that.  Asking him why he wanted to die seemed too personal, and every other comment that came to mind could be seen as judgmental.  If there was even the slightest chance he really could help her escape, the last thing she wanted to do was offend him. 

“How do you know what they’re doing?”
she asked instead. 
“Can you read their minds?”

“No, thank the Creators,”
Wolef replied. 
“I just have extremely good hearing, which is a mixed blessing in places like this.  In this case, however, I was not displeased to overhear the one called Weeble give an order for you to be moved tomorrow.”

“Weeble?  Who is that?”

“Weeble is by far the most dangerous being I’ve ever had the misfortune to come into contact with.  He is frightfully cunning, and almost supernaturally intelligent.  He is also, in my opinion, completely and irredeemably insane.  I advise you to never, ever underestimate him.”

If Rayne’s body had been capable of movement, she would have shuddered from the warning in Wolef’s tone. 
“I won’t, Wolef.  I promise.”

“Excellent,”
Wolef replied. 
“Now then, do we have a deal?”

“A deal?”

“Yes, a deal,”
Wolef said
.  “I will aid you in escaping the
Facility
.  In exchange, you will come back and destroy it.”

“Don’t you want me to free you first?”

“I’m afraid it’s far too late for that.  The only freedom I can possibly attain is death.”

“You want me to destroy this place with you still in it?”

“Yes, that is exactly what I want.  Will you agree?”

“Yes, Wolef,”
she said, wondering why she felt like crying. 
“If that is what you want, then I swear to do all in my power to fulfill my end of our bargain.”

Chapter 3

Rayne’s eyes flew open and her body jerked so hard she nearly fell off the bed.  She froze in surprise when Ari’s face suddenly appeared above her, his long black hair brushing her cheek before he pushed it back out of the way.  Her heart was racing and her breath was coming in short, rapid pants, making her dizzy.  She forced herself to take long deep breaths and after a few moments the dizziness retreated. 

“Bad dream?” he asked sitting back down in the chair beside the bed once she began to breathe normally.  She nodded.  “Do you want to talk about it?” 

“I don’t remember it,” she whispered, the shadowy images fading as she spoke.  “Is it morning?” 

Ari glanced at the device on his wrist that, among other things, displayed the time.  “Yes, it is, though it’s very early.” 

Rayne placed her elbows on the mattress and started to push herself up.  Before she had a chance to exert much effort Ari was there again, helping her into a sitting position.

“Thank you.”

“Would you like some breakfast?”

“I think I better stick to broth and tea,” she said wistfully.

“How about I get the broth and tea, and anything else I see that might be easy on the stomach?”

“Thanks, Ari,” she whispered.  “I’d like that.”

“No problem,” he said.  “I won’t be long.” 

She watched him leave, then nodded to Landor and Con who were standing at a table on the far side of the room, staring at her.  They nodded back and bent over the table to continue their discussion in voices too low for her to catch.  Con shook his head at something Landor said, his brow creased over serious eyes.  She shifted her gaze to Landor, who stood twisting a ring on the forefinger of his left hand, the muscles in his arms bulging with every movement, stretching the quarter sleeves of his dark blue t-shirt to their limit.  She frowned, wondering why they seemed so familiar to her when she couldn’t remember having seen them since her early teens.

Her stomach growled, reminding her that there were a few things she wanted to do before Ari returned with breakfast.  She pushed the blanket off and slid her legs over the edge of the bed very slowly until she was standing.  The back of the gigantic t-shirt she was wearing caught behind her for a moment, then came free, falling to below her knees. 

“Where are you going?” Landor asked, startling her so badly that she jumped. 

“Rayne?”

“Bathroom,” she whispered calmly, as though she hadn’t just overreacted and nearly fallen on her face.

Before she knew it Landor was in front of her, and then she was in his arms.  “I can walk,” she said, though she wasn’t sure whether or not that was true.  She didn’t know if the weakness she felt in every muscle and joint was due to traveling through time, or something she’d done before traveling through time that she couldn’t remember yet.  She just knew that moving took a lot of effort.

“You need to conserve what little energy you have,” Landor said.  He set her on her feet in the bathroom, hovering close until he was as sure as he could be that she wouldn’t fall over.  “Is there anything you need?”

“A toothbrush?” she asked hopefully.  He opened a drawer, selected a disposable brush from a tray of them, and placed it on the counter in front of her. 

“While you were sleeping we wove a shield around you,” he said, watching her try to open the brush’s wrapper.  “You can’t be transported unless we remove the shield first.  You should be safe alone for a few minutes.”

Rayne’s relief was so great that she had to drop the toothbrush and grab onto the counter to keep herself upright when her knees started to buckle.  “Thank you,” she whispered, a little ashamed of herself for being so afraid, especially since she couldn’t remember what it was she was afraid of.  When she was steady again she checked her shield, relieved to find it in place even though she’d forgotten to check it when she woke up.

“If you need anything, just call out,” he said, picking up the toothbrush and removing the wrapper for her.  “At least one of us will remain right outside the door.”

“I can’t call out,” she reminded him, dropping her eyes to the sink in front of her.  “I can only whisper.”

“Then knock on the wall or the counter, or clap your hands,” he said.  “Anything you can think of to make noise.”

“Of course, I should have thought of that.”  She hated that she needed so much help, but she was grateful for it.  “I really appreciate all that you’re doing for me, especially since you barely know me.  I’ll be out of your hair as soon as my parents can come and get me.”

“Let’s discuss that later, all right?”

“Um…sure,” she replied, uncertain what he meant since there wasn’t really anything to discuss. 

“Make noise when you’re finished and I’ll carry you back.”

“I will,” she agreed.  Landor stared at her for a moment, then turned and left, closing the door behind him.  She frowned after him, wondering what he’d been thinking as he stared at her, then she blushed.  She didn’t know what she looked like, exactly, but she did know that she was too thin and had no hair, so he probably hadn’t been admiring her beauty. 

She dropped her eyes to the bathroom counter and gathered her nerve.  After a few moments she gritted her teeth, and looked up at the long mirror over the sink for the first time since entering the bathroom.  She’d been prepared for it to be bad, but not so bad that she didn’t recognize herself. 

The first, and most shocking thing she noticed was how thin she was.  She’d known she was too thin, but not
this
thin.  Not skeletally thin.  It took her a few moments to absorb the initial shock of that and look beyond it.  When she did, she almost wished she hadn’t looked at all.

Her cheeks were sunken, there were deep, bruise colored hollows under her eyes, her skin was chalky, and the whites of her eyes had an unhealthy yellow tinge.  Her lips were pale, rough, and peeling, her bald head made her ears look enormous and, just slightly less shocking than her thinness, she had scars and scabs everywhere she looked.  Some were straight, even lines, some were jagged, and still others looked like gouges, as though chunks of her flesh had been removed.

She’d seen the marks on her hands, wrists, and arms the night before, but now she saw several on her throat, face and head, and when she pulled the neck of the t-shirt aside she saw more on her shoulders.  She released the t-shirt, deciding that she’d seen quite enough.  She picked up the toothbrush and turned on the faucet with shaking hands.

How had the Bearen-Hirus even known it was me lying on the mesa last night?
she wondered.  Sudden tears stung her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.  She was alive and, judging from her appearance, she thought that might be something of an achievement in itself. 

She looked back down, avoiding her reflection as she finished brushing her teeth and washed up.  She looked longingly at the deep bathtub and the gleaming shower stall, but her stomach growled again, reminding her that food was higher on the list than bathing at the moment.  Once she got back to the
Ugaztun
she could spend all day in the tub if she wanted. 

By the time Landor carried her to the bed and set her down amongst a stack of pillows, she felt weak and tired, but in firm control of her emotions.  When she was settled, Ari put a tray over her lap that held broth, tea, scrambled eggs, a bagel, and several tiny dishes holding condiments.  Her stomach growled so loudly at the sight of the food that she blushed.

“Thank you, Ari, this is wonderful,” she said, reaching for the fork and stabbing a chunk of egg.  She put it in her mouth and chewed.  It was the most delicious thing she’d ever tasted.

“I remembered a few things,” she said, stabbing another bite of egg.  She paused before putting it in her mouth.  “You guys aren’t eating?”

“We already ate,” Landor said.  “You go ahead.”  She nodded and took another bite.

“What did you remember?” Con asked.

“I have to leave here as soon as possible,” she said.  “I have to go to that place I wrote on the shift, and I have to get there in eight days.” 

“Buhell III C,” Con said. 

“Yes, that’s it,” she said, setting the fork down and reaching for the tea.  “Did you find it?”

“I did,” he replied.  “I also found out why it sounded familiar to me.  About eighteen years ago a man named Eric Kick stowed away on the Falcoran’s ship, the
Eyrie
.  He attacked and nearly killed Faith Falcoran.  Exhibiting a level of restraint that I can’t even imagine, the Falcorans didn’t kill him.  Instead, they stranded him alone on Buhell-III C, which is a small moon with no sentient life, but a large number of dangerous animals.”

“I remember reading about that, now that you mention it,” Landor said.  “It’s on the other side of Known Space, isn’t it?  Near Onddo?”

“Yes, that’s right,” Con replied. 

“Oh no,” Rayne whispered, her face draining of all color.

“What is it?” Landor asked.

“Unless I’m mistaken, we’re about three weeks away from the jump point that would take us to Onddo.  It’ll be impossible to reach Buhell in eight days.”

“Not any more,” Con assured her quickly.  “Arima Faith found a new jump point from here to Earth right after they arrived for the wedding.  From Earth it will take four more jumps to reach Onddo, and from there to Buhell is just a couple of days.” 

“So, it’s possible to get there in eight days?” 

“Yes, easily,” Con assured her.  “Six days should do it.  Maybe five if we don’t get hung up waiting in jump lines.”

“The clock is already ticking,” Landor said.  “We’ll have to leave as soon as possible.”

“
We
?” she asked in surprise.

“Yes,
we
,” Landor replied.  “We’ll take you wherever you need to go, and help you with whatever you need to do.”

Rayne frowned, wondering why the very suggestion made her feel anxious and tense.  “That’s very kind of you, and I appreciate the offer, but my parents will help me with whatever comes next.”