The Bond That Heals Us (21 page)

two men who were standing there looking down over the bank. Sara gasped when he finally saw what they were staring at.

“Oh my god. Go get one of the other medics. Now!”

Grant was floating face down in the water. Not thinking at all, Sara dumped the med kit on the ground and dove in after him. She managed to flip Grant over and pull him back to the bank.

“Help me pull him up.”

Somewhere from above, two sets of hands pulled Grant’s body from her grasp.

Within a few seconds, another set of arms were extended down to help Sara up. She fell to her knees by his body and yanked his shirt collar open.

“My kit,” she barked out the order without looking at the men. When the strap hit her open hand, she yanked it open and grabbed her scanner. “Didn’t anyone think to pull him out!”

No one answered and Sara was too busy to look. When the med scanner didn’t show any life signs, she began CPR and mouth to mouth resuscitation on him. Looking up, she glared at the men who were simply standing there watching.

“Where is my med team? This man is dying.”

“No, he’s dead, Doctor,” Grit said to her, stepping forward.

Sara was about to yell something at him when the words died in her throat. There was something in the man’s eyes that looked dead, like he wasn’t there at all. The flat tone of the med scanner told her Grant hadn’t stood a chance. He was gone and there wasn’t a thing she could do about it. Slowly she turned the device off, keeping her eyes locked on Grit and the too silent group of men standing around her.

“What do you want from me?” Her voice shook as she asked the question.

All the men grinned as Grit took a step forward.

“Time to find out.”

* * * * *

“Okay, try it now, Silas.”

Davin barely managed to pull his head out from under the bulkhead before the power surged through the circuits. The console held on to life for a few minutes before it blinked, sparked and went dead.

“Great,” he muttered.

“Did it work?” Silas shouted from the crawlspace below. When Davin didn’t answer him right away, he poked his head up from the floor. “Well?”

“It’s blown. We’ll have to get a replacement.” Davin tossed aside the welding gun and burned-out drive crystal and sat down on the floor with a thud.
Great fucking day.

“It will take us a week at least to get a new one. Unless you can do some fancy trading out at the bazaar. Though I doubt they have much in the way of Raqulian 138

engineering parts,” Silas said as he hauled his heavy frame out from the crawlway. “At least you can spend some more time with your doctor friend.”

Davin winced. He doubted Sara wanted anything to do with him. He knew he was a fool for letting her walk away, but he just couldn’t figure out how to make things work between them.

“I’m going to go up front and contact some people. I might be able to get something here sooner.”

“There a problem, Captain?” Silas reached out and grabbed Davin’s arm. “I thought you’d be all over wanting to spend some more time with Sara. She’s a sweet thing.”

“I’ll be up front.” Davin pulled his arm away and moved through the door.

He knew Silas was following him but refused to look around. The last thing he needed was the human’s advice.

“You bastard. You’re just going to walk away from her, aren’t you?”

“I don’t see how this is any of your concern.”

Davin stepped over a large cord of cables that were lying in the middle of the corridor. They were coming out of his bedroom and he saw his unmade bed as he passed. He remembered Sara’s naked body splayed out on it, his face buried between her legs, licking her sweet pussy, and it made him grind his teeth.

“The mood of my captain is most certainly my concern. The last time you got pissed, we spent a year and a half on the rim. Damn near fucking killed us.”

Silas had chased him all the way to the drive pit. The door had been repaired since the crash and now slid open easily when Davin hit the sensor. He was about to walk in and shut the door on Silas’ face when the other man grabbed his arm.

“How long have we known each other?” Silas kept his gaze fixed on Davin.

“Nine years.”

“Have I ever once disagreed with any decision you’ve ever made?”

“You did punch me when we crashed—”

“That’s because you trashed my ship doing something stupid. Now answer my fucking question.”

Davin sighed. “No, you haven’t.”

“Then it’s a first. You’re a fucking fool if you walk away from her. You’ve been different since we landed here. Happy, if I had to guess.” Silas dropped his arm and took a step back. “Don’t be an ass and go find her. Life is meaningless if you can’t share it.”

Silas turned and walked away. Davin stared after him only for a second before closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the doorframe. Maybe he was being an ass. But he didn’t want to hurt Sara either and he wasn’t sure he could give her what she deserved. A partner who would be there no matter what.

“Did I come at a bad time?”

139

Davin opened his eyes to see Kamran standing there. Davin couldn’t help but stare at the man. He’d never seen someone so comfortable in their own skin before. He looked relaxed, in control and something that Davin hadn’t really picked up on before now. Kamran was a very happy man.

“How could you do it?” The question left Davin’s lips before he had time to think about it.

Kamran raised a single eyebrow. “Do what specifically?”

“You were a powerful ambassador for your people. Or so I’ve heard since I’ve been here. And you gave that all up. For a woman.”

A very slight smile played on Kamran’s lips. He came into the ship and sat down on the edge of a desk. “As an ambassador, I had to learn to weigh all aspects of a dilemma. Looked at what each party brought forward and was forced to evaluate the importance. Many times I had to choose between impossible options.”

Davin didn’t move. He waited as Kamran tipped his head to the side, reached up and touched his neck. The gesture was so intimate and unconscious, Davin wasn’t even sure if Kamran realized he’d done it. When Kamran returned his gaze to Davin’s he could see the change in the other man.

“You asked how I could do it? I’m not as familiar with your people as I’d like to be, but on Briel, being with your mate is the most important thing. They complete us in a way nothing else could. If I was told I had to choose between this colony and Haylie, I wouldn’t hesitate. She’s my life.”

The words struck Davin deep inside. To be that committed to another person, to be willing to give up everything to be with them, was hard to accept. But in another way it made sense. Silas had been right about one thing—he had been happy since crashing on this planet.

“The people in my cast, the healers, our relationships can be all consuming. We can connect to others on a physiological level. Use their body’s energy to heal.” Davin took a deep breath and looked away from Kamran. He’d never said these words out loud before. “There are some who can use that energy to heal a person’s mind as well as their body.”

When he looked back at Kamran, he didn’t see the censure he’d expected. Instead, the administrator looked curious. “This is a rare ability?”

“Those who have it are marked. Their skills are in great demand and they are usually taken from their homes to work in
daaten
, special hospitals.”

“It sounds like you are very familiar with these
daaten
.”

A long-buried ache stretched across his chest, and Davin had to fight past the emotions. “My mother had this
gift
. It was one of the reasons my father mated with her.

He pushed her to use those skills to help others. He was a healer there and he wanted to save everyone. What he didn’t realize was that he was killing his wife.”

140

Davin remember the last time he’d seen his mother alive. She’d been only a shell of a woman then. Her frail body refused to accept any of the healing energy he’d tried to push into her. She’d given up. Too many horrific images were seared into her mind, tormenting her.

“And you’re scared Sara would do the same thing to you, knowing you could help others?”

Davin’s head snapped up when Kamran chuckled. “This isn’t funny, Briel.”

“How many human women have you dealt with in the past?” he asked, still chuckling.

“I have two humans on my crew. They’re all the—”

“Human
women
?”

Davin ground his teeth for a moment. “None.”

“Then you need to learn one thing. They will surprise you every day with the things they are willing to do to protect the ones they love. If Sara knew how you felt about this, she wouldn’t put you into a position where it would cause you harm. She’s very much like my wife that way.”

And Davin knew he was right. She’d never once asked him to help save another, even knowing he could. It would be no different with his other ability. Being away from his father, he’d have the control over his skills, to use them as he saw fit. He’d been running from who he was since his mother’s death. Maybe it was time he stopped running.

He looked down at his hands and saw the black gloves that covered his hands and wrists. Slowly, he pulled them off and tossed them aside. The black tattoos that covered the skin over his hands, curled down over his fingers. So few of his people had this skill, it had seemed a curse to him. But maybe with someone like Sara, he could do some good without losing what it meant to be him.

“It seems like you’ve reached a decision,” Kamran said and stood. At his full height, the Briel’s head almost reached the ceiling in the low corridor. “If you are up to it, Doctor Fergus could use your assistance.”

After their little talk, Davin guessed helping her had nothing to do with healing patients. The warrior in him reared up, protective instincts kicking in. “What’s wrong?”

“One of my staff, Grant, is infected with the parasites but isn’t showing any symptoms. She asked for a security detail to help bring him back.”

Davin pushed away from the wall and stepped past Kamran. “I’ll go.”

“The rest of the team is suiting up. Taber and Sean will be going with you.”

Davin nodded and jumped out of the ship. If Sara needed him, then he’d go to her.

And with any luck she’d be happy to see him.

141

Davin, Sean and Taber stepped out of the second crawler once it pulled up behind the rest of the security detail. Unlike the last time he was here, there were no guards posted at the door. In fact, there was very little activity at all.

“I don’t like this,” Taber said, removing his blaster from his holster as he tossed the EV helmet aside.

“There should be at least an engineering crew here this time of day,” Sean said, tossing his helmet to join Taber’s. “You don’t think Grant would have done anything to prevent normal operations? The miners couldn’t stand him for good reason.”

“Maybe
they
did something to Grant,” Davin said, yanking his blaster and a knife from his belt. “Let’s find Sara and the other medics.”

“Rachael said there were three of them plus Sara. Let’s stay together. I don’t want them to take us one by one because we’ve separated.” Taber stepped into the corridor and motioned for the security guards to bring up the rear.

Sean fell into step behind them. “Agreed. We’ll start with the area they set up as a med bay and expand the search from there.”

The three of them led the security detail through practically abandoned corridors, passing only the occasional man. The miners they questioned seemed disoriented, like they didn’t know where they’d been or what they’d been doing. By the time they reached the med area, Davin’s warrior senses were screaming at him that something was wrong. There was no one there and Sara’s med kit was gone.

“What the fuck is going on?” He growled and kicked an empty bed. “Where is everyone?”

Taber came up beside him. “We’ll find her. There must be some sort of emergency for everyone to be gone.”

“The men we talked to didn’t know a fucking thing. I’m surprised they knew they were in the mine.” Davin ran a hand through his hair, pushing it back from his face.

“
Ruian
help them if they’ve done anything to her.”

Turning around, Davin was about to say something to the others when he noticed Sean. His face was pale and his hands were clenching and unclenching by his sides.

“Sean?” he walked over beside his friend. “What’s wrong?”

“This isn’t right,” Sean whispered. “This shouldn’t be happening.”

“What isn’t right?” He placed his gloveless hand on Sean’s shoulder.

142

The second he came in contact, Davin felt the surge of cold push through him. He knew it was coming from Sean’s mind and whatever it was pulled at him, trying to bring Sean into a dark place.

No!
Davin closed his eyes and dove into the black, yelling for Sean. “
Don’t give in to
it. Stay with me!”

“So cold, so dark,”
a frightened whisper echoed around Davin.

“Let’s give them some light then.”

It had been a long time since Davin had attempted to heal another’s mind, but he didn’t hesitate. Sean didn’t have time to waste. Letting his defenses down, Davin let a blast of healing light sweep from him and into Sean’s mind. They both gasped at the force of the mental surge and were left shaking.

The darkness receded for a brief second before pushing forward again. Davin could sense the return of the parasites as well. Not coming from a wound but rather being placed in Sean’s body by a powerful outside source. It was this connection to Sean’s mind that was causing the problems. If he didn’t seal off the hole, there wouldn’t be anything left.

“I’m going to help you, Sean, but you have to trust me.”

“I…I do. So cold. Like before.”

“Before when?”

“Please help me.”

Davin projected himself even further into Sean’s psyche and stood in front of the breech. The cold pounded into him, trying to push past his barriers and infect him as well. Taking a deep breath, Davin lifted his hand and stepped forward. The skin on his arm went numb as he touched the darkness of the hole. Breathing out, he pushed every ounce of his healing abilities out and began to repair the rip in Sean’s mind. When he felt his connection waver, Davin concentrated as hard as he could until one last healing blast poured out of him. All the hate, guilt and doubt that had filled Sean was pushed away, the deep internal wounds stitched up. With a gasp, Davin pulled back, breaking both the physical and mental connection.

When Davin opened his eyes, he was looking at the shocked face of Sean. He could see Sean searching for that darkness, looking for the old anger that had sustained him for so long. Davin reached up and squeezed Sean’s shoulder. It was only then that Davin realized Taber had come up beside them, frowning deeply.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, his deep voice full of concern.

“Someone was trying to take over Sean’s mind.” Davin swallowed hard, a wave of exhaustion hitting him. “I broke the connection and repaired some damage. It looks like it had been there a long time.”

“What?” Taber looked between the two of them.

“It’s the Ecada,” Sean managed, his voice shaky.

“Impossible. We checked the entire planet, including the mine. There weren’t any.”

143

Sean straightened, his jaw muscles twitching. “There’s at least one. And it’s injured.

The pull was very weak but definitely here. It must be using the miners somehow to boost its power. That’s why I felt it now.”

“It’s the Ecada that’s infecting the miners with the parasites. It was trying to take you over again. I managed to kill them off. It’s easier now that I know what they are.”

“If it is the Ecada, then we have a serious problem.” Taber straightened. “Ryans, report back to the administrator. Tell him that we suspect we have an Ecada trapped in the mine and we need reinforcements. Now!”

Having touched that evil, Davin couldn’t wait. He needed to find Sara and get her to safety. He pushed past the other men and jogged down the corridor toward one of the tunnels that led deep into the heart of the mine.

“Davin!” Sean caught up to him. “You can’t take the Ecada on alone. It’s probably controlling the miners.”

He stopped dead in his tracks and spun to face Sean. “I’m not going to fucking sit around while that
thing
has Sara.”

Taber joined them and the three men stared at each other. Davin slapped his open palm against his thigh. “The three of us can do this. We have the element of surprise and we now know what we’re up against.”

“It may not be much of a surprise,” Taber said shaking his head. “It will know you prevented its ability to control Sean.”

“I doubt it recognized who I was. It would have been too busy fighting off my attack to know who or what I am.”

Sean nodded slowly at first but finally with confidence. “It probably got trapped here when they pulled out after the attack. The mine was empty at the time and it could have entered from one of the natural caverns that lead here. If it’s weak, we can kill it and once it’s dead the miners should return to normal.”

They both looked at Taber who, after a few seconds of silent contemplation, simply shrugged. “We best hurry then.”

Sean took the lead and brought them down a narrow path that led to a smelting area. Davin remembered this as being a heavily guarded area the last time he’d been here. He’d been told it was off limits when he’d asked around. Something to do with a problem with the stability of the tunnel. If it really was the Ecada, then it would be the most likely hiding spot for it to be.

They had to jump behind an outcropping of rocks to prevent from being seen when they finally entered the area. It looked like most of the sixty miners from this shift were busy blasting and digging their way through the rock.

“What are they looking for?” Davin whispered to Sean.

“Not sure. There’s no silicate in these rocks. Nothing of value.”

144

“Nothing unless you’re an Ecada,” Taber whispered. Both Sean and Davin turned to look at him. “The minerals in these rocks act as an amplifier for the Ecada’s psychic control. The more of the mineral that’s exposed, the further its reach.”

“Explains why it reached me back at the medical area,” Sean whispered, his fingers flexing on his blaster.

Davin reached out and touched Sean’s arm. “You should be fine now. I broke its connection to you.”

Sean nodded, but Davin could still see the tension in him. Their conversation died down as they watched the miners trudge back and forth between drilling the side of the wall and carrying large rocks to the metal grate that hauled them away for processing.

It took a few minutes, but Davin finally noticed three men emerge from a circular tunnel in the far corner of the cavern. One of them he recognized as Grit, the man who’d led him and Sean to Sara when they’d first arrived at the mine. He’d been very attentive to her the whole time she’d been helping the miners.
Too
attentive.

“I want to check that out,” he said and pointed.

“How do you propose we get there?” Taber asked, looking over the tops of their heads to where Davin indicated.

“Like this.”

Davin stood and grabbed a mining ax as he shuffled toward one of the walls. He paused long enough to blast part of the wall and grab a heavy boulder. He soon felt Sean and Taber come up beside him, doing the same.

“Keep your head down and eyes on the floor. Otherwise it might attract attention,”

Sean muttered under his breath.

It took a few minutes, but they made their way undetected to the far end of the cavern. They had to wait for Grit and the two other men who’d come out of the back to move away, leaving the entrance unprotected.

“Now,” Davin hissed and moved before the others reacted.

He went through the entrance and broke into a run. He made his way down the twisting pathway until a buzzing in his mind grew so loud it sent his body staggering.

He lurched to a stop as pain lanced through his body.

“Davin!” Sean yelled, coming to a skidding halt behind him.

When Davin was finally able to push past the numbing feeling and could look up, he saw something that made him shudder. A large beast with a giant jaw filled with teeth lay in a corner in front of them. Its silver scales seemed to glow in the faint light of the cavern, a deep rumbling growl came from its chest.

“By the goddess,” Taber hissed behind them.

“An Ecada, I presume?”

“How very observant of you, Captain.”

145

The trio turned to see Grit holding Sara, who was gagged and staring wide eyed at them. Davin took a step forward, but the Ecada behind them let out a low roar.

Paralyzed, he didn’t know what to do. Fuck, she looked so scared.

“Let her go,” Davin managed to get out.

“No. We need her to keep the men going. We’re almost done.” Grit said in a voice that didn’t sound quite normal. He seemed to be looking through Davin rather than at him.

“Done with what?” Taber asked, taking half a step closer to Davin. His shoulder was pressed against Davin’s back.

“We’re hungry and need to eat. We want to leave.” Grit’s eyes were wide, like he wasn’t aware of what he was saying.

Davin mentally reached out and could feel the thread of control the creature had over the man. It was the same dark thread that had been buried deep in Sean’s mind.

But he couldn’t do a fucking thing about it. He needed to be in contact with the man in order to break the mental control and there wasn’t any way to do that without Sara getting hurt.

“What do you mean
we
?” Taber asked.

Davin was about to take a step forward away from Taber when he pressed something into his hand. Trying not to move, Davin turned it around in his hand until he realized what it was—a sonic grenade. He tightened his grip around the cool metal and tried to gauge which would be the best target.

“We were left behind,” Grit said, his grip on Sara loosening slightly. “We’re hungry, but the food isn’t good. It’s dirty and weak. We need to leave.”

“You’re Ecada?” Sean asked, looking from Grit to the beast behind them.

“Yes,” he spoke as the beast growled.

“Why are you making these men work here?” Davin asked, needing to keep both the man and the beast distracted while he prepared to toss the grenade.

“We need them. They feed us.”

Sean shuddered as he took a step away from the Ecada, his back pressed closer to the rock wall. Davin risked a glace at Taber, who nodded ever so slightly.

“I think there’s been enough eating in here. Let Sara go and we can talk about getting you off this planet.”

“No!” the man shouted a second before the Ecada growled and surged forward several steps. “We need her to heal them! We need them strong so we can leave.”

“Well, you can’t have her.” Davin turned to face the Ecada.

He was about to move when Grit pulled out a small clear vial of a bright green substance. Davin instantly recognized it as stocolran gel. There wasn’t enough of it to kill all life on the planet, but no one in the mines would survive.

“We will kill everything before we let her go,” all three of the miners said in unison.

146

The sudden surge of anger welled up in Davin. He’d seen the aftereffects of what that gel could do to a living creature. Their bodies were distorted and split. The pain a death like that would create was devastating. He couldn’t let that happen to Sara. With a scream, he drove himself forward, the loud buzzing in his head feeling like a thousand needles picking at him.