Vengeance (22 page)

“I knew I
should have left you behind.” he grunts and rises back to a
seated position.  He scowls as he straightens his shirt then
rubs at his neck.  By tomorrow he should be sporting a fairly
decent bruise.  

“We had a
deal.”

“Yeah, and I’m
just the sort of guy who loves to break those so consider yourself
lucky, Queeny.”

I apply pressure to
my leg, fighting against the nausea that rises up.  I look over
at him.  “Give me your shirt.”

“What?”
 

“Your shirt.
 Give it to me.”

Murmuring under his
breath, Hyde pulls his shirt over his head and tosses it at me.  In
the heat of day he won’t be uncomfortable but come nightfall he
will risk hypothermia.  I grasp his shirt, digging my fingers
into a small hole near the bottom and rip.  The fabric is tough
so it takes several good yanks to get the material to unravel.  

I
bite off the end of the shirt, disgusted by the layer of grime buried
in its fibers and then toss his shirt back.  He watches me
closely as I brush as much of the dirt off as I can and then pull the
torn bit of my pants over to conceal the wound before lassoing the
makeshift tourniquet around my thigh.  

“You’re
pretty good at that,” he muses, tugging his shirt back down
over his head.

“Growing up in
the woods like I did you have to learn a few things.”  I
inhale sharply as I tighten the knot.  My vision wavers and I
close my eyes, taking several long breaths.  

When I finally open
my eyes once more I see Hyde staring at me with obvious interest.  “I
never took you for a hard ass.”

I laugh and brush my
hair back out of my face.  “You never really stopped
badgering long enough to give me a chance, did you?”

“Touché.”
 He uncrosses his legs and pushes up onto all fours, crawling
toward me.  “How are your other wounds?  I thought I
saw some other bits buried under your skin.”

I glance over at
him.  “You been peeking while I was out cold?”

Hyde flushes but
rolls his eyes.  “Don’t flatter yourself, Queeny.  I
may be a bit of a jerk from time to time but I don’t feel up
girls in need.”

“Is that what
I am?  A girl in need?”  His gaze hardens as he sinks
down only a few inches from me.  I watch as he searches my face.
 No doubt it is a mass of bruises and cuts.  “You
can’t stand it, can you?”

“What’s
that?”

“Being saved
by a girl.”

He snorts and tucks
his arms around his knees, drawing them into his chest.  I watch
as a bead of sweat rolls down the side of his face.  “The
way I see it I saved your life too so that means we’re even.  I
say we can just forget this ever happened.”

“And then
what?  You go your way and I go mine?”

“Something
like that,” he mutters.

I pull my leg
around, wincing at the stabbing pain.  I curl my other leg
inward so that I can face him.  “I know you know more than
you are telling me about this place.”

“So what if I
do?”  

I begin to slowly
unwrap the leaf from around my palms.  It was applied with
precision.  Only a soldier or a medic would have managed this
and I don’t get the feeling that he ever volunteered to be a
medic.  Hyde told me before that he worked under Bastien’s
command back on Earth.  He never said what he did after that.

“You were
among Bastien’s elite soldiers, weren’t you?”

“There were a
lot of us back then, but yeah.  I was.”  His
expression turns sour.  

“Seems you’ve
got quite a chip on your shoulder when it comes to him.”

He turns his head to
look at me.  “What’s your point?”

“My point is
that I doubt many people would blame you for selling him out.”

“What
are you talking about?”  His jaw clenches and his
expression darkens.  “Is that what you think happened back
there?  That I somehow gave Bastien up to save my own skin?”

“Didn’t
you?” I ask softly.

“No.  No
way!  I may be a lot of things but I’m no snitch.”
 He pounds on his chest in anger.  “My sister loves
him.  It would break her heart if I did that.”

I nod, knowing all
too well the emotion I felt when I heard Hyde talking about him.  “So
why did you do it?”

“Do what?”
He spits back.

“Why did you
lead those men to Bastien?”

Hyde’s brow
furrows.  He cocks his head to the side, appearing confused.  “I
think you hit your head a bit too hard, Queeny.  I don’t
have a clue what you’re talking about.”

Dread begins to worm
its way into my stomach.  I wrap my arm around myself.  “You
mean...you didn’t tell them where Bastien was?  They
didn’t take him?”

Hyde blinks several
times.  “Nah. I never saw him after Drach came and took
you away from our group.  My job was to take those guys to
Drach.  They knew he had bought you.”

“Oh god,”
I double over, clutching my stomach as it roils dangerously.  “He
was still in there!”

A hand falls on my
shoulder, gently pressing me back.  Hyde ducks his head to look
at me.  “Are you saying Bastien was in there with you?”

I
nod, unable to speak.  
He
was trapped in that room.  No one would have let him out.
 Especially not when the battle broke out.  Oh god!
 Bastien!

Tears slip down my
eyes as I desperately try not to think about his fate.  I try to
tell myself that Bastien is resourceful. He would have found a way,
even if that meant beating against the wall until one of those men
discovered him.  Being taken prisoner was a far better outcome
than burning alive, but would he have done that?  Would he have
risked his only chance of being near me, protecting me just to save
his own skin?

“All my
fault,” I whisper, over and over again as I collapse against
Hyde. He struggles to hold me upright as my eyes roll back and I pass
out, unable to deal with the what ifs surrounding Bastien’s
survival.

The sounds of raised
voices fills my mind, calling me back from the peaceful darkness that
cocoons me.  I don’t want to wake.  Consciousness
brings only the reminder of pain.

“How could you
bring her here, Hyde?” A masculine voice growls somewhere near
my feet.  “You know the rules better than anyone.”

“Lay off,
Donan.  She was in shock.  What was I supposed to do with
her?”  I easily recognize Hyde’s voice.

“Leave her,”
a girl answers from somewhere to my right.  I force myself not
to move, to keep my breathing slow and steady.  

“Oh, that’s
cold, even for you Natasha.”

I hear shoes shuffle
across the floor and catch the scent of some sort of flower.  I
can’t place it but it seems familiar to me.  “Bringing
her here was a bad idea.  When the Duturi figure out we have her
it will be our heads on the line.”

“That’s
enough,” the gruff male cuts in.  I assume this to be the
man Hyde called Donan.  I hear him sigh.  The best I can
tell the trio is stood at the end of my cot.  I allow my eyes to
open to narrow slits and realize that the room around me is dark, lit
only by a small lantern.  “What’s done is done.  We
will just have to deal with the consequences as they come.”

Hyde stands with his
arms crossed over his chest. His stance is rigid.  The man
beside him appears to be a few years his senior.  His beard is
neatly trimmed, his pale skin clean.  Vivid sea green eyes look
between the two people before him.  I carefully glance toward
the girl and my fingers curl against the edge of my bed.  

I recognize her now,
by her scent and her voice.  She is the girl from the D’Hatil
ship that claimed I was the reason for her brother’s death.  I
survey her, wanting to be sure that I don’t miss any details.

Her hair is dark
with a reddish tint to it in the light.  Her cheekbones are
high. Her eyes the color of lilacs.  Her nose is small and
straight.  Her lips pale pink and full.  Now that I can see
her in a tank top I realize that she has a great amount of muscle
definition.

“You’re
a soldier,” I cough, grasping my stomach.  My throat is
parched.  The trio turn to look at me.  Hyde is the only
one who doesn’t seem surprised.

When the girl turns
to view me full on I can see a massive bruise along her left cheek
that had been concealed before.  Scratch marks that look
distinctly like claws mar her pale flesh.  The left side of her
lip is still puffy and I suspect that it had been split not too long
ago.  

I lower my gaze,
remembering her screams as the Roamers carried her and Callisto from
the room.  “Natasha, don’t,” the older man
warns but she shoves him aside and approaches.

Her gaze is fierce,
filled with hatred.  “I did what I had to do to survive.”

“So now you're
what...some sort of mercenary?”  

“Hardly.”
 She rolls her eyes.  She opens her mouth to speak again
but a hand falls heavily on her shoulder, squeezing hard enough to
silence her.  

“I apologize
for Natasha.  She isn’t too fond of strangers.”

I smile up at Donan.
 “There’s no need to sugarcoat things.  I think
we are all clear on exactly how she feels about me.”

Natasha lunges
forward but Donan doesn’t relent.  “I think it would
be best if you return to your post.  I need you to keep an eye
on the perimeter.”

She turns to glare
up at him.  “Handal is just as capable as I am.”

Donan dips his head,
leaning in close to speak into her ear.  “It is not a
suggestion.”

Natasha bristles.
 She throws a livid glare in my direction before turning and
stomping out of the room.  There is no door for her to slam;
otherwise, I’m sure she would have used enough force to rock
the walls.

Hyde blows out a
breath.  “Making friends everywhere you go.”

I
grimace and look back to Donan.  Grasping the edge of my cot, I
attempt to rise, but he rushes forward and pushes me back.  His
touch is gentle but firm.  “You are in no condition to
rise yet.  Let the medicine do its job.”

“What
medicine?  Where am I?  Who are you people?”

Hyde steps forward
and claps Donan on the shoulder.  “Told you she talks too
much.”

I roll my eyes,
annoyed with Hyde’s smug smile.  Donan motions for him to
leave and for a split second insanity drives me to almost call him
back.  Not because I need him and certainly not because I want
him, but Hyde is my only remaining connection with Bastien.  I
need to make sure he doesn’t go too far.

When Hyde disappears
around the rock wall that serves as the entry and exit to this room,
Donan loops his fingers under the edge of a small wooden crate and
brings it next to my bed.  I roll my head to the side to look at
him.

I’d like to
say that he has a kind face but I think that would be stretching it.
 There are lines carved into his forehead that make me wonder
what stress he is under.  Bags hang heavy beneath his eyes.  He
looks exhausted.

“We managed to
get all of the metal out of your leg.  Some of the pieces were
buried pretty deep so you will need a few days to heal.”

“I don’t
have a few days,” I grunt and push up.

Donan lays his hand
atop my shoulder and presses me back into the cot.  I grimace at
how easily he can manage this.  I sigh and decide to succumb to
his ministrations for the time being.

“Our scouts
are on the lookout.  If anyone sees Bastien roaming the woods we
will find him.”

I blink back the
tears, remembering my dream from when I was unconscious.  It was
of Bastien and me beside the ocean back on Calisted.  The
lavender waters lapped against our feet as we sat together.  I
can remember the feel of his fingers laced through mine.  The
feel of sand in his hair as I ran my fingers through his dark
strands.  I remember his smell.  It all felt so real, but
even as I awoke I knew that this moment had never happened.  Bastien
never went with me to that beach.  Aloysius would never have
permitted for him to go with us and after Aloysius was dead, Bastien
fled.

“You won’t
find him,” I whisper, swallowing back my tears.  “If
he is alive, he is either taken or hiding.  He won’t be
found unless he wants to be found.”

Donan nods.  “Hyde
said as much.  He has great respect for your man.”

I look at him,
confused.  “He is not my man.”

He
frowns and leans back slightly.  The crate creaks beneath him.
 “I assumed he was.  You kept calling for him.”

I turn away as heat
floods my cheeks.  “He is not mine,” I repeat.

“I see.”
 He dusts his hands on his pants and tilts his head.  “Either
way we are looking.”

“Thank you.”
 I roll my head to look at him.  There is a stoop to his
shoulders, one far too weighted for someone his age.  “Will
you tell me where I am?”

Donan smiles and
raises a hand to pat my arm.  “Soon.  Rest now.
 You’ll be up and moving around in a few days.  Then
we can talk.”

I stare up at the
ceiling unblinking and lost to my thoughts.  Dread sits heavily
in my stomach.  I want to believe that Bastien is still alive.
 No, I need to, but I don’t hold out much hope.  Even
if he had managed to escape his room and two sets of enemies, how
could he have managed to get down from the compound?  For that
matter, how did I?

Hyde has come to
check on me twice since I awoke.  Neither time was he
forthcoming with answers.  He made his presence known, brought
me a cup of water and left again.  Both times I sensed that he
wanted to say something but held back.  

I have far too many
questions to linger here in bed, but each time I try to rise I feel
far too weak to manage it.  I was told earlier by a beautiful
dark haired woman with a sing-song voice that I struggled through the
surgery.  She has been the only one to come and dress my wounds.
 Her skin is pale as a winter’s snow, clear and flawless.
 Her lips are like crushed cherries and her eyes are piercing,
made of shimmering gold.  Though I have only ever seen her in
battle gear, black and masculine, I imagine that she would be simply
stunning in a long gown with her hair drawn up from her shoulders.
 She wears a jewel around her neck.  It is rectangle and
shimmers like sunlight upon water.  Although I’m not sure
why, I have the distinct feeling that we have met before.  In
another time.  In a different place.