Page 33 of Warrior (The Outlander Book Club… in Space! #2)

“Go,” I hissed.

The small grieving boy disappeared with a blink of my eyes. In his place stood a young man, confident in his actions. George turned, grasping the end of the floating bed.

“We need to get him to the healer quickly.”

"The healer?" The man, apparently some type of medic, frowned at George. "He is gone, little one."

“It is not too late,” George insisted.

"The healer!" Ewok insisted, squirming out of Khaion's arms. His furry feet hit the floor, and seconds later, he stood at George's side.

Khaion hesitated for only a second before stepping to the side of the bed. "The youngling is a Garoot. We will listen to him.”

With those words, the four Vaktaire stepped to the bed, gripping the sides, taking a moment to disengage the gravity field before sprinting away.

Emmy held tight to my hand as we followed.

Prayers ran through my head with every step I made, benedictions to God, Jesus.

.. I asked Gavin to put in a good word for Daicon and tossed an invocation toward Daicon's goddess.

Please let him be okay.

I was vaguely aware of the clang of feet against metal floors and the crisp, white, curving walls as we raced through the ship. We passed other Vaktaire as we ran. Apparently, looking like a pro football player was a genetic trait of this species.

My heart hammed, not because of running. The speed at which my feet slapped against the floor didn’t even register. The organ was too busy trying to handle the rising hope, overshadowing the grief.

Please, please God, let him be okay.

We turned a corner just in time to see the Vaktaire disappearing through sliding gray glass doors. A small creature waited outside. He looked like Botticelli's cherubs except wingless with deep blue skin.

“My goodness!” His words through my translator held a decidedly British accent. "I'm so happy you found one of your friends."

"Orzon," Emmy drew to stop at his side, as the glass doors swooshed closed. I glanced at my friend, slightly frantic at being separated from Daicon.

She flashed me an indulgent smile. "Orzon, this is my friend Daisy."

I gave the tiny alien a curt nod, unable to keep my gaze from the gray glass.

"Orzon, why don't you take the children to the kitchen? I'm sure they would like some of your sweet treats." Emmy suggested.

“We want to stay with Daicon!” A chorus of voices protested.

Emmy stepped nearer to where the children huddled near my side. Her hand went to the quill coif of one, stroking it lovingly.

"I know you do. But Dacon is in the med-bay now, and only a few people can enter.” Her gaze flickered to me, and I relaxed somewhat. Emmy would take me to Daicon, but not the children.

“I want to be with Daicon, kida,” Ewok’s voice trembled.

I knelt at his side, holding his chubby furred face in my hands. "I know you do, sweetie, but the doct… healers need to work on Daicon, and having a lot of people around makes that hard to do.”

I glanced at the other tiny faces turned my way, looking for comfort. "Why don't you all go with Orzon and get some food and rest? That way, you'll be your best when Daicon wakes up."

Ewok’s brown eyes danced warily between me, Emmy, and Orzon. "You promise to come get me if anything happens?"

“How about this,” Emmy knelt as she removed what looked like an oversized IWatch from her wrist and held it toward Ewok. "This is my communicator. You take that, and we can reach you immediately, no matter where you are on the ship."

Ewok took the piece of equipment, wrapping the band around his wrist.

"Come, younglings." Orzon strode down the hallway. “I have just made a batch of what Emmy calls doughnuts. They are very yummy.”

Nineteen sets of eyes looked at me for direction.

"It's okay," I promised, then added. "Doughnuts are very yummy. You'll like them."

One by one, the children turned to follow Orzon, all but Ewok. He leaned close, stepping into my embrace.

“Can George save Daicon?” His whispered words held a thread of optimism.

“I hope so." I hugged him tightly. "I need you to take care of the others for me, okay?"

Ewok gave a jerky nod as he stepped away, turning to follow Orzon and the others. My heart gave a heavy thud as I watched him go, wishing I could lift the sadness that curved his shoulders.

"Are you ready?" Emmy murmured close to my ear. I glanced at her, struck by the concern in her expression.

"I want to be with Daicon," I said firmly, albeit with a worried tone.

Emmy grabbed my hand as she pressed her palm against a small screen mounted by the doorway.

The gray glass whooshed open, and I bit back a gasp.

I’m not sure what I expected, but it wasn’t this.

The room was simple. Six beds sat neatly in a row against the wall.

Two long tables, similar to exam tables in a physician's office, occupied the center of the room. A stainless-steel box reminiscent of the walk-in refrigerator we’d installed in the church kitchen a few years back sat against the far wall.

The only difference was what appeared to be two large TV screens and a gaming console mounted to the side.

The healer.

I hadn’t paid much attention when the cat-aliens shoved me inside. Then, it was all pain and screaming, with little attention paid to the structure itself. Now I noticed every rivet as Daicon's body slowly slid inside.

A series of glyphs and lines appeared on the screens in flashes of yellow and red.

The Vaktaire version of McDreamy—Toovis—someone called him, plotted the information on what looked like a large iPad.

At the same time, George's long, pale blue fingers flew over the console.

Every so often, they glanced at each other, a nod or long drawn-out ' hmmm' causing a fissure of anxiety to cleave my heart.

Please, God, save him.

Khaion left his station by the end of the bed, standing beside Emmy, who held my hand with such fierceness that my knuckles throbbed.

When the characters flashing on the screen turned green in color, George, and Toovis issued a concerted gasp, eyes widening.

Please, God!

“What is it?” I stepped forward, wincing as Emmy’s hand tightened on mine.

Toovis glanced back at us, amazement painted on his handsome face.

“He’s tethered.”

Behind me, Khaion drew a sharp breath.

“What does that mean?” I demanded, steeling myself to hear words that marked the end of my burgeoning hope.

Toovis swallowed hard, as though he didn’t quite believe what he said next. “It means his life force remains in his body, held there by something more powerful than death.”

George turned from the screen, smiling broadly. "It's you, kida."

“Me?”

A low chuckle broke from Khaion’s lips. "When Vaktaire mate, our hearts and those of our mates beat in unison.

It forms a connection that we call a teether—a link between mates that even death cannot break.

When one mate dies, the one remaining either has the strength to call him back, or she follows. "

“Daisy?” Emmy gaped at me.

There was nothing else to say. “I love him.”

Emmy's arms flung around my shoulders. "Oh honey, I get it. Trust me."

The look Khaion gave her sopped with adoration.

“Look kida.”

George’s voice drew me to his side. A line of green light pulsed across the bottom of both screens. Growing thicker and stronger with each beat. It didn’t look quite like the monitors I’d seen on Gray’s Anatomy, but I knew it was Daicon’s heartbeat.

My chest warmed with the knowledge. I laid one hand atop the screen, fingertips caressing the green line, while my other hand settled between my breasts. The pulse of green on the screen matched the hurried beat of my heart.

“You didn’t realize you’d mated?’ Khaion asked.

Mated? My mind flashed over the times we'd made love, my body flooding with warmth. Khaion's eyes narrowed slightly, which made me wonder if the acute sense of smell was common to all Vaktaire. The way Toovis and the other two looked at me, that answer was a hard yes. My whole body flushed.

"I didn't realize… I mean, we were kind of busy trying to escape with twenty children. How would I know?”

“Well, I thought I was having a heart attack,” Emmy snorted, glancing up at Khaion.

The affection between them was so palpable I melted a little. Happiness for my friend surged through my spirit. Her ex-husband was such a turd—if anyone deserved happiness with a hot alien, it was Emmy.

“Nothing like that happened to me.” I rubbed the spot over my heart.

A memory played at the corner of my mind—Daicon and I in the stolen moments before we mounted our escape.

We'd confessed our feelings, and it felt like my heart would explode—I thought from happiness, but maybe it was something more.

“What does it mean to be mated?”

Emmy stepped forward, capturing my hands with her own, tears shimmering in her bright green eyes. “It means you get a second chance at love and happiness.”

Moisture gathered at my lashes, obeying my time-honored tradition of never letting anyone cry alone in my presence.

“All vital signs have returned," Toovis announced, jerking my attention back to the screens. All the weird symbols and letters were now displayed in green. Green for go. Green for good. Green for life.

“He… he’s going to be, okay?”

"George turned, flexing his long fingers. "Yes, kida. It will take a few days in the healer, but he will recover.”

I jumped at George, pulling him into a tight hug. “Thank you, God!”

“My name is George, kida.”

Laughter rippled from my lips. The kind of hilarity that exists when the worst thing imaginable turns into something wonderful.

I heard the tinkle of Emmy's giggle join me.

The Vaktaire and George stared at us as though they pondered getting out the strait jackets.

I guess laughter through tears was a human thing.

"You should get settled." Toovis’ stern voice broke into my happiness buzz. "Daicon will be in the healer for several days."

“I’m not leaving him.”

McVakDreamy glared at me before rolling his eyes.

"What's that about?" I demanded, glancing from the healer to my friend.

Emmy gave a shrug and giggled. “I warned him most earth women are as stubborn as me.”

"She may stay at Daicon's side as she wishes," Khaion said in a tone of authority. "Having his mate near will aid his healing." He flexed an arm, drawing the two men standing at attention by the door, and ordered them to bring in a cot and comfortable chair.

“How about a shower first? And a change of clothes?" Emmy suggested, and at the denial building on my lips, amended. “You won't have to leave the med-bay. There's a bathroom here."

I fingered the coarse fabric of my pants and tunic, stained with dirt and Daicon's blood. "That would be great."

"I will stay by Daicon's side until you return, kida," George promised as Emmy led me to the other end of the room.

The bathroom was surprisingly earth-like.

A glass enclosure held a floor-to-ceiling pipe in the center that emitted a combination of mist, steam, and spray that had me feeling squeaky clean in minutes.

Emmy was gone, but she’d left thick towels and clothes on a counter that ran the length of the wall across from the shower.

The garments were a simple pair of slacks and a shirt, the alien version of scrubs, but in a soft fabric that felt like warm butter against my skin.

I wandered out of the bathroom just as Emmy strode through the door, followed by a man carrying a tray laden with food and drink. She used one of the exam tables as a dining area, setting food over the surface while the soldier at her disposal left and returned with two stools.

Toovis and George joined us just long enough to grab a handful of sustenance, then returned to inventorying the medical equipment. The urge to fuss about George not eating enough waned when I noticed how raptly he listened to the healer explain each instrument.

We settled together, reminiscent of how often we'd sidled up to a table to spend hours noshing and discussing the Outlander books.

Instead of Jamie and Claire, this time, we talked about our time apart.

Emmy told me how Khaion rescued her from the Trogvyk ship, their trip to the space station, and the Aljani moon, not to mention details of their whirlwind romance.

I told her of my time in the mine and how Daicon stole my heart.

Finally, she filled me in on the other warriors sent after Clara, Pearl, Anges, and Willa.

I sipped a glass of fizzy wine that tasted like peaches and blueberries with a hint of honey, nibbling on a charcuterie of delicacies. Orzon was an excellent chef, experimenting with human dishes since meeting Emmy. I nibbled on the alien version of cheese sticks, and they were delicious.

By the time the ship's lights dimmed—a way of denoting day from night, Emmy explained—I felt at peace. Daicon would live, the Vaktaire would find my friends, and the children were safe. Space might not be so awful and strange after all.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you," Emmy blurted, green eyes going wide. "Marilyn Monroe is alive and married to a dude that looks like a lion."