The Secret of Excalibur (29 page)

I concentrate intently on her ripped blood vessels. She's losing far too much blood since she let herself relax. I start weaving them together, hoping the right vessels are going to the right places, but not really knowing.

*Come on, heal together, you know where you go,* I softly coax. *Come on, don't take all day here. How much blood do you have to lose, honey?*

I become aware of people talking and glance up. Ruth and about ten men are in the cavern by the door.

*Ruth. Quiet. I need to concentrate.* I blast out telepathically. She clutches her ears, shaking her head while noisy men are moving excitedly around her. I open up on them all. *Quiet. Stand still and be quiet,* I roar telepathically.

Some men fall to their knees, while Tober and Breckenridge fall back against the wall, holding their heads.

The female alien stirs, moaning. *Whoa, babe. Hold still or you'll shove your ribs into your lungs.*

She relaxes. She almost purrs.

*Okay, you have to help me here, baby, as you did before with your leg. I know you understand me, now I need your help.*

I focus on her ribs again, especially the two lying on her lungs. I concentrate intensely; sweat starting to bead on my forehead. They inch up, back into place and reknit themselves as I'm watching. I sit back on my heels again. I'm sure in the hell not reknitting her ribs. She has to be helping, like I'm channeling my power through her.
Fantastic
.

*Okay, honey, you got it now. Let's do the last one.*

I concentrate, up the rib moves, off her stomach, back into place and reknits. Just like that, impossible, but true. Because she's showing signs of pain, I try to soothe her again. I swear she's purring now.
There. What was that? Warm. An identity thought. The flower.

*I saw that image before, the daisy with the blue center. That's you. You're Daisy, right?* I gently ask her.

She moans. That thought-picture is her all right. She purrs again. This time I know it's a purr. I can feel it, as a cat does when you stroke it, the vibrations coming from her whole body and her mind. She's also projecting warmth, lots of affection, then the flower again.

*Yes. You're Daisy.*

Purr.

As far as I can tell, all her physical damage has been repaired. *Damn, Daisy girl, you lost a lot of blood. Your insides are full of it from internal bleeding. You'll have to show me your circulatory system, and how much blood your body holds.*

I'm telepathically talking with her in words, but they'll convert to pictures or emotions, as needed, for her to understand. Her thoughts rush in front of my mind in feelings and pictures, but mostly designs and symbols.

*Whoa, Daisy, those images mean nothing to me. You need to show me how to help you get stronger.*

No response.

I send her a picture of a transfusion. She instantly sends back a picture of her giving blood to the other aliens, right in this cavern. My impression is the men of their species can't produce enough of their own blood, so the women have to regularly give them transfusions. They share the same blood type. I receive a picture of what, a pint, or a liter?

*I need a reference of some type. What holds that amount of fluid, Daisy?*

I receive pictures of a tube and a tool-belt. I search her tool-belt again.
The flashlight. Yes.
I hold it up.

*Okay, Daisy, how many of these does your body hold?*

Symbols again.

*No, Daisy, not symbols, I need pictures. How many of these, side-by-side?*

I see 6, 8, 12, 21, 36.

*Okay, your body holds thirty-six of these tubes in blood. Now, how much blood do you have left? No, Daisy. Pictures, remember? Side-by-side. Good, girl.*

8, 10, 13.

I study the tube in my hand, calculating. It's about half a pint size. She only has thirteen of these tubes full of blood left out of thirty-six, that means twenty-three units are missing.
Holy Shit. No wonder she's in shock.
About two-thirds of her blood is missing. She'd given a transfusion earlier today, then lost the rest from internal bleeding. If she were a human being, I'm sure she would already be dead.

*Daisy, over by your spaceship there are three bodies of your species. Do you remember them?*

Frantic flight, explosions, ceiling falling in, men in ships being sent to Mother ship, pain, gray eyes, get Shalit?
Whooee. She remembers all right
. I shake my head at the overwhelming amount of information she relayed to me in that split second.

*Daisy, what is Shalt?*

PAIN. Silver pain.

Oh shit, the sword.

Yes, her picture confirms the sword, but surrounding the sword is a fog like entity. Then, the picture disappears, no more pictures. I have to concentrate; I don't want to think about the sword.

*Daisy, your three shipmates are dead. Can their blood still help you now?*

There's a blazing picture of a transfusion.

*They've been dead for several hours. Are you sure the blood will be viable?*

Flowers, several types and colors. Blood flows from one to the other. Several flowers turn brown and wilted, but blood still flows to the Daisy one. Yes. The blood is still usable.

Without looking up, I focus on Ruth, *Ruth, get the three alien bodies and the medics. Set the three bodies up here for a blood transfusion, stat. Don't talk, just MOVE.* I'd been telepathically speaking to Ruth, but I opened up to everyone in the cavern. Pretty soon all I hear is the scuffling noises of people jumping up and getting busy.

As I wait for them to prepare the transfusions, I examine Daisy's body.
An alien female. Amazing
. I look at her bra and lift it, two smallish breasts, nipples half-hard, and reddish hairs around the areola, just as a human breast.

I slide my hand slowly down over her stomach and she shivers and moans. I lift her panties, leaning to peek inside. Curly, reddish pubic hairs and everything else you would see on a human female body. It's difficult for me to believe I'm not eyeballing a human female. Her anatomy is the same, except the lack of nails and the webbing between the fingers and toes.

Unfastening the strap on her helmet, I carefully lift her head to slide it off. Once the helmet is removed, long, bright, reddish hair cascades out. She has a typical looking nose, and her eyes are closed, but appear to be human-shaped. Her mouth looks human, and she has pale-pink, full lips, a slender neck and a heart-shaped face. A woman no man couldn't help turning their heads at, but alien.

I examine her ears. They are tiny, less than half the size of mine and the skin is so thin I can almost see through them. Her ears have a row of tiny indentions along the edges that remind me of seashells I've seen before. I open her mouth, human-looking tongue and teeth. Her mouth is a few inches wider than on a human face, but that could be a character trait specific to her.
Amazing. Here I am sitting with an alien female, and I can hardly tell the difference.

Hearing the transfusion team coming over, I cover her up as much as possible. Six men from Alpha Team are carrying the three bodies, while two of the medics kneel by Daisy.

“Don't touch her,” I order. “Just hold the bodies up so the blood can drain down to her.”

“But, sir,” one of the medics objects, these bodies have been dead for hours now.”

“She says the blood is still viable,” I snap impatiently, “so let's get busy, man.”

“SHE says?” Ruth asks with an arched brow.

“Yes, kid. Her thought processes are faster than ours, but they're clear. Her body is in shock from the blood loss, but aside from that, she's so close to human, I have to remind myself she's not. She's nervous about all of you being too close to her.”

“Arthur, she's an ALIEN,” Ruth reminds me rather loudly.

“I know, Ruth, but right now you're the strange ones to her. Let's save her life first, then we can argue the semantics later.”

I wrap a rubber tube around Daisy's arm, and her mind flashes, NO. I see a picture of her with legs spread open, and a tube running from the inside of her left leg. I loosen the rubber tube and move down to her legs. I gently bring up her left leg and find a red mark on her inner thigh, a few inches below her genital area. I scan her thigh, and yes, there's a large artery located there. I insert the needle and blood spurts, then a medic attaches the tube, and the rest is easy. They hold a body up until the blood stops draining, then switch to another. Daisy breaks out in a sweat, trembling violently.

*Daisy? Are you alright? Are you sure the blood's still usable?* I ask, gently stoking her forehead.

Closing my eyes, I see images showing me some blood isn't as usable as the ripe(?) blood. Her body will still convert it, but her temperature will spike during the process. Suddenly, a violent jerk of her mind. I snap my eyes open.

A medic has a stethoscope to her chest. I violently shove it away, ordering, “Don't touch her. Her subconscious mind is trying to keep her alive. But her conscious self would prefer to die than be captured by us. Leave her alone until she's stronger, or we may lose her altogether.”

Ruth tentatively touches my shoulder, asking in a whisper, “Are you okay, Arthur?”

I meet her frightened eyes and nod. “Yes, kid, I am.”

But I'm not the least bit sure. I'm having a war with myself. One side wants to take Ruth's hand and get as far from here as possible. But my other self is rooted to this spot, totally focused on Daisy. In frustration, I swipe the back of my hand across my sweaty forehead. Looking back down at Daisy, I realize I don't have a choice.
She needs me.

So instead, I try to reassure Ruth. “I'm closely linked to her. Her pain is my pain. It's difficult to explain. She's stronger in her subconscious mind than we are. Her mind's accepting me because I'm trying to help her. What happens when her conscious mind kicks in and takes over?”

“Just be careful, Arthur. You're very pale, shaking and soaked with sweat.” Ruth's biting her lower lip.

“I'm alright, kid. I have to keep her alive. I have to.”

“Yes,” she says with a heavy sigh, ruffling my wet hair. “I know. You'll do it, honey.”

I turn my attention back to Daisy. *How much more blood do you need?*

Pictures, five more, than six. Then the sixth one fades, and the fifth ones growing dimmer.

“Last body, sir,” a medic says. “I doubt we're getting half the blood out. Will it be enough?”

“More than enough, by three,” I reply.

“What, sir?” he asks with a puzzled frown.

“Never mind, just keep going.”

Tober steps to me as we're talking. He kneels next to me and removes his glasses, intently scrutinizing my face. I feel as if I'm under a microscope. He replaces his glasses, saying, “Arthur, what you're doing here is honorable, but I don't know whether it's healthy. She is, after all, alien. Your mental interaction with her could be changing you in ways we know nothing about.”

Ruth snatches him up from his knees. “Leave him alone, Dr. Tober.” Peering down at me, her eyes widen in understanding. “Don't you realize this is why he's here? It's for her, to keep her alive. Haven't you figured it out yet? Why he came to England at all, this whole adventure? It's for her.”

Tober pulls loose from Ruth. “What are you saying, Dr. Burns?”

Her voice raises a few octaves, coming out forcefully. “Think, Dr. Tober. He's been heading this way all along. Unfortunately, we became involved in this mess. Even me,” she cries with a hitch in her voice. “But Arthur never realized the truth of this himself. Look at him. He's infusing her with his life force, and she's accepting it, from him. Do you think we could do that, Doctor? No, we can't. But Arthur can, so leave him alone. He has to save her.” She pushes Tober back a step.

I glance up at Ruth, puzzled.
What's she talking about? I came here of my own free will, didn't I?
Then, I remember the pulling feelings for the past few years, the yearning to come to England.
Is she right? What about Ruth?
I'm so conflicted.

Tears streaming down her face, she gives me a weak, teary smile, then kneels, taking my hand and tenderly kisses it. “Go on, Arthur, you can do it. Save your Lady, bring her back, honey. This is what your journey has been all about. I don't know how I know this, but I do. You two belong together, now save her.” Ruth bursts into loud sobs, then jumps up, bolting from the cavern.

I stare after her with my heart tearing in half.
I never meant to hurt Ruth. I love her.
But I also realize I'm attracted, and attached to Daisy in ways I've never experienced.
For some inexplicable reason, I belong with her
. Gathering all the love I feel for Ruth, I send her a mental parting gift as she flees the cavern. A large piece of me just left with Ruth, and I feel an aching loneliness in my soul. Daisy moans, and I snap my attention back to her.

Daisy's thought-picture of me is Gray Eyes. She's getting stronger and scanning my mind now. That's how she identifies me, Gray Eyes. Her Daisy flower shows up in a bright field, the center blue. Over the flower, Gray Eyes swoops down, until the center is blue and gray. Then, one-by-one, smaller flowers with blue and gray centers pop up around the larger flower.

A loud audible purr emanates from her. The men standing around me hear it, but I feel it. She's showing us having our babies.
This is crazy.
But I'm feeling the tightness in my chest every father feels when first seeing his child, but not knowing why. Suddenly, I have tears in my eyes, and turn away so Tober and the men of Alpha can't see them.

The medic who's still kneeling there, say, “Look, sir. She's crying.”

Glancing back, I see tears flowing from her closed eyes, just as mine. I receive a picture of enough blood.

I pull the needle out, saying, “That's enough, men.”

Purr, purr again. She's reacting to my emotions from a subconscious level. That's unheard of.

The medic again, “Sir, her eyelids are fluttering.”

Slowly, a hair at a time, they open. And reveal the biggest, bluest turquoise eyes ever seen, with tears glittering in them. She's even more breath-taking than before. Her turquoise-blue eyes are so intense it bothers me to look at them. I feel as though I'm falling into a fathomless pool of blue. She blinks several times, then moves her hand to wipe her eyes. She stops, and reaches into the sleeve of her suit.

Several men dive to the side to be out of harm's way, thinking WEAPON.

When her hand comes out, she's pulling a glove off her arm, just as a latex glove, and when it's all the way off, she pulls off the other one. She not only has fingernails, but there's no webbing. A small, silver band is on the little finger of her left hand.

She wipes her eyes, then touches my cheeks where the tears are coursing down. She tenderly wipes them away. After looking into those mesmerizing eyes, I can't move. I don't even know whether I'm breathing. She gently reaches to me with her mind. The picture I see is the white flower, with the blue center, being stomped on by Army boots.

A surge of anger rushes through me. I telepathically roar, *NO! Everyone, leave us alone. NOW! MOVE!*

Men scatter, dropping whatever they'd been holding, as if the devil were after them. Maybe he was. Daisy purrs softly, touching my cheek.

Into her mind, as I gaze into those bewitching eyes, I say, *I'm Arthur.*

She already knows. She's been drawing me closer to her for years, long before I thought it was my idea to travel to England. Since my psychic powers developed, she's been calling me to her.

Her thought images flow past for me to view, going very fast. Yes, she's telepathic, but more than that, she's highly empathetic as well. All the females of her species are. Only the females are healers? Doctors? What? They're all of them combined. The men of their species are the technicians, while the women rely on their mental abilities, something the men haven't possessed for a very long time. Somehow, the men lost their mental abilities.

Their race is also explorers, and has been on Earth, for what? A thousand what? Sun circuits? Years? Yes. More than a thousand years, right here in this cavern.

Her–what? Old parents? Grandparents. Yes, her grandparents were in the original group.
My God. Her grandmother was The Lady of the Lake.
The sword was her responsibility. She brought the sword with her when they came here. The Shalit. Her great-great-great grandmother was the one who imprisoned it. Thousands of Shalits have been imprisoned, and each has been imprisoned by Daisy's ancestors. These women are responsible for keeping the Shalits contained. They are the evil terrors of the Universe. If even one Shalit escapes, it would mean the end of the Universe.

The sword was passed to Daisy when her mother–what? Died? No, more like retired. Daisy then became the flower who saved my life earlier. She's the only one who can control the silver power of the Shalit, but only as long as it's kept contained in the sword shape. And the sword was passed down to her what? Thirty orbits ago?
Jesus, Daisy's more than sixty years old.
Her mother gave her the sword when she turned thirty, but Daisy looks like she's only twenty-five.

A submarine. Yes. A sub showed up here, what? Five orbits ago. They captured the crew. They used the sub to what? Monitor? Scan? Watch the lake? All of the above. Then, another sub showed up, and another. They imprisoned the crews, taking care of them. They didn't want to harm anyone, but they had to keep watch over the lake.

For many generations, they've been watching, and now, what they've been waiting for is here. Gray Eyes. He will have the power to ensure that the Shalits will never escape, for if they do, the whole Universe will be doomed, as it had been before when the Shalits first showed up. And that's been so many orbits of so many planets ago, that I can't even hazard a guess.

Then, Gray Eyes came into his power. (
Me?)
Their elders told long ago the Shalits could be eliminated forever, but only by a man with mental abilities. Their race travelled to a small, developing planet, because somehow they knew the power would present itself here at this lake. It didn't make any sense to me, but hey, it wasn't my story.

Daisy was the leader here, and when we blew the cavern exits, her people panicked. She ordered all the men to leave, and she and her three–what? Helpers? Aides? Would follow in the last spaceship. The frightened men took off in three spaceships under full power, causing the roof to fall in, which resulted in killing her friends, and leaving Daisy severely injured.

She knew her duty was to stay and wait for Gray Eyes, he would come for her. She'd contacted him many times in the past orbits, but he never realized what it was, or why he was coming to her. She would wait for him, or die if anyone else found her. And if she died, the Shalit would be free.

Holy Mother of God.
The accidental release of that terrible, evil power had been too close.

The pictures of the blue-centered flower and the gray eyes shows in my mind again, together. They're each sitting in chairs, with people standing below them. Thrones. Daisy and I sitting on thrones.

She calls me in to her subconscious and I respond. I'm to what? Take her? Save her? Yes. Use my abilities to save her and get her away. Gray Eyes, swirling power, smaller flowers. Yes. My mental powers are much stronger than anything they can do. They lost most of their powers over the orbits.

Again, the flower and the Gray Eyes over it, they become one, and small flowers pop up all over. Tears start flowing from Daisy's eyes again. An incredibly intense feeling of gentle warmth and affection pervades me.