The Vulpirans' Honor: The Soul-Linked Saga (19 page)

Saige started to sit up, but Doc stopped her.  “Just hang on there for a moment,”
he said, taking Honey’s place as she stood up and moved out of the way.  “I’d like
to take a quick look at you now.”

“All right, Doc,” Saige agreed.  “But just so you know, Jareth was here earlier and
said there is no trace of the poison left.”

“Of course there isn’t,” Doc said as he checked Saige’s temperature, blood pressure,
pulse.  “You’re a Jasani.  Why would there be?”

Saige shook her head as he continued to check her vitals.  If he believed what he
was saying, why was he checking her?  But that was Doc.  It was always better to let
him do what he was intent on doing rather than arguing with him.

“I agree with Jareth,” Doc said finally.  “You’re just fine.”

“Thanks, Doc,” Saige said, sitting up on the sofa with a little help from Faron. 
“Now, if you two don’t mind, I’d like a moment to speak with Honey alone.”

“Of course,
amada
,” Faron said, leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead.  “I will not be far,
should you need me.”

“This much, I know,” Saige said, her eyes sparkling at him.  Faron laughed, then left
the room with Doc, leaving Honey and Saige alone. 

“Please, sit,” Saige said, waving toward a chair beside the sofa.  When Honey was
seated, Saige reached up for the glittering heart shaped pendant she wore around her
neck, brushing it lightly with her fingers.

“I don’t want to bore you with long explanations,” Saige said.  “Still, I do have
to give you some explanation, so please bear with me, and don’t hesitate to ask questions
if you want.”

“All right,” Honey said.

“This necklace that I wear allows me to see the true hearts of others,” Saige said. 
“The first thing I want to tell you, is that you have one of the purest hearts I have
seen.  After what you did for us, and our sons, I don’t really need the Heart Sight
to know that, but I wanted to tell you anyway.”

“Thank you, Saige,” Honey said, her cheeks heating.  “I try to be a good person but,
sometimes, I think I’m very selfish.”

“We are all selfish in some ways,” Saige said.  “We want to be happy, we want the
best for those we love.  That is, by definition, selfish, but it is a good kind of
selfish, if such a thing can be said.”

Honey nodded, understanding completely.

“Some of the clans have guardians,” Saige said.  “Clan Lobo has what they call the
Eternal Pack.  The Eternal Pack chose me to wear the Heart Stone, which gives me the
Heart Sight.  It was the Eternal Pack that you sensed the other day, what you called
spirits, helping with the babies.”

“Yes, I remember,” Honey said.  “They helped a great deal.”

“They helped, but it was you who healed them, and drew their injuries onto yourself,”
Saige said.  “Does that always happen to you?”

“No, never,” Honey said.  “It was a shock, but I think it was because the babies had
injuries.  I’ve never come across that before.”

“I don’t know how you stood the pain of it,” Saige said.  “I can only say thank you,
and tell you how grateful I am.  The Eternal Pack is also grateful, and has bestowed
upon you a gift.”

“A gift?” Honey asked in surprise.  “What sort of gift?”

“From now on, should you be called upon to heal an injured fetus, you will not be
required to draw the injury onto yourself,” Saige said. 

“How is it possible for them to do such a thing?” Honey asked, then blushed.  “I’m
sorry, Saige.  First I should say thank you.  That’s a truly generous and amazing
gift.”

“How the Eternal Pack does what they do, I cannot say,” Saige said.  “I only know
that they can.”

“Saige, I don’t know how to thank you, or them, for such a gift,” Honey said.  “I
hope I never have to heal such injuries again, simply because no child should be injured
in such a way before or after they’re born.  But if I do, I admit it will be nice
not to have to draw the injury to myself.”

“You do not need to thank us,” Saige said.  “This is their thanks to you.  Now, I
have something else to tell you if you have a little more time.”

“Of course,” Honey replied.

“A few years ago there was an Alverian Empath Healer named Riata.  She was very gifted,
and highly regarded by all of the Jasani people.  When she passed to the next plane,
she became my Spirit Guide, though I’ve come to understand that she is really the
Spirit Guide for the Jasani, and just speaks through me.”

“Spirit Guide?” Honey asked.  “I’ve never heard that term before.”

“Neither had I,” Saige said.  “Basically, she gives me messages and hints about things
to come that are important to the Jasani in our quest for victory against the Xanti,
and ultimate peace.”

“I see,” Honey said, not sure she did, really.  Saige smiled knowingly.  “I know it’s
difficult to grasp.  But please, bear with me.”

Honey nodded, though she was starting to worry about why Saige was telling her this. 

“Don’t worry,” Saige said, reading the worry on Honey’s face.  “Your secrets are your
own.  Riata is careful about such things, and even if she weren’t, I would never reveal
anything that did not need to be told.  But, as you’ve probably guessed, I do have
a message from Riata for you.”

“Okay,” Honey said nervously.  “What is it?”

“She says that you must tell Michael this exactly,
Time is running out.  The spectrum puzzle must be solved and the knowledge shared
before the fateful path is chosen
.” 

“Puzzle?” Honey asked.  “What puzzle?”

“I’m sorry, Honey,” Saige replied.  “I would tell you if I knew.  In fact, I asked
Riata that same exact question.  She didn’t answer me, which is not surprising.  All
I can tell you is that she gave me that message to give to you for Michael.  Her messages
are always very important, Honey.  Please do not forget to tell him.”

“I won’t, Saige, I promise,” Honey said.  “How urgent is it?  Should I vox him and
tell him, or can it wait till he returns?”

“Returns?” Saige asked.  “Where is he?”

“He went to Berria to examine the Xanti bio-suit there,” Honey replied.  “He’ll be
back tomorrow though.”

“As it’s the middle of the night there now, I think you should wait until he returns,”
Saige said.  “I got the feeling that the message was important, but not urgent.”

“Okay,” Honey said.  “I’ll tell him tomorrow when I see him.  I suppose I should go
now.  I don’t want to keep Doc waiting too long.”

“Please, come back and visit any time,” Saige said, starting to get up.

“Stay there,” Honey said, waving her back.  “I can see myself out.  And please, don’t
hesitate to call me any time if you want me to check on the babies, all right?  Promise
me.”

“I promise, Honey,” Saige said with a relieved smile.  “I confess, I’m a little skittish
now, after what happened.  I might need you to reassure me now and then.”

“That’s perfectly understandable, and I don’t mind in the least,” Honey said.  “You
have three beautiful sons there, and I won’t mind visiting them now and then, either.”

***

As soon as Xi-Kung had made up his mind on how to handle the situation of the captured
Xanti, he set to work.  First, he created a small, but very precise, data bundle. 
He double and triple checked it to be sure it was perfect.  After that, all he had
to do was download the data to the Receiver, which would then transmit it to the Messenger,
and all of his problems would be solved.  Well, the worst of his problems would be
solved.

Unfortunately, in order for his plan to work the Receiver had to be out from under
the protective bubble that the Jasani kept him surrounded with most of the time. 
Only then could he download his data bundle.  After that, the Receiver needed to return
to the vicinity of the Messenger before the data could be transmitted.  Too many things
depended on luck for Xi-Kung’s peace of mind, but he had no alternatives.  He’d struggled
to think of another, more fool-proof solution, but there didn’t seem to be one. 

The worst part was that the clock was ticking down.  He had only a few hours before
he had to order the ship out of Jasani space so that he could contact Xaqana-Ti. 
After months of waiting with nothing to do, he now found himself short on time.  It
was unfair, he thought, over and over as he once more paced restlessly around his
quarters.  He froze for a long moment as he considered lying to her. 

If the Receiver didn’t return to the Messenger in time, why not tell Xaqana-Ti that
the matter was concluded anyway?  Then, after his meeting with her, he could return
and make it happen without a deadline hanging over his head. 

The thought was a good one, and he toyed with it for quite a while as he resumed his
pacing and continued to wait for the Receiver’s signal to show up on his screen. 
But he knew that it was just a thought, a dream, a fantasy.  One could not lie to
one’s Ruling Female.  Not successfully.  She would always know, no matter how skilful
the liar, no matter how tiny the lie.

He sighed, wondering if it would be possible to order his ship to fly into the sun. 
Suicide wasn’t possible for a Xanti.  Only a Ruling Female, or fate itself, could
order the destruction of a life.  It wasn’t possible to trick a Ruling Female either,
but he thought he might be able to fool fate, if he was clever enough about it.

He climbed down the far wall, then approached the vid-terminal again, but of course,
there was no signal light.  He sighed to himself and started to back away when his
eyes fell on the small black transmitter box next to the vid-terminal.  He leaned
forward, studying it closely, knowing something was wrong, but unable to think clearly
with all of the stress and worry he’d been under.  It was much easier to see things
from within the
makina
, and he was just getting ready to go get into it when, suddenly, it hit him.  The
tiny light that should be flashing on the box to indicate it was powered up and working,
was dark. 

Xi-Kung traced the thick black cable that snaked out of the box, across the desk and
up behind the vid-terminal with his eyes.  He froze for a long moment, unable to breathe
as he stared at the cable’s end lying there, in full sight, connected to nothing. 
He forced himself to breathe in, then out, then in again, telling himself over and
over that a tantrum would not help at that moment.  How the cable had come disconnected
he didn’t know, and at the moment, he didn’t care.  He would figure that out later,
and someone would pay for it.  But right now, it didn’t matter. 

He shifted forward, delicately picked up the cable with his two forelegs, and plugged
it into the vid-terminal where it belonged.  Suddenly, a light appeared on his screen,
flashing rhythmically with a soft beeping sound.  Xi-Kung’s entire body shuddered
with relief and he took a moment to enjoy his sudden and unexpected stroke of luck. 
How long the signal had been there, he didn’t care to guess.  Nor did it matter. 
He needed only a few moments to send the data.  He pressed against the cable once,
to be certain it was plugged in tightly.  Then he climbed into his
makina
, and went to work.

Day Six

Honey sat on the Bearens’ back patio with Hope, sipping coffee while they watched
the children play in the early morning sunshine.  Nica had taken to the Bearens’ three
little boys right away, and they to her.  She was amazed at how good Nica was with
them since she’d never been around babies before.  The boys were identical triplets
with the exception of their hair color, which matched the three thin braids that Hope
wore just over her ear.  Harlan, the eldest, had white hair, Mattlan, the middle child,
had red hair, and Weldan, the youngest, had deep, walnut brown hair.  All of them
had large, amber eyes, and their hair was so cute the way it stuck up in little tufts
all over their heads.  They weren’t big enough to walk yet, but they crawled all over
the place and, whenever they got the chance, they pulled themselves up to their feet
using the furniture.  Then they walked as far as they could until there was nothing
else to hold onto, grinning and giggling the whole time.  They were strong, sturdy
boys with bright, cheery personalities and infectious laughter.

“I really appreciate you keeping an eye on Nica for me again today,” Honey said. 
“I know I should have asked before promising Doc I’d come and check his patient.”

“It’s not a problem, Honey,” Hope said.  “I love having her.  She’s a wonderful little
girl, and she’s so good with the boys.  Besides, Tess and Sila do all the hard work. 
My guys refuse to let me do more than sit around and watch.”

Honey laughed.  She’d been around the Bearens enough lately to know that while they
certainly would prefer that Hope do nothing, Hope was not about to obey that directive. 
She was too energetic for that.  She was a hands-on mother if ever there’d been one.

“Since I’m going to be working, I’ll have to make some kind of permanent arrangement
for Nica,” Honey said. 

“You’ve made up your mind then?” Hope asked.