Dashing Devil Omnibus 1: Books 1-3, page 127
While only the tops of his wings, his feet, and his lower legs had been badly burned, heat had still scorched the rest of him. It didn’t matter that his skin from his elbows and knees down transitioned to a deep scarlet, Boyd was sure that all of him was currently as red as a lobster. Everywhere that was not severely burned still had painful first-degree burns. He was likely dehydrated on top of everything else.
“We did what we could, I was the only one who delayed things.” Silvie took his cheeks in gentle fingers. The coolness of her fingers felt nice.
Boyd thought back, finding only the second he’d stopped to reassure Mindy as a potentially wasteful moment. Given how close things had been as they had come in, it might have been enough.
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Mindy scoffed into his mind. ‘That moment mattered to me, and it likely stopped me from trying to interfere. I could have locked down the base, too, you know. I read the manual.’ The last thought came with the mental equivalent of a haughty sniff attached to it.
Out loud, she said, “You saved a life, so be proud. Silas would consider his death an honor, especially since he gave it to save Sinoe. He met a hero's end. Don’t cheapen his sacrifice by taking the blame for his death upon yourself.”
Boyd straightened his shoulders from the slight slump they had dropped into and sent Mindy his thanks. Silvie’s slightly concerned gentle smile bloomed into a more honest grin. “Thanks Mindy!” She chirped, “Having someone who can do what you do for us is so nice. Ready to face the others?”
Boyd smiled back at her but asked his own question instead of answering hers, “Am I in a lot of trouble?”
“Hard to judge, but less than you might think, at least that’s how it seemed to me,” Silvie said with a little shrug. “You did save a life.”
“I couldn’t have done it without you, so take some of the credit.” Boyd grinned back, relieved that his team seemed to understand.
“I will not.” Silvie shook her head, causing her silver hair to swish around her shoulders. “I wouldn’t have done it if you hadn’t pretty much made me. I don’t know how you stayed so calm. There is no way I could have done it without you feeding me your confidence like you have been. Speaking of which, it is nice… but could you please stop? It’s not quite distracting, but I don’t think I should stay like this.”
Boyd blinked and checked to confirm that the flow of his confidence was still going to Silvie. He tapered it off, then transitioned it back to a drip of affection for his silver haired lover. “Better?” he asked.
“Yes… but no,” Silvie sighed. “Feeling so confident was really nice, but false confidence leads to trouble. I still can’t help but feel guilty for some of the things I manipulated you into doing because Mindy reinforced my confidence before I volunteered for your testing—when this double agent stuff all started. Anyway, I think keeping the others waiting will only make them more upset. Are you ready?”
Boyd nodded, not too concerned as Silvie tapped on her FDU and the elevator made its artificial whooshing sound to allude to movement. The doors opened a moment later to reveal an angry looking Laura. Foot tapping, hipped cocked to the side, and arms crossed over her chest, her long fingers tapped her opposite arm as she leveled a glare right at Boyd.
“But I was careful!” Boyd blurted out.
Laura’s glare narrowed further, and she marched right into the elevator. She tapped the FDU on her wrist and the doors closed, opening again a moment later to a well-appointed medical clinic. Tinker was there and watched him with an upset frown.
“Bed, now, on your stomach,” Laura stated in a tone that brooked no argument while pointing him at a Boyd sized medical bed. There was a head support on the end near the wall with a hole for his face that he laid in.
He heard Tinker let out a little gasp that became a sob. “His feet and ankles!”
Laura made a tsk sound as she clicked her tongue. When she spoke, her tone was still professional but contained an edge of stress. “That’s why I needed you here. The… what do you call these?” She pointed at Boyd’s greaves. “Never mind, this bottom part of his armor melted and looks to have fused to his flesh. I need to know what cuts it.”
Boyd felt gentle hands carefully lift one foot to expose his lower shin and ankle.
“How in the world were you walking on these? You should be unconscious from the damage to your wings alone. I’ve seen the model of your nervous system; you should be in agony and going into shock.”
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about Boyd going into shock,” Silvie said to reassure the nurse. “I’ve seen him hurt a lot worse than this and it doesn’t happen. It was one of the reasons the other kids were so scared of him. He’d have broken limbs, be all cut up and covered in his own blood, or badly burned like this, but he would just keep coming at you.”
Tsk. “This is exactly the behavior that I was warning you about,” Laura scolded Boyd. “Just because you don’t feel pain doesn’t mean you aren't making your injuries worse.”
“It isn’t that he doesn’t feel pain,” Mindy’s voice entered the conversation, “it’s that he uses his Power on himself to lock it away—which he needs to stop doing, immediately.”
“Why would I stop now?” Boyd rumbled.
“It is fine, when you have a place to put it, but keeping it locked up like that causes it to build and build. Then it overflows. Your other self has been protecting you from the consequences, but it is like torture to him. He is experiencing all that built up pain, now… Which means that you are experiencing it. I’m taking the option away. You will either stop using your Power to lock away the pain, or I will make you start sending it to me.”
He felt her hand settle carefully onto his back. “Mindy, let’s talk about this,” Boyd tried.
“Five,” Mindy stated.
“Now just hold on a minute…” Boyd tried again.
“Four.”
“I’m not a child,” Boyd scoffed.
“Three.” Mindy added a tone of warning, making the number sound more threatening than should have been possible.
“Shit, fine.” Boyd ceased the minor effort of will his training had forged into an automatic response to block out pain.
He failed to restrain a groan that forced its way out of him as pain filled his senses. The worst of the burns lacked any sensation, the nerves mercifully having been burned away. Regrowing those would itch terribly, he knew, but for now he welcomed the few places that felt cold.
Most of him burned and stung, even the parts of him that had been relatively protected had the equivalent of a severe sunburn from the short burst of radiant heat. The stinging was worse near the edges of the cold parts, creating a sharp and disorienting contrast. It felt like he was still burning.
“Are you happy now?” Boyd snapped, but the words came out more like “Arr yoo haappy nuuw?” His speech was slightly slurred.
“Uh, Darling?” Silvie asked, her concern clear in her voice.
The pain was too much of a distraction for him to pin down what she was feeling across their Bond, so Boyd simply asked, “Yesh, my loove?” but again the words slurred.
“What’s wrong with him?” Silvie asked, her tone filling with panic.
“Jus a lil ired, nuthin to warry ‘bout,” Boyd tried to reassure his panicking lover.
“Laura, what’s happening?” Silvie pressed.
“Heart rate and respiration elevated. Slurred speech and fatigue,” Laura stated with much more confidence. “Now we have symptoms of shock. This I can deal with. I’m going to put him under until his regenerative healing can take care of the worst of it. I’ve got a couple things that help with burns that might accelerate things after we get this suit off him.”
“Alright, well, hurry! Put him under!” Silvie insisted.
“I’ve already administered general anesthesia; he is on his way out. Night, night Boyd.” Laura said this last with a bit of warmness.
It was the last thing Boyd heard as the light reflecting from the gray tiles of the clinic’s floor collapsed into a single point before a wave of black swallowed him whole, dragging him down into its deep and comfortable depths.
Chapter 52
Boyd heard, “He will be waking up any time now.” That this was Laura’s voice came to him after an amount of time he couldn’t begin to guess at.
“Huh, that really is handy,” Tinker’s voice replied.
“Not nearly as much as this sonic whatsit you lent me,” Laura replied. “The suit just melted away. I would have had to use a vibro-scalpel to pretty much cut away his skin with it melted to him like that. It reduced the damage and therefore how long it took to heal. Do you think you could make me one? They would love to have something like this in the hospitals.”
“Uh, it has to be calibrated carefully to the material. I could put one together with an interface for the team's suits, but even then, each one is different,” Tinker replied. “Making one for general use like in a hospital wouldn’t be feasible. The risk of a miscalibration causing catastrophic damage would be too high.”
“Like an exploding water bottle,” Boyd giggled, leaving his eyes closed because it felt good. “Best listen to her warning, Laura.”
“I trust her judgment more than yours, repeat patient of mine,” Laura replied. “I’ll take one for the team, then, when you have the time, please, Tinker. I’ll give you all some time with Boyd, but he needs rest.”
Their nurse’s voice became whip sharp. “And no funny business—certainly no laying on him this time. I’ll be back soon to change his bandages.”
Boyd heard receding footsteps before Silvie asked, “Hi Darling, how are you feeling?” His Bond with her felt a little muted, but he sensed concern burning strongly within her.
She didn’t need to worry. “I feel gooood!” He drew out the word, then let out a cackle. Good was a funny word.
“Kuh-he!”
Mindy’s signature little laugh put a bigger smile on his face. “She’s got him on the good stuff.”
“Hi Mindy,” Boyd replied, deciding he should open his eyes because both Silvie and Mindy were very pretty, and the back of his eyelids was kind of boring. He didn’t regret his decision, especially since Tinker was there, too, and she was also very pretty.
Boyd decided he should tell her that. “Heyyyy Tinker… you are very pretty.”
Tinker’s hands paused where they were fidgeting with one of her braids. Her face turned a light pink and her pretty hazel eyes grew a bit wider, which Boyd found delightful. Speaking some more he added, “Your eyes are lovely, and your lips so kissable. I love your little braids, too. So cute.”
Tinker’s cheeks flushed a cherry red and her lips parted in a little gasp. “Oh, my… Um, thank you. You’re very handsome, too.”
“Oh, gooood,” Boyd chuckled. “I was a little worried I would need to wear a Vader mask with how everyone was acting.”
“No,” Tinker shook her head. “You mostly looked badly sunburned, outside of the really bad burns, that is. That’s all cleared up, though.”
Boyd grinned and turned to a still very concerned Silvie. “I feel gooood, loverrrr.”
“I know.” Silvie pouted cutely. “It just shook me a little. I’ve seen you hurt plenty of times, but this was the first time I’ve seen you act like you were hurt. It just reminded me that you’re mortal, and I can lose you… that I almost lost you to that damn dragon. If I was just a little slower with one of those dodges…” Her voice trailed off.
He blinked up at her owlishly. “But you weren’t,” Boyd said, “because you are my Silvie, the most glorious badass on the planet. I knew you could do it—that you would do it. The possibility of failure never came into my mind. Yeah, I got hurt… but like you said, that happens. This is nothing. Kiss me.” He held his arms open towards his constantly floating lover.
Silvie came into his arms and carefully kissed him, somehow imparting a fierce passion while being as gentle as if he were a newborn kitten or some other fragile creature. It was nice, in an unusual way. Eventually she broke the kiss and floated back, a weary calm settled on their Bond.
“I love you,” She whispered as they parted.
“I love you, too.” He smiled at her before turning to the smaller women at the side of his bed.
“Tink, would you like a hug or a kiss?” he asked.
Across their Bond he sensed she was feeling very shy after his prodding, and he didn’t want to push too hard. “Just a peck would be fine,” he clarified. He smiled reassuringly as he felt her mind swirl, considering the options.
“A hug and a peck,” she said, nodding. His clarification had made the choice much easier. She’d likely been concerned that he’d want a kiss like what he’d exchanged with Silvie. Although he sensed she wanted to give him one, she was not ready to do so in front of an audience. Their date made him think she might have taken more if they’d been alone.
Tinker climbed up onto the bed and gave him a careful hug and a quick peck on the lips before scrambling away and hopping back to the ground. “Um, I have work to do in my lab. Could someone please keep me updated?” she asked.
He could tell she was only partially retreating out of embarrassment. She really did have something she wanted to get to work on with some urgency.
“Of course, dear. Laura said he needs about eight more hours before he’ll be mostly healed, and she wants him to sleep through most of them. I’ll contact you if anything changes though.” Mindy said with warmth, also aware of Tinker’s slightly flustered state.
“Thanks!” Tinker chirped before fleeing the room.
‘You little shit.’ Mindy said in his mind. ‘You hid from me that you’ve had her secretly working on dragon slaying weapons? Now that she’s put together what they are for, you’ve got her all excited that her boyfriend is going to be a Dragon Slayer.’
Boyd grinned at Mindy, knowing that it would be read as devilish and doing nothing to change it. His encounter with the Last Dragon only left him more certain than ever that he could kill the beast, if he had the time to prepare properly. Now that he’d seen how it fought, beating it almost seemed a foregone conclusion.
Maybe it was the drugs, but Boyd felt it might almost be easy to kill the immortal and indestructible threat to humanity. It may have been both an immovable object and an unstoppable force to everyone else, but not to him.
‘Give me one reason not to tell Davis… or worse, Silvie… what you plan to do.’ Mindy scowled at him.
He sensed that Silvie had picked up on the fact they were having a private mental conversation and was a little jealous but was dealing with it. He would make sure to dote on her soon; make sure she knew she was special.
For Mindy’s benefit, he thought about the fact that he was just completing the mission she gave him. What better way to catapult The Devoted onto the world stage than killing the Last Dragon? Especially so shortly after killing Omega Ray.
Besides, if that wasn’t enough, it wouldn’t be his privacy she was violating. Poor little Tinker would be devastated to discover she had betrayed a secret Boyd had managed to keep from Mindy.
Her scowl deepened. ‘You are such a little shit.’
Boyd just grinned back at her, sitting up a little straighter and opening his arms to beckon her for a hug. Him and his other self were aligned in fulfilling a desire that had been building within them both. Resisting it was becoming more difficult by the day, especially with the training sessions, and he would do so no longer.
Mindy scowled at him for another moment but sensed only affection and the desire for an embrace in his thoughts. Eventually her scowl faded into pursed lips, then into a slight smirk. She didn’t want to fight with him any more than he wanted to fight with her at that moment. If she wished to protest, she could do so later.
She stepped forward and leaned over the bed to come into the hug. She tried to be gentle, but he pulled her in closer, pressing her chest into his.
“Kuh-he, be careFULL!” The last syllable rose as his right hand dropped down to grab her glorious ass. His other self assisted in keeping his intention from his former and soon to be new lover.
Boyd had big hands and filling them was more than a reasonable ask for most women. With Mindy, his cup runneth over. She was wearing tight athletic pants and a loose top. Boyd was lucid enough to sit up and pull her forward. His wisdom was rewarded with a wonderful visual as he ogled her pendulous breasts, along with having his palms filled with splendidly warm softness.
“You are such a little shit,” Mindy said with laugher in her tone. “Okay, okay, you have been patient. We’ll work a little more cuddling and touching into our therapy sessions. Now let go, your burns aren't fully healed, and Laura is not someone I want to mess with.”
A benefit of Boyd’s A-Ranked strength was that even when he was being extra careful—as he was because he realized he was heavily drugged—she wasn’t going anywhere unless he wanted her too. Boyd didn't know what Mindy had to worry about from the courteous and professional nurse, but relented after another squeeze or two, enjoying her softness and warmth.
He settled back into the bed, glancing up to his wings to find them held up and away from his back in a medical rack, the upper portions loosely wrapped in bandages. A blanket covered him from the waist down, but he assumed his feet were similarly treated. He also realized that he couldn’t feel a thing from his wings, although his feet were a little uncomfortable.
“He should eat.” Laura came back into the room with a tray. “I’m sure one of you wouldn’t mind feeding him.” She was being a little short, but Boyd wasn’t sure why.
“Oh, me!” Silvie chirped, blurring to relieve Laur of the tray and then floating more slowly back to Boyd’s bedside.
Laura glanced at him, and her eyes narrowed just a little before she turned and walked past the curtains that were on either side of his bed, blocking much of his view.
“Let’s see,” Silvie muttered, “we’ve got meatloaf, potatoes, steamed vegetables and three fruit cups. Aww, it’s already all cut up and it definitely didn’t come that way. Say ahhhh…”
