Treason, page 10
“And you’re very often right. Too often, if you ask me.” Caya wrinkled her nose at her sister.
Neenja couldn’t fathom that they could speak so lightly and almost flippantly when Zoem’s future, and her well-being, was at stake.
“I don’t think we can do much more than that right now. Why don’t we join the others in the dining area before we return to this topic?” Tylio stood. “After we’ve had our lunch, I want a scanner brought to Zoem’s quarters. I’m not about to risk her life by sending her across town to cube eleven.”
“I’ll take care of that. I’ll take Zoem to her room and stay with her until her nurse gets there. I’ll join you then.” Neenja knew she sounded like she was giving the orders, but Tylio only nodded her consent.
“Very well. Be cautious, Neenja. We owe Zoem to take care of her, but we can’t lose you because we were careless either. Understood?” Tylio raised her voice marginally at the last word.
Suddenly feeling less rigid, Neenja saluted, hand to chin. “Understood, Madam President.” Turning to Zoem, Neenja ignored the hoverchair and simply lifted the frail woman into her arms. It was almost impossible to remember how much she had resented the “babysitting” mission. As it stood right now, she wouldn’t be interested in any other assignment.
“I can walk.” Zoem slurred her words.
Neenja chuckled, relieved that Zoem was initiating conversation. “I know. Humor me.”
Chapter Fourteen
Mama looked like an angel. Papa always said so, and Zoem agreed. With long, straight, reddish-blond hair, LaiMina, who most often dressed in white, moved like a dancer. She smiled often, and her friendliness was her most obvious trademark.
Now, Zoem looked around the dinner table, taking in how the small family unit that was the center of her world all focused on the traditionalist meal father had prepared. Consisting primarily of home-grown vegetables, the simple meal was transformed into a feast by the fragrant spices.
“Eat, Zoem,” her mother said gently and nudged her shoulder. “Look at your siblings. They’re half done already.”
Going rigid, Zoem turned her eyes to the little girl on her left. No, it wasn’t possible. She couldn’t have forgotten. Gasping for air, unable to get enough oxygen, Zoem opened her mouth and screamed.
***
“Zina! Etran!” Zoem sat up so fast in bed, she had to cling to the bedding to not topple over the edge. “Zina! No!” Her heart raced as she tried to capture the image of a little girl with hair like hers, eyes like hers, but younger, and the little boy who looked just like their father. Zoem closed her eyes hard, fearing that if she looked at anything else, it would erase her memory of her siblings.
How could she have forgotten them so completely? Ever since she regained consciousness, she had been able to conjure up images of Mama and a few glimpses of her father, but Zina, and Etran, the baby in their family unit, had been hidden until now.
A gentle knock on the door made Zoem flinch. “Yes?” she called out, worried who might have heard her.
The door opened a few centimeters. “Zoem? It’s Neenja. I heard you call out. Are you all right?”
Slumping back against the pillows, Zoem whimpered. “No.”
“May I come in?” Neenja asked carefully.
“Yes. Please. Light at ten percent.” Zoem pushed up into a sitting position and grabbed one of the pillows to hug it to her.
Neenja came into the room, her steps silent, and Zoem realized the other woman was wearing a sleepshirt, a robe, and soft indoor shoes. Glancing at the chronometer on the side table by the window, Zoem saw it was 0200 in the morning.
“You look very pale. Want to tell me what’s wrong?” Neenja sat down on the foot of Zoem’s bed, folding her hands on her lap.
“I had a nightmare,” Zoem whispered. “It brought on a memory…I can’t believe how I could have forgotten her. Them. All of them, really.”
“Who did you forget? Or the right way to phrase it is, who have you not remembered until now? Your partial amnesia isn’t because of something you did. The Nestrocalder caused it.” Neenja squeezed Zoem’s lower leg softly.
“My sister. I have…or had…a younger sister. She was three or four in the dream, and she looked just like me, only smaller. My little brother was there too. And my parents.”
“This is such a step forward. Try to think of it that way. Now that we know the names of your parents and your siblings, we can search the records for what happened to them.” Sliding closer, Neenja took Zoem gently by the shoulders. “It would probably be good for you to know the facts, no matter what they are.”
“I think they’re dead. I was so stubborn in the beginning of my captivity that the people holding me constantly threatened to kill my family. I was certain they were merely using them as leverage, but I still tried to escape and sabotage their agenda with me.” Zoem hid her face in her hands. “But one day they brought me a long, bloody tress of red hair the same color as mine, but softer. Then I knew. I never tried to run away again. I submitted to their sampling and treatments without protest. No matter how it hurt and how sick it sometimes made me, all I could see was how my parents had lost their children…and I was responsible for one of those losses.”
Neenja wrapped her arms around Zoem and held her tight. “Zoem.” Rocking, Neenja let Zoem cry against her. “There. Just cry for as long as it takes.” Neenja’s voice was filled with emotion.
Zoem had no idea how long she sobbed in Neenja’s arms, only that she couldn’t have let her tears fall with anyone else. Though she was so rigid and seemed so unapproachable, Neenja still was the one who seemed to always be on her side. Even if Neenja had originally seemed reluctant to guard her, Zoem could feel that along the way that attitude had changed.
Pulling back a bit, Zoem wiped at her wet cheeks with the sleeves of her sleep shirt. “Thank you.”
Neenja pushed Zoem’s hair back with gentle hands that were impossibly tender, even though they were callused and strong. “I think you needed a good cry. Some days are just the worst, aren’t they?” Tilting her head, Neenja smiled faintly.
Zoem nodded. “They are.” She picked at a seam on the bedding. “Do you ever have a good cry?” Glancing up at Neenja, Zoem half expected to be brushed off.
“Not in a long time,” Neenja answered quietly. “I think I could have been able to cry if the journey here hadn’t been as hard as it was. Or if arriving here hadn’t been even harder. I came close once, but I’ve gotten very used to pulling myself together. It becomes second nature.”
“When?” Zoem asked. “When did you come close to crying?”
Neenja took Zoem’s left hand. “When they brought you into the hospital and briefed me of the circumstances regarding your rescue.” Raising her chin, Neenja swallowed convulsively. “I had never seen someone so pale or malnourished. The doctors told us you might not make it. And it was nothing short of a miracle that you did. After today, I don’t think I’m alone in having a plausible theory of how you managed to survive.”
“My ability to heal.” Zoem knew instinctively that Neenja was right. “Is Admiral Heigel right? Am I a changer?”
“I wouldn’t rule it out, but you have no malevolent streaks in you. Nothing you have ever said or done has showed aggression whatsoever. Let’s just wait and see what the people who are much smarter than me figure out.”
“Oh, please.” Zoem suddenly found it easy to smile. “You’re smart. Don’t even try.”
“Not at the science stuff. I’m a presidential guardsman, which is hardly more than being a ‘glorified law-enforcement agent’ according to most people.”
“Ha. The presidential guardsmen are the best of the best. Even I know that.” Zoem nudged Neenja. “And you think fast and act accordingly. You saved my life.”
Neenja surprised Zoem by running her index finger along the side of her face. She smoothed Zoem’s hair and looked at her with huge, dark eyes. “That was my privilege.”
Her breath catching in her throat, Zoem leaned into the touch, not quite understanding why, just that she craved the closeness. “Neenja?”
“Shh. It’s all right.” Sounding husky now, Neenja wrapped her arms around Zoem and held her like she had before, when she cried, but this time Zoem felt entirely different. Gone was the attempt at consoling. Instead, a heat, rather than warmth, replaced it.
Tipping her head back, eager to read the expression on Neenja’s face, Zoem saw more of the heat, and it was as if fire had erupted in Neenja’s pupils. “Oh…”
Zoem’s quiet whimper made Neenja flinch. They clung to each other for a few moments more, but then Neenja let go and pulled back. Where her features had seemed ravenous only a second ago, now Neenja appeared stunned and apprehensive.
“I apologize,” Zoem said, grabbing at the bedding with both hands.
“No. Don’t. Don’t apologize.” Standing up, Neenja bent and kissed Zoem’s cheek. “I hope you can sleep again now. Preferably without nightmares. Tomorrow you can decide if you want to share this dream and what you remember with someone other than me. I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want me to, as long as it doesn’t involve national security, and I don’t see how it would.”
Zoem didn’t mind that Neenja did her best to sound matter-of-fact. She was relieved, in a way, that she didn’t bring up the heat in their embrace. Zoem’s cheek still burned where Neenja had kissed her. Why had she? Was it a display of affection or reassurance? Zoem sighed as she made herself comfortable among the pillows again. Neenja remained by the bed until Zoem settled in completely, and then she walked to the door.
“Remember that you have a sensor panel in the headboard, where you can reach my communicator. Please use it.” Hesitating a moment, Neenja said, “I couldn’t bear it if you didn’t.” She slipped out the door and closed it behind her.
Zoem looked up at the ceiling for several moments, Neenja’s words echoing in her mind. Something had shifted, and the difference was palpable. Zoem wasn’t sure when it had happened, or how it would play out, but something had indeed changed between her and the woman who guarded her against everyone else. Even the president would have a tough time reaching Zoem if Neenja thought their leader meant her harm.
Curling up on her side, Zoem hugged one of the pillows, much like Neenja had held her. “Computer, lights at zero percent.” As the room grew dark, Zoem buried her face in the pillow. Just as she began to drift off to sleep again, a thought appeared and made her wide-awake again. Did Neenja perhaps think Zoem could tell the difference between hugs, kisses, and embraces of comfort? Was Neenja not aware how the length of Zoem’s captivity had affected her ability to read and understand social cues? What if she thought it was obvious to Zoem how Neenja regarded the kiss on the cheek and the tight, heated hug?
Her carousel of thoughts sent her into a stressed frenzy, so Zoem made herself breathe slowly—in through the nose, out through half-closed lips. Over and over, like Briar had showed her at one point. Surprised that it helped, Zoem did her best not to think of Neenja at all.
Yet the image of Neenja was the last thing she saw before sleep claimed her.
Chapter Fifteen
The oval table was small enough for the people around it to easily read the expressions on each other’s face. Thea took in the appearance of the others, not wanting to miss a thing. “Let’s hear it. You were all there when Zoem Malderyn self-healed. I want your thoughts on the situation, and yes, I realize we have no proof of anything. I still want you to be candid.” She turned to Caya, who sat on her right. “You start.”
Caya nodded slowly, and her pensive expression was quite opposite that of her normally bubbly nature. “For the first time I can say with certainty that Zoem is a changer. I have no idea why I haven’t been able to sense this fact before.”
“You are rarely mistaken—if ever.” Thea leaned back and crossed her legs under the table. Her back was acting up again, and she knew full well it was the constant pressure and tension of living in uncertainty with so much responsibility.
“True.” Caya smiled warily. “It’s also strange that I’ve been able to read her past earlier, but then things changed, and she blocked me. I wonder if she was even aware of doing it.”
“This woman is clearly more of a criminal mastermind than we could imagine,” one of the three generals present said.
Thea had been reluctant to involve the military on their level, but her hands were tied, as they were the highest-ranking officers within their respective branches.
“General,” Thea said firmly now. “Jumping to conclusions does not benefit us in any way. It is one thing to speculate, but if you come into this discussion with your mind made up and allowing prejudice against either changers, women, or victims of abduction, you cannot remain in your current position.”
“Forgive me, Madam President,” the general said with a sneer. “I can only see that statement as yet another way to discredit anyone with an opinion other than your own.”
“General.” Fleet Admiral Orien Vayand growled from his seat opposite Thea. “Stand down. You are not the subject-matter expert here. It would serve you well to remember that fact.”
“Yes, sir.” The general in question clenched his jaws but didn’t speak any further.
“Continue, please.” Vayand gestured amicably at Thea and Caya.
“Thank you.” It didn’t sit well with Thea to have anyone step in to “rescue” her, but she conceded that the intervention had shut up the fool of a general. If she was lucky, it would set a precedent and let the others of the same inclination know how futile it was to be stupid. She nodded at Caya to go on.
“As I said, we aren’t sure how Zoem managed to block me, and later also my sister. She is a very lovely person, and even if it is in part an interpretation, rather than a reading, I would venture a guess that her blocking us is instinctual. A self-preservation thing.”
“I heard she injured you and your sister.” Vayand rubbed his chin. “That doesn’t sound “lovely.”
“No, it doesn’t, sir, but we haven’t established if the injuries were created by Briar and me, or by Zoem. Or all three of us in synergy.” Caya glanced around the table. “What I can tell you is that, with her awakening gifts, and we’ve only scratched the surface, we may find she has abilities that strengthen our position against the terrorists and the Nestrocalder.”
Korrian and Meija sat to the left of Thea, and now Meija raised her hand. “I have no gifts, but I have an astute sense regarding what people are made of. I agree with Caya. Zoem is frail right now in many ways, but they are mostly physical. When she regains her strength—”
“But there isn’t time for that.” Korrian had interrupted, which rendered her a stern look from her wife. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I know you’re the humanitarian of the two of us, but if the terrorists could get so close to the presidential palace only days ago, then we can be assured they have other, much more intrusive plans. I, for one, am not prepared to sit around and wait until this girl can run a long-distance race.”
“Then what do you suggest we do, Admiral Heigel?” Thea asked.
“I have modified a piece of Darmiya’s brilliant technology and spent the better part of the last four days recalibrating it for the purpose of protecting Caya and Briar against touching Zoem yet still get a connection.”
“So that’s where you were?” Muttering, Meija shook her head. “Glad I’m the last to know.”
“An invention?” Caya leaned against the table to look past Thea and over to Korrian.
“Yes. If you and Briar can get past her defenses, whether deliberate or not, then you can probe her enough to help us come up with a plan.”
“I can see how that might work.” Caya murmured something inaudible in Briar’s ear.
“And how sure are you that nobody will get hurt from using this contraption?” Thea asked, not sure she liked this idea.
“As sure as I can be regarding the theory behind it. I have tested it, and by itself it’s a very simple and reliable piece of equipment.” Korrian suddenly stood, heading for the small table of beverages and fruit. She poured herself some water and gulped it down. Pouring yet another glass, she began to sip from it but then wobbled sideways, hitting the wall with a thud. Starting to slide down, she was almost on the floor before the formerly offending general, who was sitting closest, caught her in his arms. “Sir!” He looked mortified.
“Korrian!” Meija shot out of the chair and rounded the table. Pulling at the general’s arms, she pointed to a couch at the other end of the conference room. “There. Put her there.” Her voice was trembling, and an expression of fear replaced her normally so cheery one.
“Call the medics,” Thea barked and saw Vayand slap his communicator and do so. Thea hurried over to the couch and crouched next to Meija, who was trying to persuade Korrian to wake up.
“Please, sweetie. Please. Look at me.” Meija wasn’t crying, but her hands shook as she caressed Korrian’s face. “Come on now, Admiral. You’ve never backed away from anything. Not since we met. Not once!”
Thea stealthily felt for Korrian’s pulse on her thin wrist. It was there. She was alive, but the pulse was thin and far too rapid. Caya and Briar joined them. Kneeling behind the armrest, they both placed their hands on the top of Korrian’s head, feeling with their fingers among the greying curls.
“She is alive,” Caya whispered, tears flowing freely now. “But she is deeply unconscious. I can detect some echoes, but that’s it. You?” She turned to Briar.
“Echoes, yes. Of some pain. Frustration. And…fear?” Briar looked over at Meija but didn’t say anything.
“Oh, Creator of all things good in this world.” Meija groaned. “This…I know she hasn’t been herself lately, but I chalked it up to her being stressed since we’re facing a damn storm of horrible events if we can’t get to this creature. But this…this is something else. I can feel it.”
