Viper (Second Wave Book 1) Page 14

  “Is this another hallucination?”

  Viper’s heart contracted painfully at her words. Ratoka was right; she'd started having the flashbacks. No wonder why she’d panicked; he thought sadly.

  “No honey, this is real. I’m so sorry you are hurting so much. Amun will give you something for the pain in a second.” Viper looked up to Amun, wondering why he hadn’t given her something for it already and asked him through the Shengari’.

  “Hey, don’t give me that crap. I’m trying to figure out what to give her since she somehow brought herself out of suspended animation.” Amun said, ignoring the accusing look Viper was giving him.

  Lara looked between the two men, confused over their conversation. It was bizarre, like in the hallway when it seemed like everyone was having a phone conversation, and she was only hearing their side of it.

  She looked up as the strange, robed man walked up to the bed. “I believe I can help.” Ratoka said as he gently took hold of her other hand.

  Lara could feel the change in temperature immediately. The heat of his hand seemed to flow through her cold, trembling body quickly. Her body relaxed completely, her fear and apprehension replaced by a comfortable lethargy. The pain was almost completely gone, and that helped her relax deeper into the warmth flowing through her.

  “That is something I would really like you to teach me.” Amun said to Ratoka, surprised at the scanner readings on his patient after the man had touched her.

  “I can do that when you are ready.” Ratoka said with a small smile he directed at Lara. “You, my child, will rest properly without the visions.”

  Lara just stared at the strange man, not understanding anything going on around her. She was grateful and disappointed when he let go of her hand and moved back to where the cat was waiting beside the larger cat that had come into the hallway earlier. She turned her head back to Viper as the doctor stepped up to the side of the bed.

  “It doesn’t look like she did any damage to the new vertebrae, but there are distinct signs of stress. She has got to stay put, at least for another day. Two or three would be the best option.”

  “We can move her out of MedLab if it would make her more comfortable, but she has to stay flat as much as possible. There is no negotiating it.” Amun looked hard at Lara when he said the last, and she looked away in embarrassment. Her gaze collided with Viper’s, and she felt better when he smiled at her and caressed her face.

  “Take her home.” Ratoka told Viper through the Shengari’. It had been unnecessary. Viper knew where Lara would want to be.

  “We’ll go to our home in Dillon. You will like it there. It is much like your cabin, but a little bigger. It’s a much better place to be if you must stay in one place.” Viper’s gentle smile and comforting hands could have made Lara agree to anything. She nodded dumbly, feeling really tired now that the pain was no longer keeping her alert.

  Viper and everyone else watched quietly as Lara finally succumbed to sleep. Audible sighs could be heard around the room when Amun nodded, confirming she was out.

  “Someone want to explain to me how she pulled herself out of suspended animation?” Amun asked, staring directly at Ratoka.

  Ratoka just smiled and said cryptically, “When you are ready to learn how to comfort the sick without your machines, I will teach you how she did it.”

  Dread could well sympathize with Amun when he started cursing. He had felt the same way about the irritating man a lot in the last few hours, and he had a bad feeling it wasn’t over for he and Viper.

  “All right, let’s get her through the portals to Dillon. I’ll give daily care instructions to you and Dread, but I’ll continue to monitor her scans and come by to check on her.” Amun told Viper as he released the controls on the bed and guided it through the door.

  “I have home now! I have home!” Dog’ee jumped up and down behind the bed as Amun moved it down the hallway.

  Dread was getting ready to protest when Ratoka stopped him. “She needs him. Like Tristan and the conductors, the cats will be able to help her. Dog’ee’s energy is in sync with Lara’s; he was meant to be here for her and any children that she, and Viper may have. He must stay by her side.”

  “Yeah, just talk over me like I’m not here and wondering what the hell, is going on with my patient.” Amun huffed out in exasperation at the secrecy of the other men.

  It only made him that much more determined to get back to his research of Lara’s scans. And Viper’s now too, he thought with a small grin. He’d easily been able to scan Viper while he was next to Lara without his being aware of it.

  “In time, my friend.” Ratoka said, with that smirk on his face that annoyed the hell out of Amun.

  Amun just snorted. He’d probably figure it out himself before they told him anything, he thought as he pushed Lara through the portal.

  Amun was grateful when a team of techs met him on the other side in Dillon and took over. Sending another call out to Jess that he would be a lot later, he took determined strides back to the lab. He’d figure this out one way or another.

  *****

  Lara woke to the sun streaming through a large, sliding glass door. She sat up gingerly, wondering if her back was still hurting. So far, so good, she thought as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. There was a slight twinge in her back, but nothing bad.

  Feeling brave and needing a bathroom, Lara was getting ready to stand up when her hallucination came barreling through the door. Slipping and sliding on the wooden floors and screaming the whole way, Dog’ee finally came to a crashing stop against Lara’s feet.

  “Why can’t you people have grass in here? Dirt, dead leaves, something that provides traction!” Dog’ee screamed to no one in particular.

  Lara hid a smile as she watched in fascination as the cat stood and shook himself out as if trying to shake off his embarrassment.

  All things considered, if she was going to have a hallucination, having a funny, adorable and protective mini panther wasn’t so bad; she thought with a smile.

  Reaching down, she ignored another twinge in her back as she stroked a hand down the animal’s soft fur. Her smile broadened when the cat purred and rubbed up against her legs.

  “Good morning, my human.” Dog’ee said purring loudly.

  Lara looked at the beautiful golden collar encircling the cat’s neck. It looked like a seriously expensive piece of jewelry. Who the hell would put something covered in gold, silver and emeralds on a cat, she wondered. All her thoughts fled when she looked up, and Viper filled the doorway.

  “You are awake! How do you feel?” Viper didn’t wait for Lara to answer him; he moved to the bed and leaned down to inspect her.

  He could see from the doorway that the dark circles were still under her eyes, although they weren’t nearly as dark as they had been twenty nine hours ago when they’d left MedLab.

  Amun had said that she needed to rest in order to heal, but Viper was glad she was awake. He needed to be near her, to hear her voice and feel her touch. It was selfish; he knew, and he hated it, but he couldn’t help it. He was just as drawn to her as he’d been hundred years ago.

  “I’m fine. Stop looking at me like I’m under a microscope. I feel… weird enough.” Lara said, looking around uncomfortably.

  She had no idea if this was real or another hallucination. Looking down at the talking cat wearing a hundred thousand in jewels on his neck, she was betting this was definitely another hallucination.

  Viper sat on the bed beside her and took her hand in his own. He could feel her confusion radiating from her, and he hated that she felt that way. He was getting ready to call Ratoka to their home, through the Shengari’ when he showed up in the doorway.

  “Yeah, that shit isn’t creepy at all. Can you please not do that anymore?” Viper asked Ratoka through their mental path before turning his attention to Lara, who had become more agitated when she saw him in the doorway.

  Ratoka ignored Viper and walked to Lara. S
quatting in front of her, he took her other hand, and Lara could feel the pleasant warmth of his touch.

  “I did not mean to startle you. I am Ratoka. I was here yesterday. Do you remember me?” When Lara nodded her head, he continued.

  “I would like to help you with the… hallucinations. If you will let me?”

  Lara looked at Viper, who smiled gently at her. “No one here will ever hurt you. I swear. We may be a little odd,” Viper said nodding to Dog’ee. “But we’re good people, and I will never let anyone harm you.”

  “Hey! Are you calling me odd? I’m not odd; I'm young. Gibly said when I’m older, I’ll be calm and boring like he is. I don’t want to be calm and boring though. Can I stay young, my human? Please?” Dog’ee looked at Lara with such pleading eyes, that she would have promised him anything to see the cat happy again.

  “You can stay as young as you would like Dog’ee.” Lara told the cat, smiling when he ran around in a circle in excitement.

  Dog’ee stopped suddenly in front of Lara and swayed slightly from dizziness for a second. “I will help you with your memories too! I will be a great companion for your conductor! And I am a fierce protector! We will be a great family.”

  Lara stared in confusion at the excited cat, not understanding a thing it was saying she just nodded her head. Strangely, the cat tilted his head to the side and stared at Ratoka for a moment before turning and leaving the room. It wasn’t the first time she’d noticed something strange like that, Lara thought, filing the information away for later.

  “How about we get you something to eat? You slept for a full day, and you have to be starving. Come, you are probably tired of being in here already and would like to look around.” Ratoka said, helping Lara to her feet as if she had no choice.

  Lara allowed the man to help her to her feet as Viper stood beside her looking like he was ready to catch her if she stumbled. She was grateful when both just stood there with her for a moment while she steadied herself.

  Feeling more confident since there had been only a minor twinge in her back, Lara took a small step forward. When that seemed to go pretty well, she took a bigger step until she had walked to the door. The brilliant smile she turned on Viper damn near brought him to his knees.

  If nothing else had convinced him that she was his Kinara, that smile would have done it. He had spent most of his life seeing that beautiful smile, first as she grew up, then in his memories and his dreams.

  Ratoka was right, Viper thought; this was a gift. One that he wasn’t going to waste. This time would be different. This time he was going to claim her as his own and keep her safe, he promised himself.

  Chapter Twelve

  Lara stood on the deck with Dog’ee and took a deep breath of the evening air. It had been an interesting day. She didn’t know much more than she did when she woke up, but it had been a pleasant and relaxing few hours.

  Amun had come by earlier to check on her and said that she should be able to resume all normal activity tomorrow. Lara had asked about the young boy she had shot and was told he was already back up and being his normal self. The groans of Viper and Dread and Ratoka’s sigh told her that his normal self was most likely the same annoying boy she’d met.

  She was really glad he was all right though. The thought of hurting him bothered her a lot. She couldn’t explain it, not even to herself, but she felt safe here. As if she finally belonged somewhere and hurting one of her own felt so wrong.

  It was so strange. She had expected to feel awkward and out of place like she always had, especially around Dread and Ratoka, but the hours had passed pleasantly and comfortably. Granted, they spoke of nothing important. Their conversations had been mostly about the house and the area. Everything but what had happened in the forest and who they really were.

  “You think too hard. It simple. You die as Kinara a Tezarian, you come back as Lara a human. My human.” Dog’ee said interrupting her thoughts.

  “What?” Lara asked in surprise. She’d heard that name before. Viper asked her about it. Is that what this was about, she wondered. Was he helping her because he thought she was someone else?

  “Did I say that wrong? I’m still trying to figure out your language. It is so complicated.” The dramatic way that Dog’ee drew out the last sentence made Lara grin.

  She had no idea that animals could be so expressive and with Dog’ee it was really hard not to be pulled into his excitement and his charming personality.

  “No Dog’ee, I think you said that correctly. Viper thinks that I used to be someone named Kinara… from his planet.” Lara asked, the skepticism heavy in her voice.

  “It sounds crazy doesn’t it?” Lara was startled when Ratoka appeared behind her, causing her to jump.

  Lara turned to the man in annoyance. “You really enjoy doing that to people don’t you?”

  Ratoka’s huge grin did nothing to ease her annoyance. “I have an innate sense of knowing when someone is in deep thought, and I can assist with those thoughts.”

  His explanation did little to assist in her thoughts; she thought sarcastically. “So how about we deal with the elephant in the room and tell me why I’m really here and why I’m still alive?”

  Lara felt like strangling the man when he laughed and said, “I know nothing of what an elephant is, but if you would like answers, then I believe that we should go inside so that Viper and Dread can participate.”

  Lara did not want to have a conversation with Viper that included him thinking she was some dead girl. For some reason, the thought of him liking her only because he thought she was someone else really bothered her. She didn’t want to think about why either. There were some things she was content not to know.

  “You do not strike me as a fearful woman. I could have been wrong.” Ratoka said, looking away as if disappointed.

  “I’m not stupid either; I know what you’re doing.” Lara said, giving him a look that told him she wasn’t fooled by his antics.

  Ratoka laughed again, “No; you are most certainly not stupid. All teasing aside, the sooner you get it over with the quicker we can take care of the reason you were going into the forest to die.” Ratoka gave Lara a hard stare of his own, and she looked away this time.

  “Hmmm… I thought bribery would be beneath you. I could have been wrong.” Lara said with a smirk before striding through the sliding glass door and right into Viper. So much for her brilliant exit, Lara thought as Viper’s hands held her shoulders to steady her.

  “Are you all right?” Viper asked as he forced himself to keep physical distance between them.

  “You take her now, this time!” Zaxin screamed in Viper’s mind as he’d done since they came to the house. Apparently catching up on what he had missed had been a bad idea, Viper thought.

  “We can’t just take her! She’s a human, and that isn’t how they do things! Please calm yourself and let me handle this.” Viper said trying to calm his beast.

  “My beast mate is dead! She didn’t come back like your mate did. I will not allow you to wait and mess this up like you did the last time!” Zaxin screamed back at his host; his pain ripped raw over his beast mate, as he struggled to maintain his joy for his host.

  Lara just stared at Viper. Yeah, he was doing that crazy shit again; she thought, where he kind of blanks out like he’s not even here. She noticed his brother Dread and Ratoka doing it once in a while since she’d been awake.

  Lara looked around the blanked out Viper and gave her best ‘WTF’ look to Ratoka as more of a challenge than anything. She really didn’t expect him to respond. These people were the most secretive she had ever seen. They could teach the government on how to keep secrets. Which is why she was surprised when Ratoka walked up to Viper and laid a hand on his shoulder and turned to Lara.

  “He is speaking with his beast. It is a parasite in our brain that is fully sentient. His beast is a little upset and has been hard for Viper to ignore. Normally, the beast works in complete sync with its host.” Ratoka ex
plained, looking carefully at Lara to see if she showed any recognition. He grinned when he saw the slightest twitching of her eyes, and she blinked hard a few times as if to stop it.

  Lara’s mind was going nuts. She’d heard something like that before, where was it? She wondered, trying to force her mind to figure it out.

  Viper’s beast calmed the moment Ratoka touched him and remained quiet making him sigh in relief. He looked at Lara to see how she was taking the news of the beast and noticed that she didn’t really seem to be fazed much by it. He could easily feel her curiosity and wonder, but he felt no fear and for that he was grateful.

  “So you guys are going to stay with this whole ‘space alien’ story then? Prove it to me.” Lara said, outright challenging them.

  She was done playing games and like Ratoka said, as soon as she knew she could trust them, she could go back to her cabin, grab her evidence and finish what she started. If they could help that would be awesome, if not, she was used to doing things alone, she thought.

  Dread walked up to Viper and Ratoka, and the three men seemed to be having a silent conversation with each other. It did give credence to what Ratoka said about a parasite in their head, or it could be that there was a government implant in there too; Lara thought as she studied the three men carefully.

  She had looked for an earbud or mic of some kind earlier, and none of the men had one. If they did, it was hidden too deep in the ear to see it.

  Finally, Viper spoke and held out his hand to her. “Come, we will take you to our brother Drago.”

  When Lara hesitated, Viper assured her. “It is not far, a short drive and a short walk. I promise.”

  There was a slight smirk on Ratoka’s face, as if daring her to go, which really irritated Lara. Throwing her shoulders back, she gave Viper a bright smile and took his hand.

  “Lead on ET.” Lara said with a grin at Viper.

  She quirked a brow when they went outside and got into the clichéd black SUV with tinted windows. Within minutes, they were getting back out at a huge office building perched on top of a mountain. She looked out over the breathtaking view until Viper took her hand and pulled her into the building.