Page 17 of Restoring the Ngozii

Lifting my head from my hands, I see myself as a lonely child curled up in the corner of the room near the brook, tears staining her cheeks. We hiccup through our tears at the same time, gasping for breath. She looks at me and whispers, “Can we forgive her and start over?”

Seuke drops down beside me as my mouth opens and closes, no words escaping as my child self disappears before my eyes, leaving me speechless. Can I forgive my mother for the damage she caused?

“My love, it’s going to be all right, we’re here.” Seuke pulls me into his arms, my tears still streaming as I stare at the corner of the room, unable to fully process what’s happening. Xenshay’s dark arms circle around us, and I’m sandwiched between them, my emotions running rampant as the bonds overflow with love and support.

“Talk to us, Vee, what can we do to help? What are you thinking?” Shay whispers along my temple, pressing gentle kisses to my face as Seuke rocks us gently side to side.

My voice is void of emotion, my eyes still transfixed on the spot I saw myself in, as I mutter my thoughts aloud. “My mother drugged my father to have me. I was nothing more than a mission for her, a successor. She never truly loved me. Criido was never to blame for being absent, and now he wants to fix that. Should I let him? Should I forgive my mother for treating me as she did in my life? Can I… can I do such a thing… and… let go of this anger to have a different life?”

Seuke’s rocking stops as Xenshay sits back, giving me space. I slowly lift from their arms to stand, walking carefully over to the corner and running my fingers along the rocks I cried upon all those years ago.

“Am I meant to be this angry, vengeful priestess fighting for her people, or am I meant to be something else? A more loving priestess, perhaps? Can I open my life up to love from a real family and forgive the one that brutalized me and made me this messed up ball of emotions?”

I turn and eye my mates, each of them staring at me with perplexed expressions. They turn to each other for a moment before Xenshay stands and reaches for my hands, which I quickly lift and place my lower two in his. “Priestess, you can have whatever kind of life you want. You have the power to make it so. Just as I had the power to let go of my hate, anger, and bigotry to have you in my life, you could let go of the anger and pain from your mother and past to have a new life with the family who wants to be with you.”

Seuke steps to his side, his hands out, and I place my others in his. “My love, we will help you create whatever sort of life you want for yourself. We simply want you to be happy, to have a life of love and joy, whatever that means to you.”

They both smile at me gently, each kissing a cheek at the same time. Slipping my hands from theirs, I wrap my arms around their necks and hold them close, more grateful than ever to have them as my mates. I don’t know if I’ll truly be able to forgive my mother and let go of all the anger I’ve bottled up over the years, but perhaps I can try.

Chapter 11

Vahru

JeffandIridealong to the lab in relative silence. We argued about using the portal to get there faster, but seeing as no one there would expect it, it could cause more trouble. As much as I hate to waste time, I’d rather not panic people in the city and incite a riot, so Kari and I dropped the vehicle off at home and portaled from there to Gemyasiri. As far as my research has shown, the Varquettas and us are now the only people in the universe with the ability to portal at will. Other species have been able to create them using certain other technologies, but the doorways remain in a constant place where they were built. This is very different.

Arriving at the lab, I throw the vehicle into park, quickly snatch the sample bag, and head for the door. Jeff is hot on my heels, just where I need him to be. I stop off in my lab and grab a few extra things I may need, but I don’t have the equipment for this. We’ll need to borrow Vyleera’s lab room. Hopefully she’s in and can help us get through the data faster. If these blood tests don’t tell us the answer, I don’t know what we’re going to do.

Knocking on the white door with her name on a small plaque, I step back and wait. The door swings open, the soft sound of music trickling through to us. Vyleera’s white lab coat covers her dress, her heels making her an inch or two taller than me. Not that she needs them, she’s tall enough already. Her long hair is in a messy bun atop her head, wisps framing her large black glasses and sweet face. She smiles brightly at me, her golden eyes wide and nearly glowing in the bright light of the lab.

“Vahru, what a surprise! And who is this?” Her gaze flicks to Jeff, her smile never faltering.

“This is my mate’s best friend and second-in-command, Jeff. Jeff, this is Vyleera, our disease and testing expert.”

“It’s very nice to meet you! What can I do for you guys?” Her voice is chipper, the brightness of her personality shining brighter than anything I know. I rarely work with Vyleera, but the few times I have, she’s always kept a positive attitude in everything. No matter how dark things get.

“We need your help to test some samples and figure out what it is that’s sickening the Ngozii population. And we need to do it fast.”

She gasps, her hand lifting to her mouth, displaying the long, white-painted fingernails. “Wait, you managed to enter Ngozii caves, take samples, and are helping cure them? How!?”

“I can explain as we work, Vy, please, will you help us? We need to solve this immediately. My mate’s life is in the balance.”

“Come in.” She steps back, opening the door wider as I shove past her with a whispered thank you.

My steps carry me quickly across the room to a large empty table. I begin to pull out the samples, separating the sick and the healthy, grabbing the notebook to start sorting everything out as Vy opens a laptop and begins setting up equipment.

“It’s amazing that you managed to get so many samples, Vahru! We’re going to be able to learn so much more about the secretive people than ever before.”

“Vy.” I pause, taking a deep breath as I meet her gaze. “This isn’t research for fun, these people are dying, bleeding to death from some sort of illness that they can’t figure out how to cure. My mate is sitting with their evil priestess as we speak as a way of keeping me in line and not killing them all off with a false cure.” Her eyes widen impossibly, and I force myself to relax, taking a deep breath as I lower my voice back down from where it had risen in my anxiety. “I normally appreciate your enthusiasm and positivity, but right now, I need you to focus on the task at hand and help us answer this before it’s too late. If I fail, my whole village is at risk.”

She nods her head, quickly typing a spreadsheet to catalog our information for easy comparison as she directs us in how to prepare and set aside the samples. We use different machines for the sick and healthy to avoid any sort of cross-contamination. While the samples run through the machines, I read off the information that Kari noted in the book as she adds it to the sheet, connecting the family members and symptoms, times, and any other relevant data.

After what feels like forever, the results begin to roll in. Nothing conclusive, nothing that’s been known on our planet, but that’s not a surprise considering they have their own plants and sources there. Differences in genetics can make things difficult as well, so I didn’t expect this to be easy, but I secretly hoped for Kari’s sake.

“Well, nothing has come back conclusive, but we can compile some options based on the symptoms. Everyone seems to get the typical response of increased antibodies and antigens, meaning they’re fighting something. They all have the increased heart rate, low blood pressure, and massive loss of blood. However, you noted that not everyone was eating, drinking, or even working in the same sections, so the environment, unless counted as a whole, is not the answer.” Vyleera mutters aloud as she types, thinking through her work. I’m used to her ramblings, it’s her process.

“If it were the environment as a whole, would it be possible for some to get sick and some not? Why would that be? What would cause that? Genetic anomaly, maybe?” Jeff questions as he paces, his hands behind his back.

“I suppose so, as some people are able to fight certain things better than others. Immune system responses and genetics can play a part, but it’s unlikely that so many would be well when this many are not. However, you said it wasn’t spreading by contact either, as mates and siblings are ill but not the others… hmmm.” She taps her pencil to her chin and goes back to making notes and typing in the results for us.

---