Page 26 of Heart's Keeper

"You can fight to prove yourself later," Xilya said. She looked to Lana, who nodded her head.

"All right." Lana rose up, indicating they were done talking. She needed no more convincing and, though the others seemed cautious of the hunter, they showed they were willing to cooperate, if barely. Though it was still odd to see a human with what should be their enemy, Lana didn't think Elise was betraying her own kind. She seemed determined as the others to aid them. And, besides, Lana was not one to judge another's heart. She could see Elise not only trusted but cared about Nezka as any mate should.

"Come dawn tomorrow, we will head out once more," Lana continued. "Xilya will connect you to the ship's calling system so that we can keep in contact. Be prepared to follow us wherever that may be."

Chapter Ten

There wasn’t much else to do for the remainder of that night save to rest and ready themselves for their flight out in the morning. Except sleeping seemed like the last thing anyone wanted to do. All were restless; some only too excited for the fight to come, others—like Lana—anxious and uncertain.

Xerus still hadn't woken from his sleep, and the one crewman who had any sort of medical expertise on the ship predicted he wouldn't wake up for some time. That the energy he had expelled in his fight with Nezka coupled with whatever strange ailment he had had caused him to slip into a sort of comatose state or, in vrisha terms, deeper sleep than normal as they were not likely to slip into anything worse, like a coma. Still, finding him in the same way as she left him put Lana into a dark mood that she was certain she wouldn't come out of until he awakened.

As her team trained outside the ship and the crew made sure everything was stable for the take-off, Lana took to wandering the passages, always ending up back in the storage level, where she'd watch Xerus for a while before slipping back into the passageways. She knew she wore her worry like a second skin but she didn't have the energy or care to hide it from the others. She knew they knew well enough that she feared for her predomis, but they also knew there was little they could do until they were home again.

When the team eventually returned to their rooms, Lana still continued to wander, checking in on the deck, making sure all was well. By the planet's rotation, the nights were shorter which meant she had little time for rest. When she finally forced herself to return to her and Xerus' room, she tried to close her eyes, but all she did was toss and turn. Frustrated, she made for the supply level, dragged out a spare groundmat, and placed it next to Xerus' door.

She laid out as close as she could, facing so that she could see just enough through one of the grated openings. Xerus faced away from her, not waking to her presence. Though his tail was near to the door, she tried to stick her fingers in and touch it but couldn't quite reach. She thought several times about opening the door and locking herself inside with him, and each time she had to tell herself it was a very bad idea. If he did wake and he wasn’t himself still, she didn't want to imagine what might happen. Though she firmly believed he would never ever harm her purposefully, she couldn't take the risk if for some reason he got violent with her inside and she got caught in his blind rage as he attempted to escape. Conflicted as she was, she remained lying by the door, waiting, hoping any moment he'd move.

Miraculously, she did find sleep, though it was not peaceful. Falling through endless dreams and nightmares, Lana thought she'd become lost in them forever until they faded away and she found herself once again in her father's house.

Standing in his living room, the smell of tobacco stung her nose, and the radio crackled with sound nearby. Outside, the day was bright, and the ocean was sparkling, so clear and unmoving it was nothing but a mirror reflecting the sky. Lana seemed to stare out at it forever when she heard theclinking and humming of someone in the kitchen. Like a sleepwalker, she turned to the noise and followed it. As she stood just outside the entrance and peered inside, she recognized the small back kitchen with a door leading out to the yard and a small window looking out at the dock where her father's boat was anchored. The green paint on the walls was chipping, and one of the bulbs was missing to the ceiling light just as she remembered. On the wall next to the door was a picture of her and her father on his boat when she was ten years old.

Familiar as it was, she didn't seem affected by the scene though she thought she ought to be. But as dreams seemed to go, it didn't feel odd for her to be there or that the place should seem lived in despite her father being gone for many years now. What was odd was seeing Xerus working at the counter beside the window, preparing fish like her father used to do after catching it that morning, while he hummed some familiar tune; as if he'd been there all along and working within the constraints of a human home meant nothing to him.

He didn't see her, or rather didn't regard her, right away, and Lana, for whatever reason, didn't feel compelled to let herself be known. Not right away. She was content for that moment to only watch as he cut the fish open and separated the meat. The salty ocean scent mingled with tobacco where a lit cigarette lay on a tray atop one of the open shelves by Xerus' head.

"It's almost time," he said. He looked up from his cutting to gaze out the window. "A good day to set out too."

Lana stood there, confused. "Where are you going?"

He didn't look back at her and continued to slice the fish into thin pieces. "You know where. We've discussed this."

Lana had to think for a moment about what exactly he was talking about. Then it dawned on her. In a dream sense, she knew it was almost exactly like the conversation she and her father had many years ago before he'd left on his final trip out to sea.

"Are you sure about going out that far? What if there's a storm? You'll be all alone, and the ocean is so big," Lana responded, just as she had that same day her father was readying himself to leave.

"I've got the radio. It won't be so bad," Xerus replied, just as her father had.

"Please don't go."

Xerus' tail weaved lazily behind him, and he huffed a small sigh. "I have to. It calls to me."

"The sea doesn't call to anyone."

"The wild does."

That part in the conversation was different, but it didn't faze her. "If you go, I won't be able to find you. You'll be lost out there."

Xerus paused in his cutting, laying the knife down on the counter. "You'll always be able to find me. You just have to go out and look."

"Is that a joke?" Lana happened to shift her eyes back to the window and saw that the ocean had vanished, and all she could see now was a vast forest beyond. She looked back at Xerus. "Let me go with you."

"You can't."

"Why?"

Xerus didn't respond for a long time.

"Why, Xerus?"

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