Page 58 of Fallen from the Stars

“Theo!” Vasil turned to follow her. Dread coalesced in his gut, threatening to climb into his chest and throat.

“Theo, you ca—” Kane’s words were lost in a jarring, staticky hiss.

As she reached the bend, Theo lifted a hand to her head again. Her torso dipped forward, and she stumbled, throwing out an arm as though to catch her balance. It was only when her hand found the nearby wall that she steadied herself and staggered forward a few more steps. She vanished around the corner.

Vasil’s hearts quickened, and he pushed his body ahead to match their pace. Theo’s cry — fraught with pain and fear — preceded a heavy splash just before he rounded the bend.

He looked down; for an instant, his hearts seized, and so much pressure built up in his chest that it felt near to exploding. Theo lay face-down in the water. Though it only reached her mid-shin while standing, it was deep enough to almost fully submerge her in her prone position.

Darting to her, he slipped his arms beneath Theo and snatched her out of the water. Her body was stiff — legs straight, arms clutched against her torso, and head tilted back. Though her eyes were open, they displayed on their whites. The blood trickling from her nostrils glistened in the glow of the large halorium shards jutting from the wall nearby.

Did the halorium somehow cause this?

There was no time to consider the question; he had to assume the answer wasyes. She shuddered in his arms, muscles remaining taut, and produced a choked, gurgling sound. Foamy spit oozed from the corners of her mouth.

Vasil gave over to instinct. He turned her sideways in his hold so the liquid flowed out of her mouth rather than gathering within and shifted his arm to support her head and neck. He rose and, moving as quickly as he could without jarring Theo, carried her toward the cave’s entrance.

The light on her wrist flickered and flared, accompanied by a distorted, inhuman voice.

“Kane?” Vasil asked.

Theo continued to convulse, her body straining against his hold.

The computer spoke, but his voice was garbled and indecipherable, made worse by its reverberation off the cave walls.

Water sloshed around Vasil’s tentacles as he pushed on faster. Panic clawed at the edges of his mind, but he would not allow it entry; panic could not help Theo.

“Stay with me,” he said, tightening his grasp on her. “Stay, Theodora.”

When the opening came into view, Vasil’s hearts skipped. The sound of the waves washed over him but provided none of the comfort and relief it normally would have.

“She is having a seizure,” Kane said, words finally understandable despite the lingering distortion. “Ease her down on her side in the sand and keep her head up off the ground.”

Vasil lowered her to the sand the instant he crossed out of the cave, keeping a hand beneath her neck and head to maintain his support. Her convulsions continued, and foam poured from her mouth.

Kane’s orb projected from Theo’s wrist, hovering in the air over her. “Relax your hold on her, Vasil. If you try to restrain her, she may be injured.”

Clenching his jaw, Vasil did as instructed. His limbs trembled; he wanted to clutch her against him so she knew he was there, so she knew she’d be all right, but that could do her harm.

He didn’t know how to help her.

“What is wrong with her?” Vasil asked in a low voice.

“As I said, a seizure. My systems temporarily shorted out, causing electrical feedback in her nervous system.”

“I do not understand, Kane,” Vasil growled.

Theo shook harder for a moment, ejecting a spray of spit with a choked exhalation, before finally easing. Her eyelids fluttered shut as her body sagged in the sand.

“I am connected directly to her,” Kane replied.

“You are on her wrist. How could that affect her like this?”

“My projector is at her wrist, Vasil. My systems are integrated with her. I am connected to her brain. I’m…part of her.”

Vasil released a heavy breath, nostrils flaring. Questions swirled in his mind and gnawed at his gut, but none of them would help the situation. None of them would help her. He brushed wet hair out of her face and stared down at her. She was breathing, but otherwise unmoving.

“Theo?” he said softly.

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