Page 54 of Stealing Mercury
“The Cerrillians have an old saying.A common enemy makes for fast alliances.” Samantha wrapped a hand around his arm to steady herself. “Any civilization that built those terraforming platforms has to be big and technologically advanced. If there’s even a chance they could help you free all of your people...” Her words trailed off.
Mercury pulled her into his arms, but she pushed against his chest, resisting.
“Give me a minute. I can figure the damn thing out. I just need to breathe. The altitude must be getting to me.”
He brushed sweat-dampened tendrils of hair away from her face. It wasn’t the altitude, and she wasn’t going to get better with a few minutes of rest. He stroked her small nose with his fingertips. She had done a good job of convincing him that the Mothers’ people might help. He even believed she could figure the object out if given enough time. But it didn’t matter. He couldn’t let her die or suffer the effects of continued dehydration. He wouldn’t let her suffer even one more minute.
Mercury lowered her to the stone beneath his feet, protecting her head as she gave into the fatigue and pain. He strode over to the object and jerked it free of the spike holding it in place. He turned it over in his hand as he looked closer, committing the symbols to memory. It could be a link to his past and future. It wasn’t worth losing Carn. It wasn’t worth Samantha’s life or her suffering.
He squatted down and held it over his head, then brought it down to the rock in one powerful movement. It smashed in his hands, breaking into countless tiny pieces.
He let the remains fall from his hands and returned to Samantha. “Rest,courra. Regain your strength. I’ll keep you safe and we’ll soon be bathing in Lo’s water noise that is bigger than our river.”
Chapter Fifteen
PlanetG-45987
EarthAllianceBeta Sector- Gollerra Border
2210.163
Samantha kept her eyes closed and stretched. The bedroll beneath her didn’t provide much cushion from the hard ground, but she had a sense of having slept well for the first time in days. She scrubbed her hands over her face and eased open her eyes. She didn’t remember making camp or lying down to sleep. Had she lost a day? She guessed the time at late afternoon, the sun seemed to be hidden behind one of the nearby mountaintops.
“There’s water beside you.” Carn’s voice drifted to her from outside her field of vision.
She sat up to find him propped up against a stack of their packs. There was no one else around. “Where are Mercury and Lo?” The words scraped her throat as they went by. She reached for the water, took a sip, and coughed.
“Slowly. Sip slowly. Lo and Mercury are getting a better look around the area.”
Samantha nodded, then pulled her legs up and crossed them for balance. Not only were Mercury and Lo not around, she didn’t recognize where they were. She rubbed at her head trying to bring things back into focus in her mind. Slowly, it all came back. Her head still ached, but that was the dehydration. The pulse had been silenced and she didn’t remember doing it at all, but she did remember finding...
“The artifact...” she started, then looked at Carn. If Mercury had destroyed it without telling them—
“He smashed it to stop the pulse. There was nothing left.” Carn looked sad. “It was the right thing to do.”
So, Mercuryhadtold them. “I wish I could’ve had more time.”
“There’s no use spending energy thinking about something you cannot change.”
His gentle dismissal eased her guilt over failing to save the object. “Whoever named you had you all wrong.”
His eyebrows lifted. “What do you mean? I can wreak havoc and leave a wake of carnage when the circumstances call for it.”
She laughed, almost spitting out a mouthful of water. “I’m sure you can. But I still think Owl would have suited you better.”
He frowned and she laughed again. He joined her with what might pass for a chuckle, if she were being generous with her chuckling standards. The moment passed too quickly and she found herself sitting with a man in pain. Suffering, not just from physical pain or fatigue. It was something much softer squeezing his heart.
“What sort of name,” he asked, “is Owl?”
She couldn’t contain her grin. “A big Earther bird my father taught me about. It had enormous eyes and could hear its prey from a kilometer away. It could turn its head all the way around.” She made a big-eyed face and circled her finger in a spinning motion.
“You compare me to this monstrous creature?” He didn’t look bothered as he said the words.
Samantha sobered. “It’s also credited with great wisdom.”
He dipped his chin to his chest then met her eyes, looking solemn. “I’m honored.”
Samantha studied the big man. His body was covered with fresh scratches layered over old scars. She knew none of those injuries and scars mattered to him. The only wound that mattered would be the one left if he lost his mate. “Will you tell me about her?”
