Page 148 of Sky Song
He closed his eyes briefly, and his chest expanded in a deep sigh. “He isn’t here because of the symposium, is he?”
“No.”
“The Rix know. They are angry with us,” he murmured.
And not just the Rix. “They have a right to be, wouldn't you say?”
“I suppose so. What’s wrong with him?”
Cricket described Lyle’s implant situation and the damage that followed, including irregular heartbeat that he couldn't synchronize nor bring down, his blackouts and heightened aggression. She left out his spiking sex drive - she just couldn’t go into it with Dr. Ragberg now.
Her biggest worry was that Dr. Ragberg would be unfamiliar with detrozanine and what it did to a body.
She needn’t have worried. He knew. “Oh, wow. He’s still alive?”
Cricket drew herself up short. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Only that once again I’m amazed at this nation’s regenerative powers. Emma, that drug is a fast killer, and you’re saying this Rix was on it for over six months?”
“Give or take. I can’t tell you the exact dose.”
“Sure, sure.”
“Can you help him?”
His shoulders sagged. “I want to, Emma. For his sake, as well as for…”
“To get your records back,” Cricket supplied when he stopped.
“Well, yes. For the records.”
Their gazes collided across the small table. Clear moonlight chose this moment to fall into the room from the night sky, and Cricket found herself in a spot of light with hersavior, two actors on the stage of life.
“How could you…”
“I never planned to, I swear!” He hid his face in his hands and his body shuddered, a sorry sight.
It failed to touch her heart. “You tricked me in the worst possible way! I trusted you like I never trusted another person, and you used me. You took advantage of a sick, confused girl, knowing no one would miss me if something went wrong and I disappeared.”
He put up his hands. “It wasn’t like that.”
“Then how was it? Others had died and you knew! You knew I would probably die, too!” she screamed at him, forgetting the need to stay quiet.
“But you didn’t!” His voice rose in response, too high and breaking. “When you came to me, there was nothing I could do for you. Nothing, Emma, do you understand?”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not. Your body had reached its limit, and you were going to die anyway, and there was nothing I or any other doctor could do for you. You needed a new set of lungs, a better heart, healthy bones, and a properly functioning immune system. You needed a new body, and even Meeus with all its progressive medical knowledge couldn’t give it to you. Please, believe me.”
“I can’t.” It got harder to ignore the pain that was making her chest hurt on the inside. She hated him, her savior.
“When I looked at you, I thought of Gemma who sent you to me, and it broke me. Here was one thing Gemma hadasked me to do, and I was going to fail her. I had failed her in everything else, and this time, I couldn’t.”
“So you shot me up full of experimental drugs to validate yourself.”
“I personally worked on the latest serum strain,” he said, totally serious. “We were getting close, Emma. You always had a chance.”
“Out of curiosity, what was my chance?”
