Page 26 of Salvation
So he said now, but just wait until he heard what Sakura was about to tell him. Being the one to deliver the news was not only part of her learning experience, she was also much better at the whole bedside manner thing than him.
“We have some questions about the samples, if you are able to talk right now.”
“Of course,” A’paz replied. “Please proceed.”
“Thank you.” Sakura took in a fortifying breath. “After examining the samples you took, we have found they all seem to be perfectly normal. There is no trace of the illness.”
Furrows appeared between A’paz’s blond eyebrows and across his forehead. “How is this possible?”
“We brought the images.” Saku held up Nick’s data device. “We are hoping you might be able to see something we are missing.”
A’paz shifted. “Storo, help me sit up.”
Storo rounded the bed and, with a gentleness that belied his size, helped A’paz sit up. Once pillows were arranged, Storo brought a food tray. Sakura placed the device at one corner of the tray and gave it a tap. The images of the first batch of samples appeared on the tray’s surface.
A’paz’s frown deepened as each batch was displayed. “I am at a loss. These are my samples, but….” He shook his head, dismay evident in his eyes. “If only I had had a way to view them myself before your arrival, I could have spared you the time.”
Nick stepped closer. “Sakura and I have no doubt these are your samples, and that you took all the proper precautions when collecting and storing them.”
“And we do not believe they have been tampered with,” Sakura added.
“Which leads us to believe that the disease may be able to camouflage itself.” Nick lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “It’s something neither of us have seen or even heard of before.”
A’paz’s grey-green gaze held his. “Camouflage,” he murmured. “An interesting hypothesis. If this is so, it will complicate the process of finding a cure.”
A sense of foreboding sank like a stone in Nick’s gut. A’paz would not live long enough to see them find the cure.
“Healer Bock,” A’paz said, his demeanor calm and accepting. “I never clung to the illusion that I would survive this. But, I want my sisters and brothers to survive. If they do not, my life is meaningless, as they arefyhen. You know whatfyhenmeans, do you not?”
Nick swallowed hard against the boulder that had lodged in his throat. “My own. They are your family, and you will give your life for them.”
A wistful smile curved A’paz’s wide mouth upward. “I charge you and Healer Yamata to make sure my life serves that purpose.”
Sakura’s lips parted as if she was going to correct him, tell him she wasn’t a healer yet, but then seemed to change her mind. A’paz was right; she was no longer just someone’s disipula. If they were going to beat this disease, she had to be a healer in all ways, including name. Hopefully this was as clear to her as it was to him.
~*~
Sakura dropped onto the thick cushions of the couch. What a relief to be back in the solitude of their cube. She needed time to think and process the meeting with A’paz. Behind her, Nick moved around the kitchen making lunch.
How were they going to figure this out? The odds seemed stacked against them. But they had promised A’paz, and letting him down would be nothing short of a betrayal. A groan built in her chest and she pushed it down.
A plate with a sandwich appeared in front of her. “Eat,” Nick ordered.
She released a deep sigh and accepted the plate. He set a cup of green tea on the end table next to her, then sat in one of the chairs and proceeded to inhale his lunch. This caring Nick was much more pleasant to deal with than the “other” Nick.
Once she finished, Nick whisked away her plate and she picked up her tea. He returned a moment later. “Better?”
“A little bit.”
“Yeah, me too.” He rested his head against the back of the chair. “You know we probably won’t be able to save him, right?”
She gazed down at the surface of her tea. “I know.”
“I hate feeling so fucking helpless. What’s the point of having this all mighty power if we can’t save a life?”
It was a fair question, and for once she agreed. She met his brown and bronze gaze. “We have to try. We promised.”
“I know.” He sighed. “I just don’t knowhow.”
