Page 60 of Salvation
Running away to New L.A. had been the wrong thing to do. If the crisis with the dissenters hadn’t come up, he would have deserted his responsibility. Eventually, he might have become a pawn in someone else’s game, willing or not. God, he hoped he was smarter than that.
But, if he were so smart, then why hadn’t he completely immersed himself in his calling? He was a healer, as defined by his Gift as Dante was by his own. He could make a difference to somebody, maybe many somebodies. If he and Dante got out of this mess, he would have a heart-to-heart with Saku about their long-term plans.
“Carry her memory in your heart when I am gone, Nick,” Dante murmured. “But, do not search her out and undo what I have done. Promise me this.”
The sting of tears pricked Nick’s eyes and he swallowed against the rock that seemed to be lodged in his throat. He stroked one hand over his friend’s hair. “I so vow,ades.”
Dante set the water pouch on the blanket. “I will sleep now while the pain is not so bad.”
“Good idea.” He adjusted the blankets to cover Dante up to his shoulders. “Do you want me to put you in the healing sleep?”
“Please.”
Nick lifted his hand to hover near his friend’s temple. “Sleep,ades. I will be here.”
~*~
Agony sliced through Nick’s head like a red-hot knife, waking him from a dreamless sleep. His hoarse scream echoed in the confines of the shelter as he pressed his hands against his temples. Dante’s weight shifted as the other healer slumped over Nick’s right leg. Cool air prickled his skin, but did nothing to alleviate the pain.
Words he wanted to say eluded him. Escape the pain, get away from it. Nick slid left, his palm skidding over powdery ground.
Dirt. He should stay on the blanket. Why, he had no idea, only that it was important.
Warmth tingled through him, his Gift trying to heal him. It wasn’t going to be enough. He needed Saku, but he would never see her again. Not in this lifetime. The pain of loss lanced through his heart and he curled his fingers like claws digging into the dirt.
Sakura.
~*~
Sakura curled her bare toes into the rug under the dining table and released a jaw-cracking yawn. It seemed like her feet itched to move, literally. Sleep had not come last night and now her mind drifted like the snowflakes outside. It’d be easy to blame the noise of the storm for her insomnia, but that would be a lie. Nick’s absence was like a giant hole straight through the middle of her. She slid her feet back and forth, the silken fibers of the rug relieving the tingling sensation a bit.
The front door opened.
“Mama!” Flora cried, leaping up from her spot on the couch. “Did you find them?”
Alex moved into the room to allow a contingent of Anferthians to enter. “Not yet, sweetie. The tracks have been pretty well covered.”
“We will not stop, little one,” K’rona said.
Sakura rubbed her feet over the rug again, but the tingling itch didn’t go away. “This is strange, but it feels like Nick is close. I cannot explain it, but I started feeling him just before you came in.”
Maybe it was just Alex’s presence. She pulled up one foot to scratch it, but the itch disappeared the moment it left the floor. The corners of her mouth pulled down. That was weird. She set her foot back on the rug and itch returned.
“Maybe you should take Sakura with you when you go back out, K’rona,” Alex said. “I’ll stay with Flora.”
Feet up, no itch. Feet down, itch. What was happening? She focused on where the bottom of her feet were in contact with the rug. A hint of music, extremely faint, but it was there. She pushed out of her chair so fast it toppled, then she crouched on the floor with her palms pressed to the rug.
Alex moved closer. “Sakura, what are you doing?”
Yes, yes, it was there. “I think…. Wait a minute. I want to try something.” She launched to her feet and squeezed through the group of Anferthians standing just inside the door, each wearing identical expressions of confusion on their broad faces. If she could get outside, she could be sure. She stepped through the door.
“Sakura, your boots….”
Soft snowflakes brushed her face. Not the howling storm of last night, but biting cold all the same. She dropped down on all fours again, her hands and knees sunk into the snow. Nick’s Gift signature seemed clearer, but still not strong enough. She dug into the frigid powder. An enormous hand closed around her waist and pulled her out of the snow.
“What is it you do,fyhen?” Concern and curiosity seemed to war for prominence in K’rona’s eyes. “Explain yourself.”
“It’s Nick. I need to touch the ground to be sure, but I think he is calling me.” And that did not sound the least bit crazy. A tremor ran through her, maybe from the cold or maybe from the anxiety filling her.
