Page 65 of Warrior
I blinked furiously, tears burning with the need for release. I managed a curt nod and opened my mouth to respond, hesitating as I feared my voice would warble.
“Daisy!”
She ran toward me, wearing simple navy slacks and a tunic with vibrant red curls bouncing around her face. She'd been beautiful at sixty, but since her trip through the machine rebirthing her twenty-something form—Emmy was utterly breathtaking.
She stopped a few feet away, her gaze dancing toward Daicon’s still body before finding mine again, her green eyes shimmering. I felt a tear streak down my cheek, and her expression slowly shifted. One long look…that's all it took for her to recognize my heartbreak.
Two more steps and her arms were around me. We were approximately the same height, so it was easy to lay my head against her shoulder, let go... and sob.
And sob and sob and sob.
Khaion moved close, his large hand reaching the middle of her back for support. A simple touch of comfort. A touch I would never again feel from Daicon.
“He got stabbed because of me.”
Ewok’s agonized confession brought a moan from my lips. I pulled back from Emmy’s hold to reach for him, but the Chieftain moved faster. He lifted Ewok, holding the child against his broad chest and patting his furry back as he sobbed. My heart twisted watching the small furry darling wallow in guilt that wasn’t his to bear.
“It is not your fault, little one,” Khaion soothed. “Daicon died a warrior’s death—the type of death we all should want. We will honor his bravery and courage.”
The sound of the children sniffling rose like the crescendo of an orchestra. George wiped his eyes with a loud sniffle, his guilt causing deep creases in his pale blue skin.
“You did all you could for him, young one." The man who examined Daicon's body laid a gentle hand on George's shoulder. ,"You should feel grief as we all do, not shame.”
George gave a nod, but I could tell from the tight set of his shoulders that the words didn’t settle easily. He wiped his eyes again. “If we’d only had access to a 7tX 4729E healer, I could have saved him.”
“A healer? Like the one we took of the cat-aliens ship?"
Emmy’s question made me gasp, my eyes jerking to George.
The dark blue eyes met mine, flickering with something like hope.
“You have a healer on board?” George spoke slowly.
“Yes,” Khaion's brows drew together. "We took the one from the Trogvyk ship before destroying it."
George echoed my gasp, dark blue eyes meeting mine. In Khaion’s arms, Ewok twisted to stare at us.
"It's not too late, kida," George murmured.
Not too late.
Then why was George hesitating? Because of me. He was waiting for me to make the decision. It still made me queasyto think a machine had the power of resurrection, but at this moment, if the devil himself rose from hell and offered a way to save Daicon, I would take it without hesitation.
“Go,” I hissed.
The small grieving boy disappeared with a blink of my eyes. In his place stood a young man, confident in his actions. George turned, grasping the end of the floating bed.
“We need to get him to the healer quickly.”
"The healer?" The man, apparently some type of medic, frowned at George. "He is gone, little one."
“It is not too late,” George insisted.
"The healer!" Ewok insisted, squirming out of Khaion's arms. His furry feet hit the floor, and seconds later, he stood at George's side.
Khaion hesitated for only a second before stepping to the side of the bed. "The youngling is a Garoot. We will listen to him.”
With those words, the four Vaktaire stepped to the bed, gripping the sides, taking a moment to disengage the gravity field before sprinting away. Emmy held tight to my hand as we followed. Prayers ran through my head with every step I made, benedictions to God, Jesus... I asked Gavin to put in a good word for Daicon and tossed an invocation toward Daicon's goddess.
