Dangerous Lovers (181 page)

“Liasare, I’m here. You’re going to be fine. We’ve got you now,” he bent his head and gently rubbed his cheek against hers. Her body was so ravaged by what had been done to her, he was afraid to touch her for fear of causing pain.

“Jurek,” she whispered. A mixture of blood and foam bubbled out of her mouth as she spoke. Her chest rattled as she tried to breathe. “Please take me out of here. I want to feel the sunshine warm my face one more time before I die. I don’t want to die in this hell. Please take me in the sun,” she begged, in a broken, garbled whisper he could barely hear or understand.

Wiping the blood off her lips with his fingers, he said, “I’m not going to let you die. Do you hear me?” His voice croaked and his throat was thick with fear. Her life force was seeping out of her and he knew he didn’t have much time.

“It’s not your choice. I can’t see or feel anything. They say dying doesn’t hurt and the pain is gone Jurek. Please get me away from this place,” she rasped, the words jumbled and so quiet Jurek had to strain to hear.

His energy popped the bindings that held her ankles and wrists, and he lifted her in his arms. “We’re going now, but I’ll
not
let you die,” his gut tightened in fear for he hoped like hell he was right.

“Tak, Naroo, I need you on Lare-Stell, stat!” he yelled as he flashed them to the space station.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Liasare was unconscious, lying on the table on Lare-Stell with Jurek, Naroo and Tak standing around her.

“Jurek, are you crazy? Do you have any idea what you are about to do?”

“Stop asking such foolish questions. Of course I know. I have no other choice. If I don’t do this she will die.”

“Then let her die!”

Jurek’s eyes swam with silver and his rage was palpable. Naroo, sensing a war was getting ready to break out, stepped in saying, “Tak, you forget yourself and your place. This is your ruler, your leader. You overstep your bounds!”

Tak threw a nasty look at Naroo and said, “This is none of your fucking business. I would suggest you stay out of this.”

“Excuse me! This is as much my business as it is yours. While Jurek is your friend, he is first and foremost your
ruler
, and if you cannot follow his orders, get the hell out of here now!”

Jurek nodded toward Naroo and turned to Tak saying, “She’s right. If you refuse to do this, than get the fuck out of here Tak.”

“You’re making a mistake. What if she doesn’t want the responsibility?” he countered.

“It doesn’t matter. As I said, there is no choice.”

Tak stared at Jurek and at last he said, “You
love
her. You’re in love with the human, aren’t you?”

“That isn’t your concern. Will you help or not? If not, get the fuck out of here because we are running out of time.”

Jurek looked at Naroo and asked, “Are you ready?”

She nodded. They all looked at Tak and he said, “Yes, I’m ready.”

Two hours later, Liasare was in her old quarters on Lare-Stell, sleeping, recovering from the healing process her body had just experienced. Jurek was also sleeping as was Naroo and Tak. The healing of Liasare had taken its toll on all of them so they would need at least two days of sleep to fully recover.

***

Liasare felt strange when she opened her eyes. It wasn’t anything she could name, she just felt different. Her mind was fuzzy and she tried to recall what had happened. Did she have too much to drink the night before? Her tongue felt like sandpaper and her head hurt. She sat up and a wave of dizziness smacked her in the face, sending her straight back to her pillow, moaning. Someone rushed to her side.

“My lady, may I assist you with something?” a musical voice asked.

“Argh, I feel terrible,” Liasare groaned. “What happened? My head is killing me.”

“It is the effects of the healing.” The woman glided out of the room and returned with a cool cloth scented with herbs of some sort. She placed it on Liasare’s forehead, and soon its effects began to drift over her.

“Ahhh, that feels so nice,” she sighed. “May I please have something to drink?”

The woman handed her a glass of iced lemon water, which Liasare guzzled down.

“Where am I?”

“You are on Lare-Stell my lady. My lord will be here shortly.”

“Why am I here?”

“I am not at liberty to speak my lady. My lord will answer your questions.”

Liasare’s mind was churning with questions, but her eyes were so heavy, she drifted off to sleep again. When she awoke later that day, she found Jurek sitting by her side.

“What the hell did I drink last night? This is one horrible hangover.”

Jurek wiped the dampness from her forehead and gave her a half smile. “Your memory will return in a few hours, and I’m afraid you’ll wish it hadn’t.”

She reached for his arm and laid her hand on it. “What happened?”

He looked about her tiny room, and suddenly asked, “Are you hungry?”

“Oh no. That bad, huh? I know your diversion tactics, Jurek. Tell me.”

Jurek leaned forward, resting his arm on his legs. He briefly looked at her and then rubbed the back of his neck. Her stomach was instantly filled with twisting knots. She recognized this action of his, because it was something he did when he was troubled. “You were held captive. Does that ring a bell?”

Her eyes narrowed, as the wheels spun in her mind. “Held captive? I don’t remember anything, but my head is killing me.”

He sat next to her and grabbed her hands. He began sliding his thumbs back and forth across her knuckles. “The memories will come back Liasare, and you won’t like it. I wish I could stop them but I can’t. We couldn’t find you for three days.”

“Three days? I was gone for three days?” She furrowed her brow, trying to remember.

Jurek nodded. “I thought I was going to lose you.” That’s when she noticed his haggard appearance. The lines around his eyes that hadn’t been there before. His unshaven face, his uncombed hair. He’d always had a sort of wild look about him, but never stressed
.
And he looked totally frazzled now.

She sat up but was assailed by a wave of dizziness again. She put a hand to her head and tried to steady herself.

“Whoa, what are you doing?” Jurek halted her with his hand.

“I really need to pee. I have to get up.”

“Well, then, let me help you.” He lifted her up and set her on her feet, but she let out a yelp and would’ve fallen if he hadn’t been holding her.

“Ahh, my feet,” she screamed. He set her down on the bed and lifted her feet and the bottoms were a mass of black bruises. Jurek’s anger immediately consumed him as Liasare rolled to her side, pulling her feet close to her body.

The memories rushed in then, assaulting her mind like a torrent and she began hyperventilating. She was lost to them, back in that evil dungeon, filled with monsters as they ripped her apart. Her eyes filled with terror and her hoarse whimpers echoed in the room as she frantically scrambled off the bed, seeking a safe place to hide. There was none, so she ended up huddled in the corner, tucked into a tight ball, trembling.

Jurek thought his mind would shatter with the sounds she was making, pitiful sounds of abject terror.

Her feet! How could we have overlooked her damn feet? They are nothing but a mass of black and purple flesh. The pain she must’ve endured. And now, she’s reduced to a quivering mess, hiding in the corner, pummeled by her memories. What did those fuckers do to her?

He gently spoke to her then, soothing words and sounds, anything just so she knew it was him. He ran his hands along her body, her back, and arms, massaging her lightly, letting her know he would not hurt her. Then he lifted her into his arms, pressing her close to his heart, so she could feel it beating against her. He tucked her head into his neck, wanting her to feel him and recognize his scent as it washed over her. He sat down on her favorite perch and held her for what seemed like hours, rocking her, and using his hands to keep her calm.

The words finally came from her lips, rapidly tumbling forth; she was frantic in her urgency to release them, as if they burned her from within. “They were the dark beasts, the ones from your memory, and they ... they bit into me with their teeth. They gouged and ripped me with their claws. They beat me with heavy chains. He wanted to know what I was and what we knew about them. I didn’t know what he was talking about. I begged him to stop. He didn’t believe me. They’d chain me to a table and ...” she stopped and took a deep breath. “I’d pass out and when I’d wake up, I’d be hanging from chains, and they’d start all over again. They beat my feet. I never knew something could hurt so badly. They ate my flesh. I finally went blind. That’s when I knew I was dying. I lost all my sensory perception too ... the pain finally stopped. I didn’t hurt anymore. He knew it too. I think he was going to let them finish me off then. I knew it was you when you came.” She touched his face then and put her cheek next to his, holding herself next to him there.

The terror seemed to flow out of her then, releasing her from its talons, and he felt her tension dissolving. “I couldn’t see and I could barely hear, but I could smell you. Your scent ... I would dream about it every time I slept.” She grabbed fistfuls of his shirt in each of her hands, closed her eyes and she drifted off to sleep, feeling safe in his arms.

Jurek was sickened by what she’d described to him. If he hadn’t already killed everything in that room, he’d be down there right now avenging Liasare for what they did to her. He’d never been so physically affected by something, the way this had torn into him, ravaging his body and tearing his heart to pieces. If it were possible, he would have turned back the hands of time and traded places with her in a second. As she lay in his arms, he gazed at her, his heart aching for what she’d endured. He resolved at that moment that he would do anything for her, anything to bring her back to her happy place and make her whole again, even if he had to shelter her in his arms forever.

***

Fifteen minutes later, she awoke, screaming. Her breath was coming out in gasps, and her arms were flailing, trying to get away from the invisible creatures that were tearing her apart.

“Liasare, wake up, it’s a dream,” Jurek shouted.

“Make them stop!” she screamed. She flew out of his arms, only to land on her bruised feet, screaming again.

“Holy fuck! Liasare, sit still for a minute and I’ll heal your feet. Christ.” He was so agitated; he spun around, directionless, like an out of control vehicle, destined to crash. He had never faced anything like this before; he thought he had, but this was so different from his past life. Liasare did something to his emotions that he couldn’t explain; didn’t even dare to try.

Gaining control of his actions, he held her saying, “I’m so damn sorry. I don’t know how the hell we missed your feet when we healed you. I don’t know how we could have possibly missed them!” His frustration was pouring out of him.

Her high keening was more than he could bear. “Dear God Liasare, I’m so sorry, love. Please, please let me hold you and take this pain away,” he cried. His eyes were filled with anguish and his gut was a boiling vat of acid, churning inside of him.

He was finally able to calm her down enough to heal her feet, but his insides were still on fire and his nerves felt like they were completely raw and getting doused with alcohol. He was burning up from the inside out. Sweat dripped off his forehead and he wiped his face with his forearm. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he asked her if she felt any better.

When she nodded, he began to feel slightly relieved

“I’m so sorry. I thought we had healed everything. I swear I don’t know how we could have missed your poor feet.” He couldn’t stop apologizing.

“Stop Jurek, it’s okay. They’re fine now. What do you mean ‘we?’” she asked, sniffing, her voice shaking.

“Can we talk about this later? I think your frame of mind needs to be a bit more ... well we both need to be in a better state of mind before you hear all the details, okay?”

She nodded. He finished healing her feet and had her stand, just to make sure they felt okay.

“Thank you Jurek. For everything, but especially for getting me out of that hell. I thought I would die down there. I wanted to feel the sun on my face again.”

“Would you like to take a walk? Around Lare-Stell?”

Why did I just ask her that? What the hell was I thinking?

“Thanks, but I don’t think so. Not right now anyway. I would like a shower though.”

He was concerned about whether she was okay on her own. “Do you need help? I can help you, or I could get Naroo to help.”

She gave him a tiny smile. “I think I’ve got this.”

He nodded and left to give her some privacy.

Liasare got in the shower and the first thing she did was vigorously scrub her body. She wanted to wash the feel of those monsters off of her. She scrubbed and scrubbed, but no matter how hard she tried, she could still feel their teeth and claws all over her skin. She barely made it to the toilet before she violently heaved. She brushed her teeth over and over, trying to get the taste and smell of that dungeon out of her mouth. Then she went to the window seat at the viewing platform and watched the stars.