Laura Jo Phillips (15 page)

Summer turned back to watch the controlled activity in the med-lab.  “These are the only four people left alive from the compound where I was,” she told Darleen.

“Yes, Doc told me,” Darleen said.  “I’m so sorry.  Those women don’t appear to be harmed, so that’s something.”  

Summer looked over at the three prisoners where they sat on chairs against the wall.  They looked like life-size dolls with vacant eyes and motionless bodies, and she shuddered to think how close she had been to having that happen to her.

“I wonder why it is that I got a different Controller,” she said, voicing aloud the question she had wondered about for so long. 

“Because you are
berezi
,” Darleen replied matter-of-factly. 

“Excuse me, but did you just say that Summer is
berezi
?” Faron asked from where he stood a few feet away from them.  Both women looked at him with startled eyes.  “I apologize,” he said.  “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but the word
berezi
caught my attention.”

“Yes,” Darleen replied.  “I don’t know what it means, but I heard Lio refer to her as a
berezi
many times.”

“That’s right,” Summer added.  “He told me this morning that I was
berezi
, and he said that was why I have the same Controller Darleen has,” Summer added.  “But I don’t know what it means.  Do you?”

“Yes, I do know what it means,” Faron said.  “I am not sure now is the right time to explain it though.”

Summer frowned and opened her mouth to argue when Saige arrived.  Summer turned to her instead.  “Saige, do you know what the word
berezi
means?” she asked.

“Yes, I do,” Saige replied slowly as she looked from Summer to Faron and back again.  “Why do you ask?”

Summer blew out a frustrated breath.  What was the big deal? she wondered.  She just wanted to know the meaning of the word and there weren’t any Jasani dictionaries handy.  She opened her mouth to answer Saige’s question when Faron held up one hand to stop her. 

“There is no need,” he said.  “I will tell you. 
Berezi
is an ancient Jasani word that is now used to describe a woman who has the potential to become an Arima to a Jasani male-set.  We believe that the Xanti have discovered a way to identify these rare and most important females, and are marking them specifically for abduction.”

“What is an Arima?” Summer asked.

Faron looked to Saige, then, reluctantly, turned back to Summer.  “An Arima is....”

“Stop,” Maxim interrupted imperiously.  Faron turned and glared at him.

“I apologize,” Maxim said quickly.  “But I would request that you not explain the meaning of
Arima
to Miss Whitney at this time.”

Faron stared at Maxim for a long moment in complete surprise.  He was about to give the eldest Katre a hard dressing down for his presumption when the truth finally hit him.

“Oh,” he said, unable to think of anything further to say.  Saige, however, had no such problem.

“Is Summer your Arima?” she demanded, her light green eyes sparking with outrage.

“Yes, Arima Lobo,” Maxim admitted.  “She is.”

“She’s your Arima and you have not only failed to tell her that, but your treatment of her has been abominable.” Saige growled. 

“Now,
amada
,” Faron said gently, trying to intervene. 

Saige glanced at Faron, then turned her gaze back to Maxim.  “Are you ashamed of her because she was held prisoner for a year?”

Maxim’s eyes widened in shock.  “Of course not,” he replied.  “Such a thought never occurred to me.”

“Wait,” Summer interrupted.  “I don’t understand any of this.  What is an Arima?  Why are you so angry, Saige?  And what has it got to do with Maxim?”

Saige opened her mouth to answer, but a look from Faron stopped her.  She closed her mouth with a snap, folded her arms in front of herself and glared at Maxim.

“This is a subject that is best discussed in private between you, and the Katres,” Faron said.  “I do not think this is either the time or the place for it.”

“Nor do I,” Doc interjected.  “I’m trying to save this woman’s life over here and all of the shouting is not helping my concentration.  And if Miss Flowers doesn’t mind, I could use another hand.”

“You want me to help you?” Darleen asked in surprise.

“Yes, please,” Doc said.  “So long as you aren’t squeamish that is.”

“No, I’m not squeamish,” Darleen said as she hurried forward, giving Maxim Katre a wide berth on her way to the exam table. 

Summer sent silent thanks to Doc, then turned to Saige.  “I think Faron is correct,” she said.  “Now is not the time.  Those women sitting over there are more important right now.”

Saige turned to look at the women the Katres had brought from the slave compound, the anger leaving her expression. 

“You’re right,” she said.  “Let’s see if we can help them.”

Summer nodded and they crossed the room to where the three women sat, each of them dressed in the same rough shift that Summer had worn, staring blankly ahead. 

“Can you get them to stand up?” Saige asked doubtfully.  This close-up view of the women made her feel slightly ill.  Their eyes were so empty and cold, like looking into a dead person’s eyes.

Summer grimaced.  She really did not like doing this.  “Controller, stand,” she said in a firm tone.  All three women stood up in perfect synchronization, like three parts of one mechanism. 

“That’s just creepy,” Saige said.

“I know,” Summer said.  “Can you help them?”

“I don’t know, but I will try,” Saige said.  She stepped forward and reached out to the woman on the end, placing her hands gently on the woman’s shoulders and closing her eyes.

A few seconds later she removed her hands from the woman’s shoulders, took a few steps back and bent over, her arms crossed in front of her as she gasped quietly.  Faron rushed to her side and lifted her into his arms, pulling her close against his chest.  Saige turned her face into Faron’s shoulder and he turned around, hiding her from the concerned eyes of the others in the room.

“Shhh,
amada
,” he crooned to her softly.  “It’s going to be all right.  We will care for these women, I promise you that.”

It wasn’t long before the door burst open and Dav and Ban rushed in, their eyes almost frantic as they hurried to Faron’s side, surrounding Saige completely.  Summer watched as all three men stroked and soothed Saige, whispering to her softly in an effort to calm her. 

She wanted that, Summer realized with surprise.  Not just a family, as she had told herself when she’d first decided to come to Jasan.  No, she wanted much more than that.  She wanted to be loved exactly the way the Lobos so obviously loved Saige.  But, she was no longer willing to pretend to be someone other than herself, and experience had taught her that her true self was not likeable.  No one liked the real Summer Whitney. 

No, she amended silently.  That’s not true.  Saige seems to like me, and Darleen as well.  Its nice being liked without having to pretend to be someone else, she thought.  It’s not the same as being loved, but it’s better than nothing.  Perhaps it will be enough.

After a few more minutes Faron lowered Saige to her feet.  She crossed the room to the sink and splashed water on her face, then used a towel to dry herself before turning around. 

“I apologize,” she said quietly.  “That was just...difficult.” 

“Is there no hope at all?” Summer asked.

“Oh, there is plenty of hope,” Saige said quickly.  “I really think we can do this if we work together.”

 “So why were you so upset?” Summer asked with a confused frown. 

Saige shuddered.  “Because Rebecca...that is that woman’s name...Rebecca is trapped in her own subconscious mind, and it’s having a nightmare.  A nightmare she cannot wake up from, and that is slowly driving her insane.  Just spending a few moments in her nightmare with her was almost more than I could stand.”

Saige turned to Doc, who had paused in what he was doing to listen to her.  “Doc, I am very concerned that suddenly awaking from their nightmares might push these poor women over the edge.”

“You want to sedate them?” he asked.

“Not a lot.  Just enough to dull reality for them.”

“I think that’s a wise idea,” he said.  He turned to check on his patient, then walked over to the drug cabinet and unlocked it.  A few moments later he returned with an injector. 

“I’ll just give her a little of this,” he said as he swabbed Rebecca’s arm.  “It won’t do more than dull her senses a bit.  If she seems to need more when she awakens, then we can give her a little more.”

“Good,” Saige said with relief.  “Summer, I really don’t know how I know this, but the Controller has caused damage to the part of their brains that allows them to wake up.  They are essentially in a deep dream state, and have been for however long the Controllers have been in them.  I can Heal that part of their brain, but the Controller will immediately work to destroy what I Heal.”

“So, as soon as you Heal them, I need to deactivate the Controller,” Summer said.

“Yes,” Saige replied.  “The problem is going to be timing.  You were correct when you worried that stopping the Controller would kill them.  It will.  Almost at once.  It controls their breathing, their heart beat, everything.  We have to Heal the damage, then shut down the Controller almost simultaneously.” 

“Okay,” Summer said.  “Let me get in there first.  I need to mentally get hold of the central processing node so that when you are finished, I can try to shut the whole system down.”

“All right,” Saige said.  “Go ahead.  Let me know when you’re ready.”

Summer placed one hand on Rebecca’s shoulder to help her get a stronger connection with the Controller.  It only took her a few moments to find what she needed.  When she was certain she was ready, she reached over and tapped Saige, unwilling to break her concentration by speaking aloud. 

Almost at once she sensed Saige join her inside of Rebecca’s mind.  It was a surprise, but she managed to hang onto the Controller in spite of it.  She sensed something pure, bright and clean flash through Rebecca’s brain, then felt a sudden tap on her arm.  She immediately deactivated the central processing node, ruthlessly destroying every tendril of the Controller with a hard, mental slam of power that she hadn’t even known she was capable of.

She felt her knees weaken and she started to slump to the floor, knowing she was going to land hard but helpless to stop herself.  Strong arms caught her before she hit and picked her up, cradling her against a broad chest.  She forced her eyes to open and looked up, confused to see Maxim’s face.  She had a moment to wonder why he had bothered to catch her before darkness closed in.

Chapter
19

“No, she needs to rest first,” Maxim was saying as Summer swam up out of the darkness.  She struggled to open her eyes and was stunned to find herself surrounded by all three of the Katre brothers.  Ran and Loni were both watching her carefully, their eyes never wavering from her face, though Maxim was looking over his shoulder at whomever he was talking to.

“I’m okay,” Summer said  “you can put me down now.”

Maxim turned to look at her for a long moment, his face unreadable.  “Very well,” he said and lowered her slowly to her feet, waiting to be sure that she was standing firmly on her own before releasing her.  He then stepped back so that she could see both Saige and Darleen standing there, gazing at her worriedly.

“Did it work?” Summer asked.  “How is Rebecca?”

Saige smiled.  “Yes, it worked.  Rebecca is a little groggy and confused, but I think she’ll be fine.  How are you?”

“I’m not sure,” Summer replied.  “I don’t know what I did exactly, but it took a lot more energy than anything I’ve ever done before.  I think I destroyed the Controller though.”

“Really?” Saige said eagerly.  “Do you mean it’s completely gone, or merely disabled?”

“I don’t know,” Summer replied.  “If there’s any part of it still active, I can probably connect to it and see how much of it is still there.  But if it’s destroyed, there won’t be anything for me to connect to.  Do you want me to try?”

As soon as she asked the question, Summer felt Maxim’s instant
No
as clearly as if he’d shouted it.  But he was standing right in front of her and he had not so much as twitched, let alone spoken.  Summer stared at him in surprised confusion for a long moment before turning back to Saige. 

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to do any more tonight,” Saige was saying.  “I keep forgetting what you’ve already been through today, you and Darleen both, and I apologize for that.”

“But what about the other two women?” Summer asked.  “I don’t want them to suffer any more than they have to.”

Again she felt a negative response from Maxim, but, as before, he had not moved a fraction.  She frowned at him, wondering what was going on, then set it aside for the more immediate concern.

She turned back to Saige only to find that Doc had joined them.  “Miss Whitney, you expended a great amount of mental energy just now, and that takes a toll.  Take my advice and give yourself some time to rest up a bit before you try it again.  If you cause yourself harm, then nobody is going to be able to help these women.  They’ll be okay for another day or so.  They made it this long, another day won’t matter to them.”