The Chronicles of Heaven's War: Burning Phoenix (88 page)

“Then it is settled.” Zadar stood back,
resting his weight upon the carriage. “I shall go my way this
night, doing you no harm, and you can return to your girl.”

Spinning about, Darla shook a finger,
threatening, “You’ve dragged me out here, away from my child, and
now Eurawha is enjoying her warmth. You will not forsake me to the
cold in order to salve a guilty conscience over your intent. You
will take me up into those distant hills, and we will explore
whatever adventures that may come together.”

Zadar shrugged defensively. “But you said my
probing would be useless. I…”

“So...” Darla replied curtly, “a probe is
all you wanted, and if that could not be delivered, you had no
interest in some rutting with a roe in heat?”

Standing there dumbfounded, Zadar made no
reply.

Darla turned away, wrapping her arms around
the ancient leather bag she was carrying. “Mother is worth more
than a casual conversation, or remorseful poetic prose. I have
offered everything up to her, the same as you have.”

She turned around, facing Zadar. “Does war
ever end? If it is not the body being torn and ravaged in combat,
does not the Worm still attempt to destroy the mind? Yes, my little
brother, we are still at war, in the middle of it. Our Mother’s
heart is at stake here. If you believe I might carry within my
twisted, tormented mind a possible cure, then I am willing to risk
all for you to obtain that cure.”

Looking toward the road, she sighed. “One
day, when the universe is freed of this present evil, generations
will arise that have no memory of this hour, not having experienced
its effects on spirit and soul. In that day, there will come
ridiculers claiming that Mother’s actions were harsh and
inappropriate. It is our responsibility, our obligation, to settle
in the court of public opinion our Mother’s innocence. Whatever
that takes, I am willing to do.”

Looking into Zadar’s eyes, she lifted the
bag in her hands. “The cure... The cure may be just one sip away,
or at least the unlocking of my sealed chambers. Ripe and powerful
is the wine of the blood grape secreted here, and plenty there is
to conjure the most vivid of wild, unchained dreams. Search my soul
this night. To its very ending, I open to you the treasures never
given to any man or woman. Do this in search of a cure for our
Mother’s defense.”

Cupping Darla’s face in his hands, Zadar
thanked his sister for her sacrifice. After a tender embrace and
passionate kiss, he assisted her into the machine, musing “I know
of a place not far from here, a moss-covered glen hidden deep in a
forest of heather and evergreen.”

Darla cooed, saying it sounded
wonderful.

The autocar sprang to life, its engine
humming merrily as the machine zipped away. In the sky, stars
twinkled as the warm breeze welcomed countless winged night
creatures. Tomorrow? Well, tomorrow would come. To the carefree
little creatures skipping about, it mattered little. For two hearts
beating as one, it was oh, so very important...

* * *

The following morning dawned bright, the sun
warning the world of a coming warm, sultry day. Mihai had excused
herself after breakfasting and departed for the South Diamond
Convalescent Center, some distance north of Palace City. She was
currently sitting in a breezy portico with her dearest Sirion.

Sirion was mending well. The hospital ship,
LoriGee, rushed to a rendezvous with the fleet en route from
EremiaPikros to EdenEsonbar. Sirion and the other freed prisoners
were hurried aboard where surgeons waited. By knife and healing
machine, the medical teams worked feverishly to repair broken
bodies, while psycho-renewal chambers assisted to rebuild shattered
minds.

(Author’s Note:
The term ‘knife’ was used
for describing any form of invasive surgery where the body was
opened to make repair or remove foreign objects. This included
countless arrays of machines and tools as well as ‘harmonic’ or
‘song medicine’, where certain skilled Ancients used finger
manipulation combined with audio interposition to perform internal
surgeries.

Reconstructive surgery for non
life-threatening injuries was a relatively new practice at the
time, the feeling previously being that natural healing, though
timely, was sufficient, leaving the surgeons to tend to more
serious physical injuries. The unprecedented volume of wounded from
burns and explosions during the Great War hastened the development
of proper medical facilities to treat the horrific disfigurement
and mental trauma the war was inflicting. Not only were hospitals
and sanatoriums constructed to care for such injuries, hospital
ships like the
LoriGee
were commissioned to take that
kind of treatment into the field.
)

Sirion’s surgeries were many, yet for a
large part, the healing machines were allowed to do most of the
work. Already the girl’s breasts were in process of regeneration
with the assist of skin grafts and injections of super hormones.
Broken bones were mending, muscle, and other tissue reforming, and
even new teeth were beginning to poke through her gums. All in all,
Sirion was quite pleased with the results as she preened before the
looking glass she held up in her hand.

Mihai laughed, watching her child carry on
with such merriment. Still it was not all rosy. She had been
informed that Sirion still suffered from post trauma. At the
present time, the girl made daily visits to the psycho-chambers,
the medical staff feeling a few more days of that therapy helpful.
But the surgeons feared nerve damage affecting her motor controls -
and ruined eye – could possibly take years before they would fully
heal.

It was this final diagnosis that bothered
Mihai the most. Sirion was a strong-headed child and was determined
to get back into the cockpit of a fighter craft. Being relegated to
driving a
hack
did not set well with the girl’s temperament.
Since the beginning of her visit, Sirion had been pestering her
with request to be released for combat duty. For much of the
morning, Mihai was successful at changing the subject, which she
was preparing to do again.

Sirion looked over from the mirror,
grinning, her new teeth recently becoming visible. “See! I’m almost
fully healed. The nurses say only a few more days and I’ll be good
as new. Now what…”

Mihai looked at some flowers on a table near
Sirion’s chair, asking excitedly, “Are those jewel’s weed? They
don’t grow around here, but off to the east.”

“Yes.” Sirion answered reluctantly. “Colonel
Treston…you remember Treston, my Treston who I mentored? Well he’s
been made a colonel by the War Department…assigned to Army duties
near the Oros desert. Supposed to start training new recruits, I
was told. Well, he’s come to Palace City to meet with some of the
high brass. Early this morning, he paid me a visit.”

She frowned. “I’ve never been treated so
special before, at least to the point of being fought over.”

“What?” Mihai asked, curious. “Is Treston a
threat in some way?”

Sirion denied it was so, explaining, “Oh no,
a more polite and caring gentleman I’ve not known, but I do feel
strange when men spar over me like I’m some special treasure to be
had.”

“How so?”

“Well.” Sirion confessed. “Treston was not
my only visitor this day. I was sitting right here, admiring the
flowers given me when Eutychus arrived to visit. He’s been stopping
by from time to time since my coming here.”

She looked up, dismayed. “They were polite
enough, on the outside at least, but if looks could kill, I’m sure
there would have been bloodshed.”

Mihai felt Sirion was making more of things
than necessary, thinking it amusing. “Sounds rather sweet to me...
Shouldn’t you be feeling flattered?”

Sirion’s opinion did not change. “No, those
two weren’t jousting in some flirting game the likes I’ve seen the
men from this world do. Those fellows from the Lower Worlds play
possessively. I noticed it when mentoring Treston. I felt his
growing desire to own me, only breaking that spell by seducing him
into the arms of other women. Eutychus and I have only known each
other since the Prisoner Exchange. He’s my saving angel, and we’ve
been good friends since, but that is all, yet I felt his heated
desire this day to lay claim to me.”

Thinking over what Sirion revealed, Mihai
cautioned, “Selfish ownership is a common trait of many in the
Lower Realms. That kind of baggage is known to be carried into this
world by some of them. It is possible that you might get sucked
into an unpleasant turf war if you’re not careful.”

Troubled, Sirion asked. “What can I do?”

Rubbing her chin while looking at the floor,
Mihai answered, “Well…first, I’d keep ‘em out of my bed. That’s for
starters. Then I’d put ‘em in their place if they start to get out
of line. Let ‘em know who the boss is, that you own your body and
will enforce that ownership in unpleasant ways, unpleasant for
them.”

“How do I do that?” Sirion cried. “Treston’s
the only man from the Lower Realms I’ve been with. Unlike you, my
lovers have been few. You’ve been around men of both Realms long
enough to know how to keep them in line.”

Mihai patted Sirion on the leg. “You’ll do
just fine…put them in their place. Those fellows learn quickly.
Mind you, do be careful not to deflate their egos too far. The men
from the Lower Realms have a passion that…well…is too valuable to
risk losing.”

Looking back into the mirror, Sirion mused,
“I can always leave the matter go after getting back to my duties
in a few days.”

Mihai was not pleased. “The surgeons have
not given you a clean bill of health yet. When you’re up and about,
we’ll discuss your return to duties. Until then…”

Sirion soured, her reply caustic. “No
child
am I! A daughter born to the blood of war since the
days after the Great Flooding I am! I’ve watched others with
greater injuries than I return to battle, and with your blessing.
I’m
not
your
little baby
and
you
not my
mother hen
.”

Surprised, Mihai defended herself. “No
mother hen am I over anyone, especially you! I have no intention of
holding you back. If you want to get kil…Look! I just believe you
need to heal a bit more. A few weeks or a month might be a much
better tim…”

Sirion cut her off, angry. “Don’t think you
can brush me off with hollow promises! My body’s been ruined by
combat before, my returning to the Army at those times my choice.
Since the 200 Years War, you’ve coddled me, pushing me out of
frontline duty by refusing my request to have the Review Council
reopen the Chobine Incident, which would have proved that collision
was mechanical malfunction.”

“Dear.” Mihai lifted her hands defensively.
“It was very tenuous times then. The carrier, Chobine, was engaged
in another theater. I could not afford to call in the witnesses of
the event to testify, nor afford to pull officers out of combat to
form the council. I…”

Sirion’s retort was bitter. “There is no
safe haven when death searches you out! I wished to ship aboard the
SharonGray as a pilot scout, and patrol Eden’s Gate, but you sent
me off on the Zephath to ‘
protect
me’…your words. Well, the
SharonGray returned to port after a successful patrol. Need I tell
you what happened to the Zephath?”

Sirion’s stinging question was like a blow
to Mihai’s midriff. She stammered as if gasping for air, finally
stuttering, “I…I…I’ve…lost…so many. I…I can’t afford…to lose
you…too.”

Sirion’s was noticeably upset. Not that she
blamed Mihai for her capture on the Zephath, but for seeing herself
in Mihai’s eyes as little more than a precious pet needing
protection. Her dander was up, and at the moment cared not the
damage her verbal blows might cause. She spewed her pent up
feelings remorselessly. “You lost me the day we drew swords
together in the First Aphrodite War! I, along with the rest of my
kindred, was thrown upon the altar of war to live or die at the
whim of those Fates. A covenant I made with the damned with my
first murder of one of Mother’s children, and in that bed shall my
heart and flesh remain until this Rebellion is finished.”

With tears welling up in her eyes, Mihai
cried, “You need time to heal! That’s all! Just a little time! Take
some rest…”

“I’ll rest when I’m dead!” Sirion fumed. She
leaned toward Mihai, her face clouding with smoldering fury, the
girl speaking in little more than a low, guttural hiss. “How do you
think I kept my sanity when riding the bellies of horses? By
dreaming revenge, remembering the names of those torturing me,
their faces, their genteel ridicule! Then, while my body was being
mercilessly desecrated by those bastards, I would envision my hands
doing the same to them, their screams and pitiable whimpering for
mercy as I slowly tore the living flesh off their bones.”

Mihai was caught up speechless, finding no
words with which to make reply.

Sirion looked away, pitching the hand mirror
against one of the building’s pillars. “The surgeons have given me
release to attend the upcoming council. Mother has invited me to it
and I will not disappoint.”

She looked back at Mihai, threatening. “If
you’ve not found me a command to join by that time, I will ship
aboard the SueTondie, its captain having already contacted me. The
Wildcatters are looking for fighter pilots and they’re not fussy as
long as the person knows how to fly.”

Desperate at hearing this revelation, Mihai
begged Sirion in hopes to buy a little more time. “Please! Please
be patient with me and I promise - promise to get you back in the
pilot’s seat.”

“You’ve got two more days!” Sirion shook a
finger at Mihai. “I’m not coming back here after the council! The
SueTondie leaves but two days after and I will not risk waiting to
join another command on your whim.”