The Silkie's Woman (8 page)

He brushed past her, loping down the hall with easy grace. Megan followed, nearly running into his back as he stopped at one of the doors. This room had no windows, so she couldn't see what was within. Megan watched as Urlon's hand, trembling wildly, gripped the knob before shoving it open. The room had been dark, but lights shot on; apparently they were on sensors. A figure huddled on a raised platform hospital bed. Megan slipped past Urlon and moved towards the bed. She looked back to see if he was following her in, and she saw his face whiten as he moved farther into the room.

"I can't enter, Megan. They have lined the inner walls here with lead, a deadly substance to my people. No wonder Set can't respond. He's being slowly poisoned. You will have to get him out of the room, Megan." Anguish tinted his voice, and Megan was surprised to see the glimmer of liquid at the corner of his eyes.

"I can do it, Urlon, I'm much stronger than I look. He'll be out of here in no time." Megan began to unhook the EKG monitors from Set's chest and forehead, unstrapping his bonds and carefully removing his IV, pressing the sheets to the hole to stop the bleeding.

When everything was off, she paused a minute to look around the room. She didn't see anything that might help her, just a bunch of unfamiliar machines.
Pulling on the bottom sheet might make it easier to drag his heavy body,
she thought, and gave the sheet a yank. Sure enough, Set slid right to the very edge of the bed. Megan propped her lower body against the bed and yanked again, pulling his feet and legs all the way off of the bed. When she moved her body slightly, he slid further down until only his shoulders were on the bed. Moving behind him to support his fall made his impact with the floor very gentle despite his great height and weight.

He had to be at least as tall, if not taller than Urlon. His hair shimmered with the same blue-black highlights as Urlon’s but his features were harsher, the cheekbones higher, and his face more rectangular in shape. It was easy to tell they were related, though; even at rest Set gave off an aura of confidence and strength.

Once he was on the floor with the sheet beneath him, it was easy enough to pull the sheet and maneuver him across the distance separating them from Urlon. As soon as she was close enough, Urlon reached down and, with a grunt, pulled Set's dead weight up into his arms and over his shoulder. Megan led the way down the hall and opened the outside door for Urlon.

"We can't go across the fields. He's too heavy for you to carry all that way. We'll have to take him down the road and hope nobody sees us." Megan crossed the driveway in front of the building and began the long trek home, with Urlon following behind.

Chapter Nine

They didn't pass a soul on the way home, and managed to get Set inside her small home with a minimum of fuss. She was amazed at Urlon's strength. He had hefted Set as if he weighed no more than a child, and hadn't seemed at all winded by their long walk, although her own lungs strained for air.

"Put him in the spare room, Urlon, he'll be more comfortable there than on the couch. What do you need to care for him?" She asked anxiously, hoping he didn't need to be hospitalized. How would they explain that to the authorities? Better to try to care for him themselves than chance a run-in with the people who had taken him.

Urlon would be going back to the sea soon, taking Set with him, and leaving her behind, she realized, tears welling in her eyes at the thought. She shook her head with determination. Enough of that! Urlon would need help with Set, and she wasn't doing anybody any good wallowing in self-pity. Urlon hadn't responded to her question, so she followed him into her spare bedroom, and saw him gently place Set on the bed and draw up the thick comforter.

Urlon looked up as she entered the room, and for the first time since he had yelled at her for following him, opened up his surface thoughts.

I can't sense him. Even though the iron is gone, he isn't there. I think maybe the poison has gone too far to heal
. Urlon's mindspeak was tinged with sorrow, and she could clearly sense the emotion he was struggling to contain.

Perhaps he just needs time to heal. His voice was very strong when he called to us. I refuse to believe that he could have gone downhill so fast. Perhaps he's just hiding
? Megan's mindspeak was a tentative soprano compared to Urlon's deep bass, but he reacted as if she had shouted in his ear.

Of course. He is probably deep within his memories. Perhaps the people who took him were attempting to learn about the mindspeak, and that is why they used the iron. They must have known how it affected him, and that it prevented him from using mindspeak. We need to try and call him back together, Megan; he won't be able to resist us if we call strongly
. Urlon sighed.
If he's still there.

What do I need to do
? Megan asked.

Urlon cleared his throat and continued out loud. "Come sit beside him next to the wall. Contact may help you to focus on him, so you should place your hands on his chest. I'll be on the other side, with my hands on his head. When I begin to call his name, you need to do the same thing. Try and push your way past his shielding into his mind, the way we practiced earlier. You should be able to enter his mind as easily as mine when I am only lightly shielded. I can feel the top layer of his mind, so you should have no problem getting in." Urlon paused and drew in a deep breath. "Ready?"

When Megan nodded, Urlon gestured her to take her position across from him. As soon as her hands set down on Set's chest,
Megan could feel how shallow his breathing was, and how little shielding he had in place. His long hair spilled over the pillow in rippling waves, and she had to move several long strands from his chest before her skin made contact with his. She had no problems making the push into his mind. Urlon was there, as bright as a beacon. His voice boomed through her skull.
Set, Set, Set
. Like a clarion call, her own rose to meet him. Their voices twined in a chant, which grew progressively stronger as they began to feel frustrated with the lack of response.

Hours later, Megan lay down next to Set, her hands on his chest and her mindspeak only a murmur. She was just too exhausted. The long walk, combined with her weakened lungs and the energy it took for her to sustain mindspeak, were becoming too much for her.

"Megan, we need to stop now. There is nothing left here to save. His body lives, but his mind is gone." Urlon moved across the room and out the door.

His grief was unbearable, and Megan's shields weren't up to filtering out his inner cries. Tears filled her eyes, dripping down her face and onto Set's chest. She never felt movement until Set's hand entwined with her hair, yanking her head back as he looked into her eyes. He didn't say anything, and Megan had no warning before she felt a force smashing through her shields, leaving every neuron in her brain firing with electrical pain. Her mental cry for Urlon was weak and confused, her mind and body already beginning to shut down when Set suddenly let her go, pushing up on the bed until he was able to move away from her.

Megan pushed away from him, falling on the floor and scrabbling backward towards the door. Her back bumped into Urlon as he ran into the room.

"Megan, what's..." his voice trailed off as he saw Set sitting up on the bed. He moved around Megan towards the bed. She watched in disbelief as he embraced the man who had raped her, for that's what it had felt like. His push into her mind had been unsolicited and painful, filling her with anger and fear. She shook her head and slowly stood up, moving backwards out of the room, too afraid to turn her back on the monster her lover had brought into her home.

***

"Set, we thought you were gone from us, lost because of poisoning. What happened to you?"

Set looked up, his face an ashen white. "Urlon, you need to see to your Amat before we speak. When I awoke I thought I was in the place of death and pushed into her mind. She wasn't prepared, and I wasn't gentle. I'm afraid I have caused her harm. I ripped through her shields as if they were paper. I didn't realize she was not one of them until I had already hit her center thoughts."

Goddamn it,
Urlon thought. He had just begun to gain her trust. He'd be lucky if she ever allowed him into her mind willingly again. He didn't say anything to Set, too angry with his friend to speak with him. He moved out into the living room and looked around for Megan. She wasn't in the small room and he could hear the water on in the bathroom. He moved to the door, and knocked gently.

"Megan, are you all right?" He tried a gentle push into her mind and was shocked at the depth of her anger and fear. Megan viewed what had happened to her as a violation, a rape of her mind. He didn't think this would be easily fixed. He didn't bother to knock again; she hadn't locked the door, so he just pushed it open. The water in the tub was on, and Megan was crouched down next to the toilet, her clothes spread out over the floor and her eyes on the door in fear. Her arms were wrapped around her curled-up legs, and she pushed herself into a small ball against the far side of the bathroom.

"Oh, honey, he isn't going to hurt you. He thought you were one of the people who injured him. He had no way of knowing you were my Amat until it was too late. We can fix the damage done, Megan, you don't need to be afraid of Set. He's horrified by what he did. Please let me help you." He raised a hand towards her and paused as she flinched.
What have we done to her
? he thought with sorrow.

Her thoughts were jumbled, and she wasn't thinking clearly. He needed to calm her fears before she harmed herself. Her body was exhausted, and she couldn't take much more stress before she collapsed.

 
Perhaps he could make himself appear less threatening, he thought, crouching down until he was kneeling on the floor, his hand still outstretched towards her. He began the work of repairing her shield, murmuring soothing chuffs to her as he worked. The soft sounds were a poor replica of what his throat produced when he was in seal form, but they seemed to do the trick. Although the damage to her shields was not visible to the eyes of a normal human being, Urlon clearly saw the fractures and fissures that needed to be repaired. Without repair, Megan would be unable to block future unwanted attacks, and the outside world would slowly bleed in through the fissures. An unrepaired shield caused great pain, and leaving it like that was not a possibility.
 
She relaxed, little by little, and finally reached out for his hand. The water in the tub was close to overflowing, and Urlon turned off the taps. He moved towards Megan, taking care not to make any sudden moves. Because of her perceptions of Set's invasion, he knew he had to move slowly, allowing her time to become adjusted to contact again. As he drew closer she launched herself up from the floor, wrapping her arms and legs around him and burying her face in his chest as her entire body jolted in sobs.

"Urlon, I can't see him again," she sobbed. "I know it wasn't on purpose, but what he did can't be erased as if it never happened. I'm not sure I'll even be comfortable with you in my mind after this." Her words became indistinguishable as sobbing shook her body with fresh intensity.

Urlon ran soothing hands up and down her back. He had no idea what to do. He could feel how upset she was, and her tears made him willing to do whatever he had to in order to make her sadness go away. He maneuvered her legs off his hips and put his hands under her knees. She gave a little gasp of surprise as her body sank into the water of the tub, but she didn't relax her grip around his shoulders. He moved back a bit and her hands tightened even more. "Urlon, wait, don't go, please don't leave me," She cried piteously.

 
This wasn't his Megan. Before this had happened he would have sworn that nothing could cow her. She had reacted with aplomb to everything else that had happened to her in the past two days. Perhaps she just needed time to deal with it, he thought. Contrary to his previous thoughts, she appeared to be comfortable with his physical presence, surprising him with the depth of her trust.

"I'm not going anywhere, Megan. I'll stay right here." His words appeared to soothe her, and she relaxed enough for him to pull back and kneel next to the tub. He remained in contact with her mind the entire time and knew she would feel much better if she relaxed for a bit. He was determined to take care of her. A dry washcloth and liquid soap were in a stand next to the tub, and he picked them both up. He swirled the cloth through the water before pouring out some of the soap. Megan's fearful eyes remained locked on him, as if she didn't want to let him out of her sight.

"Just relax, Megan." He gently rubbed the cloth up one leg, then the other, gratified as he felt her body and mind relaxing. He rubbed the cloth gently up the other leg, and both arms. Over the next ten minutes, he rubbed the cloth on every part of her body, soothing the tension and fear away. He moved the cloth across her stomach and was gratified when he felt a glimmer of desire sparking in her mind. Her legs opened slightly, and her head dropped back onto the rim of the tub as arousal replaced fear. He rubbed the cloth teasingly over her breasts before moving it back to her clit. This would be for her. Perhaps it would allow her to release some of the fear she now had for mind-to-mind contact.

He opened his mind to hers, allowing her to see what he felt: his regret and anger over what his friend had mistakenly done, his determination to stay with her, foregoing the sea, and his growing love. The last of her fear flew away with the intense feelings flooding her body. His hand circled the nub of pleasure at the top of her cleft. He gritted his teeth as his erection bounded up against the tight confines of the jeans he wore, but he made no move to join her. The water lapped gently at the tub rim as Megan moved her hips in counterpoint to his gentle rubbing. It didn't take long for her to convulse in pleasure. Leftover adrenaline made the sensations so intense for her that her pleasure slammed into his mind, making him groan. Her peak became his as a flood of cum pushed out the tip of his cock, dampening the front of his jeans.

Soft panting filled the room as they both recovered.

"Will it always be like that?" Megan asked softly.

"As long as we are alive, the Amat will seal us together, through both the good and the bad," he replied, leaning down and pressing his lips to hers. He had seen this in Megan's mind, a mouth-to-mouth congress that resulted in pleasure for her. He was astounded to find that as her lips moved beneath his a great sense of intimacy developed, perhaps even stronger than their sexual unions. He moved his tongue tentatively against hers, requesting permission to enter the warm cavern of her mouth. He mimicked the motions of lovemaking with his tongue, a slow in and out that aroused them again. He gently ended the kiss, awed by her renewed trust and determined to keep her safe from harm.

The tub water cooled, and Urlon lifted Megan, depositing her on the rug. Huge towels hung next to the door, and he used one to lovingly pat down her body, lingering in all the erogenous zones until he could hear her labored breathing. When he looked into her eyes he no longer saw heartbreaking fear and distrust, but the beginnings of love, and that was enough...for now.