Marked Prince - Michelle M. Pillow Page 0,51
com—” Salena jumped from Grier’s back, only to cry out in pain. “Blast it all, my ankle! I think I broke it.”
“Selen—?” Grier started to ask.
“Help Fiora,” Salena ordered, her voice strained. “Jaxx needs the handheld.”
Fiora heard Jaxx digging in the pack.
“Got it,” Grier said. “Catch.”
Jaxx released her face to catch the unit. Ash began to fall all around her at the lack of contact. Fiora closed her eyes and coughed as it landed on her lips. The slightly metallic taste flavored her mouth, and she tried not to breathe.
Jaxx grabbed her arm, and the ash-fall stopped. When she opened her eyes, he was leaning over her, healing a cut on her arm.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered.
“It’s not your fault,” she answered. “I shouldn’t have sat up. I should have been ready for the timelines. They caught me off guard. I knew better.”
“Oo-ow,” Salena moaned. “Yeah, definitely broken.”
“I tried to warn you to watch your dismount,” Fiora said.
“I wasn’t thinking about me. I was preoccupied with the fact you decided to skydive off Jaxx,” Salena countered, sounding grouchy.
“Not on purpose,” Fiora answered. The pain eased from her arm, not that she’d been focusing on it.
“Give me the medic,” Grier said to his cousin.
Jaxx tossed the handheld over to him.
“Help me up.” Fiora grabbed hold of Jaxx’s arm. He pulled her to sitting. She felt a little dizzy.
“Better?” Grier asked Salena, holding the handheld medic to her ankle.
“A little sore, but yeah, better,” Salena answered. “Thank you.”
“You’re bleeding,” Jaxx said, gesturing to her nose.
Fiora swiped at her nose. “It’ll go away.”
“Do you want to tell me what you saw?” Jaxx asked. His touch kept the information from replaying in her mind and becoming physically painful.
“An explosion starts in the center of town,” Fiora said. “It either spreads or there are more explosions, catching the forest on fire. Ash chokes the city, killing more people than the explosions. Citizens turn on each other. In the aftermath, lawlessness spills toward the shifter settlements. Some people starve, others die in various horrific ways.”
“Did you see how we stop it?” Grier asked.
“No. I see the effects, not the cause.” Fiora placed her hand over Jaxx’s. “You’ll need to take me into the city. We can talk to that cyborg Salena was talking about.”
“Yevgen,” Salena supplied. “He’ll know of any threats. If you find the right targets to read, you will find which timelines to follow.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Fiora said. “If we can find who or what starts this, maybe we can stop it.”
“You’re sure we can trust him?” Jaxx asked.
Fiora understood his concern. Cyborgs were both man and computer. It was sometimes difficult to tell how much was human and how much was programming. Robots followed a set of protocols and programs, some learning programs, but at their base core they had a primary function. Humans were unpredictable. Combine human emotion with a robotic function, and you could get a dangerous combination.
Salena nodded. “Yes. I trust him. He helped us find Fiora. However, I’ll warn you that I can’t force him to speak the truth. The machine in him is able to override the compulsion in the man.”
“You’re in no condition to walk,” Grier said to his wife. “You should stay in the—”
“My sister is not going in there alone,” Salena insisted.
“She won’t be alone. I’ll be there,” Jaxx said.
“Take me or I follow you after you leave,” Salena warned. “Your choice. Yevgen knows me. I can get him to trust you.”
“But your foot…” Grier began.
“I’ve seen glimpses of your future,” Fiora said. “I know you both make it out alive today.”
Grier seemed to relax at the news.
“Maybe you stay here and we’ll go see Yevgen,” Salena said. “Since you can’t see your future. Just to be safe.”
“Take me or I follow,” Fiora answered, arching a brow as she repeated Salena’s threat.
“Fair enough.” Her sister stood and rocked on her ankle. She reached for the handheld and typed in a program before pressing the device to her neck.
“What did you do?” Grier asked, checking the screen.
“Something to dull the pain. I promise to rest my ankle when this is over,” Salena said.
“A neuro-blocker?” Grier frowned. “Is this safe?”
Fiora pulled Jaxx’s hand away from her as she concentrated on her sister. “She’ll be in pain later once they wear off. You should get her to a medical booth as soon as you can.”
Jaxx took her hand to stop Salena’s timeline flow. “Can you stand?”
Fiora nodded. “I’m a little dizzy from the flight, but that will pass.”
Grier