Her Commanders - M.K. Eidem Page 0,78

he'd gathered the vipers in. "Then take this and get out of here."

Cali looked back at Jamis and Taarig. She was exhausted and just wanted to curl up between them where she knew she'd be safe and protected. But that wasn't reality because they weren't hers. If tonight proved nothing else, it proved that. Stiffening her spine, she forced her unsteady legs to move.

"I owe you for this, Xanto."

"You do," he agreed, "and I expect a full explanation as payment. Now get out of here before you fall down."

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

Cali staggered into the secret lift, not sure how she'd gotten there unnoticed since she hadn't looked before stepping out of Jamis’s quarters or when she entered the hidden corridor. Never in her existence had she felt so drained. The weight of the bag she carried had her listing to one side, so she dropped it and leaned back against the wall closing her eyes.

Yet she could still see Jamis and Taarig sprawled out on that bed, naked, defenseless, and dying from the viper venom running through their veins with bites covering their bodies. Reaching up, she touched the vicious bite that still hadn't healed on her neck. She didn't have enough power remaining to heal it and eradicate the venom. It was all she could do to stop the venom from spreading through her body and stay upright.

The specially designed lift she was in not only moved quickly and silently but stopped so smoothly, you barely felt it. Still, Cali's knees nearly buckled when it reached her quarters, and the door slid open.

Using the wall as support, Cali made her way down the corridor. It seemed to take an unusually long time to reach the door of her resting chamber and for it to slide open. When it finally did, she looked to her rejuvenation tank. What was she thinking putting it that far away? Pulling on the last of her reserves, she stumbled across the room. Dropping to her knees, she swept the pillows out of the way and placed a trembling hand on the centered emblem. The lid and sides retracted, revealing the life-giving, glowing, blue liquid, but it was too late for Cali. Her energy ran out, and her world became as dark and cold as the universe outside her viewport.

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

Taarig struggled against the dark emptiness trying to overtake his mind, body, and soul. He could hear snippets of conversation but couldn't make sense out of them. His body was racked with pain, but he didn't know why. Each new meteor strike drained a little more of his soul.

Then slowly, ever so slowly, a power began driving away the dark, cold numbness that was taking over his body. It entered his damaged soul, repairing and filling it with light, warmth, and life.

His mind began to clear, but he still couldn't decipher anything around him.

The hissing he'd heard had to have come from the Si female they'd brought back to Jamis’s quarters, but then something strange had happened. He knew it, but what?

His mind told him he'd heard Cali's voice, but that was impossible. Wasn't it? After the way, they'd treated her.

"He's beginning to come around."

Taarig recognized Lead Meddyg Ra's distinctive low-pitched voice. What was he doing here? Suddenly his entire body jolted. He had control of his body and jackknifed up, only then realizing he'd been lying on a bed.

"Easy," Ra urged, placing a steadying hand on his shoulder. "All the poison hasn't been counteracted yet."

"Poison?" Taarig asked after peeling his tongue off the roof of his mouth. He wanted to shrug off the Meddyg's hand but found he needed it to stop from toppling over. Taarig desperately wanted a glass of water. When one suddenly appeared before him, he greedily gulped it down with Ra’s assistance.

"You and the Base Commander both ingested Sion Viper venom," Ra told him.

"What?!" Taarig looked to his right, and his friend and bond mate was lying next to him, unnaturally still, extremely pale, and completely naked. Looking down, he realized he was naked too. "What the ruk?!"

Being naked in front of others didn't bother Taarig. Being found naked in bed next to Jamis didn't bother him either. What bothered him was he didn't have a rukking idea of how it had happened.

"You and the Commander are fortunate. If Pandit Xanto had not discovered you when he did, we couldn’t have administered the antidote in time."

"Who?" Taarig didn't recognize the name.

"Me, Sub Commander." Xanto stepped