Her Commanders - M.K. Eidem Page 0,98

was shocked to see Cali straddling Taarig's body. But it wasn't their Cali. This Cali had black scales covering part of her face and body and black spikes for hair. Only her glowing, topaz eyes reminded him of their Cali, as did the scale-free hands this Cali pressed against Taarig's chest.

"Come on, Taarig," he heard her mumble. "Come on. Stay with me. Stay with us. Let me pull you back."

Jamis moved closer as this Cali's hands glowed brighter and brighter, and more scales began to dissolve, leaving behind pale, naked flesh. Simultaneously, the blood flow from Taarig's injury stopped, and his body began to glow. His back arched off the wall, then, for the first time since being shot, Taarig sucked in a deep, clear breath.

"Cali?" Taarig croaked, his eyes fluttering open as he relaxed back against the wall.

"You're going to be fine, Taarig," she reassured him, with a shaky smile as she kept her power flowing into him. "Just stay with me."

"She's not…" Jamis began only to be cut off by a shout.

"Cali!"

Xanto had left the Brink at a dead run, ignoring the angry shouts of the beings he shoved out of his way. Thousands of scenarios had flashed through his mind for how Cali had become sealed in an airlock, none of them good. But what worried him most was the way her comm had cut out and the primal howl that had nearly knocked him off his feet before he could reach her.

The entire base would have heard it, and while most would think a piece of machinery malfunctioning caused it, he knew what it really was; the howl of a Zagreus Beast. Something only heard when the Beast was in excruciating pain. Sliding around the last curve of the storage area, he couldn't believe what he found.

It looked like a war zone.

A headless body lay near the airlock with burnt bits of skin and brain matter sprayed across the wall and ceiling. A red streak ran down the wall leading to where the Sub Commander slumped against it. The Commander was on his knees on the far side of the Sub Commander, his hands and uniform covered in blood, while Cali straddled the Sub Commander's waist, her hands glowing brighter than Xanto had ever seen as she pressed them against his chest. Cali's lower body remained covered in black scales, and that worried Xanto the most. It meant Cali had completely shifted into her primal state to save herself. Which meant she'd already expended a massive amount of energy and was now expending even more healing the Sub Commander.

Between the way Cali was beginning to tremble, how quickly her scales were dissolving, and how translucent her exposed skin was, Xanto knew she was drawing on the very last of her reserves. He needed to get her to stop before she irreparably harmed herself. He'd just taken a step toward her when Cali's eyes rolled back in her head, and she collapsed against Taarig's chest.

"Cali!" Taarig wrapped protective arms around Cali. He looked from Jamis to Xanto. "What's wrong with her?"

"She's depleted her energy reserves to the point where her body has to shut down to survive," Xanto told him, kneeling beside him.

"What do we do?" Taarig asked.

"I need to get her to her rejuvenation tank." Xanto reached for her only to pause when Taarig growled threateningly.

"Rejuvenation tank…" Jamis trailed off, things suddenly starting to make sense to him. "She's Zagreus."

"Yes," Xantos told Jamis, then looked back to Taarig. "She's Zagreus, Sub Commander. She depleted her power, healing you. She needs her rejuvenation tank."

"Then I'll carry her," Taarig said, moving to stand.

"Taarig, you need to remain," Jamis told him even as he helped Taarig to his feet. "I notified the Meddygs you were injured."

"You also can't carry her through the base like that," Xanto gestured to Cali's nakedness.

"But you can?" Taarig growled, shifting Cali, so he hid most of her nakedness.

"Yes." With that, Xanto moved to face the wall on The Brink storage unit's far side and pressed his hand against it. To both Jamis’s and Taarig's shock, the panel slid open, revealing not just a secret passage but a horizontal lift. "I can get her back to her quarters in this in a matter of moments." Moving back to Taarig, he held out his arms. "I vow to watch over her until you can, Sub Commander."

With the greatest of reluctance, Taarig placed Cali in Xanto's arms.

"Contact me when finished here," Xanto said as he stepped into