on the hrotti connected to the scanner. He typed rapidly and the scanner hummed to life. A long silver wand connected to the top of the scanner swept the human’s body from her head to her toes. Her pale skin glowed in the blue light as the wand made another sweep.
The machine quieted and a hologram screen popped up above the hrotti. Sigan studied it before making a grunt of satisfaction.
“What?” I said. “What is it?”
“Move her back to the bed, Galan.” Sigan returned to the long counter at the back of the infirmary and rummaged in a cupboard above the counter.
I unlocked the cuffs around her wrists and ankles and returned the female to the bed, easing her onto it with infinite care. Her face was pale and her breathing incredibly shallow.
“She is barely breathing,” I said.
“I know.”
Irritation washed over me. Sigan was being slow and callous with the human’s fate and I didn’t like it.
“Tell me what is wrong with her,” I said.
He glanced at me, surprise showing on his face. My tone was angry and that wasn’t like me, but my worry for the little human made me feel odd.
“Sigan?” The door behind us opened. “I’m here for my… Galan? What’s wrong? Why is your tail whipping back and forth like that?”
I turned and bowed. “My queen.”
She rolled her eyes. “How many times do I have to tell you to call me Sabrina? This ‘my queen’ shit is getting old.”
“My queen,” Sigan said with perfect timing and bowed from his spot by the counter. “Forgive me, but I will need a few extra minutes before beginning your scan.”
“That’s fine,” Sabrina said. “Quill is supposed to be joining us and he’s somewhere with… whoa. Is that a human?”
She hurried forward and peered around me. “Who is this? I don’t recognize her from the database of women we hired.”
“She is a thief,” Sigan said.
I grimaced. “We found her aboard our ship shortly before we arrived home, hiding in the storage space.”
“She had stolen two of our bottles of juice,” Sigan said.
“Seriously?”
Sigan nodded as he joined us.
“What’s wrong with her?” Sabrina said. “She looks and smells awful.”
“She is dying,” Sigan said. He was back at the hrotti and he pushed a few buttons. “She has a cancerous tumour on her spine. A few more moons and the tumour will constrict her spinal cord and paralyze her.”
“Oh my God,” Sabrina said. “That’s terrible.”
“Indeed,” Sigan said. “It appears to be quite an aggressive form. The scanner indicates it has already spread to her lungs. It will take a large amount of juice to heal her.”
He frowned at the hrotti screen before pushing a few more buttons. “Humans are so fragile. So many of you seem to have this cancer disease.”
“Poor thing,” Sabrina said. “No wonder she’s so thin and pale.”
“Oh, that is not from the cancer,” Sigan said. “It is doubtful she has yet to feel any symptoms from it other than perhaps some discomfort in her back and a mild cough.”
He turned the female’s head until her ear faced upward and brushed back her hair before folding her ear forward. “She is dying because of this.”
“What is that?” Sabrina leaned in, both of us staring at the small lump behind the female’s ear.
“A translator,” Sigan said.
Sabrina touched behind her own ear. “Why can you see it like that? Mine isn’t visible at all.”
“It is an older model, not installed properly, and it is leaking flux fluid into the human. It is why she is dying.”
“Jesus. Can you get that thing out of her?” Sabrina said.
Sigan nodded. “I can, but I must speak with the king first. He may not wish to save the life of someone who stole from him.”
My tail thwacked against the floor. “Take it out of the human immediately, Sigan.”
“I cannot do so without the king’s permission, Galan.”
My hands clenched into fists. “She is dying.”
“I am aware,” he said. “But until the king says I am allowed to do so, I cannot -”
“I’m telling you to do it.” Sabrina’s hand rested on my back. “Your queen commands you, Sigan.”
“As you wish, my queen.” Sigan bowed and returned to the counter. He scrubbed his hands at the sink as Sabrina rubbed my back.
“Galan, are you all right?” she said.
“I am fine,” I said.
I wasn’t, and I had no doubt that our queen knew that, but she didn’t question me on my deception as Sigan returned. He set down a syringe of pink coloured liquid and placed a white cloth