Bonds Unbroken - 4. Chapter 4

The humans were guarded by a single Falcon in a corner of the office. The Carthera had been dumped on the floor in front of my father's desk where I sat with an awful pit of some emotion I couldn’t name burning in my stomach. Roused by a sharp kick to his ribs, he opened swollen eyes that darted around the room before he drew himself up into a ball to protect his vulnerable midsection. He writhed and hissed his anger when the two Falcon lieutenants grabbed him from the ground and suspended him between them before he slumped weakly with his head down. He seemed to hover on the edge of consciousness.

Mishtar stood behind them and grabbed him by his long filthy hair to pull his head up. The Carthera snarled and ripped his head and body away so violently that Sameer, one of the lieutenants, lost his grip. The lynx's greater size and weight overbalanced Leiiu, the other lieutenant, and they fell in a heap. Twisting his body, the lynx landed on top of them. His claws came out and slashed with such blinding speed before even Mishtar could react.

With a leap so fast all I saw was a blur, he was suddenly on top of me. Both of his hands tipped by those gleaming white claws gripped my neck while his body covered mine. I heard him snarl and felt him jerk before he went limp. I was shocked beyond words and movement as I stared at his battered face lying next to mine. I barely registered the hard thump on the floor where we had fallen behind the desk.

"Velaku! Velaku! Are you okay? Subdue those men!" Mishtar was shouting, but I ignored him. My hands had come up instinctively in my defense as I had always been taught. I had grabbed at the attacking lynx's back as I fell under his weight, feeling my talons puncture deep into the muscles near his spine. I had flared my wings for balance but tripped over the chair behind me, focusing more on going for a spine severing hold when he attacked me.

I was suddenly aware that I was piercing his skin and in danger of damaging his spine. I gasped and yanked my talons out of his back, hoping I hadn't severely damaged him. I felt a large patch of wetness growing under my palms and I could smell the blood. When I moved my hands where I could see them over his shoulders I was shocked to see bright red blood covering my palms and beginning to run in rivulets down my arms.

"Get the doctor!" I screamed.

I heard one Falcon rush away as he flew directly out one of the large windows to find Dr. Pannar. I shrieked at Mishtar and slashed one taloned hand at him when he came to drag the lynx off me, and he backed away when he caught a glimpse of the naked fury on my face. I wrapped my wings possessively around the lynx's lower back, trying to avoid his bleeding wounds.

I closed my eyes and drew in a breath, trying to calm the protective anger that surged in me.

"Velaku, are you hurt?" Mishtar moved into my line of sight when I opened my eyes.

"No. Tell me what just happened," I ordered.

"When the lynx started to break from his guards Tartel was distracted. He tried to help us and one of the humans drew a hidden knife. He moved almost as fast as we do! I barely had a chance to glimpse the knife before he threw it. I would never have reached him or you in time.

"This . . . lynx," the word was said with a curled lip of disgust, "saved your life."

"I am not surprised," I murmured, "it won't be the first time he has protected me from getting hurt."

Mishtar looked at me with his mouth open in shock. "You know him?"

"I do. I met him months ago at school. His father was some sort of traveling business man or something. I . . . " I paused, not sure of what to say. "I talked to him for hours one day and then he just disappeared."

I stared in wonder at Natham's face, his beautiful strong face, all sharp lines and tilted eyes. He was skinny, too skinny. His long arms ended in bony wrists and he didn't feel nearly as heavy as he should for how tall he was. There was an ashy pale undertone to his naturally tawny skin, as if he had been kept indoors for too long and denied the freedom to roam that all Carthera needed to thrive.

I could feel his heartbeat slowing and his breaths becoming shallower. I barely held in the panic that I felt swamping me.

"Where in the hell is that doctor?" I swore.

Not a moment too soon he entered the office from the doorway, folding his wings behind him. "You sent for me, Velaku? Are you injured?"Dr. Pannar watched me carefully as he approached.

"I'm fine. He needs . . . ." I gestured cautiously toward the knife I had so gingerly explored with my hands while we waited. I was still under him, too scared to move him without the doctor telling me it was alright. Even covered in injuries, reeking of blood and sweat, I was getting some sort of weird vibe that urged me to keep him close to me.

The doctor moved swiftly when I spoke coherently. He'd probably been attacked by more than his fair share of our injured kind. "He is a Carthera?"

"A lynx," I answered.

The doctor was moving his hands along the body on top of me. He looked at me and I waited desperately to hear the prognosis.My stomach was clenching in fear.

"I need to call an ambulance. We must take him to the hospital. This is beyond my skills to treat here but he should survive."

I didn't even have to consider the choice. I'd rather humans came to the eyrie than lose Natham.

"Fine, but you go and handle his care personally, whatever it takes. I will not have pure humans using him as a guinea pig for any reason." One still heard stories of humans trapping Carthera and doing things to them. I would not allow anymore harm to come to Natham, no matter what.

“And I'm going with you."

***

Mishtar insisted on sending two of his men with us to the hospital when he protested my going. Being my father's son, I refused to listen and stay at home where it was safer. Besides, I had to stay with Natham and I wasn't going to question that feeling.

Apparently deciding that I wouldn't be budged from my decision, Mishtar stayed with the rest of the Falcon guards to question the humans that had survived the raid on the hiding place where they had gone to ground. The guards and I had flown above the ambulance as it made its way to the closest hospital. It was a struggle to hold myself back so that I didn't overtake the vehicle as I willed them to drive faster. If another bird Carthera had been able to fit in the ambulance I would have been by his side but with the human paramedics and Dr. Pannar there simply wasn't room for my wings.

Just another reason for me to curse them.

I caught a glimpse of bloody stained sheets and Natham's pale face as the paramedics raced him through the hall and into the ER trauma bay where I couldn't follow. Unable to sit still as we waited, I paced the small family room that was crowded with chairs and benches while the two bodyguards simply stood silently vigilant.

One stood by the door watching and the other leaned against the wall in a corner under the TV and watched me. The hard molded plastic chairs laid out in rows gave me a serpentine shaped pattern to walk as I waited impatiently for news of Natham's condition. I was close to shrieking in frustration when Dr. Pannar opened the door.

"How is he? Is he okay?" I rushed over to the doctor who sat down wearily.

"He is stable for the moment but we are having a really hard time keeping him unconscious. It is taking dangerous levels of medication just to keep him mostly unaware. We removed the knife from his back and sewed the wound shut. Fortunately there were no internal injuries to his organs or spine, the angle was just right so that knife lodged in one of his ribs instead. The punctures wounds in his back were deep but also avoided anything major. We were able to close each of those with just a stitch or two."

I felt really bad that I had hurt him at all, especially since it was clear that he had thrown himself at my body to protect me from the knife that the human had wielded. Mishtar had called about forty five minutes before Dr. Pannar came out and told me the entire horrific tale of what Natham had been subjected to for the last few months since I saw him last. The worst outrage was who had done it to him.

I burned inside, desperately wanting to seek retribution.

"I'm much more concerned about the starvation and dehydration that we found. He's been badly beaten, multiple attacks over at least a few months and some signs of a very brutal beating recently, but he will recover if we can just get him properly nourished so that he has the energy to heal. The problem is that he keeps waking up enough to rip out the tubes we have in him and make attempts to get out of bed."

Dr. Pannar sighed in exhaustion, stretching his wings out and then folded them back behind him. "I don't want to keep him sedated, it's not safe for long periods of time for Carthera but I don’t know what else to do."

"Can I see him? I might . . . ." I paused, I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell the doctor my suspicions yet. "Maybe a friendly voice from someone he knows will make him feel more secure."

"You can try, but the visit must be brief. I don't want him agitated more than he already is. Your guards will have to stay outside as well as the sight of anyone with wings makes him struggle more."

I readily agreed though I could see that made them angry. I didn't care. I was nearly bouncing with each step, my wings flapping a little in my nervous energy as we walked down the hall toward Natham's room. When we got there I walked in behind the doctor. The medical equipment was the same for a human as for a Carthera, the I.V., monitor leads, and catheter tube coming from under the sheet were all exactly what I expected from watching all those medical shows.

As soon as I entered the rooms one of the beeping sounds on his monitors began to get faster. The doctor quickly walked over to the panels and started tapping the readouts on the machine. I hesitated but something inside me compelled me forward. I stopped when I stood next to Natham's body on the bed. Still unsure but unable to resist I slowly put my hand down on his where it rested upturned on the blanket. The monitor went wild, and Natham opened his eyes.

They were the same beautiful brown that was almost black, flecks of the dark chocolate color floating in the iris. They started slowly scanning the room and its occupants before locking onto me. One guard stood by the door, facing in while the other stood outside and faced the hall. The doctor was to one side and behind his head but somehow I knew that Natham could tell he was there. It was the wariness of his shoulders and the closed expression on his face. His fingers wound through mine, his grip almost painfully tight.

His eyes kept flicking to the guard by the door and then back to me. I could feel the tension in his grip and the monitors weren't settling down like I would expect. The heart rate was still racing. I had to get him calmed down, and fast. He was using up energy that he needed to heal.

"Doctor Pannar, is any of this necessary right now?" I asked. He raised an eyebrow at me, but shook his head.

"No, nothing that can't wait a little while. I could use a bit of a rest and some coffee. If there is a problem, press the call button here to get a nurse. If it is serious they will send someone for me instantly." Natham hissed at the doctor when he came into view. He moved restlessly on the bed and mewled as pain flashed across his face. I crooned at him and he stopped moving, staring at me again. I watched his nostril’s flare as he took in my scent.

"Thank you." I briefly glanced at the doctor as he walked out of the room but then shifted my eyes back to Natham. He was staring back with equally intense look. I heard feet shifting and looked over my shoulder to glare narrowly at the guard inside the room.

"You can leave now too."

"But Mishtar told us to not let you out of our sight," he protested.

"I am on the 4th story of a building with bulletproof glass windows and no locks on the doors." I pulled a gun out of the back of my pants with my off hand and had it leveled at him before his pistol had a chance to clear his holster. I looked at him with one eyebrow arched and he flushed.

"You can watch the hall from outside and if someone breaks in through the window somehow it will only take moments for you to get in here. I think I can defend myself that long. Not to mention Mishtar isn't in chargel I am. Now get out!" I said sharply.

The Falcon's mouth was a white line as he pursed his lips but he saluted with his fist to his chest and walked backward out of the room, shutting the door behind him. I waited for it to click before I turned to the lynx lying in the bed.

"I don't know what is going on Natham," I moved up closer to him and sat on the edge of his bed, "but I don't like what I've heard." Natham flinched away from my angry tone and dropped my hand. I was upset by the wounds on his body and the gaunt look on his face but that didn’t excuse my tone.

"Velaku?"

His voice was tiny, his expression completely confused. I moved to touch his face and he jerked away from me, mewling at the pain from his wounds.

"No, no, shh, it's okay. I won't hurt you." I made an effort to smooth out the roughness in my voice from my anger and anxiety. "I am not mad or upset at you, but I am angry at the people who have hurt you. I hate seeing you like this." I watched as a tear slipped from his eye. I wanted to wipe it away but I really didn't want to make him jerk away again. "Shhh, try not to cry, I am sure none of these machines would like that and then we’d have the nurses in here."

He was staring at me, his head cocked as far as he could manage. He didn't seem like he really understood what I was saying but he had stopped trying to move away from me. I laughed a bit ruefully.

"Alright, I wouldn't like it either," I said.

He blinked.

"Where am I?" His words were slow and halting, a bit slurred from the anesthesia and pain medication, but I understood what he said.

"You're in the hospital in town. The human surgeons took care of your injuries but you need lots of help to get better still. We're going to get you healthy again. Don’t worry, you’re safe."

I could see him struggling to understand what I was saying. "Safe?" he asked.

"Yes, you're safe. I promise, no one will hurt you here."

"Nooo," he said slowly and shook his head as he shakily brought one hand up to brush against my wing. "Are you safe?" He spoke slowly and as distinctly as possible. I smiled at him. Starved, injured, just out of surgery, and doped to his cute pointed ears and he was worried about me.

When he smiled back I saw the other signs I had missed before . . . his teeth, framed by dainty white points before, were now bracketed by large threatening fangs. I turned over his hand and pressed on his fingertip, triggering the release of a sharp gleaming claw from the tip. He was not furred like some of the other mammal Carthera but his skin did carry faint markings, as if he had bands of color like a natural lynx would. Obviously Natham had matured as well in our time apart. It only reinforced my thoughts and my fears.

He didn't need to worry about them yet though, he needed to heal.

"I am very safe. I'm not alright though."

He looked anxious at my words and I sought to reassure him.

"I won't be alright until you are better and out of here so do what the doctors say, okay? Leave all the tubes and monitor leads alone, they’re helping you get better."

Natham nodded and yawned. "Okay." His eyes were barely open slits and he mewed a bit as he shifted.

He snuggled into his pillow, curling up on his side into a ball despite the injuries in his back. I stroked my hand down his smooth hair and he purred in a deep throaty sound that got fainter until he fell asleep. I sat looking at him for a few more moments before I quietly got up.

I shut the door softly behind me, instructing one of the Falcons to stay and guard Natham. I stopped at the nurse’s station and asked to be kept informed of Natham's condition and any changes immediately. The female tried to protest based on my age, but my guard quickly informed her of exactly who I was. She blanched, readily agreeing to whatever I wanted.

News of my father's death had rocked even the humans in our area.

I couldn't help but think about her reaction on the way home. I would be very glad when the final stage passed and I was fully matured. I was not sure of exactly when that would be, my change being so unusual nothing was certain. I could see the differences in my body each day and a new maturity had settled on me, my mind growing in leaps and bounds. Normal mated Carthera, at least in my clan, were fully matured within days after their wings were sung out and they bonded with their mates.

In the midst of everything else I was fiercely praying that I was not to be stuck in some quasi-adolescent stage. Would I ever have a true mate or was destiny just screwing me over?