Page 79 of Darkest Desire
“Thank you both,” he replied. “I’m sure I’ll be seeing both of you again soon. For now, though—dismissed.”
They rose from their chairs to leave but Phoebe suddenly felt wobbly and wrong. The tingling that had been concentrated in her core suddenly seemed to sweep over her entire body in a wave. A wave of dizziness followed it, leaving her seeing stars flashing before her eyes.
She gave a little gasp and grasped the edge of Commander Sylvan’s desk with both hands to keep from falling.
“Phoebe? Are you all right?” Sirex gave her a concerned look.
“I’m fine.” She tried to smile as she straightened up. “I just felt dizzy for a minute, that’s all.”
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Commander Sylvan asked, frowning.
“Yes, perfectly sure.” Phoebe gave her boss a smile as she let go of the desk and straightened up. She turned to leave his office…and promptly fainted on the carpet at his feet.
34
PHOEBE
She woke up to see a woman with gray eyes and blonde hair leaning over her.
“Hi there, I’m Doctor Olivia but you can call me Liv,” she said as Phoebe blinked up at her.
“Uh…what? Where am I?” Phoebe looked around uncertainly.
“In the main Med Center. Commander Sylvan and your coworker brought you in—you fainted in Sylvan’s office,” Liv told her.
“I what?” Phoebe tried to sit up and moaned as the world started spinning again.
“Hey, just relax for now—okay?” The blonde doctor pressed her shoulder, easing her gently back down onto the exam bed.
“Why am I so dizzy?” Phoebe moaned. “And so tingly?”
Because the persistent tingling that she’d been feeling ever since she removed The Finger of the Goddess was back and stronger than ever. Also, the feeling of emptiness inside her had grown—she felt like she had a black hole at her center—a yawning void that longed to be filled! But filled with what? She didn’t know.
“Well, that’s what we’re trying to find out,” Liv told her. “Now tell me what’s going on—I understand you just got back from an interstellar mission. Did you eat or drink something questionable while you were away from the Mother Ship?”
“I don’t think so,” Phoebe murmured. In fact, she hadn’t eaten or drunk anything on Salacious Prime but the can of Sparkler that had made her act like a sex starved lunatic and then forget everything the next morning. She ought to be hungry but right now all she felt was empty inside—like she needed to be filled, only not with food.
“Okay, let’s talk about it. What else might have happened while you were away?” Liv persisted.
“I—” Phoebe began.
“I’ll tell you what happened—she touched The Finger of the Goddess with her bare hands.”
The new voice was familiar. Phoebe turned her head and saw that Sirex was standing in the doorway of the exam room, a worried look on his face.
“She what? Pardon me, Commander Sirex, but I asked you to wait outside.” Liv sounded slightly exasperated.
“I said, she touched it with her bare hand,” Sirex repeated. “It’s a rare and ancient artifact that’s dangerous to women.” Ignoring the frown Liv was giving him, he came into the room and looked down at Phoebe. “Are you all right?” he asked, looking at her anxiously.
“I’m fine,” Phoebe protested, even though it obviously wasn’t true. “I just need some rest, that’s all.”
“You’ll need more than that to get over touching The Finger of the Goddess,” Sirex said grimly.
“I’m afraid Sirex might be right.” It was Commander Sylvan, coming into the exam room as well. “Forgive me, Olivia, but I think we need some outside advice to solve this,” he said to the blonde doctor. “I’ve taken the liberty of calling Nadia. Since she’s the High Priestess of the Goddess on First World, she has information on the artifact that Agent Jenkins touched.”
“All right, when can we talk to her?” Liv asked, raising her eyebrows.
“I’ve asked the Communications Department to patch her call through right to this room.” Commander Sylvan gestured at the flat screen mounted on the far wall of the exam room.