Page 42 of Healing His Mate
Not only will this be a weapon that Ekoya’s crew can use, but we can use it here as well. Hopefully, there is no battle in our immediate future, but it is always best to prepare for the worst.
I tell everyone to take several steps back, giving me enough space to release the sticky bomb and blow up the target. Varrek stands in front of Cloh-ee on the left side, and Waldric and Ahlvo are a bit closer to me, but still behind on the right.
Taking a deep breath in, I touch the gemstones inside the hexagonal pendant lightly pressed against my throat. I do not know why I do it, but the action settles my insides and reminds me that Old Nalba may still be locked in the dark recesses of my mind, but I am still a brilliant creator with or without my memories.
I bring my arm back, preparing to release, but my thumb brushes against the outer edge, which causes a clicking sound from inside the bomb that I cannot place. Why is it clicking at all? There is no reason for it to make that sound.
“Nalba, what is wrong?” Varrek calls out, his voice wary.
I hear footsteps behind me as Ahlvo yells, “Throw it!” But his warning is too late because the sticky bomb detonates in my open palm.
CHAPTER 22
NALBA
In the med room, Kaiva goes through her aftercare instructions to Waldric and Ahlvo and I nod as if I am listening, but in reality, my mind is elsewhere. It is back at the training grounds, where everything went wrong.
The sticky bomb was ready for testing. I was sure of it. It was when the strange clicking began that I knew I was wrong. The bomb detonated shortly after that with the majority of the sharp inner material veering right, on a direct path toward Ahlvo and Waldric. Waldric’s arm and neck were badly burned, and now he sits covered in bandages. Ahlvo was the luckier of the two, with minor burns on his hands.
I was the luckiest of all, however, with no wounds or burns on my body, despite being the one holding the bomb when it exploded. I have yet to determine how that is possible, but as I absently play with the hexagon pendant at my neck, I begin to wonder if I have been wrong about the Hexrins. Could this magic of theirs be real? Could their powers prove more useful than anything I could create in my shop? If so, what is the point of me? Why do I need to create anything at all if the Hexrins can mumble a few words with their hands raised and will it into existence?
These thoughts continue to rattle around my skull as Aye-vah sidles up to me. “You okay, hun?”
“I am not, Aye-vah,” I reply flatly. “Not at all.”
She nods, her expression sympathetic.
Dipping my chin in shame, I whisper, “I am sorry for Ahlvo’s injuries. It is entirely my fault he is in pain.”
“Eh.” She shrugs. “The burns aren’t that bad. Really. Plus, you guys heal so quickly, I’m sure they’ll be gone within a couple days.” She shoots me a sideways glance. “I’m more shocked that you don’t have even a scratch on you. It’s like Jo’s your guardian angel, and she doesn’t even need to be here to protect you.”
“You think it was the necklace?” I ask her, astonished that a healer––a female who relies on science to do her work––so easily believes in this kind of buffoonery. “How do you explain the mechanics of that?”
“Oh, I have no explanation,” she says, chuckling. “I’ve seen a lot of things here that defy explanation. I gave up trying to figure it out.”
“But does it not bother you that your professional pursuits rely exclusively on things that can be explained and proven, and the Hexrins do whatever they wish without abiding by the same rules?”
Her gaze holds mine for a long moment, then the side of her mouth curls up in a warm smile. “I guess it would bother me if there wasn’t enough room for us and the Hexrins to coexist,” she says, her gaze dropping to my necklace, “but there is.”
Hmm. I suppose it is only now occurring to me that I have seen the Hexrins as competition. I am not sure why, though. The coven has existed for centuries on Trovilia, and now on Oluura. There has always been a need for them, and that need has never interfered with what the inventors and healers before me have been able to offer.
“Perhaps you are right, Aye-vah,” I tell her. “Thank you.”
Her smile widens, then her gaze lands on Ahlvo seated on the outer med bed, looking down at his bandaged hands. “I wanna show you something.” She takes my hand and pulls me over to Ahlvo, grabbing his cane and holding it out to me. “I know we told you about this already, but I thought it would help you to see it.”
Ahlvo watches me with a proud gleam in his eye as I run my fingers along the intricate designs etched into the base of the cane. “Press the button,” he commands. When I do, I gasp at the rapid transformation from cane to gilded sword. “See that?” he points to a design near the handle. “That is the Oluuran crest. You made it.”
“An Oluuran crest?” I repeat, surprised. It is quite lovely, I must admit, with clean lines and a simple swirling design on the outside, and a grouping of trees in the center to represent our village.
“You helped bring me back,” Ahlvo says, his voice quiet and heavy with emotion. “I was stuck inside my mind with dark feelings suffocating me.”
“This cane reminded him of who he used to be, and who he could be again,” Aye-vah adds. “I’m eternally grateful for that.”
“I thank you for your kindness,” I say with a sigh. “It means a great deal to me, particularly following such a monumental failure, but I—”
“Nalba, enough.” Aye-vah interrupts, her expression fierce. “We believe in you. Not all of your creations are winners, but when they are, you change lives. This is just a minor setback.”
I look at Waldric covered in bandages. He sees me staring and turns so he can shoot me a wide grin. In doing so, the bandages must pull at the tender skin on his neck. He winces and turns back around.