analgesic. How fast can you
get here?"
Caleb tensed at the word sedative. An emotion surged
through him he wasn't sure he'd ever felt before, and it made
his body shake.
55
Icarus Rising
by Bernadette Gardner
The symbion remembered being sedated by Danson. The
pain of an injection followed by lethargy and disorientation
had left it angry and frightened. Rudimentary communication
through Jidar's symbion had reassured it no permanent harm
would come to it, but that hadn't made submitting to the
wingless creature's strange tests any easier.
"No more of that."
Caleb opened his mouth to respond, then thought better of
it. Zara could hear him talking to himself and that would
further convince her he needed to be restrained in some way.
"I wouldn't let anyone hurt you."
"No more. Others are coming to capture us."
"They're coming to help."
"Ray, I'm not sure I should be the one to tell you this, but
I'm a little bit afraid Caleb might not."
His anger flared. How could she tell his secret to Danson?
The knowledge of his illness would virtually assure a forced
separation from the symbion.
"No! Not die."
"You won't. I won't let them."
"Caleb?" Zara appeared then, her features a carefully
composed mask.
Panic ignited all his nerve endings, and his wings shot out,
knocking objects from shelves in the small space.
The commotion of broken glass and falling books startled
Zara, and she jumped back, toppling a small table and a
chair. The noise frightened his symbion even though the
creature only heard through Caleb's ears now. It flapped its
56
Icarus Rising
by Bernadette Gardner
wings, stretching them out to their full span and creating a
turbulence in the bungalow.
Zara scrambled back, hands up to fend him off. "Calm
down Caleb, no one's going to hurt you."
"No one is going to hurt us," he said. "I'm not ready to go
back to the lab."
"No one's making you go back. Ray is coming here."
"To knock me out. I'll wake up strapped to a bed with my
wings cut off. Zara—"
The mental image terrified the symbion, and instinctively it
took flight, ignoring Caleb's mental protests. Everything
began to fall from the shelves as the creature beat its wings
frantically, seeking escape from the confined space.
Zara managed to slip toward the door and ran outside, but
Caleb followed, painfully scraping the fluttering wings on the
door jamb as he exited. He feared once free the symbion
would take flight, but instead it zeroed in with his new night
vision on Zara who had taken off through the waist-high sea
grass that formed a barrier between Caleb's bungalow and
the next.
"Female."
"Leave her alone. Let's just get out of here before they find
us."
"Female is necessary for mating."
Hawk-like, Caleb tracked Zara's movements as the
symbion launched him into the air. With the instinctive skill of
a creature born to hunt, Caleb swooped over Zara, and once
again scooped her up in his arms.
57
Icarus Rising
by Bernadette Gardner
He had lost control completely again. His symbion ruled
this frantic moment, and once again they took off over the
water, careening south toward the deserted column islands
that stretched for tens of thousands of kilometers across the
planet's otherwise desolate southern hemisphere.
Zara screamed and struggled, and the symbion bade him
tighten his hold just enough to cut off blood flow to her brain
for an instant. She went limp, assuring that she would not
accidentally free herself from his possessive grip mid-flight.
Now that he had escaped capture by his enemies, he
needed to find a secluded, easily defendable place to rest, a
territory of his own where he could claim his mate. He flew
into the night sky, determined that the humans would never
put their hands on him again.
[Back to Table of Contents]
58
Icarus Rising
by Bernadette Gardner
Chapter Seven
Arilani had managed to control her rage and indignation
thus far, but her hold on her emotions
get here?"
Caleb tensed at the word sedative. An emotion surged
through him he wasn't sure he'd ever felt before, and it made
his body shake.
55
Icarus Rising
by Bernadette Gardner
The symbion remembered being sedated by Danson. The
pain of an injection followed by lethargy and disorientation
had left it angry and frightened. Rudimentary communication
through Jidar's symbion had reassured it no permanent harm
would come to it, but that hadn't made submitting to the
wingless creature's strange tests any easier.
"No more of that."
Caleb opened his mouth to respond, then thought better of
it. Zara could hear him talking to himself and that would
further convince her he needed to be restrained in some way.
"I wouldn't let anyone hurt you."
"No more. Others are coming to capture us."
"They're coming to help."
"Ray, I'm not sure I should be the one to tell you this, but
I'm a little bit afraid Caleb might not."
His anger flared. How could she tell his secret to Danson?
The knowledge of his illness would virtually assure a forced
separation from the symbion.
"No! Not die."
"You won't. I won't let them."
"Caleb?" Zara appeared then, her features a carefully
composed mask.
Panic ignited all his nerve endings, and his wings shot out,
knocking objects from shelves in the small space.
The commotion of broken glass and falling books startled
Zara, and she jumped back, toppling a small table and a
chair. The noise frightened his symbion even though the
creature only heard through Caleb's ears now. It flapped its
56
Icarus Rising
by Bernadette Gardner
wings, stretching them out to their full span and creating a
turbulence in the bungalow.
Zara scrambled back, hands up to fend him off. "Calm
down Caleb, no one's going to hurt you."
"No one is going to hurt us," he said. "I'm not ready to go
back to the lab."
"No one's making you go back. Ray is coming here."
"To knock me out. I'll wake up strapped to a bed with my
wings cut off. Zara—"
The mental image terrified the symbion, and instinctively it
took flight, ignoring Caleb's mental protests. Everything
began to fall from the shelves as the creature beat its wings
frantically, seeking escape from the confined space.
Zara managed to slip toward the door and ran outside, but
Caleb followed, painfully scraping the fluttering wings on the
door jamb as he exited. He feared once free the symbion
would take flight, but instead it zeroed in with his new night
vision on Zara who had taken off through the waist-high sea
grass that formed a barrier between Caleb's bungalow and
the next.
"Female."
"Leave her alone. Let's just get out of here before they find
us."
"Female is necessary for mating."
Hawk-like, Caleb tracked Zara's movements as the
symbion launched him into the air. With the instinctive skill of
a creature born to hunt, Caleb swooped over Zara, and once
again scooped her up in his arms.
57
Icarus Rising
by Bernadette Gardner
He had lost control completely again. His symbion ruled
this frantic moment, and once again they took off over the
water, careening south toward the deserted column islands
that stretched for tens of thousands of kilometers across the
planet's otherwise desolate southern hemisphere.
Zara screamed and struggled, and the symbion bade him
tighten his hold just enough to cut off blood flow to her brain
for an instant. She went limp, assuring that she would not
accidentally free herself from his possessive grip mid-flight.
Now that he had escaped capture by his enemies, he
needed to find a secluded, easily defendable place to rest, a
territory of his own where he could claim his mate. He flew
into the night sky, determined that the humans would never
put their hands on him again.
[Back to Table of Contents]
58
Icarus Rising
by Bernadette Gardner
Chapter Seven
Arilani had managed to control her rage and indignation
thus far, but her hold on her emotions
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