brother Skye taking up his private residence, stealing his cherished peace. "She’d have kept her bodyguards if she’d had any sense."
Skye shrugged. "Would you? She didn’t know what it would cost her." He glanced at his unconscious patient. "At least she had the sense not to take him to a hospital."
Too tired to pace, Domino sank farther into his chair and stared at the wall. "She has reason to be wary of them." And after tonight, she would have to confess her sins to him. He’d taken her and Icki in, blood and all, gotten them competent, discreet medical help and put up with her disappearing act of the last five days while Icki had breathed down his neck via long distance com. Her debts were swiftly adding up, and he was determined to get some answers.
Chapter 13
Bali woke with a sharp ache in her head and several intolerable cramps. Recognizing the signs of speed healing, she forced herself to get up and relieve her bladder, knowing that food, a hot soak and some pain killer would go a long way toward clearing up the pain. Nausea hit her as she slid out of bed, and she barely made it to the bathroom before dry heaving in the commode. It was a struggle, but she levered herself up and used the pot for its intended purpose, breathing shallowly to still the toxin-induced queasiness.
Her father hadn’t been so smart after all. When he’d designed her body to heal so fast, he’d neglected to consider that her liver and detoxification organs would have to deal with an unnatural dump of tissue.
A reluctant glance in the mirror confirmed that she was yellow as well as terribly dehydrated. She needed salt. She needed water.
She needed clothes.
Groaning at her near nakedness--all she had was the underwear of the night before--she stumbled out of the bathroom and wrestled a sheet from the double bed. Wrapping it around her, she shoved her messy hair out of her face and went searching for signs of life.
"Bali!" Domino got up from his seat on the couch as soon as she entered the room. "What are you doing up? You’re yellow."
"Jaundiced. Need saltwater. Lots of saltwater." She let him seat her on the couch as he grabbed his com and headed into the kitchen. Since it was separated from the comfortable living room by a long bar, it was easy to watch him bustle around, all the while speaking tersely on the com. It only took him a minute to assemble a tray with fruit juice, water, a saltshaker and fruit.
He hurried to her side and set the tray on the low refreshment table. "Here. Your doctor will be here in a couple of minutes."
"What doctor?" She was feeling a trifle vague. Near death experiences did that to her.
"My brother Skye. He’s the one who saved Icki, and before you ask, no, you can’t see him yet. He’s sleeping."
"Alive is good. He’ll keep." Concentrating on keeping her habitual tremors down long enough to suck down the large glass of saltwater, she set it down with a clumsy thump and reached for the juice. "He could have told me he was a mutant. Did he think I would shun him?"
Domino waited until she set the empty glass down before asking with deceptive mildness, "I could ask you the same thing. You should be dead." He glanced at her bandaged shoulder.
She rubbed it self-consciously, stalling for time. "Stupid thing, speed healing. Shrapnel gets sealed in and has to be cut out, bones knit crooked and have to be broken and reset."
"And your father did that to you. What else did he do?"
Bali took a deep breath. They’d come to it, and there was no going around. No matter how he reacted to the story, she owed him answers. "He started experimenting on me when I was seven ... eight ... I don’t remember which. Those years kind of blur together." She frowned, remembering the pain, the tears ... and finally the numb horror. "It stopped when I was sent to boarding school. Things were starting to unravel for him." He’d gone on the run after killing off as many experiments as he could, but it had been
Skye shrugged. "Would you? She didn’t know what it would cost her." He glanced at his unconscious patient. "At least she had the sense not to take him to a hospital."
Too tired to pace, Domino sank farther into his chair and stared at the wall. "She has reason to be wary of them." And after tonight, she would have to confess her sins to him. He’d taken her and Icki in, blood and all, gotten them competent, discreet medical help and put up with her disappearing act of the last five days while Icki had breathed down his neck via long distance com. Her debts were swiftly adding up, and he was determined to get some answers.
Chapter 13
Bali woke with a sharp ache in her head and several intolerable cramps. Recognizing the signs of speed healing, she forced herself to get up and relieve her bladder, knowing that food, a hot soak and some pain killer would go a long way toward clearing up the pain. Nausea hit her as she slid out of bed, and she barely made it to the bathroom before dry heaving in the commode. It was a struggle, but she levered herself up and used the pot for its intended purpose, breathing shallowly to still the toxin-induced queasiness.
Her father hadn’t been so smart after all. When he’d designed her body to heal so fast, he’d neglected to consider that her liver and detoxification organs would have to deal with an unnatural dump of tissue.
A reluctant glance in the mirror confirmed that she was yellow as well as terribly dehydrated. She needed salt. She needed water.
She needed clothes.
Groaning at her near nakedness--all she had was the underwear of the night before--she stumbled out of the bathroom and wrestled a sheet from the double bed. Wrapping it around her, she shoved her messy hair out of her face and went searching for signs of life.
"Bali!" Domino got up from his seat on the couch as soon as she entered the room. "What are you doing up? You’re yellow."
"Jaundiced. Need saltwater. Lots of saltwater." She let him seat her on the couch as he grabbed his com and headed into the kitchen. Since it was separated from the comfortable living room by a long bar, it was easy to watch him bustle around, all the while speaking tersely on the com. It only took him a minute to assemble a tray with fruit juice, water, a saltshaker and fruit.
He hurried to her side and set the tray on the low refreshment table. "Here. Your doctor will be here in a couple of minutes."
"What doctor?" She was feeling a trifle vague. Near death experiences did that to her.
"My brother Skye. He’s the one who saved Icki, and before you ask, no, you can’t see him yet. He’s sleeping."
"Alive is good. He’ll keep." Concentrating on keeping her habitual tremors down long enough to suck down the large glass of saltwater, she set it down with a clumsy thump and reached for the juice. "He could have told me he was a mutant. Did he think I would shun him?"
Domino waited until she set the empty glass down before asking with deceptive mildness, "I could ask you the same thing. You should be dead." He glanced at her bandaged shoulder.
She rubbed it self-consciously, stalling for time. "Stupid thing, speed healing. Shrapnel gets sealed in and has to be cut out, bones knit crooked and have to be broken and reset."
"And your father did that to you. What else did he do?"
Bali took a deep breath. They’d come to it, and there was no going around. No matter how he reacted to the story, she owed him answers. "He started experimenting on me when I was seven ... eight ... I don’t remember which. Those years kind of blur together." She frowned, remembering the pain, the tears ... and finally the numb horror. "It stopped when I was sent to boarding school. Things were starting to unravel for him." He’d gone on the run after killing off as many experiments as he could, but it had been
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