Lightning Bringer: (Lighting Seeker Book 2)

Heavy Silence

"I can't talk..." Vale's mother had said, her voice clipped and full of more pain than Vale ever heard. She held a small disk to her ear, listening to the silence at the other end. "Don't call me again."

That memory of her broken face filled Vale's mind as her world went dark. Kriss had just fought in several underground fighting matches. Blood caked her knuckles, bruises covered her ribs, sweat rolled down her temples, causing her face to glisten. Where she had been full of proud smiles moments before, she was instantly transformed by a voice on the other end of the call.

She had stared down at the item for so long that Vale wasn't sure if she would ever answer. Kriss closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the cool tile wall behind her as she answered.

There was no voice on the other end, just a heavy silence that seemed to speak more than words could say. Vale knew that face. It was the face that Kriss got whenever she thought of Vale's father. But they didn't exchange words. And after a shallow, unsteady breath, Kriss spoke, her voice broken. "I can't talk..." Then she hung up and shoved the small disk in her pocket like it was going to bite her if she kept it in her hand for a moment longer.

That was the only thing Vale knew about him. That he was a man who could break her mother into a vulnerable pile of shards without ever saying a word. Kriss could take down any enemy and leave the ring with smiles, but he held her heart and Vale was always afraid that one day, he would drop it and kill her in the process.

But he's dead now, the AI's told me back on the AI ship, the Resistere Futilis. Did she know? The memory of her dead father rippled through her subconscious and burrowed to the surface. The darkness offering Vale's unwanted thoughts free reign. There was nothing to keep her busy from them. A part of Vale missed the pain from the machine moments ago.

The thought died suddenly as pain clawed her side, wild and vicious. She couldn't stop the scream that ripped through her. A set of hands moved across her ribs as a loud metal clang filled the space around her. Her vision was black, a side effect of the machine, or from the pain, she wasn't certain.

"Why is she screaming!?!" said a loud and angry voice.

"They tagged her," Dash replied, his voice stiff with an unwavering clam.

"Well take it out!"

"Screaming won't help!" snapped a third voice.

Vale tried to move as something cut into her skin. "Hold her," Dash said. Two sets of hands pinned her down as she fought wildly to move. "Keep her as still as you can," Dash instructed like he was just telling someone to read a book or drink water. He was calmer than the situation called for considering the other two in the room seemed to be at their wits end.

The hands pressed down harder, forcing her to still. Silence followed as Vale fought to stay conscious. She didn't want to go back into the darkness, to the place where dangerous thoughts reigned. "Vale. Breathe," Dash ordered.

He must have known she was conscious. She hadn't realized she was holding her breath until her chest grew tight. Obeying Dash's request, she opened her mouth and took in a large gulp of air. "Almost done," he promised.

Thread tugged at her skin as Dash forced a needle through, stitching her back up from a wound she couldn't see. The cool metal disks left her skin and her vision returned. She spotted two faces staring down at her. Mortem and Kriss both blinked down at her with identical worried expressions.

"What happened?" Vale asked past the taste of copper in her mouth.

"They put a tracking device in between your ribs. The scan triggered an alarm. Hence the pain. I didn't see any scars. They must have used some high tech medical tech to erase the trail."

Vale nodded. "I got injured in the fight on the bridge. When I woke up at the House Devinus..." The only house that matters, Kedar's voice echoed in her mind, sending a chill down her spine. "the scar was gone."

The room erupted with questions. Kriss and Mortem each speaking at once, their questions so loud that it caused Vale to scrunch her eyes shut in an attempt to push away her headache. Their questions grew louder as they each attempted to be heard over the other until suddenly Dash, his voice biting and so full of authority that the other two went silent. "ENOUGH!"

Vale opened her eyes, watching as Dash looked in between Kriss and Mortem with a pointed look. "Screaming is the last thing she needs. Leave."

Kriss and Mortem moved to protest. Dash held up his hand. "In this room, I pull rank. Get out. She needs some serious pain killers and unless you want to answer all of her questions or you want me to tell her things that you would rather share in your own time, I strongly suggest you leave without another word."

Mortem stared at Dash like he was seeing him for the first time. His eyes narrowed slightly and he turned, stalking through the door without another word. Kriss looked down at Vale, opened her mouth, shut it without a sound, and followed Mortem out the door. Once they were gone, Dash shoved the door closed and let out a heavy sigh.

"Why do friends and family of patients always act worse than the patients themselves?" He turned to look back at Vale. "You okay?"

Vale nodded, too tired to form words. Dash set her up with a bag of painkillers, the liquid moving right into her bloodstream. Once the pain was manageable, Vale spoke. "I've never seen you talk to Mortem like that."

Dash smiled. "Yeah well, he's never been quite so... unstable before."

"Why did you say that they have things to tell me? That there are questions from each of them I need answers to?"

Dash sat down on the edge of the bed and held up a scanner, checking her temperature. He avoided her gaze as he spoke, each word calculated. "They've been acting weird since you arrived. Clearly, they've known each other for a while, but I can't say more than that without Mortem skinning me alive. And based on what your mother does for a living, I wouldn't put it past her to beat me up and throw me into a gully."

Vale laughed, but it turned into a groan. Her side was sore from the stitches. "What do you think happened between them?"

"You'll have to ask them. I don't want to cross either of them. I plan on living for a long time. Not my story to tell."

Vale bit her lip, as an idea began to take shape. Her running from home, her mother's pointed anger at her choice in profession. Mortem not throwing her overboard after he learned her last name. She tried to erase the image that knitted together in her mind, but it was too powerful, something she should have seen before. But before she could ask Dash if it was true, the full strength of the painkillers wafted over her, and pushed her into sleep against her will, leaving her to demand answers later.