Cale sat on her couch, hands clasped, head down, and uncharacteristically somber. "Alex, I have a favor to ask you. It's personal but the worst thing is I need you to never tell my brothers. You are quite free to say 'no' now or after my request."
Alex sat next to him and leaned against him. "You're so kind and gentle, I'm pretty sure I'd say 'yes' to anything you wanted. And keeping secrets from your brothers is something I excel at." Her mouth twisted down as bile rose in her throat.
He placed his arm around her shoulders, looked into her face with concern, and said, "Pay it no mind. You have enough burdens without me adding another."
"Oh no you don't." Alex cupped his muzzle in her hands. "You cannot and I mean, not, say something like that and say forget about it. It will haunt me and I will hound you until you tell me. Look in my eyes and you'll know it's true."
With a gentle smile and small chuckle, he clasped her hands in his. "Yes, I believe you. I just don't want my brothers knowing because it would hurt them. Not only anger them, but hurt them. But I don't think it will bother you as much."
"Okay but what?
"It's about my wings." Cale dropped her hands and stared down at the ground.
Alex's mind dredged up a memory from when she had first met the brothers. Rile had teased Gabe about her touching his wings. When she had found out that touching and enjoying them was a personal intrusion, she felt that had made her the same as Morgan. Her mind and gut twisted together and the roaring of a short circuit started in the back of her brain.
"Since you don't have wings, I don't think it will upset you to see why they're hurting. I suspect Hermann or his men did something to them in the lab."
White-hot fury erased the growing short circuit and Alex's hands sparked welder fire, sparks hissing and spitting. "I'll kill them slowly." She swore rare curse words. "I'll make them beg for death."
"I was wrong to ask you. Please, please don't do anything. I'm sure they'll heal."
Cale's soft tone was ice water to her raging brain and she stopped the power to her hands.
"Cale, I don't deserve your trust, but if I could do something, anything to help you, it would mean a lot to me. A lot."
"You must promise to not take vengeance for this."
"Fire truck! You're so, so...insightful at times!"
"Promise. Swear by everything you hold dear."
Alex chewed her lip but when Cale started to stand up, she said quickly, "I promise by all I hold dear!"
He nodded and unlaced his tunic.
"Should I lock the door?" Alex asked, suddenly intimidated.
"No, that's too suspicious. We're not doing anything inappropriate. My wings were hurt and you're helping me." Cale pulled the tunic over his head and quickly shed his shirt.
With a deep breath, he turned away from Alex. She watched, mesmerized, as the shimmering illusion on his back faded and two golden-green wings slowly stretched out. Her eyes were drawn to the flapping suture on one wing, the membrane gaping where a piece had been removed with surgical precision. She followed the defect and saw that a piece of the support bone had been removed as well. Tears flowed down her cheeks and she held in her sobs, hand over her mouth.
"Well?" Cale twisted his head around to look at her. "That bad?"
Alex nodded, speechless.
"Is it dripping blood or ichor? Does it look infected?"
She shook her head, tears running freely down, and breathed deeply. "I'm sorry I'm so selfish as to cry. This is about you, not me."
"Alex!" Cale turned around, his wings automatically folding, and wiped the tears from her face. "You are not selfish to cry that my wing was damaged. How big is the wound?"
Sniffing back further tears, Alex held up her hand and said shakily, "The size of my palm. I'm so sorry. I'd do anything for a healing power right now."
Cale's color paled, but he closed his hand over hers. "When the Creator of All returns, it will be made whole. Now let's put this behind us and have a drink."
"You said both your wings hurt. Please let me see the other one. Please?"
"It doesn't hurt as much, so I'm sure it will heal."
"What if it's infected? I know I don't deserve to look, or to help you, but let me check, please."
"If you stop saying you don't deserve to help."
Alex nodded, wiped away the rest of her tears and Cale turned back around. Again, the opalescent greenish gold wings opened and she saw that the left wing had hand prints on it. Her stomach lurched at the sight and then at the thought that maybe she had left filthy prints on Gabe's golden wings. "There are handprints on them. How delicate are your wings?"
"Not so delicate that casual handling would leave handprints. They," he stopped.
"They must have been really rough," Alex finished. "I'm killing them. Slowly. Frying each nerve cell while they scream until their throats bleed."
"No! You promised." Cale's wings snapped to his back and he turned around. "I will hold you to that."
"I promised by all I hold dear and all I hold dear is justice and vengeance when that fails. I'll leave them alive if it makes you feel better."
Cale took her hands and gazed into her eyes. "I hold you and my brothers dear. Now do you see why I didn't want to involve my brothers? And." He examined her closely. "You did not hurt my brother's wings. You were trying to help him after he had been shot."
Alex narrowed her eyes at him. "Do you have some sort of mind reading skills? How could you possibly know that?"
With a soft chuckle, Cale said, "No mind reading, just observant. I wasn't watching my brothers when Rile was tormenting Gabe over you seeing his wings. I've seen them fight for many dry seasons. No, I was watching you. You look so wretched that I knew you felt guilty and I also know you well enough that you would never have done anything the least bit sexually inappropriate."
Chewing her lip again, Alex nodded. "What do we have to do to make your wings better?"
Cale picked up his shirt. "On Olam, a close family member would use the gentlest of cleansing sands to remove the handprint, followed by an oiling."
"You keep calling me 'sister', so I volunteer. First, I'll take a trip to a bath shop for a sugar scrub and some bath oil."
"That sounds...odd, but in a good way. Thank you."
"And not a word to squeamish brothers." Alex attempted a smile. "Back in a flash."
Alex returned with vanilla wafer sugar scrub and snickerdoodle bath oil. She figured Cale might as well smell like food rather than feminine stuff. How he evaded his brothers and met her in her apartment was beyond her but she didn't ask. Cale was sitting in her living room, with a giant mixing bowl on the ground before him and a pitcher of water and her faded towels on her battered coffee table. He smiled at her and Alex felt her gut twist.
Think sister! Brother! Family! He's hurt in a horrible way and I must help him.
He shed his shirt and his wings slowly stretched out. Again, the loose suture flapped from the hole in one wing.
"Let me start with the handprint," Alex said as she opened up her supplies. "That way I can practice on the less injured wing."
Alex set the bowl under his wing and poured water over it. Then she scooped out a handful of sugar scrub and traced it down his wing. She startled when he laughed.
"That tickles! I think you can safely use a little more pressure."
She scrubbed a little harder, satisfied when the ugly handprint faded away. She rinsed and dried it and then rubbed on the oil.
"Why do I smell like cookies?" Cale asked and turned his head to look at her.
She grinned. "It was that or flowers."
"Ah, you were looking out for my masculine pride, as the humans say."
"Always." Alex patted excess oil off his wing. "Ready for the other one? I'll get my manicure scissors to cut that loose suture."
Holding the tiny silver scissors and facing the damaged wing, Alex felt light-headed.
Really? I can bash thugs and get shot and stabbed and this makes me faint? Get ahold of yourself, girl. Cale needs your help.
Alex tugged the offending suture tight and then snipped it, nearly keeling over when Cale gasped in pain. She felt his firm grasp on her shoulder and blinked to see him peering at her face in concern.
"I think that's enough," Cale said. "Since it's not bleeding or infected, it will be fine."
Alex inhaled deeply in and out several times, forcing her heart to slow and her mind to calm. "I'm fine. I'll rinse it and apply antibiotic lotion and gauze and use coban wrap that won't hurt your wing."
"Thank you. We should hurry. My brothers won't spar forever and they'll come up here soon looking for me."
"So that's how you got rid of them." Alex rinsed the wing and she flinched as Cale hissed from the pain. She blobbed on the antibiotic cream, placed gauze over it, and the coban wrap held it in place. "One amateur wing patch job done."
He patted her hand. "You did great. Now let me clean this up before Gabe and Rile arrive."
"I'll clean up and quick fix a drink and snack. You lie on the couch and watch TV. That's believable."
****
It wasn't long before Rile sat sideways in the sagging brown striped upholstered chair. Gabe sat bolt upright on the couch, sharpening his sword while Alex watched. Cale lay on the recliner and clicked through TV channels in a desultory manner.
"I'm checking on Robert," Alex said.
If I sound firm, that will stop any objections.
"What?" Rile stood up.
"Alex, you are tired and hurt yourself. Don't go out." Gabe stood up as well, sword in hand.
"I'll be fine." Alex edged toward the door.
"We don't want to rescue you again," Rile said.
Cale winced at Rile's sharp words and shut off the television.
"I saved y'all, too. I have to leave my apartment sometime." Alex moved closer to the door.
"I'll come with you." Gabe strapped on his sheath harness and placed his sword and staff in their holders. His dagger was always on his belt.
"Not the greatest idea. His apartment could be watched," Alex said.
"That makes it safe for you to go alone?"
"I'm coming." Rile reached for his sword.
"Stay with Cale." Gabe slapped his hand on the hilt of Rile's sword and they locked gazes.
"I don't need a babysitter." Cale struggled to his feet, causing Alex to rush over to him. "Please don't hover over me, Alex. I know you mean well but I can stand by myself."
"I'm sorry. I'm a worrier. Reflects on me, not you." Alex squeezed his arm briefly. Then she looked over to see Rile and Gabe still glaring at each other. She body checked Gabe as she walked past him. "Let's go, Guardian of the universe."
Cale collapsed into a sit and Rile turned to him.
"Don't say anything." Cale clicked on the television.
*****
Once at Robert's apartment, Alex knocked on the now-repaired back door. No answer. Alex turned the knob and frowned when the door opened.
Unlocked?
Gabe waved her aside and drew his dagger. He had learned apartments were small and weren't good for swinging a sword. He swung the door fully open with his foot and looked in the apartment. He closed the door again.
"Hey," Alex protested. "He might be in the bedroom."
"He is in there. You do not wish to see this. Let's go."
Alex paled but held her ground. "A word of advice: never tell a human they don't want to see something. It's like 'don't look down'. We're compelled to look."
"Take my advice on this."
She stepped around Gabe, opened the door, and peered in. She closed it.
"We better get out of here." She used the edge of her shirt to wipe off the doorknob. It made her feel guilty.
*****
When Alex and Gabe arrived at the carriage house, Dr. Dewey was sitting on the couch and talking to Cale. All faces turned to them.
"How did it go?" Rile asked.
"Robert was lying in his apartment, gunshot to the head," Gabe said.
"It was a message, Alex. A message for you." Rile watched Alex sink to the couch and bury her face in her hands.
"Rile," Gabe hissed and turned to his brother.
"If they just wanted to kill him, they would have dumped the body, made it disappear. No evidence, see?"
Alex flinched.
"But they wanted Alex to find it, so they left him there. Even if she didn't find him, it would be in the papers, where she could read about it."
A shuddering gasp came from Alex and even Rile looked sorry. She straightened up, drying her eyes.
"I killed him," she said.
"Alex, you didn't kill him," Gabe said.
"Sure I did. I used him and put him in danger. I all but pulled the trigger."
"Then I killed him, too," Cale whispered.
"No, you didn't. You didn't dress up in black velvet and lure him out to dinner and drinks, oh." She groaned and buried her face again.
"That should teach you to not seduce some poor sucker again," Rile said.
Alex looked so stricken that Gabe tried to punch Rile, who stopped his fist cold.
"Stop. Hermann is the killer here. Do not forget that." Gabe pulled his fist free.
"Let's not attack each other," Alex said. "I'm going out to pound some thugs. It'll make me feel better and bring a tiny bit of justice to the world. Not much, but a tiny bit."
"You can't," Gabe said.
"I can and I will," Alex said. "You may not like it, but sorry about your luck. Robert didn't like getting shot in the head."
"You're injured. You'll be at too much risk and get hurt," Gabe said.
"Too late to worry about that."
"My brother needs you," Rile said.
"It would be best if you were here for Cale," Dr. Dewey added.
Alex ran her hand through her hair and plopped on the couch. "Let's watch an action movie. At least I can watch bad guys beaten and blown up."
*****
A/N: Raise your hand if you're angry at the author for what I did to Cale and Robert!
Dedicated to the Cale fans so they don't kill me!