Book One – Chapter 18

Another mass of force burst into the sick bay and shouldered past Yu. Gurs. The second borman planted himself behind the first, who turned at once. Their eyes locked, and roll of growls and grunts passed between them — low, primal, older than words, heavy with rank and warning.

Yu’s pulse skipped and stuttered as he counted the distance. One, two, three — shit. One, two, three — goddammit, get up! Just fucking move! But his limbs stuck fast. He knew too well how brutish bormen were, how impulsive, how often they turned from words to violence, and just how quickly they lashed out against all need for caution and common sense.

Yu’s common sense screamed at him to get the fuck out of reach, but it was useless. If one borman was bad, more of them was worse, and the fina in him had declared him dead already. So the body froze, and the mind began to spin instead: How had Gurs known to come? Estingar must have told him. Deltington had alerted him, surely. What was that sudden flare on Deltington’s wing, that flash of orange and red? And why, gods, why were they all so insistent on helping the human, as if —

“Go now, Kel-Khadar,” Bubs said, at last. “That is your name, right? Go and rest.”

The words made both bormen fall silent and turn towards Bubs. Yu could not see not past them, but from what he heard, Bubs and Deltington bent to the human’s leg again, fixing the brace and the bleeding.

“I will do all I can to give her a chance,” Bubs said. “I will call you if there is anything to worry about. If something happens. Go, and let me work. There will be food soon.”

The borman’s chest heaved once, twice, thrice, then eased by degrees. His breath finally settled. Calmer now, he stepped back into the sick bay. Gurs closed the door behind him and then issued a short grunt that made the borman leave for the common room. Gurs followed close behind, herding the krynn along with a curt gesture.

With each of their heavy steps, the commotion ebbed, and then everything thinned into silence. Only the muffled clink of instruments and the clipped commands from the adjoining room remained.

And that meant that suddenly, Yu was left alone with the unconscious selder. And with the shaman.