Crystal Healer_ A Stardoc Novel S.L. Viehl

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people left alive. That would be me and Reever."
Squilyp's shoulders sagged. "No one would attack Joren to capture you. No one would dare."
"They already have," I reminded him. "Twice. Three times, if you count the patient that was made into a bomb."
He sat down behind his desk and rested his head against his membranes. "We could arrange an accident--fly a scout into a star and make it look as if
you were killed. We could create new identities for you. Hide you on a world where you would not be found."
"Would you wish to live like that?" I asked softly. "Always running, hiding, afraid of being discovered? Would you wish Marel to do the same, and grow
old while her parents remain young? Do you think you could watch your children grow old and die, all the while knowing that you could never journey to the
next life with them?"
"Omorr do not believe in a next life." He rubbed his eyes, and then saw my face. "No, Jarn. I could not bear the burden of it."
"Then please, old friend, help us." I sat down in front of the desk. "Find a way to reverse what was done to us." I reached across and took one of his
membranes in my hand. "Give us a chance at life. Ordinary life. One we can live in peace."
"I will try." Squilyp gripped my fingers for a moment, and then rose. "Come. I want you to meet one of my new residents."
I had a great many tasks to attend to in order to prepare for the expedition, including telling my daughter about it. "Perhaps another time. I have much to
do."
"You'll want to meet Jylyj," the Omorr assured me. "Xonal told me about this expedition you're planning, and I think this resident could be very useful.
Aside from the fact that Jylyj is a gifted surgeon, he is also Skartesh."
I frowned. "I was told that world had been destroyed during the war."
Squilyp hopped out into the corridor. "It was, but many of the Skartesh escaped before the end." He waited until I came through, and then secured the
access panel. "The survivors have recently established a new colony on one of K-2's moons."
I recalled what Reever had said about the Skartesh being isolationists. "Why is this Jylyj not in residency there?"
"According to his transfer papers, he left K-2 soon after the Skartesh were tricked into attempting a mass suicide. He does not speak of his people at
all, so I imagine it had something to do with that." Squilyp shrugged. "Whatever Jylyj's origins, he's the finest resident I've ever trained. Brilliant in and out
of the surgical suite. I've been assigning him the most challenging cases on the ward, and he's yet to lose a patient. As it happens, he has a reputation of
having a magic touch. All the patients he treats have healed quickly, and with no complications."
I accompanied Squilyp to the surgical ward, where the nurses were preparing for rounds. I had no difficulty spotting the Skartesh, as he was the only
non-Jorenian on the floor.
While Squilyp conferred briefly with the charge nurse, I watched Jylyj assessing a post-op case. He wore a green resident's tunic, fitting for a four-
limbed humanoid male. I had not yet grown accustomed to seeing furred species, so at first glance the dark brown pelt covering his body and face made
him seem more like an animal than a person.
After my initial, unfavorable reaction, I saw reassuring signs that my first impression was in error. The dense black ruff of fur surrounding Jylyj's features
had been trimmed short, as had the five curved black claws on his paws. His eye, as solid black as the Jorenians were white, made me wonder for a
moment if he were a crossbreed. ClanLeader Sajora Kalea, a crossbreed Jorenian, had possessed solid green eyes. The resident's ear flaps stood
straight up on either side of his head, and small circles of some amber alloy hung from the right flap.
Animals, I knew, did not adorn themselves.
The black coloration of Jylyj's slanted eyelids, pointed nose, and lining of his long, narrowed-jawed mouth gave him a menacing look, as did the heavy
musculature of his frame under the fur. At the same time, he moved carefully, and the low tone of his voice as he spoke to the Jorenian patient sounded
warm and pleasant. I noted how gently and efficiently he used the long, clawed digits of his paws to check the surgical dressing and adjust the berth to a
more comfortable alignment. He might look like a killer, but he had the air and focus of a natural healer.
Jylyj looked up and met my gaze.
I could not put a name to what I saw on Jylyj's face and in his eyes. For the most part, ensleg emotions still mystified me. It was what I felt that made me [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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