Born Of Vengeance Part 19

Sumi moved to help him with his wounds as best she could. "Thank you, by the way."

Bastien scowled at her. "For what? Getting my a.s.s kicked or bleeding on the floor?"

She jerked her chin toward the kids. "Keeping them safe."

Bastien quirked his lips as he considered it. Honestly? He'd enjoyed everything but the torture. "It's good to play hero again. Forgot how much I missed it."

Sucking his breath in sharply as she touched the cut on his forehead, he growled at her. "Then again, this s.h.i.t sucks! Gah, what was I thinking?"

Sumi ruffled his hair, then went to mind the other two while Dancer took his time with whatever he was doing.

Bastien rolled over and dragged himself to where he kept a few medical supplies. Sadly, he was out of painkillers due to an injury he'd had a few weeks ago when he fell while trying to repair the roof. He'd sent a notice to Jullien to bring more on his next trip through, but no reply had come.

That wasn't unusual. Sometimes his cousin would be traveling dark and arrive before he had a chance to tell Bastien he was coming.

So he grabbed a bottled water and sat down to wait while Sumi chewed her nail and paced the room.

After a few minutes, Dancer returned. By the slowness of his movements, it was obvious he felt about as wonderful as Bastien did. With a smile, he touched Sumi's chin, then looked to Bastien. "Anything in this place you need?"

"Not really. Why?"

"We need to get going. Boldorians are pack b.a.s.t.a.r.ds. In case they put out a beacon during this last round, I think it best we vacate."

Probably a good idea. Dancer was right about that. Where there was one, there were three hundred. Like c.o.c.kroaches.

Bastien stood then fell back down when his legs buckled. "Well, ain't this a b.i.t.c.h? Could have sworn I was further from the floor than this a second ago."

Dancer snorted. He held his hand out and pulled Bastien to his feet against the protestations of Bastien's entire body.

They both grimaced in unison. He stepped away from Bastien. "Darice, help the man."

Darice did so without complaint.

Bastien took the shoulder he offered, and together they headed for the door.

Dancer paused to check on Thia. "You okay, kisa?"

It took Bastien a moment to mentally translate the Andarion word for little sister.

Her arms folded over her chest, she had a strange look in her eyes as she swept her gaze around the building. "Do you know where my mother died?"

Dancer winced at her question the same way Bastien had earlier. "Don't, baby."

Tears welled in her eyes as she glanced up at him. "Kiara won't ever talk about it. My father, either. I just want to know if she suffered much."

Pulling her into his arms, Dancer cradled her head with his hand. "No, baby, she didn't."

By the light in Dancer's stralen eyes, Bastien knew he was lying to the girl. But he admired him for not hurting her with the truth. And he understood exactly how Thia felt. He wondered the same thing about his own parents every day. Had they seen it coming?

Worse? He knew the answer about his siblings and their families. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't purge the sight of either Quin or Lil from his mind. Nor the sound of the blaster that ended their lives.

It would haunt him forever.

Why, with all his training, couldn't he have stopped it?

Dancer placed a kiss to Thia's forehead. "Aksel owns enough of your soul. Don't let him take any more from you. He's not worth one molecule of your tears."

She hugged him then. "Thank you. For everything."

He nodded. "Love you, Thee."

"You, too." She kissed his cheek before she followed after them.

While they waited on Dancer and Sumi, Bastien siphoned the fuel from the airbee with the lowest tank into the next lowest one, knowing that it was the only hope they had of reaching what little civilization this backwater planet had.

Dancer came outside with Sumi to join them and handed Bastien a bag of additional weapons. "Did you get your things?"

He a.s.sumed Dancer meant his emergency bug-out pack. "Yeah."

"Good." Dancer pulled out a small handheld control, then pressed it. An instant later, the entire building blew apart.

Stunned and p.i.s.sed, Bastien gaped indignantly as he watched what little he owned go up in a fierce explosion. "My p.o.r.n! You Andarion b.a.s.t.a.r.d! You didn't tell me you were going to blow my s.h.i.t up!" There was stuff in there he would have backed up and kept!

Stuff he needed to track his uncle.

Dancer cut a dry stare toward him. "Be glad I let you get out first."

Sighing, Bastien rolled his eyes. There was no need in attacking him over it or staying angry. It was done now and he had no place else to go. "You are Fain's brother. Just like him ... b.a.s.t.a.r.d. All right, so what are we doing?"

"I'm taking the four of you to the Point, then coming back for Illyse. I'll be on the move until the others get here." He handed Bastien one of the trackers that was set to his TD. "Give this to Thia's father and they'll find me."

Bastien was confused until he realized that Illyse must be the name of the lorina they'd been traveling with. What with all the c.r.a.p that had happened, he'd completely forgotten about the large black battle feline. Good thing Dancer had remembered.

Sumi moved to stand in front of Dancer. "I'm not leaving you. You're wounded."

"Let's argue about this later. We need to get out of here in case some of the Boldorians are around to see the explosion."

Bastien could tell she wanted to argue, but knew he was right. Safety first.

Sumi took the first airbee. Thia climbed on the back of hers. Bastien pulled himself on another, and Hauk took the third. Darice went to sit behind his uncle. When he wrapped his arms around Dancer's waist, Bastien saw the satisfied smile on Dancer's face. Obviously, the boy meant a lot to him. He patted Darice's arms then took off.

They followed him to a small oasis at the base of Mount Grenalyn. In spite of the desert climate, it was strangely lush and green, with a rapid stream that ran through it. In the early days of his fun-filled vacation here, this had been where Bastien came for fresh water and to bathe.

At least until he'd gotten the water running through the base again. Cold though it was ...

Dancer parked and helped Darice off as they joined him. When Dancer started to leave them, Sumi caught his arm and held him in place. "You are hurt and bleeding. If you think for one second that I'm going to stand here and watch you leave without those wounds being tended, you're ... even more insane than I think you are. And I will follow you."

Laying his hand against her cheek, he stroked her chin with his thumb. "I refuse to endanger you."

"You know, Dancer. Heroic is one thing. Moronic is quite another." She turned his airbee off. "Now get your a.s.s over there, soldier, and sit!" She pointed to where Bastien was standing near Thia as she unpacked supplies. "And let me see how bad you're hurt. Then we'll revisit this whole death quest you seem to have."

Those orders choked Bastien as they reminded him so much of how Ember used to treat him. How much she used to love him.

Before he'd screwed up so badly.

Just change out the names and insults and it might as well be one of their old infamous arguments.

No one will ever love me like that again.

That was the hardest part about coming to terms with his current situation. And it wasn't melancholy or moroseness. He'd never trust himself to love anyone else the way he'd loved her.

Never be that open with anyone else ever again.

That innocent, trusting part of him had gone to the graves with his family. What was left now was more animal than man. Yeah, he could pa.s.s as a sentient creature. Use the right utensil at meals. But in his heart, he knew the truth.

Bastien Cabarro was dead.

He was only a wraith of the man who'd once believed in the goodness of others. The man who'd believed in justice and honesty.

Universe wasn't like that. It was harsh and unfair.

It sucked and didn't care for anyone. And he was done with it all.

Dancer shook his head at her. "You are so bossy. I'd eat anyone else who talked to me like this."

"Promises, promises. Now move!"

Yeah, that's exactly what Ember would have said.

Blinking back the sudden moisture in his eyes as he tried not to think about her, Bastien cleared his throat.

Hauk obeyed Sumi's orders, with a slow petulance that said he was only agreeing to make her happy. Bastien had been there, too. A woman had no idea how much control she had over a man when he loved her. There was nothing they wouldn't do to make their woman happy.

To see her smile ...

It was what they lived for.

Growling low in his throat, Dancer slung his leg over the airbee and allowed her to lead him to a softer area near the water.

Lying down, Dancer stared up at the side of the mountain with a dark expression Bastien couldn't fathom. But it was obvious some demon was tormenting him.

Sumi sat down next to him and opened his shirt. She gasped at the sight of the wound across his ribs. "Dancer!"

He didn't speak as she cleaned it and continued fussing at him over it. And that too gutted Bastien.

How sick was it that he missed listening to his mother, sister, and Ember yell at him over his reckless disregard for his life? It'd been way too long since he was in the full-time care of someone who loved him.

She sat back and frowned at how many wounds lined his torso and arms. "You really need an MT, Dancer."

He squeezed her hand comfortingly. "I'll be all right."

She shook her head. "You're not invincible."

"d.a.m.n near."

She rolled her eyes at his arrogance. "Didn't at least one of them miss when they shot at you?"

He laughed then grimaced. "Yeah, I always wanted to be that hero in a movie where no one can shoot straight except me. Never happens. I seem to always walk into the school of award-winning sharpshooters."

Bastien knew that dream, as he had the same luck Dancer did. Never failed that he walked or landed right in the middle of the top graduates of some sick sniper academy.

In fact, that was what had caused his wingman before Ember to bug out of his company. One too many close encounters with death.

Dancer dropped his hand to the injury she had on her biceps. "You okay?"

"Told you. Flesh wound. Throbs, but I can handle it."

He smiled. "My tough mia."

Those words came out slurred as Dancer slowly drifted off to sleep.

Pursing her lips, she left him to come check on Bastien. His gut tightened immediately at her approach. For more than one reason.

The last thing he wanted was to have an Andarion male's female touching him. One thing he knew about their culture-they were insanely jealous and no one touched their women or children without permission.

So he tried to brush her aside.

Yet as with Dancer, she was insistent.

Bastien grimaced at her. "I've had worse from bar fights. Trust me. Beatings I can take."

"You sure?"

Bastien nodded. "Hand me a cloth and I'm fine."

She hesitated.

Glancing over to Dancer, he gave her a sardonic grin. "Sumi, I learned a long time ago, you don't touch or get touched by an Andarion's female. They get really hostile over it, and I'm not physically able to keep Hauk from killing me right now. So no offense, let's maintain at least a five-foot no-touch zone. 'Kay?"

She scoffed as she handed him the foil package that held an antiseptic cloth. "He wouldn't beat you, Bastien."

Yeah, right. Definitely not worth the bet.

"Not gonna chance it. In case it's escaped your notice, your male is a huge motherf.u.c.ker. And I've had enough a.s.s beating to tide me over for at least a month.... Maybe longer."

Shaking her head at him, she went to check on Thia.

Bastien lay for hours in silence, pretending to sleep. It was easier than being awake and interacting with a family. Because the way they teased and fought reminded him of everything that was forever lost to him, and it cut in a way he hadn't realized he'd been spared from. All this time, he'd cursed his Ravin status.