Screams interrupted us! Healers ran to Jen and Doug’s room! I ported in.
Suma and Neal bounced between the bed and the ceiling! Ishmarel, King Of Zheiea, leapt up and eased her onto the bed. The Zhee 6th Galaxy Minister caught Neal. Never met him. Pirad ported in.
Ray touched Suma’s forehead and yellow light filled the room! Her brown eyes opened and turned black. She’s Elshar now? Then she put a hand on Neal’s head. “Suma, are you all right? Soskannans have—forceful telepathy—”
“How did you survive contact with them?” Emperor Ry’nao reached a trembling hand towards Neal. I held his hand.
Another me put her hands on Ry’nao’s and hummed. “Azure’s got this. Let’s port back to your room. I’ll stay with you, ‘Ao.”
“You’ll die, Molly, and we lose the New Healing! Wally left us!” Ry’nao cried! I never saw him in such a condition! Not even when we got him back from slavery!
“Wally’s coming back!” I saw it, and blurted it out. “You’ll see. Get Kia and Irdatkin! Garat’s helping?” Couldn’t believe what I was saying! That fella that insisted Irdatkin come back to Biehshah to die, in Rainbow? When he admitted Kia healed him through the Diplomatic Link. Hoo boy. People from Leheren Prov court for 20 years! Telepathy during courtship—well, they were supposed to wait for 5 years to do that.
Future Molly pulled my hand off and they ported back to his room on Adia’s. While they were here, I felt heavy, like we were on Earth again.
Deb and Ray looked at me and we all shuddered.
Suma hugged Neal and gasped. He’s Ishah, too, now! Yellow light shone all around them.
Pirad jerked his hand away! “You have to sleep now! Both of you! There is not enough of me!”
“Yes, there are! We’re winning!” I saw it. We did.
“We cannot discuss this!” Pirad vanished.
I blinked, and I had my hands on Neal, singing. He’s Ishah, but he’s my temperature. An Ishah should be hot like an Earthan with a high fever!
Ishmarel and Alice sang beautiful harmony with my childlike, pitiful soprano. Healing didn’t flow as usual. I got tired fast. Suma and Neal—part of their Collective isn’t there. Whatever they did on Soskanna was too much.
Jarfus ported in and laid beside them, panting. “Well, that was exciting!”
Ishmarel saw him and startled! “How should I address you?” He bowed low.
“Oh, don’t bow! I’ll have to get up—you did. I’m Jarfus and I like hugs. Suma and Neal hug me. I am just an observer, like Wally. He sits on the Council of the 6th. I never had a title. Suma is Elshar Zheiea’s Councillor. I do hope Zhea~ will get one.” He groaned.
Ishmarel very carefully put his arms around him. “Can Pirad ne heal you?”
He chuckled. “I am an illusion, my friend. A telepathic projection, not unlike what you do to fool Earthans into thinking you are like them. Wally showed me the Soskannans are not part of our mind. They are Lerk. Because of Suma’s bravery, they joined our battle! Ni’olmai convinced the Minark to join as well! Do you know how many allies they have who are sick of Rentappenen’s--?
“Oh, I talk too much. There’s a festival out there! I want to see it.” He tried to get up and fell on the bed! The whole thing wobbled! I didn’t think anything could do that to a Zheien bed!
“Oh, dear.” He put his head down and closed his eyes. His blue top hat rolled away. “There’s no one left to heal me. I’m—not an illusion. I forgot. For Mike to kill me, I had to have a physical body. Wally brought me back enough I could heal myself, but that came undone. Just like when Pirad—bring him, Molly?”
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
I got his clone on this ship. He ran to Jarfus and clicked his face into a horrified expression! “What did you do, Jarfus?”
“Well, I couldn’t let Suma die! She enables Ni’olmai. Even an Imwa has limits. What can we do? Can you reclone an Imwa?” The last sentence was a whimper.
Pirad buzzed. “I never tried it! If I reclone you as a jarfus, you will not speak! Your people developed methods I do not know!”
That fella with the black fur and cat ears popped in. “So dramatic! I can do this--”
“Pinda, can you do it and keep me alive? I’m scared! I already died once--”
“You haven’t lived until you died 1,286 times! Yes, it’s unpleasant. But I can reclone you, and I don’t have to maintain a connection to keep you alive. Wally and your people do that because Imwa do group minds. We stay separate because we are Laruu. Do you want to stay jarfus, or have a form like you people used to have? And, from what era?”
“Heavens, no, I want my jarfus form! Just do it! If they run hygiene, you won’t have enough blood for this!” He moaned more with every sentence.
Pinda held a paw on his head and hummed. Jarfus was big enough to cover his half of the huge seven-sided bed, but he shrank to about walrus size. “There. I can’t heal you so you don’t need sleep. There will be other festivals. You are doing too much. The Lerk are only one of ten entire groups of civilizations, and I just got back from waking their galaxies. Sleep for an hour or two. Then, I’ll tell you more. All of you who heard this, don’t tell anyone.” His huge brown eyes studied each of us.
When he got to me, I thought quietly to him. How do I stop thinking about this? I don’t want them to know!
He laughed. “Such worries! When we’re around, we can hide you. Just don’t tell others on purpose.”
Jarfus groaned. “But some of them have to know things. Their Gifts were tied to Wally, you know. I have to keep up with that!”
“Brother, they are tied to me, because I gave up my entire civilization’s Gifts to Earthans! I can watch them and fight, too!”
“Don’t be foolish. You gave yourself to a child, remember?”
I saw Pinda in Rainbow. Oh, my! Melinda Parsons, age 13, who served on her parents’ ScSv Team, and lost both of ‘em! He stayed with her because he gave himself to her—this is Pinda? Because he couldn’t save Mrs. Parsons.
Vern and Ellie ran in, dressed in purple ScSv uniforms. “Pinda! Hi, Molly! You’re young!” Vern smiled. Both of them were skinny, but much younger than he was at the last. I cried with ‘em a lot. But, they’re here, and they’re young--
“So are you! Where’s Melinda?”
“Hmm. Someplace in—there!” He poked Ellie’s middle and she giggled.
Then, she got teary. “I hope I don’t lose her this time like I lost the other two.” Her blond curls shook.
“We have miracle health care, here! Don’t worry, my love. The Yeff did offer us those Science Council positions, so we won’t travel. You won’t get poisoned--”
Pinda looked from me to them, a very thoughtful look, and put his arms around ‘em. They vanished.
Suma, Ni, Doug and Jen all slept. Ket smiled at me. I’ll port them to King Ryonne~’s ship now. Don’t worry. Pirad’s waiting. He opened a portal with a smile. Kept the black eyes. I nodded. Can’t stay with everyone, on diff planets. Deb and Greg and all the people of Ry Pethe went there, to Ye~. Ray and Asha ported to Cevit Ion’s ship with all the Elshar Zheien. I wanted to cry! Deb, Suma and Ray are on the ship. Their clones are going to Ye~. Maybe I should ask for clones of ‘em to be in MarKu when all this is over! Tomorrow, I can port around. It’s only 4 mins from one to another.
Ben held me when the bed vanished. Set me on my feet and bowed to Ishmarel and Alice.
I bowed low, but Ish touched my mind and warned me if I felt any pain, not to try lower. I sent healing as I went, but my ankles are very strong from skating. It wasn’t a problem. I knew him in Rainbow after he was poisoned from eating with Esteerrians. Got heart problems and Pirad couldn’t regrow his absorptives.
I bowed again, and he returned it, like a renowned ballet dancer!
My comparison amused him. “Ah, rise and greet me, my healer!” He pushed his sash to the side so I could hug him.
“It is a great honor to meet you, King Ishmarel!” Ben corrected me earlier when I thought he was still First Prince.
“Ah, but you already have skills for the New Healing! All of Zheiea needs them. Shall we attend the festival?” His deep voice thrilled me. A fitting king of the noble Zheien. Wonderful, to see him healthy like this, and he’ll stay that way!
Alice smiled at me. Her brown skin was much darker than his deep orange. She has ancestry in India. Her huge family on her father’s side already enjoyed it. Her brown eyes, full of life, seemed to smile, too.