Shared Mercy Book 5 of the Guardians Saga

CH. 12.3 Helping Drake

Drake slumped against his usual boulder, an arm in a sling across his chest. His eye was swollen shut and his face was covered in new bruises. His clothes were torn, and blood dotted the scrapes on his hide. Alex's determination to hate him evaporated.

"Drake! What happened?" Alex un-slung her wine-skin from her shoulder. "Is anything broken? Did you see a healer? Who did this to you? It was Flint wasn't it? Rat bastard. I owe him three killings now."

Drake studied her face as he listened to her rapid fire questions. "Yes, it was Flint. Or rather, his representatives. He can afford better guards than I can. I sent mine with my females so they wouldn't be beaten, too, but they were ambushed."

"What?" Alex flared. "Four killings for him! Slow! He'll beg for death when I'm through with him." Her hands glowed a malevolent red.

"What's that?" Drake indicated her hands.

"Worse than death." Alex smiled grimly at him. "Flint's fate." The light from her hands went out. "But for you, something else. Do you want something for pain?" Her hands lit white.

"Yes, please."

"Your arm?" Alex asked.

"Arm and face," Drake said.

"Arm," Alex countered. The fingers of her hand fluttered, like they were searching through a box of toys. A pyramid of white fire began to grow on the palm of her other hand.

"You're learning about our bartering culture." Drake smiled a weak smile.

Alex raised an eyebrow at him. With a pained groan he took his arm out of its wadded resting place and held it in front of him. She set her glowing hands on it for long moments before moving them gently up and down the entire arm.

Drake's posture relaxed as the pain eased. Alex's grip tightened and she felt the bone. Drake winced at one point and Alex left her glowing hands there longer. Again she palpated the bone but Drake didn't flinch.

"It's not overtly broken, but I'd need an x-ray to be sure. Do you have casts on your world? Or perhaps a more rigid splint?" Alex asked. "Use wood stakes and bind them with cloth strips."

"Yes, Healer Guardian," Drake said with a small smile.

"I'm bringing Rofe to your brothel," Alex said, no smile on her face.

"Are you asking him or bringing him?" Rofe asked, his smile growing mischievous.

"I'll ask, but he's coming," Alex said with determination, missing the teasing.

"You could damage his reputation greatly by doing that. How about I bring them here?"

"How about you do that and any who want to stay at the Mercy Tent can. I'll give you whatever you want in return." Alex took a sharp intake of breath at her incautious offer. "Fire truck, I don't think before I speak."

"I find it rather endearing," Drake said. He flexed and extended his elbow, and then his wrist. He hissed when his wrist moved.

"Careful, this isn't a healing power. It only relieves pain and I'm not using it anymore if you'll hurt yourself. Males can be macho morons," Alex grumbled. "You know, I hunt pimps on my world."

"How do you do that?" Drake flexed his fingers.

"I dress like a prostitute. Males who only want sex, I blast them unconscious. Males who try to own me, I blast unconscious with the red light. Then I take all their clothes and leave them naked in an alley."

Drake chuckled. "Nice touch." Then he sobered. "I don't beat my females nor do I allow any customers to."

"Why do you think you got the white light?" Alex winked at him. "Now, how this: I'll relieve all your pain if you make it clear that any of your females can leave and enter the Mercy Tent, with all their debts paid, when you bring them for healing."

Drake extended his uninjured hand. "Deal, Guardian."

Alex took his hand and Drake scanned the area.

"What are you looking for?" Alex asked, turning her head.

"Rile to pop up."

"I made sure that he was in a meeting," Alex said.

"You two have an interesting relationship," Drake said.

Alex frowned at him. "Good thing I won't live that long for that interesting relationship to turn damaging. Or more damaging. I feel sorry for Rile. Now hold out your injured arm."

Drake obeyed and winced as Alex placed a glowing hand on his injured wrist. "Tell me why you won't live long. Please?"

Alex said slowly, "Because one of the things that gives me my powers is slowly killing me. Interesting, don't you think?"

"Not interesting. Tragic."

"Life is full of tragedy," Alex said. "I'm here to limit some of it. Now what will you do if all your girls decide to leave? What will you do?"

"They won't," Drake said evenly.

"Why don't you find another line of work?"

"Like what?"

"Hunter, trader, herder," Alex said.

"No one will trade with a 'pimp' as you say. I don't know the first thing about herding goats. I can't hunt, either. Not everyone had a loving father like Gideon to teach them hunting and herding and fishing," Drake said and his jaw worked back and forth with remembered anger.

"Tell me about your father," Alex moved closer and placed a glowing hand on Drake's battered face. "Please, since we're having a moment and all." Her smile was kind and inviting.

Drake shrugged and his jaw relaxed but there was still a tightness to his eyes. "The usual. Drank too much wine. Beat Mother, beat me, passed out, woke up, and process started over."

"Is he still alive? Because the red light doesn't feel so good." Alex moved her glowing hand to Drake's eye.

"You would do that for me?"

"Duh," Alex said. "Revenge on bastards who beat women and children is hardly something you have to pay me for. It fills me with a savage sort of satisfaction. I think I'm supposed to feel guilty about that, but oddly enough, I never do. Just another reason that I'm interesting. And evil."

"I know evil and you aren't it," Drake said and cautiously touched her arm. "There is no need for revenge."

Alex huffed a breath. "You only know a certain sort of evil. Now give up daddy's location. You want to watch? I think it's called 'closure' or some other sort of nonsense, not just revenge."

"He's dead, along with my mother." Drake rubbed his temples and his eyes were a reflection of pain and hurt that bled across his feature

Alex traced along Drake's face and her expression shifted. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and let her hand fall away. "That's enough," she said.

"What was that?" Drake asked in wonder.

"An accident," Alex replied and blinked away tears. "I didn't mean to synchronize to you. Don't tell Rile. He'll be hurt and furious and he doesn't deserve that."

"That's what it was," Drake said to himself.

"What? Oh, that night. Yeah, you're a bastard," Alex said and stood abruptly. "Bring your girls to the Mercy Tent in less than two hours or you'll feel the red light. I don't want them suffering any longer than necessary."

***

A/N

Dedicated to newest reader

timabilz