Page 2 of Darik's Quest

“What would you do to resolve this problem?” she asked.

“Anything you ask of me.”

She settled into the seat more comfortably and gazed at the butterfly. “Would you risk yourself to obtain the solution for all the Badari?”

“Of course.” Darik had no idea where this was going but he resolved to do whatever was necessary for himself and the others. Was she going to ask him to infiltrate a Khagrish lab and steal secrets perhaps? A daunting job for one man to accomplish but he’d do it to meet her price for ending the current situation.

“The original Badari had issues with fertility at times,” she said in a conversational tone. “There was a sacred place where the waters would enable a woman to conceive and carry her man’s child, if she could but drink a tiny portion. Difficult to reach, guarded by monsters but if the man—or woman—could overcome the difficulties and reach the spring, the reward was huge.”

“Superstition,” he scoffed before he could bite his tongue. “We’re dealing in real world issues here.”

The goddess wasn’t disturbed by his doubt, merely shrugging. “One race’s magic is another’s science. Trace elements, your Doctor Garrison said, didn’t she? Who is to say the water in this spring I speak of didn’t carry such extra content? Let me assure you the issue which was inherent in a number of the original Badari has carried down through time to you and your brothers, whether the Khagrish in their oh-so-clever, oh-so-evil pursuits of their science knew it or not.”

Darik pondered what she’d said so far. “Either way, the planet of my long-ago ancestors doesn’t exist anymore.”

“Yes, the enemy destroyed it.” The Great Mother leaned forward. “I can send you there.” She held out her hand. Resting on her palm was a tiny crystal flask, doublesided, with an amethyst stopper wedged into the top on each side. “One dose for your mate, one dose for your doctors to study and isolate the necessary magic, or elements if you prefer the term. Fill the bottle at the spring of new beginnings, sip from the waters yourself and you’ll return to your own place and time with the flask. You have seven days.”

The suddenness with which she presented the quest took his breath away. “If I fail?”

“You’ll die.”

Now he understood why she was allowing him to see her face so clearly. He voiced his final concern. “Nicolle isn’t Badari though so this water wouldn’t help her.”

“Isn’t she?” The goddess raised her eyebrows and the sky darkened. “She carries your blood, her immune system is now Badari, she has the gift of longevity—she has the mate bond, although the two of you have allowed it to become sadly tattered and fragile, which is a thing I never expected to see.”

“I love my mate,” he said, barely refraining from giving voice to a howl of rage. His inner predator was pacing and angry at the implied criticism but the goddess merely spoke the truth and he knew it.

“And she loves you, but the distance between the two of your hearts is vast right now.” Thunder boomed in the distance. The Great Mother placed her hand on his cheek as if to console him. “All these things can be worked out in time but you must talk to each other. You both mourn in your own ways, neither wants to hurt the other by bringing up the topic, she blames herself?—”

“It wasn’t her fault, she did nothing wrong,” Darik said and now there was definitely a growl in his voice. His talons were trying to edge out of their sheaths.

“Talk to her,” the goddess said softly, patting his cheek before withdrawing her hand. “If you complete the quest.” Head tilted, she studied him. “Have you decided to take the risk?”

“I’m going.” His jaw was clenched so hard his head ached. “And yes, Nicolle and I will talk when I get back. Because I am coming home with the special waters.”

“I believe you.”

Suddenly Darik was reclining in the cool, cushioning grass, with the Great Mother standing over him. He couldn’t move and his eyes were growing heavy. She sprinkled a handful of her flowers over his body and said, “Travel where your need takes you, Darik of the Badari, with my blessings.”

Chapter Two

Nicolle had a never ending to do list of action items and Aydarr the Supreme Alpha thought nothing of adding new tasks. She had assistants now, where before she handled all aspects of the job herself, but there were numerous things only she could undertake. She was on a com call to Kelli in Stores as her door opened and Jamokan, her mate’s Alpha walked in without knocking. Technically she was in Jamokan’s pack as well, being the claimed mate of one of his soldiers.

“I have to go, Kelli,” she said, taking one look at Jamokan’s face. Her heart sank as she broke the com connection. “What can I do for you today?”

“Where’s Darik?” he asked, taking in the clutter on her desk with a raised eyebrow.

She felt judged but Jamokan wasn’t the neatest person either. Then his question sank in and Nicolle blinked. “I have no idea. Doing whatever you or Aydarr assigned him to do today, I suppose. We didn’t talk much this morning.” In fact they hadn’t talked at all. She’d grabbed a survival ration to quiet her grumbling stomach and left while her mate was in the shower. Easier that way. Lately their conversations had all been awkward and uncomfortable. The loss of her pregnancy was taking up all the space in the room. She kept her grief to herself, locked inside. Darik didn’t seem to be much affected. Oh sure he’d been devastated in the first few days but since then he hadn’t mentioned the crushing end to their dream. He’d gone on with his life as if nothing had happened. She wasn’t made that way. She’d had dreams about motherhood, about the child they were going to have—a small boy version of Darik, she was sure. A rascal, no doubt, into all kinds of trouble but smart and loving. Giving up those dreams was hard and even more difficult when your partner didn’t appear to share the emotional devastation.

And each month passed without managing to get pregnant again.

Jamokan was staring at her and Nicolle realized she’d drifted off into her private spiral of grief

“No, he isn’t,” the Alpha said once he had her attention. “I don’t believe he’s even in the valley and he had no orders to leave today, much less to take a flyer and vanish.”

“Darik wouldn’t do that,” she protested, automatically defending her mate. “Maybe Aydarr sent him on a mission.”

“And no one told me?” Jamokan scoffed. “Right now he’s supposed to be at the training grounds, supervising the obstacle course. He never showed up. I had an odd call from the control tower advising me he’d taken a flyer out without orders, much less a flight plan. Now where is he, Nicolle, and what is he doing?”

---