Page 14 of Darik's Quest

Too close for comfort but it can’t climb or fly, thank the goddess. He scrabbled his way upward, ignoring the pain from the gaping wound. He wasn’t able to use the leg in any meaningful way but had enough strength in his arms and the uninjured leg to continue his ascent. While it was true a Badari could heal himself quickly, an injury as grievous as this one would take longer and leave him seriously weakened. He needed a healer but there was no point in wishing for what he didn’t have.

The climb seemed to go on forever. The predator sat and waited below, confident he was going to fall. Darik was determined to make it, for himself and for Mia, and he let his inner beast take charge when he grew lightheaded from the loss of blood.

Finally he was crawling over the lip of the plateau, careful not to crush the baby strapped to his chest, digging his talons into the ground at the summit and moving on sheer stubbornness alone. He prayed to the goddess that there were no more such predators here on the plateau or he and Mia were indeed finished.

Rolling onto his back, he stared at the sky and gasped for breath while he waited to see if they were going to be attacked. Being so vulnerable was wrenching and he soon raised himself to a sitting position, claws and fangs out, and surveyed the plateau. There were a few small trees but otherwise the area was open, waving grasses and flowers in a carpet. At the far end of the rectangular expanse he heard water.

He had to take a minute to bind the wound in his leg, tearing a piece off the shirt he’d borrowed at the fur trappers’ settlement. It was healing but slowly. Experimentally he got to his feet and wavered a bit, dizzy from the loss of blood but he refused to fall. One laborious step at a time he headed for the sound of water, dragging his injured leg. Mia found this lurching gait amusing as she swung in her sling and her baby laughter lightened his mood a bit.

His destination came into view. The spring burbled up from the rocks and fell in a graceful cascade into a small pond, with a stream flowing out the other side and making its way to the edge of the plateau, where it formed a small waterfall. The pond was covered in water lilies and there were colorful insects flying over the surface. Birds sang from the trees and the whole scene was peaceful and welcoming. Completely different than the danger he’d faced below from the predators.

When he finally reached the pond, after a prolonged struggle, he first made Mia comfortable on her quilt and then tended to his leg, bathing the wound and rebandaging it with the remains of the shirt. He unlooped the cord from his neck, removed the amethyst stopper and immersed the double-sided bottle in the fresh water bubbling from the spring. Once both sides were full he closed the vial and put the necklace on again. He offered up a quick prayer that the substance was the cure the mates of his time needed, including Nicolle.

Before taking a drink himself, he managed to dribble some of the precious spring water into Mia’s mouth and got her to swallow it. The whole process puzzled her and she protested a bit but even though he was taking a sample for Dr. Garrison to study and replicate, he didn’t want to take a chance on Mia missing out on whatever benefits the water from the original source might confer. Then and only then he drank deep from the refreshing spring himself. The water was cold and fizzed as he swallowed but otherwise he didn’t notice anything special about it.

Sitting on the mossy bank of the pond, he lifted Mia into his lap and waited. The goddess had said once he drank from the spring he’d be returned to his own time.

Five minutes stretched to ten and became an hour and nothing happened. Darik laid Mia on her quilt again and let her watch the dancing insects. She seemed fascinated by the shifting colors in their wings as they flew above her and he’d seen no evidence the bugs were of a stinging variety.

Darik got to his feet, finding his leg was much improved, and stared into the gorgeous blue sky of his ancestors’ home world. Mia’s home. “I appeal to you, Great Mother, to send me to my own place and time, and to take my daughter Mia with me. I’ve completed the quest you gave me.”

“Indeed you have,” said her musical voice behind him. “I’m pleased.”

Darik picked up the baby and turned to face his goddess. Her face was in shadow and he was relieved not to stand so close to dying today. She was dressed as he’d never before seen her, in a skirt and tunic of soft white leather, decorated with multicolored beads in an intricate pattern. She wore slouchy boots of the same material, also covered in sparkling patterns and her long hair was braided, with ribbons woven into the strands in colors matching the beads of her clothing.

“This is how the Badari here visualize me,” she said, coming closer. Raising her hand she lightly caressed the baby’s head, touching the silky hair and then cupping Mia’s cheek. “Such a sweet child. You wish to save this one small Badari out of all the people on this planet?”

“She’s become the daughter of my heart,” he answered. “I’d save them all if I could, even if it meant my people never came into existence. I’d gladly stay and fight beside Javon and the others if we stood any chance at all of averting the end history has already written. Their fate is harsh and unjust and being here unable to help them in any way has been the worst experience of my entire life, even beyond what I suffered in the labs. My brothers and I must defeat the enemy at home to avenge these ancestors here.”

“You’ll tell them of your time here and rekindle the fire in their hearts,” she said. “You and your pack brothers have good reason to hate and despise the Khagrish and their allies but your recounting of what you saw here will add to the flames.”

“I’m eager to bear witness.” Darik shifted the baby in his arms and addressed his biggest worry. “You’ll allow me to take Mia home?”

The Great Mother stared off into the distance for a long moment. “She didn’t survive in this timeline, you know.”

“Which is a tragedy and hurts my heart to consider, not just for Mia but for all the children and innocents. Saving her doesn’t help anyone else but then at least I feel like I accomplished one good thing in my time here. I made a small difference in the outcome.” Darik tried to put all his emotions into his words, desperate to keep the child who’d won his heart.

“Changing her fate doesn’t affect this timeline,” the goddess said.

“I’m aware of that, my lady, but it certainly makes a difference to Mia. She deserves the chance to grow up and have a life.”

The baby rested her chubby fist on his hand and he clasped it.

Pivoting on her heel, the Great Mother nodded. “This outcome doesn’t displease me. It’s time to leave this place, Darik. Your mate has kept a vigil over you all these days, not leaving your side, talking to you, caring for you.”

“I thought I heard her voice a few times in the night,” he said, automatically checking the mate bond and encouraged to find it shinier than it had been. “I decided I was dreaming.”

“Who can say what passes through the boundaries of space and time?” The goddess laughed and Mia laughed with her. The Great Mother touched one fingertip to Darik’s shoulder and green sparks flew. The baby tried to catch them but Darik straightened his injured leg as the healing energy coursed through his sinews and muscles. “Whatever you wish to take with you to Ushandirr must be on your person or touching you,” the goddess said.

He rushed to collect his pack, cramming the quilt into it but never letting go of Mia. One handed he got the sling over his head again and placed her securely in it. He made sure he had the long-eared bunny toy attached to the carrier. One hand protectively shielding her and the other clutching his pack with the precious mementoes for Mia, he stood beside the water.

“I’m ready.”

The pond waters became choppy, waves washing across its expanse and mist rising from the miniature white caps. The fog swirled towards him, encircling him. Darik raised his head to catch one final glimpse of the beautiful blue sky and then he was completely engulfed in the white vapor. Tiny purple motes danced in the mist around him and he realized he was losing consciousness. Holding tight to Mia he prayed for a successful outcome to this trip through time, trusting in the goddess but worried nonetheless. The baby was so important to him he fought panic at the idea he might lose her in transit.

He couldn’t see but he could hear her, not sounding at all distressed or upset, which was good and he felt her tiny body cuddled to his chest. “We’ll be home soon, baby,” he managed to say before the darkness took him and he knew no more.

Chapter Six

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