Page 86 of The Space Traveller's Lover
Rothwen has never seen her so incensed before, not even when he returned after his long absence. For a brief moment, he doesn’t even recognise her and starts blaming himself. An unexpected uncomfortable shiver runs through his entire body. But he promptly dismisses it, determined to finish off thisbrief impasse.
He tentatively steps forwards, but immediately baulks at the sight of a scouting-craft rising behind her.
“Are you crazy?” he shouts, pointing at the hovering aircraft.
“That’s right, Rothwen. We are all crazy—starting with you,” She bursts out. “I’m going back home, my real home. You can do to me what you are planning for them.”
“Shaillah, you’ll struggle to survive if you leave.” He warns.
“Good then! I don’t care.” She smirks as she jumps into the aircraft and jets off.
Rothwen leans over the slippery railings, watching her fly away, clasping the metal bars with such force they curve under his thick fingers. He shakes his head while focusing his piercing gaze on the dome’s vaulted walls.
At the edge of the gaping barrier, Shaillah suddenly stops to gather her thoughts. She doesn’t know what will become of her, but her turmoil is such she cannot think straight. She takes a deep breath and holds it while thrusting the aircraft forward.
But no matter how hard she tries, the aircraft keeps bouncing back, unable to break through the impenetrable wall.
“Damn you, Rothwen,” she shouts over and over, trying time after time to push through while bearing the brunt of the violent crashes, with utmost resolve but without success.
Then she hears the roaring engines close behind her. As she looks back, she sees Rothwen inside a second scouting-craft, starting to push hers towards the ground. Immediately, she counter-attacks. She speeds off and swiftly turns around, ramming her craft’s sharp front against the rear of Rothwen’s aircraft. But to her dismay, now both aircraft are stuck to each other, and she cannot move hers, as her craft stops responding to her thought-commands altogether.
Rothwen controls both aircraft, keeping them hovering above the shore, while he walks out of his top deck and into Shaillah’s cockpit. Before she has time to react, Rothwen holds her firmly in his arms while she is struggling to breathe.
“Sorry. I’m very sorry, but I have to do this,” he whispers while tightening his powerful arms around her until she isn’t moving anymore.
As Rothwen releases his grasp, Shaillah’s limp body slides between his arms and slumps on the floor. He kneels beside her, checking for any injuries. She has multiple bruises, and she has stopped breathing, but her skin glows subtly under his touch.
“At the end of it all, Shaillah, you are a Rom-Ghenshar. And Rom-Ghenshars never flee from one another, never retreat, never surrender. Suan enjie.”
He loads her body onto his back, tightening her up with his belt and back straps. As he stands up, her limp head rests on his bare neck, her long straggly hair sprawling over his broad shoulders. He jumps into the air, heading towards the waiting departure-craft. As he flies off, he sends a command to the jammed scouting-crafts to self-destruct in a fireball implosion, lighting up the sky and the ocean with a yellow-green incandescent glow.
CHAPTER 38
DEPARTURE
Oh, brothers! We are on our way. On to bigger things!
Kuzhma-Or and Athguer wait patiently at the departure-craft’s flight deck, watching the whole fighting spectacle unfold and come to an end.
But Kuzhma-Or is more focused on the precise alignment ofThe Prestigeand the faultless formation of the destroyer-craft’s raiding network.
“Oishe” (Magnificent). “Superb job, Rothwen!” Kuzhma-Or roars, pacing in front of the flight panels, checking every detail in the packed rows of images and data.
Rothwen sends his message to Kuzhma-Or and Athguer as he approaches.I had to resolve a small problem, but all is fine now.As soon as he flies in, however, carrying Shaillah over his shoulders, her flaccid body shows otherwise.
“Was the fierce dogfight and the almighty fireball implosion anything to do with you and your ‘small problem’, Rothwen?” Athguer wryly asks.
“It’s a pity it had to end this way,” Kuzhma-Or adds in a markedly fake sorrowful tone. “What are you going to do with her?”
“Let her decide … when she wakes up,” Rothwen replies nonchalantly.
“How bad is it?” Athguer asks while walking towards Shaillah’s limp head and pressing his thumb against her pale neck.
“Nothing to worry about,” Rothwen states, looking in puzzlement at Shaillah’s angelic face. “But I had to squeeze the last bit of oxygen out of her lungs to make her stop.”
“I see her cells are starting to breathe again. Just starting, though. She won’t wake up until we get toThe Prestige,” Athguer concludes.
“Even better. I can concentrate on the important things then,” Rothwen shrugs dismissively. “Must go and change into a new flying gear.”
