Voices by M J Marlow (uplifting novels txt) 📕

roof of the tunnel came
down on top of him.
“Osric!” I screamed as I saw him buried. “No!”
“Anjela,” the medic frowned as she saw me pass out cold.
“Help me get her home.”
I could feel her hesitating then as the memory faltered and I
encouraged her to continue. She squeezed my hand and smiled up
at me as I assured her it was past now. I would be there with her to
help her through it. There was a humming sound, a feeling of
intense grief that nearly had me pulling my hand and mind free of
hers. But, I had a feeling that this was important and I rode through
the storm of emotions with her, lending her my strength. Maya
needed to face what had happened before she could move on.
When I came to it was to the low murmurs of worried
people. Someone came to my side and helped me sit up. I let them
help me drink some water and guide me to the table. I even think I
ate something. But I was so numbed by what I had felt as my
husband had died that I could not be left alone. I could feel their
emotions and knew my ‘seeing’ his death was making a lot of them
very uneasy around me. The word ‘witch’ passed through more
than one of their minds but I could not worry about it. I could not
feel much of anything. I had lost my husband and I was alone to
raise our child. A brief smile lit my face as my hand rested on my
abdomen.
“We’re here to speak to the widow.”
“The widow is not able to talk to you right now,” Anjela’s
husband, Foster, spat. “She’s just lost her husband, Carey…”
“No,” I said softly as I looked up. I saw the shock in the
mining inspector’s eyes. Did I look so ill? “Please,” I indicated he
should sit. “I’ll get you something to drink…”
“You’ll sit right there,” Anjela said fiercely, her eyes on
the intruder. “I’ll get your ‘guest’ something to drink.”
I smiled at her weakly and she squeezed my hand and
busied herself. I met Doug’s eyes and saw his sympathy. I didn’t
want his sympathy; I wanted my husband back. I knew he was here
to offer insincere platitudes and a death benefits check. He was
also here to tell me I had to leave. All of that happened in quick
order as I felt the man’s uneasiness.
“I have taken the liberty of sending word to your father,
Mrs. Sutton,” Doug told me as he got up to go. “He is on a
diplomatic mission and can not be here sooner than the end of the
month. You can stay here until then.”
“You can leave now, Mr. Carey,” I snapped and saw the
first true emotion on his face. “You’ve delivered your message.” I
continued as I got to my feet. “I wish to rest now.”
Doug nodded and left the house. Anjela came over to my
side as I lost my balance and helped me back to bed. She held my
hand as I drifted off into an uneasy sleep, peopled by nightmares.
For some reason I found my mind following Doug Carey. He was
entering the bar where several of the miners were gathered. They
glared at him and demanded to know when the mine would be
reopened. He assured them it would happen soon enough and that
their wages would be paid until it was. My eyes snapped open as I
felt pain exploding near me. I saw Anjela falling to the ground,
blood pouring down her face. I looked up to see one of the miners
that Osric had always detested standing over me.
“Time to die, witch!” he hissed as he raised the pipe again.
“You don’t have Osric to stand as your protection now.”
I pulled away from her in shock and horror as the man beat
her. That beating had left her nearly dead. Was it any wonder that
she had retreated into herself? I looked back at her and saw that
she was sleeping now. I could feel a headache starting from being
inside of her head and went to get myself something for the pain.
Drea had a painkiller waiting for me. I smiled up at her in gratitude
as I took it and stepped away from her to do her work.
“It can be kind of wrenching to be in someone else’s mind
like that,” she said as he looked at me. “Especially with someone
who has talent.”
“It was rather strange being a spectator in someone else’s
head.” I knew the truth then. “Her father is going to be coming for
her.”
“He will be here in two days,” Drea nodded. “That child
has been through hell, Laura. She is going to need a friend.”
“I would be more than happy to help her any way I can,” I
told the woman doctor. “Is her baby all right?”
“Baby?”
“She was pregnant before that monster tried to kill her,
Drea,” I told him. I saw her pale and realized something. “It wasn’t
in our briefing, was it?”
“No, it wasn’t,” Drea frowned. “This is why we have
people like you on the medical teams,” she explained. She saw
how pale I was. “Are you going to be all right?”
“I’ll be fine,” I smiled up at her. “It’s just a headache.”
“Go get some air, Laura,” Drea replied. “Then see if Brad
needs a hand with anything.”
I nodded and left the room. I found Quinn out on the porch,
sitting on the rail and watching the street. He was very alert and I
wondered if he was always like that on a mission. Time would tell,
I guessed. I sank down on the bench with a sigh and he glanced
back at me a moment. Brad came out and joined me.
“I hear you found something we weren’t aware of, kid,” he
smiled at me briefly. “Good work.” I closed my eyes a moment as
the nod made me dizzy and he frowned. “Are you feeling all right,
Laura? You are really pale.” I told him what had happened with
Maya and he looked at me in astonishment. “Doctor Scotti said
you’d be something special, girl; but I have never heard anything
like that before.”
“Mrs. Sutton is going to be all right, isn’t she?”
“Once she gets back to her father,” Brad smiled as he
touched my shoulder; “I think she’ll recover quickly.” He saw the
time. “It’s time for a break. Why don’t you join me for a meal with
Foreman Carey? You could use some fresh air.”
“I’d like that,” I nodded.
I got up on my feet slowly and went with him to the mine
office. Someone was just rushing out, his anger blasting at me as
he pushed me aside. I hit the wall with a thud and he froze and
turned. His anger was replaced by concern as he saw Brad helping
me to my feet. He came back and pushed Brad aside; his hands
clamped on my upper arms as he looked me over carefully. He
didn’t say a word as he made his inspection; but he didn’t have to.
This man was Betazoid, like Maya. He pulled his mind back and
smiled at me in relief.
“You are a good girl,” he said as he released me and moved
off.
“What was that all about?” Brad asked as we watched him
go. He looked at me and saw the confusion in my eyes. “He…”
“You’ve just met Maya’s brother, Tadeus Aitli,” a man
spoke up from behind us. “He arrived in a shuttle this morning to
check out the situation for his father.” We turned to see a tall,
broad-chested man with russet brown hair and brown eyes standing
in the office. He smiled as he saw me. “Hello, Miss Greyson,” he
said as he took my hand. “I am Doug Carey.”
“Mr. Carey.”
“Oh please call me Doug, child,” the man laughed at me.
“We don’t go in for formality around the colony much.” He saw
my eyes going back out the door. “Tadeus has that effect on
people.” I looked at him in confusion. “Maya’s brother is a bit
impatient. He thinks we should have Mick Lassiter in custody by
now.”
“It has been over a week since the attack, hasn’t it?”
“You forget how colony people are, Doc,” Doug replied.
“They are not soft and they know their ground. If Lassiter is
hiding, it will take explosives to pull him out of his lair.” He saw
my frown. “Yes,” he nodded as he guessed my thoughts; “we did
have him in custody for a time after the attack; but his family got
him out while they distracted us with another cave-in.” He saw our
concern. “Don’t worry. He won’t be any trouble to you while you
are here.”
He led us to the kitchen and we sat down to share a meal
with him. As we did, he told us all about the colony and its resident
workers. I learned that the cold-eyed woman who had been with
Maya when we arrived was Anjela Foster; confirming what I had
learned from Maya during our mindshare. We thanked him for the
meal and I went back to Maya. Drea was just finishing with the
worst of the woman’s injuries and I saw the readings on the screen.
“Her baby is well,” Drea told me as I looked. “Good call,
Laura. It was in distress so I focused on him first.”
“Him?” a soft voice spoke up from behind us. We turned to
see Maya’s eyes opening. She laid her hand on her abdomen. “I am
having a son?”
“Yes,” Drea smiled at the woman and made her lie back.
“You lie still now and let us finish what we’re doing. You are far
from healed and your son needs you strong.”
“You’re Laura,” she said as she looked over at me. She
held out her hand to me and I took it. “Thank you for coming to
me. I was hiding.”
“You had every reason to retreat after such trauma,” I said
to her gently. “Now you do as Drea asks and rest. Your father is
going to be here in two days to take you home.” She lay back with
a contented sigh and was asleep once more. “How could anyone
hurt such a gentle creature?”
“Ignorance and fear are powerful motivators,” Drea told
me. “Fortunately for Mrs. Sutton, there are people on this colony
who were there to hear her and stop that monster from killing her.”
She looked at me then. “This kind of prejudice is new to you,
Laura. Don’t let it keep you from doing what you were born to
do.” She got to her feet and stretched. “I’ve done all I can do for
her. The rest is up to her own body now.”
“Why don’t you take your own advice,” I told her as I saw
her yawn; “and get some air. I’ll sit with Maya.”
Drea nodded and left the room. I sat down and watched
Maya sleeping. A quick scan of her mind assured me she was
sleeping peacefully for the first time in a week. There was still
grief there, but that was hers to deal with. I would not take it from
her unless it created problems in her recovery. I dozed off a
moment and woke as a large hand clamped over my mouth. I was
dragged off of the chair and held as a man came in. He looked at
the woman on the bed and I knew he was going to hurt her.
“You should have minded your own business,” he snarled
at me as he saw that Maya was recovering. “The witch needs to
die!”
I