Page 42 of Mazorium Buys a Human

Now that I knew Maz wasn’t going to die, my mind started working again. I thought of all the things I needed to do, but the first was to move Maz.

“Can you lift him? If he’s going to need to convalesce, then it’d be better if he was in a more comfortable spot.”

As an answer, Ithorum casually pushed her arms under him and lifted his limp body as if he weighed almost nothing. I was impressed!

“This way,” I said, leading her to the bedroom. Nadia was fast asleep, so I carefully picked her up so Ithorum could put Maz in the nest.

“That’s your nest,” Ithorum said and moved to put him in the bunk.

“Put him in the nest!” I ordered.

Ithorum hesitated. I needed to give her a reason other than that I wanted to be able to sleep next to him. “It will be easier for me to care for him if he’s in the nest.”

“I suppose,” Ithorum said, finally settling him down in it. Standing back up, she looked down at me. “I’m going to see what medical supplies he has.”

She didn’t wait for me to agree and strode away. While she was gone, I set up a bed for Nadia and laid her down. I moved so slowly it was like I was setting down a live bomb. The last thing I wanted was for her to wake up and force me to divide my attention between her and Maz. Not right now.

Ithorum came back with her arms full of boxes. A few had Universal on them along with Talin glyphs.

I watched everything Ithorum did closely, trying to remember what vials and tools she used on Maz. By the time she was done, Maz looked like he was almost entirely covered in plaster!

If I wasn’t so tense, I might’ve laughed.

Sitting back on her heels, Ithorum looked at me. “I don’t have much more time. I need you to pay close attention to the instructions I’m going to give you.”

I grabbed an information square that had tumbled out of one of the medical boxes. A few taps later, I found a tab where I could take notes in Universal.

“I’m ready,” I said, then wrote everything she said down because Maz’s life might depend on it.

Between him and Nadia, I was responsible for keeping two souls alive!

Mazorium

I’d never woken up in this much pain in my life. My head throbbed, it hurt to draw breath, and my legs burned from the inside, as if exposed to high levels of gamma radiation.

Fear for Mika made me force my eyes open. I couldn’t see much. The room was dim and my eyes didn’t want to focus.

“Maz, you’re awake!” Mika's excited voice was a soothing balm.

I tried to sit up, but Mika made a negative sound. “Don’t try to move yet, Maz. It’s too soon.”

I wanted to ask why it was too soon, but my brain wouldn’t let me form any words. It took a lot of effort, but I managed to get a single word out.

“Mika.”

“Yes, it’s me. I’m here.” Her soft hands stroked over my head. “Rest, Maz. I’m here, and I’ll take care of you.”

I wanted to demand an explanation, but darkness swallowed me again.

The next time I woke up, I was in the same amount of pain, but my brain felt less foggy. The room was still dim, but I was able to focus better. There was a soft warmth pressed against my side. It was agony to turn my head, but I needed to see.

Mika was curled up on her side with her back against me. Looking beyond her I saw that I was in the nest. Had she becomescared and needed me to comfort her? But that didn’t explain why I was in so much pain.

I tried to lift my arm to touch my throbbing head, but the pull on my shoulder muscles caused agony to shoot down my chest. It set off a cacophony of pain so bad I couldn’t breathe for a moment.

“Maz?”

I’d closed my eyes to deal with the intense sensations. Opening them, I found Mika hovering over me.