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  Did she even really care at all?

  “All right, here we go,” Saber said.

  With a roar of engines the little ship shot up into the sky, leaving the pale grayish-purple planet behind. As he watched it get smaller and smaller in the viewscreen, Reddix reflected ruefully that he had been happier there on that featureless, barren place than he ever had been on his home world.

  And he doubted such happiness would ever come again.

  Chapter Twenty-five

  The ride through the Fold was…interesting to say the least. But Lissa warned her it affected different people in different ways so at least Nina felt semi-prepared. When they flew through the red gash in space it felt like she was being pulled out long and thin, like a piece of spaghetti. It was a painless sensation but disconcerting—Nina refused to freak out. She just closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing. I’m okay, she told herself over and over. Everything is going to be all right. Luckily the weird feeling didn’t last long.

  “It’s over now. We’re through.”

  At the Kindred girl’s voice in her ear, Nina’s eyes flew open. She looked at her arms and legs to be sure and was relieved to see that the spaghettification really had been all in her mind—everything was normal. She flexed her fingers and toes cautiously, making sure everything was in working order. It was.

  “So…can we get up now?” she asked, looking at Lissa.

  “Of course. We should be right by the Mother Ship. We’ll land there briefly to drop you off, and another shuttle will take you back down to Earth.”

  “Oh?” Nina asked. “And where are you and Saber going? And…and Reddix? What about him?” she couldn’t help adding. “I thought maybe…he might at least tell me goodbye.”

  “I’m afraid you’ll have to say your goodbyes before we drop you off on the Mother Ship. The three of us are all going straight on to Tarsia,” Lissa said. She had a grim look on her lovely face. “We have…unfinished business there.”

  Nina thought about the swamp witch again and the mark on Reddix’s arm. She wanted to ask Lissa about it, but she had the feeling that the Kindred girl wasn’t on the very best of terms with Reddix. Also, though Lissa was extremely sweet and friendly, Nina simply hadn’t known her long enough to get into personal details with her.

  “Well,” she said lamely. “I guess I should go ahead and say goodbye if we’ll be docking so soon.”

  “It should only be a minute or two,” Lissa assured her. “I—” But just then worried voices from the cockpit of the ship interrupted her.

  “…sorry to tell you this,” an unfamiliar male voice was saying. “But she might not make it. and she’s asking for you.”

  Nina and Lissa exchanged uncertain glances and then hurried up to the front of the ship together.

  A Kindred warrior with pale, spiky blond hair and ice blue eyes was on the viewscreen. The grave look on his face told Nina that he had very bad news. A second look at Reddix’s face confirmed it—the big Kindred looked absolutely stricken, as though someone had punched him in the stomach and he couldn’t get his wind back.

  “What is it?” she asked urgently, putting a hand on his shoulder.

  “My little sister, Minda…” He shook his head, his mouth working for a moment as though he didn’t know how to say the words. “She was pregnant, but the baby…came too early. The delivery was hard and now…they’re not sure…not sure…”

  “She’s in critical condition, and she’s asking for her big brother,” the blond Kindred said. “The message came to us and we couldn’t relay it until you were within range.”

  Reddix looked up at the man. “But Minda…will she…?”

  “I’m sorry, Reddix—the physician I spoke to said she had lost a lot of blood. There’s still a chance, but you need to go now. In case…” The blond Kindred shook his head. “Just in case.”

  “We’ll go at once, Sylvan. Can you calibrate the Fold to take us to Tarsia?” Saber was already setting the controls on the complicated looking main panel.

  “I’ll have it done right now,” the blond Kindred assured him. “Just give us a minute to recalibrate.”

  “But Nina…I’m sorry, but we promised her Mehoo she’d go back to Earth,” Lissa said, coming up behind her. “Do we have time to drop her off on the Mother Ship, Sylvan?”

  The blond Kindred on the viewscreen frowned. “Possibly but the message was urgent. Every minute you spend—”

  “Then don’t. Take me with you,” Nina said quickly.

  Saber frowned. “Are you sure? We promised your kin—”

  “Mehoo will understand,” Nina said firmly. She looked at the blond Kindred called Sylvan. “Could you or could someone possibly get a message back to my grandmother telling her I’m fine and I’ll be back soon?”

  The blond warrior nodded. “You have my oath as a Kindred warrior, it will be done.”

  “Are you sure?” Reddix looked up at her at last. He was still sitting slumped in the passenger seat, and the look on his face was one of shock and sorrow. “Sure you want to do this?” he asked Nina.

  “Of course I’m sure,” she said firmly. “I can’t even think of letting you waste time dropping me off. And besides if something…happens, I want to be with you.” She squeezed his broad shoulder gently.

  Reddix covered her hand with his much larger one and squeezed back. “Thank you, Nina,” he said hoarsely.

  Sylvan had been talking to someone off-screen, but now he faced them again. “The Fold is calibrated for Tarsia,” he said. “May the Goddess be with you. Reddix, we will be praying earnestly for your kin.”

  “Thank you, Sylvan.” Reddix nodded. Then he squeezed Nina’s hand once more. “Better go back and buckle up again, sweetheart. Tarsia is located near an asteroid field—it might be a bumpy ride.”

  The second ride through the fold was a little bumpier, but Nina was so concerned about Reddix she barely even noticed it.

  “Now, I warn you, Tarsia isn’t the most open and friendly place in the world,” Lissa told her as they unbuckled themselves from the deep bucket seats that folded out of the wall for the second time. “In fact, they can be downright hostile to outsiders or anyone they perceive as different.”

  “I’m not worried.” Nina lifted her chin. “I’m not here for any of them—I’m here for Reddix.”

  Lissa gave her a surprised look. “You really care for him don’t you—even after the way he treated you.”

  “He didn’t really treat me badly after we got to know each other. And when he took me, he was desperate,” Nina said defensively. “You don’t know how he suffers with his RTS. It’s like hell on Earth for him.”

  “Well, it’s liable to be worse as soon as we get back to our home planet.” Lissa sighed. “Poor Minda—I don’t really know her, but Saber thinks of her as a little sister because he and Reddix are so close.”

  “I know he loves her more than just about anyone else in his family,” Nina said quietly. “She and your husband are the only ones who stood by him after he was diagnosed. He felt ostracized by everyone else.”

  Lissa gave her another surprised look. “He told you all that?”

  “I read between the lines a little but yes, in so many words.” Nina sighed. “Speaking of words, does everyone here on Tarsia speak English as well as you do?”

  “Oh, I’m glad you said that!” Lissa hopped up and ran to a cabinet on the opposite wall. She rummaged around for a moment before coming back with a clear gel caplet filled with bluish-green liquid. “Here,” she said, holding it out to Nina. “Take it.”

  “Uh…” Nina picked up the pill and eyed it doubtfully. “This thing is freaking horse pill—it’s huge. What’s inside it?”

  “Translation bacteria,” Lissa said. “You’re lucky—you used to have to take a painful injection to get them. This is something new Commander Sylvan has worked up and they’re including them in all the shuttles now for non-Kindred passengers.”

  “How exactly does i