She gave him the cold precise facts of what happened.
“What happened after that Dee? After the rescue.”
“Hell.” Her voice was shaky. How did she tell them without betraying the fear she felt? How could she tell them how death stalked her always waiting at the fringes of her mind? How did she say she was a danger to them, when she couldn’t even tell her best friend?
“Tell me.”
“I see things, things that scare me. I see visions of creatures that stand on two feet and kill. I see them killing me, disemboweling me.”
Her head was down and her eyes were closed. She didn’t want to see the horror reflected on their faces. She was sick. She had to be to see nightmares like that.
“Do you see anything else?”
“I hear his voice. What do you fear most, men or animals? Then I see a picture of Niko standing in front of me. He’s a man one minute, the next he’s a monster and I know.”
“What do you know, kitten?” Niko’s voice. It was the first time he had said anything since the exam had begun.
“I know you’re going to kill me.”
“Kitten, look at me. Please.” His voice was soft, sad, she had to look up. “I will never hurt you.”
Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. She knew he believed that, but someone was going to turn him into something he couldn’t control. What then?
“I need to make a phone call.” Nicolas walked out of the room, leaving the two of them alone.
Niko took her hand and then gathered her in his arms. He didn’t say anything. He just held her until Nicolas came back.
“You’re going to give Dee Rowl three times a day, for as long as possible. If you run, make sure you take it with you. Dante will be dropping it off shortly.”
“Excuse me. Exactly what is Rowl?”
“Sanity. “ They said it in unison.
She raised a brow and looked at them both.
“There’s no easy way to say this Dee. You were poisoned. There was a substance on the tip of that claw that cut you that is poisonous to humans. This substance is special, because it doesn’t attack the body. It attacks the mind.” Nicolas looked her directly in her eyes as he told her.
“That’s impossible.”
“Is it, kitten? You watched a man’s nails turn into claws.”
“Fear, Niko. My eyes were playing tricks with me.”
“No, they weren’t. You have already had Rowl. Dante gave you some to try at Aran’s house. It’s a rough green substance.” Nicolas answered her.
“I remember that it was tasty. It reminded me of dehydrated greens.”
“That’s the stuff. You were getting it at Aran’s house, until you left.”
“Why was he feeding it to me? What does it do and why did you call it sanity?”
“Dante knew you would need it in your blood stream to combat what was to happen?”
“Are you saying he’s a psychic?”
“No. He’s different. Let’s leave it at that. Without that in your blood, circulating through your brain, you would not have made it.”
Nicolas turned to face Niko. “You need to be honest with her now. If her fear becomes rooted any deeper, you lose her.”
Nicolas walked over to Dee and gave her a hug. “You’re family Dee. We never hurt family.”
He walked out of the room.
“That was weird.”
“Not really. You’re family, both through Rena and myself.”
“Come with me. I want to tell you a story.”
He took her to a windowless room in the back of his house. It was black. When they entered, no light followed them in.
“Stand still.” She heard him move. Then the room was flooded with brilliant light. Every exposed place was painted into a beautiful mural of another world.
“It’s beautiful. It reminds me a little of the VR game we were playing.”
“This room, that game, are all based on the planet we were created on.”
“You were created on another planet? Does Nicolas need to check you out also?”
“Have a seat.”
Where was she supposed to sit? The room was devoid of furniture. She moved to where he gestured and a chair appeared. She sat, expecting to fall to the floor, but didn’t. It was comfortable.
“I ask two things of you. First, let me finish my story before you label me crazy. Second, remember Rena knows all about this and she loves Aran anyway.”
She nodded her head yes.
“My brothers and I are not from earth. We are not human.”
She looked around at the colorful, detailed pictures on the walls and ceiling. She turned back to him, still saying nothing.
“We originate in a galaxy on a planet your scientists have yet to discover. We have no real name. A science experiment may be the best way to classify us. We were created to fight a war for a people who could not defend themselves. We fulfilled our purpose. Our people, or rather the genetic material we were created from, came from a race with a long life span. We enjoy that same life span. They hadn’t counted on that. We have outlived the original scientist by several centuries. In that span, all we did was fight, until one day there was nothing else to fight. Our services were no longer needed.”