Except for Agent Brandall.
She was running toward the explosive.
“Agent Vasto, containment box. Now!”
“On it.” A woman in a uniform dashed away.
Colm waved at the others in the courtyard. “Get back. Get inside.” He saw Agent Brandall grab the explosive.
He caught her gaze as she ran past him. Her agent was running back toward her with a large box. Brandall shoved the glowing explosive into the metal box and slammed the lid closed.
“Drop it, Galla, and get back.” Brandall waved an arm. “Everyone, down!”
The agent did as ordered, and ran. Colm crouched and watched as Brandall spun and dived gracefully.
There was a loud, muffled explosion.
Colm stood. The box was dented out of shape, but the explosion had been safely contained.
Agent Brandall sat up. “Everyone okay?”
“Yes.”
“Okay here.”
“Hell of a save, Agent Brandall.”
That’s when Colm noticed her hands. They were burned, the skin red, raw, and peeling. Without thinking, he rushed to her side and grabbed her wrists. “You need medical assistance. I’ll get you to your ship.”
“I’m fine.” She pulled away from him, not looking up. “Galla, I need the medscope.”
The young security officer rushed over. As she handed over the slim metal wand, the woman winced. “Stars, Agent Brandall, that has to hurt. You made a real mess of your hands.”
Agent Brandall shot the agent a wry look. “I noticed, Agent Vasto. I am the one in pain.”
“Sorry.” The young woman clicked the device on and started waving it over Agent Brandall’s hands.
“I’ll do it.” Colm took the device. The officer looked startled for a second, then glanced at his face and backed away with a nod.
“Agent Vasto, this is your job not his,” Agent Brandall said sharply.
“Ah, I’m not going to argue with him. He’s bigger than me.” The young woman hurried away.
“We have medscopes now on Markaria. I can assure you, I know how to operate it.” Colm watched the skin on her hands begin to heal. He wasn’t sure why he felt such a savage need to ensure she was healed. But as the skin knitted together, the red dissipating, the tight feeling in his chest began to ease. She wasn’t badly injured, thankfully. As he waved the device over her second hand, he realized he liked looking after her.
He looked at the top of her golden head and realized she still wasn’t looking at him.
“Was I not a good escort on our mission to Ansar?”
Now she raised her head. “Who told you?”
He frowned. “I was not aware it was a secret. Kavon said we worked together, that’s all.”
She released a breath. “Yes. And no, you were an excellent escort. We worked well together.” She grabbed the medscope from him and switched it off. “All healed. Thank you. I need to check the other boxes for any other live explosives.”
Colm grabbed her hand. “I’ll see you at the feast.”
Her eyes closed briefly, then flickered open. The pale-green depths of them were unreadable. “I’m not attending.” She gave him a tight smile. “I’ve got too much work to do. But enjoy.” She took a step away, then hesitated. “Have a good life, warrior.”
Colm watched her walk away. He wondered at the strange, almost desolate feeling inside him. Maybe his nanami weren’t healed, after all?
But more than that, he wondered what it was that he’d detected in Agent Brandall’s voice?
The smell of something burning reached his nostrils.
He glanced around, wondering if it was coming from the containment box. He frowned. No. It was coming from the other direction.
He stepped closer, and spotted an orange glow in another box.
“There’s another explosive,” he bellowed. “Everyone down.”
People dived for cover. But in a split second, he realized Agent Brandall was right beside the box. Right in the line of fire.
Colm sprinted toward her, using every ounce of his nanami-enhanced speed. He saw her turn, her eyes widening. He scooped her up, and took three running steps before the explosive detonated.
The explosion lifted him off his feet. Colm curled his body around hers to shield it. He turned slightly, so he was the one that slammed into the hard ground, Honor on top of him.
Colm’s head slammed into the rocks. He blinked, trying to stay conscious. All he could think of was that it felt so right to have Honor Brandall pressed against him.
“Colm.” Her worried face appeared above his. She tapped his cheek. “Stay with me, warrior.”
He tried, but black splotches crossed his vision, and he lost consciousness.