It was another two days before I was back in the green again, which said a lot for what had been done to fix me. My memory of the previous eight or so days since the Mariella were pretty cloudy, but it seemed like Nix had told me that a Brain Waster had performed Ebb healing after we landed. I wasn't entirely sure I had imagined the conversation or not, but the rows of red whelps across my chest proved that Ebb work would have been the only way I could have lived.
I never thought I'd be thankful for a Brain Waster, but this proved there was a first for everything. I was just glad that I hadn't been awake to see it, especially when I remembered seeing Gael use it on Angus at the BPN at the convent before this mess started. With a dull pain, I reminded myself that both of them were dead now and felt my throat tighten.
I wasn't going to think about that if I could help it and sat up carefully. My hair was in my eyes and when I wiped it clear, I caught something draped over my neck. Carefully pulling it free, I stared at it for a couple seconds before I recognized it for what it was. It was one of K'rth's braids and I carefully put it back. It was a big honor and I didn't want him to walk in and see me staring at it like I had just found a dead rat in my soup. In my groggy state, it would be easy for him to get the wrong impression.
"How do you feel?" someone asked and I sat up carefully. It was Nix, perched on what was probably meant to be an end table near my head. She looked like some sort of fuzzy gargoyle preening itself and I couldn't help but return the smile. This time when I spoke, my voice felt solid and I realized that my arms were no longer wrapped in lead.
"Better," I said and I managed to sit up completely without help. "No, I feel good."
"It's nice to have you back with the living," she said, taking a few moments to work on her claws. The wraith's thermal suit was badly torn up, more proof of what we had been through.
"Nix, what happened?" I asked as I put my feet on the floor. Even without the vertigo from a few days before, I waited before trying to stand up. "I remember we had just found Bayer's team and then I got-"
"Got stupid?" she asked as she worked on the toes. "McNeil fragged you. If you'd been paying attention, it couldn't have happened."
Leave it to Nix to lay things out straight. I nodded because I had to admit she was right, regardless of how bruised my ego might be. I had let myself get distracted and it nearly got me killed.
"Yeah, something like that," I answered. "What happened to him?"
"He was stupider," she said and her eyes twinkled in the way only a Wraith's can.
"And the Waster?"
"Dunno," she answered as she hopped off the table and went for a drink. "With the ship blowing up around us, we kinda lost track of her. I think she stayed with McNeil to die. Some romantic bullcrap like that."
"Hmm," I said as I turned it over in my mind. Carefully, I pushed to my feet and was happy that nothing gave way. Stepping out, my legs felt strong and I had my balance. Whatever had been done to save me had been pretty extreme.
"Hmm what?" she asked in between slurps.
"Just testing my legs," I answered as I walked around. The cool floor felt good under my feet and I leaned over to stretch. "Things seem to be back to normal. I don't know how it's possible."
With a start, the phrase "blowing up around us" came back to me and I stopped.
"THE SHIP BLEW UP? DID YOU SAY THE SHIP BLEW UP?" I asked, really hoping I hadn't heard that right.
"Don't know," she said as she came back. The Wraith was nibbling at a piece of meat on a bone as she hopped back onto her perch. "Guess so 'cause the Navi-guy got capped and K'rth tossed us all into a rescue pod. Well, everyone but Casper. Ole dreads sorta forgot about her."
A low rumble from my stomach was loud enough that it put my mind onto more pressing things and I walked around to hunt for something to eat. There was a large but weathered refrigeration unit in one corner and I swung it open to find that it was pretty well stocked. Carefully pushing aside canisters and bottles, I found something I didn't recognize in a jar and figured that I should leave it alone before it bit me.
"Nix?" I called out as I fished for something edible. "Who are these people and why did they roll out a red carpet for us?"
"I don't know and it doesn't really matter," she said with a laugh. "You shouldn't worry about what we can't change."
"I didn't think Wraiths were philosophers."
"We aren't. We're just pragmatic."
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