AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I see.” And I did. He’d brought me there to help her. On the upside, I could help her with this particular issue, assuming it was a normal delivery. If things got complicated, we’d be out of luck. I wasn’t a doctor, but hopefully we wouldn’t need one. “I’ll do my best to help you. What’s your name?”
I took her by the arm and moved her over toward a bed in the corner. It had makeshift sheets, but not much else. Lightning Man’s cabin was barebones at best, but it was going to have to work as a delivery room.
“What is your name?” I repeated and squeezed her hand. It seemed important to know that before we got started.
She visibly swallowed, her hands shaking. “Raine. I’m Raine Ezra. He took me from my home. He hurt me. Got me pregnant. He’s had me with him ever since.”
That sounded like hell. I’d only spent one day with him, and it was more than enough. “I’m Raven, no last name. I’m a healer, sometimes. Well, a semi-adequate one, not the best. But he found me and brought me here. He’s been trying to kill everyone. Me. A little girl. He tried to poison her. He tried to hit me with lightning. I think he might have killed all my companions.”
Raine moaned again, her long black hair falling into her face. She blew at it, and it moved away. “He probably thought he was saving that girl and you. He’s not well. Don’t get me wrong. He’s evil.” Her voice shook. “The worst. He did this to me.” She pointed at her stomach. It was the second time she told me, but I wouldn’t blame her if she said it a hundred times over and over again. “And then was so horrified by it. He wants all women to die now, so none have to go through childbirth.”
I squeezed her hand in mine. “So I understand…this wasn’t consensual?”
If he was her boyfriend, and she was just mad at him for the moment, I would treat the situation quite differently.
She gaped at me. “Of course it wasn’t. He took me from my planet. I didn’t have a family, but I was making do. It wasn’t great, but it was better than this. I’ve been with him ever since he brought me here. I tried to get away but…” Tears flooded her brown eyes. “Now I’m here. Pregnant and alone. Giving birth in this place.”
Instead of squeezing her hand, I hugged her. “You’re not alone. We’re going to get this baby out.” And then I’ll kill the fucker who did this to you. He was enhanced, which would make it harder. Harder, but not impossible. Lightning came at his beckoning, which was even worse, but so help me, he could die. I just had to figure out how.
* * *
Despite everything she had been through, Raine instantly fell in love with her daughter. I wouldn’t wish her situation on anyone, and I wouldn’t have blamed her if she didn’t want to see the child, but her daughter looked up at her moments after delivery, and the new mom was hooked.
Lightning Man visiting the baby hadn’t gone well. He was back outside in seconds, seeming agitated by the sound of her crying.
I stared at him as the sun rose on the horizon. He was huge, but I wasn’t afraid of him. We were outside the cabin together, an unlit fire pit next to us. I didn’t know what was next, so I closed my eyes and let the breeze toy with my hair.
Finally, I asked, “Does it hurt? When the lightning comes into your hands, does it hurt?” I didn’t know why I was asking, but I was curious. Since I was stuck there with him, as his captive, anything I learned might be pivotal in beating him.
He side-eyed me. “Yes. Why is the baby crying?”
“That’s what babies do.” I was sure she was hungry, and it could be hard for new mothers to nurse. Unfortunately, I had very little training in that area. I wasn’t an expert on getting babies to latch. They didn’t deem it needed information for an infertile prostitute to learn about childcare.
It was amazing watching Raine bring new life into the world, and the child’s tiny fists fascinated me.
I was glad the lightning hurt him. He hurt so many others… “Are they all dead? All of them, back where you took me from?”
“Don’t know.” He stared off into the horizon.
I needed to formulate a plan. I had the start of one, but no idea how to execute it. I fiddled with a loose string on my shirt, and said, “I need boiling water. To get the baby very clean.” Truthfully, I could have used hot water an hour ago, but we made do without it. I assumed he wouldn’t know what babies or mothers needed, or he wouldn’t have bothered to collect me. He left the poor woman chained up for days. She could have given birth like that, and the ramifications of what could have gone wrong were staggering. I wasn’t even going to let myself think about them.
He turned to regard me. “I can make fire.”
I walked toward him. “Good. Do that. Now. How about a fire pit, so I can keep doing whatever I need for as long as I need. And I need something to hold the boiling water. Can you get me those things? So I can take care of your child?”
He blinked. “Yes,” he said, and he took off running, likely in search of a pot somewhere. He had plenty of firewood, and I knew he could summon fire from his fingertips, if he so desired, so the kettle was the only thing I could think of him running off to acquire. I closed my eyes for just a second. I hated the Lightning dude. He was evil. He’d raped that girl in there, held her prisoner, and gotten her pregnant, then tied her up like an abused animal at the end of her pregnancy. Whatever happened to him to make him different from the other Super Soldiers, I hardened my heart against him. I would feel no sympathy for his circumstances, since he didn’t deserve my sympathy. There were people who deserved none.
Lightning returned in a whoosh of movement, a giant pot in one hand. The thing resembled a cauldron out of fairytales, and I watched him slosh it full of water before he set it down on a hook over his firepit. I watched, not saying a word, as he made a fire. Sometimes he’d dart into the woods and come back, but he remained completely focused on his task at hand.
Maybe he was so focused that I could try something? Worst case scenario, it wouldn’t work.
“How do you hide your heartbeat from them?” I stepped toward him. “Is that just something they did to you when they put lightning in your hands?”
He shot me a look that told me he didn’t appreciate the question. Still, he answered me. “This.” He pulled out a device from his pocket. “We had them way back when we were with Evander. I stole it on my way out.”
I pointed to the device. “I’m not very smart. I can’t read, and I don’t know how to do a lot of things.” I just delivered his baby, but I had a feeling he’d buy into my act of stupidity despite that. I wasn’t lying, after all, because I didn’t think I was particularly smart.
But even I was capable of figuring out what he did with that device. “You hit that button? That small one right there and it just works?”
