The Husband With many Identities

Ch 2 - The Runaway Fiance

Garrick turned toward her.

"Danaya, you cannot be serious."

"If the healers are right, Grandmother will die in eleven minutes," Danaya replied. "If Akeel is right, we still have a chance."

"We know nothing about his abilities."

"Then we are about to learn. Grandma is dying anyway. If someone says he can save him, why not?"

Danaya looked at Akeel.

"What do you need? You can try to revive her" she asked again.

Akeel lifted the leather case.

"I need space around the bed. The scanning pulse must be turned off. The preservation field should stay active."

The chief healer moved between him and Seraphine.

"No. I will not surrender my patient to a man with no healer’s badge."

Akeel stopped.

"Then do it yourself. Can you save her?"

The healer’s face tightened.

Akeel placed the leather case on a nearby table and opened it.

Ten long needles rested inside dark cloth. Each one had a narrow silver body and a black crystal handle. Small symbols covered the metal.

The chief healer’s anger gave way to surprise.

"Core Needles."

Akeel looked at him. "You recognize them."

"Only from old medical records. The practice was abandoned generations ago."

"It was abandoned because most healers could not control the energy flow."

"And you claim you can?"

Akeel picked up the first needle.

"I would not have spoken if I couldn’t."

Mirella stared at the open case.

"You expect us to let you push those into Seraphine’s body?"

"She is not dead yet."

"The monitor says otherwise."

"The monitor was wrong about the secondary channel."

Mirella looked at Danaya.

"You cannot allow this. He abandoned you, disgraced this family, and disappeared for six months. Now he returns and expects us to trust him with Seraphine’s body?"

Danaya’s jaw tightened.

She had no reason to trust Akeel.

She had spent six months hating him.

But the small light inside Seraphine’s regulator was fading.

Ten minutes remained.

Danaya turned toward the chief healer.

"If he fails, will Grandmother’s condition become worse?"

The healer hesitated.

"She has no heartbeat," he admitted. "There is little left to worsen."

"Then let him try."

Garrick stepped in front of Akeel.

Red energy spread across his arms and hardened into glowing armor.

"That is far enough," Garrick said.

The two guards behind Akeel also moved. Stone formed over one guard’s hands, while wind circled the other man’s boots.

Akeel did not raise his hands.

He waited.

Danaya’s Level Ten pressure swept across the chamber.

The stone floor groaned beneath Garrick’s boots. The guards lowered their heads as the pressure forced them back.

"Move," Danaya ordered.

Garrick turned toward her. "Danaya—"

"I will not watch Grandmother die while we argue."

His energy armor faded.

Garrick moved away from the bed.

Danaya faced Akeel.

"If you are lying, you will answer to me."

Akeel met her eyes.

"Then make sure I finish before you decide."

Danaya stepped aside.

Akeel carried the open case to Seraphine’s bedside. He examined the machines before pointing at the crystal panel.

"Turn off the scanning pulse."

The chief healer crossed his arms.

"That pulse monitors her energy channels."

"It also sends energy through them every three seconds. It will interfere with the Core Needles."

The healer looked at Danaya.

She gave a small nod.

He reluctantly disabled the scanning pulse.

The chamber became quieter.

Only the preservation engine continued to run. It drained a fresh Energy Vial with a faint hiss.

Akeel removed the regulator from Seraphine’s wrist. He placed two fingers against her skin and closed his eyes.

Her body was cold.

The energy current beneath her left shoulder was weak, but it had not disappeared.

He still had time.

Deep inside Akeel’s core, several powers waited.

Fire rested near the outer edge. Wind moved beneath it. Force gathered near the center. Healing remained buried deeper, hidden behind layers of suppressed energy.

None of those powers had been born with him.

His core had copied them.

Kept them.

No other person in Virelia could hold more than the power received during awakening. Akeel could retain every power he copied without losing the ones already inside him.

That truth could never be discovered.

He reached for the healing current and released a small amount.

Warm energy traveled down his arm. Before it reached his fingertips, he directed it into the first Core Needle.

The black crystal handle absorbed the light and concealed the energy’s natural signature.

To everyone watching, the power would appear to come from the needle.

Akeel positioned it beneath Seraphine’s left shoulder.

The chief healer leaned closer.

"There is no recognized healing point there."

"It is not a healing point," Akeel said. "It is the entrance to the secondary channel."

He inserted the needle.

Seraphine did not move.

Mirella folded her arms.

"Nothing happened."

Akeel ignored her.

He placed the second needle in Seraphine’s arm. The third entered below her collarbone.

A thin gold line appeared beneath her skin.

Then it disappeared.

The chief healer inhaled sharply.

Danaya stepped closer.

"What was that?"

"The trapped current," Akeel replied.

It was not the whole truth.

The gold light came from the copied healing power moving through Seraphine’s blocked channel.

Akeel inserted the fourth needle.

Pain spread across his hand.

Healing Seraphine was not the hardest part. Concealing the source of the healing energy required more control. He had to hold the current inside the Core Needles while preventing the healers from tracing it back to him.

Sweat gathered near his hairline.

Danaya noticed.

"Are you losing control?" she asked.