Chapter 21 – Roaring Flames

Lyla woke up screaming, thankful for the sound proofing between her and the bridge. She was panting as she shot up, cold sweat sticking her pyjamas to her lithe frame.

She hated these nightmares with a growing passion. Leliana and the Doctors had all said she needed rest yet her enemy haunted her in her dreams, regardless of where it was in the universe.

This war would be the end of her, she feared. But she would never allow anyone to know it, not even her Leliana. Those sort of fears were best left in that other place, that dark, ill place.

Once, her dreams had been pleasant, filled with hopes of a family with Leliana, but now she had no foolish notions. That dragon monster was hunting her, singing her to her death as a siren sang to sailors. But she would not let her crew hit the rocks.

She gulped as she made her decision. If it ever came down to it, she would sacrifice herself before endangering them again. She had lost Alistair, nearly lost a lot of other people, and that was far too many.

She bowed her head, allowing herself a moment to pray. Her gods were important to her. The Creators gave her the strength and grace she needed to continue on. Elgar'nan gave her the passion she needed to seek revenge against the monsters they were warring against. Mythal kept her grounded, concentrating on protecting her family, her crew.

Andruil, the Goddess of the Hunt, and one of the three Creators Lyla honoured with her vallaslin. She kept Lyla on the prowl, keeping her steady and ready to pounce on their enemy at a moment's notice. Lyla was many things, but she was a hunter first. Captain, Wife, Keeper, they were all vital to her, but they were all second, and part of the hunt.

She traced the lines of the bow on her face, circling it down across the mask on her eyes and let her thoughts drift to Dirthamen, the god of secrets. He was important to her, reminding her that it was clever to keep things back, to not play your entire hand before learning everything about the enemy. In Lyla's mind, Leliana was the embodiment of this. A woman who was perfect for keeping secrets and gathering intelligence, and whatever questionable decisions Lyla had made in the last few days, setting Leliana up as Intelligence Officer was a good one.

The rest of her Gods were crucial to Lyla's culture and her way of life, but she would not waste any more time of her day on them. They were at war, and she was about to lead it.

She stood, and grabbed her comm badge from her bedside table, mirroring her actions from the morning. One moment to gather her thoughts and she pressed it. "Lyla to Leliana."

I'm here, love

"Are you ready to brief me, yet?" Lyla grunted, staring at her hand as flashes of her nightmare came back. The voice of her wife returned, but Lyla scarcely heard her as she moved her hand through the air, testing it and wondering.

Crystal, or something that had corrupted her, seemed to cripple her hand, and as Lyla focused on the memory, echoes of the pain shot through her fingers, causing her to shriek.

"Lyla!" Leliana's voice shot through their bedroom door. It hissed open, and Leliana was there instantly. "What's wrong, my love?"

"Nothing, just another bad dream, that's all," Lyla sighed as Leliana held her close. "Crystal was there. All disgusting and corrupted. Poor thing."

"It was just a dream, ma cherie," Leliana crooned. "Our doctors will fix her up, don't you worry your pretty little head about it."

Lyla felt her ears warm up as she relaxed into Leliana's embrace. She only let herself stay for a moment, although it was the length of at least a few moments. "My love, we have work to do, no?"

"But of course!" Leliana giggled. "Your beautiful eyes distracted me is all, ma cherie."

"Flattery will get you everywhere, vhenan. It got you that new position, hmm?" Lyla snorted as they sat on the bed. "So what do you have for me?"

"Not a lot, if I'm honest, love," Leliana sighed. "I've looked into the information we have on the treaties with Ferelden, they are obliged to help us but they will resist it at every turn. I've not got many birds singing to me yet, and those that are getting in touch are giving me conflicting messages, love. I can't say whether they'd help as they are meant to.

"Kinloch Hold, the infamous prison, is obliged to give us troops for the war. They hold the most powerful, criminal biotics the universe has, but again, there is no way to know if they will uphold their end of the bargain. Thessia, and Orzammar are on the list as well, but I have no one there to feed me information. I am working on that, Lyla, but I am sure that once the threat of this blight is evident, other planets will fall behind our banners."

"Thank you, Leli," Lyla smiled. "You've done wonderfully in the very short time I gave you, well done."

Medbay to Captain.

"I'm here," Lyla responded, placing a hand on her comm badge to reply. "What is it, Wynne?"

We think we may have something for Captain Shepard.

"One of the first bits of good news I've heard in a long while," Lyla beamed. "I'll be right there."

"Go, love, I'll take the bridge for a while longer yet," Leliana chimed. She leant forward and planted a soft kiss on her wife's nose before leaving the Captain alone.

Lyla watched her wife leave, grinning to herself as she admired the tight uniform. She shook her head to clear her mind and followed her woman out the room, crossing the bridge swiftly and arriving in the turbolift.

"Deck five," she said with an eerie sense of Deja Vu. She had made this trip too many times today.

The lift sprung into life, shooting her down to the medbay level, and before Lyla had a chance to collect her thoughts she was there. She stepped out, bringing the Captain's trademark scowl onto her face as she marched into the medbay.

The scientists were crowded round the body of Captain Shepard, but Lyla's eyes were immediately drawn to Crystal. Morrigan and Isabela were finally gone, no doubt Wynne had ordered them to get food or rest, but Crystal was not alone. Cremisius Aclassi, one of her away team members. Lyla had not had a proper chance to speak to the man since she recruited him. She knew his file, knew who he was and how he got to be the great fighter he is, but who he was? That was still a mystery.

How he was feeling was not though, and the look on his face threatened to bring tears to the Captain's eyes. His handsome face was tearstained, and his eyes were bagged. He looked up at Lyla as she approached, managing a faint salute as he stood.

"At ease, Aclassi," She smiled as warmly as she was able, which was not very. "How is she?"

"Not good, Captain," he quietly sobbed. "She's gonna die isn't she?"

"I doubt it, son," she placed a hand on his shoulder. "She's strong, stronger than nearly everyone on this ship. The Doctors here will save her, just you wait and see."

"Don't patronise me," Krem grunted.

"Excuse me?" Lyla growled, taking a step back.

"I said, don't patronise me, sir!" Krem spat, staring into Lyla's eyes. "She's dying, and it's my fault, Captain. I don't need you or anyone coddling me."

"Stand down, Crewman," Lyla thundered, jabbing his chest with her finger. "Listen to me, Cremisius. It is not your fault. I ordered Crystal to that planet, not you. I'm responsible for you all."

"I left her," he sobbed. "I should have been faster, smarter, better!"

"You don't know that if could have even been fixed," Lyla sighed. "Look, Cremisius, you need to talk to someone. Ensign Chambers from the Normandy is a counsellor. She specialises in this stuff. Go see her."

"I don't need a shrink, Captain," He grunted.

"You can take it as an order or a suggestion, son, either way, you're speaking to her. Report to her office asap," Lyla ordered.

"Aye, aye, Captain."

Krem saluted her once before marching out the medbay.

Lyla stepped towards the unconscious Crystal, looking at her pale beaten face, and sighed. They had a connection, they both had the tension and deep down Lyla needed someone to talk about that too. She was terrified, and no one else alive knew how she felt. "Wake up soon, falon. I'm trying to save you," she whispered.

She leant forward, grasping Crystal's cold shoulder and grunted in pain.

Her arm began to burn up, practically melting as heat radiated from the unconscious ensign. It pulsed up her arm and echoed throughout her chest. The world melted away as Lyla felt herself floating away.

She blinked and found herself back in that hell she had dreamt of.

Vast burning deserts rolled as far as her keen eyes could see. She spun on the spot trying to make sense of where she was when she saw someone running towards her, and heard an inhuman screech.

She sprinted towards the person, and the scream, and quickly realised what it was.

Crystal Cousland.

"Falon! I'm here!" Lyla called out, but the woman was unable to hear her. Crystal screamed as dark grey hands tore out of the sand, tearing at her body and destroying her. She fell to her knees, gasping for air and looked dead on Lyla.

"Ir abelas, lethallan," Lyla sobbed as the hands pulled her away. "I'm trying to save you, I promise."

Translations

Falon – friend

Ma vhenan – my heart

Ir abelas – I'm sorry

Lethallan – close friend, practically family.