Gem furrowed her brow.
Viktor gave a mirthless chuckle when he considered his jumbled words. “You know what I mean,” he said, patting her hand before leaning back. “I am not a man of profound words after many glasses of vodka.”
Gem sniffled and stared at the candle. That little dancing flame seemed as fragile as Niko’s life. “One week. Please, Viktor. It’s all I ask.”
“My dear, you do what you can in one week. But promise me that you won’t ask for another day or another week. I will inform the team of my decision so they can use this time to accept Niko’s fate.” He stood up. “You can remain here if you like.”
Gem stayed glued to her seat long after Viktor had left the room. She couldn’t bear to think of the team’s reaction, especially Blue’s. She and Niko were close partners, and Blue was already suffering from her own recent trauma. Even though they didn’t know the cause of Niko’s condition, Gem couldn’t help but feel like everyone secretly blamed her. Had he not left the mission and returned, he’d still be alive and awake.
That feeling ignited her determination to find an answer. One week wasn’t a lot of time, and every minute mattered. She had so much knowledge packed in her head and even more at her fingertips. What had she overlooked? What should she do differently?
Gem finally stood up and went to see the one person who could give her answers.
Niko.
“Viktor said you might be in here.” Blue lingered in Niko’s doorway, her hand still on the doorknob. “Mind if we talk?”
Gem had spent the past hour in Niko’s room, sitting on the edge of the bed while talking to him. She told him about the weather getting warmer, and she told him about Hunter’s recent antics. Gem didn’t leave anything out, including how attentive Switch was as a teacher. He held lessons at scheduled times, and Hunter absorbed it all like a sponge. He’d even learned to write his own name. Nobody minded that he’d written it on his bedroom door. Niko would want to know all the happenings around the house. Shepherd and Wyatt had been working a case, and Claude overheard gossip at his salon that interested Viktor enough to open an investigation. She even told him about Kira’s botched attempt at making tamales. Viktor had messed up translating a recipe that Wyatt had copied from the internet.
The only part she hadn’t gotten to was asking him what to do about his situation. She had been building up to it but couldn’t bring herself to start the conversation, especially knowing that she wouldn’t get an answer.
Blue closed the bedroom door, grabbed a chair from beside the bed, and spun it around. After straddling it, she rested her arms on the back and stared down at her partner. “He looks peaceful. Sometimes I wonder what he’s dreaming.”
Gem stared at him for a long while. “Maybe he’s not dreaming. Maybe he can hear everything and is just catatonic.”
Blue’s thick eyebrows drew together. “That would be a hell worse than limbo. I hope he’s dreaming.”
“Do blind people see in their dreams? Or do they just hear voices?”
Blue twisted her mouth. “I never asked. I think he probably sees energy the same way he does when he’s awake.”
Blue’s voice was steady, but her eyes were bloodshot. It must have been a crushing blow for her when Viktor delivered the bad news. Though Gem hadn’t warmed up to the idea of letting Niko go, how long could this continue? If they fed him through a tube, would he have to wear diapers? Would Shepherd eventually insert a catheter? Viktor had taken on the responsibility of giving Niko sponge baths and changing his bedding. She guessed that he didn’t want Kira involved, but how long could Viktor continue the charade? He had enough on his plate without having to assume the role of caretaker. Gem couldn’t bring herself to think of the harsh reality of how this would affect their lives.
“Viktor said you’re doing some research to find a cure for Niko.” Blue pursed her lips and blew a swath of hair away from her blue eyes. When it didn’t cooperate, she tucked it behind her ear, and it tangled with her feather earring. “I hope you find something, Gem. I really do.”
“I’m close.”
“Is that so?”
Not really, Gem thought, but why dash everyone’s hopes?
Gem tilted her head to the side and stared at the Creator’s mark on Niko’s chest. It looked like a symbol that belonged to an ancient language. “Did Niko ever tell you about his past?”
“Some. Well, enough. He mentioned that he had been a slave. Honestly? I didn’t want to know the details. Whatever demons he carried, they haunted him. Ever notice how he never got drunk in public? He could have leaned on me for help if he wanted, but I think Niko was afraid he might start talking about his past. That’s what people do when they drink; they lose their filter. But he sometimes used to drink upstairs in the library late at night. He chose that spot because he knew we wouldn’t have any reason to go in there and he could be alone. He never saw me looking in on him since his chair was turned toward the fire. Sometimes I thought about walking in, but Niko didn’t want us to see that side of him. He would sit there for hours, twirling light in his hand. He’s old, Gem. Real old. Fifteen hundred years of existence through battles, epic journeys, floods, and famine. And he did it all blind. Try to imagine the kind of man it takes to survive all that.”
“His Creator was a monster. I learned about him when Cyrus kidnapped me. Those buffoons he called brothers were no better.”
Blue’s expression remained stoic. “I guess all that made him one hell of a man.”
Gem stood up and pulled a thin blanket up to Niko’s waist. “Is everyone upset? Viktor already told me, so I didn’t see the point of hearing it all again.”
Blue rolled her eyes. “Everyone but Wyatt. You can imagine all the stories he subjected us to about the afterlife. He volunteered to be there when Niko moved on to the spiritual plane in case he had any last words for us. Raven was pissed. I couldn’t read Christian, but then again, I never can. Vamps.”
“What about Shep?”
“He’s calling a few people he knew through Maggie. If Viktor didn’t get an answer from a prominent specialist in the field, I don’t know what Shepherd expects he can do. I guess at this point, anything’s worth trying.”
“I’ll figure out a way to fix this,” Gem promised. “Niko wouldn’t expect me to give up so easily.”
Blue chuckled, but her eyes were dim with sadness. “Like the time you first went rock climbing?”
“That’s different. My legs can’t stretch as far as yours.”
Blue turned her gaze to Niko. “Remember how he wouldn’t let you leave the room until you went halfway up? ‘Just one more step,’ he kept saying.”
Gem thought about Niko hooking up the harness while everyone else was goading her. She also remembered another time when they were alone in the gym and he encouraged her to climb to the top of the rope. Gem had always let her fears define her limitations, but Niko helped her smash those doubts to smithereens. He never used negative words to motivate her. Niko was patience personified.
“If we can’t wake him up, I don’t know if I can be a part of this team anymore,” Gem confessed. “Viktor warned us that this was a dangerous job and people might die, but I guess I never expected it to hurt so much. I’m not sure I can be there when Viktor… well, you know. I might just leave Keystone.”