Geared Up Read Online Free PDF Page A

her grip, was smoothed and the base of the supply line was closed up in heart-pounding minutes.
    She finished setting in a valve that would let a controlled opening occur when necessary and dropped to the floor.
    Tauron lifted her carefully and ran with her at a fast but controlled pace to the medics outside. He didn’t hesitate. He took her straight to Demsiac, and he cursed as he took in her damage.
    She smiled weakly. “I forgot this doesn’t have the protection of my Specialist suit.”
    Tauron watched as Demsiac cut her suit away, healing the skin as he went.
    The blue flame of his healing lit nearly all of her skin. She was on fire, but her nerves were soothed when the flames burned out.
    As she gasped and tried to remain calm, she looked to Tauron. “I think I am going to need another suit.”
    He looked worried, nodded and left the tent in a rush.
    Demsiac looked at her body. “How did you stand that?”
    She looked at him with surprise. “I told you, I have to. I have always been driven to this, and damage to my body is the price I sometimes pay. Usually when fire is involved. The Citadel made me a special suit for it—that looks just like the one Tauron is coming back with.”
    The yellow and black suit wasn’t pretty, but it was sturdy as hell. It had managed to crawl through a foundry, and it had a venting system that kept her head cool, using her own motion to power it.
    She lifted her left hand. “Damn, burned off my hair.”
    “It will grow back. I have to say, you even made an impression on Kimso. He is afraid of you now.”
    She laughed and coughed.
    He sighed and leaned forward. “This is going to hurt.”
    “Welcome to my day.”
    He kissed her and exhaled fire into her lungs. She inhaled to scream and just took more of it in.
    Tauron took one of her newly healed hands as Demsiac continued his work until she felt the fire start to fade.
    Tauron smiled. “It is going to feel better.”
    She could feel the tears running down her cheeks as the flames also consumed her oxygen. When they burned out, she inhaled a ragged breath.
    Demsiac lit fire to her scalp, and the raw feeling faded with the flames.
    She nodded when she felt whole again. “Thank you. That is better.”
    She could feel twinges of damage, but on the whole, she felt better. “Is it out?”
    Tauron chuckled, “It was out before I pulled you from the building.”
    She grinned. “Excellent. I think I need another suit.”
    “Funny you should say that.” Tauron held up her suit. “Your parents were watching the news. It was waiting at the desk when I got there.”
    She chuckled and sat up, her head spinning.
    Demsiac put his hand on her shoulder. “Stay put. Tauron will help you to get dressed. You need to look as close to normal as you can before you leave.”
    “Well, my head will be a dead giveaway.”
    Tauron smiled. “You just need to walk like you are in good shape. Guardians are thought to be invulnerable. Either we die in the line of duty or we walk away. There is nothing in between.”
    Demsiac whistled sharply, and Homik came in, skidding to a halt.
    “Well, Wyfirth, you certainly took some damage.”
    Demsiac sighed. “Please, provide a privacy screen for her. Tauron will help her change.”
    Homik snorted. “He will enjoy that.”
    She rubbed her hands together and said, “Nothing much to see, just like every other person on the planet, put together with cells and energy.”
    Tauron got a blade, and he sliced through her suit, cutting it in chunks the rest of the way from her skin.
    It was a pity to have wasted her mother’s work, but the suit hadn’t been heavy to begin with. The Citadel suit would be far sturdier for her first days with the Guardians.
     

Chapter Five
     
     
    The rest of the week went quietly. Niad fixed a few fuses, reconnected power lines destroyed by a rogue weather talent and generally made herself useful on scene.
    She ran alongside the Guardians on assignment, but the news continued