Mated to the Beast of the Wasteland novel Chapter 7

Chapter 7 Cleric?

George was in his forties, not particularly tall, but compactly built, with quick, precise movements. He had large eyes, and he could look quite intimidating when he fell silent.
His right hand was covered by an advanced white nanometal treatment sheath. Even so, he efficiently packed Gillian’s meal with only his left hand and slid it toward her in one practiced motion.
At that small movement, a flicker of pain crossed George’s face, and a bead of sweat formed on his forehead.
Gillian paused, holding her tray and preparing to leave. Her cleric instincts made her speak up.
“How long has your hand been hurt? Why hasn’t it healed?”
She had noticed the nanotreatment sheath on his hand two days earlier.
“Five days now,” George admitted, his voice tight. “My right hand… it’s hurting badly today.”
He wouldn’t normally talk about this kind of thing, but Gillian was different. She was around his daughter’s age.
Freya had told him Gillian sold her house in Goldspine City and brought her elderly grandmother along to follow the legion for her mate. George respected that kind of resolve.
In Wasteland City, the mates of legion soldiers were considered family.
“Aren’t there any clerics assigned to the shuttle?” Gillian asked. She regretted the question at once, remembering the truth.
For the past three years, clerics from Goldspine City had not been assigned to military posts.
“That’s right,” George confirmed. “After the major taint explosion three years ago, the powerful families in the Elemental Cities petitioned the Interstellar Alliance. They won special permission that lets clerics choose whether to enlist or not.”
If no one stepped forward, and no one else followed, eventually no one would go at all.
Gillian knew that. She’d asked partly to make conversation, and partly to find a way to offer to check his injury.
In her past life, when she’d been abandoned in Wasteland City and struggled to survive, many families of the 9th Legion had helped her. George’s relatives might have been among them.
She wanted to find time to examine his hand before the shuttle landed.
“Not many choose to. Ever since the taint broke out suddenly three years ago, a lot of clerics have died. No matter how safe we say it is, the new clerics just won’t come.” George added.
Seeing her troubled look, he worried he might frighten her away from Wasteland City.
Her mate would mope in my quarters every day if that happened.
D*mn it, why did I have to be so blunt?
He glanced around, saw no one else coming for food, and quickly closed the serving hatch. He lowered his voice.
“Wasteland City is too dangerous. Ordinary females are better off staying safe in the Elemental Cities than dying out there.
“You know why we came to Goldspine City this time? We’re looking for a cleric codenamed ‘Hope’. She’s a genius who appeared out of nowhere.
“Three months ago, she sent a letter saying she wanted to join the 9th Legion after graduation. Unlike most clerics, who can only purify taint, she also has healing abilities. Otherwise, why would our commander come all this way to recruit her personally? He wants to take her back to Wasteland City for proper training.”
“Did he manage to recruit her?” Gillian asked, her heart skipping a beat.
That sounds exactly like me.
Since when did I have a codename like Hope?
“Nope,” George said, shaking his head. “Something came up, and the Commander had to deal with it personally. If not, he would’ve dragged her here even if he had to tie her up.”
Gillian’s mouth twitched faintly. Well… thanks, I guess.
“But how do you manage without clerics? Don’t you get proper treatment?” she pressed.
“We have medics,” George assured her. His expression softened. “They’re good at everything except purifying taint. Don’t worry. Once you’re in base housing, high-ranking beastmen will protect you and your grandmother.”
He spoke as if lacking clerics hardly mattered to them.
“Besides, our commander spent a fortune getting us these.” He lifted his arm, gesturing to the sheath.
“The nanotech inside stops bleeding instantly and repairs tissue. It even has stored cleric psionic power to clear taint. If a wound gets badly infected, you just amputate in time, and it’ll heal over time.”
“What did you say?”
Gillian’s face darkened. She reached out and grabbed George’s arm instinctively.
In her past life, beyond the wall of beastmen corpses, she’d seen too many missing limbs and broken bodies.
Was this why?
“Has the tissue grown back?” she demanded urgently.
In her previous life, while at the Cleric Academy, Gillian had heard of nanotreatment metal.
But it hadn’t even been officially released before she died. It was said to contain a fragment of blackstone at its core, able to heal taint-contaminated wounds.
But she had never seen one in person and couldn’t judge its real effect.
“I haven’t taken it off to check, so I don’t know,” George admitted.
A faint golden glint caught Gillian’s eye. She spotted a mark on the nanometal tag. It was the crest of the Grayson family: a golden lion.
The Grayson family? Could the 9th Legion’s total annihilation in her past life be linked to this nanotreatment metal?
Knowing it was not the place to make a scene, Gillian let go of his arm.
“George… I’m actually a cleric. If you have some free time later, I can take a look at your injury.”
“A cleric?” George’s gentle eyes sharpened with suspicion.
He had no access to Gillian’s files. He hadn’t expected her to be a cleric.
But then he recalled that Freya had personally vouched for her, so her background must be clean. His expression relaxed a little.
“We’ll arrive in Wasteland City before ten. Things will be very busy,” he said, implying he had little time.
Gillian felt a flicker of disappointment.
George handed Gillian her meal, then added quietly, “But I have a twenty-minute break during shift change. I can come find you.”
Gillian gave a small nod.
“Alright, George. I’ll wait for you at the sleep pods.”
Her gaze fell back to his arm. “Was this treatment metal sold to the 9th Legion by the Grayson family?”
“I can’t tell you that,” George said, his face turning serious. “Everything related to the treatment metal is classified.”
Gillian’s question touched on confidential legion matters he was not allowed to discuss.
Her again? Tristan hadn’t expected to run into Gillian everywhere.
He tapped the counter.
“Excuse me. One dinner, please.”
George waved Gillian off and reopened the serving hatch.
Gillian smiled and left.
She’d noticed that every beastman aboard this shuttle held a fairly high rank—at least second lieutenant. Even George, who was serving food, was a lieutenant colonel.
There were no new recruits at all. That meant this shuttle was transporting something extremely important.
Surely they aren’t carrying a shuttle full of treatment metal?
Once Gillian left, Tristan’s gaze lingered after her.
“Who let just anyone board a 9th Legion shuttle these days?” he muttered.
“Tristan, watch your mouth,” George snapped coldly. “She’s a dependent.”
“A dependent?” Tristan scoffed.
What kind of dependent extorts 200 million coins over a single phone call?
Tristan added, “Who knows what she’s really after? No one has joined the legion in three years, then suddenly she shows up. Black Rick ought to investigate her thoroughly.”
George’s warm expression vanished, replaced by a stern look. His hand stilled while serving the food.
Is he doubting Gillian’s intentions?
He replaced all three meat dishes with vegetables and pushed the tray over.
“Mr. Lawson,” George said pointedly, “does your father know you’re heading to Wasteland City?”
“What, is the 9th Legion scared to have me?” Tristan shot back.
George chuckled dryly, “Of course not. We’re just worried you won’t last a single day. You might beg to go home, and this shuttle only runs once a year.”
“If that female can survive there,” Tristan snapped, “why can’t I?”