“Tell me why and I’ll think about letting you keep it,” I lied. I wasn’t prepared to use the potions in the bottom of the bag and I sure wasn’t going to let her do it.
“There’s…I…”
Fidelé’s claw came out from under my coverlet and I nudged it back under with my toe. “Go ahead. I’ve treated a lot of stuff. It can’t be that bad.”
“They don’t let principessas treat patients,” said Maraleeza with doubt.
“They do in Austria. We don’t have to wear corsets either.”
“No corsets?”
“Nope,” I said. “It’s a different world.”
She took a deep breath and said, “You won’t have heard of it.”
“How do you know?” I was getting tired of this. I had a wing to soak. An escape to plan.
“It’s a hobgoblin thing.”
“I can treat hobgoblins.”
“Have you?”
I started counting my tinctures and salves. They looked to be all there, as were the rest of the poisons. I smiled at her. “Not yet. You can be my first.”
“No, thank you.”
I threw up my hands. “Let me put it this way. You’re not leaving with that bottle. It belongs to me. That’s it. I’d fry you before I’d let it go. So you might as well tell me what you’ve got.”
Tears filled Maraleeza’s eyes. “Are you sure it can’t help?”
“I’m sure. How many times do I have to say it?”
“Will you tell the doge?”
“He’s keeping me prisoner in here, so no,” I said.
“Prisoner?”
I sat on the bed. “Yep. I’m locked in and so are you. What have you got?”
She extended a shaking hand and gave me the hobgoblin bottle. I heaved a sigh of relief and nestled it back in its spot in the base of the bag and closed the compartment.
“I have to show you,” she said.
“Go for it.”
“It’s disgusting.”
“That’s okay.” I thought of the empress’s sores and yellowed claws. “I’ve seen disgusting before.”
Maraleeza unbuttoned her dress and proved to me that I’d seen a lot, but I hadn’t seen nothing yet. I did my best not to gasp. It wasn’t easy. Maraleeza had rotting skin lesions on her chest, legs and feet. They were way worse than the Empress’s scaly bumps. The lesions disfigured her in a way I’d never imagined with black, rotting spots the size of my hand. In the center, they were open. I could see her ribs in places. Grandma Vi never gave me any quizzes on that. I was tempted to dig out that poison and hand it over. I couldn’t understand how she was walking around and not screaming.
“You don’t recognize it,” she said, sadly.
“I…I…don’t…no.”
“It’s the plague and it’s my fault.”
I led her over to a cushioned armchair and sat her down. “That can’t be true.”
“But it is. I ate the rat.”
My nose wrinkled involuntarily. “You ate a rat. Seriously?”
“Not the whole rat, obviously,” she said.
“Obviously.” I said that, but it wasn’t obvious. I would never eat any part of a rat. The fact that she would made anything possible. “Er…where did you get the rat?”
“I found it. My mother said never to eat a rat that didn’t come from an approved source, but it smelled so good.”
That is not possible. Nope. No way.
“I’ll take your word for it.” I got my teapot and whipped up some white willow tea. I almost put ginger in, but it increased circulation along with fighting infection. I didn’t want to spread it.
“I had to have some. Hobgoblins love rats,” said Maraleeza.
I gave her a cup of tea and she sipped it carefully, wincing. I’d made it quite thick with my fire and cooled it down with my hands, but it was still too hot for her. I cooled it further and handed back the cup.
“How do you do that?”
“I just suck out the heat,” I said. “Was the rat dead when you found it?”
“Of course. I couldn’t kill a rat. They’re way too big. It looked okay, so I took a cut of the haunch and made a roast.” She got dreamy-eyed. “It was so good.”
I shuddered. Roast rat. So gross. “Okay. Why do you think it gave you the plague?”
“Because that’s how hobgoblins get it, by eating infected rats. We were nearly wiped out in the Middle Ages from it.”
“What plague is it?” I assumed there were other plagues. Grandma Vi really should’ve covered plagues between her lessons on larva lumps and Quadrilateral quaking.
“The Black Plague, of course.” Maraleeza frowned. “Are there other plagues?”
“I didn’t know about this one, so probably,” I said. “Who’s treated you so far?”
“Nobody. There’s no treatment known to the bissabova healers. That’s why I snuck in here. I thought you might have something in your grandmother’s bag.”
I was afraid to ask the obvious question, but I had to. “So what usually happens?”
She shrank down in the chair. “I’ll die.”
“Nobody survives? Never?”
“Humans can, but not hobgoblins.”
“Humans get it?” I asked.
Maraleeza looked up in surprise. “Of course. A great many seers were lost to the plague. We didn’t know humans could catch it from us for a long time. For the first time, I’m glad I’m not seen.”
“How do the humans treat it?”
“I don’t know. It’s really rare now.” She finished her cup. “I feel better. It doesn’t hurt as much.”
“Good.” I needed Gerald and his encyclopedia brain. He would know all about this plague and what the humans did about it. I leafed through the quick reference, knowing it wasn’t in there, but I had to think. I was supposed to escape in an hour or so. I didn’t know how I was going to do that. Now, there was the plague. The plague, for crying out loud.
Maraleeza touched my hand. “I understand.”
“Understand what?” I got nervous. Did she somehow sense that I was leaving, if I could, somehow?
“That you can’t help me.” Tears streaked her face and she wailed, “Nobody can help me.”
I can’t leave her. I can’t stay. Unless…
Maraleeza jumped up. “I have to hide.”
I automatically yanked up the coverlet, revealing Rufus and Fidelé without thinking. Maraleeza pointed. “Vermin.” This from a rat-eater. Come on.
“Pets.” I shoved her under, just in time. The door opened and a guard stalked in to stare at me. I liked how he felt free to barge in, but he wouldn’t speak to me until I spoke to him. I rolled my eyes and put my hands on my hips. We had a staring contest until he started to shuffle his feet and I felt some pity for him.
“Go ahead,” I said.
He straightened up and his long tail went rigid. “His Serenity requests your presence at this evening’s banquet.”
“What if I say no?” I don’t know why I said that. I just couldn’t resist.
His jaw fell open and three guards crowded in behind him, tails swishing. What a bunch of worrywarts.
“I’ll go,” I said. “I just wanted to see what you’d do.”
“Your Highness?” the first guard asked.
“Never mind.” I shooed them out and closed the door. They locked it. I was hoping they’d forget, but no luck.
Maraleeza crawled out from under my bed. She was panting and shaking from the pain. That vision of a patient suffering made my decision for me. I grabbed my traveling bag and pulled out the half-empty bag of Lrag’s spell. “So they don’t know you’re in here?”
“No.”
“How did you get in?” I asked.
She practically fell into the chair and avoided my gaze.
“Maraleeza, I have a plan, but you have to tell me what you did to get in here.”
“The doge doesn’t know.”
“I won’t tell. I know all about keeping secrets.”
Maraleeza buttoned up her dress. Her hands shook with either fear or effort. I couldn’t tell which.
“I can walk through walls,” she said.
I poured her more tea. “That’s awesome. I want that gift.”
She shook her head. “No, you don’t.”
“Really. It would be super useful.”
“Others don’t like it. They’d think I’m a thief. I’m not. I promise.”
Well…
“That doesn’t matter right now,” I said.
“Can you help me?”
“I might be able to. I’m not sure, but I need some help, too.”
Maraleeza leaned back in the chair, her breathing slowing. “What can I possibly do for a princess?"
“You can help me escape,” I said. “In exchange, I’ll do absolutely everything I can to save you.”
“But you’re not a prisoner. You’re a guest of the doge.”
I pointed out that I had guards on my door and the fact that it was locked. She bit her lip. I told her about my family, my humans, and the rest of it. “I need you to release the damumoto.”
“Why can’t they just leave the stables?” she asked.
“Because they’re imprisoned in the foundation somewhere.” I knelt in front of her and the smell of her disease nearly gagged me. “Please. I can’t do it without you.”
“But you don’t know how to treat me and I’m so sick.”
“I have a spell that works on odd skin problems. It has a good chance of working on you. What’ve you got to lose? The bissabova can’t help. And if you do release my horses, I’ll see if the vermillion can help you.”
“The vermillion?” she gasped. “They were massacred in Paris. The doge was very upset about that.”
“One escaped that fate. I will do my best to get you to the survivor, but I…we have to escape.”
Maraleeza squared her shoulders and appeared to gather all her strength. “I’ll do it. Do you promise?”
I put out my hand and we shook on it. “I promise.”
Maraleeza managed to get up. “Thank you for the tea. Nothing has ever helped that much.” Then she looked me in the eyes, searching for something. “I believe you can do it.”
“Good. Me, too.”
She pointed to Lrag’s spell bag in my hand. “What is that? It smells nice.”
I didn’t know how she could smell it over her lesions, but I didn’t think I should ask. “I’m glad you think so. I think it’s kinda gross. It’s the spell I was talking about.”
She cheered up. “Do I eat it?”
Ew. What was it with people wanting to eat that porky blood blob?
I shook my head. “It’s topical. I don’t have very much, so I’ll have to make more when we get to Rome.” I had her open her dress again and I forced myself to rub it on her lesions, a small, closed one to start in case it was a bad idea. “How is it? Does it hurt?”
“It tingles, but it’s kind of nice,” she said. “What’s it made for?”
“Rejuvenation after blood loss, but my fire changed it. Now, it works on other stuff, too.” I didn’t mention the gargoyles eating it. She ate a infested dead rat. She might decide to lick it off. That was too gross to be allowed. I finished rubbing the spell on all of Maraleeza’s wounds. It took most of it. I had maybe one dose left.
“Why are you smiling?” asked Maraleeza.
“Because my mom would be proud of me.”
“Isn’t she always proud of you? I mean, you are a princess.”
I tied the spell bag closed and tucked it away in my bag. “That’s just who I’m going to marry.” I thought about Mom’s reaction to me being a kindler, fighting, and taking Iris with me to get in trouble. I never meant to get in trouble. It just happened, like getting taken prisoner. That wasn’t my fault, but Mom wouldn’t see it that way. Maybe helping Maraleeza would help Mom to see it wasn’t all bad. Being who I am is a good thing, too.
“I don’t understand,” said Maraleeza.
“Me, either, but I’ll explain after we escape.”
“Huh?”
“Release the damumoto at ten to eight. Tell them to take you to the train station. I’ll meet them there.”
She shook her head. “Oh no. I’m not telling a damumoto that I’m going to ride her. She’ll stomp me.”
There was that. Damumoto weren’t horses, not really. “I know. You’re right. Ask for Volotora. He’s in charge and tell him…tell him to do it for my mother.”
“That will help?”
I hoped so. “It should. If it doesn’t, show him your lesions. He’ll see the spell and know that it’s important.”
Maraleeza nodded and walked to the wall. She gave a little shiver and went opaque. It was pretty weird to watch.
“Wait. One more thing. I have to send a message to my dragons.”
I thought hard for a second and then I had it. Simple was best.
- - - ..
I formed the message in fire and held it in my hand. “Here. Take this to the courtyard and throw it in the air.” I tried to hand her the flaming dashes and dots, but she shrank back. Sometimes, I forgot fire wasn’t a friendly thing to other people. “It’s okay. It won’t burn you.”
She kept staring at my hand.
“Maraleeza.”
She looked up. “I can’t.”
“You can. Trust me. I wouldn’t hurt you.”
“Okay, if you’re certain.” She cupped her hands and I poured the flames in. They rearranged themselves into the right order and jumped and crackled in her hands.
She grinned at me. “They tickle.”
“They do that sometimes.”
Maraleeza nodded at me. “Ten till eight.” And she walked through the wall, leaving no trace of herself except the faint smell of rotting flesh.
“I can’t get this dress buttoned,” I said.
The guard stared at me.
“Hello.”
“You have to leave. It’s nearly eight o’clock,” he said.
“I know that. Do you want me to go to the banquet half-dressed?” I asked.
Like an idiot, the guard conferred with the other guards. I guess he thought me being unbuttoned might just be okay. It took them five minutes to decide that it wasn’t. The doge really needed to rethink his staff.
“It’s not good for you to go to the banquet half-dressed,” said the guard.
I kept myself from rolling my eyes but just barely. My eyes ached to roll. “I’m glad we agree.”
They stood there with their tails waving around but doing nothing else.
“So…”
“You have to get dressed.” He could barely see me through the floppy fins that lay on his face. “The doge is announcing his choice for his successor tonight. You must be there.”
Oh, no.
“Who cares if I’m there?” I asked.
“You must be there to receive…hear the announcement as Austria’s representative. Be quick.”
The doge couldn’t choose me to be his temporary replacement. That was crazy. Plus, I wouldn’t do it.
“I told you I can’t,” I said, more patient than I felt.
The guards shuffled their feet. I was going to have to spell it out for them. “You’ll have to help me.”
They drew back in shock. “We can’t,” said the first guard.
“Well, then I’m not going.”
“You have to.”
“Then help me.”
The guard with the floppy fins stepped forward. “I’ll help, but I can’t touch you.”
“How are you going to help me if you don’t touch me?” I asked. Was there nothing that protocol didn’t mess up? I was trying to escape and it got in the way of that.
“I can’t because you are principessa,” he said.
I turned around and showed them the back of my dress. I picked the only one that laced up the back on purpose. I faced him. “Tell me how to lace that on my own.”
“Umm.”
“That’s what I thought. Get in here, guys.”
The floppy fins guard hesitantly walked in, his tail twitching.
“Come on,” I said. “I need more help.”
The idiots actually went for it. Slowly, I packed ten guards in my room. I downed the last of my white willow tea at the bedside table and attempted to cope with the overwhelming fish stink while concentrating on the layout of the room outside. I picked a spot just outside the door and made a flame, not a nice, pretty flame that I specialized in, but a nasty, smoke-spewing spark. One that would garner attention. Once it was spewing away, I squeezed through the sea serpents, faced the door, and waited.
It took less time than I thought. Only ten seconds before the guards outside my apartment went running. I glanced over my shoulder. “Okay, so who’s going to pull the left side closed?”
The guards put their heads together. I picked up my traveling bag, jewel case, and Grandma Vi’s bag that I’d placed by the door and walked out. They didn’t even notice. The ledge outside my apartment was empty. I smiled. Perfect. I shoved the door closed and got the tiniest glimpse of the astonished guards’ faces. I didn’t have the key, so I melted the lock and doorknob. I made sure the metal all fused together before dashing off toward the courtyard.
The palace was amazingly empty. I guess everyone was already in The Room of the Fireplace for the banquet. I stopped in a secluded niche and pulled my old dress and cloak that I’d stuffed into my traveling bag out. I didn’t have time for modesty so I stripped off that two-ounce gown and redressed in my clothes. So much better.
Grandma Vi’s bag shifted next to my foot. I opened it and let Rufus and Fidelé out. They weren’t happy about being crammed in with Lrag’s spell. They couldn’t get in the bag to eat it. I picked up Fidelé and Rufus climbed up my skirt.
When they were settled with claws digging into my shoulders, I ran. There was no ledge in the next room, so I had to fly. It wasn’t a good idea, but it was the best that I had. My wing burned as I spread it, but I just gritted my teeth and prayed that Lutrud and Maraleeza would come through for me. I sailed into the courtyard and landed on the lone tree in the center. Through the branches, I could see my dashes and dots still burning above the palazzo. Had Victory seen them and understood what to do? Was it eight o’clock yet? I couldn’t know and it drove me nuts. Everything was so still. The night was holding its breath, waiting for what was about to happen.
To the Eternal (Away From Whipplethorn Book Five) Page 16
