He turned. Flea struggled with two men. Kerrick pulled one off the boy and slit the guard’s throat. Two more guards rushed into the fray, armed with swords and prepared for a fight. Kerrick discovered that bone armor was quite effective against his dagger. And their sharp rapiers snaked in past his defenses, finding flesh.
Kerrick drew his dadao sword. Even though he didn’t have much room to swing, he hoped the thick curved blade would intimidate them. Aside from a brief pause, it failed to impress them.
They pressed their advantage and Kerrick retreated. Soon his back hit bars. He was trapped and near the end of his energy. Flea made a strangled cry. Kerrick dropped his normal camouflage and increased his attacks, hoping to slip past them. Besides a grunt of surprise, the two men kept lunging with their thinner weapons. Fighting in tight quarters against two, Kerrick knew it was just a matter of time.
Another cry sounded and then the guard on the right jerked and toppled. His partner turned and Flea touched the man’s face. He froze and fell back.
Flea clutched his stomach, looking queasy.
Kerrick sheathed his sword and put a hand on Flea’s shoulder. “Keep it together, Flea. There might be more.”
Flea drew in a deep breath and straightened.
“Good. Watch for reinforcements.” He checked the guards’ pockets, searching for keys, and found a ring of them. Sorting through them, he isolated a large silver one that shone as if new. Kerrick returned to the pit’s lock and opened it.
Excited, he threw the bolt and opened the hatch. Two giant hands reached up and wrapped around his neck, yanking him into the blackness.
CHAPTER 17
Danny returned with Odd on his heels. I intercepted Odd at the door.
“What’s wrong?” Odd asked.
I explained.
His face paled. “Are you sure?”
I showed him Gylon’s tattoo. The sergeant cursed after learning of his new decoration, but hadn’t put all the pieces together yet. The Skeleton King’s troops had ambushed Gylon’s squad and infected them with the new plague.
“How close?” Odd asked.
“Two days south, but that was four days ago.”
Now it was Odd’s turn to curse. He bolted from the cavern to send a messenger to Ryne. Would it reach him in time?
Sergeant Gylon wanted to go with him. “I’m feeling better,” he protested when I refused to let him leave.
“That’s because of the fever powder. Rest now, you’ll need your strength for later.” Covering him with his blanket, I tucked him in. “Is your entire squad here? All ten?”
“Yeah.” Grief filled his eyes as he realized their fates matched his own.
I squeezed his hand. His squad was still in shock over getting the bad news that they had, at most, six days to live. Once the reality sunk in, it was going to be rough. Their reactions would run the gamut from denial, anger, and grief to pleading, bargaining, and bribing me to save their lives. Some would hit all the emotions, others only a few and one or two would not say a word, keeping it all bottled inside. I suspected Sergeant Gylon would remain stoic to help his squad.
Checking on the others, I asked them to show me their backs. Everyone had a Skeleton King tattoo.
“What does it mean?” Private Tyra asked.
The other members of their squad peered at me. It meant the Skeleton King might be right outside the infirmary, and he was the one infecting our soldiers with the new plague.
Instead of upsetting the squad further, I said, “It’s a taunt from the enemy.” Then I settled them for the night, dispensing fever powder.
When I finished, I scrubbed my hands and found Odd arguing with Lieutenant Macon.
“...should confirm their position before sending Prince Ryne a message,” Odd said.
“It’s been four days, they could be at our doorstep, I’ll need the extra manpower if they attack,” Macon said.
“Then we’ll do a short sweep,” Odd said. “Avry, what do you think? Did Gylon’s squad have any more information?”
“Send a message to Ryne right away. Tell him that the Skeleton King has access to the plague virus and his troops are south of the infirmary,” I said.
“How far?” Odd asked me.
“We can’t waste the time finding out. He needs to know they’re there. Last time I talked to him he was getting reports that the Skeleton King had invaded Sectven.”
“All right.” Odd rushed off to send a message.
“Do you think he’ll attack us?” Macon asked.
Answering Macon’s question, I said, “Yes.”
“What about a short sweep?” Odd asked me, returning.
“No.”
“Why not? We need more information.”
“Because they’re armed with darts filled with the new plague and have been busy using them. Do you want to join the others who are dying in the infirmary?”
“No.” Odd scratched his chin. “How did the Skeleton King get the plague virus?”
“From Tohon, but I’ve no idea if he stole it or if Cellina gave it to him. If she did, it means they’ve teamed up.” A horrible prospect.
“Why team up? With the ability to spread the plague to her enemies, she could infect the Skeleton King’s entire army.”
“Perhaps she’s too squeamish to engage in biological warfare. Maybe they worked out a treaty. Does it matter? He has it and it’s an effective way to win a war.”
“But it’s risky. Even though you said this new strain has to be injected, what’s to stop us from...” he gestured to the patients “...collecting their blood or spit or whatever and using it to infect his army?”
I stared at him in amazement.
He held out his hands as if in surrender. “What did I say?”
“Odd. You. Are. A. Genius!” I hugged him and kissed him on the cheek.
“I am?”
“Yes. Danny,” I yelled. “Grab a couple syringes and come with me.”
“Okay.” Danny rushed over to the supplies.
“What did I say?” Odd repeated.
“I’ll explain later.”
I hurried to the stage-three patients with Danny right behind me.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“They’re suffering from the new plague. The one that has to be injected.”
“Yeah, we know that.”
“It’s the same one Prince Ryne had.”
“So?”
I stopped just inside the cavern. “So I survived the new plague.”
“Didn’t the Peace Lily save you?”
“After I died.”
“Uh, Avry, dying is the opposite of surviving.”
I waved his comment away. “Technically it was the combination of the serum and Kerrick’s magic touch that brought me back.”
“Still not following you,” Danny said.
“I might have built up a resistance to the plague. Like after you get the stuttering cough once, you never get it again? The Healer’s Guild had been doing research on the reasons for that before the plague.”
“Oh, yeah, you mentioned it in your journal. Do you think this is the same?”
“It might be. I’d assumed the reason I couldn’t heal Yuri of the plague was because of the Peace Lily serum in me, but what if it was something else? Isn’t it at least worth a try?”
“I guess. What do we have to do?”
“Help me draw my blood,” I said, gesturing to the syringes in his hand.
“Oh.”
Together we managed to get one vial full of my blood. I strode over to Sergeant Phelix, my sickest patient. I’d ask him for his permission, but he only had hours to live and was incoherent.
“But what if your blood kills him? Don’t you still have Peace Lily serum in you?” Danny asked.
“As long as we don’t touch him, he won’t become like Yuri.” I pushed Phelix’s sleeve up past his elbow, found the vein and injected my blood into him.
After a few moments, Danny a
sked, “How long until we know if it worked or not?”
“If he lives until tomorrow, we’ll know it worked.”
“I really hope he lives.”
“Me, too.” I checked on the others. They should last long enough for the results of my experiment. “Go to sleep, Danny, I’ll wake you if anything happens.”
He nodded, washed his hands, and left.
I kept vigil, sitting next to Phelix. My thoughts turned to the Skeleton King. Despite what I’d said earlier, it did matter how he’d gotten the plague. If he teamed up with Cellina, could Ryne’s army stop them? Between the sheer number of enemy attackers and the plague, we didn’t stand a chance.
My dire thoughts caused my temples to pound. I rested my aching head on the edge of Phelix’s cot. My stomach grumbled, complaining that I’d forgotten to eat. I’d been so excited about the possible cure—please work! If I believed in the creator, I’d be praying for success. Instead, I dozed.
“Do you really think this one is going to work?” Tohon asked. “The last experiment you tried didn’t go well for you, did it?”
We sat at the glass table in his forever garden again, drinking tea as if we were old friends.
“We’re more than friends, my dear. Our connection runs deep.” He leered.
Ignoring his comment, I said, “If Phelix dies, I’m not going to touch him and create another dead soldier.”
“Whyever not? He’s more useful that way. He can’t help anyone while rotting in the ground. You’re wasting resources.”
“Practical and horrific. Hard to believe you’re still single.”
“Cute. But I’m sure your Prince Ryne considered the very same thing before his sudden windfall of personnel.”
I’d like to argue with Tohon, but Ryne had brought Yuri to HQ and said Flea’s help was vital. I swirled the tea in my cup. The brown liquid spun, forming a dip in the center.
“What? No snarky reply? My, my, something must be bothering you, my dear. Perhaps I can help.”
I almost laughed. Almost. Many uncomplimentary words described Tohon, but the man was intelligent. “Maybe you can. Would Cellina make an alliance with the Skeleton King?”
“It depends on what he offers her. She has plenty of soldiers, but it is harder to fight on two fronts. Better to join forces until the bigger threat is taken care of. I’d use him until he no longer served my purposes.”
“You’d break a treaty?”
“Of course. I don’t want to share power, my dear.”
But would Cellina be that ruthless? This was the same woman who couldn’t kill Kerrick. She risked her life lying to Tohon so he’d believe Kerrick was dead. I didn’t know her that well, but from our encounters, the whole biological warfare and teaming up with the Skeleton King didn’t seem like Cellina’s style. If she wasn’t the one making alliances and spreading the plague, then who else had access to Tohon’s research and supplies? Sepp!
Except he worked for Cellina. Or did he? He was a powerful death magician with an ego to match. Perhaps he called the shots. That fit better with the plague attacks.
“It’s a pleasure to watch you puzzle things out, my dear.”
“But it doesn’t help our current situation.”
“I disagree. Knowing your enemy is very important. And I’m surprised your Prince Ryne hasn’t figured it out yet. Unless he has....”
Once again, Tohon took the cheap shot, dredging my subconscious to bring forth all my fears.
“You should trust your instincts, Avry. Except the one to sacrifice your life for another. That one you should ignore. But for all the others, there’s a reason you have those fears. Call it experience, observation, or just a gut feeling—you shouldn’t discount them.”
Advice from a psychotic megalomaniac. Wonderful.
“An intelligent psychotic megalomaniac. Big difference.”
“Stop reading my mind.”
“You do know how ridiculous that is? I’m in your mind and you’re in mine. You can do it, too, you just choose not to.”
“I’m not brave enough to taste your special kind of darkness.”
“What you see is what you get, my dear.” He stretched his arms wide. “Aside from underestimating you, I’ve no regrets and no guilt. All I’ve done has been with the purest intentions to unite the Fifteen Realms. I didn’t create the plague, just capitalized on its existence.”
It was pointless to argue with him. Instead, I tested his I’m-an-open-book claim. “Tell me what happened to Belen. Is he one of the dead soldiers?”
“Ah, Belen. I intercepted a message about him.”
“And?” Concentrating on his thoughts, I sought the truth.
“And he—”
“Avry, wake up,” Danny said. “Sergeant Phelix is still alive!”
Jolted from my dream, I sat up. So close. Another minute and I’d have found out what happened to Belen.
“Avry? Hello?” Danny waved his hands in front of my face. “Sergeant Phelix?”
“Sorry.” I turned my attention to Phelix, pressing my fingers to his throat. A faint pulse throbbed. But more important, my magic sensed his symptoms had lessened.
My sleep fog disappeared in a snap as I realized what it meant. I hopped to my feet and grabbed Danny’s arms.
We jumped up and down like fools, shouting, “It worked! It worked! It worked!” at the top of our lungs.
“What worked?” Loren asked. He stood in the entrance with Quain and Odd. Swords drawn, half-dressed and barefoot, the three appeared to have been roused from their beds.
“We found a cure for the plague,” I cried.
“You found a cure,” Danny said. “I just helped.”
“I couldn’t have done it without Odd.” I grinned at him.
“Me? What did I do?” he asked.
I explained about how Odd’s comment sparked the idea to use my blood as I picked up the clean syringe. Danny helped me fill it with my blood and I injected it into another patient.
When I finished my explanation, all three of them had huge silly smiles.
“Danny, can you get me two more syringes? I’ll finish with the stage-three patients and then move on to stage two.”
After I’d injected the remaining patients, I gave the syringes to Danny. “Ask Ginger to sterilize them, please. And bring me more.”
“Will do.” He snapped a salute and shot out the door.
“This calls for a celebration,” Quain said. “I’ve some whiskey I’ve been saving.”
“With breakfast?” Loren asked.
“As breakfast. This stuff’s so good, you don’t want to ruin it with anything else.”
“How about later? After I heal...” The room spun. I reached for the wall and missed.
Odd grabbed my elbow, steadying me. “When’s the last time you ate?” he asked.
“Uh...”
“That’s what I thought. Blood loss and no food is a dangerous combination.”
“Uh...”
He tsked. “And the injustice of it is that you would yell at us for not taking care of ourselves, yet you can abuse your body without anyone giving you grief.”
“Technically, you’re giving her grief right now,” Quain said.
“But it doesn’t work. She won’t listen to me.”
“Don’t feel bad, she doesn’t listen to anyone,” Loren said.
“Hey! I’m standing right here.”
“No, you’re swaying.” Odd tightened his grip. “Come on. Food first, then sleep, and then you can go back to work.” He guided me from the cavern.
“Good luck with that,” Quain muttered.
Our happy party settled around the fire. A few of my caregivers checked patients, but otherwise the main area was empty at this early hour. Odd insisted on fetching me a bowl of oatmeal and a handful of apple slices. It didn’t take me long to devour them. The others wished to spread the news of the cure, but I asked them to wait. It might not work for everyone and Phelix might have a relapse. Despite
my initial excitement, there were too many unknowns at this time. Plus I didn’t need the news to reach our enemies.
“If you wanted to keep it a secret, maybe you shouldn’t have screamed ‘it worked’ at the top of your lungs,” Quain teased.
I ducked my head. “I couldn’t help it. Besides, only you three woke up.”
“Others did as well, but they rolled over and went back to sleep,” Loren said. “We knew it was you and...”
“And it’s always better to check than be sorry,” Quain added. “‘It worked’ could be code for the dead are invading.”
“Wow, that’s...really random, Quain. Aside from you, who would ever put those two things together?” Loren asked.
“Shut up, Loren.” He threw a spoonful of oatmeal at his friend.
“You’re asking for it now, pup.” Loren aimed at Quain with a full spoon.
“That’s enough, boys,” I said, pushing Loren’s arm down. “Thank you for coming to check on me. And now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to return to my patients.”
They watched as I clambered to my feet. Weak-kneed but steady, I searched for Danny. He helped Ginger clean the syringes.
“Amazing, Avry, simply amazing,” Ginger gushed.
I put a finger to my lips. “Keep it under wraps for now. Just in case.”
“Of course. But we have to tell Christina!”
“Of course.”
Danny collected a handful of syringes and followed me to the stage-three cavern.
Sergeant Phelix gave me a weak grin.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I tried a new medicine on you,” I said to him.
“I don’t mind at all. I feel so much better.” He pushed up on his elbow. Hope brightened his face. “Will it...?”
“It might save your life.”
He clasped my arm. “But you said—”
“I did, but that was before yesterday. Today’s a whole new day. And the best thing you can do is rest and regain your strength. Are you hungry?”
“Yes.” He said the word as if amazed by the answer.
“Good. I’ll get you breakfast after I check on the others.”
As I moved away, Danny whispered, “I thought you were waiting to make sure the cure worked before saying anything.”
“Positive thoughts equals positive healing. The mind plays an important role, and if a patient is convinced he’s going to die, it counteracts his recovery.”
Taste of Darkness (An Avry of Kazan Novel - Book 3) Page 28
