This only added fuel to her desire to escape. She hoped she’d never see these natives again. And knowing they’d help her leave—if they had actually meant that and if they actually kept their promise—Nicole focused as much time as possible on learning Water.
Things were difficult. Incredibly difficult. After at least a week, Nicole had barely managed to get a droplet of water into her cup.
She had no choice but to try to escape instead.
Chapter Eight
The day after Nicole coaxed the drop of water into her cup, she and Tochko were yet again pacing the tunnels outside of her cave. Tochko watched Nicole walk with approving eyes. She was very happy with how far Nicole had come and how little help she needed.
And Nicole felt like her usual self. Good, whole, strong.
Strong enough to make a run for it?
Nicole was contemplating this thought when she lost all control over her body.
She collapsed to the tunnel floor, convulsing. Pain radiated through her limbs and torso, so extreme that she couldn’t even catch a breath to scream.
Tochko immediately flew into action, pulling out a knife.
Nicole’s heart began beating at what felt like three times the normal rate, and it had nothing to do with the knife. It pounded in her chest, striking her ribs with a fury she’d never experienced. Her lungs screamed in agony, even though she hadn’t been pushing them very hard.
What was going on?
She was in too much pain to worry for her life when Tochko came at her with the knife. And she was definitely hurting too much to care when the woman started stripping her of her clothes.
Finally, Nicole got enough of a breath to scream. The shriek tore from her throat, bringing blood and vomit with it. She shook, struggling to wipe the stuff off her face so she could breathe enough to scream again.
Tochko made a noise of exultation and Nicole felt the knife prick into her right upper thigh. She called out in agony when Tochko jabbed in deeper, when she felt the woman dig around, obviously looking for something.
As quickly as they’d started, the convulsions and pains suddenly disappeared. Her lungs stopped begging for air. Her heart rate dropped. She relaxed against the cold stone, breathing heavily, unable to do anything but lie there.
Tochko quickly pulled bandages from the bag she always carried and wrapped Nicole’s leg. Then she rushed into the hole and returned with blankets, which she threw around Nicole.
Nicole began shivering violently. Her lips went numb, her hands clammy. Tochko piled more blankets on her. Then she held her, singing, petting her hair, while Nicole struggled to stay conscious.
Finally, the shivering stopped.
Nearly ten minutes after Nicole stopped shivering, Tochko helped her sit up against the stone wall, tucking the blankets around her again.
At this point, she showed Nicole what had been dug out of her leg.
It was a baby bird about an inch big. And even covered in blood, Nicole knew immediately what sort it was. The deep blue feathers and bright red beak, tail, and feet were enough.
A vampire bird. She watched as the creature struggled for air, then died, green sludge coming from its beak.
Nicole almost threw up again. How had the bird gotten inside her? How had Tochko known what to do?
Nicole’s rescuer got her a drink of water, then, making sure she was comfortable, jumped up and dashed out of sight. When she returned, Suntkou was with her. He was very excited, very happy. He crouched next to Nicole and grabbed her hand, rubbing it against his good cheek several times in what Nicole assumed was a show of affection.
“Where did the bird come from?” Nicole asked.
Natives started approaching from all directions—apparently, word spread quickly in these tunnels. Judging by the number of people who were gathering, Nicole’s section of the tunnels had been avoided a great deal by everyone.
Suntkou stood and motioned for the others to sit on the tunnel floor. Then he mimed to them, attempting to explain what happened.
Apparently, sometime after the adult bird bit Nicole’s arm, it implanted her with either the bird or an egg—Nicole wasn’t sure which. But the baby bird had been living inside her, waiting to come out. And when it did, it would eat her alive.
Judging by how quickly Tochko acted when Nicole collapsed, and by how quickly adult birds could suck blood once latched onto a living thing, the process would have been fast. Very fast.
Nicole slumped against the wall, intense gratitude flooding through her for these people. What would have happened if she’d attempted to escape? If she’d been successful in escaping? She had no idea where she’d end up once she got above ground. If she got above ground. She had no idea if people were still searching for her or how long she’d be alone.
After the story had been told and the children all had a chance to gawk at Nicole, Tochko and Suntkou had everyone leave. Then they helped her to a sitting position back into her hole and on the cot.
Tochko peeked under Nicole’s bandages before rolling back on her heels, pleased with herself.
It was at this moment that Nicole realized what the argument earlier had been about. Suntkou obviously didn’t feel comfortable searching Nicole’s body for the baby bird himself and wanted Tochko to do it. But Tochko probably wasn’t comfortable cutting the bird out and wanted Suntkou to do that part.
Nicole probably wouldn’t have cared either way, due to how awful she’d felt while everything was happening.
After rubbing Nicole’s cheek, Suntkou left, and Tochko started pacing the room, probably too excited to settle. She babbled for several moments while Nicole leaned against the stone, too tired to follow the woman’s movements. But when Tochko knelt before her and gestured and explained, in her own language, that Nicole could leave when her leg got better, Nicole felt all exhaustion flee. Relief poured over her. She could go!
“What about the water?” Nicole pointed at the moisture seeping through the wall.
Tochko shrugged before reaching over to pat Nicole on the hand.
Nicole could tell that she was trying to appear disinterested. But Nicole knew better. These people needed her to do something with water. She didn’t know what. Maybe they didn’t have enough. Or maybe they had too much and needed her to move it.
But if Nicole waited until she was powerful enough with that aspect of her magic, she’d be stuck there for months. And that wasn’t something she could handle.
“Let me go find my boyfriend. I promise, he’ll help. He’s mastered Water already.”
Tochko acted like she understood, but Nicole was sure she didn’t. And Nicole didn’t miss the expression of sadness that filled the woman’s face when she turned to leave the cave.
Nicole felt her heart swell with gratitude for these people. They’d saved her life not just once, but three times now. First, from the adult vampire bird. Second, from the resulting infection. And third, from the baby bird that would have eaten her alive.
If it weren’t for the natives, Nicole would have been dead over and over again. She would help them. She would.
Just not yet—she needed to get home and make sure Keitus hadn’t taken over the world already.
Keitus . . . Nicole groaned. Why had all of this happened? Why had she been bitten by a stupid vampire bird moments before it would have died anyway? And why the infection?
Tochko returned, carrying a huge stack of blankets and Nicole’s clothes. After helping Nicole dress and making sure she was comfortable in bed, she settled on the ground beneath her.
Nicole stretched out on the cot, hands under her head, and stared at the roughly cut ceiling. She wondered how much damage had been done to her leg. Hopefully, not a lot. If she was free to leave now, she wanted to leave. But depending on how far she had to walk to get back to Edana—or wherever the natives would take her—she might not be able to do it for a while.
***
It took two more days of Nicole anxiously asking when she coul
d leave before Suntkou and Tochko both approved of how much she’d healed. Miraculously, she didn’t get another infection.
What looked like the entire tribe showed up when Nicole was about to leave her cave for the final time. The children grinned and waved, the adults smiled, and everyone seemed genuinely happy for her.
Nicole asked a few times about water, trying to get even a small bit of information, but no one responded. How was she supposed to pay back her debt without knowing what they needed?
She gave up trying to get info, resolving instead to find a way to get gallons of water to them. If they needed water, that would help. If they needed water moved . . . well, she’d have to figure that out after the whole ordeal with Keitus had ended.
Turning her attention to getting home and seeing her friends—her family—again, Nicole felt the excitement bubble inside her until she could barely breathe.
Tochko made sure Nicole had her backpack, which included everything she’d brought to Eklaron—her phone; the extra set of clothes, which had come in quite handy during her stay in the cave; and the one flashlight that Lizzie had carried for most of the time.
Then it was time to go.
As she was led through multiple tunnels and caves, she realized she would never have been able to find her way out on her own. At one point, she was stopped and blindfolded, then turned around and around. She assumed that meant they were nearing the entrance of the caves and the natives didn’t want her to find her way back.
“How am I supposed to get water to you if I can’t figure out where you live?” she asked. She wasn’t surprised when no one responded.
They walked uphill for at least twenty minutes. Nicole noticed when the ground beneath them changed from roughly cut stone to dirt and finally to what she assumed were the cobblestoned roads of Edana.
Suntkou pulled the blindfold from her eyes, and Nicole blinked in the sudden sunlight. They were just outside of the castle, where she’d fallen. Nothing had changed, but she did notice a bright red tent set up around the corner. Her heart pitter-pattered, but before she charged off, looking for someone who knew her, she threw her arms around the man who had saved her life.
At first, Suntkou hesitated. Then he relaxed and patted her on the back, murmuring words of comfort. Nicole realized then that she was crying. She hugged Tochko, then waved goodbye as they turned and walked down a narrow road and disappeared amongst the ruins. Would she ever see them again?
They’d only been gone for a moment when Nicole heard scuffling sounds coming from inside the castle.
“Nicole?” Austin shouted, his voice muffled by the thick walls.
“Austin? Austin!”
Nicole lurched up the steps as a very thick-bearded Austin flung himself through the doors. In an instant, his arms were around her. She buried her face in his neck, unable to control the sobbing. She felt his body shaking and knew he was crying too.
“We thought you’d died—couldn’t find you, couldn’t find your body.”
“I know, I know,” was all she could get out.
They held each other for several minutes. Nicole’s heart ached finally being so near him again. It swelled inside her chest, threatening to burst until she couldn’t stand it anymore and pulled back.
She was about to kiss him when he gasped. Without asking if he could do so, Austin started frantically searching her hair, her neck, her arms. He was about to pull off her shirt when Nicole realized what he was looking for.
“They already got it—it’s taken care of.”
Austin shook his head. “Have to be sure—have to make sure.”
Nicole grabbed his whiskered face and forced him to look in her eyes. “It was in my thigh. Tochko cut it out a couple of days ago.”
Austin stared at her for a moment before what she said sank in. Then he dropped to the steps beneath them, head in hands. “Do you even know what it was?”
“Yes—a baby bird. They did their best to explain it to me. It would have killed me.” She sat down next to him, holding him tightly. “But fill in the blanks. There’s only so much I could guess.”
“Redsel Birds—their real name—have only one way to further their species. It’s by implanting a single baby inside a living creature moments before the creature dies. From what I’ve learned in the library, it happens after someone falls unconscious. Something about the body being unable to fight off the implant.
“Nature intends for the bird to attach somewhere inside the person’s body, then when the person dies, it eats its way out. If it’s implanted in a living person, however, the body continually fights off the bird every time it tries to attach somewhere. So, instead of successfully attaching, it floats through the liquids of the body, gaining strength, growing in size. Eventually, the bird latches on, but it has to fight to maintain that hold until it gets too strong for the body to kill off. At that point, war begins. The body convulses, attempting to rid itself of the foreign object, and the bird starts the eating process. There are only a couple of moments before the person dies and the bird wins.”
He looked at her. “If the person doesn’t have outside help, the bird always wins.”
He clutched her hand, continuing. “No one knows how long it’ll take before the bird is strong enough to start fighting. It’s different every time. For some, though, it happens quickly. As you can probably guess, age is a huge factor. Young and old people generally die faster. You’re in your prime, so it took longer.”
Nicole laid her head on Austin’s shoulder, so grateful to be with him again and so grateful to be alive. “I was going to try to escape that night. I don’t want to think what would have happened if the bird hadn’t started coming out while I was still with the natives.”
“The natives? Tell me about it—what happened?”
“I’m sure Jacob has Seen it all already.”
Austin shook his head. “You disappeared from his visions. He only saw you and Lizzie on an insane trip to Edana.” He scowled at her. “Why on earth didn’t you tell me you were leaving?”
Nicole took a deep breath. She hadn’t been looking forward to answering this question. “You would have tried to stop me.” Or, and what was more likely, he would have insisted on going. And she couldn’t have allowed him.
“I would have been crazy not to—letting you go running off alone on different worlds would have been insane and reckless.”
“I wasn’t alone.” Nicole gasped. “What about Sweet Pea and the Sindon? And Lizzie? Is she okay?”
Austin shook his head. “We don’t know. She’s still in Shonlin. None of us can get her out.”
“What?”
“You’re the only person who has access to Shonlin.”
“No, I’m not. Azuriah does too.”
“He tried. Apparently, he’s not a guardian.”
Nicole tilted her head. “But . . . but Onyev said he was.”
“From his point of view, looking at all of Azuriah’s life, he’s probably right. As of now, though, the Shiengol hasn’t done whatever it is that’s supposed to give him guardian status.”
Nicole came to her feet. “We need to get Lizzie now.”
Austin shook his head. “Not until Jacob and the others get here.”
“Why? How long will that take?”
“A few hours—because you put the dog back—” He held up his hands when Nicole started defending her actions. “I know why. Shonlin was under attack. But Jacob can’t just key here anymore.” He sighed, tugging her down again. “As to why we need to wait, we believe that Shonlin has frozen her the way she was when you dropped her off. She’s still unconscious, from what Jacob can tell.”
Nicole gasped. “But what if she’s dead?” She would never forgive herself if Lizzie died while waiting for her to return.
“Honestly, we’re not sure if she’s alive or not. Things could be different in Shonlin. She hasn’t rotted—from what Jacob has Time-Saw, she looks like she’s just sleeping—but she’s not healing, eithe
r.”
“This is so horrible.” Nicole put her face in her hands again. What a mess! Her poor friend!
“We needed to have a solid plan in place in case she’s badly injured. Akeno is coming with Jacob, and as soon as he can, he’ll shrink her and put her in a Minya container.”
Nicole nodded. “What about Sweet Pea and the Sindon?”
“They’re both fine. The Sindon was injured, but has since healed, and Sweet Pea didn’t have to walk far before we found him.”
Nicole hesitated. That led to her next question, and judging by the length of the whiskers on Austin’s face, she wouldn’t like the answer.
“How long was I gone?” she asked.
Austin’s shoulders slumped. “Almost two months.”
Nicole’s heart flipped. Her jaw dropped. “It’s not possible—it felt like three, maybe four weeks.” Her eyes widened. “What about Keitus? Have you guys found the other talismans yet?”
Austin shook his head. “Not without your help, no. And Keitus . . . we’re all confused about him. He’s still researching bodies. Jacob found out which ones those were, and we’ve been sending people to protect their graves . . . but the old man hasn’t made a play for them yet, and he hasn’t gone for the talismans. It’s like he’s being extra cautious before doing anything.”
“Well, Jacob has caused a lot of problems for him in the past. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s doing everything he can to cover his tracks and build strength before attempting anything big again.” She glanced at Austin. “Has he had any visitors?”
Austin shook his head. “No, he’s a loner, pretty much. Jacob says he was that way before dying too.”
“It just doesn’t make sense,” Nicole said. “Why is he waiting? Why isn’t he moving, acting? Or . . . is it possible that he’s having others do it all for him?”
“Of course it is. But from what Jacob has seen, he’s currently choosing not to act.”
“Let’s just hope things aren’t totally messed up now.” She looked at Austin earnestly. “We need to go fast, before Keitus changes direction.”
Obscure, Mosaic Chronicles Book Seven Page 9
