Taste of Darkness

“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.