“I have to wake him up so he can drink,” she stated.
“You can’t,” Sam almost shouted. “The pain will be unbearable.”
Ellen looked at her sympathetically. “It will dull the pain and make sure he stays asleep until we reach Camal. I honestly believe it is the best thing for him right now.”
Sam reluctantly agreed and Ellen magically woke Dean from his slumber. He immediately screamed and instinctively clutched at his leg. “Pour it down his throat,” Ellen ordered and Sam obeyed, wincing as he choked. There was still some in the cup when he lost consciousness once more.
“Good. Now we need to get him in the back of the wagon and somehow stop him from moving around too much.”
“Put him in my coffin,” Hawk said graciously. “We will be there before sunrise.”
Once the patient was safely stowed in the wagon, with Sam sitting beside the coffin, Ellen turned her attention to Cirren. The scratches were not deep and the bleeding had already stopped, but they needed to be cleaned. Using the remains of the potion that Dean did not manage to drink and a clean cloth, Ellen gently rubbed Cirren’s cheek, making him wince. She sang while she worked, her spell ensuring that there would be no scar. As soon as she had finished, the company moved off, riding at a quicker pace than previously. Tor and Brodin brought up the rear, hanging far enough back to talk without being overheard.
“Was that really one of the dead from the fortress brought back to life?” Tor asked his brother.
Brodin shook his head. “I have no idea what that thing was, but I do not see how it could be hundreds of years old. It is almost as if someone knew about the legend and was trying to mimic it.”
Tor nodded. He had been thinking along the same lines. “Maybe Nosmas has some suggestions.”
“You may be right. I will send him back to you.” Brodin requested that his horse increase its speed and he soon caught up to Nosmas and informed him that Tor wanted a word. Tor outlined his and Brodin’s concerns and asked the wizard his opinion. Unfortunately, Nosmas could not help. He had no thoughts as to what the creature could have been, other than a zombie, but he was still having a hard time believing that those mythical undead beings could really exist.
It was still dark when they reached the outskirts of the city. Stopping at the first inn they came to, Nosmas banged loudly on the door until it was opened by a disgruntled inn-keeper. Tor explained the situation and the man agreed to let them inside. Dean was carried up the stairs and placed in a bed. He was still unconscious and looked deathly pale. Ellen insisted that Cirren take the other bed in the room, despite his protests that he was fine. Sam would not leave Dean’s side, so Ellen left her sitting in an uncomfortable looking chair and headed to the main room of the inn, where everyone else was drinking coffee. It was close enough to dawn that the inn-keeper decided not to return to his bed, but not so close that Hawk had to seek out his coffin. The wagon had been stationed in the stables so he could retreat to it as soon as he needed to. The stable lads who lived in the hayloft had been roused and were brushing down and watering the horses.
Conversation was in full flow when Ellen walked in and wearily sat on the bench seat beside Tor, who passed her a steaming cup.
“Whatever it was, there is one thing we need to give some serious thought to,” Brodin said.
“What is that?”
“Was the creature made, or infected? And if it was infected, has that infection been passed on to Dean?”
Tor sighed. “That has me worried too. Has Ellen saved Dean’s life only for him to turn into a monster. Is Cirren also in danger? Is a scratch sufficient to pass on whatever was wrong with that thing?”
“I too am worried about infection, but for other reasons,” Ellen said. “A wound that deep is prone to all manner of infections and, if not kept properly clean while it heals, is liable to become gangrenous.”
“What are our options?” Tor asked her.
“Dean cannot continue and will not be able to do so for many weeks, assuming he lives.” Tor winced. He had almost forgotten how brutally honest Ellen could be. “We will have to leave him here. We might be able to find a descent healer, but I would feel better if I took care of him. I think the best thing for you to do is continue without me and Dean.”
“And Cirren,” Brodin put in.
“I also must stay behind,” Hawk pointed out. “The wagon and my coffin will not make it up the mountain.”
“I too wish to stay,” Nosmas announced, taking them all by surprise. “If the zombie did pass on anything to Dean or Cirren, it might be a good idea for me to be around.”
Nobody could argue with his logic. Quartilla also agreed to remain behind.
“Patrick?” Tor asked. Usually he would not need to question whether his friend would continue to accompany him, but now that Ellen had been returned to him, Tor was no longer sure what his answer would be.
Patrick glanced towards Ellen and smiled at her. “I do not think I have much choice,” he said. “Ellen will not hold back in telling me exactly how stupid I am if I decide to abandon the quest just to remain by her side.”
“You know me better than I thought,” Ellen said, smiling shyly.
Tor turned his attention to the rest of the group. He didn’t need to ask the question. Seth and Dal both nodded; they had no reason not to stay by his side. That only left Ria. She too agreed to go into the mountains, but regretfully pointed out that they had a problem.
“Either Dean or Sam need to go with us,” she stated. “Dean going anywhere in the foreseeable future is out of the question, so it will have to be Sam. So who is going to persuade her to leave Dean’s side?”
“Frack,” Seth said quietly. “This is going to be a big problem. I cannot see Sam willingly going anywhere, at least not until she knows that Dean is going to make a complete recovery.”
“I will talk to her,” Hawk volunteered. He glanced out of the window. “Though it will have to wait until tonight. It is time I left.”
“Thank you, but this is my responsibility,” Tor told him.
“As you wish,” Hawk said before leaving the building and heading to the stables.
“So we are agreed,” Tor said, once Hawk had departed. “Some of us will remain here, treating the injured, while the rest continue on to Orion. I suggest we get some sleep. It has been a long and stressful night. I will organise more rooms. When we wake, one of us will need to go shopping.”
“Shopping?” Dal asked. “What for?”
“We need a box,” the Prince reminded them. “The guide must place them in a box,” he quoted. “The last thing we want to do is drag Sam all the way to Orion, only to be turned away because we have no box.”
“I will go,” Ria volunteered. “Just give me some money.” Tor handed over some coins, grimacing when Ria moved her fingers towards her palm, indicating he had not given her enough. He placed a few more in her hand and she withdrew it, satisfied.
It was well past midday when Ria awoke and headed into the city in search of a box. She took Quartilla with her, figuring the girl could do with an excuse for getting out from under Nosmas’s watchful eye for a while. It did not take them long to find the shopping district of the city and they spent an enjoyable few hours perusing the various shops before finally finding a small wooden trinket box in a jewellery store. It was the perfect size to accommodate the seal and the gemstone and was ornately decorated with a green dragon on the top, its tail twisting down the back and one of the sides. Ria thought it rather fitting as Sam would be the one having to carry it. It was also very reasonably priced, leaving plenty of money with which to buy some supplies for the next leg of the journey.
While the ladies were shopping, Tor was speaking with Sam and Cirren. He had convinced them to leave Ellen alone with Dean so she could tend to his leg. She was planning on magically regrowing his missing muscle, a little at a time. It was going to be a long and painful process, but she felt the result would be worth it. She did not mentio
n the fear that Dean might turn into something resembling an undead corpse, deciding it was best left to Tor to break that news.
Tor led Cirren and Sam to the room he was sharing with Nosmas and Brodin, carefully shutting the door behind them.
“How long are we going to be stuck here?” Cirren asked before Tor could begin his carefully prepared speech. “I am eager to get this quest finished. When will Dean be able to travel?”
Tor sighed. He had been hoping to gently ease Sam into the situation they had found themselves in, but Cirren’s outburst had prevented that from happening. “Sit down, both you,” he said gently, waving his hand towards one of the beds. Once they were both seated, he began pacing the room. “There are a few things we need to discuss,” he said. “Firstly, Dean will not be able to travel for a few weeks. Ellen is confident that she will be able to reconstruct his leg muscle and he will regain full use of it, however this will take time.” He glanced at Sam as he continued. “More time than we can afford to wait.”
“What exactly does that mean?” she asked cautiously.
“I mean, we need to continue on the quest without him.”
“No.” Tor had been expecting her to shout and scream at him, to tell him he was being unreasonable. Her calm and collected manner took him by surprise.
“What do you mean ‘no’?” Cirren asked. “We have no choice.”
“We cannot just abandon him when it becomes inconvenient to help him.”
“No-one is suggesting that,” Tor interjected. “A number of the group have volunteered to stay behind with him. Those of us who need to will continue on to Orion and return as quickly as possible. Ellen and Nosmas will take good care of him while we are gone.”
“Who is ‘we’?” Sam asked suspiciously.
Tor sighed. “Brodin, Patrick, Ria, Seth and Dal are all going into the mountains. We need you to come with us.”
Sam looked at him, stony faced. She understood what he was asking, and why he was asking it. He needed a guide to collect the last clue and, with Dean out of commission, she was the only option. “I won’t leave him,” she said. “Not until I know that he is going to be okay.”
“You are being unreasonable,” Cirren said, jumping to his feet. “What happens if he is not going to fully recover? What happens if he is left with a permanent injury that would prevent him getting to Orion? By the time we would know that you will be in no condition to travel. We are pushing it close as it is. Do you really expect us all to hang around until you have had your baby and it is old enough to either be left alone or for it to survive going into the mountains? Just how selfish are you?”
“That is enough,” Tor snapped. “Cirren, you are out of order. We are asking Sam to make a great sacrifice. This will not be an easy decision for her.”
“He’s right though,” Sam said softly. “I either have to leave with you now or your quest gets put on ice for a long time. I need to discuss this with Dean when he wakes up.”
“Alright,” Tor said gently and moved away from the door so she could return to Dean’s room. Cirren made to follow her, but Tor stopped him. “There is something more we need to discuss. You cannot come with us.”
“What?” Cirren asked incredulously. “Why ever not? I have to be there to touch the last clue at the same time as you and Brodin, you know that. You are condemning me to death otherwise.”
“Neither Brodin nor I will touch whatever Sam brings back from Orion until we return here and you are with us. On that, you have my word.”
Cirren did not argue. He knew his brother would not lie to him. “So why do I have to stay here?”
“You had better sit down again,” Tor instructed. He nervously ran his fingers through his hair. “Some of us have been discussing the thing that attacked Dean and scratched you.” Cirren unconsciously stroked the side of his face where his wounds had been. “We are not sure what it was, whether it was created to resemble a zombie or whether it genuinely was one. Either way, we are concerned that it may have been carrying some sort of disease, which could have been transmitted to Dean when he was bitten.”
“And?” Cirren asked when Tor paused.
“And the scratches you received may also have infected you.”
Cirren stared at his brother in disbelief, not wanting to accept the words he had just heard. “Are you telling me you do not want me to accompany you in case I turn into one of those things?” He gestured wildly out of the window, as though the cause of his plight was still outside somewhere.
“Of course not. We want you to remain with Ellen and Nosmas in case you need urgent treatment, that is all. The chances of anything happening to you are very slim, but Brodin and I would both feel a lot happier knowing you are in capable hands.”
As he always did whenever anyone told him he had to do something he didn’t want to, Cirren tried to argue against it. The two brothers ended up shouting so loudly at each other that those downstairs could hear them and Brodin had to intervene. He sided with Tor and told Cirren that he could act like a spoilt brat as much as he liked, it was not going to change what had to happen. Furious, Cirren walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
“He will calm down soon,” Brodin assured Tor. “And when he does he will realise that we are right.”
The two Princes returned to the common room just as Ria and Quartilla walked in. The box was handed over and Tor was about to place the jewel and seal inside when Patrick grabbed his arm.
“The guide must place them in the box, remember,” he said sharply. Thanking Patrick, Tor returned the two objects to his pocket. Picking up the box, he left the common room and took the stairs up to the first floor where the rooms he had rented were located. He knocked gently on one of the doors before opening it.
“I need to borrow Sam for a moment,” he said as he walked in. Dean was awake and Sam and Ellen were helping him sit up.
“You look a lot better,” Tor observed, moving to stand at the foot of the bed.
“I don’t feel it. Sam has explained the situation to me.”
“Before I forget, please put these in this box,” Tor instructed, handing the seal and gemstone to Sam, along with the trinket box. Once this was done and the box had been handed back, Tor turned his attention back to Dean. “I wish there was another way.”
Dean almost smiled. “I know. But I can see that there isn’t. Sam and I have discussed the options and made our decision.”
“And?” Tor asked, impatient to find out if the quest could continue or not.
It was Sam who spoke, somewhat reluctantly. “It looks like I will be going with you to Orion. When do we leave?”
Chapter 26
As Hawk would not be accompanying them, there was no need to travel at night, so the following morning seemed to be the logical time to depart. Sam spent the night in Dean’s bed, though she did not manage to get much sleep. Ellen had given him some medicine to ensure than he rested well, so she spent the first few hours watching him, making sure his chest continued to rise and fall. Eventually, when it was obvious that sleep would elude her, she got up and went in search of Hawk. She found him in Tor’s room, along with Brodin and Patrick. Cirren had not returned and they were discussing whether Hawk should search for him.
“You look terrible,” the vampire told her. “You should get some sleep.”
“I’ve tried and given up. I thought you might need some company for a while, but it looks like you have more important things to do. Why is Cirren missing, by the way?”
Tor flashed a warning glance at the other men. Sam did not know that Cirren had been told he had to remain behind and he did not want her to find out the reason why.
“He is sulking,” he explained. “Brodin and I have decided that it is too dangerous for him to continue on the quest with us. He is going to remain here. Whatever you are given in exchange for the gemstone and seal you will have to keep hold of until we all return.”
Sam felt there was more to the story than Tor
was letting on, but was too tired to question him.
“Maybe some fresh air will do you good,” Hawk suggested. “I will escort you round the city for a while. If Cirren is still not back by the time we return, I will go hunting.”
The night was cool, so he made Sam retrieve her cloak before they left the inn via Dean’s bedroom window. The inn-keeper had locked the front door and they did not wish to disturb him. The city was surprisingly quiet. All of the drinking houses had closed up for the night, so there were no drunken revellers in the streets. The occasional carriage passed them, driving the rich home after an evening spent partying, and they saw the odd soldier on patrol, but mostly they had the streets to themselves. Even the thieves had taken the night off, or were hiding themselves carefully in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike.
They walked in silence for a while, neither feeling the need to speak. They had become good friends during their travels and had learned to trust one another implicitly.
“Am I doing the right thing?” Sam asked, suddenly needing reassurance.
“About what?” Hawk asked.
“Dean. Is it fair to become involved with him once more while I am still in love with Brin?”
Hawk smiled. “You were still in love with Dean when you got involved with Brin were you not?”
“That’s different. I thought Dean was dead.”
“What difference does that make? Brin is just as much out of your reach as Dean was.”
Sam thought about what Hawk had said. From a certain point of view, he was right. There was one big difference however. No matter what happened, there would always be a part of her that secretly longed for a way to be found for her to reunite with Brin and she knew, deep down, that if that miracle ever happened, she would not hesitate in leaving Dean.
Hawk could see that there was more that Sam wanted to say, so remained silent. When she eventually told him what was worrying her, he shrugged, as if it was of no consequence. “You may feel like that now, but who knows how your feelings will change as time goes on. I suggest you tell Dean the truth, the complete truth, and let him decide if he is prepared to be your second choice.”
The Pendant Page 28