“Why is it any concern of yours?”
“If they lay hands on him…” Asher made a cutting motion across his throat.
“They aren’t stupid.” For the most part. “They won’t hurt him.”
He clicked his tongue. “Just remember you owe me a favor.”
“How about we call us even?” I clicked right back. “You did, after all, stab me.”
“That again?” He tossed the core into a corner. “You shouldn’t hold on to grudges so tightly.”
“You stabbed me,” I said again.
Behind me, motion caught the corner of my eye, leaving me cast in a long shadow.
“Ah. There he is.” Asher stared beyond me, at the doorway. “Did you find it?”
Malik scowled while spreading his empty hands where we could both see them.
“My mistake,” Asher said, apology clear in his tone. “Anyway. I should be getting in there.” He angled so that Malik couldn’t see his face and mouthed, You owe me.
Though I was curious what favor he wanted of me, I shook my head. “Enjoy your shift.”
He curled his lip, which Malik noticed. Grasping Asher by the collar, my brother hauled him to the rear of the laboratory and, after the lock was triggered, into the bastille. Braden stumbled out into the room with me before Fynn hauled the door shut. I asked Braden, “Are you on your way to bed?”
His head wobbled loose atop his neck. His trudging steps never slowed.
Red-eyed and puffy-lipped, he was drunk from lack of sleep.
“Can I ask you a question?” At his groan, I added, “It won’t take but a minute, I promise.”
“Ask,” he half-grunted.
“Who is Edan?”
“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Really?” I studied him. “He was here earlier and I—”
Braden’s head snapped up. “Here? In the laboratory?”
Interesting. “He brought Henri something to eat.”
“Fancies himself a first-rate cook, he does. As if anyone with two eyes in his head would believe a male built like that earned his muscle in a kitchen. He’s good with a knife. Too good. And that wife of his… There’s something wrong with those two. Bad wrong. Steer clear of them, hear me?” His speech left him slouched forward, as if his warning was what had kept him upright.
“I plan to.” The wife I hadn’t seen and the husband I hoped never to see again. “Sleep well.”
Left on my own, I returned to situating the cheesecloth in preparation of straining the oil again. I relied on what I had read in Mana’s letters to guide me. Before long, I had four jars filled with the distilled oil. To look at the bluish fluid, you wouldn’t think it held the potential to rid the south of the plague and prevent it from taking root in the north. Fingers crossed, I prayed the cure was as Mana documented. The majority of her patients had recovered and resumed their lives. They had all been female, a fact that made my chest tighten, but females succumbed to the infection easier than males. Rubbing my temples, I thought back on every detail Kaidi had told me. Once she had mentioned males weren’t impervious to the sickness. What had she said…? Blast it all. I couldn’t remember.
Our meeting had been too brief, her information too vast and my ability to retain it all too poor.
After securing the dayflower oil in one of the cleaner cabinets, I went in search of sleep.
Left on my own, I feared the lure of seeing Ghedi would tempt me into his room when that was the last place I ought to be. Heaving a sigh, I returned to my room and crawled in bed. My cast was a familiar hindrance now. With the use of my shoulder returned to me, the rest was more manageable.
I curled on my side until sleep came for me. Weary as I was, I didn’t have to wait long.
The sensation of being watched jarred me awake. I jolted upright in bed then clutched my chest while my heart tried to punch a hole through my ribs. Henri rose and offered me a small tray of fruit.
I hoped he didn’t notice my hand shook when I accepted it. “You’re looking well.”
“Not as well as you.” He straightened my shirt. “I took the liberty of inspecting your shoulder while you were sleeping. The wound has healed, and I plan on removing the stitches in the next day or so, barring complications. Your ankle is also recovering well. I’m pleased with your progress.”
To be polite, I nibbled on a sliver of ripe melon. “Does that mean I can have crutches?”
He poured me a glass of tea, frowning at the pitcher.
“Isn’t that the same one?” It looked familiar. “The one from your lab?”
“It is.” He transferred its contents to a stoneware pitcher and set the mosaic one aside.
“How did it get in here?”
“I’m not sure.” He traced a crest inset into its handle. “It was my mother’s. If you happen to see who’s taken a shine to it, do me a favor and ask them not to remove it from the laboratory again.”
“I’ll do that.”
After setting the pitcher by the door, he reclaimed his seat. “Now. You were saying?”
I waited until he was settled before restating my request. “Are crutches a possibility?”
“You don’t like the chair?” He propped an ankle over his knee.
“I like it. I’m grateful for it,” I hedged. “I’m just tired of sitting all the time.”
“How do you know I have crutches?” He plucked tiny green leaves from the hem of his pants.
“You don’t?” I found it difficult to believe there was anything he didn’t own. “If you don’t have a set handy, you could make them.”
“I can’t talk you out of this, can I?” He rubbed the crease in his forehead. “I would prefer if you waited at least another week. Two would be best, but I can tell from your scowl that won’t happen.”
Not if I could help it. “I’m getting a crick in my neck from looking up to everyone.”
He appeared to give that some thought. “Does this have anything to do with Edan’s visit?”
“I will admit I wasn’t keen on being trapped in a chair with my head at his chest level.”
“Crutches put you at a greater risk of reinjuring your ankle.”
“I promise I won’t go on a tear through the tunnels. I won’t try to carry anything. I won’t overdo my shoulder. If you still require help in the laboratory, I will walk carefully from here to there, sit on the stool of your choice and do whatever task you set before me. At the end of the day, I will walk just as cautiously all the way back to my bedroom, where I will climb into bed with the utmost care.”
“I’ll have to check the storerooms,” he finally said. “It may take me until the afternoon.”
I grinned as I polished off the last of my breakfast. “I can wait.”
“I’m on my way to examine Ghedi. Would you like me to pass anything on to your brothers?”
“Tell them…” I love them. I miss them. I fear for them. “…I will see them soon.”
He collected my plate and cup. “I will bring you an update when I’m through.”
“Thank you.” I swirled my tea. “Your efforts are greatly appreciated.”
While I sat sulking, Henri pinched my chin and turned me to face him. “Stop worrying.”
I told him the simple truth. “I can’t.”
His thumb slid over my bottom lip. “Try.”
I hooked a finger in his collar and pulled him down to me. “I have. It didn’t help.”
He lowered his head, moving his warm lips over mine. “What are your plans for the morning?”
“You assume I have some.”
“If I return to find you still in bed,” he said on a laugh, “I will eat my shirt.”
Tempting as it was to tease him, I confessed, “I won’t be here when you get back.”
“So I assumed.” He waited. I smiled. “What are you up to?”
I feigned shock. “Nothing.”
“Be careful doing nothing.” He released my chin. “Can you promi
se me that?”
“If not careful, I am always cautious.” There. That sounded promissory.
“Those are not the same things.”
“I know.”
“Zuri…”
“I will be in the same condition when you return as when you left me.” Most likely.
“See that you are.” With that, he collected my dishes, the pitcher, and ducked out of my room.
After giving him a generous head start, I made quick use of the basin to wash before I slipped on a fresh gown and eased into my chair, tucking my borrowed dagger and a coil of rope I had woven beside me. I would make more later to complete my net. Gods knew I had enough time on my hands.
While I waited for Henri to finish his rounds, I decided to explore the stables. If Edan was right and guards patrolled the area outside the exit hatch, I saw no harm in exploring the lookout Asher had mentioned and gauging the riser threat for myself. If nothing else, the exercise would do me good.
The path to the stables was familiar now, as was the steep incline that had stopped my previous attempt at exploration. Before tempting fate and Henri’s temper, I scanned the area above the exit.
Sure enough, a ladder was mounted to one side of the hatch, leading up to a narrow bridge suspended from the ceiling. The opening must either be covered or too narrow to allow light to pass through. I saw no peepholes on the world outside, but the certainty there was one set me to my task.
I studied the walls to either side of me. Both were smooth except for a matched pair of those odd lights. Since the tunnel was made of tile and silk, I wondered what anchored the fixtures. If tiles held them, I would have to rethink my plan. But if the fixtures had been woven into the silk framework…
I wheeled myself beneath one and grasped it, hauling myself to my feet. I hung from it as best I could, letting it hold my weight, which it did without protest. Silk it was then. Good. I could use that.
Shifting in my seat, I withdrew my rope and tied my best knot around the neck of one lamp, and then the other. I yanked with all my strength and neither budged. Excellent. I tied the rope’s end onto an armrest and crept backward toward the ramp’s edge, testing my slack. It worked like a charm, so I tossed the rope onto the ramp and turned so I faced the incline head-on. Gripping both wheels tight in each hand, I used my good foot as a brace while I rolled down the incline with starts and stops.
By the time I reached the bottom, my hands ached. I flexed my fingers until the stiffness eased, until I could untie my chair. When the knot gave, I placed the coil of rope at the base of the incline.
On reflex, I reached beside me and let the cold comfort of my borrowed dagger steel my nerves.
Aside from the shuffling and grumbling sounds of the ursus in their stalls, all was quiet.
The vastness of the place still impressed me, but it lacked the whimsy of Henri’s laboratory, where each corner held a new discovery waiting to be made.
After I wandered down the main aisle and glimpsed the seemingly endless rows of stalls, my appreciation for the task Asher and Braden did left me wishing I could help them with their chores. It was unfair for them to deal with all this plus the extra work of helping keep an eye on our ward. But it was just as unfair for Ghedi to be ill, or for Kaleb and Tau to be confined to his room for my protection hour after hour without end.
When at last I arrived at the foot of the ramp leading up to the hatch, I reclined in my chair while studying the puzzle of how to reach the lookout. I had the upper-body strength to haul myself up the rungs. I could hop into position using the railing to keep weight off my ankle while I surveyed the area. The problem was the short section of ramp between me and the base of the ladder. What I needed was more rope. A grappling hook wouldn’t hurt, either. Somehow I would have to make do without either.
The longer I sat there considering alternatives, the colder I became until gooseflesh rippled over my skin.
Lush as these appointments were, even by Araneaean standards, I frowned at the draft.
If this hatch was as secure as Asher claimed, this place should be as warm as the rest of the nest.
Turning from the ramp, I began a slow examination of the stalls facing the exit. Several stood empty, with fresh wood shavings piled high in their centers. I was partway down the second row when I heard a thumping sound coming from a few rows away. I glanced toward the hatch, but the sound came ahead of me, not from behind me.
Picking up speed, I turned the corner and rolled into the main aisle. Heart in my throat, I followed the sound to the very last row. Here it was colder. I had to clench my jaw to keep my teeth from chattering. Though my fingers were growing numb, I set my dagger on my lap and crept nearer the stall where the noise originated. There was blood on the latch, and the door was unlocked. I cracked it open as prickles swept up the base of my neck.
A mound of fur lay in a pool of congealed blood. Bones protruded from the beast’s chest, each cleaned of meat. Its spine faced me, and its sides were hollowed. Bits of its organs matted its fur.
I glanced to my left, and then to my right. Several more stalls bore red handprints.
The animals were unnaturally quiet on this row.
I shut the stall door, caved to the need to feel the knife’s hilt in my hand then balanced it on my thighs. Both hands were required for my escape, and I wasn’t sticking around to find out how that ursus died. The obvious answer was a riser had snuck in, but how and when I couldn’t guess.
What I needed was to get back to the ramp, back to Henri. Someone who knew the stables should secure it. Scenarios bounced through my head, and each ended with blame pinned on Edan. He had left hours ago, and the carcass was several hours old. It was a too great a coincidence.
If he had lured a riser into the nest, I had two immediate concerns—the riser and Edan.
Then there was his wife to consider. Had Marne gone to the city or had she been here waiting?
“I should have stayed in bed,” I muttered.
Stalls scrolled past as I pushed harder and faster. Soon I was at the base of the ramp, straining to pick up the rope without falling out of my chair. When I snagged it at last, I took a breather, spinning so that I kept my back flush against the wall. Paranoia, my faithful friend, had just saved my life.
Ahead of me, a riser lumbered down the main aisle, jaw slack and face bloody, headed right for me. Its cloudy eyes ignored the ramp and settled on me. Its mottled lips pulled back to flash yellow teeth stained crimson. Its tattered clothing clung to its emaciated frame, slick with blood.
Its gut full of ursus must have slowed it some. I had ample time to dart down the nearest row in an attempt to lose it long enough to decide on my next course of action. It wasn’t moving fast, but it was quicker than I would be hauling myself hand over hand up the steep ramp back into the tunnel.
Whether it was the stench of decay or the renewed smell of the blood of their own, the animals began roaring and throwing their bulk against the walls as the riser passed their stalls. The chaos was sweet music to my ears. If they made enough noise, they might summon help.
Careful to keep ahead of the staggering riser, I eked past the corner and began easing down the next row. Halfway to the center, I paused to listen.
The stables were in an uproar. It was impossible to pinpoint the riser’s location now.
Opposite me, a stall door exploded outward. I covered my head as splinters pelted my arms.
An ursus walked out on its hind legs, roaring and swiping the air. I kept one arm up while I grasped my dagger. When its foul breath heated my face, I forced my eyes to meet its black ones.
“Farrow.” Relief spun giddy through my chest.
She snorted at me, stomping the ground and mock charging me. I don’t think she was as happy to see me as I was to see her.
Down the line, other doors cracked and burst as more ursus poured into the aisle. This ursus might have just saved my life. I tamped down the adrenaline choking all sense of reason and held a palm o
ut for Farrow to sniff. The other ursus scattered, leaving her and me alone on the row. So much for distraction. The riser, wherever it had gone, would still peg me as the easiest pickings if I was sitting here when it remembered me. Forcing Farrow to aid me might cost me a hand, but it was that or my life. I made the only choice I had, grasping for her ruff while I dodged the snap of her sharp teeth and her bellowed roars.
“Easy girl. It’s me. Zuri.” I snatched my hand from the danger zone while she growled. “It’s all right. Come on. Get closer. That’s a good girl.” I reached for her ruff again. This time I snagged what passed for a simple leather halter covering her great head. Though she snarled at me, she allowed me to pull her alongside my chair. “This isn’t going to be fun for either of us, girl. Here we go.”
Grinding my teeth against the pain, I tucked the dagger under my arm and swung my leg free of the brace. When I stood, it hurt. Pain shot down my leg, stinging in my ankle until tears formed in my eyes. I took a step. Farrow shied from the cast, which meant another step, until I was close enough to fist her fur. She was so tall, grasping for her meant raising my arm. The dagger clattered to the floor as I tugged myself onto her back. Her steady rumbling cursed me for pulling out fistfuls of her hair, but by the gods, I had never been more grateful for an animal’s kindness. Digging my heels into her sides, I gave up on achieving balance. I had never been an accomplished bareback rider, but fear lent me skill.
Without reins to guide her, I was forced to go along for the ride. She cantered after the ursus fleeing their stalls, breaking into a full run as we hit the main aisle. Several ursus had climbed the ramp to claw and rage against the closed door. Farrow dismissed that idea with a snort when she saw they were wasting effort. While she hemmed and hawed, I searched frantically for the riser.
Araneae Nation: The Complete Collection Page 104