Harvest of the Gods

by Sumida, Amy

  He yanked the wolf off Emma, one arm holding both of the werewolf's behind his back and the other encircling the wolf's neck so he couldn't bite anyone.

  “Get out of this room now, Emma!” He yelled at her. “Go and lock yourself in my bedroom!”

  “I can help,” she shouted back and retrieved a syringe from the floor. “I have the PEP shots they need!”

  “You can give them the shots after we get them restrained,” Fenrir snarled at her as other Froekn moved forward to tie up the werewolf he held. “Get out, Emma, you're human! They'll kill you!”

  I ran for them, knowing that stubborn look on Emma's face. I'd worn it often enough myself. She wasn't going to budge when she thought she could do some good right where she was but Fenrir was right, she couldn't give these wolves shots in the midst of this, she'd only get herself killed. So instead of wasting time arguing with her, I barreled into her belly, throwing the much taller woman over my shoulder and carrying us both out of the room with my momentum.

  We ended up in a pile in the hallway and she pushed me roughly off her and tried to get to her feet. I beat her to it, pulled her up, and started dragging her down the hallway. She was screaming at me, pulling at my hand where it gripped her, but even though she was bigger than I, I was much stronger and her struggles were ridiculous.

  I didn't even bother explaining things to her, I knew whatever I said would fall on deaf ears. She wanted to be beside her man and nothing I said would deter her. So I just found a room, threw her in, and locked the door behind her. I loved her man too and I knew she was too much of a distraction for him right now. Fenrir wouldn't be able to help the Froekn if he was worrying about Emma's safety.

  I ran back to the dining hall and got right to work helping the next group restrain another werewolf. Fenrir caught my eye before I got there and nodded his thanks to me with a little smile. I nodded back and started tying rope around the werewolf's wrists.

  An hour later we had a pile of tied up werewolves. We carried them each carefully to a bedroom and tied them to the beds in an effort to make them a little more comfortable. There were fourteen total and it had taken over eighty of us to restrain them all. By the time we were done, we were all panting with the effort and didn't even have the energy to set the Hall to rights.

  I turned over a chair and sat down heavily, the others following suit till we were all in a loose circle in the center of the dining hall. We stared at each other with exhaustion and shock, no one speaking until I finally broke the silence.

  “Oh shit. Emma,” I looked at Fenrir. “You better go get her. She's in the third bedroom to the right,” I pointed out the door of the hall.

  He sighed and got heavily to his feet like he was walking to the executioner. I laughed a little at his expression but then I quickly sobered and looked around at the destruction. What the hell was going on?

  A few minutes later Fenrir came back in with a stomping Emma following him. She was prattling on about administering shots but he wasn't listening, he just came back to the chair he'd vacated and sat down in front of me.

  “Why does Emma think a bunch of shots will help them?” I asked Fenrir but it was Emma who answered.

  “It's rabies,” Emma gestured wildly. “Demeter had me brainstorming ways to hurt the Froekn and all I could come up with was rabies but I told her it wouldn't have a lasting affect on werewolves, they heal too rapidly. So she hired a biologist to work with it. I had no idea he actually developed something that was successful.”

  “Are you certain that's what this is?” Trevor asked.

  “It has all the symptoms of rabies,” Emma nodded. “Headaches and fever progressing to acute pain and violence. I need to give them the PEP shots, it's the only way to treat rabies. I went and got some as soon as the wolves started exhibiting signs but I came back to this,” she waved her hands around the room. “I've never seen rabies progress so rapidly.”

  “How did they even get infected in the first place?” I looked over everyone but it was Ty who looked guilty and started talking.

  “I didn't want to worry Dad,” Ty ran a shaking hand through his dark hair. “I should have said something.”

  “This is not your fault, Son,” Fenrir patted Ty's shoulder.

  “What's not his fault?” I looked back and forth between them.

  “When we went to check on the guards we posted at Demeter's,” Ty started, “they weren't all dead when we got there. One was still alive but he had obviously killed the others. He was still tearing at their bodies and when he saw us, he attacked us. He bit Alan and Jack. We had to kill him, he was out of his mind, and I thought that Demeter must have done something to him but I didn't know what and I didn't know it was contagious. Then Alan and Jack started with the same behavior.”

  “The first two bit others before we could restrain them,” Fenrir continued for Ty. “Then it progressed to what you walked in on. We've got a full blown outbreak on our hands.”

  “Rabies spreads from bites, da?” Kirill asked.

  “Yes,” Emma answered. “It's not contagious otherwise, so as long as no one else gets bit, it'll be confined to those who are already sick. Fenrir, please, let's go give them the shots, this is progressing too fast and it's all my fault.”

  “No it's not,” I insisted, “this is Demeter's doing. You had no way of knowing what she was capable of.”

  “It'll be okay,” Fenrir stood and helped her to her feet. “Let's go give them the medicine.”

  Several of the other wolves went along with the two of them but Ty, Trevor, Kirill, and I stayed behind with the rest.

  “Whatever this is, it's mutated,” I said after I was sure Fenrir and Emma were out of earshot. “I doubt those shots are going to have a positive effect.”

  “So what do we do?” Ty looked like he was about to have a breakdown.

  “I don't know,” I sighed and looked down the hallway, where the sound of growls and howling were getting louder.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  “I don't know what else to do,” Emma had finished giving all the rabid wolves the shots but none had shown any signs of improvement.

  We were still sitting in the dining hall but we'd put it back to some semblance of order. The overturned furniture had been righted and all the broken pieces were piled in a corner awaiting disposal. There was even a collection of drinks in the center of our table, provided by some thoughtful wolf, but howling and growling had become the constant backdrop to our conversation.

  “How is this possible?” Fenrir looked at me, “how can there be a virus that can hurt us?”

  “I don't know,” I tried to work it out. “I don't know a lot about viruses, but I do know they can mutate and become stronger. It's possible that this one has been manipulated into a mutation that's so active it can grow faster than the rate at which the Froekn heal.”

  “I agree with Vervain,” Emma nodded to me, she finally seemed to be over my manhandling of her.

  “Can we stop this?” I asked her.

  “I don't know,” Emma shook her head. “In humans, once the disease has progressed to the point of encephalitis and the patient exhibits violent behavior, it's past treatment and is fatal in a matter of days. But this,” she waved her hand back toward the doorway. “This has progressed much faster than rabies in a human would and so I really don't know how much time we have. They're immortal so I would think there would be a chance that they could recover if we could only find an antidote but the question is, how much time do we have to find that antidote?”

  “Where the hell do we even get an antidote?” Fenrir growled.

  “From whomever made the virus,” Emma shrugged. “We need a sample of the mutated virus to create the antidote from and even then, we'd have to find a lab that was able to make it for us and fast.”

  “Do you have any contacts that could help us?” Trevor asked her. “Anyone who could make this antidote?”

  “I could probably find someone,” she frowned. “But r
eally, we have nothing without the strain that was administered. We need that virus.”

  “Can't we just swab a cheek or something?” I tried to think of everything I knew about viruses. “Aren't vaccines created by using a sample of someone already infected?”

  “I don't know,” she frowned. “This just isn't my area of expertise, but I do know it's too late for vaccines, we need a cure.”

  “What if we just take a sample to a hospital?” I was reaching for straws. “I could ask Blue to come with me and put his mind whammo on some lab tech.”

  “I don't think a hospital would have the proper equipment to process a sample down to the components of the virus. Once a virus enters-”

  Whatever she was going to say next was cut off by Ty falling to the floor, where he began to convulse.

  Chapter Forty

  “No,” Fenrir had carried Ty into a spare room and laid him on the bed. “TryggulfR, come on, Son, don't do this.” Ty had started growling, staring at Fenrir like he was his worst enemy. Fenrir had him by the shoulders, pinning him down. “It's me, your father.”

  “Go get something to tie him down with,” I said to Trevor and he ran off.

  I ran over to the bed with Kirill to help hold Ty down while Emma prepared some kind of shot. She lifted his shirt and injected him in the stomach. Ty paused briefly to look at her but other than that, there was no change. She went to prepare another needle but I stopped her.

  “Don't, that might be making it worse,” I shared a look with her and she finally nodded, putting the needle away.

  “Not TryggulfR,” Fenrir was moaning, staring into his son's face. “Not you, my boy. My sweet boy.”

  Trevor came through the door with a length of chain and some padlocks. He went to work on chaining Ty's hands down by running the chain beneath the bed to connect them. He did the same to Ty's feet and then we all stepped back.

  Ty was raging, half shifted, and snapping at the air. We started to back out but Fenrir wouldn't move. I looked over at Emma and she nodded. She went over and took Fenrir's hand. He looked down at her sharply, like she'd startled him.

  “Come on, honey,” she pulled at him, “you're not going to help him here and you definitely won't help him if you get bit.”

  “Alright,” Fenrir said softly and followed us out. His shoulders were slumped, his eyes dull, and he dragged his feet along the floor in a slow scrape. I'd never seen him so beaten, the fight completely gone from him.

  We shut the door and locked it.

  “Emma,” I pulled her attention away from Fenrir. “Do you know the name of the biologist Demeter employed?”

  “No,” she shrugged, “all I know is that he's from Chicago.”

  “Chicago?” I lifted my brows. “Okay, that's good, that's great. It gives me a place to start. He would have needed a sample of rabies to start the process right?”

  “Yes, of course,” she frowned, “but I don't see-”

  “Where would he acquire that?” I cut her off.

  “Most likely the CDC,” she shrugged, “I'm not sure, I've never done that kind of research. I'm usually in the field, observing behavior.”

  “Okay, fine,” I nodded crisply and went to hug Fenrir. He just stood unresponsive in my arms. “I'm going to find this man and get the antidote.” Fenrir stared blankly at me. “Dad!”

  “Yes?” He was trembling, his eyes unfocused.

  “I will find him and we will cure Ty,” I shook his arm. “I promise you.”

  “Little Frami,” he swallowed hard. “I don't know what to do. Tell me who to kill and I'll do it, but this... I can't fight this.”

  “I know what to do,” I pulled his face down to mine. “I'm going to fix this. You need to snap out of it and hold things together here. You're the Valdyr, remember?”

  “Okay,” he blinked and seemed to pull himself together. “You do whatever you have to do to bring us a cure and if you need me, you call me and I'll hear you. I'll be listening.”

  “I will,” I turned to Trevor. “Stay with him, Honey-Eyes, I'll be back as soon as I get the cure.”

  “Vervain,” Trevor shook his head.

  “Don't worry.”

  “Okay,” he nodded, knowing he needed to be with his father. “Take Kirill with you.”

  Chapter Forty-One

  “Vat vill ve do, Tima?” Kirill asked as soon as we exited the Aether ans stepped back into Pride Palace.

  “We're going into the Inter Realm,” I smiled at his surprised expression.

  “Of course,” he huffed a laugh. “Maybe ve can save them.”

  “We are going to save them,” I swore. “Now where's Roarke? Roarke!” I started roaming through the hallways shouting the cat-sidhe's name. “Roarke! Roarke!”

  “What's with all the caterwauling?” Roarke came out of a bedroom rubbing at his eyes.

  “Do you deliberately try to find words to use that have cat in them?” I blinked at him.

  “Wouldn't you if you were cat-sidhe?” He grinned a Cheshire cat grin.

  “Yeah, alright,” I laughed, wondering for the first time if I'd got my sense of humor from my fey heritage. “I need you to please go into Faerie and bring me Meilyr along with any of the other imps who are willing to come and help me again.”

  “Alright,” he frowned. “What is it, Queen Vervain? What's happened?”

  “Demeter has infected the Froekn with a disease called rabies, a mutant strain that I believe she had engineered specifically for them. I need to go into the Internet and find the biologist who created the strain and the imps could really help. Please hurry.”

  “Yes, my Queen,” he ran toward the tracing wall and I started for the library to wait. It wasn't till I was almost there that I realized he'd called me his Queen, a very important distinction among the fey. It was like that moment when you're in bed with a guy and he whispers that he loves you before he passes out. I wasn't really able to comprehend the meaning of it at first. Then it dawned on me, Roarke had just sworn fealty to me, basically disavowing the House of Earth to align himself with Fire.

  I couldn't think about the consequences those two words were going to have. I'd have to leave that for when I returned to Faerie. Instead, I focused on the speed at which Roarke had retrieved Meilyr, Bearach, and Scotaidh. The four of them came barreling into the library less than five minutes after he'd left.

  “Thank you, Roarke,” I hugged him quickly, “and thank you all for coming to help.”

  “My Queen,” Meilyr bowed, going from one foot high to six inches. “We are ever at your service. How can we help you?”

  I filled them all in on what we needed to find and the scant information I already had, then I ran and got my goggles at Meilyr's suggestion. He was right, they could come in handy at finding things quickly. I strapped them on and we stepped into the Inter Realm.

  The ultra brightness of the realm flared into existence around me and the imps popped into view as big as wookies and looking a little like a red version of Chewbacca. We ran the length of the tube of Inter Realm that snaked through Pride Palace and then out into the Aether. I kept my eyes fixed firmly ahead as we traversed it, I couldn't handle the distractions of the Aether right then.

  Then we were out into the Inter Realm proper, which was laid over the Human Realm and basically looked like a brighter version of the place sans people and with the addition of millions of threads of information. The buildings in the Inter Realm were semi-transparent, you could see through them if you concentrated on it, and you could walk through them without an issue yet they would become solid beneath your feet were you to try to explore them. It was strange but when you considered that everything in the Inter Realm was transmuted into information, even myself, it made more sense. Information could be manipulated.

  We stopped in the center of an empty intersection and stared at the multicolored threads that made up the worldwide web. With the goggles on I could actually see what types of information were being sent through those threads
. I could focus in on a thread at any distance and read its contents like a book. One of them would take us to the information we needed, we just had to find the right one.

  I used the goggles to search and discard various threads until I finally gave up and headed over to the towering glow of a server. There I'd be able to search more effectively and I don't know why I hadn't thought to start there. Once at a server, searching became similar to using Google, you just asked the Internet for what you needed and it would bring it to your fingertips but when you were inside the Inter Realm, you didn't have to worry about things like security and passwords. It was all yours for the taking.

  The imps spread out and each of us went to different servers to try to find the information as fast as possible. It was Scotaidh who finally shouted in excitement.

  “Here,” he waved his red, furry paws, “I've found the thread we need.”

  We all ran over, straight through buzzing lines of information and incorporeal buildings, and looked over the thread Scotaidh was pointing at. It was a CDC email, confirming the request of a Dr. Malcolm Armstrong for a vial of Rabies Virus, to be sent to his lab in Chicago.

  “Malcolm Armstrong” a memory tugged at me. Your order is ready, M.A. “Of course! The note we found at Demeter's. This is the guy, it has to be, and that order must have been the virus.”

  “This is the CDC database,” Scotaidh waved his arms toward a glowing gold panel. “The only rabbit virus sent to Chicago within the last six months has been to this guy.”

  “Rabies virus,” Meilyr slapped Scotaidh's shoulder and giggled. “Not rabbit.”

  “Excellent work,” I smiled at Scotaidh, “rabbit or not. Let's go.” Then I jumped on the thread.

  The email was like striking gold. We wouldn't even have to search any further, the thread would take us directly to the bad Dr.'s computer. A non-stop flight to our destination. I couldn't believe our luck.