27
“Do you think that she has found that dragon yet?” Amelia paced back and forth across the veranda.
“I’m sure she is just fine,” Kai said. He, and Raven, had been summoned by Amelia for breakfast and a meeting. “It has only been two days. I’m sure they are happily exploring the world, a couple of kids finally letting loose. They are probably having the time of their lives right now.”
Raven nodded but the grim look on her face told a different story. She caught Amelia’s eye and so attempted to smile.
Kai wished he had found a way to go with her, to protect her. He felt helpless, but he knew that his feelings would not change the outcome and, in the end, would make the situation worse. Between Amelia and Raven, there was enough morose to go around.
“Anyway—” Amelia decided that they needed to change the subject. “The reason I asked you both there is a completely different matter altogether. The infirmary is at capacity. Adina and Rosalie need help.”
“There is talk among the villagers that it is a pestilence brought across the sea by one of the foreigners that have invaded our home,” Raven said.
“Whatever it is, Adina says that they are successfully able to treat all the patients, however, they need to remain quartered so that there is no chance of anything spreading, in case she is wrong with her identification of the problem. With their limited space, she has been sending patients home to rest. Those patients have all returned with the same symptoms and they brought at least one friend or family member with them when they did.”
“So, we make room for them in the Tower,” said Kai with a shrug.
“It’s not as easy as that,” said Amelia. “We have to consider the security of the Tower and all of us who live in it. Many of these people have only come to the village a few days ago. We don’t really know them so we must protect what we have.”
“I agree,” said Raven. “There are many new faces migrating here. We have trusted that everyone had pure intentions when they came but there are always bad apples in the basket.”
Kai nodded. “I agree too. We must fortify the tower, even if it happens to be against those who claim loyalty. The Daxrah will protect the wall, at all costs, as I am sure the Knights will protect the Tower. So, what are we going to do?”
“I had an idea,” Amelia smiled. “Many of the villagers in the infirmary live in the shacks along the west side of the village. We should make that the quarantine area. It is naturally sectioned off from the village by a dry moat. We just have to restrict access to it. Rosalie and Adina can set up a temporary infirmary where there will be much more room to treat their patients.”
Kai thought about the idea for a moment. He was not thrilled about the idea of sectioning off part of the village but it did seem like the best option.
“That’s where I want your help,” Amelia continued. “We will need to prepare the area and we need to plan how we are going to move the patients there. Many of them are healthy, they are just staying there so they don’t get sick again. They can help the ones that are not so healthy. We need to move as much equipment and supplies as Adina requires. This is a perfect job for the strong backs of the Daxrah.”
Amelia looked at Kai and he acknowledged her with a nod of his head.
“’Whatever we can do,” he said.
“Raven, you take Jaime and Camdyn and go down to the village. You will need to prepare the houses and set up a guarded perimeter.”
“Okay,” said Raven. “How many should we quarter off?”
“All of them,” Amelia said. “We cannot afford for such a sickness to spread. At the very least, it gives those that cannot leave, a little bit of freedom instead of being locked away in a room.”
“How are we going to guard that large of a perimeter?” Kai sat up, concerned.
“A fence,” Amelia said with a shrug.
“No.” Kai felt a rush of anger pass through him. “That would be a prison. We are not going to lock these people up. It is not just strangers in there, our people are in there too. They did not do anything wrong, they are just sick.”
“I understand that, Kai. But, we must consider that many of these people have moved onto our doorstep and now we only have two options. Push them back, or leave. We can’t leave so that only leaves us with one.”
“Your reasoning seems a little farfetched,” Kai said. “This is a good plan. But, I refuse to build a fence. The Daxrah will patrol the perimeter but that will be the extent of it. I will deal with any consequences.” He raised his voice to be sure they understood what he was telling them.
“Alright then,” Amelia said. Kai could see the annoyed look on her face but he knew that she could not defy his wishes, even if she wanted to. The Daxrah were his men, his army.
“I will go to the infirmary and begin preparations,” Kai said as he abruptly got to his feet and turned to leave the room. He turned to look Amelia in the eyes. “These are all my people. Please respect that.”
Amelia nodded, eyes on the floor.
Kai turned to Raven. “If you need my help, just let me know.”
Raven agreed and Kai walked hastily out of the room.
As he made is way down to the infirmary, Kai contemplated the idea of creating a prison on the village grounds. He shuddered at the idea, no matter what the reason. He had seen what that environment can do to people and he knew that his men would not contain it.
He entered the ground floor common area and was greeted with the smell of dozens of people cooped up in a small area. He could smell the infirmary from two floors up.
Kai entered the infirmary and immediately saw Rosalie and Adina, along with their helpers, busily attending to the worst of the those that were there. Rosalie saw him enter and shot him a quick smile before she resumed setting a fellow’s broken leg.
“He fell off his horse,” a small boy said, seeing that Kai was watching the scene with interest.
Kai looked down at the boy and saw that his arm was in a sling. “What happened to you?”
“My ma fell on me and broke my arm.”
“She fell on you?” Kai asked.
“Yeah. I was helping her carry water buckets. Suddenly she fainted and fell. I was standing beside her. I got knocked over a chair and my arm got caught on the seat. A bucket landed on my arm and broke it. They brought me here and the nice ladies said they could fix it for me.”
“Where is your mother?”
“She’s here. Hasn’t woke up yet.”
“Oh. And, your father?”
“I dunno. That’s why we came here. Pa left. Ma says she don’t know where. She says we came here to start a new life.”
“I see. Well, I hope your mother gets better,” Kai said as he mussed the boy’s hair.
Kai saw that Rosalie had finished with the patient and was cleaning her hands in a large basin of fresh water. He went over to her and was greeted with a peck on the cheek.
“This is just crazy,” he said.
“It has been non-stop.” Rosalie groaned. “Thankfully Adina is here. I would be so overwhelmed without her.”
“There is something I need to talk to you both about,” Kai said as he waved at Adina, who was also just finishing with a patient. The old healer joined Kai and Rosalie.
Kai explained Amelia’s plan, leaving out the part about Amelia wanting to build a fence around. Both Adina and Rosalie nodded in agreement.
“That is a wonderful idea,” said Rosalie.
“We have much work to do if we are going to move all these patients,” said Adina.
“What will you need to make the move?” Kai asked.
Adina shrugged and looked around. “We need all of it. I will need space where I can mix salves and potions. Also, to store the ingredients. One house should be designated for those in critical care, one for those who need surgery, and one for those that need constant attention. The patients that need little or no attention can occupy the rest of the houses.”
Kai was impr
essed by the old woman’s quick mind. “I will see to that. What can I do to start with?”
“You can start by explaining this plan to all these people. Many of them occupy the homes you are planning on taking.”
Kai turned to face the room. He put up his arms and shouted, “Excuse me. Everyone. Pay attention to me.” He began to wave his arms around.
The room fell quiet and all eyes were on him. He stepped up onto a small stool and explained to the patients what the plan was. Many shouted out their agreement of the plan but Kai could hear disgruntled muttering.
“If any here wishes to bring up any grievances, please feel free to approach me,” he said finally and dropped off the stool. He looked around but no one came to him.
“Excellent speech.” The old woman laughed.
“How long do you think until they are ready for us to move?” asked Rosalie.
Kai considered the question. “Probably at least a day. They will have to make sure that no one had remained behind. We wouldn’t want any more people getting contaminated.”
“We need a water delivery system,” Adina said. “Unless you want your men busy carrying buckets of fresh water all day.”
“Ah, yes,” Kai said. “I will have the Daxrah engineers rig one up right away. I’m sure we have enough piping left from when we installed the extra cistern, back when we moved the barracks.”
“That was a nightmare project,” Rosalie said, clearly remembering the horrible incident.
“We don’t want a repeat of that,” said Adina. “Do the best you can, please.”
“I am going to check with Raven and see that they are not having any problems,” said Kai. “I will send word when we are ready to start the move.”
Rosalie and Adina agreed. Kai was about to leave when there was a great commotion. There were shouts coming from the hallway. Kai recognized Jaime’s voice. He immediately went to search out his friend but Jaime was already bursting into the room, carrying Raven over his shoulder.
Kai looked at his friend, desperately looking for answers but Jaime was too busy to give him any. Rosalie quickly cleared a table and Jaime laid the big woman down as carefully as he possibly could.
“What happened?” Adina rushed over and began quickly examining Raven.
“We were going door to door, talking to everyone about the plan. She and I had just knocked on the door of a shack when suddenly she collapsed. She had mentioned not feeling well but she didn’t seem out of the ordinary until then.”
“Was there anyone else around?” Kai asked.
“There were people around but no one very close. I mean, we had a dozen men with us, knocking on doors.”
“Curious,” Adina said.
“What?” asked Kai and Jaime simultaneously.
“This,” Adina said as she held up a small needle-shaped object.
“What is that?” asked Jaime
Kai’s brow furrowed. “My guess is a poison dart.”
28
“Sisera. Help me,” Isabella screamed out through the mindlink, as no part of her body wanted to respond to her brain.
“I’m here,” Sisera said desperately.
“What’s happening?” Isabella cried.
“A dragon. She is attacking us. I am fighting her right now, trying to lead her away from you. You are on the ground.”
“Why can’t I move? Or see?”
“You have been frozen in ice. The dragon is a tan-blue, called Venia. She uses frost magic. I knew her on the Isle. She is a bit, well, I would say crazy, but that is being nice.”
“Why is she attacking us?” Isabella asked desperately as if knowing the answer would somehow change the status of the situation.
“She won’t answer me. When she is not trying to freeze me, she is trying to bite off chunks.”
Isabella could feel Sisera’s stress, but it only amplified her own. She felt as if she had lost her body that her mind was just floating in oblivion. “I wonder if this is what death is like?” The thought came to her more than once.
She thought about the techniques that Oshri taught her, to aid in developing her concentration when performing magic. She tried to empty her mind and breathe. Was she breathing? She could not feel herself breathing but she was not dead. Was she dead?
“No. You’re not dead,” Sisera said. “It is magic ice, obviously. It was spit out of a dragon’s mouth. Now, I will be dead if you don’t stop distracting me.”
“Sorry,” Isabella said.
She relaxed her mind once again and tried to empty it of all thought and emotion. She needed to find the quiet spot. She imagined a hole in space, expanding rapidly, filling her mind with nothingness. There was soon nothing but darkness.
Then there was a fire. A purple flame grew from the nothingness. It expanded into a circle of flame which grew outwards into the infinity of the nothingness.
A breeze touched her face.
“A breeze?” she thought. She could feel a breeze.
Then she blinked. And again. There was dirt. All she could see was dirt. It was right in front of her face. She was face down. Could she move? Yes. An arm, then a hand.
Isabella struggled to pull her arm up next to her chest and push herself over. She lay on her back, slowly feeling the freedom of movement pass over her body. She could feel herself breathing.
“There must be something wrong with my eyes, though,” she thought. Everything had a purple tint to it.
“You are surrounded by purple flame,” said Sisera using the mindlink.
“I am what?” Isabella began to panic and look around but she did not see any fire anywhere around her.
“Yeah. You are surrounded by an orb of purple flame.”
“Where are you?”
“Look up.”
Isabella moved to the edge of the overhang and peeked up at the sky.
Above her, there was an incredible sight. Two dragons doing battle in the sky was an image only provoked by children’s stories. The imagination could not compare to reality at all.
Isabella watched as Sisera and the tan-blue dragon looped and dived, neither gaining any advantage. Sisera would spit a column of fire which her opponent would counter with a burst of white frost. The flame fizzled on contact with the magical ice. They would come together and grapple, each trying to gain a grip on the other dragon’s neck. They would fall until they had to break apart so they would not hit the ground. Then they would start the cycle over again. Isabella watched them perform this routine three times, mesmerized by the display.
“You could help, you know,” Sisera said. “I’m getting a little tired of this.”
“Sorry,” Isabella said as she snapped out of her daze.
She ran through the tunnel made by Sisera, leaping from fallen tree to fallen tree, and out into the open field of flowers. She ran through the field toward where the battle raged.
“Are you okay?” the dragon asked.
“Yes. I feel okay. Maybe a little stiff.”
“You’re still surrounded in purple flames.”
“Everything is purple but I don’t see any flames. And I feel fine.”
“Well, I suppose we will figure that out if we survive this. I’m going to draw her down to the field. When she gets close enough, blast her,” Sisera said.
The gold-purple dragon climbed up and spit a ball of dragon flame which was blocked in mid-air by a cloud of frozen mist. Immediately after spitting the fireball, Sisera dove toward the field. Her opponent was caught off guard but quickly recovered and dove in pursuit.
“I’m ready,” Isabella shouted, however unnecessary it was. She needed to get herself pumped up.
“When I say go, we will attack simultaneously. Venia won’t be able to block us both,” Sisera said.
Sisera flew across the field toward Isabella, who crouched into a battle position and created a fireball between her hands. She could see the tan-blue closing in on them rapidly.
Sisera passed overhead and suddenly pulled
her wings in, and flipped her body over. She thrust out her wings, which caught the air and drew her straight up, facing toward the approaching dragon.
“Now!” Sisera mindlinked to Isabella as she sent out a great column of flame.
When Venia breathed out a thick cloud of frozen mist to block the attack, Isabella knew that was her chance. She sent a massive fireball toward the tan-blue.
Venia saw the fireball coming but could not do anything about it. The flaming orb struck her full force between her neck and her shoulder, sending her tumbling to the ground.
Isabella immediately ran toward the fallen dragon, throwing magical fire at the beast as fast as she could. Sisera also dived toward Venia and blasted her with flame.
As soon as she slid to a stop, Venia was on her feet. The dragon blew a mist cloud toward Isabella and leaped into the air to attempt to regain some advantage.
Isabella saw the mist racing toward her and stopped. She threw a large fireball at the cloud but it fizzled on contact. The cloud maintained its speed and course. Panic took a hold of her. When the cloud was almost upon her she threw up her arms in a lame attempt to protect herself.
Suddenly, the cloud of mist disappeared.
Confused, Isabella put down her arms and looked around for an answer.
“The purple fire put it out,” Sisera said.
“It did?”
Suddenly Isabella heard a crash behind her. She spun around to find Venia and Sisera grappling in the middle of the field. Sisera gained the advantage and closed her jaws on the neck of the tan-blue.
Venia screamed. It was an incredible sound that caused Isabella to throw her hands over her ears. She had never heard a sound like that in her entire life. It was not just a sound. It was like it was a sound that triggered emotion. It felt to Isabella like the sound had crawled into her soul and was tearing it apart from the inside.
“Stop it!” Isabella screamed, falling to her knees with her hands clasped to the side of her head.
Sisera released her grip on the other dragon, but when she did, Venia scrambled out from underneath and took off running, leaping into the air to escape. Sisera was about to fly off in pursuit when Isabella collapsed, unconscious.
Sisera's Gift 2: Sacred Blood Page 19