Ailey's Dragon

by Lisa Daniels

  “But you just got here.”

  Ailey walked past her. “That is irrelevant.”

  Zandra hurried and fell in step beside her. “But you are probably tired, and seeing what happens at the end can be discouraging to people who haven’t been here long.”

  With a heavy sigh, Ailey looked at the healer from the corner of her eye. “What are you hiding now?”

  Zandra swallowed. “I use magic to numb the pain.”

  “That is very kind of you.”

  The healer stopped in her tracks. “You aren’t mad?”

  Ailey didn’t slow down as she continued toward the ward where people waited to die. “So that is what you and Ester fought about. She was my mentor, but we had different ideas about magic’s place in medicine. If it helps, I see no problem with it, just as I have no problem using leeches and nightshade.”

  “Nightshade!” Zandra gasped.

  “Sometimes all you can do is help them pass. But in small doses it also lowers the heart rate and lets you operate. It is a fine balancing act, so I only use it with the patient’s permission. And with full disclosure of the potential risks.”

  “You aren’t like most of the medics that have come here.”

  “Of course not. The first ones wanted to prove how good they were. When it became clear that it wasn’t a cut-and-dry illness, the ones who were eager to die came. The only people willing to come here now are the serious medics who know that the solution is well outside the norm. We know that the odds are not in our favor, so we damn well plan on making our deaths count.”

  “How is that different from the wave of medics who sought death?”

  Ailey looked over at the healer. “Because we don’t want to die, but we will accept it as the price to save an entire city.”

  “That’s what brought you here?”

  “In part. Honestly though, I am pissed that someone would abscond with the woman who could have solved this. I have her notes and know what she tried. Shame she didn’t use all of the resources at her disposal. I plan to, though, if you are willing to branch out a little.”

  Zandra gave a little laugh. “If I’m being honest, if it is more likely to get me out of here, then I will try just about anything. Just don’t get your hopes up about what I can do. I’m not being modest when I say my abilities are basic.”

  “As a person with no magical abilities whatsoever, anything you do is going to be an improvement.”

  “Understood,” Zandra smiled for a moment. Then her expression became serious. “This is it. I can’t prepare you for what you are about to witness, but I can give you a-”

  “I was at the last battle of the Cremera War.”

  Zandra looked shocked. “You don’t look old enough to have been there. And that is a long way away.”

  “I was just out of training and Ester thought it would be good for me to sink or swim.”

  “I can believe it. Still, a battlefield isn’t quite the same, even the illnesses that happen afterward.”

  “It’s fine. I can handle it if they can.”

  Zandra pursed her lips and opened the door.

  Ailey splashed water on her face as the memory of the last two hours lurked in the back of her mind. Dressing for bed, she took the notes and a candle to the bedside. Having seen all of the stages, she knew that there was something much worse than just a plague destroying the city. Ester had taught her to look for the abnormal, even when the solution seemed obvious. Missing the little things was one of the things that usually killed patients.

  The problem was trying to figure out just what was going on. If the city had been cursed, there really wasn’t much that could be done apart from evacuate it. That would likely take a long time and a lot of convincing. Who could even say if there would be anyone left by the time that was accomplished?

  There were hints that it was something else, though figuring it out was well outside of what medics learned in their training. Fortunately, Ailey had access to someone with a different kind of training. It was a matter of figuring out what spells would give her the answers.

  Pouring over the notes proved to be more difficult than Ailey had

  expected. Her mind seemed to have trouble focusing on the subject at hand. Deciding that fatigue was setting in, Ailey collected the notes and set them to the side. She would need some sleep anyway because the queen had requested the new medic stop by the palace as soon as possible. Blowing out the light, Ailey lay back in the bed. She expected to find it difficult to sleep as her brain wove in and out of everything she had learned.

  Instead of going through the events following her arrival, Ailey’s mind went back to the night before. Her body relaxed as her mind replayed the conversation with Ash on the way to the inn. The way he seemed to jump around topics, losing focus as he did. A smile spread across her face as she rolled over on her side. A few minutes later, Ailey was asleep.

  Chapter 9

  The First Gamble

  A steady knocking on her door woke Ailey the next morning. Pulling a jacket over her night clothing, she opened the door and was surprised to see Zandra. The woman looked behind her, then pushed her way into the small abode. “You had better get dressed and hurry up. The palace guards have come down demanding to see the new medic.”

  Ailey followed the healer into the room. “I thought it was at my leisure.”

  Shaking her lovely locks, Zandra pulled out an outfit from Ailey’s bag. “Apparently the queen’s eldest son has suddenly fallen ill, and he completely skipped the first two stages. He isn’t quite as bad as what you saw last night, but he isn’t well. The queen is panicking since he was supposed to take the throne next. Understandable fear given the precarious position with Yuezhi these days. The next surviving child isn’t even a teenager yet. If the prince dies, then the queen, there is nothing to keep Bagrada from falling into civil war over the throne. And that is if Yuezhi doesn't’ take the opportunity to stretch their evil tentacles this way.”

  “Ah, right, that would definitely be bad for people like you.”

  “Not just me. Nearly half of the country is humanoid, and most of us aren’t willing to be subjected to the Yuezhi government.”

  “In other words, I need to hurry up. Go back and tell them I will be there directly.”

  Zandra put her hand on Ailey as the medic began to remove her night shirt. “Hold still.”

  “What are you-”

  There was a small flash of light accompanied by a faint popping noise. When Ailey looked down she was fully dressed. “That’s useful.”

  “Come on,” Zandra gave her a small smile as she grabbed her hand. As they hurried back to the main medic area, Zandra panted, “Thanks for not freaking out. I wasn’t sure what you would do, but you took it really well.”

  “It was interesting. Not to say I would want to do that every day.”

  “Still, it was really cool the way you handled it.” Zandra pushed open the double doors as she finished. “Here she is.” The healer leaned forward, placing her hands on her knees. Ailey strode into the room and walked up to the guards.

  “Apologies for interrupting you, but we don't have time to rest. This way, please.”

  “I am at your disposal.” She bowed her head.

  It took several hours, but Ailey was able to calm the queen down and bring the prince’s fever down to a normal temperature. She began to explain that the ailment that the prince had seemed to be akin to a more common ailment, not the third stage of the ailment claiming lives around the city. When Ailey tried to leave, the queen insisted that she stay.

  Ailey tilted her head forward, “I will send one of the other medics to ensure his care and convalescence. But if you want to save the life of your other suffering children and the people, I need to focus on the larger problem.”

  The queen bit back her disapproval and allowed the medic to leave the palace with a promise that she would return to check on the prince at least once a day. It seemed like a complete waste of her tim
e, but Ailey figured that setting the queen’s mind at ease was more important than the hour of sleep she would lose. History was full of examples of when monarchs needed better support. It was a small price to pay, and with any luck, the prince would be better within a couple of days.

  Ailey was pleased to see that the rumors about the queen being ill were from a similar false alarm. Now she just needed to make sure that word got out about the queen’s health. She sent one of the more senior medics to deal with the prince, then she wrote a quick note to the Association, apprising them of what had happened since her arrival, leaving out the information about one of the healers being a witch. That would have caused unnecessary conflict and brought a host of problems that she didn’t have time to manage.

  “Here’s some breakfast.” Zandra placed a small plate beside Ailey as the medic sealed the note.

  “Thanks. I’ll get to it in a bit.”

  “Are you sure? You skipped dinner last night, and it is actually lunch time.”

  Ailey waved away the question, “I’ll be fine. Now, about your unique abilities.”

  Zandra looked around them. “Not here.”

  Ailey looked up and saw a few people looking at them. “I think we can talk about your singing now, but if you aren’t feeling well, then I will ask at a later time.”

  Zandra gave her a confused look. “I don’t-”

  “I certainly wasn’t talking about your untrained healing skills.” Ailey gave her a look and Zandra finally understood.

  “I do need to work on them. Sure, if you would like for me to play some, that could be a good way to get people’s minds off of everything.”

  “Good. I’ll take the chance to eat then.”

  Zandra nodded and moved over to a corner of the room. She picked up a lute and moved to a small cluster of people. Ailey began eating, her mind going through scenario after scenario until a gentle sound reached her ears. Looking over at Zandra, Ailey’s brow furrowed. The healer had a lovely voice, and it played well with the instrument. Several of the patients were smiling and listening intently as she sang a popular song about the founding of Melzi. But there was something else just on the edge of her hearing, a familiar humming that wasn’t coming from the healer.

  Rubbing her hand across her face, Ailey realized that she was hearing things. A part of her felt incredibly guilty about the way she had sent Ash away. That same part hoped that he would be furious and would never forgive her for what had happened. It would be best for him to be angry than to come here. As bad as the rumors were about Melzi, the truth was so much worse. Rumors always focused on the people, but Ailey knew that the problem was so much worse.

  A tear rolled down her face, and she quickly wiped it away, looking around to make sure no one noticed. Standing, Ailey took her plate and washed it before heading back to the desk to work though her notes some more. Everything seemed to have calmed down a little since she had returned, but that wasn’t to say that things were ideal. Three patients had died since then, and the deaths weighed heavily on her. If she had come sooner, would they have died? The disappearance of Ester had been the final factor that had drawn her to the city, but now that she saw the suffering, Ailey felt shame that it had been a selfish reason that had eventually convinced her she was needed. That was not who she was, was it?

  Another tear rolled down her cheek as she thought she heard the sound again. Wiping the tear away, she began to look around. No one else appeared to hear it, which meant that she was being absurd. She ran her hand over her mouth and began to collect the notes she had started to take. Shortly after she stood to leave, Ailey heard the music stop.

  Zandra met the medic in her abode, and together, they reviewed the theories that Ailey had. It would take several days to test many of them, but as long as they were careful, Ailey felt certain that everything would work out.

  A week passed with little success. The prince had fully recovered, and the queen had tried to send him outside of the city, only to be reminded that such a measure would undermine everything that had been done up to that point. There was also no guarantee that sending him away would help. Nearly half of the people who had fled the city had died less than two weeks after their departure, even if they showed no signs of having the ailment before leaving. The deterioration of a person’s health was much faster outside of the city, although there were some families who wanted to bring their relatives home to die in comfort.

  Eleven days after her arrival, Ailey started to show signs of having contracted the illness.

  Every day, the medic would take notes and work on a potion for her ailment. Sometimes she would fall asleep at her table and wake to find her notes scattered everywhere. A few scraps of paper would be mixed in with her notes in a very flourished handwriting, the kind that was used several centuries before. She couldn’t remember pulling them out, but they definitely guided her in the right direction when her potions reached a dead end. Several people came and went from her place every day, and it was very likely that some of them could understand what she was doing. Ailey was hardly among the best at creating potions. Her work was more geared toward open wounds than poisons and toxins.

  Being more reclusive bought her a little more time from prying eyes, but it didn’t last forever.

  Zandra was the first to notice, but she didn’t say anything for a few days, hoping that no one else would notice. But Ailey seemed to be progressing much faster than was usual.

  She began to spend more time locked in her little place, with Zandra stopping by as often as she could. When the two were alone in Ailey’s abode, the healer finally spoke up. “Dammit, Ailey, I told you that you needed to be more careful. Even Ester wasn’t as reckless as you, that’s why she stayed healthy.”

  Ailey covered her mouth as she coughed and shook her head. Catching her breath, she looked at Zandra. “You don’t know what you are talking about.”

  “And you do?” There was a look of anger in the healer’s face that Ailey recognized. Zandra was afraid of losing the only real ally she had, and she needed someone to blame.

  “Yes.”

  “Oh, of course you do. That’s why you haven’t said or done anything to indicate that you knew.”

  Ailey’s body shook as a violent coughing fit set in. Zandra came to her side, a look of worry etched across her face. Placing her hands on Ailey’s back, she tried to calm the medic’s lungs. The cough subsided.

  Ailey wheezed as she brought out a couple of tools and notes.

  Zandra fretted at her side, trying to pick up the heavier items so that Ailey wouldn’t be putting too much stress on her body. “It’s magic, not a cure. It won’t hold if you keep pushing yourself too hard. And why are you making a mess here? What is all of this?”

  Finally able to breathe a little better, Ailey looked at Zandra. "Thank you, I feel a bit better. Look at this.”

  The healer shook her head. “You are progressing too fast. At this rate, you will be dead in a week. Why is it going so fast?” There was anguish in her voice.

  Ailey tapped the cover. “Look.”

  “You are impossible,” Zandra threw her hands in the air before leaning over and immediately drawing back. “That’s disgusting! What is that?”

  “That’s-” Ailey began to cough again, little flecks of blood covering her hand.

  Zandra immediately began to use magic. “Too fast. This is too fast. What are we supposed to do?”

  “Calm down and listen.” Ailey’s voice was weak as she caught her breath.

  “Listen to what exactly? The sound of you dying?”

  “Why is melodrama everyone’s go-to reaction?” Ailey muttered. Giving the healer a look that shut her up, Ailey took a deep breath and tapped on the top of the cover. “This disgusting sample is what is causing the problem.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. That is tiny, and the whole city has been affected.”

  “Zandra, if you don’t calm down, I am going to boot you out of here myself.”


  The healer opened her mouth to argue, then shut it. Giving a quick nod, she let Ailey know that there would be no more unnecessary interruptions.

  “This is just a small amount of something much larger. When the test for lavellan came up positive at first, I realized that we had been thinking all wrong up to that point. It couldn’t have been lavellan because those things would have wiped out the entire city. Still, that made far more sense than any of the other theories. Nothing much changed about the city two years ago, but that was when the plague started. It was right there in the song you had been singing, the land under the city. Before the city of Melzi, the place was plagued by Sluagh. Everyone thought they were finally laid to rest, but this is proof of what actually happened to them.”

  Zandra looked between Ailey and the dish of grotesque blackish liquid. “There is nothing like that up here.”

  “It’s what is at the bottom of all of the wells in the city and in the surrounding area.”

  “You went into the wells?” There was a look of awe and disbelief on the healer’s face.

  “Someone had to because the water wasn’t showing any obvious signs of a problem. When you go down far enough, though, this coats the walls.” She moved the dish with the liquid.

  “So you are getting sick faster because you went into the wells?”

  “No. I’m getting sick faster because I’ve been drinking it undiluted.”

  “You what?” Zandra’s eyes bulged as she looked at the medic.

  Ailey ignored the outburst. “By looking at my healthy cells before I drank any of the city’s water and had less than a day’s worth of the city’s air in my lungs, and comparing those to the cells I collected every day after, it was easy to see when I started to get sick. It is very likely-” Ailey broke off as another wave of coughing began. She held out a hand to stop Zandra from touching her. “I really should not have had such a large concentration this morning. Didn’t realize just how fast it would work. Anyway, the people getting sick are the ones who get higher concentrations. When the bucket hits the walls or bottom of the well. The rains are recycling the Sluagh cells, and that is affecting the air.” She took a deep, shaky breath before continuing, “But that still is not the real problem.”