by Eric Vall
“Of course not,” Trina answered.
“Why would we kid about that?” Marina asked with a raised eyebrow.
“You know, with easier access to the water, you could build an indoor hydroponic system, too,” I thought out loud. “It could help you with some more temperature-sensitive stuff like herbs.”
“Oh, great idea, Lord Evan!” Wekesa exclaimed, and I thought the old lion was going to do a heel kick, he looked so excited. “Let’s go right in here by the cellar. No one really goes in and out of here except for the gardeners, so it should be safe.”
We followed Wekesa to the door he had flung open earlier, and inside was a small room with a set of stairs leading down on the left. We turned to the right and saw a small table with plant pots and various tools.
“Okay, so let’s start with a long, lightweight pipe and some herb seeds,” I instructed.
As Wekesa searched for the pipe, I racked my brain to remember all the steps I had learned for this back in my junior high science fair days. We just had to get water flowing into the root system and keep the plants suspended.
“Will this work?” Wekesa popped up with a pipe about three feet long and made of some kind of plastic-looking material.
“That is perfect,” I noted. “Let’s cut a few holes in it.”
We used knives from the tool set and cut two-inch holes into the pipe about four inches apart from each other. The ends of the pipe were already plugged up with more of the weird plastic material, so that was one less step.
“Ravi, would you mind getting us some water?” I asked the phoenix.
“Oh, sure!” she answered, and she darted back outside.
I showed Wekesa how to set up each of the small slotted pots into the holes, and we added some small shreds of an apron sitting on the table into each of the pots to support the seeds.
Ravi strolled back in with a bucket of water, and we placed the seeds in each small pot and dumped water in the pipe.
Then the dryad sisters each placed a hand on the system and closed their eyes, and in a few seconds, small shoots began sprouting from each pot.
“Great job!” I grinned at the sisters, and then I turned back to Wekesa. “You shouldn’t have to wait a very long time on either of these with the dryads’ help, but it will give you a good start.”
“I can’t thank you enough,” the weathered lion said with a bow.
“Evan, we have to get the rest of the wells done, it’s going to be dark soon,” Trina warned.
“Ah, yes, let’s go,” I agreed.
We walked back outside, and the sisters directed me back to where we had left off with the wells.
As I wiped the sweat off my brow a short while later, a shiny, transparent jaguar appeared in front of me. It was a magical messenger from House Onca.
“Come quick, Lord Evan!” I heard Jai’s voice from the jaguar, and his tone immediately set me on edge. “The princess said you are a skilled healer.”
I cursed under my breath and resumed my focus on the last well. I brought it up and then hooked an arm around Ravi’s elbow. “Get the dryads ready. We have to get back to House Onca, and fast.”
“Yes, of course,” Ravi answered with a quick nod. “We will be ready at the front gate in just a few minutes.”
“I’m sorry to have to leave in such a rush,” I apologized to Aaliyah. “Please let your father know that we finished the wells and hydroponic systems, but if he has any questions, he can just let me know.”
“Sounds great.” Aaliyah smiled. “Thank you for everything you’ve done already.”
“It is my pleasure,” I answered with a dramatic bow. Then I turned to see the dryads and Ravi standing at the gate. “Ready?”
All four women nodded, and I waved to Aaliyah.
She waved back and then scurried back into the pyramid.
I quickly transformed into my dragon body and crouched low as my women clambered up onto my back. The entire time, my gaze was fixed toward the east, where House Onca laid.
The ride here had been enlightening, but I was worried the ride back may not be as profound.
Chapter 5
I flew quickly through the city, a little lower than I normally would, but the tone of the jaguar messenger’s voice had me worried. Had the Green Glass Sect attacked again? Or were more members of Tikal’s unstable population going after each other like the cheetahs and jaguars during the celebration?
My mind jumped from negative idea to negative idea, since nothing good could have happened if they required my healing power. I couldn’t stop my mind from racing, so I had to make my body race, too. Then I picked up some more speed and finally saw the jungle trees come into view.
I swooped down to make a bumpy landing in front of House Onca’s seat, and the four women slid off my back so I could transform. Then I changed back into my human shape in record time and sprinted up the stairs and into the palace.
Servants, warriors, and various house staff hustled in all directions as we walked into the great hall, but no one so much as glanced our way.
“Hey, what happened?” I asked a passing serving boy.
He made no attempt to answer me as he continued to rush down the hallway and out of view.
I growled and grabbed a different jaguar by the sleeve. “I need to know where Jai and Alyona are and what the hell is going on here!”
“S-Sorry, my lord, I-I don’t know much,” the servant stuttered as he held up an arm full of towels. “I was just told to get warm towels.”
“And take them where?” I demanded.
“To the infirmary,” he answered quickly.
I released his sleeve so he could continue his task, but I had no idea where the infirmary was. I turned to the dryads and Ravi, but they looked just as confused as I felt.
This was getting fucking annoying.
“Evan!” Alyona suddenly called out as she waved her hands above the crowd.
I marched through the jaguars to her. Finally, some answers.
“I’m sorry we were so cryptic, but you must hurry!” Alyona pulled my hand toward a hallway on the other side of the great hall.
“What’s going on?” I asked. “Everyone is rushing around, but no one seems to know why.”
“Four jaguar Demi-Humans were brought back from the river, and they were acting crazy,” Alyona explained. “They have been screaming, trying to fight everyone who tried to help them. One of them even has some kind of white puffy stuff coming out of his mouth.”
I cocked my head to the side. Rabies? Was that a thing in Inati? I’d never treated it in humans, let alone Demi-Humans, but the symptoms she described sounded an awful lot like the Earthly disease, and I knew it could be deadly.
“We thought the water was polluted, so I purified it and showed them how to boil it as well,” Alyona continued. “Even if I missed a non-magical pollutant, it should be clean enough for them to use it. I just don’t understand where I went wrong.”
The princess wrung her hands as she talked, and I could tell she was worked up about these jaguars.
“I’m sure you did everything you could,” I consoled her. “There couldn’t possibly be anyone better at taking care of this stuff than you.”
“Thank you for saying that, Evan,” Alyona mumbled.
“I’m not just saying that, Alyona.” I came to an abrupt stop, grabbed her by the shoulders, and stared into her eyes as I spoke. “You really are the best at taking care of other people. Sure, I can heal things, but you are the entire reason I’m even here to help you. You left some fate-destiny-future nonsense to go help a basically forgotten city. No one can compare to you.”
“You really mean that.” A single tear slipped down Alyona’s cheek as she took in my declaration. “You think I do great things.”
“Of course, I do,” I answered as I tucked her black forelock behind her ear. “I told you, you are more than just a tool for the White Jade Sect’s future plans. You are whatever you put your mind to. Plus,
I think you’re pretty fucking awesome.”
Alyona threw her arms around my neck and squeezed. Then she pulled back and grabbed my hand again. “Hurry, we have people to save!”
We ran down the hallway and hung a left, and then we finally came to a room I could tell was the infirmary by the smell. The room reeked of cleaning solutions that covered a variety of germs and death. The stench I noticed the most, though, was the decaying odor that reminded me of miasma, which smelled like the sick and sweet combination of rotting fruit and meat. I felt like we were about to walk into the same bloody, decayed scene I’d witnessed during my first few days in Hatra.
I quickly looked over the jaguar Demi-Humans who had been infected. I didn’t see any of the bulging black veins or puking blood, but there were definitely signs of the aggressive, insane behavior we’d seen before with miasma poisoning.
One jaguar took a wild swing at a nurse who tried to give him water and knocked the jug out of her hand. Another Demi-Human dug his claws into the bed and tore deep holes into the mattress as he writhed in pain. The nurses were trying to control the patients and were failing miserably, and I was worried we would have to heal the medical staff as well as the patients.
I needed to get a better idea of what we were dealing with, so I reached out with my healing power to check their health status.
Classification: Four Jaguar Demi-Humans.
Condition: Poisoned.
Priority: Immediate healing required.
Status: Critically ill.
So, it wasn’t exactly the same as when the miasma cloud infected the people in Hatra, but it was damn close.
As I checked their health status, several warrior jaguars rushed into the room to contain the patients. The warriors pulled vines from their packs and began using them to tie the patients down to the beds.
Then I watched the health conditions of all four jaguar patients immediately change to include broken bones as the warriors ripped at their limbs to tie them to the beds.
“Stop!” I yelled. “You’re making them worse!”
The warriors and nurses ignored my commands, and one jaguar nurse approached me.
“I am Galena,” she introduced herself, “and I asked these warriors here to contain my patients so we may administer treatment. These men will die if we do not treat them.”
“They will die either way if you do not let me help,” I countered. “Do you know what’s wrong with them?”
“It’s the polluted water,” Galena answered with an eye roll. “We have treated it before.”
“No,” Alyona argued, and she stepped up beside me with a severe frown. “This is not the same. This is a deeper infection that you need Evan to help heal.”
“I don’t need your permission to heal them, Galena,” I declared. “I’m simply asking you and the warriors to step back, so no one gets hurt while my healing power kicks in.”
Before the jaguar nurse could respond, I opened my mouth, but as I started to release my healing glitter, a voice stopped me.
Evan, as powerful as you are, you may need my assistance to fully cleanse these Demi-Humans, Miraya warned me.
“I’m all for whatever help I can get on this one,” I mumbled back to her.
I think you’ll need to touch each one with the sword, Miraya continued.
“I can do that,” I responded as I pulled the Sword of Healing from my spatial storage and held it in front of me.
“W-We can certainly allow your approach, Lord Evan,” Galena stammered as she took several steps back. “I will tell the staff to step out of the room now.” Then she turned to the rest of the Demi-Humans. “The Dragon Lord Evan is taking over from here. Everyone out!”
She and the rest of the Demi-Humans looked at me fearfully and scurried out of the room.
You sure know how to clear a room, Miraya snickered from within my head.
“It’s a skill,” I retorted.
I hadn’t intended to freak them all out, but whatever worked.
“You shouldn’t scare them like that,” Alyona scolded with a smile. “One day they will understand all you can do for them.”
“And you,” I reminded her.
I would get her to believe in herself one of these days.
For now, I turned toward the crazed jaguars and focused on pulling from my spiritual sea. These patients needed as much power as I could bring to clear this shit out.
I wielded the Sword of Hatra gently and focused my energy on the Demi-Human with the least aggression, since I figured he was the least likely to accidentally get a limb chopped off if this didn’t go well. I laid the blade against his shoulder and directed my healing power through the blade. Then I felt Miraya push her healing energy through the Sword as it heated up in my hand, and the magic flowed through the blade and into the Demi-Human.
The jaguar Demi-Human reacted almost immediately. The color returned to his face, and his breathing slowed to normal. Then his green eyes closed as he fell asleep on the bed.
“Hell yeah!” I grinned. “It worked!”
I quickly moved on to the next jaguar, whose mouth was foaming vigorously as he tried to tear the vines from his broken wrists. His joints were barely functioning, thanks to the warriors yanking the patients around in their poisoned state, and his hands tore uselessly at the bindings.
I stepped close enough to place the Sword on his shoulder and focused our healing power on him. Then I watched his body relax, and his crazed eyes closed as he fell back against the bed.
This disease is rough, my lord, Miraya murmured.
“I know,” I panted and wiped the sweat from my brow, “but we’re halfway there.”
The intensity of healing required for these creatures was taking a toll on both of us, but we couldn’t stop now. These jaguars were depending on me.
So, I went down the row of beds to the next Demi-Human and repeated the process, and after a long moment, his body went limp as he relaxed against the bed.
Then I approached the final jaguar. His golden eyes were glazed over, and his veins bulged and pulsated. I could see his collar bone was broken from the vine across his chest, and one of his legs was completely still despite his thrashing against the bed. I only hoped the healing would be enough for both his poisoning and his broken bones.
As the Demi-Human continued to buck wildly, I laid my Sword against the broken leg and pushed the healing power outward. Then I felt Miraya’s heat in my hand, but the Demi-Human continued to fight.
Were his other injuries preventing the poison from being healed? Or was his poisoning worse than the others had been?
I’m not sure we can cure him on our own, Miraya said in a worried tone.
“You’re right,” I muttered. “We need some help.”
I hated to ask Alyona for aid, though, and the last thing we needed was to completely drain the princess. Then I had another thought.
“Quick,” I hollered to Alyona. “Go get Ravi!”
“Yes, of course!” Alyona answered, and then she sprinted out the door and down the hall.
Good call, Miraya approved. We can build off the phoenix without depleting the princess.
I kept a close eye on the last jaguar while I waited for Alyona to return with the phoenix. My patient continued to thrash against the vines and his bed, and his mad amber eyes roamed the room without focusing. He looked completely insane with foam pouring out of his mouth.
Finally, the two women rushed back through the door. Ravi stood next to me with a hand on my shoulder, while Alyona stepped next to the jaguar Demi-Human’s bed.
“I’m ready when you are, my lord,” Ravi murmured. “Alyona told me what happened. Take all the power you need.”
The jaguar thrashed again and gnashed his teeth, and his clawed hand dug into Alyona’s arm. She yelped in pain, and I watched as her blood rushed to the surface.
I growled and changed my grip on the Sword, ready to thrust it into his heart and solve all his problems. No one would hurt my p
rincess and live to talk about it.
“Wait.” Alyona put a hand to my heaving chest. “He is not in his right mind. I’m okay. We have to take care of our people, Evan.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I grumbled. Then I focused my healing magic on Alyona first and left a glittery residue on her forearm where the jaguar had gouged her skin.
He was lucky I was able to heal her so quickly.
I turned back to the jaguar and made a quick decision. Then I pointed at his hands and shot webs out to hold them down to the bed. The webs were much softer than the vines and didn’t break more bones, but he couldn’t fight his way out of them.
So, he could fuck off with touching either one of my women, sick or not.
“Nicely done,” Ravi said with a nod. Then she squeezed my shoulder and closed her eyes, and the ends of her hair began smoking as she concentrated her power.
I placed the Sword back on the jaguar’s broken leg and focused my dwindling energy on healing the Demi-Human. Miraya was also quiet as she seemed to focus her magic as well. Then the sword heated up even hotter than before as the three of us combined our healing and purity power to cleanse the jaguar of the poison.
I held the Sword to his skin for much longer than the other three jaguars, but I finally noticed as his bronze color returned, his arms relaxed against the bed, and his broken leg and collarbone began to take back their normal shapes. Finally, a cloud of my dragon glitter settled over the infirmary as the room went quiet.
Ravi and I took a step back from the fourth jaguar’s bed as he sat up and shook his head. His tawny eyes cleared as he looked over each of us in the room, and he glanced down at the webs on his hands and the vines crisscrossing his body. Then he looked at Alyona, who was watching him with interest.
“Did I hurt you, milady?” the Demi-Human asked.
“Lord Evan healed me,” Alyona responded as she grabbed a small scalpel from the medicine cabinet and made her way to his bed.
“What are you doing?” I growled when I realized what she was doing. “You don’t know what he’s still capable of.”
“It’s fine, my love,” Alyona assured me. Then she sliced through the webs and vines holding the jaguar in place.