by Dale Furse
Nell thought about that. Sam was clever too sometimes. She glanced at Deesc, and sent a thought, ‘He’s probably right.’
‘Agreed,’ he said aloud.
Nell said. ‘We’ll have to think of a way to draw him out.’ She clasped Deesc’s hand. ‘Show me where you found Orenda.’
‘There were other sick Grarls in the compound. We will need some of those antidotes and someone to administer the shots and care for them while we search for the prince.’
‘Cay-reace, you come with us,’ Nell said. ‘Kandar can look after things here.’
***
Nadar had left the team working in his icehouse and once he’d called the resistance together at Dar-Seldra’s house, explained all that Nell had told him. He thought they understood their parts until Tanat stood tall and addressed all in the overcrowded sitting room.
He said, ‘We go to Grarlon. Nadar, collect the medication we need.’
Nadar growled quietly. ‘I don’t believe that is what Nell wanted. The resistance is to learn Varlor’s plan for Corl, and to do that, they must stay on Corl. She did, however, ask that I take Dar-Seldra to her.’
‘Of course,’ Dar-Seldra said. ‘They need physicians.’
‘I don’t take orders from a child,’ Tanat said. ‘It is not only Corl that is in jeopardy, but all UC planets. As a former member of the TWC, I am proclaiming the entire resistance as temporary custodians of the united planets rule and as leader of the resistance, I take command.’
Nadar snarled, bared his teeth. The Wintar’s glare was implacable as he stepped forward. Nadar bowed his head and returned to the pole.
‘How many shots of immunisation in each box?’ He asked the Under Director.
‘Twenty.’
Nadar guessed there were no more than fifty resistance members filling Dar-Seldra’s room. ‘Give me five boxes.’ Too many was more sensible than too few.
Once back at Dar-Seldra’s house, he handed the bag of boxes to Dar-Seldra. She moved everyone to one side of the room and once they’d formed a line, she administered the shots then sent them to the opposite side.
As she worked, Tanat drew Nadar aside. ‘You are keeping something from us?’
Nadar kept eye contact. Tanat had to be the most intelligent Wintar he had ever met. ‘Grarlon is in a dire state,’ he said. ‘Death abounds. You must prepare them for a most dreadful sight. You will need to contend with Yexers and Varlor’s armed stons, which is why Nell didn’t want skarks travelling there. The stons will attack before you exit transit.’
‘Before?’
‘Yes, and don’t ask. I have no knowledge of the technology he uses.’
‘At least we have advance warning.’ He said, and paused as if in thought. ‘I think I know how we can arrive undetected.’
‘How?’
‘I think I’ll keep that to myself for now,’ he whispered. Now you’d better take Dar-Seldra to Nell.’
‘Agreed.’ Nadar took Tanat’s hand in a tight clasp. ‘Good fortune be with you,’ he said. As soon as Dar-Seldra was finished, he took her to Grarlon, left her in the foyer and returned to Corl to recruit his army of Corl physicians to administer the antidotes.
His heart was heavy in his chest when he arrived at Kafir Restoration. He hoped he could rely on his cohorts to collect Corls uninfluenced by Varlor. If he enlisted a traitor, Varlor would learn of their plans and retaliate in an instant. Nadar worked his way to other restorations across Corl and took a number of Physicians from each one first to his icehouse, then onto Grarlon. He took them directly into the foyer of the palace.
By the time he made his final trip, Corl physicians from every restoration on Corl filled the foyer and the stairs. They also spilled into a small sitting room to his left. Tanat entered the foyer from the first room to his right. Nadar was happy to see him there, but, finding it difficult to read other species, he thought he appeared upset. He shouldered his way through the throng to Nadar.
‘All is not well?’ Nadar asked.
Rubbing what appeared to be tears from his eyes and shaking his head, Tanat said, ‘No. Dar-tern is dead.’
Nadar gaped at him. He couldn’t believe his onetime enemy and the one he hoped would soon be his valued friend no longer existed. He had looked forward to long conversations with the most learned Phib he had ever had the good fortune of meeting, albeit under offensive circumstance of Nadar’s own making. He had learned from Tish that neither Kandar nor Dar-tern accepted Nadar was in full control at the time. They wouldn’t believe he could change from the Corl he was in childhood to such an extreme maniac without another’s enticement. ‘Kandar?’ Nadar said, dreading Tanat’s reply.
‘He is well,’ Tanat said, nodding his head to indicate the doorway he had exited earlier. ‘He’s inside.’ Nadar sighed in relief and moved to go. ‘No,’ said Tanat. ‘He will come out here when he’s ready.’
‘I understand. How do you propose we deal with all our physician volunteers?’
Tanat pointed over the many heads to a second door on the right. ‘There is a large room through there they can work in and if they don’t mind a little physical work, they can bring banquet tables and chairs from the store room. It is next to a large dormitory that they can all sleep in.’ He cleared his throat. ‘Use one some of the tables for all the boxes of medication. I’ll let Kandar know you are waiting for him.’
Nadar chose a few Corls from Kafir and checked the size of the room. It was huge and empty. He assumed it was only decorated for banquets. He also guessed it was used to enlarge the first room for royal balls. Very nice. Very nice indeed. Too bad he wasn’t there long enough to see one the one and only time he had come to Grarlon.
***
Nell, Deesc and Cay-reace arrived at the revolution compound only to find it empty of either alive or dead Grarls.
‘Where is everyone?’ Nell said, shifting back to her true form.
Deesc had already shifted before he spoke. ‘I don’t know,’ he said, wandering around touching huts and looking down the lanes. ‘No sign that Yexers have visited.’ He paused and closing his eyes, held his arms up above his head. ‘I feel…something…a single presence, troubled and in great pain…it is grieving.’ He started trotting down a lane. ‘Follow me,’ he called over his shoulder.
Nell and Cay-reace did. Nell stopped. ‘It’s a graveyard,’ Nell said. ‘Somebody has buried all the victims.’
‘Yes,’ said Cay-reace, dragging his fingers back through his sandy hair. ‘But who?’
Nell’s eyes fixated on him so intently and her heart squeezed so painfully, she hardly heard his question. His action reminded her of her father. She liked Cay-reace, but she now wished he didn’t look so much like her father. Pushing the memory of her father’s comforting embrace from her mind, she blinked back the tears and turned away from the men. Not now. A deep breath and she spun back, and said, ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if it was Ephry.’
Deesc’s energy was almost visible as he thrust out his mind to encompass the mountain. ‘Beautiful Nell, you are correct,’ he said. ‘He’s not far.’
‘Are you okay with those boxes?’ she asked Cay-reace.
‘They are safe.’
Following Deesc through the forest of misshapen trees, each one different and each one gnarled into weird shapes, Nell wondered what they were.
‘They are only found on the mountains of Grarlon,’ Deesc said without looking back at her. ‘They might appear ugly but their fruit is the sweetest and juiciest you will ever eat; but I’m afraid it is not the season for them.’
‘Oh, I don’t think they’re ugly,’ she said. ‘I think they’re beautiful.’
Deesc chuckled.
Once Nell heard the faint murmur of voices. She guessed two but was certain one of them belonged to the prince. Pulling Deesc back to a stop, she whispered, ‘Let me go in first. We don’t want to alarm the prince.’
He nodded and Nell crept over the damp leaf mulch.
CHAPTER TWENTY-O
NE
THE PRINCE SAT WITH HIS BACK TO Nell. Sick Grarls were in makeshift beds like the bedrolls Sam’s family used when they went bush camping.
She picked her way through the beds and as she neared the prince, he spun around. ‘Hey, Eph. Need some help?’
‘Nell!’ He leapt up. ‘Is Orenda with you?’
There was little hope in his voice and he kept his eyes directed to the ground as if he dreaded her answer.
‘No, but she is recovering at the palace.’
He let out a cry and hugged her around the waist. ‘Thank you. Thank you,’ he cried. After a couple of seconds, he stepped back. ‘She is cured?’
‘Yeah and we have…’ She scanned the area, counting twenty-one patients. ‘…enough for these Grarls.’
‘Where?’
‘Come out,’ she yelled over her shoulder into the forest.
Cay-reace and Deesc emerged from the darkness of the trees. While Cay-reace went about administering the shots, Nell said to the prince, ‘You didn’t get sick?’
‘I did at first. However, I seemed to have overcome it. Am I the only one not infected?’
‘Nope. You’re not that unique. I wasn’t either.’
‘Ah, that would be because you are of Wexkia.’
‘No. That wasn’t it. Deesc here is also of Wexkia and he got sick.’
The Grarl prince stared at Deesc weighing him up. ‘Ha,’ he finally said. ‘You are in love with our Nell.’
‘Eph,’ Nell scolded.
‘I know the signs,’ he said. ‘I have felt them for my Orenda for eons.’
Nell relayed all that had happened to the prince and the prince told her what happened to him, Orenda and his subjects. ‘It matters not why they joined the revolution, they are of Grarlon and they will always be the responsibility of the Royals,’ he said.
He had noticed the Yexers stayed away from the mountains. As Cay-reace joined them, the prince’s last words were, ‘One Grarl, even one as mighty as me, could never battle so many beasts.’
Nell nearly choked at that, but said instead, ‘We should get these Grarls to the palace.’
‘We’ll need a safe place big enough to accommodate all the Grarls the Corl physicians find,’ said Cay-reace.
‘We have bunkers under the city,’ the prince said. ‘And a fully equipped hospital that’s large enough to take thousands of patients.’
‘Expecting trouble?’ Nell asked.
‘It is only right that we prepare for all emergencies.’
‘Well, I’m glad you did,’ Nell said. ‘Shall we start?’
‘I suggest you take the most ill first,’ Cay-reace said.
Before they left, Nell explained to Ephry how she and Deesc shape shifted into Eldorap to travel. Once they arrived at the palace, enough Corls were sent back to collect the remaining Grarls. The prince showed the rest of the Corls how to get to the underground hospital.
Dar-Seldra and Mekie entered the foyer. The second Nell saw her aunt she let go of her hidden grief and ran to her.
Mekie wrapped her arms around her mother and Nell and they stayed like that for many minutes before Dar-Seldra finally drew away, and said, ‘I am so sorry I wasn’t here for you.’
‘It’s okay,’ Nell said, trying not to think about her father. ‘I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you arrived.’
‘Don’t be, Nell,’ said Dar-Seldra, wiping her wet eyes. ‘I understand. There is much to be done, time enough afterwards to mourn our beloved Dar-tern.’
While they spoke about the time since they last met, Nell noticed the three of them were the only people in the room. The bench she had set up was empty.
Dar-Seldra continued, ‘The resistance had learned Varlor still had many supporters. He had enough powerfully positioned Corls to help him in successfully re-establishing Corl Elders as some sort of demigods in full command of the entire Corl planet. The resistance still seeks more information on Corl, but Tanat, Tish and Fellder came with me.’
‘Fellder?’ Nell nearly choked on the nurse’s name. She narrowed her eyes at her aunt, and growled, ‘She is with Varlor.’
‘She is not,’ Dar-Seldra said.
‘She is, she was with Varlor at the restoration and she was helping him destroy Cay-reace’s lab.’
‘Oh, yes, she said she saw you there. As part of the resistance, she infiltrated Varlor’s followers. With the information she gathered, Nadar convinced Cay-reace to move his work to the pole.’
‘Oh. Cay-reace never told me.’ She thought about how Fellder threw the box. Heh, it was a half-hearted attempt.
‘Where is everyone?’ Nell asked.
‘The Corl physicians thought it would be better to move the recuperating ward next door so the more ill patients weren’t disturbed by the noise. I agreed.’
Nell gave a nod. ‘And where are Kale and Sam and everyone else?’
‘I think they’re all in the kitchen,’ Mekie said. ‘Kandar wasn’t very happy Tish came here.’ She giggled. ‘Nadar seemed happy Fellder came, though.’
‘Really? Nadar and Fellder…Yeah. I can see that.’ Nell chuckled and popped a kiss on her aunt’s cheek. ‘I’d better go and check in on Orenda.’
Trotting into the recuperation room, she came to a stop. Ephry and Orenda were arguing. That wasn’t unusual, of course, but this argument had twisted the prince’s face. Sadness filled his face. What were they talking about? Nell moved, but before she could get there, the prince bent forward, held Orenda and disappeared with her. Huh? Orenda shouldn’t be moved. She was still ill. Nell turned to leave.
Fellder was talking to the little girl she and Deesc had brought to the palace.
‘Hey, Fellder,’ she said, as she joined them. ‘That was pretty good acting in the lab.’
‘I apologise for deceiving you.’
‘Don’t worry about it, I’m glad you did. Do you know what the prince is up to?’
Fellder smiled a typical toothy Corl smile. ‘Orenda bullied the poor boy into taking her to the kitchen.’
‘Why aren’t I surprised,’ Nell said. ‘That enchantress can never take orders.’ She stroked the little girl’s head fur but the child didn’t respond. Nell pulled Fellder away, and said, ‘Is she okay?’
‘Yes. At least physically, but her grief over the loss of her parents has stolen her appetite.’
Nell understood. ‘Why don’t you go and look after the others while I speak to her.’
The nurse nodded and Nell sat on the bed. ‘I know what you’re going through. This horrible sickness took my father before I could get to him with the antidote.’ She grabbed a tissue and wiped the girl’s eyes. ‘What’s your name?’ No answer. ‘Please tell me, we need to know what to call you.’
‘Parrella,’ the girl said in a soft squeaky voice.
‘Well, Parrella, I am so glad you are getting better but it breaks my heart that you’re not eating. Your beautiful parents would want you to get strong, wouldn’t they? How about you try eating something for them? I’m sure Nurse Fellder over there would make you anything you wanted.’ Nell raised her voice enough for Fellder to hear. Fellder smiled and nodded to the child.
Parrella turned her head away.
Thinking she failed, Nell gave up and sighed.
As she moved to stand, Parrella sat up and hugged her. ‘Please don’t leave me.’
Nell gently returned the hug, and said, ‘You and I are the same now. We might be orphans, but we are now family. I will never leave you.’ The child tightened her grip. Nell embraced her a little longer then gently pushed her back so she could see her face. ‘Now will you try to eat something for me?’
’I will try.’
‘Thank you. You’ve made me very happy.’ She eased the girl back onto her pillow. ‘I’ll check in on you later. Okay?’
‘O…kay.’ Parrella giggled at the sound of the word.
On the way out, Nell said to Fellder, ‘I think Parrella’s ready to eat now.’
***
; Somebody had set a long table in the middle of the kitchen and Nell’s family and friends sat around it. Compore was there too. Nell eyed Orenda. ‘So this is where you disappeared to. You should still be in bed.’
‘Do not worry about me, Dar-Nellen,’ Orenda said.
‘Well I hope you haven’t made any plans without me?’ Nell pulled a chair to the head of the table, squeezing between Deesc and Tanat.
Sam winked at Nell. ‘Late as usual,’ he said, shaking his head in mock disapproval.
Nell poked her tongue out at him., ‘So what’s going on?’ She asked Deesc.
‘Tanat has reformed the UC and he is now the temporary leader. All planet members are abiding by his commands.’
‘That is correct,’ Tanat said. ‘And once we have freed Grarlon from the destruction Varlor has inflicted on it and its people, we will then free Corl of his tyranny.’
Compore said, ‘I feel the first prerequisite for that to work is saving as many Grarls as we can and to do that we need to rid the planet of the Yexers.’
‘Agreed,’ the prince said. ‘However, until we can cure enough Grarls, I can’t see any way we can fight such a potent force.’ His small eyes almost doubled in size. ‘Wait,’ he said and vanished. Reappearing an instant later with a book, and said, ‘This is a Grarlon history book.’ He placed the book on the table. ‘The book tells how the Grarls of the ancient past took sanctuary amidst the mangel trees of the mountains. The ancestors did not know what menace the trees held for the Yexers.’
‘The trees might contain some sort of poison to Yexers,’ Sam said.
‘That makes sense, ‘Dar-Seldra said. ‘We stay away from plants that are harmful to us.’
‘Even if that were true that doesn’t help us,’ Tanat said. ‘What does help, however, is knowing the mountains can give us the same sort of sanctuary. The trees will also give us cover from the stons still harassing the planet. If we could commandeer one or more stons, we could fight them all on more even ground.’