Warsworn (10 page)

"Yes." I reached for the water and gurt. "What do you use on the Plains?"

"We use a dried animal teat," Isdra frowned. "It's more like a breast than that cold dish."

"It works, trust me." I mashed the gurt into the warm water. "Where did you learn that?" I nodded at her hands.

She chuckled softly. "'Tis what we do to comfort a child. We drum a pattern on their backs and chant to them. It calms them, and as we slow the pattern, they usually fall asleep. We use it to wake a sleeping child as well, at need."

Isdra was right, the babe sucked the gurt up with no complaint, falling asleep with the narrow spout still in her mouth. Isdra smiled at the lax child in her arms. "I should go. Epor will need help…"

There was a pounding at the door that broke our fragile peace. I started for the door at Epor's call, even as Isdra settled the child down in the blankets we'd placed by the hearth.

Epor came through, carrying a gray-haired woman wrapped in blankets. She was conscious, and had her arms about his neck. Epor headed for the back room. "Here's one with breath still in her body, Warprize. There is one other that I have found, but I will need Isdra to chase him down." He eased the woman down in the chair.

The woman held the blankets close around her, and seemed to sink into them.

"Chase him?" I asked as I put a hand on the woman's shoulder to steady her. She looked up at me through reddened eyes, and I could feel her tremble even through the blankets. Even through the ginger I could smell the foul odor of her sweat.

Epor grinned. "He's running loose, thinking we are the enemy." He gave me a sly grin. "Of course, we were." I gave him a look as he chuckled. But he turned serious in an instant. "I tried the phrases you gave us, but it's no use. I want to secure him, for his safety and ours."

Isdra frowned. "I should have been there to help."

Epor gave her a grin. "Ah, but you had a babe in your arms. I knew you were lost to me, the moment you heard the squawk from the bed." He turned back to me, his eyes taking on a sad, woebegone look. "Warprize, are these cloths up my nose really necessary? They will not stay in!"

"Yes, they are."

"What if I did this?" He took a strip of bandage from my supplies and tied it over his nose and mouth. "If we dip this in the oil? Please?"

I had to smile at his pleading tone. "That would work."

"Epor, you are my hero." Isdra sighed with relief as they quickly rigged the masks and made ready to leave.

The old woman struggled out of the blankets and clutched at me with her thin hands. Her palm was cold and clammy on my arm. "Are they going after Kred? Tell them, please, not to hurt him. Kred is raving, he's mad with the Sweat. He doesn't know what he does."

"They'll not hurt him," I assured her. I focused back on Epor and spoke his tongue. "She says he's ill."

Epor nodded, and looked at the old woman, and spoke

Xyian with his terrible accent. "Do not be afraid." She just stared at him. He straightened, and returned to his language. "Isdra has told you? Of the dead?" At my nod he continued. "We will continue to search and find the crazed one. Pile three benches in front of the door, Warprize, and scream if any try to enter."

I nodded as I followed them to the door. "We will need supplies, too."

"There is kavage in my saddle bags." Isdra nodded toward the pile. "A pot would be welcome."

"Oh yes," Epor agreed as they headed out. "It will be a long night."

I returned to the back to find the old woman standing by the bed, looking down at my other patient. She looked up, her sorrow clear. "He's dying."

I took her arm, and guided her back to the chair. "He's ill, certainly." She sank down into the chair, trembling with exhaustion. "But it's too soon to—"

"No." Her voice was sharp. "You think I don't know? When they lay there, breathing rough like that, it's the end, the—" She cut off her words, shuddering, hugging herself, sobbing and rocking. "It's changed," she whispered. "It's not what it was." She stared past me, the sweat beading on her brow, her thin hair matted to her forehead. "All of them, all…"

I pulled the blankets up around her. "Take the word of a healer, it's not certain he'll die. With proper care, he'll—"

The old woman closed her eyes, her hair plastered to her face, sweat or maybe tears running down her cheeks. "I'm a healer, and we'll all die." She covered her face with her hands, and wailed.

It was dark when Epor and Isdra returned.

"No sign of the crazed one. If there's more, they're hiding." Epor placed his load of blankets by the hearth. "We've lost the light. We'll look again in the morning."

I ran my hands over my hair, brushing back the loose tendrils. They'd hauled in supplies as I had tended to our three patients. We'd done quite a bit in the last few hours.

Isdra had a bucket of water, and a crock jug tucked under her arm. "The babe?"

"Sleeping." I took the water from her and placed it with the others. "I fed her again, so she should nap for a while."

Isdra nodded absently as she went over to the child, sleeping on a cushion of blankets. Epor and I exchanged an amused glance as she checked her, not satisfied with my reassurance.

Isdra smiled down at the child, her angular face softened in the firelight. "I found a goat with milk." She put the jug down, then stood, stretching out her back as she did so. As I handed Epor some kavage, I caught him looking at her, and quickly looked away.

Isdra accepted kavage as well, and settled down on the floor not far from the child. She arranged her weapons at her side, close at hand. They had raided the nearby homes for supplies, so instead of the rations that we'd brought, there were two chickens on the spit, a broth simmering on the hearth, and bread and cheese. The well had provided the water, there was plenty of wood out back and they found bedding and blankets for all. Epor had even carried in another bed for the healer. It was cramped quarters, but it would serve for tonight. They hadn't been able to catch the one man, and Epor was determined that he and Isdra would stand watch through the night.

Epor settled by the fire opposite Isdra, arranging his weapons close at hand, too. He looked tired, and I had to admit that I was feeling worn myself. He was reaching for water to wash with when I spoke. "Did you cry out to the others, Epor?"

He looked up at me, his eyes wide, then laughed. "We would say 'signaled', Warprize. Aye, I did, gave the 'All's well' cry." Epor moved an empty bucket between himself and Isdra, and poured the water for us to wash.

"Who replied?" I tried not to look like I cared about the answer.

But nothing got past those two. Isdra flicked a glance at Epor, but his gaze stayed on my face with a knowing look. "Joden."

I said nothing, just settled down with them. We washed, and they pulled their masks down just enough to be able to eat. I removed the pads from my mouth as Isdra reached for the chickens.

Epor broke off a chunk of bread and handed it to me. "The others?"

"Sleeping." I looked about the room at the quiet figures around us.

"Do you know the enemy yet?" Isdra had a chicken leg and was tearing into it as she passed me part of the bird.

"No." I bit into the warm meat. The old woman had broken down after she revealed that she was the healer. I'd managed to get her on to a pallet and calmed to the point that she'd fallen asleep. I'd save my questions for the morning. She'd mentioned the Sweat, but the symptoms that I was seeing were nothing that I'd ever heard of. Tomorrow I'd go to her home and see what she'd been using, and take any supplies that I could.

I'd taken to calling the man that we'd found on the wall 'Archer'. He was so deeply unconscious I hadn't been able to get him to swallow any liquids. I'd settled for scraping a small amount of fever's foe on the roof of his mouth, hoping that it would melt down his throat. His breathing was rough, but there was no cough and the fever seemed to have vanished.

Thankfully the babe glowed with health. Isdra was smiling at the sleeping child as she ate. Epor passed me more food and urged me to eat. We sat quietly, eating and enjoying the peace of the moment.

After we'd picked the bones clean, Epor settled back, and gave a quiet belch. Isdra poured more kavage. I drank some of the bitter liquid before I spoke. "Tomorrow, I want to go to the healer's home, Epor. She will have supplies that I will need."

"We must also start to deal with the dead or the filth of this place will overwhelm us." Epor responded.

Isdra wrinkled her nose. "It already does. I have seen enough that I will never live in a tent of stone. Dirt and mouse droppings in every corner." She waved her hand for emphasis. "A tent you can clean, shake free and be off. How can you think to keep a 'house' clean?"

Epor chuckled, but I admonished her. "Isdra, they have been sick. Maybe they haven't been able to clean."

Isdra shrugged. "Still, Warprize."

"Warprize, you give your dead back to the earth, yes?"

I turned toward Epor. "Yes, we bury our dead. What is your tradition?"

"We give ourselves back to the elements, as do all. Some by fire, earth or air. It is rare to give to the waters, but it is done. Each according to their preference."

"Air?" I tried to imagine how that would work and failed.

"The body is lifted on a platform, left naked to the sky. Over time, the platform decays, and falls to the ground, usually pulled down by the snows." Isdra gave me a look when I tried not to show my disgust. "Cleaner than giving back to the earth. But if earth is your custom, we will follow it."

"I suppose." I responded politely. "Epor, you and Isdra alone can't bury the bodies. From what you say, there are too many."

"We can start. A shame we can't let the army know to dig for us. But none of the cries are designed to carry that message."

"We can't risk exposing them."

Epor shrugged. "We will do what must be done. We can use fire as well, if we can find a clear clean place to build a pyre. Fire is my preference. We will finish our search tomorrow, then start on the dead." Epor drained his kavage. "You will stay in here, with them?"

"Yes." I finished mine as well. "I will tend them through the night, catch sleep when I can."

"Then I will take first watch. Isdra—"

"Needs a bath." Isdra stood, securing her weapons. "There is a well and buckets and I am going to bathe."

Epor laughed softly. "As you say." He stood. "I will watch… to keep you safe."

Isdra smirked at him, and reached over to scratch him under the chin, her finger rasping in the hairs of his beard. "As you say."

Epor acted offended. "I must keep an eye out for the crazed one. What other reason would I have to watch?"

I had to chuckle, even as Isdra rolled her eyes. She rose, with a last look at the babe, and headed for the door. But Epor did not move. I looked at him, curious.

He sighed, and lowered his voice. "Lara, I would ask for your token."

Startled, I fumbled in my pocket and pulled out a stone. He took it gravely. "I would speak a truth, Lara."

"I will hear your truth, Epor. And answer it."

He shook his head. "No answer is needed. This is a truth of our ways, that I would tell you, and have you consider, yes?"

I nodded.

He focused on me, holding my gaze with his. "Bonding is not an easy thing, Lara. It takes a lot of work for a couple to maintain a bond." I nodded again, and he continued. "One of the things you cannot do is lie to your bondmate."

I flushed, embarrassed, and looked away. I opened my mouth to retort, but Epor touched my knee and silenced me with his words. "I do not know your ways in this, for I have learned that those of Xy bond early, and for life. Maybe this is the way of your people. But Keir is of the Plains, and for us, the bond must come first, the bondmate being due your first thoughts, eh?"

I nodded, still looking down at my hands.

"So." Epor reached over and tucked the stone back into my hands. "I ask that you think on my truths, Lara." He stood and stretched as I fidgeted with the stone. "Now I will go and watch Isdra's back, yes?"

I nodded again. He put his mask in place, gathered up his weapons and left without another word. I waited until he left to wipe my eyes. I'd been right to stay silent. If I'd told Keir about the forty days he'd never have allowed me to enter this village, never have stopped on his way to the Plains. I plucked at a rough spot on my tunic and tried not to hear the tiny voice in the back of my head, the one that was pointing out that I'd never given Keir a chance.

Once I'd checked everyone and set up my pallet, I realized we'd need more water. With empty bucket in hand, I eased the door open and slipped into the main room.

Shrines to the Goddess are designed with small, high windows to allow her light to shine within.

The moon was not full, but the soft beams of light filled the room with a silver glow.

The doors out to the square were open. I stepped out into the doorway, and stopped.

The same silver light made the square glow, casting faint shadows. Epor was seated on the well, his club in one hand. The light made his hair seem an even brighter gold. He'd lowered his mask again, I could see the gleam of his smile.

Isdra was naked, a slim silver figure in the light. Her braid shone in the moonlight. She was using one of the buckets to splash water over herself. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but Epor's eyes held a light that needed no explanation.

Captured by the sight, I watched as Epor stood, caught Isdra with his free arm and pulled her close. She moved eagerly, plastering her wet body against his and pulling his head down to hers. Their kiss was long and deep and—I stepped back and hid behind the door, embarrassed. A longing blazed within me, for Keir's strong body, for the taste of his lips in my mouth. I bit my lip. And took a step further away from the sight, for I wished so very much that it was Keir and I by the well, in the moonlight.

Yet, here I was alone and by my own choosing. Events demanded that I do this and I had made the right choice.

These people were ill, and needed my help. It had been the right thing to do, of that I was certain.

The emblem of the Goddess gleamed on the far wall, the Lady's calm face serene in the light. I sent a silent prayer to her, for the lives of my patients and the people of this village. Legend has it that the Goddess, the Lady of the Moon, is wed to the God, the Lord of the Sun.

Then-relationship is a fierce one, filled with storms and rumbles.

He'd been so angry. So furious with me. But I'd done the right thing after all. There was illness here, deadly illness and it could not be ignored. We'd help those we could, bury those we couldn't, get the information we needed, stay isolated for the required period and then be on our way. All would be as it was before. Keir would forgive my actions. Wouldn't he?

I gnawed at my lip, suddenly filled with doubt. What had seemed like such a small thing before now seemed—

A sound came from the other room, and I hurried back to my patients.

"Those barbarians will kill us in our sleep."

"No, they won't." I was trying to sooth the old woman as I wiped her face. She'd woken, drenched in sweat, the heat and stink radiating off her body in waves. I'd added rose oil to the water, and it seemed to help with the smell. Her weak eyes were wide with fear, and she clutched at me with what strength she had left as I bathed her face and chest. "Can you tell me what happened here?" She squinted up at me, confused. "Who are you?" I decided to keep my explanations simple for now. "Lara, Master Healer, trained by Eln of Water's Fall."

Isdra entered, hair damp, but fully dressed, carrying more water. The old woman tensed, sucking in a breath. "That's a Firelander!"

"It is, but she will not harm you. She is my friend." I tried to block her vision with my body.

"Who are you? What happened here?"

"Rahel, Healer, trained by Thrace of Lake's End." Ra-hel answered me almost absently as she tried to see what Isdra was doing.

"What happened here, Rahel?" I repeated.

Her eyes moved back to lock on my face. "It's changed, the Sweat. Too fast, too fast!"

"Tell me."

"Three days ago, two strangers were found on the main road, ill and feverish."

Three days? These people had all sickened and died in the last three days? My throat went dry.

Rahel grasped at my arms, her gaze fixed on my face. "We had no warning, no time to act.

There's those that left for the city two days past, but all we could do was close the gates and pray to the Goddess. My fault, all my fault that they died…" Her voice rose in a shriek, waking the baby who started to cry. Isdra moved to pick her up, and soothe her.

The babe's cry seemed to clear some of Rahel's confusion. "Whose baby is that?"

"We don't know. We found her next to her dead mother."

"How old?"

I rinsed my cloth out in the cool water. "Some six months is my guess."

Rahel lay back against the pillows and stared unseeing at the ceiling. She drew in a long shuddering breath.

"Meara's get, then. So Meara's dead." Her eyes filled with tears. "I birthed her with these two hands. My babies, all my babies. I tried so hard." Her voice trailed off in sobs.

I wiped her face with soft strokes. "Tell me about the illness, Rahel. I must know."

"First the sweat, where water pours from the body in rivers. Then the madness, a delirium like I have never seen. The soul raves and rants with unseeing eyes and horrible anger." She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, as if reciting a lesson she'd forced herself to memorize. "Then a sleep so deep that they respond to nothing, not pain nor noise. Deep, deep, past any hope or will to live. They are just…" She opened her eyes, and clutched at my arm.

"They all died. I tried everything I knew, but they all—"

"Hush now, all will be well." I assured her. "A good broth, a strong dose of fever's foe and you will be—"

"Fool girl," she snapped. "Trained of Eln? Have you not heard what I said? Tried them all, there's no remedy, no cure, they just fall over. There's only cold, cold death." She cried out, sobbing as through her heart would break. "I failed them all. My babies…" Her fingers pulled weakly at the blankets.

"Fever's foe—"

"Tried it."

"Dittany."

"Tried that."

"Watermint."

"Tried that, too." Anger flashed over her face, but she was too weak to hold the glare. "Fool girl, tried them all, but there's no remedy, no cure. There's only cold and the grave." She put a hand to her forehead. "It's come for me, death has, and it's welcome. All my babes, and their babes…" She started to wail, sobbing out her despair.

Isdra was trying to feed the babe, and comfort it at the same time. Epor stuck his head in.

"What's amiss?"

'The woman woke, and her cries have frightened the babe. She thinks you are going to eat her."

Rahel stopped crying and stared at Epor, wide-eyed.

Epor smiled at her, showing his teeth. "I wouldn't. Too scrawny."

I smiled at the jest, and Rahel demanded to know what he said. She looked at me with suspicion, but seemed to relax a little, especially when Epor leaned against the doorpost, watching Isdra make a bed by the fire for herself, with the babe nestled down beside her. In the quiet, Rahel closed her eyes, and whispered something. I leaned closer. "What did you say?"

She opened her eyes. "Bind me."

"I don't think—"

"Bind me, girl."

"Rahel, you're no threat."

"The fever has me. Bind me now."

"What does she say?" Epor asked.

I explained and he nodded. "Even a weakling with a knife is dangerous. Take no chance, Warprize."

Rahel seemed to sense his attitude. "He knows. Healers know the way of pain. Those that heal can hurt in need. Tie me, I say."

I rolled my eyes, and in the end I secured her wrists to the frame, but only after I had her drink some broth. She lapsed into an uneasy sleep. Epor went outside to stand watch, Isdra rolled into her blankets and I settled in for a long night.