The Shifter Part 16

"Tali."

I almost heard her gulp. She glanced at me and I curled my fingers toward me as best I could. Get her closer. Get her closer.

"That sounds familiar."

"I guess I told you before then. Or maybe we had a cla.s.s together?"

"Maybe." She frowned and pointed a finger at Tali. "Why is your uniform so wrinkled?"

"I, uh..."

I strained to sit up, lunge my crippled body at Lanelle, grab her by the ankles, and get rid of the hurt. My focus dropped again, and pain shattered under my skin.

Tali sucked in her breath and took a small step toward me. I mouthed no no, gathered the pain yet again, and curled my fingers.

Lanelle folded her arms across her chest. "Okay, what's going on here? You're acting strange."

Tali gasped and yanked her gaze away. "I fell asleep on your cot," she blurted.

"You fell asleep?" Lanelle repeated as if she wasn't sure what to say.

"Yeah, silly, huh?" Tali chuckled. "So, you were saying before, about Sersin being attacked?"

Lanelle gaped for a moment longer; then gossip won out over suspicion. "Can you believe it? They found her tied up in one of the treatment rooms with her own cords!"

"That's terrible. Are we in any danger up here?"

"I don't think so. Kione's guarding the door." Lanelle took a step toward it-and toward me. My fingers twitched. Almost in reach.

Clink!

Pynvium rattled. The sack!

"What's this?"

"That's, um..."

Lanelle knelt and opened the sack, then jerked back as if something with teeth had popped out of it. "There's pynvium in here!"

"Really?"

Even I didn't buy Tali's innocent tone.

The door slammed open and footsteps thudded in. Several people in boots, which meant guards. Lanelle scrambled up, her face pale. Tali went white as her underdress.

"Good morning, girls," said a man with a smooth, commanding voice. It was almost gentle unless you listened closely-then you heard the edge to it. A serrated one too, not a blade that would cut cleanly.

Lanelle clasped her hands behind her back. "Morning, sir."

"Any trouble this morning?"

"No, sir. It's been quiet." She stepped closer and shoved the pynvium under my cot with her foot. Perhaps Lanelle had a plan of her own simmering in that not-as-empty-as-I'd-hoped head of hers. Like steal it and make a fortune.

"Anything unusual happen?"

"Not really. This patient had a seizure and fell out of bed, but she wasn't hurt."

"Did she now?" Footsteps, then a shadow fell across me. I looked up, my eyes catching immediately on the heavy braided gold bars on his shoulders.

The Luminary stood over me, close enough to touch.

THIRTEEN.

I couldn't couldn't fail here. Tali wasn't safe. Danello and the twins were still dying. So many Healers were still in agony. fail here. Tali wasn't safe. Danello and the twins were still dying. So many Healers were still in agony.

"Sir," Tali said with more respect than I'd ever heard her use. "With your permission, I'd like to return to the treatment ward. My rounds start soon."

Lanelle looked ready to jump out of her skin, but she stayed quiet. So did I, not even a whimper of good-bye. If facing the Luminary finally got Tali to run, I'd stare at the rat all day.

He glanced at Tali, then nodded. "Report to Elder Tyleen."

"Yes, sir."

"You, go with her," he added.

"Sir?" Kione sounded as shocked as I felt. I didn't even know he was in the room.

"I don't want anyone walking around alone today. Make sure everyone has an escort."

"Yes, sir."

I took a deep breath and let some of the panic seep away. Kione was with Tali now, and she was on her way out. Would he let her go? Doubtful, since it meant defying the Luminary, but maybe he'd continue to "do nothing" while she slipped away from rounds. Maybe...

I jumped. The Luminary was studying me, staring at me with sky blue eyes as if he knew what was stumbling through my head. He was younger than I'd thought, barely forty. He didn't bother with a Healer's braid and kept his black hair short against his head. I looked away, tried to make my darting eyes look like delirium.

"Has she manifested any of the symptoms?" the Luminary said calmly. Lanelle had mentioned symptoms too?

"No, sir. Only the three I told Elder Vinnot about yesterday. But I can barely go near the Kolvek girl anymore. It hurts from at least three feet away. I had to move her cot away from the others."

My ears perked up despite the pain. Hurts?

The Luminary nodded, studying me. "I'll send someone up to remove her-for your safety." He said the last part as if it was an afterthought.

"Am I in danger here, sir?" Lanelle asked.

"No, just keep watching like Elder Vinnot asked. I'll leave one of the guards outside. If you see anything suspicious, notify him immediately."

"Yes, sir."

One of the guards. So there were several. I tried to remember how many different voices I'd heard, but my brain felt muddy. of the guards. So there were several. I tried to remember how many different voices I'd heard, but my brain felt muddy.

I shifted my gaze back to the Luminary, and it was hard to glance away again. From my angle, he seemed tall, but he didn't have broad shoulders. He probably hadn't fought in the war, only healed those who had. On the Duke's side, of course.

"Sir?" a young voice called from the door. "Elder Mancov is asking for you. He says Sersin is awake."

The Luminary's eyes gleamed and he turned away before my panic displaced my calm. The fourth cord. She would describe me, but she'd also be describing Tali.

Tali needed more time to get out. I took a deep breath and...

"Aaaiiieee!" Screaming hurt, but I screeched as loud as my lungs would let me. Flailed my limbs, gritted my teeth against the agony my fake seizure caused. I blubbered. Drooled. Thrashed.

"She's having another one!" Lanelle cried, running over.

The Luminary knelt and grabbed my arms, pinning me down and sending fresh stabs of pain where he touched me. A quick twist and I could grab him him. Send him him flailing to the floor. flailing to the floor.

"Have any of the others developed seizures?" A new voice, older, with more curiosity in it than concern.

Lanelle answered. "No, Elder Vinnot."

At least four of the Luminary's people were in the room, maybe more, and they would skewer me if I hurt their precious leader. I grabbed his arm anyway, giving Tali a few more seconds to get away. Danello needed her, and I needed them both alive and safe. I imagined pushing my hurts into the Luminary, the one person who deserved it more than anyone else, even the Duke. At least the Duke had been honest about trying to kill us. I held on to that image while I forced my screaming muscles to move.

A blur moved at the edge of my vision, above the Luminary's shoulder. Then a low voice, maybe Vinnot's. "There might be a problem with the Mus-"

"Not now," the Luminary snapped.

I strained to focus, but pain and despair finally stilled me. I let the tears fall with the cold sweat. My body felt like I'd been writhing for hours, but mere minutes had more likely pa.s.sed-if not seconds. Was it long enough for Tali to get out of the League?

"Strap her down if her seizures continue," the Luminary said.

"Yes, sir."

He rose and left me in hazy agony. Deep voices muttered too low for me to hear; then the door thudded shut.

Please, Saint Saea, let Tali escape before they realize she was here.

Black and red swirls closed in around me. Surrendering to unconsciousness sounded good, but soft footsteps coming closer kept me awake awhile longer.

Lanelle knelt, her face close enough to grab. I no longer had the strength.

"Who are you?"

I panted, unable to answer even if I wanted to.

"What are you doing here?" She glanced nervously around the room, fingering the single gold cord on her shoulder. "I don't know why you and Tali traded places, and I don't care as long as you keep me out of it. But if you threaten my position here, I'm telling the Luminary everything. I need need this job, bad as it is." this job, bad as it is."

"Don't. Please." Even whispering hurt, but if I kept her talking, kept her close, maybe I'd get enough strength back to dump it all into her. Or maybe ask for help. Or maybe ask for help. No, she'd never help me, not if she could ignore the suffering apprentices. No, she'd never help me, not if she could ignore the suffering apprentices.

"Are you thieves? Is that where you got all this pynvium?"

"Merchants."

She wiped her upper lip, and I could almost see her totaling up the oppas. "How much is in here?"

"Used. For Tali."

She leaned back on her heels, honest desperation on her face. Did she also have someone who needed it? "It was stupid to try and heal her. You can't stop the flow of pain when it is that bad. How do you think they all got here in the first place?"

"Disease," I said, though I doubted my sarcasm came through.

She winced. "You know that's not true."

"I know."

"Then why do this?"

"My sister."

A flicker of emotion crossed her face, but it vanished before I could figure out what it was. Couldn't be sympathy, not after what she'd done. "Even stupider. You know they'll grab her again the next time an aristocrat needs healing."

I tried to gather the pain again, but it was slow to pool. Was my blood starting to thicken already?

Lanelle sighed and rolled a pynvium chunk between her palms. "Maybe she'll get out. A few did in the beginning, when the rumors started, but the Luminary's men caught them. Made examples examples of them." She shuddered and gripped the pynvium tight. "After that, no one wanted to try. If we did what the Luminary said..." of them." She shuddered and gripped the pynvium tight. "After that, no one wanted to try. If we did what the Luminary said..."

I tried not to picture what the Luminary did to those who escaped, but images from the war kept popping in. Gevegian leaders tied to posts, their backs whipped b.l.o.o.d.y. Baskets of severed hands. Bodies cast onto the trash pyres like garbage. Things I'd thought I'd buried years ago when the nightmares had finally stopped.

"What makes you think you won't be next?" I asked.

"Because he needs me. I'm helping him." Her voice cracked.

"Not many left who aren't."

She folded her arms across her chest and stuck her chin out. "What do you you know? You're not even know? You're not even in in the League, are you?" the League, are you?"

"No."

"Then shut up. I have it good here. Elder Vinnot said I could go far, but I'll lose it all if they find out you tricked me. They'll do to me what they did to-" She stared off into s.p.a.ce, jaw tight, eyes scared.

My fingers crept toward her arm, mere inches off the edge of the cot. Skin brushed skin. My whole hand tingled, and a twinge of guilt tickled my belly. If I did this, was I any better than the Luminary?

"People depend on me," she whispered. "And I can't do anything else."

The door slammed open and Lanelle jerked away. The Luminary was on her in seconds, clearly in a panic. He grabbed her arms and shook her like a child scolding a rag doll.