Chapter Thirty-Six
Swarm
Lucien slowly peeled his eyes open. A dingy ceiling sat above him. Shadows flickered across its surface from the small fire nearby. It took him a moment to remember where he was. He was still disoriented, and his mind somewhat hazy.
He had no knowledge of how long he’d been out. Sound faintly came to him, and he turned his head to see Johna lying on her side next to him, facing him. Rolling over, he checked her for signs of breathing. He didn’t hear the gurgling he was expecting. Alarmed, he rose up on one elbow, and a wave of dizziness hit him. It took a couple of seconds for his head to settle, and he reached over to touch her cheek. It was cool but dry. There was no sign of fever and she appeared to be breathing okay. But it didn’t mean she was out of the woods.
A scratching noise caught his attention. Gradually, he rose into a sitting position and looked over at where his mother was lying. She was on her side, facing him. A length of her dark blue hair lay across her nose and mouth, and he could see it flutter slightly as she breathed. Like Johna, the tight expression that had masked her face was gone. She appeared more at ease.
There was no one else in the room with him. Distantly, he caught more of the noise that may have awakened him, and he immediately recognized it. The muffled shouts. The high-pitched howls. His body tightened with the realization that the compound was under siege.
A movement to the far left drew his attention, and he froze. His sword lay on the ground near Atty, out of reach, but he still had Mattox’s dagger. Gripping it firmly, he kept his eyes on the area where he’d detected something, when the scratching noise came again. This time, to his right.
Turning his head, he stopped, the breath knocked out of his lungs at the sight of the immense cockroach crawling up Johna’s thigh. It was huge, the length and breadth of a man’s arm. It sat there, waving its antenna in the air as it observed him. Lucien saw its mandibles move, when it suddenly hunched down, as if preparing to fly off.
He launched himself at it, swinging his arm sideways to knock it off Johna’s leg. He felt his hand connect with it, and a cold gush of something spread over his fingers as he buried the dagger in it.
Another rush of dizziness spiked inside his head, nearly causing him to black out. Fighting it, he dragged himself over to see if there were any more of those things. There, in flickering light, were at least half a dozen of the creatures slowly advancing toward Johna. They moved in spurts, a few inches at a time, then paused for a moment before continuing forward.
More scratching emanated from behind him. This time it came from the direction where his mother lay. Unable to see how many of those things there were, he forced himself up onto his hands and knees. If he couldn’t stand, maybe he could crawl.
He listed hard to the side as he fought to keep his equilibrium. Lucien threw out his hands, hoping to break his fall and keep from landing on Johna. His hand holding the dagger hit something lying against her back, and he heard the soft, wet sound as the blade punctured it. The smell of alcohol wafted up to him, and he realized he’d stabbed the bag of Iain’s precious fluid.
Somehow he managed to get back up and peered over her, expecting to see the roaches congregating against her body. Instead, they seemed to have retreated. A thin sheet of alcohol covered the floor between her and them, and Lucien realized it was keeping the enormous insects away from her.
Grabbing the bag, he poured the rest of its contents around her. Several roaches whirred their wings, but none took off, but neither did they try to draw nearer. Tucking the empty water bag against her, he went to check on his mother.
To his horror, one of the bugs was chewing on her boot. Lucien yelled at it, waving his arm to drive it away, but the insect didn’t move. Scooting closer, he swung his arm at the thing. It appeared to duck right before he struck it. Then, incredibly, it latched onto his arm and bit the side of his wrist. Lucien smashed his hand against the floor. The cockroach made a solid crunching sound, but it still managed to keep clinging to his arm. Raising his other hand, he made a fist and pounded the creature until it released him. Taking the dagger, he shoved it into the thing’s abdomen, and more of the yellowish pus spurted outward. He pressed down harder, keeping both hands on the dagger until the roach stopped wriggling.
He turned to see another wave of those things moving toward Atty, including the ones who had attempted to go after Johna. With their way blocked by the alcohol, they had shifted their focus on the only other food source within their reach.
If he tried to get to his feet, he feared falling or blacking out. If that happened, chances were those things would get to Atty, and eventually Johna, and it wouldn’t be the virus that killed them.
Getting on the ground, he rolled sideways, toward his sword. Grabbing it, he sliced the head off one roach that made the bad choice of peering over Atty’s body. More custard yellow blood sprayed over them as the headless creature scuttled backwards.
He leaned over his mother’s body to find several creatures nibbling on her pants and shirt. He tried to use his sword to sweep them away, but the blade was ineffective. In his disoriented condition, he was also afraid of accidentally stabbing or cutting her.
One cockroach decided to resume feeding, and darted forward. Lucien backhanded it, when the insect latched onto his hand and bit down. He grunted in pain and jerked back. Wrapping the fingers of his other hand around the hard brown carapace, he pulled it off and flung it across the room.
He needed a weapon. He needed something he could use to beat them off.
Beat them off…
He rubbed the horse blanket between his fingers. It worked fine when beating out a fire, but it was too soft to do any damage to the insects. He needed something harder. Something that would put a dent…
He quickly untied the laces holding the metal plates of his outer armor, and shrugged out of them just as another cockroach moved up to take the place of the one he’d tossed away. He brought the hand-sized plating down across the thing’s back. It made a loud cracking sound. Foot-long legs wriggled uselessly as the roach tried unsuccessfully to escape.
Lucien aimed for the next insect as it approached. The thing scurried out of reach a split-second before he could hit it. A hard, painful jarring shot up his arm as he slammed the metal on the stone floor. These things were growing cautious, backing far enough away to be out of reach. Content to wait him out if need be.
Or so they thought.
He pulled off his soft leather armor and eyed the distance between the giant roaches and the wall. A quick check behind him showed Johna was still safe, but the alcohol was quickly evaporating. He prayed that, for the time being, the residue left on the floor would be enough to keep the creatures from going after her again.
The roaches seemed to change their minds and made their move, maybe thinking that if they attacked altogether, they’d be able to reach their prey. Lifting his leather shirt, he brought it down and sideways, stunning several and knocking others away. They tried again, and he managed to repel them. A third time they charged. One managed to cling to the overshirt as the rest skittered to the far side of the room. Lucien leaned over his mother, wrapped the roach inside the folds, and began bashing it with his fist. The muffled crunching sounds were oddly satisfying. After one more punch, he paused to see if the thing continued to struggle and glanced around. Several roaches crouched near the doorway leading to the main dining hall.
Suddenly, they scattered, disappearing into a wide crack in the corner he hadn’t noticed before. Heavy footsteps pounded down the short hallway, and Yulen and Paxton burst into the room. Their armor and swords were covered in different color ichor, showing they’d been engaged with the enemy, since Bloods didn’t bleed red like Normals or Mutah.
It took the men less than a second to take in the scene. Yulen rushed over to where the decapitated roach continued to struggle, and brought his heel down squarely on top of it. As Paxton dispatched a couple of the insects which tried to climb the walls, the battle lord dropped to his knees beside Atty.
“Luc! Are you—”
Iain ran in from the other doorway and stared in shock at the carnage. “Oh, dear Jesus! What happened?”
“Never mind me. Check Mom and Johna. I think their fever broke.” He was breathing hard from his exertions. His head continued to swirl, but he was able to remain cognizant.
Yulen reached out and placed a hand on Lucien’s arm. “You’re shaking like a leaf. Answer me. Were you hurt?”
“No.” He managed to shake his head without feeling faint. “But I saw those things nibbling on Mom and Johna. Are they okay?”
Iain examined Atty. “I don’t see any broken skin.” Rolling her onto her back, he pressed his ear to her chest. Everyone remained silent while he listened to her breathing. His eyes widened, and he sat up. “I can still hear fluid in her lungs, but it doesn’t sound as thick as it was. She’s also breathing easier.”
“Does that mean she’s getting better?”
The physician placed a hand on her face and back of her neck. “She seems to have cooled down some. I not going to say the virus has peaked. But if this continues come daylight, I’ll be more willing to say she’s starting to come out of it.”
“And Johna?”
Iain went over to examine the young woman, checking her the way he’d done with Atty. “Same thing.” He looked to Lucien. “The transfusion may have worked.”
“Thank God,” Yulen whispered, glancing around the room. “Looks like all of us managed to repel an attack.”
“Yeah,” Paxton agreed. “But I’m willing to bet Luc’s story is a whole lot more interesting that what we just went through.”
Before the men could ask any more questions, Lucien pointed to the crack in the far corner of the room. “The roaches retreated back in there. I bet that’s where they originated.” His gesture drew his father’s attention, and the man grabbed his hand.
“You were bitten. Iain, come look at this!”
“It doesn’t hurt,” Lucien protested.
Iain scooted over, clutching the remains of his alcohol bag. Tearing off a piece of his shirt, he dabbed it inside the container, then applied it to the wound. “That’s all the alcohol left.”
“Sorry. It was the only way to keep those things away from Johna while I tried to protect Mom.” He waved again toward the crack. “The roaches came from there,” he repeated.
“Then I’ll bet that’s where we’ll also find water, since those thing like the dampness,” the battle lord declared. “Warren, have Cole go get Pechard and bring the man to the main hall. Then fetch Jarish and his men. It’s time we started digging a well.”