Chapter 10
The Meaning of Sacrifice
After Zandra’s departure, Ailey spent two days ensuring the patients continued to improve. It had been almost a week since they had lost anyone from the illness. Now it was time to see about cleansing the people who appeared healthy and starting the process of cleaning up the real problem.
Of course, she didn’t tell anyone about the actual cause, that Sluagh cells had contaminated the water, and she certainly did not mention the probability of something worse causing the problem. She used simpler terms that were less frightening and that would keep the populace form panicking, or worse, rioting over the discovery. Her findings would be recorded for medics to study, but many similar findings were never revealed to larger audiences.
Over those couple of days, Ailey pondered how to proceed. The immediate danger appeared to be over, but how long would it take to get an expert to Melzi? How long would it take to find the creature? Could the city, finally beginning to recover, afford another setback if it took too long?
Ailey tried to find a solution other than her going into the undercity, but there was nothing that presented itself. She had heard that the closest professionals were in Tepe Sialk dealing with something. The next closest were across the ocean. She frowned at the report as she read it again, and she wondered how much of a coincidence it was that all of this happened at the same time. There were always bad things going on, but usually they were less mysterious. War was horrible, but it wasn’t the same as the strange and inexplicable events that seemed to be cropping up in the seven kingdoms. With a sigh, Ailey knew that it wasn’t something she would be able to solve; her plate was already quite full.
Deciding that there was nothing for it but to try to figure out at least what they were facing, Ailey began to tell people that she was going to go away for a short break to convalesce somewhere more remote. She received no pushback.
Packing up her bag, Ailey looked around the little place that had been her residence for such a short period of time. A lot had happened, but that was now in the past. There was no need to return after her trek to the undercity because she had had plenty of time to look for clues about what had happened to Ester while she had been hiding her illness. She had talked to the guards, and none of them had noticed anything unusual that night. There had to be someone somewhere who knew, but that was not the task before her. Right now, she needed to see what could be done about the undercity.
As the door closed behind her, the paper on the table fluttered and slid onto the floor. A figure stepped out of the shadow and picked it up. The paper was placed back on top of the table, a quick note hastily scrawled along the bottom, then a weight was placed on the corner to keep the paper from moving. When the door stirred the air again, the paper rustled but remained in one place.
Ailey waved at the guards at the gate, and moved up the road a ways. When she was out of sight of the city, she moved into the woods and backtracked to the city. The entrance to the undercity was beneath a forgotten grate at the base of the southern wall. The thing was rusted shut, but Ailey had plenty of concoctions to force it open. After removing the rust, she greased the hinges, and the lid swung open without a sound. She bit her lip as she looked into the darkness. Naturally, she had packed a lot of candles, but it was possible that the walls would be too damp, putting out her light and trapping her underground.
“Don’t.”
Startled, Ailey dropped the lid and quickly turned around. She knew the voice, but there was no one there. “Ash?” There was a note of hope in her voice as she looked around at the long, open stretch of land. There was nowhere for Ash to hide if he had been there.
Shaking her head, Ailey looked around. There was a large piece of wood nearby, likely thrown over the ramparts. She picked it up, tore a part of her dress, and wrapped it around the wood. Next she pulled open the lid. Without allowing any time to hesitate, she struck a match and lit the makeshift torch. She descended into the undercity, all consideration for safety left behind.
Several hours passed with only a few signs of anything more sinister underground. There were a few human corpses, something that she realized she should have expected, given human nature. These were usually near sewer openings in the streets. Still, it was jarring to see them, and she passed by them as quickly as possible.
At one point she stopped under one of the openings and looked up. The sun was well underway to setting, yet she had nothing, not a sign or hint of what had started the plague.
Suddenly a loud noise echoed from a far passage. Holding up her torch, Ailey tried to see the source of the noise. With only more passages shown back at her, she moved toward the source. The closer she got, the more Ailey could hear a low whimpering. Quickening her pace, she fully expected to find an abandoned pet dropped into the sewer. It was such a long drop, it was amazing that anything could survive.
The passage sloped down, and Ailey knew that she was reaching the really old portion of the undercity. If there really was something under the city, this was likely where it would be. Of course, it wouldn’t be easy to find it. The old Melzi was smaller than the current one, but it was still bigger than Derbe, which meant it would be easy to get lost. The further she went, the more city there was above her. She was several levels down by the time she reached the end of the slope. There were no sewer lids down here, no sources of light besides her torch.
A hand stretched out of the darkness and pulled the torch from her hands. “You wanted to ditch me so badly that you drugged me.”
At first Ailey had no words. She had come down here expecting to find the unexpected, but this was probably the only thing she had never anticipated. As soon as she looked into Ash’s eyes, a smile spread across her face. Without a word, she wrapped her arms around him. “Thank gods, you are alright.”
He pushed her away. “Did you mean to give me enough to hurt me? Is that surprise on your face?”
Ailey grinned from ear to ear. “I kept you away long enough that you shouldn't be in danger anymore. I hoped you would be furious and just forget about me. You are too young to think clearly. I wasn’t about to let you get killed because of me.”
Her smile faltered as she realized Ash hadn’t smiled once yet. He took a step toward her, but it was menacing. “I'm too young? Coming from you, that’s rich. I’m over twice your age.”
“Yes, but Anani said-”
“Oh, of course, Anani said, so there’s no reason to talk to me about it. Let’s ignore my thoughts on the matter and pretend that what I feel is nothing more than the error of youth.” He stepped toward her, the torch casting a sinister light across his face. Ailey stepped back, her foot hitting a part of the ground that stuck out. She lost her balance and landed hard on the ground.
As she looked up at Ash, she saw a strange shadow on the wall behind him. The light from the torch flickered, making it difficult to tell what was moving just out of the light. She scrambled to her feet, her eyes searching the darkness.
Ash watched her without a word.
A strange shape formed on the wall, and too late, she realized that it was about to strike. Pushing Ash to the side, Ailey felt something push through her stomach, knocking her backward. She slammed into the wall and for a moment she stayed pressed up against it with something pushing on her from the front. Ailey tried to get her eyes to see through the near-complete darkness, but the torch had gone out when it had hit the ground. There was an excruciating pain in her abdomen.
An ear-splitting roar soon distracted her from the pain in her stomach. As she covered her ears, the thing pressing her against the wall pulled away, and she dropped like a rag doll to the ground. Clutching at her side, Ailey could feel the blood flowing through a gash in her side. Pulling herself to the side, Ailey propped herself up against the wall and opened her bag. She didn’t need the light to know what to do. Another roar startled Ailey, but she remained focused on her work. Pushing in on the wound, she began to call out, “Ash.” There was no response, but her voice was weak, and she had used all of her strength to get him out of the way. She coughed as she called his name a few more times. Ailey felt some small sense of success that she did not taste blood. Pulling the bag onto her shoulders, she tried to pull herself to her feet. “Ash, please answer me.”
As if in response to her plea there was a burst of green light that lit up the area. Ailey sank back to the floor as she realized several things. The area was a large, open cavern that had obviously housed something truly terrifying. However, she couldn’t be certain what it was because there were two potential creatures down there with her that qualified as truly terrifying.
Another burst of green light and she could see that it was some kind of fire that burned everything around it. Unlike the fires she was accustomed to, there was no acrid smell. She couldn't see much without the fire, so she held her breath and waited for the fire to get a better view of her surroundings.
“Ash,” her voice was a little louder. A blast of green fire lit up the cavern, and she momentarily saw the two creatures. One was dark and scabbed-looking. Its tail was similar to a scorpion’s, but the head was more like a hideous dog. The other was a dragon. Ailey pressed herself against the wall as if trying to make herself smaller. Her hands pressed on her wound. “Ash. Ash, I’m sorry. Come on, we need to get out of here so I can properly apologize.”
The dragon roared and green fire shot from its mouth. The monster screeched and lashed out with its tail, striking the dragon’s neck. The dragon roared again, this time breathing fire in a large swath across the cavern. Flames leapt from the gnarled fur on the monster’s head, and it screeched again, retreating toward the back of the cavern. The dragon stomped its front feet and roared again, small fires starting all around it. With a quick turn, the dragon’s tail knocked the feet out from under the monster, causing it to stumble into the wall. The cavern shook.
Ailey whimpered and tried to stand again. “Please, Ash. We need to-” Her foot struck something, and she tumbled to the ground. Immediately, Ailey looked at what had tripped her, begging any god who was listening that it not be Ash. The makeshift torch rocked where it had fallen. Ailey’s eyes began to look everywhere around her. “Ash. Ash. Please answer me. Please. I’m not going to leave you down here.”
The dragon roared again and moved its front feet. Faster than her eye could understand, it leapt forward and grabbed the monster in its jaws. The thing began to shriek and squirm, its limbs flailing as its tail repeatedly struck the dragon. In the light of so many small fires, Ailey could see purplish blood streaming down its sides. The dragon roared again, its head tilted up, causing the monster to slide further into the sharp teeth. There was a loud crunching sound, and the monster suddenly went limp. The dragon spat the animal out and immediately breathed fire on it. The dragon stomped its front legs as it continually breathed fire on the monster.
“Come on, Ash. I'm sorry. I really am. I only wanted to keep you safe. It won’t mean anything if you die down here. None of it will mean anything. Please.”
The dragon turned and looked in her direction. Ailey moved backward a little, one hand pressing against her stomach, the other trying to push her up. “Ash, we need to leave now. Ash, where are you? I am not going to leave without you.”
The dragon moved faster toward her, but there was an obvious limp as it did.
“Ash,” her voice was as loud as she could make it. “I’m sorry, Ash. I wish…” Her voice trailed off as the dragon reached her and its eyes focused on her.
Suddenly, the dragon’s shape began to shift. Ailey was still as the large animal shrunk, then its limbs grew and its torso shrank. Faster than should have been possible, she found herself looking at a human form.
“I’m right here. It’s okay. You’re going to be okay.” Ailey felt arms wrap around her and lift her from the ground.
“Ash?” Her hand stretched out and touched the man. “Ash?”
He was moving rapidly, but it wasn’t a smooth motion.
“Ash,” Ailey’s voice was a little weaker as she put her head against his neck.
“It’s okay. I’m right here.” She was vaguely aware of him kissing her head. “I will get you out of here. Gods, this is my fault. This is all my fault.”
Shaking her head, Ailey clutched him. “No, I did this. I knew that it was wrong, I knew that it was a mistake, but I came down here anyway.”
“Shh. Don’t talk.” He moved faster and she could tell that they had made it up the slope away from the cavern. The movements were more pronounced, as if Ash was having trouble staying on his feet.
Afraid to do anything to distract him, Ailey remained quiet as he took them back to the lid where she had entered. The lid slammed open and he shot through the opening. He placed her gently on the ground, then pulled her hand off her stomach. “Oh gods, Ailey. Ailey. No, no, no, no.” He looked around, then he leaned down and pressed his hands against her side.
“It’s okay, Ash. It’s okay. You are alright, so everything is okay.” She reached up and touched his face.
“It’s not okay.” He frowned at her. Ash stretched out a hand, and somehow he was holding a vine. Ailey watched as he sucked on the end. A small stream of water flowed from it, and he placed it over her side. Ailey expected to feel excruciating pain, but it felt more like she was standing under a small waterfall. She felt herself losing consciousness as Ash focused on her side. “Please, Ailey, please stay with me.”
A dull pain in her side woke Ailey. She opened her eyes and looked at a familiar ceiling. The medic tried to sit up, but her side wouldn’t allow for it. With a soft groan, she pushed herself into a sitting position.
“You are awake!” Ailey turned her head and saw Thelon standing up from her table.
“Where’s Ash?” She looked around and saw a prostrate form on a small bed in the corner of the room. She flung the covers way from herself, ignoring the pain that protested her actions. “Ash.”
“He’s not doing well. We’ve tried giving him the potion, but we can’t get it to stay down.”
“How long has he been like this?”
“About five hours.”
Ailey ignored the panic building in her thoughts. “Please bring me my bag.”
“Ailey, you need to rest-” He put a hand on her arm.
She shrugged him away. “Just bring me the bag, then leave.”
“You know I cannot-”
“He’s not human, Thelon. Ash is a shifter. None of the things you do are going to help him. I may have a solution, but I don’t want someone around second-guessing me.”
“You know I trust-”
Ailey turned and looked Thelon in the eyes. “Then please, bring me my bag and leave.”
“I protest this, but…” He picked up her bag and put it on a table beside Ash.
“Noted. And thank you.”
He simply nodded, then left.
Ailey pulled out the small case with the dagger. The blood on the blade was still wet. Thousands of questions went through her mind as she picked it up by the hilt, but she pushed them all to the side.
Ailey pulled Ash’s shirt out of the way and placed her hand against his chest. Her eyes noticed the dragon tattoo, and the way it seemed to smile at her from Ash’s smooth skin. Her mind pushed this aside. “Please, Ash, come back to me.”
Raising the dagger, she brought it down into Ash’s chest over his heart. His back arched, and a rattling filled his chest. Ailey held the dagger in place, the tears streaming from her eyes.
After what felt like forever, Ash’s body relaxed. Ailey removed one of her hands from the dagger and felt for his pulse. It was weak, but still there. Pulling the dagger out, she placed a clean cloth over the wound.
“Please, Ash.” She sank to her knees, and put her head on his chest. “Don’t leave me.”