29
Bryce’s ruined eyes looked as though they were torn and clawed, with muscle showing. I don’t know what my intentions were when I reached out to him. To give him my own eyes. To hug him. To hold him. I don’t know. But then Alexis wrapped her arms around me, pulling me back.
"Don’t touch him, highness. He’s infected," she said, but I didn’t care. I fought to get to him. I yelled and cursed at my people.
“Back off!” I warned. Screw whoever was talking to me. Screw them. Infected or not, I needed to get to Bryce.
I shook of the hands that held me back and stormed forward again, only to feel someone with a grip as solid as iron latch onto my wrist. I turned, staring daggers into he who dared touch me. Víðarr.
“Back off, Víðarr.” My voice shook, like I’d swallowed the effects of an earthquake. I was almost at my breaking point. Almost. Bryce needed his eyes. I needed Bryce’s eyes. I needed him to look at me, to stare into my soul the way only he knew how.
“It is not my position to tell you what to do, highness, but I beg of you, calm down. Bryce needs you to calm down. He needs you to think quick and you can’t do that if you’re like this.”
I opened my mouth and the scream that left my lungs burned my throat raw.
“Feel better,” Víðarr asked.
I nodded. I breathed and I nodded and I breathed again.
Víðarr stepped in front of me. "I’ve already been infected. Chances are it won’t happen again. Stand behind me," he said, wiping tears from my eyes.
I cleared my throat and tried my hardest to hold it together like Víðarr suggested. "Bryce?" I asked. "Can you hear me?"
Bryce nodded his head. His size nearly matched Víðarr’s.
"Bryce? Do you recognize my voice?"
"Yes," he said. His voice deep and throaty. Gruff. “Don’t be sad, Myriana.”
My heart squeezed. Even in all of this he was trying to protect me. I swallowed back the tears that fought to drown me.
"Madb is infected too, highness," Alexis warned.
"Do we bring them inside?" I asked.
"She’ll kill you if she can," Bryce said. "Madness."
Talking with the large tongue was a challenge for him, but I understood the words.
Alexis, clearly of two minds said, "We’ll have to restrain her in the quarantine room. I’ll need to get that set up. Give me five minutes before you bring them to the med building."
"Restrain me! I’m your queen you little bitch! I’ll have your liver for breakfast, I swear!" Madb raved.
"I’m queen here, Madb," I told her.
"I’m not talking to you. Nothing but a pathetic cow!" She screamed.
"Sow," I corrected.
"What?" and I saw confusion cut through her madness and for a moment she was there. I felt it was a good sign. She was still in there, fighting. I prayed that Alexis’ something, would help bring her home.
"Sow," I repeated. "If anything I’m the Boar Queen, which means sow, not cow. Please do your research. Bryce? Can you follow me to the hospital? Do you want Víðarr to carry Madb?"
"Queen Madb! You insignificant..."
"Shut up! You are not queen here!" I ordered, and was surprised that she did. "Now, Bryce? Can you follow?"
He nodded his head, and I ordered the gates open.
He did well. Shifted as he was, I guessed his hearing increased significantly.
"Where did you find her?" I asked him.
"The border," he told me.
"You came all this way, blind?" I asked.
He shook his head, "Half. I let my guard down. Paid for it."
He took several more steps, "My head is on fire. But the voice is gone."
"The voice?" I asked.
"Gone and gone!" Madb sang. "The queen is dead, gone and gone."
At a distance, but forming, was a group of young boys behind Bryce. Their mouths opened in wonder as they followed in through the gate.
Weren’t these kids supposed to be at the Temple?
A cracking sound, like broken thunder ripped the night air. An explosion came from the tree line, and coming down on the gate area was the largest beast I had ever seen. Monstrous.
Víðarr stepped in front of me, pushing me back behind him. Bryce froze, tilted his head, listening. But a large shape pushed past and thundered out to meet the threat. A bear man, huge and muscled, his maw open with a roar of challenge.
Their clash sounded like heavy mallets cracked together.
It was Karal. He was out there protecting the gate, the children and myself. The beast he was up against looked much larger, and stronger. Víðarr motioned, vibrated, wanting to attack, but held himself back to ensure my safety.
"We can’t fire. We’ll hit Karal!" a guard yelled over the raging din.
Then Karal turned and began walking back. The beast fell behind him. It just fell, lifeless to the ground, and Karal turned away as if it never existed and began shifting back into his normal form. By the time he reached me, he was my Karal.
"How did you know it was dead?" I asked.
"I broke its neck," he explained.
I looked around him, peering at the beast, "It doesn’t look like it has a neck."
"Whatever that thing is connecting its head to its shoulders. I broke that."
"Oh."
"Let’s get Bryce inside, and the gate closed," Karal suggested.
"Bears and Boars!" the boys shouted, and ran into the crowd growling and snorting all the way.
Inside the hospital, Alexis came out of the back containment area shaking her head. "We have to get him to shift. His skin is too thick, and tough. I can’t get a needle in him."
"Why isn’t he shifting?" I asked.
"He’s in a great deal of pain, from what I can tell. I don’t have anything that can get a Shifter high. No pain reliever works on them."
A thought crossed my mind. "I might have something?"
"What?" she asked, shocked.
"Karal, could you check around to see if we have any fishermen from the village out there? Tell him I need a blowfish."
They all looked at me like I was a mad woman.
*
It was five hours, long after Wolf shift on the walls when they returned with a blowfish in a bucket. I looked at it, and thought, a dolphin couldn’t be stronger than Bryce, could it?
"That is a neural toxin, highness," Alexis said, nervous. As if being in the same room with the fish was deadly.
I told her what I learned about the dolphins, and she became interested, but said, "That’s an interesting theory. But that is a real live pufferfish."
"If you can’t treat him, what will his prognosis be?" I asked.
"He’ll likely go mad, and if he goes like Madb has we’ll have to kill him to save the Keep," she admitted.
"Tell him to squeeze it with his teeth gently, and then spit it out," I suggested. "Not to chew it. The dolphins pass the fish back and forth, not pieces of the fish. We’ll go from there."
Fifteen minutes later Alexis came back to me, "It worked! I can’t believe it, but damn if it didn’t work. He’s high as a kite right now, but not in pain. And he’s shifted to human state. Goddess, the things he has on his mind."
My contribution to our society, a drug for shifters.
It was nearly morning and still no word from Fenrir or Adian. My heart felt hollow, my teeth felt gnawed. I told myself I knew this could happen. I told myself I understood. Now I knew I was merely giving lip service to those noble actions and commands. This was why mother charged into battle at the front of the line. Cowardice. She didn’t want to order others to go where she wouldn’t go. She didn’t want to live with the choice, knowing she willingly sent another to their death. That she knew they would die, and sent him anyway.
Because it had to be done.
And it had to be him.
I told Iris and Karal I needed to wash, and sleep. The sky in the east had turned royal deep purple. The color of victory. It would pale soon enough. A squealing came from the south, but didn’t last long enough for me to ascend the stairs.
I don’t know how long I soaked in the bath. Perhaps I fell asleep for a time. When I came out, the water was cool, and I dried quickly to keep from chill. With my black robe on, I went out on the balcony to look for them — and heard something drop down on the landing behind me.
"And where have you been?" I asked, turning to meet his eyes.
"It’s long after mid-watch," he said.
"Yes it is," I agreed, my tone cool, but not cold.
"Then I don’t think I have to answer probing personal questions like that one, since you are no longer my queen," he stated, looking smug.
"You’ve been in the Temple, the flower oils are a dead giveaway," I told him, putting my arms around his slender, muscular waist.
"Your tiger likes to float on his back." He encircled me with his arms.
"Yes he does. He loves it more than just about anything else," I said, snuggling into him.
"Well, he has a new love that is on his mind," he told me.
I looked up to him, "Iris?" I don’t know why I said that. I suspected that at some point in time, Iris had feelings for Adian. I never saw any actions or sensed anything from him that would imply he felt the same way. And, if I were to be honest, my suspicion might have solely been unfounded jealousy. That jealousy roared right now. Loud and boisterous, tearing at my gut.
"Iris? Um, no... I wasn’t talking about Iris. I was talking about his new ship." He frowned, and then quirked a smile.
I hoped he didn’t see the ten-pound weight that lifted from my chest. "New ship?"
"After our attack on the hill, we ran to escape the backlash. May is dead, but she left many dangers behind her. I’m not sure how brainless some of them are. Could be an issue in the near future. Anyway, Adian, Dorian and I felt that after some of her comments, we should check the shoreline."
"And you found her ship?"
"Anchored just off shore. An easy swim. We boarded her using the anchor chain. There were thirty or so zombies on board, which we threw overboard and Adian claimed the ship as his. We nearly had to chain him up to get him off the thing and back here — promising the whole way that neither of us wanted the thing."
"Adian has a ship? Like a Navy ship?" I asked.
"Big guns, those launches we saw on shore, the whole thing." He nodded and led me into my room. "He’s calling it the HMS Myriana."
"HMS?"
"Her Majesty’s Ship," he explained. "He read it somewhere. I didn’t know he was so endeared with ships."
"Neither did I? And he can — what is it? Sail it?" I asked.
"He says he can. He’s floating on his back, talking about it, while five priestesses are listening closely."
"Really," I said.
"I guess they’ve heard stories about sailors," he offered.
"I’m sure they have," I agreed. Then paused. Distant.
“What is it, princess?”
I dragged in a deep breath and sighed without restrained. “Bryce is back.”
Fenrir looked happy. He actually smiled the kind of smile a long lost friend would. “That’s a good thing,” he said. “I know he doesn’t quite like me, but…the others weren’t particularly fond of me in the beginning either and…”
“Queen Madb is also here,” I said, with pretty much the same tone.
Fenrir’s smile dropped. “I’m missing something.” Panic filled his eyes.
“She clawed his eyes out and he so he brought her here…blind.”
His hands engulfed me and I cried. I cried so hard into his chest for what felt like hours. When the last tear had tried I thanked him for holding me. And then put a little space between us. “As much as I would like to spend the nice with you, I need the others. I need Adian and I need Karal,” I said.
Fenrir took my hand in his. “I can stay,” he offered and I felt bad having to deny him, but knew I would. Or rather, I thought I would, because I couldn’t have guessed at what came next. “If they don’t have a problem with it, I can get them and we can all spend the night with you. If that’s not okay, I won’t take offense.”
My mouth felt empty of words and I could do nothing but nod. Fenrir smiled solemnly before turning to get Karal and Adian.