CHAPTER 27
She was not gettingbetter. It had been two days since he found her ill and hallucinating from the fever. He had given her the antiviral and had tried to keep the fever controlled to prevent further hallucinations. She was conscious and lucid, but very weak. The fever had not relented despite the regular application of antipyretics, and he suspected the medication was the only thing preventing the fever from skyrocketing to hallucinatory levels. Or worse, brain damage levels.
Now their medical supplies were running low, and he was running out of options. The medical kit contained the essentials for surviving most diseases and treating wounds that were available in their time. But it couldn’t possibly cure every disease known to humankind. It seemed whatever infection she had caught; it was a stubborn one. And she didn’t have the necessary defenses against it. If she did not improve soon, he was fully prepared to abort the mission and depart sooner than expected.
He went to the bedside and placed a hand on her fevered forehead.
“Kalli, are you awake?”
Her eyes opened halfway and focused on him. “Hmm.”
“How do you feel?”
“Headache, body aches. Tired.”
“Any better than yesterday?”
“You asked me that already. Don’t know.” She closed her eyes again.
“I was thinking we may need to end the mission sooner than we anticipated if you don’t start improving soon.”
“But we already agreed with Olivia that we were departing next Sunday.” She didn’t even open her eyes this time. Her voice was a little thread.
“Your health is more important than the agreements we might have made. If there are no improvements by tomorrow, I’m taking you back to our time. With or without her.”
“Can’t do that, Dariux. We promised.”
“Funny that you now insist on taking her with us when, before, it was you who wanted to leave her here.”
“Didn’t want to leave her, just wanted to give her the choice. Besides, there’s no need to be hasty. My life is not in danger. I just need a little time to recover.”
He wished he could be sure about that. But he recalled too well reading about the Spanish Flu and how lethal it was. They were years before that happened, but could she have something similar? At least she wasn’t showing signs of respiratory distress, and nobody else in the hotel was seriously ill. He had interrogated the maids, and they reported that most guests were in good health.
He, himself, had not contracted the disease, despite being in close contact with her. Of course, he had boosted himself with a dose of antiviral. The other guests would have no defenses against the infection. He hoped she was an isolated case. And more importantly, that she would recover soon. It was unsettling seeing his energetic little sprite brought so low, her spark so dimmed.
A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. That must be the food he had ordered. He answered the door and took the tray from the server’s hands. No one was allowed to enter the room because he feared the disease would spread.
Returning to the bedside with the tray, he placed it on the small table he had set up by the bed.
“Kalli, the food is here. I ordered some beef broth with vegetables.”
“Not hungry.”
“Nevertheless, you need to eat. Let me help you sit up.”
He put a hand under her shoulders to help her sit up and stacked pillows behind her. She didn’t complain, but simply lay there, limp and despondent.
“Here.” He placed the tray with the bowl of broth on her lap. Seeing that she made no effort to grab the spoon, or even open her eyes, he dipped the spoon in the broth and brought it to her lips. “Open.”
She opened her eyes and then her mouth a little more reluctantly. He dumped the contents of the spoon in her mouth.
“I can eat by myself,” she informed him, a spark of annoyance coloring her tone. It was the most welcome retort. Let her snap at him, as long as she wasn’t so listless.
