Nervous about what I’d learn, I crept closer and knelt at Ryker’s side. “What happened?”
When he looked at me, lines etched his mouth, and the fear in his eyes frightened me. Blood streaked his cheeks and bare chest. Dried blood crusted in his hair, which stood on end; he’d probably been running his fingers through it.
“You’re here,” he said.
The need and sorrow in those two words tugged at my heart. I rested my hand on his arm. “I’m here. What happened?”
“We were attacked by something called a cordou.”
I frowned as I studied Tucker. Why wasn’t he moving?
He’s not even blinking.As I realized this, Ianto leaned forward and dripped water in his eyes to keep them moist. That had to feel extremely uncomfortable, but Tucker showed no sign of it.
“I don’t know what a cordou is,” I said.
“It’s a beast with the body of a scorpion and the head of a tiger. Its stinger holds poison.”
“That sounds horrible.”
“It wasn’t fun,” Ianto muttered.
My attention shifted to Tucker; his eyes were on me. I leaned closer to rest my hand on his brow; his eyes followed my movements, but no other part of him did.
Beneath my palm, his forehead was warm but not overly so. “What did it do to him? Why isn’t he moving?”
Ryker and Ianto carefully rolled Tucker on his side to expose his back. Like Ryker, hundreds of scars crisscrossed Tucker’s skin, as he’d suffered as much abuse at the hands of the ophidians as Ryker.
My heart ached for him and all he’d endured as I rested my hand on his shoulder. A big, red, puckered mark was in the center of his faded scars. I didn’t know how big it had been before, but skin was knitting over it, and it wasn’t bleeding.
It was big enough that it once bled a lot, but his skin had been cleaned and remained unbandaged. Ryker set him carefully back down on the bed of blankets set up for him.
“When the cordou stung him, it injected a poison that paralyzed him,” Ryker said.
“Is it permanent?” I asked.
Tucker’s eyes flew to me, and sensing the panic I’d created in him, I cursed myself before leaning forward to rest my hand on his shoulder. I couldn’t imagine what he was experiencing, the claustrophobia and hopelessness.
“That was a stupid thing to say. It’s not permanent,” I assured him.
He didn’t look convinced, and I deeply regretted my question. Leaning back, I looked to Ryker, but he didn’t answer me, probably because he didn’t know the answer, and neither of us wanted to upset Tucker more.
Behind Tucker, Farley stopped pacing. When I looked at him, he held up his small hands and gave the poltergeist’s version of a shrug.
I swallowed back the lump in my throat and smiled at Tucker. He didn’t look at all appeased by it as his eyes pleaded for some mercy.
“What can I do to help?” I asked Ryker.
“Ianto and I got most of, if notall,the poison out. For now, we’re keeping him comfortable,” Ryker said.
I kept my hand on Tucker as I settled beside Ryker. I closed my eyes and silently pleaded for Tucker to get through this and return to us.
I couldn’t think about what would happen if we lost him. It woulddevastateRyker, and I’d grown to love him too.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
Ellery
A few hours later,one of Tucker’s fingers twitched. It was the first sign of movement, other than his eyes, he’d shown since I arrived in the camp, and the amsirah cheered before going quiet again. Just because he’d moved a finger, it didn’t mean he was clear of the poison.
