"Heat some kavage for us, eh? We won't be long."
Isdra gave him a smile, and a nod. "I'll see to the babe."
Epor stepped to the doors, and I moved to stand next to him. The light was growing brighter,but the walls and the house made deep shadows around the edge. Epor put his hand on myshoulder. "You will stay with me, and do as I say. If I say run, you will come back here, yes?"
"I will."
He moved then, at a fairly rapid pace, around the square, staying in the shadows as much as hecould. He'd stop every few paces, listening. I'd stop too, but my heart was beating so fast that Iwould not have heard an army approaching. It was scaring me, that he thought this wasnecessary.
The healer's clinic was off the square, in a small alleyway. Epor went in first, urging me to staypressed against the wall next to the door. It was a small area, just the two rooms and a loftabove, much like the house we'd gone in the day before. Epor returned quickly, and gesturedme into the back room. "This is it, Warprize. The room above has only beds with the dead inthem."
It was her stillroom, filled with familiar scents and the cloying odor of death. The room was indisarray, as if it had been used in haste. There were pots of fever's foe over by the fire, still inthe cauldrons. I found half-ground dittany and watermint on the tables. She'd tried them, as shehad said.
Epor stood at the door, shifting his gaze from me to the other room and the outer door. He wasmaking no secret of his impatience, but I wasn't to be rushed.
The old schools of healing taught that you kept your best recipes and discoveries to yourself,calling them the secrets of the trade. Eln took a different approach, teaching that all knowledgemust be shared to make us all better healers. If Rahel was of the old school, she'd have hiddenher notes and recipes somewhere. I only hoped that Rahel had not guarded her secrets toowell.
It took a bit of poking around, but I found rolls of notes in a canister on a high shelf. I put thatin my satchel, along with the notes. With any luck, she'd taken some notes about the process ofthis plague.
Epor coughed. "Warprize…"
"One last thing," I moved to his side. "I want to see the bodies upstairs."
"Quickly."
I moved up the stairs as quickly as I could. It was warmer here and the smell was that muchstronger. I was grateful for the ginger cloth over my nose and throat, but even that couldn'tcover the smell. I stepped to the nearest bed and pulled back the blanket. There were novisible wounds on the body. He lay on his back, as if asleep. The cups and jars on the tablebetween the bed held fever's foe and dittany. I looked at the other man, and had to pause,thinking for some reason that I had seen him before. I studied the face, but death had left hismark and I wasn't sure if—
"Warprize."
I replaced the blankets and moved to leave when a pile of clothing caught my attention.
Quickly I held up the top garment, then shuffled through the rest of the pile. These werepriestly garments, worn by the priests of the Sun God. What were they doing here?
"Warprize."
This time, Epor was at the bottom of the stairs, and not to be denied. I turned to go and took astep, when a noise came from behind me.
From under one of the beds.
I froze, holding my breath. At the bottom of the steps, Epor frowned at me. "Lara, we need to
—"
"I think—" I turned to look, but I was too slow. The man sprang from under the bed, barreledinto me, throwing me to the side. As I fell to the floor, he leaped down on Epor with a snarl.
"Epor!" I called out as I staggered to my feet. There were sounds of a furious struggle below,with grunts and howls from the sick man. I clattered down the stairs, to see them rollingtogether on the floor. "Epor, don't hurt him!"
Epor gave me an exasperated look, even as he tried to pin the man down. The man put up afurious struggle, using fists and teeth to win free of Epor. Epor had him pinned when the mancraned his neck and bit Epor on the arm.
Epor spat a curse. The man escaped, scrambled to his feet, and ran into the still room, withEpor right behind. I winced at the sounds of breaking crockery.
By the time I got to the door, Epor had the man on the ground, and pinned. "Get some rope."
"Rope?" I looked about wildly.
The man heaved under Epor, trying to break free. Epor panted with the effort to keep the mandown. "Get something!"
I reached for a pile of cloth, and handed him some ban-dages. Epor muttered something underhis breath, flipped the man over, and hit him in the jaw. The man collapsed, moaning.
