"Send word of your lives to me. Send kavage, for I will grow ugly without it. I have sent wordsfor Joden's song. Read them to him."
Gils came to stand at the end of the bed, his hands on his hips, chest thrust out. 'Tell thatWarlord of yours that all is well, and that he could have no better voice than I. Fare well, littlehealer, Xylara, Daughter of Xy, Warprize and my friend." Gils bowed, and I laughed, lookingup into Keir's face again to share the moment. His eyes softened as he returned the look.
Gils approached, his eyes alight. "Warprize, here are the others. I could only read that ofSimus. The words in the others are too hard."
"You did very well, Gils." I smiled at him, and he blushed.
"Now." Marcus stood. "Isdra and I have to wash the babe's things before we are overcomewith the stink." He fixed his good eye on Keir. "You are getting flabby. Go spar with Gils.
Leave her to her letters."
Gils went pale, his eyes wide.
Keir raised an eyebrow at Marcus, then looked at me. "Do you need anything?"
"She's fine." Marcus started to push him out of the tent. "Are we not within calling distance?
Go. Work out your frustrations, yes?"
"Why me?" Gils protested, as they all filed out.
Simus was right. The formal letters from my council were dull and dry. They'd all been sentsome time ago, so there was no mention of the plague, or its effects on the city. Simus hadincluded another letter for Joden, with his version of the events that had reunited me with Keir.
I tucked that one away to read to Joden once we were all together again.
The parchment of the various missives crackled under my fingers. Othur had included a short,private note to tell me that he and Anna were well and that Lord Durst was still recoveringfrom the blow that Keir had dealt him.
The next set of letters would tell me what had happened. If the plague had hit the city. If Elnhad gotten my warnings in time. As much as I longed for word, I dreaded it as well. Eln wouldwant the details of what had happened, and how I had managed to survive an illness that killeda warrior in his prime and the entire village of Wellspring. How Isdra and the babe remainedhealthy when everyone else succumbed. I had no answers.
From outside the tent I could hear the sounds of sparring, and water being sloshed in buckets.
Probably Marcus and Isdra washing the babe's cloths. The guilt rose in my chest, and my eyesfilled. The entire village, the babe's mother… the babe's name… we'd lost all of that. Rahel'sremedies and cures, her stash of notes, all gone in a matter of days. What kind of illness wasthis, that some lived on for days, and others suffered for a few hours, but all die? All except me.
Of course, they hadn't had Gils. I smiled, wiping my tears. I couldn't ask for a betterapprentice. He was so passionate about his new skills. He'd taken an old saddle bag, and wasusing his spare moments to make it into a kind of satchel, stitching on a wide strap, and addingpockets for 'lots of useful things'. He'd offered to give it to me, but I'd told him to make meanother one when he was done with his.
My smile faded slightly. Gils had found a way to break my fever, which had left me with enoughstrength to fight the lethargy and the fluids that had built up in my lungs. But I doubted that Elnwould be satisfied with my new remedies. He'd want an herbal cure and I'd nothing to offer.
All I had to offer was a desperate way to bring down a raging fever, and a touch that caused thebody to do what it should do on its own. Those were not the weapons with which to defeat aninvisible enemy.
The tent flap opened and Keir stepped in, sweating in his armor. He gave me a gentle look, andI flushed a bit, conscious that this was the first time that we'd been alone since the fever hadbroken.
He came to stand at the foot of my bed. "All's well?" He nodded toward the letters.
"It was." I gathered up the documents. "I need to send a message to Eln and tell him what hashappened."
"Good. We'll do so before we leave for the Plains."
Startled, I looked up at him. "Surely before that. We can't leave for some forty days."
It was amazing how those blue eyes could change in an instant. They sparked like flint as hisbody tensed. "Another day will see you well enough to travel. We'll leave for the Heart of thePlains the day after tomorrow."
"You can't be serious." I gaped at him. "Keir, we have to stay isolated from the others forforty days. I have explained this to you—"
He cut me off, raising his voice to drown me out. "With the elements favor we will make up thelost days on the journey. We will rejoin the army, and depart this place."
The letters scattered over the bed as I struggled up out of the blankets. 'This illness killed anentire village, not to mention Epor. For the love of the Goddess, Keir, you must listen to me!"
The sound of our voices had attracted attention. Marcus came into the tent, with Gils peekingaround the flap. Isdra stood behind them, considering us carefully, a serious look on her face.
