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‘Got me,’ Cal wheezed, writhing in agony. ‘There were three of them.’
Sure enough, it wasn’t just the one bite on his hand. Thea turned his arm over, finding two more puncture wounds already swelling.
‘Fuck,’ she said. ‘Kipp, give me my satchel and that canteen of water.’
‘I’m guessing it was venomous?’ Cal panted through gritted teeth.
‘Fraid so,’ Thea replied, recognising the brown scales from an experiment Farissa had coordinated a few years ago. ‘But stay calm.’
‘Easy for you to say,’ Cal bit out.
Kipp was at Thea’s side, handing her the things she’d asked for. ‘Should I suck the venom out?’
Cal gave a moan of pain. ‘You’re not sucking anything of mine, Kristopher —’
Thea’s hands worked quickly to unscrew the top of the canteen. ‘That’s a myth,’ she said, trying to keep the fear from her voice. ‘Keep your arm low, Cal. It slows the venom going to your heart.’
‘Comforting.’ Sweat beaded on his brow.
Thea washed the wounds with water and then rummaged in the satchel Wren had packed for her. There had to be something in there. Salve for burns. Bandages. Dried iruseed –might need that later, she thought, forcing herself to think logically. Soot root powder. Lavender tincture for pain —
‘Yes!’ she half-shouted, ripping a tiny vial of brown liquid from one of the inner pockets and pulling the cork from the top with her teeth. Wren thought of everything. ‘This will stop the poison.’
She thrust a small stick at Cal. ‘Bite down on this,’ she told him, placing it between his teeth. ‘Kipp, hold him down.’
His eyes went wide and Kipp grimaced as he placed his hands on their friend’s shoulders, murmuring apologies.
Thea didn’t waste another moment, she poured the liquid on each of the bites.
Cal thrashed beneath Kipp’s hold, his screams muted around the stick in his mouth.
‘Anti-venom,’ she told him, trying to soothe him as the waves of pain took hold and he convulsed beneath their grip. ‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry,’ she said.
When she was done, she took the clean linen strips from the satchel and wrapped each of his wounds tightly.
Cal lay at Kipp’s knees, drenched in sweat, panting, a slight green sheen to his skin.
Kipp helped him into a sitting position. ‘Will he be alright?’ he asked her.
Thea wiped her friend’s brow and put the canteen of water to his lips, forcing him to drink. ‘I think so. Thanks to Wren,’ she said, patting the satchel at her side.
‘And you,’ Cal wheezed.
‘You can thank me later.’ She turned her back to them so she could gather herself. That was twice now she’d nearly lost him.
But when she faced him again, Cal was grinning weakly. ‘Two down…’ He held up his totem.
Thea’s heart sank, remembering the tug she’d felt towards the flock of birds as they’d broken through the canopy. ‘About that…’ she said quietly. ‘I think there was one with those birds.’
Cal stared at her. ‘What?’
‘I felt it, just before you fell.’
Cal nudged Kipp to help him to his feet. ‘So we’d best get moving. Let’s get you a totem.’ He was unsteady at first, but as they gathered their weapons, he seemed to find his footing.
They were a little slower now, but they made their way to the edge of the island just the same. Only to stop abruptly.
The gap between their island and the next was far bigger than even the first had been. What awaited them was a horizontalladder made of thin, rusted chains bridging the two land masses together, the waves churning and foaming against the sharp rocks beneath.
