Chapter Twelve #3
Finnrey coughed, a shuddering sound that seemed to wrack her entire body.
The infection was settling in.
“Thank you for the warning, Lady Finnrey,” Taio said. He placed a hand on her arm, just above the bite mark.
A few minutes before the skin had been raw and ragged from the bite, but the area around it was unblemished. Now I could see Finnrey’s veins as they led away from the wound. They were raised and red, much more visible than they should have been.
“I can feel it,” she whispered. “It’s like poison spreading through me.”
Her face blurred, and I realized I was crying.
Tears slid down my cheeks and fell on her neck.
She gave me a faint smile. “And everyone said you had no feelings.” She started coughing again, and I choked back my sobs.
Omira said something, and Taio answered her.
I was beginning to understand a little of their language and knew what they were discussing—how much time Finnrey had. How long until we had to kill her?
Until I had to kill her...
Finnrey caught her breath and reached for my hand. I held her hand tightly, her skin hot and clammy against mine. She was far too warm for the brisk day. “I don’t want you to do it, Mara,” she said.
She didn’t have to clarify. I knew she was continuing one of the conversations we’d had many times out on patrol. With death so close at hand, we’d often talked about what we’d do if one of us was bitten and not killed outright. We’d each vowed to kill the other quickly and painlessly.
“I promised I would,” I said, my voice thick as I held back sobs.
“We should have never made that promise.” She looked over at Taio. “Let him do it.”
Taio looked at her, then me. His brow furrowed then smoothed. He nodded slowly. “I will give you an honorable death,” he said.
“Finnrey,” I said on a whisper.
But she wasn’t looking at me any longer.
“Have you seen this before?” she asked, indicating the raised red veins that had now spread to her shoulder.
He shook his head. “I have seen Twilight Men.”
“Have you ever killed one?” she asked.
He inclined his head, which was neither a yes or a no.
“You have to destroy the brain,” she said, raising the hand I didn’t hold and touching her forehead.
“The easiest kill points are here.” She touched her eye.
“Here.” She touched her ear. “Or at the base of the skull.” She reached back and touched the juncture of her neck and head.
“A sharp point is best. You can use my skullcrusher.”
Taio glanced at me.
“That’s her weapon,” I said, looking about. Omira moved away and returned with the weapon, laying it on the bedroll beside Finnrey.
“How long?” Taio asked.
“Hard to say,” Finnrey answered. “Might be hours or days.”
I could feel the raised veins had reached her hand. Her flesh was so warm it felt uncomfortably hot against my own. The bite had been deep, and the poison worked fast. “Hours,” I said. “Three, mayhap four.”
“One,” she said.
“Finnrey, no.”
She began coughing again, squeezing my hand hard as her chest convulsed. When she finally stopped, red spittle covered her chin and the front of her tunic. The disease was already invading her lungs and taking over. She was dying, organ by organ, limb by limb.
“One hour,” she said through gasps. “Taio, do you understand?”
“I understand, my lady.” He glanced at me. “I will leave you to say your goodbyes.” He rose and led Omira away. Dimly, I was aware Yung and Kintle were covering the body of the Hollow woman. Omira and Taio went to do the same with the man.
“This must have been their home long ago,” Finnrey said. Her gaze was on the Zulenii’s care of the Hollows as well. “How long do you think they’ve been wandering the forest neither alive nor dead?”
“Decades,” I said.
“Finally at rest,” she said. “Look at your Zulenii. They are so respectful.”
I had to agree. We never attempted to bury the Hollows we killed. We left them or burned them. Taio and his people didn’t have shovels, so they used leaves and tree branches to cover the bodies. Finnrey’s words finally penetrated the haze in my brain. “They’re not my Zulenii.”
“They are. I saw how they became loyal to you the moment he chose you. They are a good people.”
“The rumors about how they are artists and musicians were exaggerated,” I said.
“I think they sent their warriors, but what you find in Zulen might be different. I wish I could be there to find out.”
My breath caught as pain lanced through me again, just as painful and fresh as the first moment I realized Finnrey had been bitten.
“Come here,” she said, moving aside slightly to make room for me on the bedroll. I lay beside her, our faces inches apart, our noses almost touching. Tears rolled down my cheeks, making the material beneath my face damp. “You will survive this, Mara,” she said. “You are strong.”
“I am supposed to be comforting you.”
She smiled. “Go ahead then.”
My mind went completely blank. Of course, I knew no words of comfort. I’d never comforted anyone in my life. I put my arm over her waist and just held her. She was so hot, like a small fire under my arm. “I love you,” I said because I’d never said it out loud.
“I know. I love you too. I always loved you best.”
“I always loved you best.”
“I didn’t think you loved Broga best.”
I laughed quietly. “I don’t love Broga at all.”
“Oh, you’ll miss her in Zulen.”
I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t miss anyone except Finnrey and my parents and Gaz—no, not Gaz. I couldn’t think about him right now.
Finnrey started coughing again, and I pushed up on my elbow so her shoulder wouldn’t hit me in the face.
Her neck showed the first signs of raised red veins.
She swiped her sleeve from her uninjured arm across her chin, and I saw the smear of blood.
Her lips were red with it too. I lay back down, pressing my forehead to hers.
“Will you do something for me, Mara?”
“Yes. Anything.”
“When you can, will you send word to my brother about what happened? Tell him I love him, and he can have any of my daggers he likes.”
My lip trembled, and I caught it to keep it steady. “What else?”
“Tell Riah and Broga I love them, and they can have any of my clothes and jewelry.”
“I will.”
“Write to Papa too. Tell him he was always a good father to me.”
I nodded, my throat too choked for speech.
“And write to Thoe.”
“Thoe?” I moved back to get a better look at her face. “Why Thoe?”
“I want him to know I would have left him even if his head hadn’t been turned by Estila. He can’t kiss worth a fig.”
“Finnrey, I’m not telling him that part about the kissing.”
“Hmm.” She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, they were red and bloodshot. “You are probably right. But the rest?”
“You have my word.” I lay back beside her. “I don’t want to lose you,” I murmured. “I can’t.”
Her breathing had become more labored and louder.
I realized the hissing sound we associated with the Hollows was perhaps the way they breathed because Finnrey’s breaths were taking on that quality.
I held her tighter, even though she was uncomfortably warm.
I shut my eyes and clung to her—my sister. My Finnrey.
A cool hand on my shoulder forced me to open my eyes. Taio crouched beside me.
“No,” I said. “Please no.”
“Mara.” The one word had a world of meaning. I shut my eyes and forced myself to take a steadying breath. I had to be strong for her. I would not allow Finnrey’s last moments to be about me and my grief. “Go with Omira,” he said.
I began to shake, my breaths coming in small pants. Omira moved forward and held out a hand. Before I took it, I gave Finnrey one last look. Her eyes opened, the whites now very pink. She tried to smile, but her teeth were red from blood. “Good night, Mara,” she said.
Good night. Not until that tomorrow. Good night, because we would not see each other again on any tomorrow.
“Good night,” I said, my voice steady even though I was quaking uncontrollably. “Sweet dreams.”
She closed her eyes, and I reached for Omira’s hand. Her grip was tight, and as soon as I stood, she put an arm about my shoulder and led me away. Kintle and Yung were waiting, and the three of them closed around me. Even if I had turned around, they would have blocked my view.
Quietly, Yung began to sing. I suppose it was singing. It sounded almost like chanting, though there was a melodic quality to it. I didn’t understand the words or even if there were words. After a moment, Omira and Kintle joined in.
“What are you doing?” I asked Omira.
“We are saying the Death Rite,” she answered. “This chant will open a way for Finnrey to join the gods in the ever after.”
I didn’t believe in an ever after. At that moment, I didn’t believe in the gods.
But I let the song of the Death Rite wash over me and block the sounds of death nearby. And when they finally finished chanting, twilight was falling, and the insects were buzzing, and Finnrey was gone.