Chapter Fifteen Yeeran
Chapter Fifteen
Yeeran
Malak knew this was going to happen,’ Yeeran said as she paced up and down.
‘We must take it as a sign that the war has begun,’ Rayan said. They were back in the clutter of his rooms. Golan was there when Yeeran arrived, his eyes red as though he’d been crying.
Furi had already sent soldiers out to rid the city of the vermin–‘target practice’, she’d called it. Now she was curled up on the couch, the tomcat mewling in her arms. She stroked it tenderly, her eyes skittering to the door, anxious for Jay’s arrival.
Yeeran smiled despite how fraught the moment was. Mosima might be overrun with rats, but Furi’s compassion knows no bounds.
‘What did Malak say exactly?’ Rayan asked.
Yeeran sighed, her smile dropping. ‘He tried to warn me; he said that the coalition had contingency plans for everything.’
‘Rats are barely a contingency plan,’ Furi said with a sneer.
‘What I want to know is how did they manage it? There can’t be this many rats in the whole of the Wasted Marshes,’ Rayan said.
Yeeran’s realisation was sudden. ‘Of course, the tent.’
‘The tent?’ Rayan said.
‘There was a tent guarded by soldiers that I saw on my way out of the camp. I heard strange noises coming from it.’
‘You think the rats were in there?’
Yeeran wanted to bang her head against the table. ‘Yes, they must have been breeding them,’ she said miserably. ‘I should have pushed for access, I should have looked harder.’
Rayan patted her on the shoulder but it brought her no comfort. ‘You couldn’t have known.’
The tomcat made a forlorn sound somewhere between a meow and a whimper. Furi clutched him closer to her chest.
‘They must have brought the first batch with them,’ Yeeran said.
‘I knew they never planned to sign the peace treaty,’ Furi said with triumph.
‘I’m not sure,’ Yeeran said. ‘If I put myself in their place, I too would think of all the ways I could infiltrate Mosima should the treaty fail. I don’t think Malak was lying–this was simply a contingency plan.’
Rayan nodded. ‘A beacon to herald the war. We have underestimated them.’
Furi snorted. ‘Have we? Rats aren’t exactly a weapon.’
‘Fear is a tool.’ Golan spoke up for the first time. His red eyes shimmered. ‘Those who know how to wield it can wound deeply.’
Rayan looked at him and his expression turned mournful. ‘The rats aren’t our only problem,’ he said.
‘Lettle?’ Yeeran asked, afraid of the answer.
‘She’s fine, but Ald–Afa…has revealed more of his life.’
Golan took in a quivering breath and walked to the window as though to hide his tears. But Yeeran could see his glistening face in the reflection of the glass.
‘What do you mean?’ Furi asked.
Rayan recounted Afa’s life as it had been told to Lettle. It was a story that chilled Yeeran to the core.
‘A faerytale come alive,’ Yeeran whispered in disbelief.
‘Some faerytales come true,’ Furi reminded her.
‘Yes, he calls himself a sorcerer,’ Rayan said. ‘He created the obeah from beasts that are now extinct.’
‘He made the obeah?’ Yeeran asked.
Pila, are you hearing this?
I am. The obeah didn’t seem too perturbed. Aren’t we all made from something?
Both Furi and Yeeran spoke at the same time.
‘—This doesn’t answer how the humans came to be obeah?’
‘—How do we break the curse on Mosima?’
But it was Golan’s voice who cut through them all. ‘What of Alder?’
Yeeran had never seen Golan angry. His gentle temperament was something she had always admired, and to see rage twist his features hurt her heart.
‘You speak of curses and spells, but you have not once asked what has happened to him,’ Golan said, looking between Furi and Yeeran, his gaze ablaze.
Shame sent a flush up Yeeran’s neck.
‘Lettle spoke with Alder, briefly,’ Rayan said. He looked haunted by the recollection. ‘He only exists as we know him outside of the sanctuary where Afa resides.’
Golan clenched his fists. ‘How do we get him back?’
‘I don’t know yet. I am learning what I can through Ajax, but night has just fallen on their side of the continent. When they awaken, I’ll find out more.’
Yeeran went to Golan and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. At first, he bristled at her touch, but as she spoke, he softened. ‘If this Afa is as powerful as he appears to be, there must be a way for him to bring back the Alder that we knew,’ she said.
‘I hope so,’ Golan whispered. ‘I need to go for a walk. I’ll be back later.’
He pulled free of Yeeran’s embrace and went to the door. As he opened it, he let out a startled sound.
Jay was on the other side of the door, their hands held up as though about to knock.
‘Oh! Hello, Golan,’ Jay said with a smile, but it wavered as they saw Golan’s expression.
‘Sorry to miss you, I was just leaving,’ he said, pushing past Jay. Yeeran wanted to go after him but she wasn’t sure if she’d be any help. Besides, she was needed here–they had a war to plan.
Furi began to stand to greet Jay but then winced and sat back down.
‘Are you all right?’ Yeeran asked.
‘Twinge in my back, that’s all. Must have slept in a strange position.’ She gave Yeeran a small smile.
‘Too much exercise, eh?’ Jay said, looking between them.
Yeeran refused to meet their gaze as Rayan stifled a laugh.
Jay set their medicine bag on the table, scattering the tokens Rayan had lovingly placed on the map. He began to right the dispersed markers, but Jay’s gaze was on the cat in Furi’s arms.
‘It’s been quite an odd morning–first rats and then your message, Furi. You said the cat is hurt?’ Jay said.
‘Miller, I’ve named him Miller,’ Furi said. He had gone limp against her but was still breathing.
‘I must say, when I became a healer in the royal hospital, I didn’t think my jurisdiction would include felines,’ Jay said, smiling. ‘Where did you find him?’
‘He caught a rat this morning and dropped it on my back,’ Furi said dryly.
‘Oh, you clever boy,’ Jay cooed as they approached.
‘He was fine last night, but as we were leaving, I noticed he was limping,’ Furi said.
‘Leaving? Spent the night somewhere, did we?’ Jay raised their eyebrows at Yeeran but she was lost in her thoughts. Furi had reminded her of the rat in the water mill. She hadn’t considered before that it could have been part of the wave of vermin the elven army had released.
What if the rats’ purpose is more than just fear?
‘Jay, stop,’ Yeeran said, halting the healer before they picked up the cat. ‘Have you got gloves?’
‘Why?’
‘I think Miller might be diseased,’ Yeeran said.
Furi looked at the cat, her eyes wide. Rayan was gazing from Furi to Yeeran, not comprehending why they both looked so shaken.
‘I always come with gloves,’ Jay said slowly. Then they cocked their head and added, ‘But if that cat is diseased, I wouldn’t recommend cuddling it.’
Furi swallowed and glanced at Yeeran. ‘I’ll be fine,’ she said, and Yeeran wondered if it was more to herself than to Yeeran. Still, she refused to be parted with Miller.
Jay put on gloves and began to assess the cat. ‘It’s as though the muscles in his leg are stiffening…I’ve never seen anything like it…’ Jay murmured.
‘The rat Miller caught had a blackened mouth, as though its jaw was decaying,’ Yeeran said.
‘Yes, I can see those symptoms presenting here. The cat’s skin is mottling, like his very muscles are atrophying…’ Jay’s voice trailed off into a whisper.
‘Atrophying?’ Yeeran’s whole body broke out in goosebumps.
‘You know what it is.’ Furi had interpreted Yeeran’s expression.
There was only one thing that had caused such symptoms in the Elven Lands. Yeeran had got to know the disease intimately when caring for Lettle.
‘The wasting pox.’
Rayan swore.
‘W-what is that? Is that what Lettle had?’ Furi had paled.
‘Yes,’ Yeeran said heavily.
‘I need to know how it spreads,’ Jay said urgently, their hands shaking. ‘Is it airborne?’
‘No.’ Jay’s relief was short-lived as Yeeran continued, ‘It spreads through direct contact with the infected skin, but it’s extremely fast spreading and very contagious.’
Yeeran and Furi locked eyes. Neither of them spoke the obvious, but Furi’s hands shook as she pulled Miller closer.
‘They must have given the rats the disease then released them on Mosima. A cruel thing,’ Rayan said as he tugged at the roots of his outgrown hair.
Jay withdrew a needle from their bag. ‘I’m going to give Miller some painkillers. While I do that, tell me everything you know about this disease.’
‘It ravaged Crescent when I was a child,’ Rayan said, his voice distant as though walking the roads of his memories.
‘It eats at your muscles, spreading from limb to limb. It’s fast-acting, immobilising your body until your organs begin to shut down.
By the time you know you’ve caught it, it’ll be too late; you’ll have already spread it to ten more people. ’
‘How long does it take for symptoms to appear?’ Jay asked. The cat quietened as the drugs took effect.
‘A few hours,’ Rayan said. ‘The first way of knowing you’re infected is a purple rash along the left side of your neck; it’ll trace its way along the artery closest to your heart.’
Furi’s hand went to her neck. The skin there was unblemished, but she covered it self-consciously.
Jay stepped away from their patient and carefully removed their gloves, disposing of them in a pouch they then sealed tightly. ‘And what is the recovery timeline?’
Yeeran couldn’t look at Furi as Rayan said, ‘Most don’t recover.’
Furi abruptly laughed. Then looked shocked that she had.
‘But some do,’ Yeeran said earnestly. ‘For some people it strikes in one area, like Lettle. It took around three weeks for her to recover fully as we couldn’t afford the cure—’
Furi interrupted her. ‘There’s a cure?’
‘Yes,’ both Rayan and Yeeran said at once.
Jay looked immediately relieved, but Furi asked, ‘Why did that “yes” sound like a no?’
The elves exchanged a look.
‘Because it’s hard to procure,’ Yeeran said. ‘It requires the petals of the hister flower to be brewed in alcohol for weeks. The fermentation leeches the plant’s toxins before it is consumed.’
Furi looked like she might laugh again.