Chapter Fifteen Yeeran #2
‘Hister flowers, do they grow in Mosima?’ Jay asked.
‘I’m not sure,’ Rayan said. ‘I haven’t seen any…and the royal horticulturist…is no longer with us.’
At the mention of Norey, everyone stilled. He had been a key part of the rebellion to bring down the Jani dynasty. Until Lettle killed him.
‘Can you draw the plant?’ Jay removed paper and pen from their satchel. ‘There are a few people I can ask. We might have another name for it here.’
Rayan drew the flower for Jay while Yeeran watched Furi. The queen had shrunk into herself, her hand still stroking the cat.
‘He’ll be all right,’ Yeeran said. ‘I remember that the animals recovered quickly.’
‘That’s good,’ Furi said, though when she looked up her gaze was bleak. ‘But what about my citizens?’
She didn’t question her own health, but Yeeran did.
‘How are you feeling?’
Her hand had stilled on the sleeping cat.
‘Fine.’ She answered too quickly. Too forcefully.
‘Furi…’
The queen shifted, removing her hand from her neck, revealing a streak of purple flesh.
Oh, no.
Yeeran began to go to her.
‘Stay back!’ Furi shouted. ‘I mean it, Yeeran, don’t come near me.’
Tears splashed down her cheeks.
‘I’ll be fine, I didn’t catch it when Lettle had it,’ Yeeran said.
‘No, please, Yeeran.’ Her voice cracked on Yeeran’s name and the sound pierced her soul. ‘I couldn’t bear it if I gave you this.’
Rayan’s own eyes brimmed with tears. ‘We’ll get you the cure.’
Furi shook her head. ‘You said it takes weeks to brew. And we don’t even know if it grows here. We need to start quarantining the sick. Immediately.’
There was silence as her words sank in.
‘She’s right,’ Rayan said.
‘Jay, will you help? Your expertise in healing will be invaluable,’ Furi asked.
‘Of course, but you realise we’ll need to sequester you too? You’ll have to stay apart from Amnan, we don’t know how this will affect the obeah.’
Furi smiled sadly. ‘I’ll be OK. I’ll have Miller with me.’
The world is a sadistic place to tear us apart so soon after we have been reunited, Yeeran thought, as she stared at her beloved.
Jay didn’t delay. With Rayan’s help they sent messages to every household in Mosima alerting the citizens to the disease. Haba, small, possum-like creatures that the Jani dynasty could call on, were used to carry the letters.
They then selected a corner of the city where they could house the sick.
‘This whole section has been abandoned since the blight,’ Jay said, sketching a circle on the map spread out on the table. ‘There are enough rooms and houses for a hundred at least.’
There’ll be more sick than that by the night’s end, Yeeran thought.
‘We need to close off the boundary. Block it with wood. They may have thought of other ways to infiltrate Mosima with animals,’ Furi said faintly.
Yeeran had been watching her throughout the preparations.
As each minute passed, the purple rash on her neck spread further.
She was hunched over a tea that Jay had brewed for her which the healer hoped would lessen the symptoms–so far it didn’t seem like it had.
Miller still slept on her lap.
‘We can’t, not yet. We need to give the obeah we’ve recalled time to come back to Mosima,’ Rayan said. ‘We’d be condemning all the fae whose obeah still roam beyond.’
‘We have to sacrifice them.’ Furi spoke through the pain–which Yeeran thought right now was brought on by the suggestion she was making. ‘Or we leave ourselves vulnerable to more attacks.’
‘Two days,’ Rayan said. ‘We have to give them two days.’
‘I agree, Furi, the obeah need time,’ Yeeran said.
Furi seemed too weak to nod.
The rest of the day moved unbearably slowly. Jay administered several tinctures to try and ease Furi’s symptoms, but nothing seemed to stop the progression. Both her legs had started to cramp and seize, and painkillers were the only thing that helped her cope.
‘Fifty people bearing signs of the illness have come forward so far, most in the faeguard,’ Anyah reported.
She wasn’t allowed in the king’s chambers just in case Furi had passed it to the others, so she spoke from the doorway.
‘Golan is overseeing the weavers to distribute gloves to everyone in the city.’
‘Good,’ Rayan said. ‘Jay has made a list of recommended meals for the sick. Please take it to the kitchens and have them deliver to the quarantined district.’
Anyah disappeared to delegate the task.
‘Are you safe?’ Furi asked. Her gaze was bleary and she was using fewer words than usual.
Yeeran understood what she meant. ‘None of us have the markings that signify disease. Do not worry about us.’
But Yeeran saw that she did worry and like her she wondered if Furi was recalling their last kiss. Had the disease been infectious enough at that time to pass on?
Probably.
But Yeeran felt fine. So too did Rayan and Jay, but neither could recall touching Furi. Either way, they’d all know by the end of the day.
Anyah returned. ‘I’ve just been informed the quarantine is in place, we’ve begun moving the sick. My queen, would you like a stretcher?’
‘No.’ Furi, ever proud, rose from her chair. ‘I’ll walk.’
She refused to let Amnan near her, though the obeah trailed sadly in her wake. The walk took double the length of time it should have done.
‘Any word from your friends? Does the flower exist here?’ Yeeran asked Jay quietly. Though Furi was up ahead, she didn’t want her voice to carry.
Jay shook their head. ‘No, no one’s seen it before.’
‘I will talk to Sahar,’ Rayan said. ‘He may know of it.’
Sahar had owned an apothecary; at the very least his old supplies might help.
‘Good idea,’ Yeeran said. ‘We cannot give up hope.’
They passed a burning pit that smelled of sizzling meat and hair. It was one of many they’d seen on their route. The message had been received: all rats were not to be touched without gloves, but killed and burned on sight.
‘We’re here,’ Jay said. A group of healers Jay had called upon stood on the outside of a newly erected fence. They all wore brightly patterned gloves made from old dresses Golan had procured.
The patterned silk was an odd sight against the dozens of sick being assessed. It made everything feel even more surreal.
‘There are more healers than sick people,’ Rayan said with hope in his voice.
‘Yes, this is everyone who has come forward since this morning,’ Anyah said.
Yeeran was more realistic. There’s no way this is all the infected people.
‘They’re hiding in their houses,’ Furi said. She was leaning on the wooden fence, sweat pouring down her pallid face. ‘We need to tell them the queen is here.’
‘Is that wise?’ Rayan asked.
‘Let it be known that I will ride this storm with them, and when the cure is procured, it will be offered here and only here. Send the faeguard with this message. We cannot miss one person or all of this will be for nothing.’
Anyah nodded.
Furi paused, her eyes homing in on someone. She pointed to one of the faeguard who was maintaining the queue. His bright orange gloves were so distracting that it took a moment for Yeeran to realise what Furi was looking at. The faeguard’s collar was pulled up against his neck.
‘That’s not uniform regulation,’ Furi said quietly.
Anyah crossed the gap between her and the soldier. ‘Pull down your collar,’ she demanded.
The guard shook his head, his lips quivering. ‘One of two things are happening. You are either refusing an order from your superior because you wish to be stripped of your rank. Or you misheard me the first time, so I will ask again: pull down your collar.’ Anyah’s voice was sure and clear.
The soldier pulled down his collar, his face crumpling as he did so. Underneath his skin was purple and mottled.
Jay’s reaction was immediate. The guard was directed towards the healers on the other side of the fence.
‘We have to search the barracks,’ Rayan said. ‘The soldiers will have been the first infected.’
Because Furi sent them to kill the rats. Yeeran saw the guilt etched into her face.
‘It wasn’t your fault, Furi. You didn’t know.’
Furi shook her head, but Yeeran wasn’t sure what it meant. Furi turned to Anyah once more. ‘Keep an eye on anyone wearing their collar up or wearing scarves.’
‘Yes, Commander.’
‘Not any more. That role lies with you now.’
Pure terror crossed Anyah’s features before crystallising into determination. ‘As you say, my queen.’
The young woman marched off and Yeeran thought, not for the first time, how right Furi had been about hiring her.
‘It’s time for you to go,’ Furi said to the group. ‘You’ve done all you can for me for now.’
Rayan gave her a forlorn look. ‘You’ll survive this, Furi.’
The queen did not smile. ‘Go now, I need to lie down.’
‘I don’t want to leave you,’ Yeeran admitted.
‘You will have to. Don’t worry, I’ll have Jay by my side if I need anything.’
But what about my needs? Yeeran wanted to shout. I need you, I breathe you, I live for you.
Instead she looked across the space between them and said, ‘Don’t die, Furi, or I’ll have to kill you myself.’
Furi huffed out a half-hearted laugh before she turned away and shuffled across the quarantine border.
Only when she was safely inside did she turn to look at Yeeran again.
Her lips quivered, and a single tear fell from her eyes.
‘I love you,’ Furi said. The three words seemed to shatter the queen, and she began to sob.
Yeeran found herself running. Not away from Furi but towards her.
‘What are you doing?’ Furi said as Yeeran threaded her arms around her. Furi tried to push her away but Yeeran’s lips found hers, the kiss soft and gentle, healing them both in other ways.
‘There, if I’m infected, I’m infected,’ she said after drawing breath. ‘Besides, I told you, I didn’t get sick after taking care of Lettle.’
‘Yeeran, this was foolish,’ Furi said without bite. She rested her forehead against Yeeran’s.
‘But I couldn’t leave you. I had something very important to say and I wanted you to hear it.’ Yeeran whispered the words onto her parted lips.
‘I love you too.’