Taste of Darkness
Page 31

“She...” Flea looked at me.
Oh, no was right. Not a nightmare, but I wished it was.
“Is he...?” I couldn’t finish the question.
Flea’s fingers curled into fists for a moment, then he steeled himself before touching Yuri’s skin. He snatched his hand away as Yuri turned his head to look at Flea. “Yes.”
I wilted, sagging against Odd. He grabbed me before I toppled.
“Will someone tell us what’s going on?” Quain demanded.
Flea backed up. “He’s dead. Like Tohon’s dead soldiers.”
Everyone stared at me with a variety of emotions. Horror dominated. Odd kept a firm grip on me. Otherwise I would have sunk to the ground. Yuri remained on his cot, staring at Flea.
“What do we do with him?” Quain asked. “Can we train him?”
“No,” I said. “He shouldn’t be. I’d never expected... My fault...”
Loren pulled his short dagger from his belt. “It’s treated with Death Lily toxin. Should I?” he asked me.
“Yes. Please.”
“Sorry, buddy,” Loren said as he pricked Yuri’s arm.
Yuri didn’t flinch or react in anyway. We waited. There was always a slight delay before the toxin worked.
We kept waiting. Nothing happened. Yuri sat there not breathing, not speaking, not being, just there.
“Uh, now what?” Quain asked.
I had no idea. Why didn’t the toxin work? Was it because Yuri had the plague, which was linked to Death Lily toxin?
“Decapitation,” Loren said. “That’s the only other thing that works.”
“Maybe we should take him outside first,” Quain said.
“No. I don’t want anyone else to know about him.” I shivered.
“We could do it after dark when everyone is asleep. Otherwise, you’ll have a mess to clean up and explain.” Loren wiped Yuri’s blood off his blade.
“Can he walk?” Quain asked Flea.
“Why are you asking me?”
“He moved when you touched him. Don’t you have an affinity with the dead?”
“No. I don’t. Avry, did he die from the serum?”
I nodded.
“Avry’s touch revived him. I’d think he’d follow her.”
My touch. I remembered when I’d witnessed Tohon waking his dead. Although his had been dead before he’d injected the serum, he’d pressed his hand to their foreheads, and then, when they’d moved, he guided them by touch. After that, I didn’t know how he’d trained them.
“We shouldn’t kill him...er, again,” Odd said.
“Why?” I pulled away from him, standing on my own wobbly legs.
“It’s a chance to learn more about them.”
“We know how to stop them. That’s all we need to know,” I said.
“Then why didn’t the Death Lily toxin work?” Odd asked.
“I think it’s because he had the plague.”
“Think or know? Big difference.”
“What are you suggesting?” Loren asked Odd.
Oh, no, not him, too. He used that same questioning technique Kerrick and Ryne’d been taught at boarding school.
“I’m suggesting we send a message to Prince Ryne and let him decide what to do.”
Feeling stronger, I stepped toward Yuri. “No. His condition is my responsibility. I decide.”
Odd grabbed my arm, turning me to face him. “I understand that. Do what you feel is right. But consider this. You created him. A healer. We always assumed Tohon used his life magic to revive the dead. What if it wasn’t his life magic, but just magic in general? What if Sepp could add to the army of dead? Or one of Tohon’s other magicians?”
A terrifying thought. I glanced at Yuri. A body empty of life. “You have a point. But how can we test your theory? I’m not going to kill—”
“Avry, we’re at war. Fatalities are a regrettable aspect of it.”
“Oh.”
“No,” Flea said. “I’m not doing it.”
“Doing what?” Quain asked.
“Odd wants to test if I can revive the dead.”
“You don’t have to,” I said.
Odd let go of my arm. “There’s no one else.”
“No way.” Flea hugged his chest. “You can’t force me.”
I glared at Odd. “No one is going to force you, Flea. Besides, I don’t have any more serum and the Peace Lily told me I’d only get one sack.” And the lesson had been learned. Stop trying to use the Lily to revive the dead or it might just work.
“At least wait until you talk to Prince Ryne before you decide about Yuri. There’s no need to rush. He can’t do anything. He’s not in any pain.”
Odd made sense, but guilt and fear pushed me to fix my awful mistake right away. An illogical part of my mind thought if he had a proper burial, my guilt over killing him and turning him into an abomination would disappear. The logical part already acknowledged that I’d carry that guilt for the rest of my life. And then there was the fear. Had Tohon branded me like he’d claimed?
Unable to make a decision, I appealed to my guys. “What do you think?”
“Take him outside and finish this now,” Flea said without hesitation.
“I’m inclined to agree with Odd on this,” Loren said. “We should consult with Prince Ryne. He might have a different perspective. But, Avry.” Loren met my gaze. “I’ll support your decision either way.”