Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 84949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 425(@200wpm)___ 340(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 425(@200wpm)___ 340(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
"Wow," I say. Because what else can you say? It's like everything we've experienced in the past—Azar's petty cruelty, his tantrums, his controlling ways of treating people—are all forgotten in one night.
"And guess what else?" Manda says brightly.
"What?" What else could possibly have happened last night that I slept through?
"Me and some of the other girls are going to start a book club!"
A…book club. I suddenly feel like a thousand years have passed since I shared a room with Manda and Rachel. My world has changed so much in the last month that I'm just not the same person I was. I feel a hundred years older than Manda. I'm happy for her, but I also want to shake her. A book club? When there's people that need food? When the Rift might be destroying our world all over again?
She cannot change any of those things, Mhal tells me, sending a wave of affection through his thoughts. He is sad for me, but understands. Let her have her club.
You're right. It's not her fault I’ve changed. I'd always wondered why we never saw much of Rachel after she mated with Jurik, despite us being in the same fort. Now I know. So I smile back at Manda. "Tell me more about your book club. What are you going to read first?"
The next hour passes quickly. Manda's enthusiasm for her quick marriage to Daniels and the changes in the fort make me happy. If nothing else, we've been able to bring a little joy into a friend's life. Since Manda is no longer part of the “program,” she's being reassigned to help in the kitchens and the gardens, both of which she's excited about. "Maybe we can finally do something about all this cornbread," she says with a laugh. "Everyone's sick of it, but what else is there? Corn and tomatoes grow easiest here."
Cornbread reminds me of Bethany and her small son. "Speaking of, I need to go visit someone in the fort. I hate to cut off our visiting, but I want to make sure Bethany and Michael are all right."
Immediately, Manda's face falls. She reaches for my hand. "Oh, Jenny. They didn't tell you?"
Cold fear grips me. "Tell me what?"
Manda's expression is full of sympathy. "They're dead."
The bugs are poison, it turns out. Not a fast-acting one, but one that destroys you slowly over the course of a few weeks. At least, that's what I'm told. An entire swath of Fort Dallas has gotten violently ill and no one knows why.
Bethany died from it. Her husband died from it.
Michael is in the clinic now, gravely ill from the same “mysterious” illness.
"It's the bugs," I tell Melina as she tends to him. Her hands are caring, even if I don't trust her, and I know Michael's getting the best care possible. Every cot in the small clinic is full of vomiting, pale people. My grief feels intense, but I choke it back. No one needs a weepy woman standing over them. I don’t want to distract Melina, either. So I clear my throat and get a hold of myself. “Don't let them eat any more of them, all right?"
The doctor purses her lips. "If it's from a pathogen on the bugs, there's not much we can do. But if it's related to the ingestion, maybe we can do something about it. I'll consult my pharmacological manuals and see if there’s something we have on hand that can help." She tucks a blanket tightly around Michael's frail body. "Will you stay with him for a bit? I need to check on the others."
"Of course." I take the little boy's hand. It's skeletal, the veins standing out in a way that shouldn't be possible on a child. He's alive, at least. I just don't know for how long.
I can leave my post, Mhal sends. Do you need me?
My drakoni is guarding the walls. He and Jurik are splitting shifts atop the barricade, watching the skies (and the scents on the breeze) for anyone that comes near. Once Gwen and Vaan's new baby is settled, Vaan will join them. It's not so bad, since Mhal is in my thoughts constantly, and our minds touch. But in a moment like this, I do wish he was here.
It's okay, I send to him. There's nothing you can do. Nothing I can do, either. I hold Michael's small hand, his fingers like sticks. There's nothing to be done. My eyes feel hot with tears.
There is, Mhal sends me, his tone comforting. We are doing what needs to be done. We are assisting the fort. We freed my brothers that were held captive. You helped your friends mate. We will have our child and we will join forces with the others to close the Rift so others will not be hurt by whatever comes through. So we will have a future, all of us. There is a lot to do, and we are doing it.