Page 63 of Of Scale and Blood

They both nodded. Teagin barked a command for the stretcher bearers to halt, then gave me a few drops of some sweet-tasting and rather thick liquid. Within minutes, the world went black, and I knew no more.

* * *

The soft sound of steps woke me. I instinctively reached under the pillow for my knife, but it was gone. Alarm stirred briefly, then I smelled the sharpness of soap and antiseptic, and felt the cool impersonal touch of fingers against my wrist, and realized where I was. In the hospital.Hopetown’shospital, situated Vahree only knew where underground.

I didn’t immediately open my eyes or acknowledge whoever was taking my pulse, instead reaching for Kaia.Everything okay on that island?

Feeding good here.Capra fat and lazy,came her thought.

Yara and Rua still there?

Want to fight. Can’t without flamers. We fly today?

If I have any say in it, yes.

Good. Need go.

Yeah, so do I, I replied, and finally opened my eyes.

The woman pressing two fingers against my wrist smiled. “Welcome back to the world, Captain. You’ll be pleased to know the operation was a success and there is no lasting damage.”

“The ‘no lasting’ portion of that statement suggests there was indeed some.”

“The arrow was a nasty beast of a thing, and several of its thorns broke off as we tried to remove it. That meant cutting open your calf more than we might have wished. You have yet another scar on that leg, I’m afraid, and it will remain tender for a few days, but you were extremely lucky, considering.”

“Sounds like it.” I briefly glanced around. The room—though it was more a cave carved out of black rock than anything resembling a regular hospital room—was small and sparsely furnished. Aside from the bed in which I lay, there was a square table to my right, barely big enough to hold a plate and a glass, and which had been placed on wheels so it could be pushed out of the way easily. A somewhat spartan-looking chair lay to my left, and a simple curtain covered the doorway directly ahead. “Where are we, exactly? Besides a makeshift hospital underground, that is.”

“We’re in the hills to the east of Hopetown, close to what many call Sinopa’s right knee.”

I blinked. “That’s a good distance from the port—how in Vahree’s name did your earth witches manage to dig tunnels out to here so quickly, let alone create a viable hospital shelter?”

“This shelter was created eons ago—it’s the remote emergency administration center—so all they really had to do was extend what already existed to include a hospital.”

“And the bulk of the population? Where are they?”

“In various older caves littered under Sinopa.”

“I thought they were creating new caverns closer to Hopetown?”

“I believe that was the initial intent, but given the urgency of the situation, the council considered it prudent to use what already existed, even if many areas are less than ideal by today’s standards.”

“Better to be housed in less than ideal than dead.”

“That is indeed my feeling also, but a surprising number of people disagreed and left.”

“What? Where did they go? Because we certainly didn’t see any indication they’d returned to Hopetown.”

“They headed inland, from all reports.” She released my wrist with a nod, then flipped the plain sheet away from my body, exposing my skin to the cool air. She ran her fingers lightly along my calf, concentration evident in her slight frown. Pain shivered up my leg. It was a distant thing, suggesting I still had plenty of painkillers onboard.

“And what about the two soldiers who were with me?” I asked. “Where are they?”

“They’ve been housed in the military quarters, but your second currently stands guard in the corridor, waiting until I give clearance for her to come in. I believe she’s in an agitated state and anxious to get going.”

“Too damn right she’s agitated and anxious,” came Kele’s comment. “We’ve been here too long already.”

I frowned at the doctor. “How long have I been unconscious?”

“Two days.”

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