Page 37 of Chosen
“There’s something else I need to report, My Lord.”
“Can this something wait?”
“It can but you might want to hear this now.”
A low growl rumbles in my throat as my impatience grows. “Speak.”
“You wanted to question Lawreynce when he recovered however that won’t be possible now.”
I narrow my eyes. Did the steward somehow manage to leave the fortress without me finding out? “Why?”
“His condition took a turn for the worst and he died earlier.”
I freeze as shock takes hold of me. I’d dealt him a ferocious blow but the wound shouldn’t have been fatal. “What was the cause of death?”
“The doctors are in the middle of performing an autopsy but the initial report is he suffered from an aneurysm, most likely caused by a blood clot as a direct result of the injury he’d received.”
“When was this?”
“This morning. The physician informed me when I went to check on his status.”
“Why am I just learning about this?”
Johra places his hand over his heart and bows his head. “My apologies My Lord but I just returned from the infirmary and I came to you right away.”
“Did you inspect the body?”
“The physician aides were in the process of disposing the body.”
There was a heavy feeling in my chest. My instinct tells me something isn’t right.
Without another word, I sweep past him and head to the infirmary. As I head to my destination with Johra on my heels, I tap the communicator button on my collar to inform them that I will be arriving shortly but I stop myself.
Johra seems to sense my hesitation. “My Lord, should I call ahead for you?”
“No. That won’t be necessary.”
That uneasy feeling I’d experienced moments before tells me my visit would be best unannounced. And sure enough, as I arrive at the infirmary, I note the wide-eyed shock on the faces of the physicians and their attendants.
Taking up the entire second level of the fortress, the infirmary is modeled like the high tech hospitals for the citizen in my sector with its’ long white hallways and private rooms for the superious patients. There’s a bay area with several cots for the homo sapien ones, though I’ve been informed that everyone receives the same level of care.
The bay area is at the very front when you walk in to the infirmary and I see several injured servants occupying the cots. Many of them are covered in bruises and one male has a bandage covering his right eye. The bandage is stained with blood leading me to wonder if he had perhaps lost that eye.
These patients are clearly in a sorry state and there is no attendants in the room at the moment. That’s something I need to further review my right now, concerning the situationwith Lawreynce. I approach the nurses stands where several physicians, their attendants and nurses have lined up with bowed heads.
It’s distressing to realize I don’t recognize half this staff. I’m still going through the records of the hundreds of staff in my employ and some of these faces I have yet to come across.
One of the physicians with a shaved scalp steps forward. “Lord Draken, this is an unexpected honor. Is there an ailment that you need attending?”
“What is your name, physician?” I asked wanting to know whom I was speaking to.”
“I’m Physician Rui, My Lord. I am pleased to be at your service.” Though his words seemed sincere, I detected an undercurrent that made those words a lie.
“Where is the former steward’s room?”
Rui raises his head with a smile on his face that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “The former steward?”
My canine teeth stretch my gums as they lengthen. I attempt to hold on to my temper. While his words are not blatantly disrespectful I could detect his evasiveness.
