Page 32 of Scourge of the Shores
Ma’s snores stopped, and the creaks from the bed indicated she had sat up. Lucas acknowledged Ma with a nod before glancing down at her leg and gently pulling the pant flap back to reveal the entire wound. His grimace told Danna he didn’t think it looked good either. He smoothed the rag down the side of her face.
“Danna,” he said, grabbing her attention.
She focused on his lips as they spoke.
“Captain Jaymes says he brought ye something that might save yer life.”
Robert sat in the chair beside her and placed a small vial of pearlescent liquid, garnet-colored, on the table.
“Drink it,” Robert said.
She attempted to sit up straight, recoiling her hands to the seat bottom to aid her.
“Poison?” she sputtered, her strength giving way to Lucas’s hand around her shoulders.
Robert cocked his head and gave her a stare. Lucas shook his head.
“Do you think I’d poison you now?” Robert moved it directly in front of her. “It’s an enchantment from the East. I stole it from a ship we looted. It heals wounds in rapid speed.”
Danna’s mind raced. She faintly remembered him saying he would never give her an enchantment even if he had it. Her tongue was too fat to speak well. Her head dipped—too heavy to hold up without Lucas’s support. “Why . . .” she rasped. “Why would ye give me this?”
Robert opened his mouth to speak, but Danna shoved it back at Robert. “Give it to Ma.”
He hung his head and turned to address Ma. “Mrs. Chadwick, it only heals wounds. Your wounds are healed. You’re not bleeding. You’ve no infection. This enchantment’ll do nothing for you.”
He refocused his attention on Danna.
“But your daughter here is still weak and pale. She will likely die soon.”
Danna’s lip quivered as cold sweat mixed with the cool rag Lucas dabbed on her brow. Her arms twitched without her consent.
Lucas said with a solemn voice, “Your leg is infected, Danna.”
Danna’s eyes lifted to Lucas as Robert spoke. “You don’t look good and probably ain’t gonna last long, either that, or you’ll lose your leg.”
Danna glanced down at her leg. It was indigo, ashen, and angry red—the pain unbearable.
Lucas added again. “And we need ye. We need ye, Danna, to defeat Cain.”
“How do I,” Danna rasped, her throat raw, and found Lucas’s gaze. “How do ye know it be what he claims?”
Lucas kneeled so he was face-to-face with her. “Don’t know, Danna. But he pulled ye from the jaws of death, and he seems to care for ye.” His eyes slid over to Robert. “I hope this vial be what he claims and nothin’ more.”
Robert gestured toward the vial. “It ain’t going to make her fall in love with me, if that’s what you’re thinking.” He chuckled with a sigh. “No enchantment can do that, at least not for the long-term.”
Lucas narrowed his eyes as Danna lowered her forehead to the crook of Lucas’s neck. His flesh was cool, but his whisper sounded so loud. “She’s feverish.”
Her stomach retched, forcing a hushed groan from her lips.
“Drink it, and you’ll see I ain’t spinnin’ tales.” Robert came as if from a well.
Lucas grabbed the vial and popped the cork before bringing it to Danna’s lips. “Drink.” His arm wrapped around her, and he adjusted her head back with his shoulder. “Danna, please drink.”
Her gaze found Robert’s as the liquid burned all the way down. She gasped for air and grabbed her throat. Lucas dropped the vial, shattering the glass.
“What did you do to her?” Ma screamed.
Lucas’s arms squeezed her as he shot a death glare at Robert. “I trusted ye.”
