Avian (The Dragonrider Chronicles) (8 page)

“Beck is learning to stitch, too, you know,” Mrs. Derrick said. “Someday, she’ll be able to make her own dresses for her children. She might even get a good job at a tailor’s shop in the city. The city’s a much better place to meet husbands. Like a good merchant, or maybe a grocer. Wouldn’t you like a grocer, dear?”

Beckah’s cheeks got so red you couldn’t see her freckles anymore. “Momma!” She squeaked in protest.

Mrs. Derrick smiled at her affectionately. “You’ll have to practice, though. No one wants knots in their embroidery. Fine men want polished wives, so they look for that sort of thing. Details always matter.”

Beckah blushed even harder and turned her back to us to start stirring a big pot of stew. I heard her mumble, “I’m not even good at stitching.”

Sile set the table for us with bowls and spoons. He helped Beckah bring over the bubbling pot of thick vegetable stew. It smelled so amazing it made my mouth water. I hadn’t eaten this good since I was at the academy. We had freshly baked bread with fruit preserves, and the leftovers of an apple pie from the day before with big glasses of milk.

I didn’t say anything to them about it, but that was the first time I’d had a family meal with anyone since my mother died. I was never allowed to eat with Ulric and his family when I lived with them. It always upset his wife for me to be sitting at the table with her
real
children. Even Mr. Crookin had seemed uncomfortable with it whenever he caught me eating at their table with Katty. I’d never been welcomed at anyone’s family table until now.

Even though Sile didn’t say much during dinner, we still had a good time. Beckah and I told them about what we’d done at the beach all morning, and Mrs. Derrick teased us about our matching sunburns.

I felt something warm and wet on my leg, and looked down to see Eddy sitting at my feet. He was drooling all over me, watching me take every bite. When I noticed him, he licked his lips hopefully. I snuck him a few little pieces of bread.

After dinner, Sile started helping his wife upstairs to their bedroom while Beckah and I cleaned the kitchen. We cleared the table, wrapped up the leftovers in paper, and started doing the dishes. Beckah passed me the freshly scrubbed dishes so I could dry them with a towel. I stood beside her, trying not to think about what her mother had said about merchants and grocers. I couldn’t figure out why that bothered me so much.

“How long can you stay here?” she asked.

I didn’t want to think about that. I was having such a good time here with her, the last thing I wanted to do was go back to the bitter cold in Mithangol and sit by myself in an empty house. “As long as you want me to, I guess. Until I have to go back to the academy.”

“I wish you didn’t have to go.” Beckah’s voice sounded sad.

“I’ll come back,” I said.

She sighed. “I know.”

Neither of us said anything else as we stood there, finishing up the dishes and putting them away. I was realizing how hard it would be to leave. I knew Sile probably wouldn’t like it one bit, but this place had already begun to feel like home to me. It was warm and comfortable, and it was filled with people I cared about. I didn’t feel unwanted here, which was definitely a first.

“I’m scared to talk to Daddy about Icarus,” Beckah said. She looked at me with worry in her eyes. “He won’t understand. He’ll tell me I can’t keep him because I’m a girl. You know how he is. It’s impossible to argue with him once he’s made up his mind about something.”

I smiled at her. “I think he’ll understand better than you expect. Besides, you have to try, right? Icarus is counting on you.”

She smiled back a little, and for a few moments, we stood there and stared at each other. Once again, I got that nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach that I should do something. I just couldn’t figure out what.

A loud scream from upstairs made us both jump.

Our eyes went up to the ceiling, hearing the thumping of someone running over the floorboards overhead. Sile started shouting for us at the top of his lungs. Maybe it was what had happened to us last year at the prison camp, or maybe it was my training finally starting to sink into my subconscious, but I grabbed Beckah’s hand right away and started dragging her up the stairs as fast as I could.

I had never seen so much blood before in my life. It started at the doorway to their bedroom and made a slippery trail all the way to the bed. Mrs. Derrick was lying on her back, clutching her belly in pain, and screaming at the top of her lungs. Sile’s hands were covered in blood, and there was no color at all in his face. He stood there looking absolutely terrified. He appeared too shocked to know what to do, which definitely didn’t make me feel any better. If he was panicking, then I should be petrified.

“It’s the baby,” Sile stammered. His voice was broken and I could see desperate grief on his face. Not even he was trained for something like this.

Beckah was pale. She looked like she might collapse at any moment. “We need the doctor!” she managed to cry out.

Sile grabbed her by the shoulders suddenly, forcing her to look at him. “Go downstairs. Get as many towels as you can.”

“B-but, Daddy! The doctor!” She started to sob.

“There’s no time. It takes two hours just to get to the city. She won’t last that long.” He told her firmly. “Go! Do as I tell you!”

Beckah ran out of the room crying, and I was left standing there staring at Mrs. Derrick as she writhed in pain. When I looked at Sile, I knew something was seriously wrong. This wasn’t the way it was supposed to happen. Her life was in danger.

Sile went to her bedside and held her hand, whispering to her softly as she whimpered and sobbed. I could see his hands shaking, and I could have sworn I saw tears in his eyes. It hurt to see him like that, but I didn’t see how I could do anything except get in the way. I had no medical training when it came to things like this.

From outside, I heard a roar like thunder. The house shuddered under a sudden blast of wind. Too late, I realized what was happening.

I ran to the window, looking out just in time to see Icarus sailing into the darkness toward the city with Beckah clinging to his back. She was going to get the doctor. For a few seconds, I couldn’t breathe. I watched her disappear into the night with the sounds of Icarus’s wing beats fading in the distance.

“I have to go after her!” I started for the door. “She doesn’t even have a saddle!”

Sile caught me by the back of the shirt, yanking me back into the room. “Even if she finds the doctor, he won’t make it here in time!” He yelled right in my face. “I know
you
can fix this. So do it! Save her!”

I stared up at him in terror. I had no idea what he was talking about. What could I do? I wasn’t a doctor! I’d only had a little bit of training when it came to treating wounds—and he was the one who had taught me all that stuff in the first place!

Behind us, Mrs. Derrick screamed in pain again. It made Sile tighten his grip on me.

“She told me what you’d be able to do,” he growled furiously. “I won’t let my wife die. Heal her!”

I raised my hands up in surrender. I tried to speak, but all I could do was choke on my words. Sile pushed me toward the bed and grabbed my wrists. He forced me to touch his wife’s face, putting my palms on her forehead. He held me there with all his strength no matter how much I struggled.

“Do it!” He shouted again, right in my ear.

Mrs. Derrick looked up at me through her tears. She was trembling, and I could see the pure panic in her eyes. She grabbed my arm and squeezed it hard.

“P-please,” she sobbed.

I was at a loss. Sile was looming behind me, ready to rip my head off if I didn’t do something. She was looking up at me pleadingly. And I was just standing there with my hands on her face, trying to figure out what they wanted from me. This woman was going to die right in front of my eyes and they were both acting like I could somehow stop it.

I did the only thing I could do: I thought about my own mother. Seeing Mrs. Derrick like that brought back those horrible memories of watching my mother slip away, lying in her bed with her body burning up with fever. I’d never felt so helpless before… until now.

Tears started to run down my face. I didn’t want to watch anyone else die like that—like their life was slipping right through my fingers.

Then it started like a tingling warmth in the back of my mind. Just like the first time I’d called out to Mavrik, I felt that twinge of pressure in my chest. Unlike all the times I had felt it before, this time it began to spread. It grew and grew until I could barely breathe. All around me, the sounds of Sile yelling and Mrs. Derrick crying seemed to fade away to white noise.

My ears were ringing. Everything got fuzzy. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl. I could feel my palms getting hotter and hotter until it was like my hands were stuck into red-hot coals.

All of a sudden, the room was spinning out of control. I heard a sound like a concussive boom, but I couldn’t tell if it was real or only in my head. Something inside me snapped. I couldn’t breathe at all anymore. I couldn’t think. I could barely even feel myself falling.

Before I knew what was happening, I was lying on the floor while the ceiling spun above me. I still couldn’t hear anything except a high-pitched ringing in my ears. I didn’t know how long I lay there. It felt like hours, but I really had no idea. My body felt like a slab of lead. I couldn’t move my arms or legs. My lungs started to ache, and I realized I still couldn’t breathe.

Suddenly, Sile crouched down over me. I could see his lips moving and the worry on his face, but I couldn’t hear anything he said. He picked me up like a ragdoll and started carrying me out of the room.

I managed to catch a glimpse of Mrs. Derrick before we left. She was propped up in the bed cradling a squirming bundle of cloth in her arms. There were still tears in her eyes, but they were tears of joy now. She was smiling, kissing her newborn baby. Seeing her like that gave me a little hope. I figured if I was about to die from whatever I’d done, at least I was able to help her somehow. At least she would be happy and her baby would be safe.

Then my air ran out. Darkness swallowed me before I knew what was happening. It felt like drowning in black water. It was quiet, so quiet. About the time I started to wonder if I was dead, I sputtered awake again. Sile was leaning over me, pumping my chest with his hands and forcing his breath into my lungs. He saw me stirring and started smacking my cheeks to try to wake me up.

I choked, taking in as much air as I could. For an instant, I was relieved. I thought I was going to be okay. I could finally breathe normally again. I could hear, even if things were still a little fuzzy. And then I realized I still couldn’t move my arms and legs.

Pain hit me so suddenly that at first, all I could do was scream. As it got more intense, though, I couldn’t even do that anymore. White-hot agony shot through me like someone had rammed a dagger right between my eyes. My skin was on fire. My blood boiled. It took everything I had to grit my teeth and bear it.

“Jae!” I heard Beckah’s voice call my name, but I couldn’t will my eyes to open long enough to see her. The pain was too much.

“Where’s the doctor?” Sile asked her. He was sliding his arms under me again to pick me up off the floor.

“H-he’s on his way. He promised he’d hurry. Daddy… w-what happened?” I could hear Beckah crying. She was following him, whimpering my name pleadingly. I couldn’t see her, but I could sense her nearby. I wished I could move, or at least open my eyes and look at her.

“Go and see to your mother, Beck,” Sile ordered as he put me down on the bed. He pushed a hand against my forehead, and that was when I realized I was burning up. His hand felt really cold against my skin. He pulled my eyelids open with his fingers, and I could see him looking down at me with concern.

“But, Daddy—” she started to protest.

“I said go!” he yelled.

I couldn’t see anything when he let my eyelids close again, but I could hear the sound of footsteps leaving the room. The bed flinched, and I could hear Sile’s ragged breathing near me. It almost sounded like he was… crying.

“The gods will never forgive me,” he whispered shakily. “I gave her my word and now I’ve failed her.”

Time passed with those words echoing across my mind.

The pain didn’t let up for an instant, although I seemed to get used to it enough that I could think through it somewhat. I wanted him to explain. What had I done? And how had he known I could do it? Would I even survive this? I had so many questions, and no way to ask them. The pain sizzled over my body like someone was skinning me alive. It even made my bones ache right down to the marrow.

Once, I thought I heard another voice nearby. It wasn’t anyone I recognized, though. It sounded like an older man, and I could vaguely feel him poking at me, like he was examining me.

“Sixteen you said?” I heard the stranger ask. He must have been the doctor. “A bit late, but I’ve seen this before. These halfbreeds are a strange sort. It’s that elf blood, you see. It throws off their growing patterns. The gray elves don’t mature slowly like normal human children do. Instead, it happens all at once. As best we can tell, it’s much like an insect bursting from a cocoon. Sudden, rapid change that takes an incredible physical toll. Just imagine every part of you being stretched at once.”

There was an uncomfortable silence. The room felt heavy. Even though I couldn’t see, I could sense everyone was looking at me.

“Those gray elves are a notoriously tough breed, though,” the doctor continued. “Their bones are like metal, and wounds to their flesh tend to heal much faster. So their pureblooded offspring can handle such a radical change. But having human blood in the mix weakens these halfbreeds too much. Think about it. How many adult halfbreeds do you see walking around? Not many at all. So few of them survive this.”

“Is he going to be okay?” Beckah’s voice asked. It sounded like she was sitting very close by. Vaguely, I could feel her hand holding tightly onto mine.