Light the Reign (The Forgotten: Book 3) (23 page)

The elated expressions around her gave her
the answer even before the leader spoke. “Yes, we believe it
worked!” he exclaimed happily. “She should now be spreading the
cure to the curse, and healing all those who she comes in contact
with. Furthermore, it retains its original mode of transport, so
now all of us will also spread the cure, and so on and so forth.”
He glanced fondly down at Phoenix, “It will, of course, work much
faster being exposed to the Princess herself, but we should begin
to see improvement all over the city in a matter of hours!”

“Will it affect anyone who wasn’t infected?”
Gryffon asked.

“That’s the beauty of using the stone to
adjust the original spell rather than use something that would
negate it. It will recognize its own use and only target those
people. Only the healing water’s effect might be spread to those
not infected by the curse, but that is hardly a problem.”

Gryffon smiled hugely. “Let’s bring Phoenix
to the infirmary,” he suggested.

Layna brightened. Seeing all those poor
people cured of the disease would help her forget the cost of that
cure. She extracted the Princess from the sisters’ embraces,
accidentally waking them in the process.

“Did it work?” Natalya asked nervously,
looking at Alina thought she directed the question to Layna.

“Yes,” she answered happily, a rush of joy
spreading through her as the stress that had been a permanent
fixture on Natalya’s face of late melted away.

Alina blinked her eyes sleepily and seemed to
be taking stock of her health. She felt her own forehead and
stretched her limbs experimentally. “I feel better already!” she
reported.

“We’re going to go visit the sick, would you
like to come?” Layna asked them,

“Yes, please,” both girls answered, now fully
awake in the excitement, and they jumped to their feet. The mages
all declined, drained from their exertions, so Layna, Gryffon and
the two girls set out for the infirmary alone – save the entourage
of aides – for the ultimate test.

They all held their breaths as they entered;
even the usually neutral entourage exuded a tension that was nearly
palpable. The great hall was filled to the brim with the cursed,
and they slowly made their way to the nearest make-shift beds. The
ones here were not far along, like Alina, having only a slight
flush as a visible effect. Layna could have sworn she could see
them returning to normal color before her eyes, but she couldn’t
tell. The change was too subtle to tell if it was real or if it was
just her imagination wanting it so badly that it was causing her to
see it.

They moved inward, finding those who were
more obviously infected, those who had begun to get the sores and
pustules appearing all over. As they approached, several of the
people moaned, and Layna halted her steps in worry. Was something
wrong?

But even as she watched, she could see on the
person nearest her that his sores were visibly shrinking away to
nothing. And it was most definitely not her imagination. He tossed
in his sleep, and let out another moan, disturbed by the healing,
but not enough to wake.

Layna moved forward and felt his forehead as
well: Cool.

She felt his pulse: Strong.

She glanced excitedly up at the rest of their
little group and they hurried on to another section. They were met
with similar results, and soon someone woke and their happy
exclamations woke more and more, until the great hall resounded
with the cacophony of blissful voices. It was a wonderful
change.

They moved through the rows of the infected,
followed by shouts of excitement and glee. People actually jumped
out of their beds and hugged her and Gryffon, much to their guard’s
chagrin, but the mood of the hall was permeated by happiness. Layna
felt tears of joy stream down her face, and didn’t bother to try
and stop them or wipe them away. Everyone was caught up in the
moment.

They made their way to the back of the room
where Amelia was. The woman moaned slightly in her sleep, obviously
in agony, which lessened at their approach. Her thrashing movements
stilled, and she blinked sleepily awake. She tried to focus her
tired eyes on them as the pustules on her body healed before their
eyes.

She seemed confused by their smiling faces
and the shouting around her. She glanced around the great hall.

“Am I dead?” she asked.

Layna completely abandoned all propriety and
reached down to hug the woman. “No,” she assured her, unclasping
the straps that held her to the bed. “No, you’re not dead. You are
cured!”

Amelia looked down at her healed body and
flexed a few fingers experimentally. Then she burst into tears.

Layna started, stepping back a pace in
surprise. The woman brought shaking hands to her face and covered
her eyes, sobs wracking her body. “What’s wrong?” she asked in
alarm.

Amelia sniffled and wiped her eyes a few
times before she could speak. “I was so sure that it was the end…”
she got out before another wave of sobs took hold.

Layna sat on the bed and held the woman until
she stilled under her embrace. It was hard to believe that it was
over. She couldn’t imagine what it must have been like for Amelia.
Granted she and Gryffon had known that their fate could possibly be
the same as those Bricrui they found out in the city, but they had
been able to be out doing something about it, still healthy. Amelia
had been stuck on a bed, wasting away, spending her days knowing
she was dying.

She hugged the woman closer. For once, she
wasn’t scolded for her improper behavior. Eventually, she got hold
of her weeping and pulled away.

“You’d better be moving along,” she told
them, “there’s plenty more who’ll need it.”

Layna hated to leave her friend, but sitting
so long next to Phoenix had healed her almost back to normal, and
she was right. There were lots more who needed healing.

When they had moved through the entire hall,
they stood off to the side, watching the people getting up and
hugging one another, dancing around in joy, and general merriment.
They had gone from the brink of death, to healthier than they had
ever been.

“Shall we try the dungeons?” Gryffon asked,
hesitation in his voice. They had already determined that the body
would not be able to come back from the damage it had incurred by
the time they were sent down there. Would Phoenix really be able to
do anything? And if not, would they traumatize her for life seeing
them?

“Maybe we should put her in something for
that,” Layna suggested, “So that she can’t see or hear them. We
could bring her in her basket and magically soundproof it.”

Gryffon looked relieved. “Let’s do it.”

They made their way down the winding stairs
to the dungeons slowly, and without the two sisters. Natalya and
Alina had opted not to witness whatever was about to occur, and
Layna could hardly blame them. Even if by some miracle the people
were cured, seeing the Bricrui at this stage was extremely
frightening.

They opened the door to the cells and moved
inside, stepping in front of the first cell. Its occupant looked up
at them with its red orbs, growling ferociously. The sound stopped
almost immediately and the beast cocked its head to the side,
looking almost thoughtful. Then its features started to change.
They melted and shifted from the horrifying creature it had become
back into the human it once had been.

Layna watched in excitement. It was actually
turning them back! Her excitement faltered as the creature’s
previously tense stance fell limp. The woman, as they could now
tell she was, collapsed into a heap on the ground. Then she
suddenly started convulsing, writhing around in the hay. Layna
rushed forward, but Gryffon’s restraining hand on her arm kept her
from getting too close.

As abruptly as it had begun, it stopped. The
woman tilted her head towards them and opened her eyes. They seemed
to be draining of blood, it trickled out like red tears, running
down her now completely human-looking face. The blue eyes blinked
at them a moment, a brief moment of rational thought flashing
behind them. Layna thought she caught the slightest hint of a smile
playing on the woman’s lips before her eyes closed completely. Her
whole body seemed to relax farther into the ground, and her mouth
hung open limply in death, her chest no longer rising and falling
to her breathing.

Layna resumed her own breathing just in time
to prevent herself from passing out and she let out a strangled
cry. “We killed her!”

Gryffon pulled her close by the arm his hand
still rested upon and buried her face into his chest. “We saved
her,” he disagreed firmly. “Did you not see the peace in her eyes
before she went? She had the dignity to die as a human being and
not as a raving beast. They all deserve that much, come on.” He
tried to drag her and Phoenix down the hall, but she stood her
ground stubbornly.

“No,” she croaked, “No, I can’t be
responsible for their deaths.” She shook her head vigorously,
accentuating her point. Much softer, she repeated, “I just
can’t.”

Gryffon looked ready to argue, but finally
relented. “The spell will spread through this one to the others
quickly anyway,” he pointed out, “They will all find their peace
within the night.”

“That’s good,” Layna said, relieved she
wouldn’t be forced to watch them all transform back to their
rightful self, only to find that their bodies had nothing left for
them. And during it all to get back that one spark of understanding
she had seen flash across the woman’s eyes. She shuddered.

Gryffon felt the motion, and adjusted his
route, moving towards the door. He tugged her arm gently this time,
and she gave no resistance, eager to be away from the woman’s body.
Even knowing they had put her out of her misery did nothing to
relieve Layna’s own at having nothing else to do for these people
but put an end to their existence. But, as they had already known,
those being housed below, whose eyes had turned red – were already
dead. That knowledge didn’t make her feel any better.

The people in the great hall above were still
wandering about in awe, their miraculous recoveries a source of
amazement. At their party’s reappearance, an even louder noise rose
above their happy chatter: A tremendous cheer rang out, directed at
them. People shouted and pointed at them and Layna soon realized
that it was Princess Phoenix that their attention was focused
on.

Natalya wove through the crowd to her side
and smiled shyly. “I’ve been telling them all about how Phoenix
sacrificed her talent for their recovery, hopefully you don’t
mind?”

Layna’s mind raced to defend her daughter,
not wanting the secret of her lack of talent to get out. But almost
immediately she chastised herself. They would not be able to hide
Phoenix’s lack of talent anyway, and their daughter would need to
learn to grow strong in other ways instead. And she had known that
they would need to mend the strained relationship her daughter
currently had with her people. Despite their best efforts to keep
the fact that the curse had started with her a secret, there were
rumors already spreading.

But the fact that Natalya had managed to get
these people to so fervently embrace her and her sacrifice, was
inspiring. Those housed here were most likely to have recognized
the relationship between those who first fell ill and those who
were in direct contact with the baby, as they had been witnesses to
those who had grown ill the fastest and were sent down below. Layna
silently mourned those who they had not been able to help. The
number had been far too great.

“Thank you,” she said to Natalya, realizing
the girl was still waiting for an answer, “Obviously however you
told them was exactly right.” Indeed, the girl did seem to have a
way with words, correctly interpreting and guiding people’s
feelings. The speech she had made right after finding out that
Layna had failed to see Telvani’s evilness and allowed the massacre
of her town was inspiring, and now she was at it again. She seemed
to be Layna and Phoenix’s devout champion. Layna really should
knight her, or grant her nobility, for all she had done. She tucked
away that thought for later. The girl deserved something for all
she had been through.

When they had exhausted themselves with
congratulatory hand-shaking and hugs, they finally had to excuse
themselves, and they brought Phoenix back to their bedchamber with
them. It had been tempting to march her into the city this very
night to relieve all those suffering within the walls, but all her
advisors were adamantly against it. She and Gryffon were in no
state to protect her, and it would be too dangerous. Before Layna
was satisfied, however, she had made them promise that those who
had already been touched by the new enchantment would wander the
cities themselves to spread it as best they could, as quickly as
possible.

Due to her and Gryffon’s visits into the
city, along with the guard and the watch’s regular patrolling, most
of the worst cases had already been brought to the great hall
anyway. Those left in the city were ones whose lives would not be
threatened by having to wait a few more hours. Plus, with the way
that those who had been cured were singing Phoenix’s praises, the
rumors that were bound to spread about her miraculous healing were
likely to be even greater than the reality would have been.

This their advisors agreed to wholeheartedly,
and Layna left it to them to arrange. She turned her attention to
her baby girl. Her wonderful, healing, little baby girl. They had
her all tucked away, and were about to lay down themselves, when
the mirror shimmered, signaling Katya was trying to reach them.

Layna sighed, and dragged herself to her
feet, touching the frame of the mirror to connect to the magic,
allowing Katya to project herself on it.