Oracle (Book 5) (11 page)

Maklavir felt the room spin around him. He caught at the edge of the desk to steady himself.

Joseph looked as if he would collapse himself. “What do you mean?”

Iola broke into a fresh new round of weeping.

Grelda diverted her attention to the other nurse, seemingly glad of the distraction. “Now that’s enough out of you, Iola. Eru knows there’s no room for that kind of emotional nonsense here.”

“What do you mean she’s not herself?” Joseph repeated. His voice was more strident than ever.

Grelda looked at the grizzled pathfinder again. “You must understand, sir, that Kara has been a coma for weeks. Months. It often takes time for a person to adjust again when they finally regain consciousness.” She hesitated a beat, as if unsure whether to add the final thought. “And as I am sure you know, if you really are her friend, that she was grievously wounded.”

The two men glanced at each other.

Kara had been shot by Kendril during the last stage of the battle for Vorten, when the Seteru spirit known as Indigoru had possessed her body through the pendant known as the Soulbinder. Some of the shards of the Soulbinder had cut deep into Kara’s chest. At least one or two had been lodged so deep that they could not be removed.

Maklavir read the same fear in Joseph’s eyes that he was feeling himself.

Joseph put a hand on the hilt to his rapier. “We need to see her. Now.”

Grelda furrowed her brows. “Now? Do you have any idea how early it is? I can never—”

“You need to understand me,” said Joseph in a low voice. “I am going to see Kara one way or the other.”

Maklavir squeezed the man’s arm tight. “Joseph,” he said in a harsh whisper, “for the love of Eru, don’t make this worse.”

Grelda looked angrily at both men. “This is highly irregular. The girl has barely been awake for more than an few hours—”

Maklavir looked over at the nurse. “Grelda, please. You know me. I have always been prompt with the payments for Kara’s care, haven’t I? I’ve been here often to check up on her. Five minutes. That’s all we’re asking.”

Joseph shot Maklavir a warning glance, but the diplomat ignored him.

“Well,” Grelda gave a deep sigh. “You have always been the perfect gentleman, Maklavir.” She stared hard at Joseph. “Unlike your new friend here.” She gave a slow nod of her head. “Five minutes. No more. And if I say the visit is terminated earlier than that, you’ll both have to leave.”

“Agreed,” Maklavir said swiftly.

Joseph looked as if he wanted to leap forward and throttle the woman. “Agreed,” he said between clenched teeth.

“All right then,” Grelda said, smoothing her white robe like a hen ruffling its feathers. “Follow me, if you please.” She looked over at Iola. “I’ll deal with
you
later.”

The two men started to follow her.

“Oh,” said Grelda suddenly, turning around on them, “one more thing. Your weapons will have to stay here.”

Maklavir gave a smile that he did not feel in the slightest. “Of course, Grelda.” He unbuckled his sheathed sword and put it next to the front desk.

Joseph didn’t move a muscle.

Grelda glared at him. “It’s for the safety of the patients,” she said coldly. “There is no reason that you’ll need your sword in our establishment.”

Maklavir looked over at Joseph. “For Eru’s sake, man,” he hissed, “what’s wrong with you? Drop the sword.”

Joseph looked over at his friend with a face pale with anger.

“Talin’s ashes,” said Maklavir in exasperation. “Do you want to see Kara or not?”

With slow, measured movements, Joseph removed his rapier and put it down by the desk.

Grelda eyed Joseph uneasily, as if she was having second thoughts about letting him into the Sanitarium at all. Finally, she turned and waved her hand. “Follow me, gentlemen. And remember, five minutes only.”

“You’re embarrassing me,” Maklavir whispered to Joseph as they climbed the stairs after the nurse. “What in Zanthora’s name did you think we needed weapons in here for, anyway?”

Joseph looked over at Maklavir. “What...if Kara’s not there?”

Maklavir reached the landing and turned towards the next flight of stairs. “What are you talking about? Who
else
would we see?”

Joseph gave Maklavir a look with eyes so pained and hard that they sent a chill down the diplomat’s spine. “It hasn’t occurred to you, yet? We don’t know yet if the goddess is wholly gone.”

Maklavir felt the blood pound in his ears. His foot missed the next step, and he stumbled.

The terrifying possibility that Joseph was suggesting had not entered his mind at all. A year ago he would easily have laughed the mere suggestion of such a thing off with ease.

Now he found himself whispering a prayer to Eru as he climbed.

They reached the top of the stairs, and headed down a long corridor filled with side chambers and closed doors. Down the hall came the echoing cry of someone weeping. A repeated pounding came from inside one of the rooms.

A white-robed nurse rushed out of one door and scurried past them.

Grelda didn’t even glance at the commotion.

Maklavir tugged nervously at his cape. The hair stood up on the back of his neck. His nostrils twitched at the strange, disagreeable odors that filled the hall.

“
This
is where you put her?” Joseph stared askance at the hallway before them.

“Yes,” said Maklavir, trying to keep his voice down despite his rising anger. “It’s the finest Sanitarium within a hundred miles.”

Joseph glanced at a chamber pot that stood outside one of the doors. “Doesn’t seem like it,” he said gruffly.

Maklavir’s hand twitched. He was doubly glad he didn’t have his sword on him at the moment. “Well, you wouldn’t know, would you? You haven’t even been here to visit Kara
once
, have you?”

Joseph’s face flinched, but his eyes kept their flickering anger. “I was off helping Dutraad fight the war, Maklavir. How—?”

“Oh, yes,” said Maklavir sarcastically. “You always bring up how you’ve been heroically off fighting our war for us. What you seem to forget is that you left me high and dry here in Vorten, with Kara to care for and—” He stopped, suddenly noticing that Grelda was staring at them.

“Quiet,” she said with a finger over lips. “There are patients resting here.” She turned around and began walking again.

Maklavir snapped his mouth shut and bit down the rest of his anger.

Joseph pushed past without another word, his face clouded over.

Somewhere down the hall came the echoing sound of maniacal laughter.

Maklavir glanced behind him. The hairs prickled across the back of his neck.

“Here,” said Grelda at last. She gestured to a wooden door in the corridor, and stood off to one side. “I will see if she is up yet.”

Maklavir and Joseph stood awkwardly in the corridor for a moment, avoiding eye contact with each other.

Down the hall, a door slammed.

Maklavir almost jumped out of his skin at the noise.

Grelda came out again, her face stern. “Five minutes,” she reminded them. She held the door open and gestured inside.

Having come this far, both Joseph and Maklavir found themselves inexplicably hesitating.

Maklavir took a deep breath and stepped inside.

His heart jumped up into his throat.

Kara was there, sitting on the edge of her bed in a simple nightgown. Her once long, red hair had been cut incredibly short, so that it now barely went past her ears. Her skin was an unhealthy white. She stared at the wall of the room, twisting her hands over and over and muttering something to herself under breath.

Maklavir froze, unsure for a moment if Joseph had been right or not. Was this really Kara, or had Indigoru somehow remained in the girl’s mind and body? He cleared his throat. “Hello, Kara.”

The beautiful redhead didn’t look up. She kept her gaze focused on the wall. Her hands continued their strange twisting motion.

“So far she has been unresponsive to the nurses,” said Grelda unhelpfully.

Maklavir stared at the girl. He felt sick. There was no trace of the fiery, fiercely independent thief and world-class archer he had once known. It was like looking at a shell of his friend.

“I warned you that she had not yet recovered,” Grelda said in a quiet voice. There was something almost like sympathy in her words. “Kara is still…adjusting.”

Maklavir glanced over his shoulder.

Joseph stood in the doorway, as if afraid to enter the room. His eyes were fastened on Kara.

Kara didn’t look up at him, or at any of them. She kept muttering to herself.

Maklavir cleared his throat. “Kara,” he started to say, struggling to keep his tone steady, “I don’t know if you can hear me, but we are here for you. Joseph is here, and so am I. We—” He paused, momentarily surprised by the surge of emotion that was catching in his throat. “We aren’t going to leave you.”

“Fangs in the east,” Kara said, her voice barely above a whisper. She continued to stare at the wall. Her hands worked furiously.

Maklavir instinctively leaned in, barely catching her soft words. “Beg pardon?”

Grelda gave a dismissive wave. “It’s nonsense. The only thing she’s been saying since she came out of her coma.”

Joseph stared harder at Kara, but still didn’t come into the room. All the color was drained from his face.

“Fangs in the east,” Kara repeated. Her head tilted slightly. She muttered something else again, under her breath.

Maklavir couldn’t make out what it was. He stepped closer. “What is it, Kara? Fangs? What fangs?” He looked back to Joseph and Grelda. “Is she talking about the Despair in Vorten?”

Joseph didn’t respond. He looked as though he were seeing a ghost.

Grelda shrug. “It’s nonsense. Doesn’t mean anything at all.”

Maklavir ignored her. He kneeled down next to Kara, trying to catch her words.

“Fangs in the east,” the redhead said. Her voice was strange, almost in a sing-song or a chant. “Shadow in the south.”

Maklavir felt his flesh crawl. The air in the room seemed to suddenly grow chiller.

Kara still didn’t look at him. “A fire rises in the west,” she murmured.  

Maklavir didn’t understand what Kara was saying. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that it
wasn’t
nonsense.

Grelda took a step forward. “Mr. Maklavir, we need to give Kara some space. I—”

Joseph’s hand shot out and snatched Grelda by the arm.

The old nurse looked back at Joseph in shock. “What? Let go of me at
once
—”

Maklavir leaned in, desperate to hear Kara’s words. “I’m here, Kara,” he said. He grabbed her cold hands in his own. “Talk to me.”

“Fangs in the east, shadow in the south, a fire rises in the west.” Kara still wouldn’t make eye contact with him, and her voice was still in the strange chant-like cadence. “To find the key, to defeat all three, seek the raven lost in the sea.”

Maklavir stared at her helplessly.

Grelda pulled her arm out of Joseph’s grip. “You see? Nonsense. Now I must ask the two of you to leave. Kara needs her rest.”

Maklavir stared hard at Kara, trying to get the girl to look at him.

Nothing. She repeated the words she had said before in a harsh whisper, her eyes set on the wall of the room.

“
Gentlemen
,” Grelda said impatiently.

“Maklavir,” Joseph said quietly, “she’s gone.”

Maklavir closed his eyes, gripping Kara’s hands tightly for a moment. He had so much to say to her. Now he would never be able to say anything at all. With a sick feeling he started back to his feet.

Kara leapt forward suddenly and grabbed both Maklavir’s arms.

Joseph started into the room, a look of wild fear on his face.

Maklavir froze. His heart hammered in his chest.

“
Maklavir
!” Kara said. She was looking right at him, her eyes glinting like a person suffering from fever. “Kendril! You have to find Kendril. He’s in great danger. I’ve
seen
it. He needs us. Fangs in the east, fangs in the east—” She fell back onto the bed, shuddering and convulsing.

“Kara!” Maklavir cried. He leapt forward and snatched her flailing arms.

She was in a full seizure. Her eyes were distant again, staring at the ceiling. She shook and trembled, her body out of control.

Grelda leapt out into the hall. “Nurses!” she shouted. In a heartbeat she was back in the room, right next to Kara at the bed. She looked up at Maklavir and Joseph. “Both of you out now!”

Like sheepish children, both Maklavir and Joseph obeyed without question. They moved out into the hall just as three white-robed nurses entered the room after them. The door slammed shut.

Maklavir removed his cap and ran a hand through his dark hair. “Great Eru,” he breathed. His hands were still shaking. He turned to Joseph. “Did you hear her?”

Joseph stared at the closed door for a long moment in silence. Then he looked at Maklavir. “I heard a woman who can seem to remember everyone’s name, even the man who shot her, except one.
Mine
.”

Maklavir opened his mouth, but had no answer.

Joseph turned and walked back towards the stairs.

Chapter 7

The seagulls were the first sign of approaching land. They wheeled high in the sky, shrieking as they glided on the wind and swooped down on the water.

Kendril scowled up at their white shapes, then cocked an eye towards the eastern horizon.

The day was cold but clear. The weather was holding remarkably well. It wasn’t uncommon for storms to sweep through the Strait of Jagara in the early spring, but so far their voyage had been relatively quiet.

Kendril disappeared below decks and sought out Simon.

The poor mule was in a stall smaller than any he had ever had to put up with on land. On top of that, had been unable to keep any food down during the voyage. He snorted unhappily as he saw Kendril.

The Ghostwalker shrugged. “I know, boy. But we’re almost to land. What was I supposed to do, leave you in New Marlin?”

Simon turned his head away.