“House Manwaring, a scouting party. It won’t be long before they send numbers.” She sighed softly. “I wanted to show some hospitality and keep my manners, but there’s no time for niceties, I fear.”
That seemed obvious to him as well. He bit back a whimper.
Thalia went on, “This cuts our hunt short, though this excursion has served its purpose. I’m certainly impressed with your prowess. But…there’s something off about their warriors. Look at their blood.”
It was too dark, he thought. For sure, the stuff tasted nasty; he could still feel it coating his tongue, more viscous than normal, too. Before she could say more, his four guards loped into the clearing, hackles raised. Red wolf, timber wolf, gray wolf, steppe wolf, all present. Normally, Raff would brief them, but the scene spoke for itself.
Gavriel and Magda arrived last; he’d never seen the Noxblade wearing such a grim expression. “Unfortunately, we will not be completing our course. Everyone, head back to Daruvar immediately.”
In response, Thalia vaulted onto her vedda beast, leading the way back to the fortress. Raff stayed close and tried not to show much how his wound hurt. What the hell did he shoot me with? The injury should be sealing, even around the projectile, but he could feel blood gushing from torn flesh. The faster they got there, the better, since first aid had to wait until everyone was safe.
Gates clanked open, permitting their passage. The mood was a hell of a lot darker when they closed. He had the absurd thought that the drone might be lost forever.
It had been long enough that the sun was going down, and the chill came on fast with the night. Once they reached the bailey, Raff dropped out of wolf form and stumbled. Magda was beside him in two strides. All the Animari were naked but unlike the Golgoth, the Eldritch didn’t seem bothered. Thalia was snapping instructions at Gavriel and Lileth, faster than he could process her words.
Not surprising, he was woozy from all the red he’d left behind, a river of it, seemed like, and it was still pouring out of his shoulder.
Mags slammed both palms over the wound. “I did a shit job of protecting you, I see. What the hell is wrong with this?”
“Not sure,” he got out. “Think it’s a special weapon. The Gols have something…” It hurt to speak and black nibbled at the edges of his vision.
To his surprise, Thalia turned and ran to him, setting her shoulder beneath his other arm, but Mags didn’t let go. Some bodyguard, he tried to say, but his tongue was numb, and it came out as a strange choking sound.
“We need a doctor!” Lileth shouted. “No, get him inside, you idiots. Move. Now!”
Raff lost the light.
6.
“Why won’t the bleeding stop?” Thalia demanded.
The scene was straight from a nightmare, crimson everywhere, and to make matters worse, the small medical staff wasn’t trained in Animari physiology. Nobody had a spare breath to answer, working flat out to extract the bullet from Raff’s shoulder. Judging by his expression, the doctor was completely baffled, which didn’t bode well.
“Vitals dropping,” the nurse called.
Thalia stared at the medical machines, uncomprehending. House Manwaring had a weapon designed to kill Animari in one shot. The horror swept over her in a chilling wave that prickled her skin. It could only mean that they had no intention of making peace or accepting Thalia as queen of the Eldritch. No, they meant to follow her father back to the old, murderous ways and would prefer to see the Animari and Golgoth both go extinct. House Manwaring didn’t have that power, of course, which was why they’d allied with the tyrant Tycho.
“He needs a transfusion,” Dr. Wyeth said.
Immediately, the four Pine Ridge guards stepped forward. The youngest, Tavros, said, “It should be me. I’m type O negative, universal donor.”
Under normal circumstances, they’d take blood and run tests to make sure, but medical machines made it clear they didn’t have time. Raff didn’t have time. The emergency team glanced at Thalia, likely hoping she’d take responsibility for the decision.
Life and death, that’s my job. I’ll carry this too.
“Do it. Save him. If there are complications, I’ll take responsibility.”
Relieved of culpability, they got to work swiftly, pumping Tavros’s blood into Raff.
Mags had been examining the bloody projectile and she suddenly dropped it with a shudder. “This is treated black iron with a beryllium core.”
“What does that mean?”
“It’s an Animari slayer. Treated black iron prevents wounds from healing. The chemical interaction hinders coagulation. And beryllium is toxic to us, as few substances are. We’re resistant to most chemical weapons, most herbal poisons as well.” Magda let out a long sigh, her gaze fixed on Raff. “Whoever designed this knows a great deal about Animari vulnerabilities.”
It was impossible not to wonder about the Ash Valley second, who had disappeared during the attack. Dead people could not hide, so probability suggested that he had gone with the Golgoth. To Thalia’s mind, the only question was whether he was a conspirator or if he had been taken captive.
Dr. Wyeth cut into her thoughts, stepping past her to ask Magda for guidance. “Do you have any suggestions for how to treat beryllium poisoning? I’m also unsure if our medicines will help with the coagulation issue.”
“One way to find out,” Magda said. “Test them on me, first.”
Before anyone could react, she cut herself with a small blade and then rubbed the tainted bullet on the wound. Her skin reacted immediately, rays of red streaking her arm, and the blood kept flowing.
Dr. Wyeth didn’t look pleased about testing on a live subject, but Thalia nodded when he silently asked permission. The nurse injected two different drugs, and the second one brought result.
“Hurry,” Dr. Wyeth said.
The nurse fumbled the injector module in her haste but eventually got the medicine into Raff’s body. By this point, Thalia felt like she was watching from above, distant from the blood spatter
