Before they could get into it however, there was a strange noise from down the hall. A loud, discordant whistling noise.
Shireen took her eyes off Jocasta.
Down at the end of the long hallway was a figure in bright green. Shireen laughed and turned back to Jocasta.
“That your new House colors?” she asked.
But Jocasta wasn’t paying attention to her. She, too, was staring at the figure, her eyebrows drawn down.
“What the hell…” Jocasta whispered.
“That’s not one of yours?” Shireen asked.
Jocasta shook her head, continuing to stare.
Inside the room, Jamshir started to giggle.
Chapter 54
Darius could barely hold the portal open as Samuel helped him stumble through. His clothes were bloody and there were gashes all over him, like those made by sharp claws. And all with that red, inflamed appearance that told of coming infection. He’d need to see Willow again.
But first, he needed to get Samuel back to Towering Oaks. The portal dropped them deep in the woods, a good hour’s walk from the compound. Not ideal, since he needed medical attention badly, but he couldn’t take the chance on someone seeing it.
“You go on,” he told Samuel. “Get help and bring them back to me.”
“I will,” Samuel said, and helped Darius ease down next to a tree.
For most Folk, merely sitting so close to one of the forest giants would have helped them heal. But those of House Subtle Hemlock had given that gift up. It was almost as if the forest itself knew what they were and turned its back on them. A silly thought, really. The forest was alive, sure, but it wasn’t sentient.
His mind was wandering. None of this mattered. He needed a healer before he was beyond help. Malachi hadn’t been gentle, or overly careful, when he made sure that it would appear Darius had gotten Samuel away from a Soul Gaunt.
“Are you okay?” Samuel was fussing over him, using his own shirttail to rub at the blood.
“Yes,” Darius said. “Go, will you?!”
“All right.” The aide stood. “But before I go, I just wanted to say thank you. For getting me away from that thing. It was horrible…”
“Fine. You’re welcome. Now will you please go?”
“Yes, of course.” With one last look, Samuel scurried away, disappearing among the trees a few moments later.
Darius choked down a laugh, knowing that it would cause him more pain than it was worth. If he hadn’t spent so much time manipulating Samuel’s mind he’d be in real trouble. He didn’t have the strength to control him right now, so he needed to depend on things already put in place.
They’d serve. Unless someone like Willow got suspicious for some reason and really examined him closely, no one would ever know that Samuel was anything other than himself.
Darius had thought to make sure the aide looked like he had been with a Soul Gaunt as well, but didn’t have the strength for it, after Malachi was done with him. Instead, he made the suggestion that the Soul Gaunt was keeping Samuel alive and unharmed for some mysterious purpose, as if it were waiting for further instructions.
He was rather proud of that one. He’d made it up on the fly when he collected Samuel from his cell. Not only did it explain the lack of wounds on him, it would add further concern for House Towering Oaks. There was still a Soul Gaunt around and it was being controlled? Oh no!
Now he did laugh, blood spitting from his lips and a sharp pain stabbing into his belly. He groaned and put his head back, trying to control his breathing.
It was no use; this simply wasn’t comfortable.
Maybe if he lay down.
♦ ♦ ♦
“Darius? Can you hear me?”
The voice was pleasant to listen to, and there was a warm, comfortable feeling spreading through him. He wanted to answer, but it was so nice to lie here, feeling the earth under his cheek. Everything felt at peace.
“Come on,” the voice said. “You can get up now.”
A slender hand grabbed his arm and tugged. He moaned, not so much in pain as in protest, and opened his eyes.
Willow knelt next to him, her one hand holding his wrist, her other on his brow. He looked into her warm, brown eyes.
“You’re beautiful,” he whispered.
Funny thing was, he meant it. The healer was very attractive, although most would call her stately, or dignified. But to Darius, she was simply the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
Willow’s cheeks flushed, but she didn’t move her hands. “Don’t be ridiculous. That’s just the effects of my healing and what you’ve been through. You’d think a wood-troll was beautiful right now.”
Darius slowly sat up, putting his hand to his head. Healed or not, the headache he was experiencing was intense.
“Take it slow,” Willow said. “When I say healed, I mean that you’re not going to die. That’s all. Soul Gaunt wounds are more than I can fix in such a short time. They will require more attention.”
“Does that mean I’ll get to see you again?”
“Me, or one of the other healers. We all have had too much practice in this recently.”
“You.” Darius fixed her with a stare. “I want it to be you.”
“Well.” Willow let go of his hand and fussed with her dress that was bunched on her lap. “We’ll see.”
A sudden throat clearing alerted him to the fact that they weren’t alone. Several Towering Oaks soldiers stood nearby, most staring pointedly out into the Greenweald, although a few openly watched with grins plastered across their faces.
“I guess Samuel made it back, huh?” Darius said.
“Indeed,” Willow answered, climbing to her feet. She motioned for one
