Hadone gives me a slight smile and I’m suddenly very aware that my hand is still on his arm. I pull it away as if he’s venomous. I can’t have him thinking that he affects me this way...
Of course, he does affect me, in a way I’ve never felt before.
I shudder. My nipples are still hard from his touch, and my body is aching for more.
But his people are sick. I need to find out why.
The Aurelian tribe are standing near the edge of the jungle. I realize with horror that although they look sick, and the sounds of the jungle are often overpowered by hacking coughs, these are the Aurelians among the tribe who are considered healthy enough to come to the edge of the jungle in the first place.
That must mean there must be women, children, and elders deeper in the jungle, who were too sick to even come this far. I have to help them. I have to find out what is causing this sickness.
If only I could speak to the Aurelians! Forn was coughing, though he’s practically better now, despite his injuries. He would have a wealth of knowledge about the disease, and how he recovered from it!
I need to get closer to the patients, even if I get sick myself. If I want to heal the Aurelian tribe, then I have to take the risk of being infected.
That means talking to Forn, despite the risk of the virus or bacteria contaminating the amulet.
I take a deep breath and walk to the amulet. I lift the chain and place it around my neck.
I thought I’d feel something when I put it on – to be able to tell if it’s working or not. Instead, I feel nothing.
I turn around, feeling foolish, wondering if the story of this miraculous amulet was all just a fairy tale.
What the hell am I thinking? An amulet can’t make me understand a foreign language. That requires technology – not some piece of jewelry. I just risked getting sick for nothing.
“Can you understand me?” Forn asks, and I nearly fall over in shock.
It doesn’t sound like he’s speaking the common tongue. He still speaks in his guttural language – yet, somehow, I can now understand it!
“Yes,” I say, shocked, and the word comes out in his language; a single, sharp syllable.
“You healed me,” Forn demands. “Can you heal my tribe?”
The way Forn looks at me makes me melt. He isn’t just looking at me like some foolish little human woman, or a breeding mare to be seeded. He’s looking at me with wonder, and respect.
It’s not something I’d expected. I know that Aurelians live much longer than us, and they have a not-undeserved reputation for treating humanity as though they’re nothing but foolish children.
Yet Forn clearly trusts my abilities. I want to be able to live up to that honor, and to help him and his people. I nod: “I’ll do everything in my power to help you all.”
Diana snorts. “You’re driving me crazy,” she complains, and I realize it’s a little rude to be speaking when she can’t understand – but I don’t care at all right now. I ignore her, not worrying that she’ll think I’m rude.
“I knew that our God brought us to you for a reason,” responds Forn, nodding gravely. I shudder, not wanting him to know that the only reason he was able to meet me was a random, coincidental opening of that portal by Lord Tenderfoot.
That’s something to think about later. Right now, I have to focus on healing these people.
I walk towards the child who dropped the amulet.
“You’re not going to touch him, are you?” Diana asks, incredulous. I know she’s right. I’m out of my mind to be approaching an obviously sick, potentially highly-infectious child. Although the Aurelian is not even a teenager, it seems strange to call him a child when he’s at least an inch or two taller than I am.
“Hello, what’s your name?” I say softly.
The Aurelian looks up at me, puffing his chest up. Even young, he’s starting to develop muscles. He has bright green eyes that are going to make human woman swoon when he’s older.
“Gord. I am of the Scorp-Blood tribe,” he says, his chin high. The young Aurelian has the pride of a warrior. “I have fought…” He suddenly breaks into a ragged staccato of coughs, and loses track of his sentence.
The boy falls to his knees and blood flecks his lips. My heart aches, but I look away – knowing somehow that his pride will be wounded if I treat him with anything but respect.
“When did you get sick?”
He composes himself. “Fifty nights ago, the same time as the rest of us.”
Fifty nights ago. If the days here are as long as on my home world, that’s almost two whole months.
“Have many died?”
He nods, and tears come to his eyes. I look away, not wanting to witness his emotions. I don’t know much about these Aurelians, but I know that the Aurelians from my part of the universe consider showing weakness to bring great shame.
“Many. More than half of us.”
Hadone growls from behind me. “More than half? That’s impossible! Only a few had perished when we left, days ago.”
The small Aurelian nods. “It’s gotten worse. Much worse,” he says, and a coughing fit takes him again. I realize that talking is making it worse.
I walk forward into the jungle. Aurelians instinctively back away, not wanting to infect me.
“Come back,” growls Darok, and I turn. He has concern in his eyes. I shake my head.
“I was sent here to help your tribe. I can’t do that without going in to see if I can find the root of the problem. Please, you three, stay here and guard Diana.”
“I know you’re talking about me, I heard my name,” says Diana, annoyed again. She’s starting to get on my nerves. I know that she was brought up to always be the one in charge, and
