“We’re done. I’ve removed the taint.” He looked surprised, then glanced down at his arm, which despite hurting earlier, now seemed completely fine. She patted him gently again and advised, “Just eat some red meat, and it’ll replace the bit of blood I had to take with the virus.”
“I’ll do that. Thank you, Lady Jade.” He bent over her hand, brushing it with his lips.
“It’s my pleasure. Now shoo, enjoy your day!” She grinned and ushered him out of the room, turning to her escorts as she motioned, “Alright, go ahead and ask now.” She could tell they’d been barely holding in their questions.
“You’re not just a healer, are you? You’re a blood mage,” Ammon’s voice was more statement than question, so she just nodded in confirmation. He shook his head. “No wonder you can do what the others can’t. I heard the report from last night. Mike said if he’d been the one to treat Dalton, he’d be dead. Is blood magic how you cleared his lungs?”
She nodded, then shook her head as well. They gave her perplexed stares before she explained, “Yes, I did use blood magic to clear the blood from his lungs and the chest cavity, but I also used wind magic to pull the air that had leaked into his chest out. So really, it was a tri-combination of magic, so I’m not surprised others couldn’t do it. Punctured lungs are tricky.”
Ammon was staring in awe at her. “No wonder the mesmer came for you. A tri-mage…”
She laughed ruefully as she corrected him, “No. I’m not a tri-mage… So far, I’ve got ten different types of magic, and the number is still growing.” They looked dumbstruck, and she just smiled and shrugged. “Anyway, we’d better move on. Time’s a wastin’.”
It took her another two hours to fully get through the rest of the guards; she’d had to take a short break to eat before she could finish. On the bright side, seventeen guards were now virus-free, and her jar of contaminated blood was pretty full. Now all that was left was Phillip’s doppelganger.
“So, how do you want to do this? Might I suggest just opening the door and turning him into an arrow pincushion?” She didn’t really want to get close.
Ammon was frowning at the idea of just shooting it without honor. He stared contemplatively at her and asked, “You’re positive that the man in that room isn’t human?” It seemed he was having second thoughts about her accuracy.
She met his gaze unflinchingly as she asserted, “I’m one hundred percent positive. He made my magic scream ‘danger!’ as soon as I touched him. I promise you, whatever is in that room, if it was human before, it isn’t now.”
Seeming to take strength from her conviction, he steeled himself to kill one of his men. Well, it wasn’t really his man, but as much as she was sure of that, he still held some reservations. Although, after spending the last three hours with her, he was finding it harder and harder to doubt her ability. Nodding, he said quietly, “Why don’t you wait in one of these rooms with Christopher? I want you away from the line of fire, but close enough to heal anyone who gets hurt.”
She nodded and immediately walked across the room, entering one of the private rooms with Christopher right behind her as everyone else set up in near silence. She did, however, refuse to completely close the door, choosing instead to watch the room from a small crack. Christopher didn’t seem to like it, but she ignored him. She had brought death upon this man or creature, and she would watch the end.
She was surprised when Ammon was the one who walked to open the door. Apparently, he was taking this pretty personally as well. He opened the door and was surprised when he scanned the room; there was no one there. He was about to walk into the room when Jade shoved her door the rest of the way open, yelling, “Don’t go in!”
Her warning was too little, too late. ‘Phillip’ dropped from the ceiling on top of the count, slashing him with the sword in his hands. Ammon was struggling with the creature and everyone else seemed frozen in shock for a split second. Jade screamed again, “KILL IT!” as the soft twang of bowstrings being released could barely be heard above the thing’s snarls and Ammon’s labored breathing as swords clashed. The solid whump of arrow hitting flesh was heard, and Phillip was turned into a pincushion by expert archers. He finally let go of Ammon, stumbling back as he seemed to lose his form, turning into an amorphous blob which was quickly becoming a puddle on the floor, the things it had been wearing now long gone.
Jade ignored the new flashing red dot and began shoving her way through the archers because she could see the blood pooling on the ground beneath Ammon as several people were trying to help him. “Let me through!” She was practically hysterical.
Then a booming voice she recognized as Christopher’s boomed from behind her, “MAKE WAY!” It was like the parting of the red sea, and she rushed through the gap. Upon reaching Ammon, she sunk to her knees next to him, grabbing his arm and shooting her magic into him.
The wounds were deep, but she systematically dealt with them, willing his flesh together and making sure his systems were unharmed. She was a little surprised not a single arrow had hit him, considering how entwined he’d been with the creature. The marksmanship of the guards had proved to be extraordinary in her experience. Ammon was pale and weak, but he was alive. When she was done, she heaved a sigh of relief, then sat back on her heels, watching him with a tired smile. Glancing over at the blob that people were avoiding, she rumbled tiredly, “Nailed it.” Ammon gave her a confused, but still grateful, look. She sighed and laughed hoarsely. “I told you so. Besides, who ever heard of a count going into a hostile area face first? At least pie the door.”
Ammon just smiled and said, “I have no idea what you mean. You’ll have to explain it, but not today. I think I need to get some rest. Thank you, for everything.”
Jade nodded and smiled back. “That’s a good idea. You heard my spiel. Eat red meat. If you feel anything out of the ordinary, contact a healer sooner than later. Get a checkup with Mike or me one week from now to be sure everything healed properly.” He nodded and allowed himself to be led out.
Jade glanced at Christopher and asked quietly, “So...who’s second in command? I’m kinda still holding a ticking time bomb here.” She patted the jar of blood hanging at her hip. Christopher again looked stumped by her terminology, but seemed to get the general gist due to her patting the blood jar.
“That would be Countess Marcelle D’Ard. I’m not sure where she’d be at this time of day, though…” Christopher looked thoughtful, but Jade was no longer concerned with his musings. This was mostly because a middle-aged woman with an air of command had just walked into the common area, and people were giving her bows of respect and making way; a couple of people seemed to be trailing her while giving reports. She’d also stopped and exchanged a few words with Ammon on his way out.
Jade studied this remarkably no-nonsense woman. Her expression was strict, and there were little crow's feet around her eyes, as if she was perpetually glaring. Her hair was just long enough to be pulled back into a low ponytail and of a middling brown color. Her icy blue eyes seemed to take in all the details of the room, finally settling on the pile of goop and Jade, who were the two things most out of place. She walked over, inspecting both of them as she did so. Jade had to resist the urge to straighten and salute.
“You’re the healer girl who found the doppelganger?” It seemed she’d been fairly well versed on what had happened already, which was impressive, given that she’d just gotten here. She figured Count Ammon had given her a quick rundown before he was carted out. The real question was how the woman had gotten here so quickly? Perhaps Ammon had sent word hours ago when she first started, but her appearance at this exact moment seemed too coincidental. She dismissed the thought. It didn’t matter how she’d known to show up at this moment, only that she had.