Page 98 of After 5

“My pleasure meeting you, Doctor,” he dipped his chin toward Sam. “Private.” He flattened his hand over his right eyebrow and waited.

At my salute, he disappeared down the path Sam had indicated.

Stranded at a crossroads, I swallowed hard as I watched him walk away. I could follow Caiyan, warn him about the shooter who might have taken his life, and risk changing our destiny together. I could follow stealthily, and hope he led me to the seer, possibly save the key. Or, I could let him leave and find Gertie and Marco.

Superagent Jennifer Cloud should have followed Caiyan, but my friends’ safety meant more to me than the key, and I had Sam to consider. I made my choice, and my inner voice sobbed uncontrollably as I held my face steady and turned to hear the information Sam waited to share.

Sam led the way to the barn-turned-hospital where he’d found Gertie. Men lay in rows waiting to be seen by the handful of medical staff. Vivandières and temporary medics gave them water and offered comfort by way of threadbare blankets—some of which covered men completely, indicating they had lost their last battle.

The stench of death permeated the air and I stopped by a nearby tree to dry heave, until my nose became accustomed to the foul smell.

“Are you unwell, sir?” Sam handed me a handkerchief, oblivious to the wretched scent of war. He eyed me curiously.

I thanked him and mopped the drops of perspiration from my upper lip and brow.

“It’s funny how when you’re around an awful smell long enough, the foul odor becomes a normal fragrance to the air,” I said to him, recalling a particularly odoriferous patient who came into the chiropractic clinic. After being in the room with the patient for a time, the smell lessened, and the treatment proceeded like any other. The stench became air. It was only when I returned home, I noticed the smell lingering on my clothing.

“I suppose stepping into the woods, away for a moment, my senses forgot.” I hoped my philosophical ranting masked the peaked pallor I was sure my face reflected.

Sam seemed to agree with my sentiment.

I resumed my pace toward the barn. We walked past the rows of men. Empty, hopeless eyes watched us pass. Others called out for help. It was the reason I didn’t summon Eli to me. He would have come, and he wouldn’t have been able to turn his back on all the men he could save with his knowledge and power. Men meant to die.

Sam was called over by a wounded friend from his corps, and I took the opportunity to find Gertie.

I discovered her sitting on a rotten log catty-corner to the barn. Her body bent over her legs and her forehead rested on her arms crossed over her thighs.

An alarm pealed in my head. Did something happen to Marco?

“Gertie?” I asked as I approached her.

Her head flew up. “Jen, thank God!” She rose and embraced me.

“Jeb, remember?” I whispered in her ear as I hugged her.

“Right, Jeb,” she said, releasing me.

“Are you all right?”

She bobbed her head in an uncomfortable tempo.

“Where’s Marco?”

“He’s inside.” She jerked her thumb toward the barn. “On a filthy blanket, on the floor. I cleaned and bandaged his wound the best I could. The bossy-pants nurse made me come outside. He’s mean as a snake.”

“Why did he send you outside?” My concern for Marco escalated a notch. If they practiced nineteenth century medicine on Marco, he’d never forgive me for waiting on Caiyan instead of rescuing him.

Gertie fidgeted. “I passed out when they started to cut off the foot of an injured soldier. When I came to, they sent me outside. Said I didn’t have the fortitude for surgery.”

I encircled her shoulders with my arms and squeezed.

“It’s OK. You aren’t really a nurse you know.”

“I’d like to think I could play the part, but they’re whacking legs off without any pain medicine. A little whiskey is all the injured get—that, and a strip of leather to bite on.”

“Better than dying of gangrene,” I offered.

“I thank my lucky stars we live in the time of modern medicine.” She paused. “Did you find the general? Did Caiyan find the key? Can we go home now?”

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