Page 22 of Adtovar
“What do you need?” Sureeta’s purple gaze swept around the room, daring the others to refuse my plea.
My mind spun, trying to remember the recipe.
“Sureeta, I need you to go to the dining hall. Along the wall, next to the kitchen, there are some small yellow rocks. I need you to get me as many as you can find.” I’d noticed a collection of sulfur crystals piled there yesterday and hoped no one had swept them away. Her dark purple gaze met mine, and she nodded, lips set into a grim line. “Hurry,” I urged.
She was out the door before I could move my attention to the others. “Meeka, Teenalia, I need you to go to where they store the cleaning supplies. Do you know where that is?”
They nodded in unison.
“The black rocks that we use for soaking up spills. Bring me as many as you can carry. Hurry!”
They took off at a run.
“Kysia, Emmiait, I need as many clean cloths as you can find and water, lots of the cleanest water we have.”
I didn’t need to say hurry this time.
“What can I do to help?” Only Lafalia remained. I knew her ribs hadn’t completely healed, but I needed everyone to save Adtovar.
“I need you to go into my cell. You know the wooden bowl and rock I use to crush up the gray pebbles?”
She nodded.
“Grab them and fill the bowl with as many of the light gray pebbles as you can.”
She nodded again, but paused, her eyes darting over Adtovar’s pale figure. Without a word, she bent, ripping off her skirt—the only one she possessed—and pressed the cloth to Adtovar’s wound.
“You can save him. I know it.” She murmured before dashing from the room.
I wished I possessed her confidence.
Exsanguination expected in six minutes.
Lafalia returned first, and I set her on grinding the gray pebbles to dust using my makeshift motor and pestle.
Kysia and Emmiait returned with their arms full of cloth and a large pitcher of water. I took the fabric from them, tossing away the blood-soaked mess I’d been using to clog Adtovar’s wound. It landed in the corner with a loud splat.
Sureeta came in next, dumping six yellow rocks on the bedside table. I switched with her, showing her how to put pressure against the still-bleeding wound. Sureeta was much stronger than me. Hopefully, she could staunch the bleeding enough to give us more time.
Carefully, not wanting to lose an ounce of dust, I poured the gray power Lafalia had ground onto a strip of cloth. Rinsingthe yellow rocks off with water, I dried them on the hem of my tunic, dropped them into the motor, and began pounding.
Exsanguination expected in five minutes.
Tears filled my eyes, and I swiped them away with the back of my hand. No telling how saltwater might affect the efficacy of my concoction.
“Is this enough?”
I glanced up to see Teenalia and Meeka run into the room, their fingers blackened from the charcoal they carried. I dumped out the coarse yellow sulfur power on a scrap of fabric and snatched a handful of charcoal, dumping it in the mortar and turning it into power with a few pounds of the stone.
Exsanguination expected in four minutes.
“Is this voodoo magick?” Meeka murmured, as they gathered around the bed, worried eyes intent on the male that had come to mean so much... to all of us.
“It’s science,” I said, pouring the black powder onto a strip of cloth, then slowly filled the mortar with equal parts gray, yellow, and black dust. “The gray stones are niter, the yellow is sulfur crystals, and the black is charcoal. Mixed together, it forms something called gunpowder that hopefully will cauterize the wound and stop the bleeding.” I don’t know why I told them. I could tell from their expressions that none of them truly understood. But it made me calmer to talk as I swirled the contents together, forming a dark gray power that reminded me of sand. Something about saying the words made the science seem sounder and more effective. And that gave me hope that thisHail Maryjust might work. I didn’t want to consider the alternative.
Holding the mortar to my chest like a most prized possession, I moved to the bed, settling on the cot beside Adtovar. The blood-soaked blanket squelched coldly underneathmy thighs. He didn’t look alive—so pale, and his chest barely rose with breath.
Exsanguination expected in three minutes.
