Page 47 of Lucie
Lucien felt a tug on his arm.Johnaopened her mouth to say something, when a horribleidea came to him, and he reached out, grabbing her by the shoulders. “These Bloods.Johna, can you tell if any of these things have or had the virus?”
She gave him a quizzical look, then checked the nearby body of the creature with the impenetrable skin. She stared at it for several long seconds, when her eyes widened. “I…I can’t tell.”
“What do you mean, you can’ttell?”
“I mean, I can see their color, but I don’t know what it means.” A worried expression crossed her face. “This is the first time I’ve ever seen a Blood. I can’t tell you. I’m sorry, Lucien.”
Lucien called out to the departing figures. “Iain! Mom! Dad! Stop! Wait!” Grabbing her hand, he rushed over to where the physician had paused. Likewise,AttyandYulenturnedto see what the matter was.
He pointed toJohna’sface and clothes. “Bloods! We haven’t considered the Bloods, damn it! Can they get the virus? Have these things had it, and if so, how has it affected them?” He took her again by the shoulders. “You said you’ve never had the disease. What if you’ve infected yourself?”
“He’s right.” Iain scowled at her. “You need to washthat blood off of you immediately, and hurry!”
Attyraced over to her horse. Grabbing her water bag from her saddle, she ran back and tossed it toJohna. “Strip.”
“Here?”
Attyrushed over to the supply wagon and pulled off a blanket, giving it a shake to open it up.Johnasaw her intent, and followed her to begin to disrobe. Using the wagon and the blanketto help shield her nakedness, the huntress tried to scrub off the ichor, using a corner of the blanket as a rag.
“You, too, Luc,” the doctor added, and motioned to a squad of soldiers. “Get that crap off the battle prince’s armor!” Lucien shed the metal plates of his outer armor, as well as his gloves, as other soldiers hurried to wash them clean before he could put them back on.
Iain rushed over to the wagon and produced another bag, which he held out toJohna. This one Lucien recognized as containing the physician’s precious stash of alcohol. “Here. Use this instead of the water. It’ll act as a disinfectant.” Taking the blanket fromAtty, the doctor eyed the battle lady. “If you have any of their blood on you, you best join her.”
Attyshookher head. “I didn’t have any direct contact with them. I’m clean. Speaking of clean.” She returned to her horse and pulled out a change of clothing from her saddle bags, taking them over to whereJohnawas finishing up. “Your clothes need to be burned. Put these on when you’re done. Afraid I can’t vouch for the fit.”
Johnaaccepted the replacements. “Doesn’t matter. My only other pair of pantsand shirt are on their way to NewBearinger, if they haven’t been left behind. Thanks for the loan.”
While his accouterments were wiped down, Lucien remained where he stood, one eye onJohnaand the other on the compound, in the event there was another surprise attack. He couldn’t help but notice the occasional flash of bare skin as the huntress worked to rid herself of the taintedgore. The memory of holding her and feeling her body trembling uncontrollably was still fresh in his mind, and his arms felt unusually empty with her gone.
A horse approached him from behind, stopping almost beside him. “Your observation may have saved a life,” a deep voice remarked. “That’s twice now you’ve shown sound judgment.”
He turned, a wry smile on his lips.“It’s been years since we’ve seen a Blood army. I’d almost forgotten about them.”
“So didwe.”Yulenleaned over his stallion’s neck, his arms crossed on top of the saddle horn. “Are you okay?”
Two soldiers returned with his clean armor and helped him slip it on. Lucien thanked them before answering his father. “Yeah. I’m fine.”
“You sure?” At Lucien’squestioning look,Yulenpointed to his shoulder. “You took quite a hit. I doubtMizellewill be able to pound that out. Most likely he’ll just cast you a new one. Good thing you were wearing that neck wrap.”
Curious, Lucien examined the metal shoulder cap his father indicated. A large dent reflected where the Blood’s weapon had struck him. No wonder the blow had numbed his arm. Hesuddenly remembered he’d left Mattox’s dagger in the thing’s eye asYulenpulled his horse around and called out to his wife. “Is she done?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. Let’s mount up.” He gave the signal. “We’re going to push it to try and make up for lost time. Schutz Ridge is a day’s ride away.”
A soldier rode up with Lucien’s horse. Taking the reins, he calledover to whereJohnawas refolding the blanket to put back on the wagon. “Never mind that. Leave it. It’ll have to be burned. Go ahead and get on the horse.”
“What about you?”
“I need to retrieve my dagger, or else my brother will have my hide when we get home.”
Smiling, the woman nodded. Tossing her the reins, he hurried to reclaim his weapon.
