Page 48 of Lucie
Chapter Twenty-Three
Durrow
The battle lord didn’t push them, but they kept to a steady clip and covered a lot of ground. A couple of timesYulenwent to talk to his men and captains, checking on them as he always did. Lucien also noted his father taking the time to inquire on the woundedMutah. Iain rode next to the wagon to keep an eye on the man.
Lessthan an hour after they departedWhiterock, they came to a split in the road.Yulenstudied the trail that turned southward as they continued on toward the west. Curious,Attyasked, “Where does that lead? Do you know?”
“I don’t know where it eventually ends up, but AltaSeranis in that direction.”
Lucien perked up as his mother softly wondered aloud, “Do you everthink about him?”
Him.RafeD’Jacques. Fortune had told Lucien about the time his father’s half-brother had tried to take over AltaNovisby force, claiming since he was firstborn, the compound was his by right. ButRafe’shatred for all thingsMutahhad led the man to abusingAtty, as well as many others. In the end,Yulenhad killed him and sentRafe’smother, Janelle Callahan,back to AltaSeran.
Yulengave his wife a loving smile. “Not if I can help it.” That seemed to satisfyAtty, and they said no more about it.
Surprisingly, the battle lord called for a halt a little past midday. Believing they’d made good headway, he gave everyone an hour to eat and stretch their legs before returning to the road.Johnagrabbed her spear and vanishedmomentarily between the trees. Lucien took the opportunity to go over to where his mother was already cooking a couple of squirrels she’d managed to snag during their trek. The smell of roasting game over the open fire made his stomach growl.Attyflashed him a smile, which let him know she’d heard it. “Dinner will be ready shortly. Where’s your friend? She’s welcome to join us. There’s plenty.”
He turned to go getJohna, when a sneeze caught him off-guard. It didn’t come from him. Surprised, he gave his mother a concerned look, which she waved off. “Pepper.” She sniffed and blew her nose on a rag. “Hurry. We eat when your father returns.”
“He’s returned,”Yulendrily remarked as he strode into their personal campsite and took a seat on one of the mats she’dplaced on the ground. Holding out his hands toward the fire, he looked at Lucien. “Was that you who sneezed?”
“No. It was Mom.”
Yulenturned toAtty, who waved at the sizzling squirrels. “Drop that expression,D’Jacques. I got some pepper up my nose.”
Chuckling, Lucien went to getJohna. When they returned, Iain had joined his parents. Lucien andJohnatook a seat next to him asAttycarved portions from the meat. “Good thing about squirrels is they cook fast,” his mother remarked.
“They smell wonderful,”Johnapraised her.
“Do you cook?”Attyinquired, handing the young woman a trencher.
“No.”
“You should learn. A good hunter doesn’t just kill the meal. He should be able to cook it, aswell.”
“The kitchen staff at home uses a lot of Mom’s recipes,” Lucien informed her. “You know how tough beaver can be? It’s not like that when it’s fixed Mom’s way.”
“Iain, how’s our new friend?”Yulenasked the physician.
“He’s stable, thankfully.”
“What have you learned? Anything?”
Iain accepted a trencher fromAtty, thankingher before answering. “His name isDurrowChalom. He’s a fruit and seed merchant. He told me that about a month ago a woman and her young daughter arrived inWhiterock. She claimed to be looking for employment. So the compound took her in, and shortly afterwards people started getting sick. Within two weeks they were dying.”
“Was the woman sick when they took her in?”Attyquestioned.
“He didn’t say. If they weren’t aware of the virus, they wouldn’t have thought twice about letting her in so she could seek medical attention. But I’m thinking she could have been a carrier.”
“You mean, someone who’s survived the virus but can still infect others?” Lucien clarified.
Iain gave a nod. “Exactly. Or, she could have recently gotten infected,and wasn’t showing any signs until after she arrived. At that point, she may have contaminated everyone.”
“Excuse me,”Johnaspoke up. “Are you saying you can be sick and not show any symptoms?”
“I’m saying that there’s an incubation period between the time a person becomes infected and when they begin showing signs of illness. In the case of this virus, it has a veryshort incubation. Normally twenty-four hours, give or take a few hours, depending on the person.”
“So, if the woman had been in that incubation period…”
