Page 53 of Lucie
Lucien saw his father’s gaze rake over him, thenJohna. “The second either of you start to feel any symptoms, you let me know. That’s an order. Understand me, Lieutenant?” This wasn’t his father speaking. It was thebattle lord. Harsh, demanding, and immovable.
Lucien straightened. “Yes, sir.”
“As soon as you’ve set up your tent, I want you both to report to Iain so he can do a full examination.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’ll get your tent set up immediately,”Mastintold the battle lord, and hurried away.
Lucien gestured toJohna. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?”
“Over to the wagon to retrieve our tent.”
“Ourtent? Am I…”
“You’re spending the night with me tonight,” he told her as she trotted to keep up with his long-legged pace.
“Are we being quarantined?”
He gave a quick shake of his head. “Not really. More like…contained.”
“I don’t understand.”
“The other men have had the virus. That’s why they were selected for this mission. For some reason we don’t understand, any Normal who’s had it and survived seems immune to it. They don’t catch it again.”
“Then why are we being separated?”
They reached the wagon where a soldier standing inside it handed over Lucien’s tent to them. Taking it, he headed backin the direction where his parents’ tent would be erected.
“Because we’re an anomaly. No one knows how our bodies will react to the virus. They don’t know whether we’ll take on the symptomsNormalsdo, or the wayMutahdo. And if we survive, there’s no way to know if we could becomeDamaged.”
“Are you telling me that, of all the people living at AltaNovis, and allthe other compounds the battle lord has under his banner, that we’re theonly twohalf-Mutah, half-Normal people to come in contact with the virus?”
They’d reached a small clearing within eyesight where his parents’ shelter was being staked. Stopping there, he dropped his tent and faced her. “We know the odds are good there are other hybrids like us out there. But, personally, wedon’t know of any. You and I both know thatMutahstill tend to marryMutah, andNormalstoNormals. In addition, my father and Liam went to great lengths to protect the people of his compounds, both Normal andMutah. Some of the restrictions were tough to accept. But when the virus eventually hit us, the death toll was minimal compared to what we’ve heard from others. And I give most of the creditfor that blessing to Dr.MaGrath. So, to answer your question, yes. Right now, the two of us are the only hybrids facing this disease. Which means everyone will be watching and studying us like aWolfenstalking prey.”
“Because they fear what we might become if we survive. That we might try to attack them or others,”Johnaremarked.
Lucien shook his head. “No. Becausethey fear wewon’tsurvive.”
She snorted. “You mean you. You’re the one they care about. You’re the one they hope survives.”
“You’re wrong there, too,Johna,” he hotly argued. “Whether you want to believe me or not, we all care about you, too.Icare about you. Now, help me with this tent. Dad’s expecting us.”
