Page 46 of Lucie
Chapter Twenty-Two
Contamination
“The Blood’s skin was like rock,”Attyremarked. She held one of her shattered arrows in her hand. “I doubt anything would have been able to penetrate it.” She smiled at her son. “That was a smart move, Lucien, aiming for the brain through the eye.”
“I learned that trick from the best,” Lucien jested. It was his mother’ssignature kill shot.
Renkenwalked up to where they were gathered around the Blood Lucien had killed. “Damn things were lying on the ground. The tall grass kept us from seeing them.”
“Iain,”Yulenaddressed the physician. “How’s the target?”
Iain handedAttythe arrow he’d removed from the man’s back. She examined it, then wiped it off on the fallen man’sshirt before slipping it into her quiver. “He’s very lucky to be alive, but it hit his spine. He’ll be paralyzed for the rest of his life.”
“Is he Blood?”Mastinasked.
The doctor shook his head. “His blood’s red. He’sMutah.” Iain pointed to the abrasions on the man’s wrists. “I’d say he was a prisoner, and he managed to free himself. Probably was making his escapewhen we happened along.”
“More likely he saw us and took the chance on making a break for it,”Renkenremarked.
“One thing’s for sure. Those Bloods were taking advantage of the high grass to conceal themselves until they felt we were in easy reach,” Paxton commented. “Which means they were aware of us coming. I wonder how and when they spotted us.” The second lookedto the battle lord and lady for the answer.
Attygave a little shrug. “There’s no telling.”
“If it hadn’t been for his warning, they might have been able to overtake us,”Paasreflected.
Yulendisagreed. “They would have come up from the rear and maybe killed or injured a few of our men, but the results would have been the same. Our strength and skillwould have prevailed eventually.”
“Dad.”
Yulengave Lucien his attention.
“What if there are more Bloods inside? What if there are more prisoners in that compound?”
He saw his father’s brow lower as the man considered their options.Yulenglanced again at the compound where there seemed to be no further evidence of movement.Attywent overand laid a hand on her husband’s arm. “Send in a squad now. Claim the fortress and place it under your banner. We’ll go ahead while they do cleanup here. On our way back, we can replace them with another squad while you decide who should be left in charge.”
The battle lord agreed. “You’re right. Now that we knowWhiterockwasn’t empty as we’d originally suspected, we can’t leaveit without further inspection.Teeterson!”
The captain hurried forward. “Yes, sir?”
“Take your men, and claim and hold this compound until we return. Oh, and burn the bodies blocking the gate.”
“Yes, sir.” The captain saluted him, then went to gather his troops to advance intoWhiterock.
“What about this man?” Iain asked. “He needs continuedmedical attention.”
Yulengestured toJohna. “Can you tell if the man’s been infected?”
She barely glanced at theMutahstill lying face down. “Yes, he’s had the maddening disease.”
“But you can’t tell if he’s Damaged?” the battle lord confirmed.
“No.”
Yulenthought it over. “All right. We’ll take him with us. We owe him atleast that much debt of gratitude.Mastin, have our newfound friend placed in the wagon with the extra armor. Until we can make the determination as to whether or not he’sDamaged, keep his hands tied and all weapons out of his reach.”
“The man’s paralyzed,” the doctor reminded him. “Even if he is Damaged, there’s slim to no chance he can hurt anybody.”
“Doesn’t matter.If it turns out he’sDamaged, our gratitude ends, and he becomes a paralyzed dead man.”Yulenpivoted to return to his horse, ending the conversation. The others followed suit and mounted their steeds, except for the two guards who were ordered by Paxton to lift and carry the wounded man to the wagon.
