Page 50 of Lucie
Chapter Twenty-Four
Diagnosis
“Your doctor is very young. Surely he’s not the only doctor you have at your compound.” Her arms were re-wrapped around his waist. The warmth of her body penetrated through his armor.
Lucien smiled. “Iain’s father, LiamMaGrath, has been our compound physician since before my parents met.”
“Is he too old to accompanythe battle lord and lady? Is that why he’s not with them?”
“That’s some of it. He suffers from arthritis, and these treks away from the compound are hard on him physically.” He glanced back at her. “By the way, Iain is my uncle.”
She gasped, making him chuckle. “How is that?”
“He’s my father’s half-brother.”
“What? No!”
He nodded,enjoying this exchange between them. “My grandmother, my father’s mother, married Liam. They had Iain.” He could almost imagine how she was justifying that information, and decided to add more information, if for no other reason than to catch her reaction.
“Iain is younger than my older brother, Mattox, but older than my sister,Mistelle. The three of them ran around together andcaused all sorts of havoc when they were kids. Then after I came along, I became the brunt of a lot of their antics. They blamed so much crap on me, but fortunately my parents knew better.”
Johnalaughed. The sound of it brought another smile to his lips. At the same time, he looked over to where his parents were riding together, yet apart from the rest of the group, to give themsome privacy. They gave him a curious stare, but he didn’t miss the gentle smile his mother wore.Yulenmade a shushing gesture, reminding him to keep the noise down. Talking was allowed, but anything louder might draw unneeded attention to them.
“Dad says we need to keep the volume low,” Lucien reminded her. She answered by tightening her arms around him.
“Sometimeyou need to tell me all about what your siblings did to you.”
“I will. Someday.”
Someday. In that single word a promise was made. A promise that he’d still be around if she wanted him to be. In addition, he realized that her strange eyes no longer bothered him. Maybe it was because his brother also had unique eyes. Or perhaps it was because he’d been aroundMutah, withall their varying forms of physical abnormalities.
As dusk began to fall, the battle lord called for a halt and brought in his captains to discuss strategy. Dismounting, Lucien helpedJohnaout of the saddle and led her over to where the group was gathered.Yulenhad his map out and was using it to outline his plans.
“We should be hailed by a perimeter guard withinthe next mile or so. If we are, we’ll continue on the road and pass in front of the compound, in full view. Schutz Ridge is on the northern edge of the roadway, to our right. But if we’re not challenged, we’ll have to assume the compound’s been compromised. In which case, I’ll take half of the battalion with me and pass by their main gates. The other half will take cover in the trees and circumvent,keeping out of sight.” He pointed to one of the captains. “Grimsy, take a couple of your best men and do a little recon. Give me an idea of what’s ahead of us, especially what type of terrain we’ll be facing. The forest has been thinning out these last couple of miles. We’ll continue to advance, but at a slower rate, until you return.”
The man repeated his orders and left. Lucienfelt a tug on his arm, and he tilted his head to the side to hear whatJohnawanted to tell him.
“Your mother. She’s heating up.” The young woman sounded concerned and a bit frightened.
Lucien narrowed his eyes as he studied Atty. She didn’t appear to show any outward signs of discomfort, but he knew his mother was very adept at concealment. In addition, he believedJohna. She could see changes in people that no one else could.
Rather than approachAttyand confront her alone with the fact, he waited untilYulenwas finished and had dismissed the group. His mother remained by the battle lord’s side, which was what Lucien wanted. She may argue with him, but she wouldn’t be able to brush offYulen’sscrutiny.
Stopping in front ofher, he continued to examine his mother, until she finally addressed him. “Yes, Lucien?”
“Johnasays you’re heating up.”
Yulen’sreaction was exactly as he’d hoped. His father gaveAttyan accusing glare. “I asked you earlier why you hadn’t eaten much, and you told me you weren’t hungry.”
“I wasn’t. I’m not.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you’recoming down sick?Destino! Go fetch Dr.MaGrath!”
A few yards away, the captain acknowledged the order and went to get the physician. Not waiting forAttyto respond,Yulenturned toJohna. “What else have you seen?”
“Just that her body temperature is rising.”
“I’m getting overheated,”Attyprotested.
