The Amulet Of Nicmir (The Scripts Of Neptune, Book 1)

Chapter 32 - Part 2

As Chad tried to contact...whoever he was trying to contact, and Crynia and Noah wandered upstairs in search of something to eat, Lillian sat on the cot she'd pushed beside Nyle's and kept his pulse.

It was slow. Distant. Barely there. A faint heartbeat ticking through his too-warm skin, counting down his remaining hours. It took all her remaining willpower not to curl up and sob.

She was going to lose him.

Not if Chad can do what he says, whispered a hopeful voice.

Doubt drowned it in a second.

Nyle needed medicine. A professional physician. A miracle. Not a fairytale.

Heaving a sigh, Lillian reached out and ran her hand gently through Nyle's hair, letting it fall through her fingers. She'd lost count of how many times she'd done that already. Maybe she was trying to convince herself that he was still there. Still alive. Still fighting.

Maybe she should've said no when Chad suggested what he did. Sam had made some good points, and she agreed with him. But desperation made people do strange things. Agree to unusual remedies. Cling to ridiculous measures. She was no exception.

Doubt whispered again. Maybe you should've been. Who knows? This could kill him.

But Crynia's point had been valid as well: he was dying anyway.

Lillian was pulled from her reverie when the cot creaked and the mattress tilted. Kariana smiled hesitantly as she took a seat beside her, cross-legged. The faint scent of perfume wafted over—something herbal, like rosemary or lavender.

Lillian felt a sharp twinge of anger, then regret, then something she couldn't place. There were too many mixed feelings surrounding this woman she should call sister, and she was far from ready to sort them out.

"He'll live, Lillian," Kariana said softly, gaze searching Nyle's still form, lingering on the tense, pained expression that graced his handsome features as he slept. "I can feel it."

"I can't," Lillian murmured, pulling her hand away from his head, letting her fingertips graze his flushed cheek. "All I can feel is his pulse getting slower."

Kariana pressed her lips together and seemed to decide a change of subject was best. "What's this?" she asked, voice still soft. Reaching over, she touched the swirl of ink between Nyle's tawny shoulders. By some miracle, it was unmarred by the whip.

Lillian rubbed her cheek with her free hand and yawned before she answered. "The tattoo?" She shook her head. "I don't know. He's had it forever. I asked him about it once, when we went swimming, and he said he can't remember when he got it."

Delicate features pulling into a deep frown, Kariana traced the looping triangle of inked skin. "I think I've seen it before, in a book from my father's library. I don't remember what it said about it, but I remember what it meant." Lightly, she tapped the sword hovering above the topmost point of the pyramid. "This stands for courage and strength." Then she traced the slanting line to the left, her fingertip landing below an open eye. "This for knowledge and wisdom. And this—" Finally, she touched the chain with a shattered link. "—this represents liberty."

"You read?" asked Lillian.

"A great deal, when I can."

Lillian let out a choked laugh. "No wonder Philip liked you."

Kariana's smile was wistful. "He has a love for books unparalleled by most," she said fondly. Lillian watched as she absentmindedly touched the jeweled ring on her left hand. "I've been meaning to ask about him. I'd expected he'd be with you and your companions, but...he isn't here. Where is he?"