Frayed Ties (Ties, Book 1) | ✓

Chapter 24

They took a slower, more careful pace this time. The rain was getting heavier and heavier. Danya could feel Yore's energy in his mind and he held onto that. As long as he could feel him, he was alive.

Someone must have run ahead to explain what had happened, because when they arrived at the settlement there were people ready to carry Yore into a long building containing half a dozen beds.

An older man took charge of the situation as soon as Yore was settled into one of the beds, looking him over and clicking his tongue loudly. "Stupid. He knew not to do this."

"Weren't stupid," Slone said. "It was a choice."

The man shot Slone a look. "It was a stupid choice."

"Compassion ain't stupid, Duffy. He saved the girl. Can you save him?"

Duffy looked down at Yore and then back at Slone. "Look at him. No, I can't."

Yore was no longer bleeding, but his skin was reddened from the tiny cuts that covered every inch of it and it was increasingly taking on a purple hue from the bleeding underneath its surface.

"Not everyone dies from it."

Duffy turned to a young girl who had been lurking awkwardly behind him. "Ansel, find the mages some dry clothes."

Ansel nodded and hurried towards the door, draping a blanket over Slone's shoulders as she passed him. He hugged it around himself for comfort, but made no effort to conceal his nudity.

"Slone, I'm not going to lie to you or give you false hope. Not even if you want me to. I've seen people die from this, and not one of them was as bad as he is right now."

"But there are stories," Slone insisted. "Cases as bad as this, maybe even worse, where folks survived."

"Who knows how true those stories are. More legend than anything."

Slone pressed his lips together and looked away.

Duffy sighed. "You hear his breathing? See the blood that's leaking out of his nose and mouth? That's from his insides, right down to his lungs, being just as cut up as his skin is. He's bleeding internally."

"The bleeding on the outside stopped already. The inside stuff will as well."

"Blood loss is only the first thing he has to overcome. There are all kinds of other very serious problems this will cause. He might last days if he's lucky, but he won't survive this."

"No. He's strong."

"He was strong. Right now he's malnourished and anemic and was only still standing out of sheer stubborn tenacity. I am sorry, Slone. I am very sorry. But he will die and this will be much easier for you if you accept that."

Slone glared at him for another long moment, then he shook his head and walked out of the cabin.

Danya turned around to check on Lynna, only to find that she'd already curled up on one of the other beds and shut her eyes. He decided to leave her alone for now and followed Slone instead.

Slone hadn't gone far. He was standing on the small covered porch outside, staring out at the rain, the blanket still clutched around him.

Danya came and leant on the railing next to him.

"He's not going to die," Slone insisted.

"Okay," Danya said. He didn't know if that was the truth or a complete impossibility, but he didn't think disabusing him of the notion would be as helpful as Duffy seemed to think it was. "Were you two close growing up?"