Part 3 (1/2)

He hoped it would be the last.

Opulas pain and heat and shudders reached him and he could only endure. And know they were a precursor of worse, but he didnat want to think of that.

When he came to, he wasnat in the same room but lying on a hard table in a sterile place, naked. aWhat the h.e.l.l?a aPreparation for your ordeal to come,a a ThirdLevel Healer said, cheerful enough to irritate. aDecontamination and all physical, emotional, and Flair measured.a aI donat recall agreeing to this.a aPart of the procedure.a ah.e.l.l. Howas Opul?a The Healeras round face folded into serious lines. aThe sickness has him. Heas thras.h.i.+ng around a lot more than he was. Thatas your fault, I heard.a He sat up. aYouare done.a Her lips pursed. aJust.a Ura Heather and Lark Holly walked in.

aWhereare my clothes?a he asked. They were his favorite set of leathers.

aTheyall be fine,a Lark a.s.sured him.

aBeing decontaminated, too?a Couldnat be good for them, especially the padded tunic or boots. Dammit.

aThatas right,a Heather said. aYouare in excellent shape.a aGood to know. Gimme my clothes.a aIncoming scry from the Turquoise House on the wall screen.a The Healers turned to it. aMy clothes?a Garrett prompted. With a dark look, the ThirdLevel Healer went to a wall handle and pulled. Garrettas breechcloth, leathers, liners, and boots were there along with his pocketed belt. They didnat look any worse, but how would they feel?

aI need today and tomorrow to set up,a the Turquoise House announced arrogantly. aI received the specifications for the beds and bedsponges and linens and cabinets and medical equipment. I am upgrading them to luxury and ordering them from Clover Fine Furniture. I will send the bill to Primary HealingHall.a aYou wonat!a Heather exploded.

aThis is your project. Pay for it or cancel,a the House said.

The House was doing well, especially for an ent.i.ty that had no backup Family.

aThe All Councils will fund the project,a Lark soothed.

Heatheras expression set in furrows. It would take some of the s.h.i.+ne off the project if it was funded by all the councils. Take some of her glory if she found how to beat the sickness through his blood.

aPrimary HealingHall can handle the expenses,a she said stiffly.

Lark Holly lifted a brow in his direction. aIncluding compensating GentleSir Primross for his time.a Garrett heard the grind of Heatheras teeth. Without sparing him a glance, she said, aAll right.a Head dressed fast. aMy thanks. Much to do, arrange. Gotta go.a aGentleSir Primross,a the Turquoise Houseas tones were warmer. aPlease come over tomorrow morning.a Garrett nodded. aWill do. Later.a He left and strode down the carpeted halla”spell cleansed every half septhour with fragrant herbs. Primary HealingHall could handle a load of expenses.

He turned the corner and saw his HeartMate leaning against the wall outside Opul Cranberryas room.

His body surged toward her, yearning. He feared for the boy and his gut twisted. aIs the kid okay?a

Five.

Artemisia looked at him with anger and his chest hurt. aLittle Opul has Iasc sickness. Of course he isnat all right.a A secondas pause. aThe transfusion went well. Though heas more active than most patients, it appears your blood is mitigating his ordeal. We are hopeful.a aHope is a terrible thing,a Garrett said.

Her emerald eyes gleamed with understanding. aYes.a He had to leave before more stuff fell out of his mouth. aTQ asked that I come by tomorrow morning.a aMe, too,a she said with a smilea”at the thought of the House and not Garrett. d.a.m.n, he was obsessing.

aSee you later, then.a In the next day, head be using a lot of Flair teleporting and keeping his twitchy nerves in order, so he took the public carrier to his office. On the way he decided to have client scrys forwarded to the man he trusted mosta”FirstFamily GreatLord Laev TaHawthorn.

The minute he stepped off the vehicle, the band of feral cats flowed toward him. Black-and-White tom said, We have heard you will stay at Turquoise House. You will feed Us there?

Garrett grunted. aIall make sure you have food.a Good.

He and the cat scanned the street and alleys, much busier than that morning, which felt like years ago to Garrett.

A change of place is fun sometimes and the yard of Turquoise House is nice. We will spread the word.

aHow did you hear?a Garrett asked.

The House told Us.

Garrett reached the few steps up to the building and glanced back. The cats sat at the bottom, all in a row, all looking up at him, tails curled around their paws.

He knew what they wanted. aIall check your food trough.a It is too low; dogs and others ate.

aSince this isnat a regular feeding time, Iam checking my office, first.a More than one cat sniffed in disapproval. He ignored that.

Inside his office, the wall scry panel showed ripples of Hawthorn purple. No doubt Laev TaHawthorn had already heard of the experiment. Garrett grimaced. Head have to talk, and explain or something. At least the n.o.ble lord hadnat called his personal scry pebble.

No other messages flashed so no clients had called.

Garrett took a bucket of dry kibble from storage and proceeded to the back door. More than seven animals were in the courtyard. Garrett sensed a racc.o.o.n in the bushes, which meant he must set a spell to clean the water after it left. Racc.o.o.ns werenat as communicative as cats and were scarcer. Garrett was cultivating the racc.o.o.ns. He didnat know of any FamRacc.o.o.ns. He might get goodwill from n.o.bles and others if he introduced another Fam animal.

He looked at the beady eyes a few meters distant and sent, Greetyou.

The racc.o.o.n ran away in a hunched lope.

The cats yowled for food.

Garrett dumped the kibble along a trough and hearty slurps began. The cats wouldnat finish it all and the racc.o.o.n would return.

Back in his office, after head squared away for his absence, he called Laev TaHawthorn.

The man answered immediately, with a gleam of curiosity in his eyes. aMerrily met,a Laev said.

aYeah, yeah,a Garrett said.

Laev laughed, then sobered. No matter that he loved and cherished his HeartMate, his first wife had died of the Iasc sickness. The illness had also affected Laevas FatherSireas health and weakened him to die later. aI heard about a new case of Iasc and that you went to Primary HealingHall.a aYes,a Garrett said.

aAnd FirstLevel Healer Ura Heather has a project to clear her name of the smudge the epidemic left on it?a aAlso true. I gave Opul Cranberry, age six, a transfusion.a aYou got good blood.a Garrett lifted and dropped a shoulder, sucked a breath to the bottom of his gut. aI agreed to an experiment to reintroduce the disease into me. FirstLevel Healers Ura Heather and Lark Holly will supervise the case and Iall be under constant observation by a SecondLevel Healer.a aWhat!a aYou heard me.a The ramifications would run through that smart head fast.

aThen NewBalm isnat working as well as we all had hoped.a Hawthorn had a financial interest in the herb so his mind naturally went to that aspect first. Garrett flicked his hand. aStill early days for that medicine, young harvests. The Healers antic.i.p.ate that Iall be unavailable for an eightday. I thought Iad forward any calls to you to hold.a aI donat like this idea.a aI donat much, either.a Laev tapped fingertips together. aIf the Healers believe it will work . . .a A line dug across his brows. aMuch to consider.a aYeah.a aI value you.a The warmth of friends.h.i.+p welled through Garrett, easing his mind. He could trust Laev. aThanks.a The manas face set into brooding Garrett didnat like to see. Laev asked, aSomeone will care for you?a aThe SecondLevel Healer,a Garrett said.

Laev frowned. aWho?a Garrett realized he couldnat avoid it any longer. Head have to say her name.

Eyes narrowed and keen, Laev asked, aWho is the Healer who will be on-site?a Yeah, Laev had deduced Garrett wasnat telling him something about the woman. Usually the n.o.ble wouldnat press, but there was payback. Garrett had pried a few secrets from Laev, so the guy wouldnat quit.

And, h.e.l.l, he was a friend. Breath trapped inside Garrettas chest so that it ached, then he said, aSecondLevel Healer Artemisia Panax.a aI donat know her or of her,a Laev said. Then his eyes widened, mouth opened, shut, and he cleared his throat. aI amend that. I know the lady.a Garrett stared, understanding that they both kept secrets that neither would reveal.

aYou can trust her,a Laev said.