The Clinic

 

Looking closely into his eyes, Alithea could see that the bluing of his eyes was an illusion of brighter light, a blue sparkle that danced on the natural tawny color of his eyes. What had they given him at that school? Suddenly Erthen coughed in her face and she drew back a few inches, noticing again the dust motes in the sunlight that pierced the dark of the cabin tent. The dust was irritating his lungs.

She tore a piece of cloth from her skirt and tied it around Erthen’s mouth. He protested at first but she insisted. Tearing another piece, she tied it around her own mouth, then touched her finger to her lips then touched his lips. Erthen copied her. She made ma, ma, ma sounds and waited for him. After a few tries, he understood the game and made ma, ma sounds, laughing at the vibrations as the sound passed through the cloth.

They came to a stop and Alithea leaned toward the opening to see a makeshift rock, dirt and wood building set into the giant earthen bowl. One of the Fae warriors appeared in the opening and made an odd expression when she saw Alithea and Erthen with cloth face masks. Was that a look of surprise? Fae warriors were so inscrutable, their eyes big but their faces ever still, an impassiveness that made them particularly chilling in battle.

The Fae warrior stepped aside and gestured for them to get out. She led them through a constructed rock opening into a medium sized room with two wooden bench seats, a straw mat on a wooden table in the center of the room and another table against the far wall. Alithea could see some steps leading down to a lower level and the sounds of pain below.

The other Fae and a Person carried in a small chest that had been in the tent cabin with them. Alithea had thought it was another seat, but they set it down, then opened the lid to reveal several surgical instruments, gauze cloth and various small containers. A Fae warrior held a bowl in her hand, put it under a container on the wall and pulled a chain fixed to the container. Water flowed into the bowl.

The Fae warrior reached for Erthen but Alithea swiveled her body away and held the boy closer to her. The Fae warrior tried again but Alithea was insistent and set the boy down on one of the bench seats. The Fae warrior turned to her companion, made some language sound, and turned toward the steps. She motioned with her arm to someone at the bottom of the steps and waited.   

Alithea was shocked at the huddled figure who appeared at the top of the stairs.

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Alithea recognized the wiry body as one of the Melangi, a tribe of the people that had migrated to the eastern mountains after the Civil War. These were hardy people and were formidable in battle but kept to themselves, working in small artisan shops they built along the rivers, tending to their flocks in the high meadows.

She recognized him as a boy younger than Drindl but aged beyond his time by physical duress. There were some similarities between Melan, their language and Jadel, the tongue spoken by Alithea. His shoulders were stooped but no broken bones. She did a quick but thorough exam on the lad. The muscles on one side of his spine were thick and ropey, a sign of overexertion. This was not her expertise, but she knew a few simple techniques and had the boy lie on the exam table.

She glanced to the spot where she had left Erthen. He sat with one of the Fae warriors, touching her neck, curious about the two tendrils that a Fae warrior extends to control other creatures. Alithea stepped toward Erthen, anxious that the Fae warrior would extend those tendrils into her son’s brain. The Fae lifted her long hand, made a calming gesture to Alithea and a signal that she should continue with her patient. Still wary, Alithea turned back to the patient.

Lying on his chest she saw how unbalanced his body was, a sign of repeated overwork at one task. After a few simple manipulations, his spine relaxed and his muscles were not so tense. She had him sit up. He opened his mouth and closed his eyes. What was this? Was there something wrong with his teeth? Although the sunlight was nearing this side of the pit wall where the clinic stood, the light in the clinic was poor.

She glanced at the Fae warrior with Erthen, then to the other warrior who held out a small tray with small white squares on it. The Fae warrior lifted one finger and motioned to the tray. Alithea pointed to the patient and the Fae nodded. She lifted a square from the tray and looked at it. It reminded her of energy that the Jade warriors took before battle, but this square had no fine threads. She turned to the Melangi patient and put the square on his tongue, glancing back at the Fae warrior for assurance. She helped the patient stand up and the Fae warrior took him by the arm and led him down the stone steps.

Alithea glanced toward Erthen, then grew startled when she saw the boy lying still in the arms of the Fae warrior. His leg jerked in sleep and she relaxed. Should she tell Fallon that their son had curled up with a Fae mercenary? The sunlight reached the opening in the clinic wall, giving Alithea hope that she could make it through this strange day of new experiences.

The other Fae warrior returned with another patient with a similar crippled stature. The queen did not need Alithea to hand out white squares to these overworked prisoners. Why was she here? An alert dread coiled in the pit of her stomach.  

First Call

 

Alithea picked up Erthen and turned to get Fallon. She would present Bebe as her assistant somehow. She still hadn’t figured out how to work Drindl and Alpen into her scheme. The queen stopped her, shaking her head. After some back and forth with gestures, she made it clear she needed Alithea to be a doctor for the rest of that day.

The two Fae warriors came into the clinic room. Alithea looked to the queen who motioned for her to go with the Fae. Carrying Erthen, she was led up a stairs, then to a portico on the second floor of the building. As Alithea approached the edge, she realized that it was tent room perched on the back of an elephant. The Fae warrior gestured for her to get in.

In the dark, stuffy interior, she felt for a bench and sat. Erthen wriggled in her arms, uncomfortable in the sticky heat. She opened a small door and let in the ocean breeze. In the light she saw the small chest. The room lurched back as the animal underneath took a step forward and she fell back on the bench with Erthen in her lap. She sang him the lullaby, hoping to quiet her own nerves as much as his fear.

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Periodically glancing out the window, Alithea tracked their journey south, then they turned away from the ocean. The sun streamed in the window and Erthen playfully reached into the fine particles that danced in the cascade of light. Reaching for his hand, Alithea inspected the fine points of light that clung to the tips of his fur. Dust? Mist from the ocean? Why hadn’t she noticed it before?

When she heard a muffled din of noise grow in volume, she looked out the opening and Erthen snuck in between her arms and held onto her hands. They were cresting a slight rise in the road that led down into a pit so wide and deep that Alithea’s mouth fell open in astonishment. One half of the great bowl lay in sunlight where she noticed the movement of small figures. In a small depression away from the road lay an elephant on its side. Sleeping? She had only seen the beasts walking. As they passed by, her attention was riveted on the soft trunk that emerged from the great head, but she could see no movement.

“Oh, Erthen, look at that,” she said in response to his babble. He pointed at the elephant and said that one phrase he had learned in the queen’s strange language, “I see you.” Did they have elephants at the school where he had gone the day before? He bounced on her lap with excitement as they disappeared into the shadows of the great pit.

People of the different tribes stepped aside on the shoulder of the road as the great elephant ambled along. They were Drindl’s age or younger; the gold dust on their fur accented their stooped stature and look of tiredness. She could not distinguish what tribe they belonged to but a cold resolute anger nestled deep inside her as she looked at the disheveled workers. She looked down at Erthen. “I promise you,” she said. He touched her lip, connecting the pattern of sounds to the movement of her lips and jaw.  “You are a smart boy, my love.” He would be safer right now with his father or at that mysterious school.

A Secret Is Revealed

 

Alithea tucked her legs and closed the two bamboo doors so that she was protected from the barbs of the Sprint’s legs as the chair swung below the beast’s belly. Hoping she remembered the trigger nerve spot, she flicked her finger at one of Erthen’s upper teeth, then paused. It was the location of his egg tooth when he cracked the inner chamber of his shell. He took a breath, his head lurched forward as though to crack open his egg and his eyes opened. Her gamble had worked. She put his head against her neck as she sang the ancient lullaby of her grandmothers. She felt the boy relax in her arms.

Hearing the raking of the Sprint’s deadly barbs the chair enclosure, she looked out the webbing at the beach. Minutes later she caught her breath as the beast turned uphill toward the queen’s compound. When the beast crested the sloping cliff, the chair swung forward and she held onto the doors, afraid that they would open and expose her and Erthen to the slashing barbs.

She let out a breath when the beast stilled. She heard a noise outside, then the doors opened, and the Fae warrior gestured for her to get out. She followed the warrior, focusing on the deadly waving barbs that came so close to her.

They were led through the same door she had left the day before. The voice of the queen greeted her. Pointing to Erthen, she made a face then pointed to her arm. Alithea guessed that she was asking whether Erthen was wounded. Alithea shook her head, then went into a sudden slump with her shoulders. The queen motioned the two of them to the examination table.

Alithea conducted an examination of her son, checking his eyes, nose, ears, and reflexes. She signaled to the queen that the boy was OK, and the queen said something. Erthen piped up “I see you” to the queen, who put her hands together with glee and answered Erthen with the same phrase.

Alithea hoped she would not regret what she did next. Motioning to her mouth and speaking, she pointed to Erthen’s mouth and stood tall and made her shoulders look big to mimic Fallon. She made a chopping motion, hoping that the queen remembered yesterday when the guard came down on Fallon’s arm. After a few attempts, the queen seemed to understand and waved down toward the beach, then motioned to Alithea to bring Fallon here. Their secret would be out, she thought.

A Tragedy

 

“The long war,” Alpen said as the first light of dawn streamed into the prisoner’s hall. Standing up in the shadow, he stretched up toward the ceiling and stuck his hand into a sunbeam. Nudging Drindl with his foot, he said, “I slept better. Thanks for the mats.” Looking around in the dim light, he asked, “How do we stop someone from taking them while we are gone today?”

Drindl rolled over and looked up at the towering figure of Alpen. “We don’t. One night.”

Alpen knelt next to Drindl’s body so he could lower his voice. “How do we get some of that energy?”

“Guard duty on night shipments. That’s how I got some.”

“Night shipments? Of what? Why did they ask you? You’re a prisoner.” Alpen reached out to Bebe as she stirred.

“A Jade from the south.”

“Our tribe? Another camp? Maybe we could transfer there somehow.”

“I don’t know how he picked me out. There was no moon that night. We can see in dim light.”

Alpen had many more questions but the guards were coming into the barracks. “What were you guarding?” Drindl didn’t know. “What were you guarding against?”

“Wolfbear. They attack and eat the elephants.”

Alpen showed his astonishment. “That animal where the queen. It’s huge. How many?”

“We didn’t get attacked. I don’t know.”

“The eyes are the mind’s hunter,” Alpen said. Drindl nodded at the reminder, then turned in compliance toward the exit.

Alithea gathered Erthen in her arms, afraid for him in this strange place. She lingered at the back of the group, wanting to spend every second with her son before they took him away again to this strange school.

In the hallway to the outer entrance, she saw the Sprint and a carrier basket hung below its bulbous black belly. They were here for her. Pausing to glance out the other portico opening, she saw the Fae schoolteacher and the group.

With little planning, she took in a large breath and placed her mouth over her boy’s mouth and nose. Was he too old for the sleeping snake technique that Altiss had taught her long ago? She vibrated her throat in the lullaby he had heard in the first months of his life. Unable to breathe, his eyes went wide in alarm and she saw the flecks of green in his eyes, his true eye color. They would not take the soul of her son. The lack of air caused an instinctive reaction in the boy and his body went limp, as she had hoped. He still had the infant’s reaction to a loss of air. She could feel his heartbeat slow and when she was sure he would remain comatose, she put her best theatrical performance. Pushing past the guard, she cried out, “My son, my son! He’s dying!”

Fallon and the others looked to her with alarm, but she swept past them, held out the boy’s limp form to the Fay schoolteacher, then turned toward the Sprint. She paused, fighting down the stomach-churning revulsion she felt being near the giant bugs. Stepping around the deadly waving hairs of the Sprint’s legs, the Fae warrior helped her into the carrier chair.

Breaking out of his stunned paralysis, Fallon rushed toward the Sprint but Alithea waved him off. Thinking quickly, she gave him their special sign for “play game.” While it wasn’t appropriate to their desperate situation, he knew not to take appearances at face value and backed up a step. As the Sprint stepped back, Fallon dodged the barbed hairs that could have sliced open his skin.

Alithea waved to him before the Fae rider turned the Sprint and they left for the queen’s compound.

A Milestone

 

Alithea knelt to hug her boy but he ran to Drindl and hugged his calves. “Hey, baby boy!” Drindl said as he bent over the boy and scratched the back of his neck. “Sorry, Alithea.”

She pivoted and reached out to touch Erthen’s arm, but the boy shrank from her touch.

“He’s just mad at us,” Fallon said. He stroked Alithea’s head. She stood and picked him up from his armpits. He held onto Drindl’s legs for a moment, but Drindl backed away and the boy was free.

Alithea brought the boy close to her, keeping him confined as he struggled in her arms. She held her teeth almost clenched and made the low shushing sound in his ear that he had heard when he was a baby. This calmed him down and he laid his head against her shoulder.

“That’s my boy,” Fallon said, giving his arm a gentle brush. The boy lifted his head to look at his father. “His eyes look different.”

Alithea leaned back and tilted her head to the side to see Erthen’s face. Puzzled, she reached up to turn his head and inspect his eyes. “They’re turning blue,” she said to Fallon. “Can you see me?” she asked Erthen as she swept a finger across his vision. When he tracked the finger, she felt more reassured. Did they feed him something at that school? What could make anyone eyes change color?

Erthen spoke a short gibberish to her. “Oh, Erthen! You’re learning to talk.” She drew him close to her and licked his forehead. He repeated the gibberish.

Fallon knelt next to the two of them. “He said, ‘I see you.’” Alithea looked to Fallon with a puzzled expression. “It’s the language that queen creature used earlier today.”

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Kneeling in front of Erthen, she held his face in her hands. The fine fur on his cheeks matched hers in color. “Erthen, what did they do to you at that school?”

He looked at her, then repeated the same phrase as before. Alithea turned to Fallon. “What’s the word for momma?” He told her. She motioned to herself, then said the word, gestured again to her chest and repeated the word in the language of the glade. Erthen’s nose and ears twitched. She repeated the exercise, until Erthen repeated momma in the Jade language. She smiled.

She repeated the “I see you” in the gibberish language, then the same phrase in Jade language. After several attempts, Erthen said the phrase in Jade and Alithea clapped her hands. His face lit up and he clapped.

She picked Erthen up and went in with the others. Drindl had found or traded for more comfortable sleeping mats and they were all grateful to him. Erthen nestled between her and Fallon. Out of the dark silence came Bebe’s voice. “Alithea, did you see any birds up on the cliffs?”

Not wanting to wake Erthen, Alithea carefully turned her head to the ceiling. Had she seen any birds? No, and that was odd. “I don’t think so, Bebe,” she whispered in the dark. 

The Marked One

 

As she left with the Fae warriors, she glanced toward the playground. It was empty. The darkening sky highlighted the fires behind her and down the coast. What were they doing? What was this place? The work crew had left the beach; the Fae warriors took her to a street in the prisoner compound that she barely recognized and pointed her to follow the road. One of them turned to her and smeared something on the back of her neck, then turned and left. She reached up to feel the greasy substance on the fine fur on her neck.

“Where’s Erthen?” she asked after she had been checked by the guards.

Fallon reached for her and hugged. “We thought we had lost you. They haven’t brought him back.” Alithea’s jaw set. “What happened?”

“She wanted me to fix up that injured woman on the beach. I sewed up her arm.”

“That injured woman was looking for you,” Fallon said. “She wanted more of whatever you gave her.”

Alithea turned to Fallon. “Was she in pain?”

Fallon shrugged. “She asked for more of what was on the rag you gave her.”

“I didn’t, well, never mind. We need to find Erthen.”

Bebe shook her head as she got down off the bench. “Look out the window. Fae warriors with wolfbear patrolling the street outside. We’re not going anywhere.”

Alithea reached up to her neck. “What is this they put on my neck? The Fae warriors put it there.”

Drindl touched a finger to her neck, then put it up to his nose. “They marked you. Sprint pheromone. We can’t smell it much, but the Sprints can smell you from miles away in a soft breeze.”

She looked at him aghast. “They marked me!” She turned to Alpen who had taken Bebe’s place at the small window opening high up on the wall. “What do you see?”

“I’m trying to time their patrols,” Alpen said and turned back to the window.

Alithea turned to Drindl. “Where did you get that energy you had yesterday? You bribed the guards with it.”

“It’s like a favor. You do something for someone, and you don’t know if you will ever see someone in this place again. We exchange those energy packets.”

“But that was in a fine powder. Do they do that here?”

Drindl shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Alithea turned to Fallon and took his hand. “You are going to have to show your hand. There is something wrong here. I don’t what it is. You need to find out.”

Alpen turned away from the window. “Keep your voice down. The patrol stopped just outside the door.”

They heard a sound from the outside chamber, then the gate opened. It was Erthen!

Awareness Knocks

 

Alithea could have easily reached for the scalpel and sliced the translucent skin of the queen’s neck. She was a prisoner, but she was also a doctor. She healed. No, this position could afford her access to what, she didn’t know. Perhaps a favor in return for her healing knowledge and skills. But what if she was asked to heal these hairless creatures? They would have some similarities, but it was the differences that might cause her to make a mistake. If she killed on of them, would they hold her responsible?

She and the queen turned to a sound from an adjoining chamber. A shout from a deep voiced creature and the queen answered. Into the room came a creature not as tall as Fallon but huskier. He had reddish hair growing on his face and long hair growing from the top of his head and down to his shoulders. The hair that grew in two semicircles over his eyes was bushier than hers. The rest of his body was covered with strange clothing, and each of his legs was wrapped in a cloth. Although he stomped into the room, he did not have monster feet. They were covered in animal skin, Alithea guessed.

When the thought struck her, her throat clenched in fear. She had not seen the creatures that Fallon and Drindl had killed days ago by the cliffs, but their description matched this creature.

The queen turned to the creature and tilted her head. They touched lips. Partners of some sort, Alithea guessed. Putting his arm around her back, he pulled the queen close to him. She did not resist. He looked at Alithea, then to the queen and said something. The queen answered, then gestured to Alithea. He wanted her to leave and called out in a loud voice. The same two Fae warriors came in from outside. Alithea turned and left with them, keeping her fear on a tight leash.