Discovery: Altera Realm Trilogy (34 page)

The three walked off in silence. Truth be told, Fern didn't know either of them that well. Commander Leaf was always distant, as any good military commander should be. He was in charge, and those in that kind of position should remain neutral with everyone so as not to gain favorites or sacrifice relationships to do their duty. She made a note to tell as much to Princess Syney. She had met Hunter only a few months previous. She had been surprised when the high priest had called them into the chapel and paired them. She was also a little angry. It wasn't the best situation—to be paired with someone from a banished family—but there was nothing she could do about the situation. Cupid had spoken, and she could only accept it. She tried to spend as much time with Hunter as she could to honor her commitment to her religion and her race. He wasn't a bad mate, although their personalities—more specifically his lack of proper etiquette—seemed to be at odds.

When they were almost at the end of the hall, Hunter stopped, causing Fern and Leaf to also. The two stared at him with questioning looks.

"Is everything all right?" Fern asked.

Hunter looked at her. "I'm not sure. I... just got a feeling." He looked back down the hallway.

"Do you want to go back?" Leaf asked.

He turned back and shook his head. "No, I'm sure it's nothing."

Fern heard a faint cracking of something from down the hall. If she hadn't been Lycin, she probably wouldn't have heard anything. Both men must have heard it also, since all three of them took off down the hall and through Syney's door. Fern stopped dead in the doorway at the sight in front of her. A man stood over the Princess, a knife in hand. The second they entered, he leapt to his feet and ran for the balcony. Before Fern could even think of what to do, she saw Hunter change and jump after him.

"I'll send out the master alarm. Stay with her. Try to dress the wounds," Leaf said, as he took off out of the room.

Fern watched him go before her brain kicked in; then she jumped down to the floor with the princess. There was so much blood. She tried to talk to her, ask her what hurt, but the girl's face was so swollen and bloodied that all she did was groan and cough up blood. Fern noticed that her dress was darker than it had been, as blood pooled onto it from multiple wounds. Blood, glass, and flowers also were splattered on the floor next to her bloodied hand.
She must have smashed the vase
, Fern thought.
Smart girl
. Fern tried to place pressure on some of the worst wounds, but there were so many that it seemed futile. She needed to get her to the infirmary, but even though she was a fast runner, Fern was pretty sure the princess would die before they got there. She heard the master alarm sound. It was a loud wailing that spread throughout the entire palace. All Protectors were to go to their royals, and the rest of the guards would report to their designated positions. Fern's was the front entrance hall, but she had a more important job, even though she doubted her being here would matter.

Only seconds after the master alarm sounded, the Vampire ran into the room in a blur. He looked down at Syney for a moment before pulling his wrist to his mouth. But a second later, he dropped it, changing his mind.

"I have to get her to the infirmary," he said kneeling next to Syney.

"You shouldn't be here," was all Fern said.

"Do you want her to die? Because I don't," he hissed.

Fern stared him down for a moment before taking her hands off Syney and allowing him to pick her up and disappear out the door. Fern stared after him, breathing heavily, for a moment before jumping up and heading for the infirmary herself. She may have let him take her, but she still had a duty to be there with her, as Leaf had ordered her to do.

Gabe

There were at least ten Magic Users waiting in the infirmary when he swept in. He laid Syney on a high bed in the middle of the room and stepped back. The people looked at them for a second before rushing to Syney and starting whatever work they could do. They spoke quickly to one another as they cut off Syney's dress and examined her wounds.

"She's lost a lot of blood," Gabe said, backing away slowly. "Her pulse is down to forty and dropping. Her temperature is going down also."

One of the Magic Users, a woman who seemed to be in charge, shot him a look. "Did you see the weapon?"

"No," he said.

"I did. It was a knife. Long—about seven inches," Fern said, as she pounded through the door, breathing heavily.

"Prep the surgery bay. There's internal bleeding that we need to control," the doctor said, as they rolled Syney into a back room. There was a large window into it, so Gabe could still see what was going on.

There was so much blood on his clothes and hands. He was trying not to take a breath. It wasn't necessary for him, but he had grown accustomed to doing it among those who did. He hadn't fed in a while, and wearing Syney's blood wasn't helping him from ripping someone's throat out. He needed to get the blood off himself. He went for a metal sink and started to scrub his hands. Then he ripped off his shirt and tossed it into a garbage can. They weren't going
to be able to save her, he thought, as he looked through the window. She was too pale and had lost too much blood. They didn't have the right spells, only simple ones.

Leaf and Hunter came in after a while. They both walked to the window and stared in.

"Did you get him?" Fern asked.

Hunter shook his head but didn't turn away from the surgery. "I lost him and his scent a few miles from the Village walls."

Leaf turned away from the window. "Did you smell him?"

"Yes," Fern said.

"Shifter?" Gabe asked.

"No," Leaf said.

"He could have been masking his scent. It has happened," Fern said.

Hunter shook his head and finally turned to them. "It was a Magic User."

"What?"

They all turned to see Helen walk in, shock filling her face. Ember and Noelle followed close behind her.

"Oh, goddess," Helen whispered, and rushed to where Hunter and Leaf were. "She looks so small and pale."

"Is she going to be OK?" Noelle asked, joining Helen at the window.

No one answered.

"I should have gone into the room with her," Hunter said, his face pale.

"Now isn't the time to second-guess anything. The three of us were all there. Any one of us could have checked the room, but we didn't. Now we have to make a plan not only to find out who did this but also to change protocol. We need to be at battle readiness," Leaf said.

Gabe could see why he was the commander. He had just taken control of the room with only a few sentences. Gabe even found himself ready to jump into battle if Leaf asked.

The head doctor came out of the room. "We managed to control the bleeding," she said, "but she lost a lot of blood—more than our transfusion spells can handle. I'm not sure she'll make it through the night. The queen should be informed."

"I'll go." Leaf walked over to her. "She cannot die. Do you understand?"

"Trust me. I do. We'll do everything we can. But I suggest we all pray." She went back into the surgery room.

Leaf turned to Gabe suddenly. "What can you do?"

Gabe looked over to Syney, who was lying on the surgery table. Even through the glass, he could hear her pulse. It wasn't much better than it had been. She really was going to die. "Nothing."

"You gave her your blood once," Hunter said. "Do it now. Help her."

"There could be...adverse effects."

"Like what?" Leaf asked.

"Half-blood," Noelle said quietly.

They all turned to her, but she was watching Syney intently.

"She's right. I read about it. If someone gets Vampire blood more than once within a certain time period, they can become blood crazy," Helen said. "They're called half-bloods because they aren't really Vampires, but they become animalistic and only want flesh and blood."

"What's the time period?" Hunter asked.

"No one knows. Half-bloods are dangerous. No one's wanted to test it," Helen explained.

Hunter looked at Gabe. "What's the time period?"

Gabe looked at him. "A month or two. Close enough that I won't try."

"I'll go update the queen." Leaf left, and the rest of them returned to their silent state.

Gabe knew the only way Syney would make it through this would be with Cass's help, but that depended on her tapping into her power, and he didn't know whether that would happen in time.

Raine

When the master alarm sounded, Raine was in the Great Library, in the shadows, watching Cass as she flipped through tons of books trying to figure out how to open the secured-secured section. He wasn't sure what had brought about her sudden urge to get in, but he was thankful for it. Getting the spell that he needed was his first priority. When the alarm went off, he rushed up the stairs and stopped at Cass's side.

"What's going on?" Cass asked, looking around. "That's the master alarm. It hasn't gone off...ever."

"I don't know, but we'll stay here. This is a pretty safe room."

Cass looked at him nervously. "You should find out what's going on. I'll be fine. I'll lock it after you leave, magically."

"No, protocol says I stay with you."

"Raine, stop fighting me and go."

He stared at her for a moment. He wanted to go, but he was supposed to stay with her. But if he knew what was going on, he'd be able to better control the situation to protect her. He nodded and left. It didn't take long for him to find a Royal Guard, who told him about the situation with Syney. This wasn't good on any account. He took off back toward the library and waited for Cass to let him back inside the room with her.

"It's not good," he said, pushing her to the floor. He wanted her out of sight for a while.

"What happened?" Cass asked, her blue eyes wide with fright.

He didn't want to tell her, but he knew he had to, not only because she had a right to know but also because this might be the push she needed. "It's Syney. There was an attack in her room."

"Is she OK?"

"They say it's up and down. She was stabbed and lost a lot of blood."

"But they have spells to help with that."

Raine looked at her. She was so naïve. He tried to pull her into the realities of this world, but it never seemed to stick. He needed her now, not just for him but also for Syney.

"Cass, listen to me. She's probably going to die. The spells and skills they have down there aren't up to where they can be. You saw what a real healing spell does."

"But all of that was lost. I don't know how Becca does it."

"She does it because she has spell books that help her—some of the same spell books that are up there on that shelf."

"No, no, that can't be right."

"Come on, Cass. You know I'm right."

"Raine! Do you even hear yourself? My mother locked up those books. If there were books up there that could save people, save Syney, then they wouldn't be locked up."

"Why would your mother want to help Syney? Syney's here to take her place."

"Stop it!" Cass jumped up and paced the room. "You don't know what you're talking about."

Raine sighed and grabbed her by the shoulders. "I have never lied to you. I know there's a book up there with healing spells—ones that could help save Syney's life. Trust me."

Cass started to cry. "I can't believe it. I just can't."

"You have to. Syney needs you right now. You have to get onto that shelf!"

"I've been trying all night! There are two spells still that I can't figure out."

"You're a royal Crystallianna princess. You were born magic, Cass. Are you really going to let some little spells get in your way?"

"No!" Cass yelled, and smashed both of her hands onto the secured shelf. It lit up blue for a moment before the invisible barrier fell. She stared at it for a moment before running her fingers along the titles.

"The red one says 'Healing,' " Raine said softly. He knew she could do it, but he worried that what he had just done might have lasting consequences.

She grabbed the red one and flipped through it. "You said she was stabbed?"