The burns were already badly infected. Escalla shivered, a fever starting to take her.
"Is it bad?"
Jus adoringly caressed her wet hair back from her face. "It'll do."
"Warriors for justice can't lie for crap."
Escalla reached out to Enid. Anxiously cradling the big snake, Henry moved Enid closer. Escalla shook with effort, framed a spell, and canceled the magic she had cast over Enid's body. The huge snake shimmered, then bunched and expanded to become a full grown gynosphinx.
Enid was burned across her back where she had shielded Escalla. The little faerie lay weak and shaking in Jus's arms, looking in horror at Enid's wounds.
"It was some… kind of… acid or something. It shot out of a drinking horn."
"Shhh. It's all right now." Jus carefully slid her off his lap. "Henry, keep them both warm. I need to give someone a W-A-S-H."
Cinders gave a a yelp and a wail, thrashing his tail and howling like a dog chased by a horde of scorpions. It was to no avail. With his flames run down, he had no chance to protest as he was dunked in the river, washed, scrubbed, wrung out-then sniffed, washed and dried again. Jus deposited him on the hot rock, where his fur steamed and seethed. Sulking, Cinders glared at the Justicar.
Not funny!
"Had to be done."
Cinders sneezed. His nose was stuffed with water, and his sense of smell would be muddled for hours.
W-A-S-H means bath. Cinders remember.
"Sorry, Cinders. We need you clean and dry."
Cinders forgives you. The hound ceased sulking. Help pretty faerie and nice cat-lady to be warm.
"That's the way."
Jus collected bull rush roots and pounded them in his helmet with Benelux's pommel. He crushed the juice out of the pulp with a massive squeeze of his hand, the tendons standing out as he wrung every last drop out of the mess.
"Henry, empty the portable hole and wash it out. Check the stuff we had stored in there. We should have a box of clean bandages."
Enid lay on her side, her face pale, and her eyes never leaving Henry as he worked. Jus salvaged a few sealed boxes-Escalla's wedding dress, a bag of coins, spare clothes-and found the bandages. He steeped the cloth in bull rush juice and lay bandages gently over Escalla's wounds. He tended to Enid carefully, dabbing the juice into the burns before softly covering them with cloth. Henry held Enid's paw, looking sick and worried as the big sphinx went pale with pain.
When he had finished, Jus measured out a little lotus syrup for both the girls against the pain. Escalla drank, made a face, and then relaxed slowly, looking sadly over at Henry and the sphinx. She watched them together and suddenly felt so very old and wise.
"I know something I didn't before."
Henry cradled Enid's face, looking at her with such love as he stroked her hair. Embarrassed, Jus cleared his throat and looked away.
"The lotus will make you sleep."
"Um-hmm."
"What can you tell me about crystal balls?"
Already drooping, Escalla sighed.
"Tielle has one." Escalla blinked her eyes rapidly, trying to think. "It… can see images, but can't hear. Blocked by… by shifting… to a different plane. Blocked by… thick metal. Heavy spells…"
She was falling asleep. Enid would be wilting too, and a quarter of a ton of sleeping sphinx would be impossible to move. Naked and holding his sword, Jus stood and walked over to the portable hole, levering himself down inside.
The hole was a tube ten feet deep and ten feet wide, the walls smooth, black, and slightly stretchy to the touch. Inside the hole there was a ladder, boxes waiting for equipment to fill them, and sealed tubes of scrolls for Enid's private library. Gravity always seemed stable, no matter what happened to the hole entrance outside. Wet and reeking like wet socks, Polk was busily mopping out the corners of the hole. Polk finished his work, carried his mops of dried grass out of the hole, then stuck his head back inside and frowned.
"Son, you're hurt! Did someone lay a glove on you?"
"Yes."
Jus tilted the hole back to its usual orientation, threw in grass and bracken to make beds for the ill. He jumped down, wincing as the impact jolted his broken ribs. He made a bed for Escalla, a larger one for Enid, then stowed their scanty boxes of possessions. They had no food and no water except the little that Jus and Henry could carry in their canteens. The woods were empty of animals-probably scoured clean by Lolth's own foraging parties over the last few weeks. Still, they would make do. Jus emerged from the hole, heaving himself over the rim, stonefaced with the pain from his ribs. He found Henry and Polk turning Cinders like a pancake on the hot rock, bringing great clouds of steam out of his fur. Jus squatted down beside them and retrieved his clothes.
"Let's get the girls back into the portable hole. We have to move away from the stream. It gives a landmark a crystal ball can fix on." He fetched clothes still damp and steaming hot. "We'll roll the hot rock into the hole to keep the girls warm."
Polk bustled over, long strips of bandage trailing from his mouth.
"First things first, son. We need to care for our assets. Protect the stock! Keep our ship in trim." Polk waved a paw. "Your ribs are broken, son. Henry here will tie them up."
The Justicar tried not to wince as he moved. "It's not the first priority, Polk."
I agree. This is appalling! Benelux's blade shimmered. Get him a loincloth before the sphinx sees!
Henry came to the rescue. He passed bandages around the Justicar's huge chest, bracketing the broken ribs, and pulled the straps tight. Tomorrow, there might be magic to heal the hurts, but for now, there was neither power nor time. The boy tied off the bandages, then fetched his own clothes.
"Sir, will you be all right?"
"I'll live." Jus put a hand on the injury, angry at the pain. "I can walk."
"I'll do it." Henry awkwardly pulled on his scuffed, worn boots. "You should rest inside the hole. I'll take a turn."
"I can't leave you out here alone."
"Then I'll accompany you." Henry looked stubborn. His expression was a cross between Escalla and the Justicar's. "Polk can stay in the hole."
Jus was too worn with worry to argue. He pulled out the last piece of snack coal from their baggage and stuck it inside Cinders's mouth, and the hell hound sucked avidly, trying to restore his flames. Jus allowed himself to be helped into his armor, scowling as Henry stopped to tie Jus's boots onto his feet.
"Henry, I'm fine!"
"Yes, sir."
"Just get the hot rock rolled into the portable hole and get Enid in there before she falls asleep. We have to leave!"
Henry rose to attend to it. As soon as his back was turned, Jus leaned heavily on his sword, eyes closed, feeling sick with pain.
Polk towed Cinders off the hot rock and cast a sharp glance at the Justicar. "Son, you all right?"
"I'm fine!" Jus fastened on his helmet. He turned and stared about the stream, blinking, and unsettled. "Come on, we'll get moving.
"Son, if Escalla's in the portable hole, then she can't be tracked by a crystal ball!"
"The rest of us can, Polk. We have to move into terrain that can't be recognized. Something that gives no clue as to where we are."
"Hmph!" Polk sat up, liking the idea. "Sounds easy."
Jus pulled Cinders over his helm and let the hot hell hound pelt stream down his back.
"She's not an idiot, Polk. Once the sun starts to go down, she can look at the shadows and know which direction we're walking in."
The badger thought about it. "That's clever, son! Did you think of that?"