The wound was a nasty one, and he could tell by the color that the flesh was becoming infected.
“Not good,” Huff said. “I need to keep a close eye on this one. If it gets into your bloodstream and you get sepsis, you’re going to be in major trouble.”
They rotated him again to check the other arrow wound, on his upper chest, which had required cutting into his back.
“This one’s also pretty swollen,” Huff said.
X looked at Sloan and found no trace of jocularity on her face. She was concerned, and for good reason.
X hadn’t told either of them yet, but he felt a fever coming on.
If this was the beginning of an infection, he could be taking a turn for the worse.
You don’t have time for this shit. Your people need you.
“So am I going to die, or what?” X joked.
Miles looked at Huff.
“Not just yet,” Huff said after a beat.
“That wasn’t convincing, Doc,” X said. “Remember, Miles isn’t going to be happy if you let me die.”
Huff put a hand to X’s forehead. “You may have your humor intact, but you’re running a high fever. We’ll start you on an antibiotic regimen and I’ll keep a close eye on both these wounds and the rest of you…” He dug into his bag and pulled out a bottle of pills that were worth their weight in gold because they never lost their potency. “Take these.”
“No painkillers,” X said. “I’ll rest right after the meeting, I promise.”
Sloan shook her head. “Sir, Samson and I can handle it on our own.”
“At least take these,” Huff said. He held out another bottle, but X recoiled at the sight. The doctor pushed them to him. “Just antibiotics.”
X grabbed the bottle of another type of medicine that didn’t spoil. Industrial Tech Corporation had found a way to preserve more than humans and animals. They had helped design the technology to keep medicines and motor fuels fresh.
It wasn’t nanotech gel, but it would help.
He swallowed a pill with water from his bedside table.
“I’ll be back later,” Huff said. “I really hope you change your mind about that meeting.”
“Thanks, Doc, but I’m going.”
Huff snorted, grabbed his bag, and stalked off.
X craned his neck at a much wider figure that took Huff’s place in the open doorway.
“Samson, why are you creeping out there in the hall?” X asked.
The chief engineer stepped in, and X focused his good eye on another person out in the passageway. A robed man waited in the shadows.
“Come in, Imulah,” X said.
The bearded man walked inside and joined Samson and Sloan around the bed. He clasped his hands behind his robe, and Samson again brought up a handkerchief to cover his mouth.
“What now?” X asked, sensing more bad news.
Imulah spoke first. “Since you aren’t coming to the council meeting, I thought I would let you—”
“I am coming,” X interrupted.
Imulah looked to Sloan.
“Don’t look at her,” X said. “Tell me what you’re here to say.”
Imulah scratched at his beard.
“Speak, man,” X said.
“King Xavier, now that General Rhino, General Santiago, and Colonel Vargas are dead, the military is in desperate need of a new leader. This is something that can’t be delayed, due to the current situation with the skinwalkers and defectors.”
“I say you promote Lieutenant Sloan to general and place her in charge of both the militia and the Cazadores,” Samson said.
“I would respectfully disagree with that suggestion,” Imulah said. “Colonel Moreto and Colonel Forge are next in line, and promoting an outsider over them would cause problems in the ranks.”
“I can handle problems,” Sloan said.
X glanced at the woman with the buzz cut. She was strong and a fierce fighter, but she didn’t have the experience fighting with the Cazadores that X had. It gave him a perspective that someone else didn’t have.
“This is a discussion for the council,” X said. “I’ll be down in a few minutes.”
Imulah nodded and backed away.
“Wait,” X said.
“Yes, King Xavier?” The scribe moved back to his bedside.
With Rhino dead, X didn’t have any ears or eyes among the Cazador ranks. Imulah was his only source besides Sloan, who had her own militia spies out on the rigs.
“What are you hearing among the soldiers about the skinwalkers and about what happened to General Santiago and his platoon at Rio de Janeiro?” X asked the scribe.
Imulah swallowed, and his Adam’s apple bobbed. Not a good sign. X tried to force his swollen eyelid open to look at the scribe, but he could see only a sliver out of that eye.
“Most of the soldiers are thrilled with the possibility of fighting the skinwalkers and killing Horn,” Imulah said, “but a few are not sure what to think.”
“What’s there to think about?” Sloan said. “Horn and the skinwalkers are murderers.”
“Demon men,” Samson added in a scratchy voice.
Imulah looked at them in turn. “That’s true, but Horn is also the heir to the throne, and some soldiers believe it’s all a lie.”
“What’s a lie?” X asked.
“They think the sky people killed General Santiago and sank Star Grazer… and the Lion, sir.”
X blinked away the stars that suddenly swarmed his vision. Beads of sweat dripped off his forehead, stinging his swollen eyelid. He tried to focus on the conversation, but the fever seemed to worsen by the second.
“King Xavier,” Sloan said.
X nodded and took in a deep breath. “This is exactly why I need to come to the council meeting,” he said. “Samson, get the video footage ready. Nothing like a dose of truth to sell it to these conspiracy theorists.”
The words came out so fast, X didn’t realize they were half a lie. The sky people were responsible for killing the Lion’s crew. And only a few people knew about what he had done with Ada Winslow.
Samson left the room, coughing again, with Imulah trailing behind. X reached out and asked Sloan to stay behind. The door shut, sealing them inside.
“Lieutenant, has anyone figured out Ada is missing yet?” he asked her.
“No, sir,” she said. “I believe Rhino was the only one who knew, but people are going to start asking.”
“I know.”
“What are you going to say?”
“I don’t know yet.” He groaned as he sat up straighter. “Just make sure our defenses are as tight as a tuna’s ass,” X said, borrowing from Rhino. Thinking of his friend again made his heart ache.
“Okay, sir,” Sloan said with a smirk. “Just make sure you don’t die, okay?”
X grinned back. “Don’t worry, I ain’t dying until the skinwalkers are dead and the defectors are permanently out of commission.”
TWO
Magnolia heaved up on the cocking rope to load the crossbow. It had been years since she’d used one of the archaic weapons, but it was too risky to fire a gun or one of the advanced laser rifles inside the airship.
Hell, arrows were risky, too, but she didn’t want to hunt the Siren with her blades alone, even though she had on dives. Fortunately, unlike the Hive, Discovery had no helium bladders for an errant shot to puncture.
“Shit,” she said.
Michael helped her, using his robotic hand to pull the string back over the latch.
Magnolia secured her helmet but flipped up the face shield. Michael did the same but gave Magnolia a worried glance.