Before entering, Amelie walked over to the horse trough and filled the pitcher.
Céline turned and stepped through the door. Inside, she took in the sight of the barn, which also served as a stable for a number of horses—and two cows that she could see. It was a large construction, with high windows along both sides. Light flowed in to show dust hanging in the air, and the horses were restless, moving anxiously in their stalls as if they wished to get out.
Amelie and Rurik joined her inside.
Jaromir stepped past and took the lead, heading through the line of stalls, straight for the back. The quartet emerged into a large open room with a dirt floor, where Captain Keegan and Corporal Quinn waited. Quinn was his usual well-groomed self—and holding a spear—but the captain looked awful, his hair a mess and his skin tinged green. He put one hand to his mouth and belched quietly.
However, she did not stop to appraise him for long, as the growling creature tied to a stake consumed her attention. She’d not gained a clear look at it last night, and now she moved closer. Its growl rose to a snarl, but she could see it had been secured with some kind of makeshift leather harness and tied to a stake pounded into the ground.
The beast appeared to be an enormous wolf, larger than a bear—though she had seen that much last night. Now she had full view of its teeth and the details of its massive claws. Its fur was brown peppered with white. Its eyes were still red, and its body gave off a strange, musky odor.
“I’m sorry it’s not muzzled,” Quinn said. “We got it tied up last night, and I was just about to arrange for a muzzle when it woke up, and I pulled my men back. If you need me to, I can knock it unconscious again.”
“No, that’s quite all right, Corporal. Amelie and I need it at least partially awake.”
“This is absurd,” Keegan said angrily, turning on Jaromir. “And I would think you should have had the good sense to stop it last night. You cannot possibly allow these ladies of court to go near that thing and pretend to read its future or its past.”
Well, there it was. At least he was openly admitting he believed them to be wealthy, silly frauds playing games at court for Anton’s amusement.
The skin over Jaromir’s cheekbones drew back. “I am here at the request of Prince Anton, and I serve him. Since you were not present last night, as the ranking officer, I handled the situation as I saw fit.”
Keegan’s green skin blanched, and Jaromir turned to Céline.
“Now what?” he asked.
“We need to drug Ramsey,” she said, walking to Amelie. “Set the basin on the ground and pour the water. He’ll be thirsty by now.”
At her use of Ramsey’s name, all the men winced slightly, as if she’d said something in poor taste. She ignored them.
Amelie half filled the basin, and Céline measured and poured in several spoonfuls of the poppy syrup, though she was uncertain quite how much to use. She wanted the wolf calm but still awake.
“I think that’s enough,” she said finally, reaching down to pick up her concoction.
“What are you doing?” Jaromir asked in alarm, striding over. “Give me that!”
Rocking back on her heels, Céline watched helplessly as he grabbed the basin.
“Bully,” Amelie said under her breath.
Jaromir pretended he hadn’t been close enough to hear and headed for the wolf, which snarled and jerked against the harness as he drew closer. He stopped a few paces out, put the basin on the floor, and slowly slid it over until it was just close enough for the wolf to begin lapping thirstily.
Captain Keegan watched all this with his arms crossed. “Madness,” he muttered.
“Thank you,” Céline told Jaromir. “Now we wait.”
No one spoke for a while, and then the wolf ceased growling. It stumbled. After another few moments, it sank to the ground. Céline took a few steps toward it, and Jaromir was at her side, hand on the hilt of his sword.
“Come and help me with this next part,” Céline told him as she moved even closer. The wolf lay awake but in a stupor.
“Help you with what?” Jaromir asked.
“I think you must have some experience looking for small wounds? We need to go over its body and see if we can learn how Ramsey was infected. Was he bitten? Slashed? Poked with something? It may be none of these, but we need to look.”
Nodding with interest now, Jaromir knelt beside her. He was always happiest when he had something solid and clear to do.
Amelie hung back and let Céline and Jaromir go over the body of the wolf carefully. Céline started with the paws, while Jaromir started at the head, examining the ears first.
For the first time, Keegan appeared less disgusted and watched silently, as if even he could see the sense in what they were doing. Céline ran her hands over every inch of the wolf’s body, her fingers prodding through its coarse fur to feel a thick hide over its muscle structure. In the end, to her frustration, they found nothing other than several lumps on the wolf’s head from when it was bashed unconscious.
She shook her head. “Nothing.” Then she looked back at Amelie. “I guess it’s your turn. I can’t think of anything else to search for here.”
Although Amelie was the one who’d suggested that reading Ramsey’s past would be far more useful than reading his future, now that the prospect was upon her, she found herself reluctant to touch this creature and try to form a strong enough connection with its spirit to read its past.
Her ability worked slightly different from Céline’s in several ways. While Céline could see someone else’s future only as an observer, if Amelie wished, she could bond with her target and see the past through his or her eyes. Also, in some cases, the people Amelie read could be just as conscious as she was of the scenes being replayed, and afterward they were aware of exactly what she’d seen. The people Céline read never had any idea what she was seeing. The two sisters had discussed these differences, and Céline guessed they might be due to the fact that the past was set in stone, and the future could still be changed—that she was seeing just one possible line unless something was done to alter it.
As Amelie slowly approached the wolf, she was determined to go back only as an observer, and though she believed herself to have courage, even that much filled her with dread.
The moment of doubt must have shown on her face, because Jaromir stood up from where he’d been crouched beside the creature.
“What’s wrong? Can you do this?”
That was all it took to stiffen Amelie’s backbone. He’d been insufferable since last night, first refusing to do anything to help Mariah, then treating Amelie like a child and ordering her back to her tent when she belonged in the middle of the fight, and now he was behaving as if she was the one in the wrong for having come to his aid in the forest.
She would not allow him to see her in fear of anything.
“Of course I can do it.”
Striding over, she crouched down, and so did he.
“Céline,” he asked, “how long will this beast remain drugged?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know anything about its internal workings. I had to guess at how much syrup to put in the water.”
Jaromir looked across the wolf at Amelie. “Go ahead and do your reading, but if this thing starts to wake up, I’m going shove you hard. Céline, you get back near Quinn and Rurik.”
As Céline hurried away, Amelie gritted her teeth. When it came to the three of them, why did Jaromir always have to insist on making sure everyone knew he was in charge?
Trying to forget he was there, she reached out and closed her eyes. Her hand rested on the wolf’s shoulder. She’d expected the fur to be soft, but it was surprisingly coarse. Letting go of all her fears, she focused on the wolf . . . on Ramsey, and she tried to feel for the spark of his spirit.