Lucky Rabbit

Their next stop was Beau Bradorf, who lay on a pallet in a corner together with several others, none of whom looked like they were in good shape. He was the only one who was conscious, and he was speaking to Healer Sinnett, who now wore a mask over his lower face, along with a pair of suspiciously shiny gloves. They weren’t rubber, but they’d definitely been coated in something.

As Augustus approached, the two looked up, and Pandy could see that Beau had been crying. His leg was propped up, and the doctor was examining the bite, which was puffy, with faint, dark lines spreading away from the inflamed holes punched in his skin. Sinnett straightened, pressing a comforting hand to Beau’s shoulder as he did so.

“I was just telling Beau that the bite seems to be responding to the anti-venom. I gave him one that works particularly well on spider venom. We also cleaned out the wound and packed it with Dawnwort. I grew the plant myself, and it’s a particularly potent batch.” The doctor smiled proudly, and Augustus gave him a respectful nod.

Beau reached up and caught Sinnett’s hand. “Y’won’t have to cut it off, right? My leg?”

Sinnett looked startled. “I shouldn’t think so. If the damage was worse, or you’d gotten to us later, maybe, but the medicine I gave you is one any apothecary should have on their shelves, so you’d almost have to have ignored it entirely to lose the limb.”

Another tear seeped down Beau’s face, but he swallowed hard and all but whispered, “Am I going to die? Like… like the other spider-bit?”

Now the doctor looked less certain. It was obvious that he didn’t want to lie, but he also didn’t want to crush all hope. Fortunately, Augustus had no such compunctions, speaking up in spite of the fact that he didn’t actually know any more than the doctor. “I doubt it,” he said. “I believe the spiders who bit the people who died had been altered in some way. The ones who attacked us were wild, so I don’t think their bites will carry the same… finality.”

Sinnett still looked a bit dubious, but he didn’t argue, and Beau fell back against the pillows piled behind him. Glancing around at the others nearby, he said, “But all of these people-?”

Not even Augustus had an answer for that, so the doctor just patted the seated man’s shoulder and said, “We’re going to do everything we can.”

With that, Augustus carried Pandy away, back to the door, where he paused to speak to Sir Bailey again. “Everyone is to wear full armor at all times,” he said quietly. “The enchantments should keep you all safe, just in case we’re wrong, and this turns out to be more dangerous than we believe. No one removes a single glove to scratch their nose. You understand?”

“Yes, sir,” Bailey said, and this time the knight did snap a salute, which made Augustus grimace and glance down at Pandy. She gave him her best Bunny Side-eye, and he chuckled softly.

“I’m going back to school. But Bailey,” Augustus hesitated, “I may be unavailable for a while. Follow the chain of command, and find out who missed this. Whoever took money to look the other way, whoever’s incompetence allowed at least forty-nine people to go missing without a single outcry. I want their heads.”

The knight twitched, and Augustus sighed. “Not literally, Sir Bailey. That’s for the queen to decide. But they will be locked up, no matter who they are, until Her Majesty determines what their punishment should be. And that means everyone must follow the law to the letter. Leave them no opportunity to wriggle free on a technicality.”

“Understood, sir. The letter of the law, sir.”

Pandy had the distinct feeling there was a bit of ‘wink, wink, nudge, nudge’ in those words, and from the look on Augustus’s face, he did, too, but he was too tired to deal with it. Instead, he just repeated his instructions, slightly more slowly and with emphasis, and then exited out into the cool dawn air.

“Now we just have to find a way home, my lagomorphic lady,” he murmured, and Pandy nodded eagerly. She was more than ready to be back at school, and he looked like he was going to fall over at any moment.

A loud squawk came from a rooftop nearby, and they both turned to look for the source of the sound. There, perched on a chimney, was a large group of Professor Beeswick’s draconic elementals. Seeing that it had their attention, the spokes-Skyril squawked again, and the whole lot of them rose up in a cloud of wings and scaly bodies. Beneath them dangled a blanket, or possibly a tablecloth, clutched in dozens of small claws.

Augustus groaned, and Pandy looked up to see him rubbing the bridge of his nose. He looked down at her and sighed. “It seems that Beeswick arranged for transportation. And rather than send one of the carriages, like anyone else might do, he sent… this. He knows I hate it when he does this.”

Pandy suspected that might well be the point, but when the Skyrils lowered the blanket to waist level and hovered expectantly, the chancellor didn’t attempt to escape. Instead, he turned and sat in the sling they’d formed for him, allowing them to lift him into the air. He didn’t even whimper as they rose, higher and higher, until they were being carried over the trees and rooftops of Knightmere.

She didn’t know how long it took to get back to Falconet, but Augustus didn’t speak, move, or – as far as she could tell – breathe during the entire trip. Unfortunately, the sunrise was behind them most of the way, but once, when they were going briefly north, she looked up from a glimpse of its gold and pink glory to see that his eyes were closed, and the hand that wasn’t resting on her back was fisted into a white-knuckled grip around the edge of the cloth.

Only when his feet once again touched the earth did the chancellor open his eyes, a little color finally returning to his face. He moved away from their temporary sling with great speed, but paused long enough to bow to the hovering elementals.

“Thank you for your assistance,” he said formally, his hand moving automatically toward where his breast pocket wasn’t. With a sigh, he admitted, “You’ll have to ask him for payment. I have nothing at the moment, I’m afraid.” Pandy wasn’t certain how creatures so reptilian managed to look disappointed, but they did, and then the Skyrils flew back up, disappearing over the school in the direction of the library.

Glancing down at Pandy, Augustus gave a wry smile. “Now, the question is, would you be willing to go in and fetch Mistress Rose for me? I don’t think I should go through the school right now. Tell her full quarantine protocols, if you would, please.”

With that, he sat down on the step, lowering Pandy down beside him before closing his eyes. For a moment, Pandy thought he might pass out, but he remained upright, though unmoving. Worried, Pandy thought,

Minor Heal failed.

Target is fine.

Well, for some definition of ‘fine’ that includes ‘probably dying of poison’.

Pandy snapped silently, then froze, aghast. She didn’t think she’d ever once told anyone to shut up. She knew just how hurtful it could be. But she didn’t have time to worry about it, because Augustus was… poisoned? Again? Her eyes widened. What were the chances that this poison would respond to the same antidote that had stopped the first one? And how would she get to that antidote, with Augustus out here, and the door to his rooms locked?

Pandy turned and bounded up the stairs, only remembering that she was still a rabbit when she reached for the doorknob and found her paw didn’t reach. Nothing happened, so she repeated herself, then thought,

I thought you wanted me to shut up.

Pandy ground her teeth.

You said use remaining time.

A beat.

It’s a new day.

You have to cast it again.

Pandy could have growled.

Use Corruption Points?

Pandy could practically hear the smug tone of the words. Turning, she saw that, indeed, Augustus was probably just a smidge outside of the fifteen-foot-ish radius in which she could use Mana instead of Corruption Points. Hopping back to the top step, she tried again.

And?

And? And what? She was, too. But now wasn’t the time to play games. Not while Aug- a man’s life hung in the balance. Pandy added another item to the list of things she Needed to Talk to Keros About.

Shifting Faces successful.

03:30:00 remaining

6 uses remain until level 7.

As soon as Pandy’s perspective shifted, the doorknob passing in front of, then beneath her gaze, she stretched out a hand to grasp it. To her shock, her arm was covered in a yellow sleeve, as clean and unmarked as it had been when she put it on. Her surprise lasted only an instant, however, and she threw the door open, thoroughly startling a servant who had just been reaching for the knob.

She pushed past him, running inside, then jogged in place as she gasped out, “The chancellor is just having a rest on the steps. Don’t bother him.” Then she ran off, racing through the dining hall, which was thankfully empty of students. It must still be before eight, then. Probably before seven-thirty, since even the servants didn’t look too awake yet.

Someone was coming down the stairs as she went up, but she didn’t even bother to pay attention to who it was, other than to note that it wasn’t the healer. It was only when she reached the infirmary that she realized that she had no idea where Mistress Rose’s apartment was, and the woman probably didn’t sleep in one of the – admittedly comfortable-looking – sickbeds. Still, Pandy pushed the door open, revealing an infirmary that was both utterly spotless and utterly empty of people.

Pandy stood there a moment, not sure what to do. Did she just start knocking on doors until she found the right one? Should she begin screaming for the doctor? Somehow she didn’t think Augustus would approve of either of those ideas, but she had almost settled on the first one when a throat was cleared behind her.

“Can I help you, Ms. Wellington?” Mistress Rose’s cool voice asked. Pandy whirled to find the doctor standing there, arms crossed, brows raised, clearly not thrilled with the idea of interacting with Pandy again.

“Augustus… I mean, Mr. Blackwood… I mean, the chancellor…” Pandy stumbled over the words, and Mistress Rose’s brows lifted ever closer to her hairline. “He’s out front. On the steps. He was bitten by a spider.”

Instantly, the healer’s entire demeanor changed. Going from put-upon to all business in an instant, Mistress Rose pushed past Pandy, reaching for a cabinet door. “Anti-venom, then. What kind of spider, do you know?”

Pandy shook her head, realized the doctor wasn’t looking at her and said, “No. It was about this big,” she held up her hands in a circle about the size of a dinner plate, and Mistress Rose – who had finally turned to look at her – turned away again, replacing the small vial she’d taken from the cabinet with a much larger one.

As the doctor turned back around, ready to head toward her patient, Pandy held up her hands in a staying motion. “He said… full quarantine protocols.”

Mistress Rose stopped in place, the brows that had threatened to merge with her tidy hairdo now lowering to form a caterpillar above her nose. “For a spider bite?”

“It was a very unusual spider,” Pandy tried, but the doctor still looked dubious. “And he was exposed to some people who’re sick. Really sick. And contagious.”

“A spider bite and exposure to an unknown contagion?” Mistress Rose asked. “Why didn’t you say that in the first place?”

A tousled Timon sauntered down the hall, stretching languidly. “Did I hear the bell, Mistress?” he asked.

“You did, and it took you far too long to show up,” Rose snapped, making him jerk upright, lowering his arms. “Contagion protocols.”

The boy looked around, gaze catching on Pandy. “She doesn’t look that sick.”

“Not for her,” Mistress Rose told him. Glancing around the small infirmary, she added, “We’ll use Chancellor Blackwood’s room. It’ll have to be cleaned afterwards, but better than making it so we can’t admit anyone else. This is why I keep asking for a quarantine ward.”

“We haven’t ever needed one before,” Timon said, but he was already half-lost inside a cabinet, pulling out a thin cloth robe, as well as gloves and a mask like the one Healer Sinnett had worn. He handed a second set to Mistress Rose, who began pulling them on, even as the young assistant took out a set for himself.

“Well, now we do. And what about you?” Mistress Rose asked, looking at Pandy critically. “Were you exposed as well?”

“Technically-” Pandy said, and that was as far as she got before the doctor thrust the mask she was holding at her.

“Put this on. Try not to breathe or touch anything until we get to you,” the other woman hesitated, then muttered, “Might as well put you both together. One disease, one room. Go, march, off to the chancellor’s office.”

Pandy did as she was told.