Page 48 of The Moon Blessed King
‘At first,’ Cieli murmurs. ‘But I passed through a village I visited early on – Ines. They refused to let the Reapers or anyone else from that army into the village on principle. It wasn’t one ofthemwho brought the illness. Yet they were sick by the time I arrived anyway.’
‘Are they blaming the Reapers for it?’ Cat asks.
‘Some,’ Cieli admits. ‘Many blame Gillage, though. For using them at all.’
‘It wasn’t the Reapers who did this,’ Marina says at long last. She has been quiet through Cieli’s explanation, standing by a large window overlooking the city.
‘Was it me?’ Elician asks. Cat’s fingers spasm at his sides.
‘No!’ Fen gasps, already on the defence. ‘Of course it wasn’t—’
‘In a way,’ Marina cuts in. ‘Yes.’ Elician takes the news well. He doesn’t outwardly react with much, but Cat knows him better than that. Lio does too. At Elician’s side, Lio’s horror is palpable. His arm twitches outward as if to reach for his friend, only to remember that they are not in private company. Doing so would only have been a breach of protocol at a time when Elician already feels weak.
‘How can yousaythat?’ Fen gasps.
‘It’s the pendants,’ Elician replies dully. ‘And then…Altas. It’s Shawshank’s Plague.’
Consequences.
Over and over again in Kreuzfurt, Zinnitzia warned them of consequences. It is forbidden to bring anyone back from the dead. Healing is carefully regulated. Access to those with the power to give life, always controlled. Marina and Zinnitzia both spoke of the plague. Of the Giver king, Shawshank, who swore no one in Soleb would ever fear Death again. And yet how, despite this, a goddess’s will always overcomes humanity’s hubris. A plague devastated Soleb as a result of Shawshank’s decree, one no Giver could heal.
‘All things die,’ Marina says. ‘Death comes for all, and she is not a patient mistress. Those pendants used your abilities to stave off Death. And she has brought her plague back to these lands to remind everyone what happens when you deny the natural order ofthings. It was not yourfault, Elician,’ Marina insists, ‘but it was your power that allowed it to happen in the first place.’
The words are spoken with great care, but they seem to land like a dagger in Elician’s heart. His face drains of colour. He nods, more out of a vague need to do something with his body than any real awareness that he is moving in the first place. He sits in one of the room’s many chairs, sinking his head into his hands. Fen goes to him immediately, whispering fierce words of encouragement and support.
‘How do we stop it?’ Cat asks. The cause is immaterial, only the result.
‘Just as you did before, my king,’ Marina replies. ‘Life and Death must work together. It is how Zinnitzia and I first met, in truth. We worked together to end the plague when it came. We’ve stayed together ever since, watching and waiting…hoping it would never again return.’
They’re the oldest, Cat thinks. The oldest Reaper and Giver he knows, and their lives together began with a plague.
‘I’m sorry to have failed you in that regard,’ Elician says to the floor.
‘It does not matter now,’ Cat says. ‘How is the plague contracted?’
‘Think of it like a presence,’ Marina replies. ‘The Exalted are immune, and we do not transmit it to others. But anyone else who has come into contact with this has the potential to pass it along.’
‘Hundreds of people have already left the city,’ Lio reminds them. ‘Anyone who didn’t want to stay and fix this place fled as soon as they could.’
Elician curses again. He pulls at his too-short hair, then stands abruptly. ‘Fen, I need you to ride back to Himmelsheim,’ he tells her.
His sister blinks, mouth parting. ‘What?’
Then he looks to Marina. ‘And I need you to travel to find Zinnitzia on the road and explain to the people of Kreuzfurt what ishappening. She’s already bringing both Reapers and Givers here to Altas – have them scatter through the country in pairs instead.’
Cat imagines the contours of Elician’s plan. Understands its measure, but there’s a problem. A big one. ‘There aren’t enough Reapers in Kreuzfurt,’ he reminds Elician. ‘Even if Zinnitzia brought them all, it isn’t enough to pair them off with all the Givers. If healing this needs both a Reaper and Giver together…’
‘What about the ones we’re holding in the school?’ Lio asks. ‘They’re already here in Altas.’
‘The ones thatkilled everyone?’ Fen snaps back.
‘I don’t know,’ Cat replies. ‘They…they have no reason to stay or help. I don’t know if theycouldbe trusted to help even if given the opportunity.’
‘We’ll make do with what we have,’ Elician says. Then, to Fen: ‘I need you to ride to Himmelsheim and tell Adalei what’s happening. Tell her to put a quarantine into place, close down all cities from travel – keep this thing from spreading any farther than it already has and keep it that way. Then, get yourself to Crowen as fast as you can. Cieli? You know where that is? Yes? Great – Fen, you’ll meet her there. You two can take over the healing of Crowen.’
‘WhyCrowen?’ Fen asks. It’s a border city, and a large one, but hardly the most prominent place to be located.
‘Elena’s there. She’s one of the only physicians Soleb has,’ Elician explains. ‘You’ve already worked with her before, and maybe she can figure out some way to help.’ He doesn’t sound like he believes it. Cat isn’t sure he does either. But sometimes, bad choices are all anyone has left.
