Page 102 of The Iron Hex

“The one I—” Rhona started, feeling ill.

“No.” He waved his hand dismissively. “Long before that. I noticed that the crops were dead, yes, but still subsisting, this black ichor attached to them and thriving.”

The rotten crops hadn’t been dead?

“I see you thinking, oh does that mean the crops were edible the whole time? No. They’re dead, but thisRotfeeds on them, and it survives. Itthrives.” Dr. Balet walked over to the gurney across from them, the scared brown eyes of a man whose mouth had been gagged looking at them. In a split second it was over; before Rhona could even react, Dr. Balet had stabbed the syringe into the man’s neck and injected the black ichor.

“Watch the Rot at work,” he said. “This will be good for you to understand.”

“Why would you do that?” Rhona asked, horrified.

“I am nearing perfection,” Dr. Balet said.

Rhona stared in horror as the man convulsed, the gurney shaking on the stone ground as he shook for nearly a minute straight until Rhona watched his breathing stop. “You killed him!” she shouted.

“Shush, girl,” Dr. Balet snapped. “And watch.”

Rhona watched in horror as the unbreathing man’s eyes cracked open again, milky white this time, his chest still.

“You see?” Dr. Balet said, excited. “The Rot is now feeding on him and they are kept alive by each other. It is magical.” Dr. Balet started walking back down the hallway. “I tested it on multiple different foods, then different animals. Then, I had the animals fight. They were stronger, more limber, andstronger. They could die... but only when their brain was affected. The Rot keeps the brain alive to keep the body going, even without breath or feeding. It’s miraculous. Then I tried it on a prisoner,” he continued. “It took me a while to perfect the amount of Rot to inject, but once I had it figured out I felt comfortable sending my children out into the world. One to Corisia, and one after Commander Hugo... but both were killed.”

“Commander Hugo killed one of these—” Rhona searched for a name, something other thanmonster.

“We’re calling them Soulless Knights, and you’re now one of only a few people who know the name of my children,” Dr. Balet said, grinning madly.

“Why haven’t you notified the Iron Retinue of this? Why are you kidnapping people for this?”

“Lord General Kerrigan and I wish to perfect my work before we announce it to the greater Iron Retinue, but I have found a solution that will allow us to move forward now. I think it is time,” he said, his hand to his chin.

“Why is that?” Rhona asked. She felt sick. Everything about this was... wrong.

“The war with Corisia is beginning imminently. We will need to secure the country as soon as possible, as this Rot is spreading. I’m sure you’ve noticed.”

“I know of the crops...”

“There is more,” Dr. Balet said before waving his hand. “But that is none the matter right now.”

They approached Jack’s gurney again, fear in his dead eyes as he looked at Dr. Balet. Rhona knew that look. She looked at her parents that way... she looked at Lord General Kerrigan that way.

“How do you test their durability?” Rhona choked out, hating that she needed to ask but compelled to know exactly what Dr. Balet was doing down here.

“I will harm them to see how long they survive,” Dr. Balet said without hesitation or remorse. “They do not feel the same way we do, so it is fine.”

It didn’t look fine; the fear in Jack’s clouded eyes told her it wasn’t fine.

Rhona turned, backing toward the spiral staircase; she needed to get out of here. She needed to tell everyone else. They needed to stop this. No undefeatable army was worth this; surely Lord General Kerrigan would see.

“I appreciate the lesson, Dr. Balet,” Rhona said. “I have an early-morning shift I must be ready for, but I was so curious about this space. I’m glad you stumbled upon me down here.”

Something dark flashed over Dr. Balet’s grotesque features.

“You must not tell anyone anything about this, Sir Rhona,” Dr. Balet said. “This is the Iron Empire’s largest secret, and it cannot be shared.”

“I completely understand,” Rhona said, left foot on the first of the spiraling steps.

Dr. Balet looked up at her.

“You are loyal, aren’t you?” he asked. “You are smart too.”