“What about you?” I ask, finally addressing the unspoken question I’m certain we all are thinking.
Lily pulls off her gloves. Scabs cover the tips of her fingers. My hope plummets.
“You’re infected with the virus, too?” Doc asks, appearing equally disappointed.
Lily gives him a puzzled look. “Isn’t everyone?” she says, pulling on latex gloves.
“Gwen’s a real Immune,” Mole says. “Or at least that’s what Doc thinks.”
Lily glances down at my hands. Something flicks in her gaze. She turns her eyes to Doc and he nods in affirmation. Lily grips my hands, inspecting each of my fingers. “Fascinating!” she exclaims. Her eyes grow wide. “You must be the one the Professor has been searching for.”
“Searching for me?” I ask with some apprehension as I slip my gloves back on. “How did she know I existed? I’ve just found out myself that I’m immune.”
Lily brings her supplies over to Pete’s bedside. “The Marauders were bringing children to her lab daily. Even though she could escape at any time, the Professor has remained here as a prisoner, believing that there was only one child who was truly invulnerable to the virus. One person who she swore would be resistant. She refused to leave until she found the Immune whose blood contained the antidote to the Horologia virus. I think it was you she must have been speaking of,” Lily says. She peers at me, excitement in her dark eyes. “For nearly six months now I’ve been sneaking around Everland rescuing kids, bringing them here for treatment, and then sending them away to safer lands, along with medication.” She spins on the heels of her boots, rushes to me, and grips my arms. “With you here, we could all leave Everland for good. If you really are the Immune she is looking for, we can have a true antidote. Not just medicine to treat the symptoms. A real cure!”
The weight of her words settles on my already tight shoulders. Inching backward, I move closer to Pete. Detecting my uneasiness, he grips my hand. The warmth of his fingers intertwined with mine brings a wave of calm over me.
“How has the Professor been able to save the kids without getting caught?” Doc asks. “Hook has been taking children off the street for the last year. What does he think she does with them? Certainly he must suspect her?”
“Hook insisted that once it was decided that the captured children were not immune, they were to be euthanized. Their bodies were to be incinerated so that the virus would not spread,” Lily says. “The Professor led Hook to believe that they had been cremated; meanwhile, she treated them until they could safely travel. My job was to take the children away. I was one of the Professor’s first patients. When Hook brought me to the palace, I was sure I was going to die, but the Professor saved me.” Lily shrugs. “Since then we’ve been a team.”
“How many others have you saved?” Pickpocket asks.
“You mean how many others has the Professor saved,” Lily says. “She is the one who treats them. There are many. Granted, none of us are cured of the Horologia virus, but she has kept us alive, treating the symptoms and supplying medicines to other survivors.”
“Where are the other survivors?” Pete asks.
“Northumberland,” Lily says. “The Queen of England escaped through the royal tunnels when the bombs dropped. One of the steam railway tunnels leads to Alnwick Castle. The Duchess of Northumberland has taken Her Majesty in, along with survivors who escaped with her. Together they are treating the survivors of not only England, but all citizens of the United Kingdom, and are preparing to strike back to reclaim Everland as their own.”
“The Queen is alive?” I breathe. “How many survivors are there? Can they help us now?” I ask with urgency.
“As far as those who escaped with the Queen: a few workers, family, the Royal Guard, some military. I’m unsure how many have gathered there from the rest of the United Kingdom,” Lily says.
“Military? Guard?” Pete asks, rage spitting from his lips. “Why haven’t they come to fight the Marauders?”
Lily frowns and slowly shakes her head. “Only a handful of the Queen’s military and guard escaped, a few dozen at the most, not nearly enough to stage a counterattack. Even if they had the numbers to attack, the priority is to treat the sick and dying. They are not prepared to strike yet.”
I reach for the metal tags and my fingers graze across cloth and skin where the necklace once rested. I jerk my hand away, sickened by the empty space that held the only item I had left of my father’s.
I blink, trying to hide the tears burning my eyes.
Lily ties off the bandage on Pete’s arm. “There you go,” she says. She presses two fingers to her pink lips, kisses them, and places them on the bandage. “Healed with a kiss. You should feel much better soon. The bullet merely grazed you.”