Setting his satchel on the table, Iain looked at Pechard, but his response was for all of them. “Dr. Thrasher is down with a case of shingles and has been placed under quarantine. Because he’s unable to tend to his duties, he sent me in his stead.”
Atty waved a hand at the strangers. “Emissary Pechard assures us he and his men did not suffer the virus, but I’d like you to verify that.” She faced Pechard. “I’m not calling you a liar, sir, but we need more than your word to reassure us.”
“No offense taken, madam. I totally understand.”
“Sir, I’m going to need for you to put these swabs in your mouth so I can test for the virus. Have you or any of your men sustained injuries?” He removed several sterile pieces of cloth from his bag as his eyes roved over their outward appearance.
One man stepped forward. “I took a knife in my left leg.”
Iain patted the table. “Sit up here and let me examine it. How about you two?”
“We’re intact, but we’re tired and in need of food,” Pechard admitted. He faced Yulen again. “Will you be able to give us an answer soon?”
“Tomorrow,” the battle lord promised. “Tonight, you and your men should rest. Food and water will be brought to you. Iain, when you’re done, come to the lodge and give me a report.”
Iain nodded but didn’t reply as he cut away the bloodied makeshift bandage the man had wrapped around his injury.
“Cole, set up sentries. Guards, you’re dismissed. Everyone else, let’s meet at the lodge where we can discuss this further in private. Pechard, if Dr. MaGrath gives you his blessing, you’re welcome to join us for dinner. Otherwise, a tray will be sent to your rooms.”
Lucien watched as their guests were shown the two spare rooms at the other end of the main hall. Mastin ordered four guards to stand duty at their doors. During the night, other guards would relieve them. It was a measure not so much to protect the strangers, but to ensure that the strangers didn’t have a nefarious intent.
Seeing the others filing out of the hall, he fell into step and followed them over to the dwelling the battle lord and lady called home.
Chapter Three
Meeting
When he entered the lodge, Lucien noticed that his father had taken the overstuffed chair closest to the fireplace. Instead of taking another chair, his mother sat on the cold hearth, right next to her husband, drawing up her legs and wrapping her arms around them. Mattox leaned with his arms crossed in the doorway leading to the kitchen and rear bedrooms. And Mistelle had chosen to park herself on the iron staircase that spiraled up to the overhead bedroom. Seeing that all the good places were already taken, he went over to stand behind his father and rest against the chair’s tall, padded back. Yulen barely glanced at him. There were only a handful of people the battle lord would allow to take that position, and his family made for four of them.
The noise inside the lodge was minimal. Everyone kept their voices low as they conversed while they waited for the battle lord to speak.
“Echo, please close the door.”
The warrior woman shut the front door, then resumed her stance next to it. Lucien realized she had taken a position to guard it, and he shot Mattox a puzzled look. His brother shrugged. He didn’t understand it, either.
“I called you here to discuss something that’s been brought to my attention. Whatever decision I make about it will affect every one of you, including this compound. But it will impact you first and foremost. Therefore, I feel it’s only fair I let you know of my thoughts ahead of time, and you can give me your opinions on the matter before I decide my next course of action.
“There is a compound far to the west, in the Newmex territories, called Green River. They’ve been under siege by Damaged for the past four weeks. The battle lord there sent an emissary to seek help, but the compounds they encountered had already fallen. By chance they happened upon a Mutah compound, which directed them to us.”
Paas raised her hand. “Why us?”
“Because they were told we fought the Damaged and defeated them four years ago.”
“But it also took a heavy toll on us,” Fortune Kalich reminded him. “That virus did enormous damage to us. Maybe more than their army did.”
“He’s right,” Warren Paxton added. “That army carried that virus with them, and it spread through our ranks and the population like a wildfire.”
“That’s their modus operandi,” Atty remarked. “As an army, they’re not well-trained. Mutah aren’t trained to be warriors. We’re trained to be hunters. That’s why they used that virus against us, lobbing contaminated clothing that was saturated in puke and feces over our walls. Once we succumbed, and our forces were weakened as we contracted the disease, they thought they could storm us and overwhelm us by sheer numbers.”
“But we managed to defeat them anyway,” Lucien spoke up. “Even when we were ill, we were still better fighters than they were.”
“Precisely,” Yulen agreed. “And we were lucky in that aspect.”
Garet Renken added his thoughts, directing them at Yulen. “You’re seriously considering taking a battalion to this Green River compound to defeat the Damaged? What if we sicken again?”
“Might I say something about that?” Iain MaGrath commented. The battle lord gave him a nod, and the young man rose to his feet to face the others. “You all know I assisted my father and Dr. Thrasher during the malaise. I witnessed firsthand what this virus can do to both Mutah and Normals. So I know how differently it affects both sides. At the same time, we learned how the Mutah who survived it became carriers.”
A hand in the back went up, and Iain called on the young man. “What, Nevo?”
“I caught that virus, but I’m not Mutah. Am I carrier?”
Iain nodded. “Maybe. Maybe not. We’re not sure. But one thing you definitely are is inoculated. That means you can’t get it again.” The young physician looked around the room at all of them. “All Normals who suffered through the virus and survived cannot get it again.”
“You’re sure of that?” Yulen questioned.
Iain hesitated. “Nothing is ever one hundred percent certain. But history has shown that that is generally the case.”
“What’s inoculated?” Mistelle spoke up.
“It means the virus is still in your system, but only in minute bits and pieces. It’s harmless to you in that form, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t powerful. You see, if you get exposed to the virus again, those little bits and pieces come together and form a protective barrier to keep the virus from taking over. They become extremely territorial, driving out or killing the new virus, and preventing it from sickening you.”
“But that’s not true for Mutah, right?” Fortune countered.
“Right, and that’s because of your uniqueness. Dad is still trying to find a way to determine whether or not an infected Mutah will become Damaged, but right now it’s still a crap shoot.”