Page 48 of A Tempest of Intrigue (Tempest of Shadows #4)
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
Ellery
Night had fallen by the time I made it to the encampment. I’d spent too much time in the shower, brushing my teeth, and doing it all over again while I tried to figure out a way to tell Ryker about what happened without him exploding.
When I finished scrubbing my skin raw and no longer tasted Gaius, I spent more time reassuring Ruby I was fine. She’d taken up a position at my kitchen table and refused to leave until I told her I was going to the Revenant Woods to tell Ryker.
She’d finally gotten up, hugged me, and told me she’d be home if I needed her. While I desperately missed Scarlet, I was glad to have Ruby still.
She reluctantly left the manor, and I opened a portal to the woods near Tucker’s encampment. As soon as I entered the clearing, I knew something was wrong.
It was far too subdued. No amsirah stood at the targets, steel didn’t clang against steel, and the clack of clashing staffs didn’t fill the air.
The children, usually running around and laughing, now sat around one of the cooking fires. A couple of women sat with them, but they didn’t speak as they turned the meat; their attention wasn’t on what they were doing but on the large crowd gathered around another fire.
The incessant pounding of hammers and nails didn’t fill the air. The camp was growing so fast that new shelters went up every day… except today.
Though some men and women still cared for the animals, they often stopped in their chores to stare at the fire. The heavy air of expectation hung over the many gathered in the clearing.
With the help of the poltergeists, the encampment had swelled to over three hundred amsirah. It wasn’t enough to take on Ivan, but it was a good start, and everyone here was eager to fight, including the children… who would be kept out of it.
I searched for Ryker among the masses as I approached the subdued crowd but didn’t see him, Ianto, or Tucker. My heart raced a little faster as I pushed my way into the crowd.
“Excuse me,” I said as I turned to slip past two women.
It took some doing to get their attention, but once they realized I was there, they stepped aside to let me pass. The sad looks some of them gave me caused a spike of adrenaline to flood my system.
What happened? Where’s Ryker?
When I finally pushed through the crowd, I stumbled a little as I broke free. I caught my balance as my eyes landed on Ryker near the fire, kneeling beside Tucker. Ianto was across from him.
Ryker held a cloth to Tucker’s head and wiped his forehead while Ianto accepted a fresh bucket of water from one of the orphans he’d help save. He handed the current bucket over to the young boy.
“Thank you,” he murmured to the child.
Tucker didn’t move. His arms were out at his sides, and his legs were spread a little as he gazed at the sky. Over their heads, Farley floated back and forth like he was pacing.
Nervous about what I’d learn, I crept closer and knelt at Ryker’s side. “What happened?”
When he looked at me, lines etched his mouth, and the fear in his eyes frightened me. Blood streaked his cheeks and bare chest. Dried blood crusted in his hair, which stood on end; he’d probably been running his fingers through it.
“You’re here,” he said.
The need and sorrow in those two words tugged at my heart. I rested my hand on his arm. “I’m here. What happened?”
“We were attacked by something called a cordou.”
I frowned as I studied Tucker. Why wasn’t he moving?
He’s not even blinking. As I realized this, Ianto leaned forward and dripped water in his eyes to keep them moist. That had to feel extremely uncomfortable, but Tucker showed no sign of it.
“I don’t know what a cordou is,” I said.
“It’s a beast with the body of a scorpion and the head of a tiger. Its stinger holds poison.”
“That sounds horrible.”
“It wasn’t fun,” Ianto muttered.
My attention shifted to Tucker; his eyes were on me. I leaned closer to rest my hand on his brow; his eyes followed my movements, but no other part of him did.
Beneath my palm, his forehead was warm but not overly so. “What did it do to him? Why isn’t he moving?”
Ryker and Ianto carefully rolled Tucker on his side to expose his back. Like Ryker, hundreds of scars crisscrossed Tucker’s skin, as he’d suffered as much abuse at the hands of the ophidians as Ryker.
My heart ached for him and all he’d endured as I rested my hand on his shoulder. A big, red, puckered mark was in the center of his faded scars. I didn’t know how big it had been before, but skin was knitting over it, and it wasn’t bleeding.
It was big enough that it once bled a lot, but his skin had been cleaned and remained unbandaged. Ryker set him carefully back down on the bed of blankets set up for him.
“When the cordou stung him, it injected a poison that paralyzed him,” Ryker said.
“Is it permanent?” I asked.
Tucker’s eyes flew to me, and sensing the panic I’d created in him, I cursed myself before leaning forward to rest my hand on his shoulder. I couldn’t imagine what he was experiencing, the claustrophobia and hopelessness.
“That was a stupid thing to say. It’s not permanent,” I assured him.
He didn’t look convinced, and I deeply regretted my question. Leaning back, I looked to Ryker, but he didn’t answer me, probably because he didn’t know the answer, and neither of us wanted to upset Tucker more.
Behind Tucker, Farley stopped pacing. When I looked at him, he held up his small hands and gave the poltergeist’s version of a shrug.
I swallowed back the lump in my throat and smiled at Tucker. He didn’t look at all appeased by it as his eyes pleaded for some mercy.
“What can I do to help?” I asked Ryker.
“Ianto and I got most of, if not all , the poison out. For now, we’re keeping him comfortable,” Ryker said.
I kept my hand on Tucker as I settled beside Ryker. I closed my eyes and silently pleaded for Tucker to get through this and return to us.
I couldn’t think about what would happen if we lost him. It would devastate Ryker, and I’d grown to love him too.