20. Chapter 20

Shan-Tal was dead, but I would be damned if I allowed the same fate to befall Amber. I wasn't sure what was wrong with her, but I caught her just before her body hit the ground.

With Dhor-Van searching the surrounding wilderness for any survivors, I was torn between taking care of Amber and making sure Willis was contained. He was already making a grab for the weapon Amber had forced him to drop. With her in my arms, I dashed to retrieve the weapon before Willis did any more harm with it.

I didn't know how it worked, but I imitated Amber and pushed it into my waistband.

"You!" I yelled at the huddled group of females and scientists, pointing at one of the men. "Tie him up! "

Of course, the ignorant gronk didn't understand a word I said. I kicked a bundle of rope that someone had left on the ground at him, pushing my chin toward Willis.

Next, I kicked a box of leather strips forward and pointed at one of the women. "See to his wounds."

She stared at me wide-eyed and uncomprehending. I indicated Willis's bleeding knee, then the scraps of leather. The gallis whimpered and ducked closer to her friends. I didn't have time for this shit. I felt Amber's erratic beating heart against my chest. She needed my help.

"Now!" I barked. For whatever reason, Amber wanted something from Willis, and by the gods, I would keep the bastard alive until she could get it. It seemed important enough for her to risk her life.

A gallis with blonde hair rose, saying something in her language that sounded like cursing. She grabbed the leather while the scientist, I thought his name was Scott, tied Willis's hands and feet. Sweat poured down Willis's face. He had to be in incredible pain, but he put on a brave face. Whatever else he might be, he wasn't a coward. I wouldn't have called him exactly brave after sending three assassins after Amber, but at least he was facing his fate like a warrior.

The sun was slowly rising, illuminating our surroundings enough for me to inspect Amber's body for injuries. I had no idea what caused her to faint, and she was still out, preventing me from asking her .

Fearing one of those things that came out of the human weapons might have hit her, like Shan-Tal, I felt her body for any injuries, for any sign of blood, but there was nothing. She didn't even make a sound to indicate a wound. I checked her head and neck, but nothing. When my eyes fell on her swollen hand, a dark suspicion rose inside me. Please, gods, nek , I prayed. A tiny puncture wound, with the telltale screaming red circles around it, confirmed my suspicion. Black lines rose from the red circles, slowly moving up her palm. Both left no doubt that a rotburn had bitten her, an insect whose venom could be deadly. I had seen the toughest warriors succumb to the pain and poison.

"Help?" a timid gallis approached us. Her use of the Vandruk word told me that she had been making at least some effort to learn our ways.

"Knife?" I said without much hope she understood.

But she did. She rushed to where the human males had thrown the weapons they had taken from us, returning with one of my knives. I didn't waste time looking at her, but I was glad she was here.

"I'm sorry, xao, this is going to hurt," I mumbled before I made two cuts like an X across Amber's palm. Amber moaned in pain, and the woman sank to her knees next to us and took in a sharp intake of breath.

"Waro?" I requested.

She jumped up and returned not only with water, but with a spare shirt, which she began cutting into smaller pieces, handing me both .

I understood that she and the other gallies had tried to kill Tzar-Than's khadahrshi, but right then, she was proving herself an excellent helper.

First, I awkwardly squeezed Amber's palm to encourage bleeding that would hopefully wash some of the rotburn's poison out. I had no idea when she had been bitten, but it usually only took an hour or two before the full effects of the bite took root. She must have been in tremendous pain before she collapsed, raising my respect for her another notch. But there was also another emotion inside me, one I couldn't quite name just yet, but the thought of potentially losing her hurt even more than when I had realized my family and intended had been buried alive. That pain had surpassed anything I had experienced before. I hadn't thought I would survive another day without them. So then, why did the idea of losing Amber hurt more than that? It was something I couldn't comprehend right then, but it was there. Burning and choking.

The gallis next to me made a gagging sound when the blood washed out black knots and yellow puss, already growing inside Amber. I nearly yelled at her to leave when she pulled out some kind of writing device and marked the ends of the black lines on Amber's palm. That was smart thinking; that way, we would know if the black lines grew or retreated.

"They're all dead," Dhor-Van returned. His eyes fell on Amber's hand. "Shit, rotburn?"

I nodded, massaging her palm with my fingers to keep the flow going out before I rinsed it with water .

"Here, this helped my brother when he was bit." He handed me a smaller version of a waterskin.

"Skoff?" I asked, surprised.

"It helped him; that stuff is so vile even the rotburn's poison runs from it," Dhor-Van assured me.

I was skeptical, but what would it hurt? I poured a generous amount over her wound, bringing a moan to her bluish lips.

"Make sure the humans have secured Willis and try everything to keep him alive for now," I ordered. "Then make sure the other humans are safe and… comfortable," I pressed the last word out. I didn't care what they were, but I had taken responsibility for them, and I would see it through.

"You don't think they pose any more threat?" Dhor-Van checked.

"Collect all these weapons." I turned my back so he could see the weapon I had taken from Willis. "Make sure none of the other humans get their hands on them or anything else they could use as a weapon. Keep an eye on the males. I think at least one of them is involved in whatever they are scheming. Then feed them."

"Sa, Khadahr." He bowed and retreated.

I tried to get Amber to drink some water. I had forced a lot of blood out of her body, and she would need to replenish it. Carefully, I tilted her up and set the waterskin to her lips. The other gallis moved closer, and I nearly snarled at her. Her fingers gently massaged Amber's throat to get her to swallow the water, which, to my relief, she did .

"Lexi," the woman said when I was satisfied that Amber had drunk enough for now.

"Lexi," I repeated her name, wondering if she had been some kind of healer; so far, she had shown herself as a good helper.

"Willis." She pointed at her knee, then herself, then Amber, putting a questioning expression on her face. I gathered she was asking me for permission to see to Willis's wounds. Since I wanted him alive at least long enough for Amber to talk to him, I nodded.

Looking down at the gallis in my arms, my stomach knotted. Her face was paler than before, her lips bluer. I hadn't known her for long, but what I had learned about her told me that I would like to spend more time with her and find out more about her. She fascinated me beyond just the incredible sex we had shared, and I very much wanted to repeat that experience, too, but that wasn't what I was afraid of losing. She came into my life suddenly and like a storm; she was a force, and I felt like she had been brought into my life like a promise from the gods. A promise for some kind of future together, and I worried I would lose that before I even had a chance to appreciate her.

I gently rose with her in my arms, holding her tight, to take her to the creek. Her body felt hot and clammy, and the cool water would help bring her temperature down.

After most of our gallies died, we had to learn many things they had done for us, like caring for a sick person. Many males died unnecessarily because we simply lacked the knowledge of how to help them. Over the years, though, we learned to make do and how to use medicinal plants .

I would brew a poultice for her and a healing tea. Then, I would pray to Vorag.

I stole a quick glance around, wishing I could only focus on her, but I was still a khadahr, and my camp was in shambles. The gallis, Lexi, was cleansing and doing whatever she could to Willis' knee wound while he was tied to a tree. The rest of the gallies sat together, talking heatedly to one another, just as the three male scientists were in another corner. One was shoving the other before the third interfered.

Dhor-Van waved at me from the bushes, holding up a handful of weapons he must have collected from the dead guards. Appeased that he would have things under control, I walked the few paces to the creek until I found a more secluded spot where I could bathe Amber without any prying eyes.